Latest / The Steep Stuff Podcast / The Rut 28K Race Preview | Steep Stuff Race Companion with Guest Jennifer Yeaman

Transcript

The Rut 28K Race Preview | Steep Stuff Race Companion with Guest Jennifer Yeaman · The Steep Stuff Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What's up, fam?
• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Steep Stuff Podcast.
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: I'm your host, James Lauriello, and today we are here to preview the RUT 28K.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: I'm joined by a very special co-host, Miss Jenny Yeaman.
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: Hey.
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Thanks for coming on, hey thanks for having me.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Appreciate it.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: Usually it's Nick Tusa sitting in this chair.
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: I'm happy to mix it up a little Ooh special today.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah, happy to mix it.
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: It a little cool, a little more fun.
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: Yeah, uh, how's your day going?
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: Pretty good, you know just off work.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, same same.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Uh, it's tuesday.
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: Getting back into it, getting back into the grind.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: I feel like I feel like all I've been doing is race previews and looking at stuff for pikes all week so, yeah, you've been busy then, oh yeah oh yeah, um, and you have a race coming up, getting ready for Pikes Yep.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, excited.
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: Nervous, excited, all the things.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's so funny Like your episode hasn't dropped yet, even though we already recorded it.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: It's going to come out next week during Pikes week.
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: Sure.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: So now the audience gets to know you.
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: Yeah, cool, all right, so we're're gonna get into the rut.
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: Uh, really fun race happening this upcoming week.
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: Um, outside of, I guess you could say like the greater yellowstone ecosystem, it's gonna be in big sky.
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: Montana, which is the high point of that race, is 11 000 feet.
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: Uh, low points like 7500.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: It is an absolute bananas course.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: Something I really want to like I would love to do it yeah, yeah, I gotta put it on like I had.
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: I was supposed to be there this weekend at the vk.
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: I just kind of like mixed up my schedule a little bit, um, but I'm almost happier than I'm not, because it's more fun to preview.
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: Yeah, next year you can actually, yeah, that's right, that's right, um.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: So, yeah, it should be a fun race.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: It looks like so, like I said, low points 7500, high points 11 000.
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: It's about 17 ish miles.
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: It's a huge race, I so, overall, um, in their entire race itself, it's like almost 4 000 people, which is, I think, the biggest trail race in america yeah, I was looking at all the entrants and I was just like scrolling and scrolling and scrolling.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: It's crazy, oh my god it's crazy, um, this one particular 846, so that's like bigger than a Cirque race.
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: That's as big as, like, the Broken Arrow 23K, maybe a little smaller.
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: So it's, yeah, that's substantial.
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's crazy that, like cause it's in an obscure area that's very hard to get to.
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: So it's like it's kind of interesting how they get that many.
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: I was like that's like the entire population of Montana, I know.
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: It's literally the whole.
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: I was like how many people?
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: So yeah, it's interesting, it's a cool area.
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: Have you been?
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: I've never been to that area.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: I was just in Wyoming.
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: What did I do?
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: Wyoming Idaho area, so like on both sides of the Tetons, and I did drive a little further north to see what that was all about.
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: And and I did drive a little further north to see what that was all about.
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: And yo, it's it's way different than colorado I bet yeah, we're wild, yeah, and that's the thing, like I.
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: Just the only thing I noticed that was like a little bit different was here.
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: It's a little bit it's bigger, it's spread out, but you see a lot less animals there.
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: Like it's it's very wild.
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: I mean, just driving over the past I saw like two porcupines, a bison, elk, like I saw like everything, yeah, um.
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: So yeah, it's a lot of animals.
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: Um, I don't know, I guess it's because it's, you know, like the yellowstone situation yeah, yeah it's kind of wild grizzly bears and I was just gonna say I don't know about running there grizzlies I actually for the first time and I was not planning on doing this.
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: But I, the airbnb was like you should really bring bear spray with you and like gave me a thing of bear spray.
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: And I was like, fine, dude, I'm like I'm going to run inbounds at a ski resort, you never know, yeah, whatever.
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: So, yeah, all right.
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: More about the Sarrays.
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: How was your research?
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: How did it go for getting ready for this?
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: You know I found a lot of of women's names.
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: It was hard to find some, like you know, the top dudes, yeah, yeah, so I'm interested like who is actually showing up on both sides.
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: But also, there's so many races this weekend.
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: With what is it?
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: Uh, golden trail and I feel like there's some other race.
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: Maybe not, but anyways, yeah, see who actually shows up to this versus golden trail, yeah and it's funny, like even like one of great examples, like bailey, not just not to not to jump on bailey, but like bailey signed up for, I think, the golden trail series race and this, yeah, we were trying to figure out like all right, well, is johnny gonna be johnny's at the rut, johnny's johnny's the last year's winner.
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: So I was like, all right, I would imagine bailey would probably be there as well, plus ba Bailey's last year's winner as well.
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: I was going to say she was the 50K winner?
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: I think yeah, yeah, she's, yeah, Bailey's wait.
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: So Bailey's won in 23, won in 22, and took second in 21.
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: So she knows the course pretty well.
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: This is her race.
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's going to be.
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: The women's field looks awesome yeah.
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: Between Jen Lichtner um yeah between jen lichner, who's won the 50k.
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: She's now three-time 50k champ, dropping down to the 28k.
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: I'm wondering if she's coming, though I was stalking her instagram or strava and she's in colorado, so as of right now, really, oh all right, this is dirt, this is good dirt.
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know, I don't know, I mean that would make bailey's life a lot easier yeah, I mean, it's not that far to travel up to montana from colorado, but it's a drive.
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: But yeah, no, you're right.
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I wonder what.
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: I wonder what the dealio is.
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: I could be north face thing or something yeah, who knows?
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: Yeah, those north face athletes are shifty.
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: Like mike sinceria goes and like breaks the record on the on the uh, on the grand, yeah, and then, like it's signed up for the 50k and the vk, I'm like probably, probably, gonna win both of them.
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: So, um, yeah, yeah, though, and the women's race looks I mean taber's in the mix too, um, I have claire rhodes in there yeah potentially.
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: Uh, let's see lindsey allison, I think was on the list yep yep, um, yeah, there's a lot of people um yeah, janelle links as well.
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: Janelle's a beast.
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: Um, yeah, and then the men's field looking good, um, some big, I would say the big storylines too are like how are these occ athletes going to come back from occ?
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: Like eli, is eli like I gotta text him.
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: I'm kind of curious.
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: Like are you really racing?
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: Like what are you?
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: What are you gonna watch?
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: Eli come out and just like shit on everybody.
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: I wouldn't be surprised win again, but also I would.
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: I'm confused.
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: I feel like they would do Golden Trail stuff too.
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think they love I don't know.
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: I think they love the rut.
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: I know he's not racing mammoth, but I know she is okay and that's, that's next week that's a lot of travel man.
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah, they're, they're all over the place.
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah, um, some other big names I was excited for johnny returns.
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: Johnny, first place last year in a shortened course, uh, in 2023, took fifth in 2022 and seventh and 21.
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: He's a newly dubbed north face athlete.
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: I think, honestly, he signed probably like right after he won this race.
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: Um, so it kind of like helped me make his career, so this is an important race for him.
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: Um, jackson Cole uh, my teammate for the last sportiva team is going to be there.
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: Um, shout out to Jackson Just got back from world sky running champs, uh, which is a big race for him.
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: Rob Carrar I saw the stylist.
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: I'm interested about him because he's been injured.
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: So I think he did not finish his lead man series because he's been injured.
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: Interesting.
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: So we'll see if he shows up.
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I know, I'm sure I think he was on the VK start list too, so I'm sure he'll, maybe he'll do the VK and then he's shift, he's shifty, so yeah, oh, and he's shifty, so yeah, oh.
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: And the, the big name that I saw in there, that I was like, oh man, um, scott patterson.
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: I don't know if you know that name I know of the name he's uh like.
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: I think he's an olympic nordic skier.
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: I know he's.
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: He's like was a professional nordic skier, I want to say olympic um.
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: Won the meet, the minotaur sky race this year, nice um, and has taken top 10 in this race many years and and now that he's not in order of skiing like professionally, I wonder if he's got more time to train.
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: Yeah, where does he live?
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: Alaska.
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: He's an Anchorage guy, so, but that's you know what.
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: That also could be his kryptonite.
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: You know who knows what the altitude is going to do to him Right?
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: So I know some people have issues.
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: It's really interesting to me like seeing some people have issues and some people not, like you were.
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: Are you originally?
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: You're originally from california california.
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: I struggled with altitude initially yeah so, but some people don't yeah, I'm a flatlander too and I, yeah, I can remember my first run here.
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: I went bopped on over like santa fe trail and I'm like trying to run.
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: I really think I ran 10 miles and like I was trying to run like seven, 30 pace and I was huffing and puffing and struggling.
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: I was like, for a good like six months, good times yeah.
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Um.
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: Who else is on this list?
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: I have Cam Smith.
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a big question mark.
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: We'll see.
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: I don't know what Cam we're going to get.
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: He like showed up at Cirque last week.
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and he's also entered into PPM Pikes Peak Marathon.
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I talked to him.
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: What did he say to me?
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: He's coming Because he's supposed to come on the podcast.
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: Yeah, he's a wild.
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: He's a wild, cam's a wild boy man.
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think he is going to go back to back.
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: He has to, cause he, he.
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I just yeah, he's coming.
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: All right, count him in.
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: I have Patty O'Leary on my list too.
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: TNF athlete.
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: Yep.
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: But yeah, that's, that's all I had on my list really for men.
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah.
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: So no, I think that's pretty solid.
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: Um, let's do analysis, we can.
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: I'm thinking we could jump into the men first.
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: Um, as far as like top, I'll give like a kind of a top 10 or top.
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: Let's do top five because the race is not that deep.
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: We're top five, and then I'm going to give some sleepers um, and then we can jump into the women's field and kind of go in depth with that um.
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: So I'll let you do you, you can go first place first oh, starting with five yeah fifth um, I'm gonna throw rob cryer up there as uh okay if he shows up yeah then I say he's gonna battle the legend the legend, because it's rob cryer, you can't bet against him.
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: Fourth, I'll go.
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: Patty O'Leary.
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: I feel like he's pretty solid most of the time.
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: He's a great short course runner and doesn't suffer in altitude.
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: Jackson Cole, I'll go third.
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: Did I say third?
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: Yeah, no, you said fourth, Okay, third I don't know for a second.
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: I'm gonna have eli winning, even though I know he just crushed occ.
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: I'm gonna have eli winning second.
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: I don't know, come back to me, okay okay, all right, no, I like that.
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: It's a solid top five.
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: All right, I'm gonna go.
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: This is tough because I actually didn't write mine out either.
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go.
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: Fifth, griffin briley uh, as a kid, he's a 20 year old.
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: I raced him at cirque brighton and he whooped my ass.
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: He's a normal athlete.
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: Okay, um, listen, anybody that's followed by kj like killing jordana yeah he must be somebody special no, he's really good um.
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: He's a schemo athlete most of the time um usually a good runner.
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: The us schemo team um.
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: He took eighth at this race in 2023, uh.
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: So last year in the shortened course and third at this race in the vk.
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: Um did some battle with this kid.
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: He's really good for for a young, young whippersnapper, um, so I'm gonna put him in fifth um.
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: In fourth, I am gonna go with tate knight.
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: Um, yeah, he's a local boulder boy.
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: He just had great race to tmr, took third.
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: Uh, in the 24 mile.
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: That was.
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: That was enough for me.
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: I was a little like.
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: But ryan becker is world class, like I.
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: I would put Ryan Becker on a good day is arguably one of the best in the country.
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: And the kid he took second to I do not know who that was, so I'd say Tate could be a lock in for fourth.
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: For third place, I'm going to go Eli, and the only reason I'm going to say is because I have no idea what Eli we're going to get.
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: I don't even know if he's going to start.
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: I don't even know if he's gonna start.
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: I don't know, and I feel like if eli starts something, he finishes something for the most part.
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: So I don't know.
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: We'll see.
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: We'll see what's in the legs.
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: He could very well just go and set the course record for all I know.
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: Honestly, wouldn't be surprised.
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: Wouldn't be surprised either um, in second place I'm gonna go johnny luna lima.
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: Um, and the only reason I say that is like over eli is because Eli, his run economy is probably arguably the best running economy in the entire field.
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: I mean not even arguably, without a doubt he is the best running economy in the field.
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: He's the fittest guy in the field as far as technical stuff.
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: I know for a fact, like Eli gets a lot of pointers on the technical stuff from Johnny, and Johnny is arguably, if not the best downhill runner in the entire, one of the best in the sport and definitely the best in this field, uh, especially on technical terrain.
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: Um, so, and Johnny's won this race.
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: He's gotten in the top 10 every year he's ran it, so I think he's a lock for a second.
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: Um, I could see him just getting away from Eli on something technical.
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: Um, but we'll see.
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: I don't know, it's a hot take.
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I like it.
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: And first place I'm going to go Scott Patterson, the meet, the Minotaur guy.
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: I could see Cam Smith competing for the top five.
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: I don't know, it's going to be interesting, I don't know.
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: Like everybody's got different racing strategies right.
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: Like, what would you do if you were racing back-to-back weeks?
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: I know, I was just thinking it depends what his A race is.
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: Right, is it?
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: this weekend or is it next weekend?
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: Personally, next weekend for pikes would be my A race.
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: But also, this is such a hard race and so technical.
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: If you're going to tiptoe around, you're just going to eat shit probably.
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: It's going to be a long day, yeah.
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: It's eat shit.
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: Probably it's gonna be a long day.
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's gonna be a long day out.
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah, um, I don't know.
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: I don't know cam well enough to know if he can even put together back-to-back weekends like that yeah, that's gonna be especially like back to back to back because he raised, he raced last weekend yeah, so that's gonna be interesting.
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: I mean, and like, yet he had great form at how do I say this?
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: He had great form in a basin, but like that's a very fast, that's like that.
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: The race is done in an hour and 10 minutes.
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: Um for the guys in the front so all three of these races are all very different too, so because, like, pikes is going to take you and he's running the marathon, that's a five.
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: Six hour it's a five hour race three and a half four for him, but yeah and then this is going to be three and a half as well.
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: So that's seven hours of racing over two weeks.
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: Well, we'll say Plus, you got to travel, you got to sit in the car for a long time.
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: I don't know.
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: It's like I said, I wouldn't be surprised if Cam did really well.
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: I mean, he's won this race in 2021 and 2022.
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: Now the race when he ran Pikes he's gotten lesser results.
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: He still had great top 10 finishes, but it was when Pikes was earlier in the year.
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: I think it was in August.
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: Yeah, back when he had some duels with Adam Peterman and Co Did he do the marathon?
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: Yeah, oh, okay.
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think last year he did both the marathon and the ascent, which is brave of him, especially considering it was a like a golden trail series year yeah um well, yeah, kim's a wild boy.
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: He's a strong dude, so I don't put it past him, no I can see jackson.
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: Jackson will get in the top 10 and you know who I left out to.
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: Who I think is a is a really good, solid competitor is cole campbell.
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: Um, he's was this year's usatf 50k champ.
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: Uh, fourth at the fourth at broken arrow this year in the 46k six.
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: That, I'm sorry.
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: Fourth last year in the broken arrow, 46k, six this year in the broken arrow, 46k.
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: So he's solid.
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: Yeah, very legit.
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: And then my sleeper pick for the top 10, easily in the top 10.
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: My sleeper pick to compete for the top five my boy, nick Tusa.
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: Okay, yeah.
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: So took the, took third place at already power for this year.
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: Second fastest time took the dub and second fastest time ever at the great divide.
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: 25 K is a multiple top 20 and top 10 finishes of the Cirque series rate I like.
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: I think he took fifth at Alta last year.
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: He's always at the up front like he's a phenomenal runner.
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: He's so fast on technical terrain.
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: I took him with me on uh, what was it?
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: Blodgett?
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: And he dropped the shit out of me.
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: Nice, I'll be perfect then yeah, I think he's like I don't know.
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: It's just really interesting to me when you see people that like dedicate a large chunk, if not all like his entire season, has been dedicated to this race oh, then he's ready to throw, yeah he's, he's ready for it.
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: So I definitely gotta give a big shout out to him.
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: And uh, yeah, I think if he runs a smart race, takes care of himself and has some solid nutrition, he's, he's definitely competing for the day yeah so I like that is he.
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: Does he live here in the springs?
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: no, he's a Denver boy.
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: Gotcha.
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: Yeah, why haven't I met him?
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: Yeah, no, no, I, I every now and then I get him to come down Nice.
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: Um, yeah, he's like he runs a.
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: He's interesting Cause he like lives in Denver but like hops on 70, like every day and like is that committed to go drive, to go run up 12 or 13 or?
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: so Nice, yeah, well, he's ready then.
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, we'll see, we'll see.
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: And then I think I talked about Jackson Cole as well.
• 17:02
  Speaker 2: I think Jackson will sneak in the top 10.
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah, he's always pretty solid.
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: Let's talk about the women.
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: What's your, what's your top five for the ladies?
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: Oh man, this, let's see top five.
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: Hmm, I'm gonna throw jen lichter fifth, depending if she shows up okay um, she's always pretty solid.
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: I have no idea what she's been up to.
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: I feel like she hasn't raced a ton it's been a quiet, quiet year yeah, so not really sure where fitness is, but I mean she's a local to montana, so you know she.
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: I'm sure she knows the course pretty well.
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: Um, let's see.
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: Fourth, I'm gonna go.
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: I'm gonna go, tabor hemming okay yeah, she was crushing occ and unfortunately had to drop out.
• 18:00
  Speaker 2: Um, so I think you know she's got a fire in her, but I don't know.
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: I don't know how good she is at the technical stuff.
• 18:08
  Speaker 2: So what are your thoughts there?
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: it's, it's a tricky one.
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: I haven't taught actually.
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I haven't asked them about this race because I I it's kind of tricky, like I wanted like, hey, can I get a quote?
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: Can I get some information?
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: Like give me some, give me some info here now.
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: So the reason taber dropped, I believe had um, she like suffered an injury with her l4 a long time ago, like it was like herniated or something, something wrong with her back.
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: It seemed like she was past that and she did something on a rock, hit a rock, tripped on a rock, something like that.
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: I think that was what caused her um, because on the live stream and I think she confirmed this in a post after like she was kind of holding her back.
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: So it seemed like that was a lot of the reason.
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: Tabor's a great runner man.
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: I mean, she's so nasty.
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: She's so fast.
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: But, like you said, on technical terrain there is opportunities to fall here.
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: But then again, like then, she goes out on Broken Arrow, which is predominantly ski roads.
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: It's not a very like technical race, but like had a great result of the 23k, despite being even more injured at the time.
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: So maybe if the like, if that injury, is flared up again and if it starts to calm down, maybe she won't aggravate it again.
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: I don't know.
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: I know this this race is a lot of ski roads, a lot of double track, a lot of single track, and then there's this insanely gnarly technical ascents and descents up and like over lone peak.
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: So I don't know, like some of that talus stuff, I don't like running on.
• 19:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's pretty tricky, yeah, so.
• 19:33
  Speaker 2: So yeah, I'm gonna have her fourth um.
• 19:37
  Speaker 2: We'll see how she does in the technicality of it all.
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: Um.
• 19:41
  Speaker 2: Third, I going to throw Janelle Links in there.
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: That's a good pick.
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: She's another one that I don't really know what she's been up to this year.
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: I haven't seen her race anything Quiet.
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: She was supposed to be at Cirque 8 Basin.
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: But she did not show.
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah, she was not there.
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: I don't know.
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: That actually makes me wonder and puts me into question on whether or not she's even going to be at the rut.
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so we'll see.
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: She's always a good pick, though I feel like she's so fast and I don't know how she is a technical either, but she's just really good at the Cirque races.
• 20:14
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I feel like she throws herself into it, no matter what.
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: Second I'm going to go.
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: Claire Rhodes Okay, she just won mountain marathon this year, so, um, that's obviously very technical.
• 20:30
  Speaker 2: Obviously a little shorter too, but I think she's got some good, uh, endurance in her as well, and I think she's been kind of on a tear, so I think she'll be definitely up there in that top two or three.
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: Um it's a good pick, and then I'm gonna take bailey as the win if she shows yeah, I think she can be kind of hit or miss depending on how she's feeling, but she's also a great technical runner and another one who, just like, really puts herself in it.
• 21:02
  Speaker 2: So yeah yeah, I think she.
• 21:04
  Speaker 2: If she's here and not at the golden trail, then I think she'll, she'll go for the win.
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: That's a good top five.
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: I think Claire too, like Claire was just at OCC and for like I had Claire like up there in the top five at OCC.
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: Yeah, unfortunately she dropped on a rough day, so she's got to be hungry for more.
• 21:19
  Speaker 2: Right, I for more right um.
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: I believe her partner, tracen, is racing the 50k.
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: If I remember correctly, he's gonna be all right.
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: No, maybe it's the vk, I can't remember anyway.
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: Um, and then obviously, um, yeah, belly's gonna be a force.
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: Uh, it's yeah.
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: So mine's pretty similar.
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: I'm gonna go.
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: I say, if janelle shows, I'm gonna put her in the top five, and the only reason I have her that low is because of race rust.
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: It's like, what is that gonna look like?
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: How's that gonna feel?
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: Um, I don't know.
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: Some people can like show up to races, like and take a look at long breaks and just throw themselves into it.
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: I don't like that.
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: I feel, yeah, like, just to go through the whole process is kind of tricky.
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: So, um, I'm to put Janelle in fifth.
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: I have Tabor in a similar place.
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: I'm going to put her in fourth.
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: I think Tabor has the ability, on a healthy day, to win this race.
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: It just depends on, like, what's in the legs after OCC.
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: I don't know how far she even got in the race.
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: I think she was pretty far.
• 22:17
  Speaker 2: She was decently far yeah.
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: So and that's not a long I mean it's 50K so I feel like in a few weeks later you can recover from that, plus like travel and all that.
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: So we'll see what's going on there, but I do think Tabor is going to have a great day.
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: I think Tabor so this was something Nick and I were debating yesterday.
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: Actually it's like, so Tabor's going to Mammoth as well.
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: So it's like is that going to be the race or is like the rut going to be the race?
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: Are they going to the rut just for because I know they love that race and it's fun?
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: Um, so I don't know.
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: I don't know how that's going to work out, but I I think tabor, even on a bad day, takes a top five place here I mean I agree with that, yeah, um, in.
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: Third, this is tough.
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: And third, I'll probably go Claire Rhodes.
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: I think Claire Rhodes is an easy pick for third.
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: I think she's lock for the podium.
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: So this is where I'm confused.
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: So I've got this epic battle in my head.
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: I was just talking to Nick about this too, because he's running the 28K, obviously, and I'm like listen, because Bailey's finished in the top 10 every year.
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: She like obviously, like I'm talking top 10 overall every time she runs it.
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: So my strategy for nick was like, dude, just sit on, sit on bailey's heels and just like, just hold on for dear life.
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: So I'm thinking about this like epic battle between um, jennifer lichner and bailey and the only reason I say it is because, like, jennifer is a three-time 50k champion, knows this course.
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: That 50k is so hard and everybody tells me that it's like just unnecessarily difficult, whereas the 28k is a little more of a logical course, whereas, like, the 50k is like the masochist.
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: Actually show up to this because it's just so terrible.
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: Um, and jennifer's like she's a dog man, she's gonna fight to the death like she's a like and like we're talking course records and wins at like the fifth broken arrow, 46k, multiple wins at the 50k, I don't know.
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: Um, and then bailey as well.
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: Bailey's the ultimate competitor, took first in 2023, first in 2022, second in 2021.
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: Now, interesting thing Last year was a shorter course.
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: They didn't really go fully over Lone Peak, so it's going to be who's a little more altitude adapted, who's got less in their legs?
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: Jennifer might be a little fresher.
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: She hasn't raced that much, so I don't know.
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: Yeah, my one and two are kind of like hazy there, that'll be a good race regardless yeah, yeah, it's gonna be.
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: It's gonna be a battle, no doubt.
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: So yeah, should be fun, so all right.
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: So that's the men's women.
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: Do you have any sleepers?
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: um, I do have a couple people for women at least.
• 24:59
  Speaker 2: Um, lindsay Allison, I think, was on the list.
• 25:03
  Speaker 2: She just did TMR, the 24-mile Won that she did decent at speed go.
• 25:11
  Speaker 2: I want to say she was like fifth or fourth and I think she was the 50K US champ at the one in Marin Headlands this summer.
• 25:21
  Speaker 2: So she's been on a tear also.
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: If she shows up I don't know if she's coming I think she'll be up in the top 10.
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: Do you know the name?
• 25:32
  Speaker 2: Denali Strabel.
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: No, she's an Alaskan.
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: Okay, which I think is enough said, just to be an Alaskan, you're pretty tough shit.
• 25:40
  Speaker 2: I fun fact used to race her in college.
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: Oh shit.
• 25:46
  Speaker 2: She probably has no idea who I am, but I raced against her school and her a couple times so I know she's really fast.
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: That's so cool.
• 25:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so we'll see how she does.
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: Okay, good, that's a good pick.
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: I like these sleepers.
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: That because we've been seeing in so many of these races, as the sport just gets so competitive, there's people that just come out of left field that were former college at standouts and just go and crush.
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: Right and, like I said, she's from Alaska.
• 26:11
  Speaker 2: She knows rocks.
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: Grit and termination.
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: Yeah, all of it.
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: Have you raced in Alaska yet?
• 26:16
  Speaker 2: No, I'd like to though.
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: Other than next year.
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: That's my goal for next year.
• 26:20
  Speaker 2: It looks awesome.
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's interesting.
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: We're getting a lot of a few Alaskans coming down and actually doing this race.
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: So it's a true mountain race, the way that works.
• 26:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it should be a good throwdown, at least on the women's side.
• 26:34
  Speaker 2: Well, men too.
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: But yeah, I think the women's race to me looks a little more compelling.
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: I think the men's race is a little more compelling.
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: I think the men's race is a little more.
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: It all depends, like, like you said, I I don't know what eli we're getting.
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: I'm sure johnny's been training his ass off for this race.
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: Scott patterson is a force and kind of beat everybody.
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: Um, I don't know.
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: But the women's race to me, that, that kind of dynamic between bailey, jennifer, janelle yeah what and tabor, like what does that look like?
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: So yeah, because they're all exciting, they're all pretty evenly matched in a lot of ways, I agree that'll be a good one.
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: I wish I was there I know, I feel same, same um, but yeah, I think that's, I think that might cover it, I think we uh, it's a good, it's a good solid race preview.
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: Anything to add?
• 27:18
  Speaker 2: I don't think so, other than I want to do it yeah sweet.
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: Well, hey, thanks for coming on.
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: Yeah, best of luck next week at the Pikes Marathon, your episode will be dropping.
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: Did I schedule it for Wednesday or Thursday?
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: I have no idea.
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: I think it was Thursday, I don't know.
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: Life's a blur right now.
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: I feel that.
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: Keep a lookout on that for everybody, all right.