Latest / The Steep Stuff Podcast / #73 - Tava Lodge Co-Founder's Morgan Weinberg & Melissa Stapanowich

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#73 - Tava Lodge Co-Founder's Morgan Weinberg & Melissa Stapanowich · The Steep Stuff Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What's up, fam?
• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Steep Stuff Podcast.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: I'm your host, james Lauriello, and today I'm so excited to bring you guys a community-based episode Today.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: I am joined by Morgan Weinberg and Melissa Stepanowich, two of the four co-founders, along with Kurt Millick and Brandon Stepanowich, the legend of the Tava Lodge.
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: The Tava Lodge is a pretty cool new establishment in Colorado Springs.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: It's in the process.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: It's basically a startup.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: It's in the process of getting itself off the ground right now.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: The plans for it you guys will hear in the podcast, but it's basically a community center.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: It is a lodge for elite athletes and athletes of all shapes, sizes and abilities to be able to come and spend time with the community, train and get ready for the prospective races, or just see the greater Pikes Peak area.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: It is a beautiful idea and it will hopefully be one of the centers of our amazing Colorado Springs run community in the future.
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: So, without further ado, I'll let Morgan and Melissa take it away and I hope you guys enjoy this episode.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much.
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: It's time.
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: Time, ladies and gentlemen.
• 2:05
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• 2:11
  Speaker 1: Listen up.
• 2:13
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• 2:17
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• 2:26
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• 2:29
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• 3:07
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• 3:14
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• 3:18
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• 3:19
  Speaker 1: So, guys, enjoy yourself, have a great rest of your week.
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much, and check out Ultimate Direction.
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: Melissa and Morgan, welcome to the Steep Stuff podcast.
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: How are you?
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: Thank you, we're doing pretty good, yeah.
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm so stoked to have a conversation with you guys Definitely something unique.
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: You guys are cooking up in the Colorado Springs running community, so I'll let you, morgan, take it away, introduce yourself, and then you can pass the mic off to Melissa and introduce herself, and we'll go from there.
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: All right, cool, yeah.
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: So thanks for having us First of all excited to talk about this and start to share kind of what we're trying to do with the community and others who might be interested.
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: But I'm Morgan.
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: I am a trail runner, obviously.
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: I have a background in program operations and hospitality management and I guess we're going to kind of talk about all four of us just because I think we're a very unique group of four.
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: So it's kind of cool to hear a little bit about each of our professional backgrounds and then kind of how we tie into wanting to do this.
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: So that's a little bit about me.
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: My partner, Kurt, is also part of the team.
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: He's a mechanical engineer.
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: He actually just left his engineering job to go to massage therapy school, so he's really excited to kind of pivot.
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: He's really interested in the wellness world and kind of helping people find a better path for themselves.
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: So that's kind of the two of us.
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: You're from Florida, right?
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: Sorry?
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: Yes, I am from Florida, so am I?
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: Oh cool, what part are you?
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: I'm from south florida, like west like.
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: I grew up in stewart but I went to like went to miami and like lived down there for a while nice.
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: I'm from 30 minutes north of daytona beach.
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: Flagler beach is what it's called.
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: Nobody ever knows where it is.
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: I saw you went to florida like uf.
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: Yes, we don't like the gators very much, but I'll give you, I'll give you.
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: I went to miami, so yeah it's a little rivalry, not a huge school spirit person so.
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: I'm not going to argue about that.
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: That's totally fine.
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: That's fair.
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: That's fair.
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: All right, Melissa, how are you?
• 5:11
  Speaker 3: I'm good.
• 5:11
  Speaker 3: I'm good.
• 5:12
  Speaker 3: My name is Melissa.
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: I was born and raised in Colorado Springs and my background is in organizational management.
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: What I currently do is I work with system-impacted youth, so I work in the juvenile justice system, in their facilities, and I'm passionate about running, also trail running.
• 5:30
  Speaker 3: I guess more or less we kind of got connected trail running, morgan and I.
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: That's also how I met my husband, brandon.
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: Legend.
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: Right, right, so yeah, so just a local trail runner, passionate about the community, since I've been here my entire life.
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: And then my husband, brandon, is from North Carolina and then came here, I think about 13 or 14 years ago, also very passionate about the trails, and he's like ultra, ultra trail runner, really enjoys the long distances, enjoys exploring new areas, and so this just seemed to be a unique area where we can share all of those similar interests and also impact the community.
• 6:07
  Speaker 3: Morgan and I have a common friend, kelly, and I was telling Kelly like one day, really loosely, about you know, a property Brandon and I were interested in.
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: I think she ran with you the following day and then was like maybe, maybe the four of you guys should connect, and so it all just really was serendipitous and happened.
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: I love, well, I love the idea.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: Let's um, let's roll forward with what it is um and the intention and goal with it.
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: Cause I think it's just and I'll preface this so like one of the big things about myself, um, with the podcast and like covering sub ultra and just covering the scene down here is like the goal is to turn Colorado Springs, like we want to make this like the trail running Mecca, like to compete with Boulder, compete with Salt Lake, complete with Flagstaff, like I think this area is very slept on and we have a lot of amazing athletes here in a beautiful community.
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: So this is something that like fits right into um.
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: You know, with that idea and that vision, yeah, so kind of take the words right out of my mouth, right?
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: So one of the things when we're thinking about this is just how big of a destination Boulder is for trail runners and people coming to train.
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: You know people come from all over just to use those trails.
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: People host camps there it's really well known for that and down here in the Springs we all know that our trails are amazing and we know what they have to offer.
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: But I don't feel like that's really spread across the rest of the country or world if we think really big.
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: So that's part of it is wanting to bring people here to have that training experience, to really get to see the variety of terrain that we have in the area.
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: But really I think it's important to kind of share the why behind why each of us are really intrigued by this and motivated by it, and I think you'll find each of our why is probably a little bit different, but the ultimate vision of it really is the same and comes back to the same thing.
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: So for me, I'm a big quote girl.
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: So sorry, I'm going to read a little quote because this is a podcast.
• 8:03
  Speaker 3: I feel like it's okay.
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: So this is from Lessons in feel like it's okay.
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: So this is from Lessons in Chemistry.
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: It's a really good book.
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: They actually made it into a show, which I really enjoyed.
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: But she runs and one of the quotes is that's the beauty of running when you don't think you can move forward, when you're sad about your yesterdays or not sure what's going to happen tomorrow, your purpose is just being there, putting one foot in front of the other.
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: One foot, one foot, one foot.
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: It's all you have to think about.
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: One foot, one foot and then, sure enough, you'll be home.
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: So I just love that.
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: It's beautiful for me, um, running is such a special thing.
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: Um, I was always athletic growing up, played every sport you could think of.
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: I ran track and cross country, but I hated it then for what it was.
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: Um, and so athletics have always been a big deal to me, um, but I never really knew the enjoyment of running until I moved out here to Colorado.
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: Um, you know, you said you're from Florida, it's hot, it's humid, it kind of sucks.
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: It's different, it you know.
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: You said you're from Florida.
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: It's hot, it's humid it kind of sucks different.
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: It's not not ideal.
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: Yeah, like playing sports there was strictly for the competitive nature of playing sports and it sucked being outside.
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: So when I got out here I started to really be able to experience the trails and kind of just the benefits that that had for me mentally as well as physically.
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: You know, coming out of college I was drinking heavily, my mental health wasn't great, I didn't have a community of people out here and so I started hiking a bunch, just getting involved in the outdoor community.
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: And then I met my friend, tim Gore, who had run Leadville the year prior and before that I really didn't know about ultra running.
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: It wasn't a thing that was on my mind at all.
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: I actually thought that that was insane and something that I was never capable of doing.
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: Um and so talking with him he really got me into trail running, not just hiking, and that kind of spiraled into a whole life becomes a life right, so that it's really it's changed my life and I think anybody who has experienced trail running or even just hiking, being outside, being outdoors, moving their body on the trails, can attest to that and what it can give you.
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: So that's kind of the passion of the trails and I think we all relate on that piece.
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: But as far as opening a place like this, like I mentioned, wanting to make it a base camp for people to be able to come and train and experience that so one of the things that I always come back to and think about is we really want this to be a place that's not just for travelers coming from other places, but for our local community too.
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: We want to make it a place where people, no matter how fast, slow, how great you are at running or if you just want to go for a little walk, to be a place for you to come and spend time, um, both if you're from here or not, Um.
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: And one of the ideas I always like to think about is, like for me, you know I work with a running coach, Um, and so she will shout out to Sammy Lewis golden endurance.
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: Um, she will program out, you know, training blocks for me and I love to travel and experience other trails, but say I wanted to go run in, like Tucson, for example, if I didn't know anybody there, um, it would be so hard to take the training that she's written me Right and be able to figure out where I need to go to do that there.
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: Um, and she doesn't know, like she's not from there either.
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: So having a place that people could come and stay, where, like maybe they come in with their own training plan but our team can help them figure out what trails are good for this, what would kind of work, that's kind of a lot.
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: But there's a lot of other reasons probably why we want to do this.
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: One question about you.
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: I noticed you were signed up for Run Rabbit.
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah, are you getting excited?
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: That's such a special race, oh my gosh.
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: I'm very excited.
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: I've had a rough couple of years of running honestly since 2022, I did Cocodona and that kind of destroyed me in a lot of ways, um, and so I'm still trying to, I guess, recover three years later from that um and stay healthy enough to actually get good training in.
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: But I'm very excited for that one Um.
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: I'm going to try not to race until September so that I can enjoy your summer.
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I can actually, yeah, hopefully, be healthy and, um, be ready to line up and feel good about myself when we get to the end I want to ask you more questions about coconut, cause I'm so curious about like not that I'll ever run that race, but I'm just so curious about like miles because it is so far.
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: I think running is a really loose term.
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: Like walking, running, jogging, surviving, but yeah, so Cool.
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: Melissa.
• 12:23
  Speaker 3: What's your?
• 12:23
  Speaker 3: Why so for us?
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: I guess.
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: One thing I forgot to share about Brandon earlier is you know, by trade, he's a physical therapist and something that we both are pretty passionate about is that the outdoors are for everybody.
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: And you know, when you said we we Colorado Springs collectively has this opportunity to kind of be a Mecca Like there's, I remember one time wanting to go for run in Boulder and someone was like, just so you have a heads up like it's, it's not like how it is.
• 12:46
  Speaker 3: Here the trails will be crowded, like they will be populated.
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: Just wrap your mind around that.
• 12:51
  Speaker 3: There's going to be a lot of traffic and that's, that's not it here.
• 12:55
  Speaker 3: You know, you get really used to um, it just being really wide open, even in pretty popular trails, and at the same time you know the goal isn't to overpopulate them.
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: But to share them with people.
• 13:07
  Speaker 3: And I think, with his background, um, as a physical therapist and then mine working with system impacted youth we we see a lot of population that doesn't even have the opportunity to go out and see these things, and so for us it really is like the outdoors are for everybody and I think, especially if you're new into trail running and as big as the sport has gotten, it can be really intimidating at first.
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: You know you might say, gosh, I really want to do this race or I really want to visit here, and you become a little bit of self-conscious about, okay, where do I inquire about things, or is this a silly question?
• 13:41
  Speaker 3: And how do I access these great areas?
• 13:44
  Speaker 3: And you know the apps will take you so far.
• 13:46
  Speaker 3: I mean, there's a lot of technology that does tell you where to go, but it's never going to replace like a local knowledge or somebody who was on that trail yesterday and they know exactly what you're going to be dealing with.
• 13:56
  Speaker 3: And I think for us to be able to have that particular energy and approachability and accessibility for people, whether they're local or from out of town, is really important to us, and so that's really what it is is.
• 14:09
  Speaker 3: You know, we get to share it on a grander scale.
• 14:11
  Speaker 3: I mean, we've, you know, we've had friends come into town and then we take them for a trial and they're like.
• 14:16
  Speaker 3: Oh, my gosh this place is amazing, then we stop every 10 minutes and they're taking photos and you know, it's really exciting and I think that if you get to share that with people that might not always have the opportunity or they're visiting here and it's it's a bucket list vacation, um, or it's somebody local and we have somewhere where they can meet for a group run, um, just to create those different, different layers of community and connection.
• 14:38
  Speaker 3: Is is important to us.
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: That's beautiful, it's funny.
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: On the website I was like it's actually not funny, it's awesome.
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: I the the photo that you used for the.
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: I think it was like the landing page of Heiser.
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: I was like that sums it up perfectly, cause that's like one of the most beautiful trails in Colorado Springs.
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: And no one knows about it.
• 14:53
  Speaker 3: I Springs and no one knows about it.
• 14:58
  Speaker 3: I was like, oh, I saw like one, two people today.
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: It's like a Saturday at 11.
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: AM.
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a beautiful, beautiful location.
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: So let's pivot back to the lodge itself and and I guess, if you want to, we can talk about I think we can get into investment later but like, maybe the plans that you have for this year with it and just growth plans where you want to take it for this year, and then the different investment plans.
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: That would have been, if I remember correctly, it was the peak, it was the bar camp and it was the A-frame, correct?
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we've maybe adjusted it a little bit since then, but we can definitely talk about that towards the end.
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: But yeah, so right now, where we're out of things is we're trying to lock down a property.
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: Um, we don't have that yet.
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: So we are looking for people interested in being part of it that would help us out and want to be part of the legacy of what we're trying to create.
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: Um, in the meantime, while we don't have a property, we're still looking to start to build the community.
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: So this summer we're actually looking to host three different we'll call them camps.
• 16:00
  Speaker 2: So the first one that I'll talk about is with the Pikes Peak Marathon and Ascent.
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: So we're going to host a training camp specifically for people who are interested in doing that race.
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: Maybe they've done it before, maybe they've never done it, maybe they're local or maybe they're from far away.
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: They can be back of the pack or you know every level we're going to accommodate, but essentially, the goal of the camp is to bring people here we're actually going to host out of Buffalo Lodge Bicycle Resort.
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: Shout out to.
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: Tori.
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: Perfect, perfect.
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: So we're excited to host there and, uh, that camp hopefully will include part or if not all of using bar trail and going to the summit, just depending on a few permitting things.
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: But either way, it'll be a great experience for people to come out here get some altitude training.
• 16:47
  Speaker 2: We'll take them up high, whatever that might look like.
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: Uh, they'll likely spend a night at bar camp and get that experience sleeping up high too, and get that experience sleeping up high too.
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: So we'll have different speakers who will be able to talk to.
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: You know, race day, fueling um, racing at altitude, all those strength training for runners, all those different types of topics that could help them in their build either to the race this year or to the race in the future, cause I think that race can be kind of intimidating for people, especially if you're not from here, or even if you are just looking at.
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: I mean, every day, that mountain is shouting down at you and looks like the other day I think there was a cloud covering the middle part of it and I looked up and I'm like, wow, that looks so high.
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: It's really far, yeah Right, and really high.
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: So I think it can be intimidating.
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: So we want to offer something like that that's never been done before, specifically in a partnership with the race.
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: We're going to be a sponsor for them.
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: And so we're working with them.
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: We'll actually be out at Fleet Feet next Friday for the registration kickoff party, so if anyone wants to head out there I think there's a group run they have some raffles.
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: Yeah, this will go out before then, so we'll put up the bat flag, or?
• 17:52
  Speaker 2: bat signal.
• 17:54
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so that's one of the camps, and then one of the, or the second concept that we want to launch this summer is more of a wellness retreat um that incorporates trail running and access to the trails.
• 18:06
  Speaker 3: But maybe it's not people that are looking at as taking as big of a bite as the Pikes Peak marathon or or wanting an ultra experience, but somebody who wants to experience the local trails here, see what um, you know what, what you shared earlier, like what Colorado Springs is all about, but on more of a retreat style, energy um.
• 18:26
  Speaker 3: Included in that would be wellness practices, um, also fueling strategies, but looking at it from more of a holistic standpoint as well.
• 18:33
  Speaker 3: Like feeling the activity, but also how are you feeling in general and for your life standpoint as well.
• 18:37
  Speaker 3: Like feeling the activity, but also how are you feeling in general and for your life.
• 18:39
  Speaker 3: And then, uh, recovery practices with we would offer massages and then other amenities along with that.
• 18:43
  Speaker 3: So that might be targeted a little bit more towards.
• 18:46
  Speaker 3: I mean, it could be locals that just actually want time away and I'm like I never carve out, you know three days for myself where I'm able to just solely focus on.
• 18:54
  Speaker 3: I get to focus on my diet for three days.
• 18:56
  Speaker 3: I get to focus on recovery.
• 18:57
  Speaker 3: I get to be outdoors, or it could be people that have never been here before that did get together with a group of friends and want to experience Colorado Springs in that capacity.
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: That's amazing.
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: I both of them.
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: I love these ideas Like these are.
• 19:09
  Speaker 3: You should do the third one.
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: I don't want to get ahead of myself.
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: So the third one is the ultra Tava tour, and this one we say is not for the faint of heart.
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: Um, brandon is the one who is really developing it.
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: So, if that gives you any idea, there's going to be a lot of vert, big miles, big days and pretty rugged terrain.
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: So the goal of it is really to ring the peak, given there's some limitations right now with that trail as a whole.
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: So a lot of it will be some out and back side excursions, but just know that it is you got to be tough.
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: I like that it's going to be a lot of fun.
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: So there's going to be overnights along the way.
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: You won't do the whole thing in one go.
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: There'll be overnights here.
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: Your gear will get kind of muleed around for you so you won't have to carry everything.
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: But it's going to be awesome.
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: That one's going to be in June.
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: So if you have like a late summer or fall big race that you're training for, that one will really get you get your heart pumping yeah.
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: So we're excited about that one, but that's the one that yeah.
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: You got to tell Brandon to get Zach Miller out there as a guest host there.
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: It'll be kind of fun.
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: And that one will be a little smaller too, so no more than 10 people.
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: We want to keep that one pretty intimate, just because it will be pretty tough days.
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: Super cool.
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: No, these three ideas are amazing.
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: Do you have an idea of when you're going to open registration for them?
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: So we're going to post about them this weekend, get them out in the world.
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: Uh, finally announced and then registration.
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: Hopefully at least for the Pisces marathon camp, will open at the same time that the race does, so March 1st, I believe, is when there's open.
• 20:48
  Speaker 2: So, um, fingers crossed, we can get everything organized and ready to go and open it up then.
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: I love that Cause.
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: It's, you know, 70th anniversary this year.
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: Um, I know Brandon just joined the board, just as I did, so it's.
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: It makes it like I don't know, there's a lot of I don't want to say hype, but hype like we got to make it.
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: There's a lot of like we've got to make this a big year for the, for the race.
• 21:13
  Speaker 2: Um, so yeah, it's really so that one's going to be cool and we have, you know, kurt, my partner and he's, you know, now going to massage therapy school, and so that's something that he's really focusing on, Like how can we make this really beneficial for people?
• 21:23
  Speaker 2: But I did want to mention that for the Pisces Marathon Camp we will be looking for a number of guides to help lead runs for us.
• 21:35
  Speaker 2: So if anybody's interested in getting involved at that level, we will be putting that out into the world as well and hopefully bring some community members in to be a part of that.
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: That's amazing, I love it.
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: Um, I have a question and we can cut this out if you guys don't cause I don't want to pry too deep.
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: You don't have to give me the exact location, but just a tease is like is it Manitou, is it an OCC?
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: Like, oh yeah, okay.
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: We can definitely tell you.
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: So, we're we're pretty stuck on Manitou, Okay.
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: The exact property will just depend on what is available when we excuse me, when we have the, when we have the funds.
• 22:07
  Speaker 2: So there's a property that's available right now that we're pushing hard to get Um, and so if we could go for that one tomorrow, we absolutely would.
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: But we're pretty firm on Manitou.
• 22:17
  Speaker 2: We want the property to be able to check the box of being super close to trail access.
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: We're not willing to bend on that just because that's such a big part of our vision.
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: We want you to be able to leave the front door and be at least a mile or less to be able to get to a trailhead.
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: So Manitou is where we'll be.
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: That's perfect.
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: No, I love it.
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: That's, I mean, at the end of the day, like Manitou is one of the greatest mountain towns in the state, if not the country.
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: In my opinion, I just, you know, love Manitou.
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: It's a good good spot.
• 22:46
  Speaker 2: Yeah, the history of Manitou is amazing and I know Melissa and Brandon I mean continue to bring to the forefront and not let the history get lost.
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: As you know, properties get bought up by big developers or turned into parking lots.
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: We want to keep the history that's there and really highlight that as people come to visit.
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's a true, it's like a true wild place, like I, andrew Sweetinson, the other day, was posting about.
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: Uh, it was mountain lions walking around in his front, you know, in front of his house.
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: Like it's like it's a truly cool place, like why keep it wild?
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: It's awesome.
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: It's awesome Trying to think do we want to?
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: Do you want to talk about the investment structure and what that would look like if for you guys to court investment, like for your different tiers you have, or however you want to do that?
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we can talk about that for sure.
• 23:36
  Speaker 2: So we are, I'll start and say, fairly open to discussion with anybody who would be interested.
• 23:43
  Speaker 2: We definitely have some parameters that we've laid out that we can share, but we are open to creative ideas of how people want to be involved with us.
• 23:52
  Speaker 2: So right now we do have a few levels.
• 23:55
  Speaker 2: The minimum investment we're looking at would be 50 grand and there's different terms with your ROI and term of payment that.
• 24:05
  Speaker 2: If anybody wants more information, it is on our website, tavalodgecom, and then we're happy to talk through it with anybody if they have questions.
• 24:13
  Speaker 2: But if somebody came in with a higher amount as well that they wanted to put down, we are open to different equity discussions and ways for them to be part of what we're doing.
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: So I think that's probably as general as I can say.
• 24:26
  Speaker 2: But we'd love to talk to anybody who is interested and, again, we're pretty flexible with what we're looking for, and another thing that's important to us is that our investors align with our values.
• 24:35
  Speaker 2: So you know, money's great.
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: Yeah, no, no black rock here.
• 24:39
  Speaker 2: Yeah, money talks, but we want to make sure not only does it align with our vision, but that whoever is coming in as an investor has a chance to get to know other investors too and make sure that they're aligned and what they're putting their money towards.
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: So it's something, you know, we were trying to do it today, just it didn't work out with bringing people together, but hopefully we can in the future.
• 24:58
  Speaker 2: If anybody does want to connect with each other, we want to be able to bring you together, and so if that's something that interests, we're trying to host an event that kind of does that too.
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that'd be great, yeah, and that's I mean I feel like it's amazing opportunity to, I don't know, just not just necessarily a group run, but just having opportunities to get people connected.
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: It's more.
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: It just builds more community.
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: Right when you do like you know I don't know things to talk about for the Tava Lodge and just getting that out there.
• 25:27
  Speaker 2: So exactly, and while the biggest piece we need right now is the money to be able to get the property you know it's we still want to meet people who are just interested in the vision.
• 25:31
  Speaker 2: So, even if you don't have the money to put towards an investment, but you're really interested in what we're doing, still reach out to us.
• 25:36
  Speaker 2: We still want to talk to you.
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: We'd still love to share and get your ideas.
• 25:40
  Speaker 2: So don't let the fact that we do need money to make this happen, but just because someone might not have it, doesn't mean we don't want you to be a part of what we're doing.
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah, no, it's amazing.
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: It's amazing, melissa.
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: Do you have anything to add to this?
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: What are your thoughts on it?
• 25:56
  Speaker 3: I think what's exciting about it right now is we've been really impressed with the level of community that we've encountered so far early on.
• 26:04
  Speaker 3: So one of the things that we, I think initially when we started we were like, okay, we really want to secure property and like that's, that's our like utmost priority.
• 26:13
  Speaker 3: And then, when we weren't able to secure one immediately, then we were thinking, okay, should we pivot and go ahead and put out these visions for these camps this summer?
• 26:21
  Speaker 3: And that's when you partnered with Tori at Buffalo lodge and so just to have that like it's not like, oh man, there's going to be another place that's opening to Manitou.
• 26:29
  Speaker 3: It was more like, oh yes, there's space.
• 26:31
  Speaker 3: And now we have an opportunity to collaborate as two hospitality companies and work off of each other and help each other and promote one another.
• 26:39
  Speaker 3: And when we don't, you know, eventually if we have a property and don't have space, like we can refer them to her or again she's hosting us for these three upcoming camps.
• 26:47
  Speaker 3: And I think that that's that's what's so welcoming about it is that there is this community and there's space for all of it, and so I think that that's been like a really welcomed response that we've seen so far.
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: Sorry, I just see so much growth potential, like one of the things I was thinking about and this is like totally unrelated but or kind of but like when you put up the peak, you're like tiers of investment.
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: It got me thinking.
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: I was like, huh, like, if they grow, like, why don't they just see if they could acquire bar camp?
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: Like that would be sick if you guys could operate something like or like have different stages or like different tiers.
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: Because, like, as an elite athlete, like one of the things I think of is like all right, if I'm training for this race, I've never run pikes, but, like, if I'm training for it, I have to spend a ton of time, like an enormous amount of time, up above tree line to get fit for it and get altitude adjusted, and you know the only way to do that is spend more time up there.
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: So that's, you know it's one opportunity.
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: So I thought it was kind of I don't know it's throwing that one out there.
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, um, one of the things I did talk about, because we talked about like inclusivity and making sure this was available to everybody, um, in all different levels.
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: It doesn't matter who you, if you're from town or out of town, but one of the things I also cause, like there are elite, a lot of elite athletes that listen to this.
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: One of the things that you did put on the website was attracting elite athletes to come and train and spend time here.
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: Can you, can you, can you sell that a little bit?
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: Cause, like that's one of the things I want to sell hard is like get more people, or at least get more elites like, out here to come and train and see the Springs and, you know, possibly put down roots here.
• 28:19
  Speaker 3: Yeah Well, and I think you know targeting that particular market, or if I think about elite athletes, they're typically part of a team and so when they have a team of people that are coming out, if there's a particular brand or particular team that's coming out to do that, you know there's always an option of renting like a giant VRBO for them.
• 28:36
  Speaker 3: Or maybe they're spread out a little bit and the transportation can be like a lot of your time is planning the logistics, and when you have limited time as an elite athlete and you're trying to work within the parameters of the team that you're on, if there is a one place, destination where you're able to go and all of your lodging is within, you know, in the same property as each other.
• 28:56
  Speaker 3: And our vision is again we've got this common space or community space like what greater space for a team to be able to meet, and then people also have their individual rooms and private areas where they can rest and recover and do what they need to.
• 29:09
  Speaker 3: But it's, you know, just as much as it is kind of that all inclusive experience for somebody who maybe has never stepped foot on a trail and wants to know where do I go?
• 29:18
  Speaker 3: Oh, I can get a recovery service here.
• 29:21
  Speaker 3: How great.
• 29:21
  Speaker 3: Give me some local information.
• 29:23
  Speaker 3: The same can be appealing to a team or an individual elite athlete who comes down and is like, wow, you know, here I am in Manitou and I'm less than a mile from the trailhead, I don't have to worry about any transportation, I don't have to worry about any parking, I don't have to manage any of the logistics.
• 29:38
  Speaker 3: And then again, if you're traveling in more, more than one or as a team, that that collective nature that you want to operate in and be together like we, would be able to meet that need.
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah, the cohesiveness to like for for the team to be able to be there.
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: Well, the thing I think of too is like when the you know several years that we've had the Golden Trail Series here and with Solomon, and like the athletes were kind of spread out, like some of them were trying to remember, it was like the lot, like it's like down the way and like further out in Manitou and there was some people like almost borderline OCC.
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: So it was like much more spread out with the athletes.
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: So I was like this would be perfect if we have I don't know, depending on how the race plays out over the next few years and how things happen like it's just a perfect idea if you're, you know, for people listening, like if you want to come and do this race, it's perfect, you know, to come to it.
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: One of the things I'd actually brought up and I don't think this is like too crazy of an idea, but like broken arrow does um, like elite housing and it's much more accessible for anyone coming out there If someone wants to offer a couch or a spare room or something like that, and that's something I want to bring to Pike's Peak, like to be able to have something like so, like that's just a perfect, beautiful partnership is to, you know, have an opportunity for athletes to come out and have a place to stay.
• 30:49
  Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely Well, and I you know, especially when you're competing in a particular level, you're so much of your time and energy is going into a lot of other things you need to focus on, and this seems to be low hanging fruit that we can eliminate by just having one place.
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: Yeah, no, I agree.
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: And then not just the elites too.
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: One of the things I was thinking about was this was a last winter we doing uh, I think I was getting ready for the um, what is it?
• 31:13
  Speaker 3: The Winter Pikes Peak Marathon, oh, yeah, march 15th, that's right, march 15th coming up.
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: Snowiest month.
• 31:19
  Speaker 1: If you're brave enough to survive, then come out and do it.
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: And I can't remember if it was like it was one of the times I'd ran up to Bar Camp and I just remember, like every time I go up there, like there's even in winter, I run into a lot of like surprisingly.
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: So I feel like that, um, the lodge chalet approach is a very it's a good sell and an easy sell for those that want to.
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: You know, because there's nothing like that in america, where not too many things like that, where there's that like chalet where you come and stay and it's all taken care of for you, you know, um, whereas in europe it's it's on every hilltop or every few miles there's always a base camp somewhere yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: So this is our version of that, which is so cool.
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: So yeah, can I add one?
• 32:02
  Speaker 2: thing, mm-hmm.
• 32:02
  Speaker 2: So one of the things that we want to have there too is athletic recovery services.
• 32:06
  Speaker 2: So a one-stop shop as well for anybody staying there to be able to book your massage services, to use the Norma Tech boots, cold plunge sauna those types of things we want to have on site so that you know it'll help people recover in whatever level of adventure they're doing.
• 32:22
  Speaker 2: So that's just another piece of the base camp we want to create.
• 32:24
  Speaker 2: But I also wanted to mention um, we're working with rad Boulder for our camps, for catering.
• 32:29
  Speaker 2: I don't know if you've heard of Kelly uh, but she real athlete diets.
• 32:33
  Speaker 2: It's amazing.
• 32:34
  Speaker 2: She does mostly now, mostly now catering for events and things like that, but she's also done meals for athletes elite athletes while they're training and if they're visiting Boulder, then making sure that they don't have to think about that, and this would be a progression down the road.
• 32:48
  Speaker 2: We're not going to have it immediately, but I think that would be so cool If we have that common space with a kitchen area that we can then also provide for any elites that are training there or anybody who wants to pay for that service to have, you know, nutritious, filling meals that'll help them in whatever block they're working on.
• 33:04
  Speaker 2: I think would be really cool.
• 33:05
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, really channeling that that whole base camp feel where you're in this one place and you've had everything you need and, like Melissa said, you don't have to think beyond that.
• 33:13
  Speaker 2: We'll help you with whatever it.
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: As things start to expand.
• 33:23
  Speaker 1: With that, I just think there's going to be so many more opportunities and more people coming to town.
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: It'll attract more, which just sets up just a great opportunity for people to find the lodge.
• 33:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and not even just Pikes Peak Marathon.
• 33:35
  Speaker 2: But when you think about the number of trail races now in the Springs or even within an hour drive, you've got AeroViper races here, revenant running Mad Moose, and every day there's something new popping up.
• 33:45
  Speaker 2: So even beyond the pisces marathon being the flagship race in the springs, there's so many other things that people might want to come and spend time on the trails to get ready for.
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: So lots of opportunity there yeah, yeah, our access is just like to be able to get to 14 or like so easily.
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's hard to beat.
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: Yeah, pretty sweet.
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: What else did we?
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: What else did we not cover?
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: What else we?
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: I want to continue to add on this um, I think we did a pretty good job hitting everything, so I guess maybe we didn't really talk about, just like, the property itself oh yeah.
• 34:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I wasn't sure how much you wanted to go into it, so take it away I won't talk specifics about what we're looking at, but what we're looking for, um is a place.
• 34:25
  Speaker 2: Well, we really like properties that have kind of separate units that have maybe even little kitchenettes in them, so that people can spend significant time and be able to do whatever they need to do in their own space.
• 34:36
  Speaker 2: But we're looking for something that's maybe like 12 to 25 rooms or units freestanding or not, free standing or not and, like Melissa said, have a common space that people can come together, meet, with potentially some extra space for those recovery services One of the ideas too.
• 34:53
  Speaker 2: That would be great, and, of course, this is all property dependent, so some of these things are just pipe dreams till we actually find out what we're able to obtain.
• 35:00
  Speaker 2: But have like a gym space that even we could have like a local PT base out of right, and so if people do come to town and they're training, they have that easy access for PT services even, or access to a weight room strength training area.
• 35:13
  Speaker 2: No treadmill, because I don't believe in them.
• 35:16
  Speaker 2: I'm just kidding, I do believe in them for their purpose.
• 35:19
  Speaker 2: But you know, if you're here visiting and you have the training.
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: You're not going to be on a treadmill if you're here.
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: No treadmill.
• 35:28
  Speaker 2: But treadmill, but that's kind of the property we're looking at and and there's a few in manitou that kind of fit the bill um, but it'll be more of that.
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: Yeah, hotel, motel type type property nice, have you talked to anyone yet?
• 35:36
  Speaker 1: Is anyone any any conversation so far, or is it still still kind of feeling it out with that?
• 35:42
  Speaker 2: yeah, we have gone to see a couple that we just weren't quite ready, uh, to go in on that then turned hands and sold but, like I said, there's the one right now.
• 35:51
  Speaker 2: I don't to be able to get that property then something else will work out, and it's just about being patient and waiting for it to be because we don't want to just get any property Like, we want it to be something special and we want it to fit what we want to offer.
• 36:14
  Speaker 2: So we're not willing to just kind of jump on anything.
• 36:17
  Speaker 2: So patience is key, I think, and when the timing works out for it, we'll be ready to go.
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I want to talk a little bit more into, like specific roles, because I know we briefly touched on what you would be doing.
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: I wanted to kind of go more into like what you guys will be doing daily activities.
• 36:33
  Speaker 2: make sure you know everything's operating from the business perspective, um, and then my partner Kurt will be the property manager, um, as well as oversee all of the recovery services side of things, and so we will hopefully be on site 24 seven.
• 37:01
  Speaker 3: I guess not.
• 37:02
  Speaker 3: I mean we'll be on site.
• 37:03
  Speaker 2: We're maybe not working 24 seven, but but we look to be living on site Living on site.
• 37:09
  Speaker 2: We'll hopefully live on site.
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: You'll be around.
• 37:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we'll be around all the time.
• 37:14
  Speaker 3: That would hopefully become our full-time gig to be able to take care and help people out with that, and then so for myself, melissa, I would be the operations manager, and so that's looking at a lot of the logistics, making sure that everything is streamlined in terms of planning, looking at the details with maybe the different retreats and camps that we have, and partnering with Morgan to see where we need to fill in.
• 37:38
  Speaker 3: The beauty of things being in Manitou and then also Brandon and myself being Manitou residents, is, you know, we've got four people that more or less like the 24 hours won't only be Morgan.
• 37:48
  Speaker 3: Um, but you know, but we're, we're accessible.
• 37:52
  Speaker 3: There's a bill, yeah, and part of it and again showcasing like that commitment into the community.
• 37:56
  Speaker 3: Uh, part of the operations piece too.
• 37:59
  Speaker 3: Aside from, you know we've got our general day-to-day hospitality and you know we we may have I mean, this is not a property that is exclusive to trail runners right?
• 38:08
  Speaker 3: If there's cyclists that want to come, we're going to have those resources.
• 38:11
  Speaker 3: If there's somebody who's here that wants to not be on the trails at all and they want to experience Manitou, like we are available and so it really is just kind of a yes place for hospitality, then with the operations, I think an additional piece maybe that we didn't focus on a ton is what other things are we going to be able to do in the community that don't necessarily involve somebody coming and staying?
• 38:32
  Speaker 3: I know we've, we've floated like we really want to have like a weekly group run where people are able to meet and connect and they've got a place to go.
• 38:39
  Speaker 3: Um, so just kind of managing operations.
• 38:42
  Speaker 3: In that capacity, brandon is our community manager and so with his expertise on the trails and passion for sharing that, he'll be a mastermind behind a lot of the logistics that are when you were on the trail.
• 38:55
  Speaker 3: What does that look like?
• 38:56
  Speaker 3: What are the things that we need, what are new ideas that we have Like, what's it?
• 39:00
  Speaker 3: What's a new concept that maybe we want to, we want to float and see if it, if it lands with people.
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: That's amazing.
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: No, I, I, I think you laid it out perfectly, so thank you for that.
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: I do want to double back to Rad Boulder, cause I thought that was a really cool idea to be able to provide the meals.
• 39:13
  Speaker 1: It's almost like one of those things where, like once you guys get like really set up and established like you should have, you can have like nutrition companies, like giving you guys stuff to be able to provide to these athletes and stuff like that, which would be kind of cool as well.
• 39:24
  Speaker 3: Well, and to piggyback off of the rad piece, I mean in that common area we can have that, we can almost have like this I don't know what word I used before but like just this little corner where we're able to have a bunch of backup nutrition and hand flasks and hats and all those small things that you might have forgotten when you packed and then now you've got that available.
• 39:46
  Speaker 1: Yeah, actually, that'd be cool.
• 39:48
  Speaker 1: I can get UD to donate some soft flasks and some packs and stuff.
• 39:52
  Speaker 1: It'd be dope.
• 39:52
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I saw that.
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: Partnership Congratulations.
• 39:54
  Speaker 1: Oh, thank you, thank you.
• 39:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, and I think too, with the, melissa said something that triggered something in my mind about the community of we want to host those group runs, but we want people to be able to start and end their runs there too, right, so, having that little front office shop or refreshments or light beverages or whatever, we want people to be able to park there, know that it's a safe place to leave your car, which can be challenging stuff and manage it.
• 40:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah, um, and just start.
• 40:20
  Speaker 2: And your other, we want to talk with you.
• 40:21
  Speaker 2: You we want to know how your run was, you know?
• 40:23
  Speaker 2: So really having it be a place that people can just spend some time here, locally too.
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: I mean I see it as being the center, one of the centers, of the running community.
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: Like we, that's what we need.
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: You know, like yes, there's a lot of like specialty running stores and things like that, and that's beautiful and great.
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: Um, like I personally work a lot with like Colorado running company, it's amazing, but at the end of the bit different, where it's more of a meeting place, but it's also like there it's right in Manitou, you know, and like we don't have a running store in Manitou, like we don't have you know anything, really like a lot of things that are runner based specifically in Manitou.
• 40:57
  Speaker 1: So this is like fits that, so perfectly yeah.
• 41:01
  Speaker 1: Thank you, yeah Um all right, so I'll let you take it away.
• 41:05
  Speaker 1: Take it away with social media and how to one.
• 41:08
  Speaker 1: If you're an investor and you're interested in investing, or if you maybe don't have those funds and still want to inquire how you know, or if you're just a person that wants to know more, how do they find you?
• 41:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so you can find us on Instagram.
• 41:20
  Speaker 2: So we're most active on social media.
• 41:22
  Speaker 2: Tava Lodge is our handle.
• 41:24
  Speaker 2: You can also reach out to any of us individually.
• 41:28
  Speaker 2: You'll see we did some meet the teams and we're all kind of tagged on them.
• 41:30
  Speaker 2: So if you want to talk with Melissa or I more in depth, you can DM us directly or just DM the Tava Lodge Instagram and then we also have info at tavallodgecom.
• 41:40
  Speaker 2: That's our email address if anybody wants to send us an email.
• 41:43
  Speaker 2: And then our website is just tavallagecom Super simple.
• 41:47
  Speaker 2: On the website it's mostly directed at investment information.
• 41:51
  Speaker 2: So if you look at it, it's not set up for anybody to book a room or anything.
• 41:55
  Speaker 2: So just keep that in mind when you go there.
• 41:56
  Speaker 2: We will have a page for our events that people can get to to see more information and sign up for those.
• 42:02
  Speaker 2: But if you do go to the page it'll have all the investment information you need.
• 42:10
  Speaker 2: So if you're interested in investing, that's the best spot for you to kind of see just a quick snapshot.
• 42:12
  Speaker 2: But, like I mentioned, open to conversation, would love to have that conversation.
• 42:14
  Speaker 2: Even if you don't think it's a good fit, we still want to talk with you and just kind of see what you're thinking and what you think about the vision of what we're trying to do, and then, if you are not interested in investing, we still want to hear from you, still want to interact with you on Instagram and see what our running community is up to, and if you have any ideas or things that you want to see out of a place like this, we would love to hear from you and help bring that to life.
• 42:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I just thought of something we got to talk to Hannah Allgood and get like the Terex team out here Like that'd be a great opportunity.
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: That would be awesome Get them staying at you guys' place.
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: Who came up with the name?
• 42:46
  Speaker 2: It was a brainstorm sesh.
• 42:47
  Speaker 2: I don't know who it ended up being.
• 42:49
  Speaker 2: Who gets credited for it?
• 42:51
  Speaker 2: I feel like it might have been Brandon in the end.
• 42:53
  Speaker 2: Probably he's our creative.
• 42:55
  Speaker 2: I like it.
• 42:56
  Speaker 1: I like it.
• 42:56
  Speaker 1: I was just going to say it's simple, straight to the point.
• 42:58
  Speaker 1: Like it's not like.
• 42:59
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's Tava Lodge, yeah, so I guess that's.
• 43:02
  Speaker 2: That's important to us too is just recognizing the history of the mountain and being Tava Mountain, which is Sun Mountain, named by the native Ute people, and so we want to respect the mountain and make sure that we call attention to what it is and the history behind it.
• 43:15
  Speaker 2: So it was important to us to use the name Tava and at least when we're you know referring to the mountain as much as possible, you know referring to it as Tava.
• 43:24
  Speaker 1: No, I like that.
• 43:24
  Speaker 1: I think the name was hit it out of the park.
• 43:26
  Speaker 1: Perfect.
• 43:27
  Speaker 1: Well, guys, thank you so much.
• 43:30
  Speaker 1: I feel like we hit this pretty good.
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: I want to talk a little bit about running.
• 43:33
  Speaker 1: So you got to run rabbit coming up, melissa, what do you?
• 43:38
  Speaker 3: what do you got coming up?
• 43:39
  Speaker 3: Well, I have favorite races in Colorado that I do want to get back to you.
• 43:42
  Speaker 3: Okay, Brandon and I are actually expecting.
• 43:45
  Speaker 1: Oh, my gosh Congratulations.
• 43:46
  Speaker 1: Thank you, and you've heard it here first.
• 43:49
  Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, you actually, you actually have heard it here first, um, but we, yeah, so for us that there's, you know there's there's a little bit of a delay, um, but some of my favorite things here in Colorado are I, I love San Juan solstice.
• 44:03
  Speaker 3: Um, that's like a run I will always go back to.
• 44:05
  Speaker 3: And I love San Juan Solstice that's like a run I will always go back to.
• 44:07
  Speaker 3: And I love Telluride Mountain Run Like I will always go back there.
• 44:09
  Speaker 3: So those are kind of like I don't know.
• 44:11
  Speaker 3: I think it always is a good thing if you stay somewhere or if you participate in a race, if you're willing to go back.
• 44:16
  Speaker 3: I think that that's something that's pretty special.
• 44:20
  Speaker 3: So those are my favorite things in Colorado.
• 44:21
  Speaker 3: He's not got anything on the schedule this year, but I know that he's.
• 44:30
  Speaker 3: Um, we were down at high five last year and that is a really unique.
• 44:32
  Speaker 3: Uh, again, like, when I think about a running community, that is that is what I envision here, but probably just on a larger scale, considering like we're actually, you know, in like a metropolitan area, but just the close knit, the respect for one another, just everybody wanting every other person to to win and being uniquely invested in their success um is something really special, and I think that that particular race really showcases it.
• 44:58
  Speaker 1: Have you been down there?
• 44:59
  Speaker 1: I've not, can you?
• 45:00
  Speaker 1: I was just going to say, can you, can you talk about what high five is?
• 45:02
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and I mean to be clear, like I've not run it, this is great, I don't know much.
• 45:06
  Speaker 3: Okay, so this is a degree removed, but we went down last year and basically there's a certain number of peaks that you have to complete.
• 45:13
  Speaker 3: It's an unmarked course, but five of those peaks are 14ers, and so that's where high five comes from.
• 45:19
  Speaker 3: And so, unmarked course, and then you run.
• 45:24
  Speaker 3: You have to hit all the checkpoints.
• 45:25
  Speaker 3: Maybe it was between like 30 or 40.
• 45:29
  Speaker 3: And so you have a bib that has, let's say, it's 40, you've got 40 squares, and then you color them in with a different color marker.
• 45:36
  Speaker 3: That's at each checkpoint when you go.
• 45:37
  Speaker 3: And I think what's special about it is, again, it's not marked and not supported, and so it really appeals to people that also like to throw in the navigation piece.
• 45:46
  Speaker 3: And and at the same time you also collaborate with other runners when you're, when you're out there, the field is really small.
• 45:53
  Speaker 3: I I would probably compare it more to a fat ass style vibe Um, and it's just.
• 45:58
  Speaker 3: It's really special because the you know, the fishing machine rate isn't particularly high.
• 46:04
  Speaker 1: It's pretty brutal.
• 46:05
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's pretty brutal and you know you're, you're in the mountains and July and you're going to hit weather and there's a lot of factors that can go into it, but you're also, you're also in Lake city and it's gorgeous and you get to experience the mountains in like the best way possible.
• 46:21
  Speaker 3: Um, so I think that that's a pretty special place to be.
• 46:24
  Speaker 1: It sounds like.
• 46:25
  Speaker 1: It's like a hard rock for if you don't want to do the lottery kind of thing, it sounds pretty cool.
• 46:29
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I like that.
• 46:30
  Speaker 1: Um, yeah, it's, it's, I don't know.
• 46:35
  Speaker 1: The San Juans are special place.
• 46:36
  Speaker 3: They are, it's like they're just different.
• 46:39
  Speaker 1: Like I love Pikes or Tava, Every time I run up there.
• 46:43
  Speaker 1: It's such a special mountain, but it's not.
• 46:47
  Speaker 1: The San Juans are actually really wild and tough.
• 46:49
  Speaker 1: It's a different place.
• 46:50
  Speaker 3: I guess all three races I referenced were in the San Juans.
• 46:52
  Speaker 3: I'm very passionate about here and this community and I love going there.
• 46:58
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and TMR is a special one.
• 47:00
  Speaker 1: At Toner.
• 47:00
  Speaker 1: I was a little bummed that they're experiencing some issues.
• 47:04
  Speaker 1: I talked to the race director because I tried to get him on.
• 47:06
  Speaker 1: I was like do you want to come on and talk about this?
• 47:07
  Speaker 1: Didn't want to come on and talk about it, so he's just going to figure it out in his own way, which is totally fine.
• 47:13
  Speaker 1: However, you want to do it.
• 47:14
  Speaker 1: But yeah, I feel bad.
• 47:19
  Speaker 3: Like.
• 47:19
  Speaker 3: I just hope they don't squeeze that Right.
• 47:21
  Speaker 1: I hate seeing races, it's amazing yeah.
• 47:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it would be.
• 47:25
  Speaker 1: It would be a bummer, like one of the things I think the next, one of the next iterations of this podcast is I'm eventually going to start a race, probably not here, but somewhere in Colorado and like one.
• 47:34
  Speaker 1: It's not going to be like an ultra race or a 20.
• 47:38
  Speaker 1: Well, it's going to be a VK is what I want to do, cause we need more VKs.
• 47:41
  Speaker 1: Right, right, yes, and listen, I have scouted everywhere around here and there's just like nowhere where you could have a VK in the springs.
• 47:48
  Speaker 1: Like it's just not possible.
• 47:49
  Speaker 1: Like you could find 3,000 foot climbs, but how are you going to get people down?
• 47:52
  Speaker 1: That's you know, we need like a ski lift of some kind or something.
• 47:56
  Speaker 1: So, yeah, I think that I don't know to see that get squeezed out.
• 48:00
  Speaker 1: It's like, man, like another grassroots event would go, and I just hate seeing that.
• 48:04
  Speaker 1: So, yeah, I'm off my soapbox now.
• 48:09
  Speaker 1: Um, let's talk, let's talk.
• 48:11
  Speaker 1: Uh, I almost said speed goat, it's not, it's uh, run rabbit.
• 48:14
  Speaker 1: Um, you're excited for it.
• 48:17
  Speaker 1: You said you really want to do it.
• 48:19
  Speaker 1: Um, when was the last time?
• 48:20
  Speaker 1: Oh, that's what I wanted to get to.
• 48:22
  Speaker 1: I'm sorry, I can edit this.
• 48:23
  Speaker 1: Uh, coca dona.
• 48:24
  Speaker 1: Um, was what I wanted to actually ask, actually ask you about like, what was, what was that experience like?
• 48:28
  Speaker 1: And like running 250 miles.
• 48:30
  Speaker 1: How do you even prepare for a race like that?
• 48:32
  Speaker 2: I don't know, um no.
• 48:36
  Speaker 2: So yeah, I don't, I I don't.
• 48:38
  Speaker 2: Sometimes I look back at that and I I believe that it was a dream or hallucination, because I'm not really sure how I did that.
• 48:46
  Speaker 2: But my preparation I don't know.
• 48:49
  Speaker 2: I was working with a coach at the time, so there was some plan behind it, but I would say it probably wasn't the best layout that I could have done, and that was before working with my current coach, so it's not on her.
• 49:03
  Speaker 2: But I did a lot like back-to-back long days.
• 49:06
  Speaker 2: I probably did more running than I should have done.
• 49:09
  Speaker 2: I should have done more hiking and back-to-back, maybe some like backpacking days.
• 49:14
  Speaker 2: But, um, I kind of jumped into Cocodona because I was working with Arab IPA at the time and one of the great things about working with Arab IPA is race entries.
• 49:24
  Speaker 2: That's right.
• 49:24
  Speaker 2: And um, that's one of the ones where they only allow, you know, one staff person per year to do it, and so I was kind of like expecting somebody else to want to do it, cause it was the second year and only Jamil had done it to that point and nobody else like threw their name in the hat.
• 49:40
  Speaker 2: So I was like, f it, I'll do it.
• 49:42
  Speaker 2: And so I just kind of I I won it, but, um, it was awesome.
• 49:50
  Speaker 2: I mean, I I think that everybody should open their mind to a 200 plus race.
• 49:54
  Speaker 2: It was a very interesting experience for me.
• 49:57
  Speaker 2: It's a lot of time in your own head and in a lot of pain.
• 50:03
  Speaker 2: Um, I don't mind being in pain.
• 50:05
  Speaker 2: I would much rather be in pain than be sick to my stomach, which is the more recent issue I have with ultras.
• 50:12
  Speaker 2: So I was happy to have that style of pain.
• 50:15
  Speaker 2: But, um, what was really cool about it, too, was I didn't do it with uh pacers.
• 50:18
  Speaker 2: I ended up having a couple of people that jumped in.
• 50:20
  Speaker 2: I was supposed to run with my friend, uh Tim, but he actually dropped out fairly early.
• 50:25
  Speaker 2: So our plan got derailed because, uh, we were just gonna kind of trail nap together and feel safe.
• 50:33
  Speaker 2: I was going to feel safe because we were going to be together, but then I lost him.
• 50:36
  Speaker 2: So then I had no plan for sleep, I had no plan for pacers.
• 50:40
  Speaker 2: So, um, it was a lot of solo time but it was cool Cause in that like length of race you kind of pace up with people similar to you and so you kind of see the same people you know back up like on the trail.
• 50:51
  Speaker 2: And so I found this one guy, nick.
• 50:53
  Speaker 2: He was literally my savior and every night, cause you get hit that witching hour where it's like horrible to be out there by yourself.
• 51:00
  Speaker 2: It's scary, it's you're so tired Like you don't know up from down or if you're going the right direction, and and it always seemed like at that time I would sync up with him and he would like be my savior.
• 51:12
  Speaker 2: So it's just a cool experience.
• 51:14
  Speaker 2: I definitely think everybody should give it a try, even if it seems like outrageous.
• 51:18
  Speaker 1: How long did you go without sleeping?
• 51:20
  Speaker 2: So I probably slept in total like seven hours, which is actually a lot.
• 51:25
  Speaker 1: It takes like a week to finish that race right or something.
• 51:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah I finished in 115 hours oh my gosh, I can't imagine being out there for that long.
• 51:34
  Speaker 1: That is so crazy yeah, and that's actually.
• 51:36
  Speaker 2: I feel like that was a lot of sleep, because, like, because I was scared to sleep on the trail, I waited till I got to eight stations, as much as I could, and then I would try to sleep like two hours, um, because otherwise I was not well, I bet, yeah.
• 51:49
  Speaker 2: So I think, like I mean the, the like elites who do those races they barely sleep, like yeah, I can't imagine.
• 51:58
  Speaker 1: What does your body and your brain?
• 51:59
  Speaker 2: like I don't know yeah something needs to be studied pretty crazy um, one more question about it.
• 52:05
  Speaker 1: It was just like from a brain perspective, like how are you not thinking about Flagstaff the whole time?
• 52:12
  Speaker 1: Like are you just like breaking it up?
• 52:13
  Speaker 1: Like all right, let me just get to this next aid station, and then that, because it's so far, like I would, I would just drop out because I'm like I can't, this is too far, it's crazy.
• 52:21
  Speaker 2: Definitely chunking it.
• 52:22
  Speaker 2: Um, I hadn't done a hundred mile.
• 52:25
  Speaker 2: I've actually never finished a hundred mile.
• 52:26
  Speaker 2: I DNF high, low this summer, so my longest run before Cocodona was a hundred K um black Canyon and so I didn't even know what to expect.
• 52:39
  Speaker 2: So it was pretty crazy when you hit the a hundred mile marker and you're like.
• 52:41
  Speaker 2: I'm not even halfway yet, so I think it is important just to to chunk it out and just go to the next.
• 52:46
  Speaker 2: There were only really like two super dark spots where I even thought about dropping, where it was like I'm not far enough in this to feel this bad.
• 52:53
  Speaker 2: Um, but luckily with a race that length, like you have that time to recover.
• 52:59
  Speaker 2: So even if you are super dark and in the pit, you can kind of take your time more than you can during a shorter ultra to like I would go into an aid station and be like I need a total refresh, and then my crew would be like, lay me down, put a blanket over my head.
• 53:17
  Speaker 2: One of my coworkers.
• 53:18
  Speaker 2: Now I work with a government contractor so, like most people aren't don't know about ultras right in that world, and so I was trying to explain to my coworker what it was like to do Cocodona and there's no words to be able to describe it to somebody who's not in the ultra world.
• 53:30
  Speaker 2: So I just sent him a picture and it's just me in a like lawn chair with like a blanket over my head and my taped feet just sticking out from under the blanket, and I'm like.
• 53:38
  Speaker 2: That pretty much sums up like my experience at Cocodona.
• 53:51
  Speaker 1: At what point did your feet like start to because I know that feeling when you're like I've, the farthest I've ever run was 50k and like your feet, your legs, they hurt.
• 53:54
  Speaker 1: It's horrible like I can't imagine running 50 miles, let alone.
• 53:55
  Speaker 1: At what point in time do your legs like start to like hurt, like super like intensely?
• 53:57
  Speaker 2: this is why I feel like it was a dream, because they did hurt.
• 54:01
  Speaker 2: Don't get me wrong.
• 54:01
  Speaker 2: There were times that I just like wanted to sit down on a rock and not move for a while, but for the most part I actually felt really good.
• 54:08
  Speaker 2: Um, I only had some blister issues where I actually like, in the middle of the trail, how to stop and cut out the side of the toe box of my shoe.
• 54:15
  Speaker 2: Luckily I had like a little pair of scissors and I just cut out a quarter of my shoe and it was fine.
• 54:21
  Speaker 2: Um, but I the craziest running experience I ever had was the end of Cocodona.
• 54:26
  Speaker 2: So I had convinced my best friend to pace me that end part, where you climb Eldon and then you come down into Flagstaff and finish.
• 54:34
  Speaker 2: And I was like, don't worry, I'll be 225 miles into this race.
• 54:39
  Speaker 2: By then she hadn't been running, she had just had a baby, like I don't know however many months prior.
• 54:43
  Speaker 2: And I was like, don't worry, I'll be crawling, I'll be going so slow.
• 54:47
  Speaker 2: And she was like okay, I didn't tell her that we were climbing a mountain either.
• 54:51
  Speaker 2: So um took her up Eldon and she was pissed at me for that.
• 54:56
  Speaker 2: But then I had this like euphoric.
• 54:58
  Speaker 2: I've never been able to find this again.
• 55:08
  Speaker 2: Running since that moment, like I had this energy blast that was like so crazy to have at the end of a race like that and just blasted down Eldon and I dropped her and she was so upset with me but that but that was like that's really the only part of Cocodona that I remember was like that euphoric feeling of sailing down the back of Eldon, being like I just ran 250 miles and I'm running like an eight, 30 pace which you know, not fast to elite, but like at that point it's pretty fast, it's 250 miles.
• 55:34
  Speaker 2: I'd be crawling, that's so I think I blacked out everything else.
• 55:37
  Speaker 2: Like I don't know, like I don't really remember my legs hurting that much to make me want to stop.
• 55:43
  Speaker 1: It's an incredible thing.
• 55:44
  Speaker 1: I can't wait to follow the live stream again Like I said to make me want to stop.
• 55:46
  Speaker 1: It's an incredible thing.
• 55:46
  Speaker 1: I can't wait to follow the live stream again.
• 55:47
  Speaker 1: Like I said, I have no intentions of ever running anything like that, but it's just.
• 55:49
  Speaker 1: It's great, great television Like it's.
• 55:50
  Speaker 1: It's so fun to follow along.
• 55:52
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and they're doing.
• 55:53
  Speaker 2: They have a documentary coming out that they're actually premiering here in the race and it's about the story and Dylan Harris is the filmmaker and I worked with Dylan at Arab Ipa and he's an amazing storyteller.
• 56:14
  Speaker 2: I cry every, every well one.
• 56:18
  Speaker 2: I cry every like endurance film that I watch, but especially his.
• 56:22
  Speaker 2: They really hit me in the feels.
• 56:23
  Speaker 2: So if anyone wants to check that out, I think it'd be really good.
• 56:26
  Speaker 1: Spirit of Dylan dude.
• 56:27
  Speaker 1: He's amazing, like his stuff is awesome.
• 56:29
  Speaker 1: Well, guys, thank you so much for coming on the podcast.
• 56:31
  Speaker 1: I appreciate it.
• 56:32
  Speaker 1: This is an amazing conversation Shout out to Tava Lodge.
• 56:35
  Speaker 1: I'm so excited for what you're building in the community and I can't wait to see it grow and, you know, turn Colorado Springs and Manitou like into the in the mountain running community like into the in the mountain running community.
• 56:46
  Speaker 1: It should be awesome.
• 56:46
  Speaker 2: Well, thanks for having us on.
• 56:47
  Speaker 2: We're really excited about it and hopefully, if you guys are interested, reach out to us and we'd love to get everybody involved.
• 56:51
  Speaker 1: Definitely.
• 56:52
  Speaker 1: Thanks, guys.
• 56:52
  Speaker 1: What'd you guys think?
• 56:54
  Speaker 1: Oh man, I am so excited for this project and I'm so excited for what the team is building right now.
• 57:00
  Speaker 1: I hope you guys enjoyed this episode.
• 57:01
  Speaker 1: I really want to thank Morgan and Melissa so much for coming on.
• 57:04
  Speaker 1: I do want to give a shout out to Morgan, melissa, kurt and Brandon.
• 57:08
  Speaker 1: If you guys are interested and have any questions, I want to learn more.
• 57:12
  Speaker 1: Like Morgan said on the podcast, you can give them a direct message on Instagram.
• 57:19
  Speaker 1: You can hop on and give them a follow.
• 57:21
  Speaker 1: You can find them at Tava Lodge Very simple, just T-A-V-A-L-O-D-G-E on Instagram.
• 57:27
  Speaker 1: If you have more questions, send them a DM directly or hop on the website and you can reach out to them individually.
• 57:35
  Speaker 1: Like I said, you could find Morgan Weinberg, you can find Melissa Stepanowich, brandon Stepanowich and Kurt how do I do Kurt's last name, mullick, kurt Mullick and you can find them individually on the site and reach out to them directly if you have any questions.
• 57:51
  Speaker 1: And last but not least, that's going to be also info at tabalodgecom that you can reach out to them for any investment questions and whatnot.
• 58:02
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's basically it.
• 58:03
  Speaker 1: I hope you guys enjoyed this one.
• 58:04
  Speaker 1: It's a very special episode for the community.
• 58:05
  Speaker 1: I really you guys enjoyed this.
• 58:05
  Speaker 1: One is a very special episode for the community.
• 58:07
  Speaker 1: I really look forward to what the team is able to build here.
• 58:11
  Speaker 1: I think it's just going to be so pivotal moving forward as we continue to grow Colorado Springs and just the running scene here.
• 58:17
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it definitely means a lot and I'm so excited to see what happens.
• 58:21
  Speaker 1: So, before you guys get going, hop on Spotify, apple or YouTube, wherever you consume your podcasts and, if you wouldn't mind, giving us a five-star rating and review.
• 58:30
  Speaker 1: It's how we can continue to share these amazing stories of not just these athletes but also these amazing people in the community doing incredible things for everyone.
• 58:38
  Speaker 1: And yeah, it means a lot.
• 58:41
  Speaker 1: Very, last but not least, if you guys are in the market for a new vest or for a new pack, for any hydration solutions, a handheld, a water bottle, if you like those Ultimate Direction packs they are the best Hop on to ultimate directioncom and get yourself.
• 58:56
  Speaker 1: Get yourself something and in your cart use the code steep stuff pod that's steep as TEP stuff as to UFF pod and that's going to get you 25% off your cart.
• 59:07
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much, guys.
• 59:08
  Speaker 1: I have a very special episode dropping tomorrow with the legend himself, mr Ricky Gates.
• 59:13
  Speaker 1: I was so excited to finally have a conversation with Ricky Very interesting cat, super cool guy and I think you guys are going to really enjoy that one.
• 59:22
  Speaker 1: So have a great rest of your week, guys.
• 59:23
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much.
• 59:24
  Speaker 1: Thank you.