Latest / Adventure Sports Podcast / Ep. 1149: Mountain Running on Team USA with Sydney Petersen

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Ep. 1149: Mountain Running on Team USA with Sydney Petersen · Adventure Sports Podcast

0:06
[SPEAKER_01]: You're listening to the Adventure Sports podcast.
0:08
[SPEAKER_01]: We talk with adventurers from around the globe to bring you the inspiration and motivation you need to get started in the outdoors or to keep you moving if you're already there.
0:17
[SPEAKER_01]: Now here's your host, Kurt Lindville.
0:21
[SPEAKER_02]: Hey friends, you know in all my 14er climbing, I've been so impressed when I see someone go running past me.
0:29
[SPEAKER_02]: You know you're up above tree line, the air is then your gas beam to take 10 steps in a row without a break and here goes a runner straight up the mountain.
0:39
[SPEAKER_02]: I think it's amazing.
0:40
[SPEAKER_02]: Today's guest is Sidney Peterson and she is on the U.S. team for
0:49
[SPEAKER_02]: But before we dive into the interview, I want to share something with you and, you know, Sydney grew up in this valley so I think she'll understand.
0:57
[SPEAKER_02]: But anyway, here's something different to start off today's episode.
1:09
[SPEAKER_02]: I woke in the deep darkness as I do always, except for during the months hugging the warm solstice.
1:15
[SPEAKER_02]: I dress quietly in the blackness, marvelling at the skills of those without sight.
1:21
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't want to wake in.
1:23
[SPEAKER_02]: The door knob rattles just a little as I hold my breath, slowly, slowly, or perhaps I should say, pull a pull a, I pull the door tightly against the jam, then I exhale.
1:37
[SPEAKER_02]: After the east through the large windows, I see a splash of gray on the charcoal canvas.
1:42
[SPEAKER_02]: With a pinhole, worshiping the dawn.
1:45
[SPEAKER_02]: That pinhole is probably Venus, though I have not tracked the wonders for a few weeks.
1:50
[SPEAKER_02]: It could be serious for all I know.
1:53
[SPEAKER_02]: Funny, how when Jupiter is full and Venus is crescent, the king claims the lady's glory, it could be Jupiter.
2:01
[SPEAKER_02]: Things must be done.
2:03
[SPEAKER_02]: I do them for me, but I also do them because I love my boys and wife.
2:08
[SPEAKER_02]: They usually don't know how they motivate me, it's my secret.
2:12
[SPEAKER_02]: I slip on leather gloves and oversized snow boots.
2:15
[SPEAKER_02]: The digital readout on the thermometer says negative zero.
2:19
[SPEAKER_02]: I wonder if that's a number in China.
2:22
[SPEAKER_02]: As the black shifts to indigo over the white snow, I know the temperature will drop a few more degrees.
2:28
[SPEAKER_02]: It always does as sole chases a cool mass down from the eastern slopes.
2:32
[SPEAKER_02]: Not too cold for this mountain valley, but plenty cold.
2:36
[SPEAKER_02]: I crunch on Sunday snow remains as I cross the deck.
2:40
[SPEAKER_02]: Luke shoveled, but the crunch is still waiting on the Sun's warm kiss to sublimate.
2:44
[SPEAKER_02]: The deck is on the northwest side of the house, so it will have to wait for late afternoon's light.
2:50
[SPEAKER_02]: There's no pillowed, on the stacked wood.
2:53
[SPEAKER_02]: It's a little crunchy too, sticking to the bark.
2:55
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't want to bang it off, because the family is sleeping, so I pile the top layers to the side and select some dry pieces from underneath.
3:04
[SPEAKER_02]: Crunch, crunch, crunch.
3:06
[SPEAKER_02]: Back to the front door.
3:08
[SPEAKER_02]: That will wake in.
3:09
[SPEAKER_02]: Nothing I can do about it though.
3:12
[SPEAKER_02]: Soon our little stove is wishing and blowing.
3:15
[SPEAKER_02]: The hole in the velvet canvas does not look quite so proud now.
3:19
[SPEAKER_02]: The end ago is changing to washed out gray.
3:22
[SPEAKER_02]: I let the dogs back in.
3:23
[SPEAKER_02]: They don't know what negative zero means either, but they know December's morning fight.
3:31
[SPEAKER_02]: I like coffee.
3:32
[SPEAKER_02]: But coffee rages inside me and closes my throat, not sure why.
3:36
[SPEAKER_02]: So I steep loosely black tea in a tiny chrome filter.
3:41
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't like tea much, but I adore a hot, rich morning zipper.
3:47
[SPEAKER_02]: Why am I sharing this?
3:49
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm going to blame it on himning way.
3:52
[SPEAKER_02]: My brother-in-law's wife gave me the book when she heard that I was returning to Africa in a few weeks.
3:58
[SPEAKER_02]: Is my brother-in-law's wife my sister-in-law in law?
4:02
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how that works either.
4:05
[SPEAKER_02]: The copyright on the book is 1935.
4:08
[SPEAKER_02]: My mother-in-law was born only three years later.
4:11
[SPEAKER_02]: Hemingway is neither politically correct, and vibrant mentally correct, nor woke, and he was not pressured to be so.
4:19
[SPEAKER_02]: He lived in different times when masculinity mattered more than propriety to most.
4:26
[SPEAKER_02]: Reading his prose is time travel.
4:29
[SPEAKER_02]: The world's population is
4:34
[SPEAKER_02]: More people requires more care for the land and the animals, but I don't think that Hemingway would agree with our times, but wow, can he turn a phrase?
4:44
[SPEAKER_02]: I thoughtfully plod through a few more pages before jumping up to pursue the day, but today is Tuesday, and I get to meet and interview some more wonderful people today.
4:55
[SPEAKER_02]: So I'm happy.
4:58
[SPEAKER_02]: Speaking of happiness, here are a few lines, from Hemingway.
5:03
[SPEAKER_02]: I had no wish to share this life with anyone who was not there, only to live it, being completely happy and quite tired.
5:12
[SPEAKER_02]: I knew that I was shooting well and I had that feeling of well being in confidence that is so much more pleasant to have than to hear about.
5:21
[SPEAKER_02]: I do hope that your happiness today is something that's so much better to have than to hear about.
5:27
[SPEAKER_02]: Hey, let me know in the comments if this little silly intro is something you enjoyed, or if it's something you'd rather not have to put up with.
5:35
[SPEAKER_02]: Speaking of putting up with things, we're running a couple of ads right now, and that's what keeps the show alive, but I've been a little concerned because they're just too long.
5:45
[SPEAKER_02]: But that is what was presented to us.
5:49
[SPEAKER_02]: And so my apologies, go ahead and skip them if you've already heard them.
5:53
[SPEAKER_02]: You know what it's all about.
5:55
[SPEAKER_02]: But I'm gonna try in the future to keep ads shorter.
5:59
[SPEAKER_02]: We'll see what we can do.
6:06
[SPEAKER_02]: Today's episode is really super cool.
6:09
[SPEAKER_02]: I've been wanting to do an episode like this for years, actually.
6:12
[SPEAKER_02]: And finally met the right person.
6:14
[SPEAKER_02]: Let me rewind a little bit.
6:16
[SPEAKER_02]: You probably know that I've climbed a lot of 14ers.
6:19
[SPEAKER_02]: And every now and then on a 14er, I see someone that's running up the mountain.
6:25
[SPEAKER_02]: And I can tell you I've run on 14ers, I've run down 14ers, but I have never managed to be fit enough to actually run up a 14er, but then I find out not only have I seen people doing this, but there's a US mountain running team that competes internationally and I have with us today a member of the US mountain running team Sydney Peterson who just got back from representing the United States.
6:53
[SPEAKER_02]: in Spain and the world championships, mountain running, maybe a lot of you already know about this sport, but I am very ignorant about it, so I am super excited to visit with Sidney Sidney, welcome to the program.
7:11
[SPEAKER_02]: This is gonna be fun Sydney.
7:14
[SPEAKER_02]: So I actually met Sydney in person and that's how I found out what she did and I talked her into coming on to the podcast And I really appreciate you Sydney for being willing to do it, but mountain running is is something that you see
7:28
[SPEAKER_02]: But I don't know how many people know much about it.
7:32
[SPEAKER_02]: And the people that I see doing it are just super, super fit.
7:36
[SPEAKER_02]: It's one of the hardest things that I've ever seen accomplished.
7:40
[SPEAKER_02]: And a lot of that has to do with this deepness, of course, to the grade, but also the altitude.
7:44
[SPEAKER_02]: You combine those two things with long distances and difficult trails.
7:50
[SPEAKER_02]: This is like the pinnacle of running in my mind.
7:53
[SPEAKER_02]: So Sydney, tell us about the US Mountain running team.
7:56
[SPEAKER_02]: What is this sport?
7:58
[SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, I think mountain running trail running, sky running, there's so many different names for it, but that make it sound, I guess, more complicated, but in the most basic definition, it's just running on trails, up mountains, down mountains, just different from I guess the more traditional or more mainstream running that you see on the tracks or on the roads.
8:24
[SPEAKER_00]: And it can be a race distance from like three kilometers up through 100, 200 miles.
8:32
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't do that.
8:33
[SPEAKER_00]: But there's a lot of different, I guess, factions of this sport.
8:37
[SPEAKER_00]: But in its broad definition, running up and down mountains, a little bit faster, a lot slower.
8:43
[SPEAKER_00]: But yeah.
8:46
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, it's an amazing thing.
8:48
[SPEAKER_02]: How did you get into this?
8:49
[SPEAKER_02]: What was your first mountain in
8:52
[SPEAKER_00]: I was lucky enough to be raised in Crested Beauty Colorado, so for those of you who don't know where that is, it's kind of in the Rocky Mountains very, very small town at the end of the road.
9:03
[SPEAKER_00]: So I had a background very much in the mountains grew up in a ski family.
9:08
[SPEAKER_00]: My parents are big, big skiers, and I was on skis at like two years old.
9:14
[SPEAKER_00]: So I think probably my mountain running career started there.
9:17
[SPEAKER_00]: and I grew up playing team sports and got into running tracking cross-country and high school.
9:23
[SPEAKER_00]: I ran division one tracking cross-country in college and so I think that kind of gave me my multi-sport background combined with competing in tracking cross-country at the division one level, gave me a unique fitness to run up mountains but also the athleticism from all the other sports
9:45
[SPEAKER_00]: have the agility to run downhill and skip over rocks and all of that.
9:49
[SPEAKER_00]: I finished my tracking cross country career at Colorado State in the spring of 2023 and got a normal job.
9:56
[SPEAKER_00]: And then just missed running.
9:59
[SPEAKER_00]: I had like been exposed to the mountain and trail running scene just going up with my mom.
10:06
[SPEAKER_00]: She's a big runner.
10:07
[SPEAKER_00]: I remember when I was
10:10
[SPEAKER_00]: from Crestabute to Aspen together over a restaurant pass, and it was kind of a family thing, and then after I graduated college, I naturally gravitated back towards that back towards the mountains.
10:24
[SPEAKER_00]: Signed up for the Imaging Pass run, and for people who aren't familiar with that, that's
10:29
[SPEAKER_00]: mountain and trail race that goes from your raid until you ride in the same ones and that's something my mom and I had always wanted to do and I guess that was like my first competitive mountain and trail race and had been on my bucket list for a while and wanted to target it after I graduated college and doing that race with family but also I guess by myself it was like a spiritual experience and I realized I was really good at it but also just I don't know when you're
10:58
[SPEAKER_00]: a thousand other people doing the exact same thing.
11:01
[SPEAKER_00]: You don't know what people are going through, but just racing and moving collectively in a really beautiful place with other people.
11:08
[SPEAKER_00]: Like it's a really cool experience that can give you a lot of gratitude and just unique perspective on life.
11:15
[SPEAKER_00]: So
11:15
[SPEAKER_00]: That was my first competitive mountain trail race and then I slowly kind of got the bug and started going to more races and eventually found my way onto the U.S. Mountain running team to represent Team USA at the World Championships.
11:30
[SPEAKER_00]: This summer was the qualifying race and this fall was the actual race at World Championships in the uphill event.
11:38
[SPEAKER_02]: So you mentioned the uphill event.
11:39
[SPEAKER_02]: They're multiple events, right, with the mountain running circuit.
11:43
[SPEAKER_02]: But you do the uphill
11:46
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
11:47
[SPEAKER_00]: So the uphill race, it's also called a vertical kilometer.
11:51
[SPEAKER_00]: You're only running uphill, it's pretty short distance anywhere between like 3k and 6k, 8k, every race distance is a little bit different, but you're ascending over 3,000 vertical feet.
12:06
[SPEAKER_00]: The course at worlds was
12:14
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
12:14
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
12:15
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
12:16
[SPEAKER_02]: And what is the altitude?
12:17
[SPEAKER_00]: It really depends on where you're racing and come from.
12:20
[SPEAKER_00]: I think, come from Spain where the World Championships were held.
12:23
[SPEAKER_00]: That was, I think the course started at around 3,000 feet.
12:30
[SPEAKER_00]: But the qualifying race I ran, which was also an uphill race was in Tahoe, it palicades Tahoe ski resort.
12:36
[SPEAKER_00]: And I mean you're starting at like almost 8,000 feet in going up to almost 12,000 feet.
12:43
[SPEAKER_00]: So, which is more the territory I'm used to running so that altitude and just redlining when you're running up that steep grade, it adds a total different element to the race than it does it 3,000 feet.
12:56
[SPEAKER_00]: If it's started to like 3,000 feet.
12:57
[SPEAKER_00]: So,
12:58
[SPEAKER_02]: Wow, a lot of our listeners are probably saying, you know, that just sounds painful.
13:02
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know why people would do this.
13:04
[SPEAKER_02]: So you're gonna have to sell us a little bit, Sidney.
13:07
[SPEAKER_02]: Why do you do it?
13:08
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, it's an amazing, amazing feat.
13:10
[SPEAKER_02]: You're able to run it out of two to steep things for distances like this that sell us on this.
13:16
[SPEAKER_00]: There's a few different things.
13:18
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I think,
13:21
[SPEAKER_00]: First and foremost, it's just, you're running in a beautiful place, like no matter how much pain you're in or how bad your legs are burning or how bad your lungs are burning, you're just in a beautiful place and you can't forget to look up and just like see where you are and that's one of my favorite things is just seeing beautiful things experiencing beautiful places.
13:44
[SPEAKER_00]: The second is, I love the process of pushing myself in achieving things that I didn't think I could do.
13:52
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think physically pushing yourself is a cool way to practice that skill and it's such a good life skill to have.
14:01
[SPEAKER_00]: And then when life actually gets really hard in real life and you're dealing with complex, emotional, mental situations that may arise,
14:14
[SPEAKER_00]: have already sharpened that skill and have that skill from running and pushing your body physically, and I think the person I've become in the process of pushing myself physically in the mountains is something I'm really proud of.
14:29
[SPEAKER_00]: I think the final thing is
14:31
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, you're racing and on the day you're running uphill, but most of your time training for this is just in the mountains with really cool people and so I think the combination of like community, the mental toughness, aspect of it and just spending time in a beautiful place like yes it's painful, but like how can you not love that like it's so cool.
14:54
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm going to rewind just a little bit, talk a little bit about the progression of running.
14:59
[SPEAKER_02]: You see a lot of people start running on a sidewalk or maybe on the side of the road.
15:03
[SPEAKER_02]: And then eventually maybe some runners become trail runners.
15:07
[SPEAKER_02]: And suddenly instead of just a smooth surface they're dealing with tree roots and boulders and rocks and sand and mud and slippery things.
15:16
[SPEAKER_02]: And it uses a whole different like muscular system to run on such uneven variable terrain.
15:22
[SPEAKER_02]: But then people like you take it to the next level and say, we're going to run over the roots on the rocks and the mud and the sand and the boulders except we're going to do it straight up.
15:31
[SPEAKER_02]: and we're going to do it for thousands of vertical feet so I mean to me that's a that's a marked difference from the person that likes to jog in the park to the person that can actually run on these surfaces and on these steeps and you already mentioned to us you ran in college you ran you skied and ran in high school and then after college you started doing more of this trail running.
15:54
[SPEAKER_02]: Can you maybe give some advice to people who would like to make the transition?
16:00
[SPEAKER_02]: They're like, yeah, I've enjoyed running, but running in nature instead of on the sidewalk.
16:04
[SPEAKER_02]: Now that sounds fascinating.
16:06
[SPEAKER_02]: What should people look for to do it safely and to do it successfully?
16:12
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, that's a good question.
16:13
[SPEAKER_00]: I think my first advice is like, don't count your self out just because you haven't done it.
16:19
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, doesn't mean you're totally capable of doing it.
16:22
[SPEAKER_00]: I think advice for getting into it and I think this is good advice for anything is like,
16:27
[SPEAKER_00]: easier body into it and don't just jump in completely.
16:32
[SPEAKER_00]: Just do a little bit every day and mix it with other forms of moving your body.
16:38
[SPEAKER_00]: And so if you're not used to, if you have a background of running on the roads, I think it translates pretty easily to the trails and
16:45
[SPEAKER_00]: You might run a little bit slower, but it's kind of intuitive in a way just learning how to run over rocks and roots and trees.
16:53
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not really that different from running on the roads.
16:56
[SPEAKER_00]: You're engaged in a different way.
16:58
[SPEAKER_00]: I think your brain is, but yeah, I think it's just like starting anything else.
17:03
[SPEAKER_00]: Don't overthink it, don't count yourself out, but also ease yourself into it so you don't hurt yourself right away.
17:10
[SPEAKER_00]: Take it in bite size pieces.
17:12
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, I know a little bit from experience that when you're running on a smooth surface and you've gone the distance, your body falls into this, I had to say it, a stride that could be a little bit lazy, your muscles feel tired and numb and your dexterity doesn't feel at its peak.
17:29
[SPEAKER_02]: but if you get that way in a train where you have to step over rocks and slide on sand and you know all that sort of thing, it sounds to me like that could be really challenging.
17:41
[SPEAKER_02]: So you have to build up all that dexterity I would think.
17:45
[SPEAKER_02]: How long, well, having grown up in Crested Butte, you probably already had that kind of built in.
17:52
[SPEAKER_02]: But do you have a feel for how long it takes people to develop the musculature, to be able to run on really uneven surfaces?
18:00
[SPEAKER_00]: That's a good question.
18:01
[SPEAKER_00]: I think it's a little bit different for every person.
18:04
[SPEAKER_00]: There's, I feel like two types of people that were on the U.S. team, there are people like me who grew, we're lucky enough to grow up in a place like Crestabew or in Colorado where you're just used to that technical terrain and it's almost, you learned how to approach that terrain and it's kind of second nature and you developed it from a super young age.
18:25
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, the other part is people who grew up in Kansas, like one of my teammates who runs for the same brand grew up had a track in cross country background grew up in Kansas and then wasn't really didn't really approach trail running until after college and she's one of the best in the world and I think just is a natural athlete and had this skill set from running and just kind of developed it over time.
18:50
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
18:50
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, let's talk about your recent trip to Europe, and you went to Spain for the world championships, but that's not all you did there, but let's rewind what happened in Spain.
19:02
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, so, um, flew at the Comfront Spain in the Pyrenees for the World Championships and, uh, just like what an incredible experience, like, I feel like in a time in our country where politically everything is so polarized, it's just really cool to take a step back and realize we're not that different.
19:22
[SPEAKER_00]: There were people from, I think, over 30 countries were there and you just realized, like,
19:30
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, we're all not that different and to be in a place where so many people are speaking different languages but have this really this shared passion was a really really cool thing and so the uphill event was the first today and just the race was so cool my family was able to come out and I became really good friends with the girls on the team and on the US team and so it was just a really special moment from
19:56
[SPEAKER_00]: like achieving a big milestone in my running career, but also just community-wise and got to spend and share that with really cool people and also meet a lot of cool people.
20:13
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, it's always about the people in the end, I think, whatever the sport is.
20:17
[SPEAKER_02]: It's the human connection that makes it so special.
20:20
[SPEAKER_02]: What was it like?
20:22
[SPEAKER_02]: Just describe what you went through on this race, from the starting line to the finish line.
20:27
[SPEAKER_02]: Just take us there so we can write on your shoulder and see what it was.
20:32
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, so I, like I mentioned earlier, it was about six kilometers of racing, which is like 3.8 something miles and just over 3,000 feet of climbing.
20:45
[SPEAKER_00]: The first, I'd say half mile maybe was on a road and I mean, you have to remember there's people from probably 30 countries here and four people per team and so there were a lot of people at that starting line.
20:59
[SPEAKER_00]: It was really hectic.
21:01
[SPEAKER_00]: And so just trying to find positioning was probably the hardest part of the whole race and in that first half mile on the flat road went by so fast like you're running low five minute pace.
21:14
[SPEAKER_00]: on that flat five minute mile pace on that flat road and then it bottlenecked like just onto a single track and there's videos online of it but people like the first maybe ten people got through fine and then slowly people just started piling up and it just was so chaotic and I got caught up in the bottleneck so it was a huge I wasn't in the position I wanted
21:43
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, you're not in the spot you want to be in, but like don't mentally unravel and let this ruin your whole race.
21:51
[SPEAKER_00]: After the bottleneck, it was the rest of the race was pretty much on single track, which makes it hard to pass.
21:58
[SPEAKER_00]: And so there were a bunch of really narrow switchbacks up for probably the first mile, like up to about a mile and a half on the course.
22:07
[SPEAKER_00]: and then it opened up a little bit.
22:09
[SPEAKER_00]: There's still switchbacks and on this section it's probably like 15% grade a little bit less than I think the course had an average of 30% grade so there were some parts that were steeper and then less steep but all of it was pretty like runnable at a very slow.
22:26
[SPEAKER_00]: And got above tree line and about like two, two and a half miles I think and it just opened up and was beautiful And I didn't see the whole gets it to see the whole course before I race it and so I mean talk about
22:40
[SPEAKER_00]: kind of what I alluded to earlier like and why I love this so much like you are in so much pain but then you look up and it's just beautiful like mountains you haven't seen before like we're lucky in Colorado with these beautiful mountains but Europe has some pretty special stuff in their mountains as well.
22:58
[SPEAKER_00]: So
22:58
[SPEAKER_00]: Just absolutely beautiful and put a smile on my face for sure, and then I moved up.
23:04
[SPEAKER_00]: I was racing with Jess Brazil and Hillary Allen to of my other up-hill teammates, and we were all kind of right together working as a group, um, and just trying to pick people off and move up towards the top of the race, um, and that was really nice, like having familiar faces and the chaos of
23:22
[SPEAKER_00]: just people everywhere and it was just so loud like unlike I feel like in the United States like endurance sports like mountain running nobody knows about it nobody really follows tracking cross country or road running either like running is just a nerdy sport in the United States but in Europe.
23:40
[SPEAKER_00]: These people, like the people live for this, like you're running the last mile of the course and your ears are ringing is so loud and there's three people deep across the spectators because of the spectators and like three people deeper either side of you lining the course the last mile just like screaming for you and like obviously so passionate about it and it's not like
24:05
[SPEAKER_00]: Spectating sports in the United States where you're like, oh, I'm going to go to a soccer game and you just walk right into the stadium.
24:10
[SPEAKER_00]: These people hiked up like all these fans hiked up 3,000 feet to and three miles.
24:18
[SPEAKER_00]: Like five in the morning to watch this race.
24:21
[SPEAKER_00]: And they're just so into it.
24:23
[SPEAKER_00]: And it's not a nerdy sport there.
24:25
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like really, really cool to them.
24:27
[SPEAKER_00]: And it's so cool to be, you know, competing in a place where
24:31
[SPEAKER_00]: there's so many fans that think your sport is as cool as you do and so i think that energy like when it was just so painful the last mile and i mean the last mile there's pictures and i think it was over 30% grade like thank you there's no way you can physically run it like i felt like i was sprinting in my mom has this video on her phone and i am moving so slow like i don't know how anybody can move that
24:54
[SPEAKER_00]: But I was like absolutely red-binding, like the tank was empty.
24:59
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, so the last part of the course was really, really hard.
25:01
[SPEAKER_00]: But yeah, just a beautiful day, a really cool experience to have collectively with a group of people and to be able to have a milestone like that in my career that I've achieved and also just to share that with a lot of people was really, really cool.
25:19
[SPEAKER_02]: Oh, how fun.
25:20
[SPEAKER_02]: So how did Team USA do?
25:22
[SPEAKER_00]: So I think we got our team in the women's uphill got six overall and it's typical like cross country scoring so for people who don't understand.
25:33
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, or aren't familiar with that, that's just you get a point assigned to your place in the lowest scoring team of the top like three people on each team is the winning team for that event.
25:46
[SPEAKER_00]: And so the women got six in the up hill event and then overall team USA was the third country in like the entire world mountain running championship.
25:56
[SPEAKER_00]: So there's four events total not just the up hill event men and women combined.
26:01
[SPEAKER_00]: So
26:01
[SPEAKER_00]: They also kept track of that, and so that's pretty cool.
26:06
[SPEAKER_02]: So there's the uphill event, which you ran in, there's the up, down event, and you told me all this ahead of time.
26:12
[SPEAKER_02]: So that's why I know something.
26:14
[SPEAKER_02]: There's a 50k and an 80k trail race as well.
26:18
[SPEAKER_02]: So what you're saying is that Team USA, if you combine all the races, men's and women's, came in third.
26:26
[SPEAKER_02]: That's cool.
26:27
[SPEAKER_02]: So who came in first?
26:29
[SPEAKER_02]: for ants, right?
26:31
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, which makes sense because we look at them.
26:33
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I don't remember for a second.
26:35
[SPEAKER_00]: I should know that, but I don't.
26:37
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, that's so fun.
26:39
[SPEAKER_02]: It sounds like a remarkable time.
26:41
[SPEAKER_02]: How many times have you been to Europe was this new for you?
26:45
[SPEAKER_00]: I kind of started running, like, trail and mountain running professionally at the beginning of this calendar year.
26:51
[SPEAKER_00]: had never been to Europe before.
26:53
[SPEAKER_00]: I went to two races in Austria, one in Austria, one in Switzerland, in July of this year and so it was so nice to be that international racing experience under your belt because it's just so much more competitive than races in the United States and also just
27:11
[SPEAKER_00]: learning how to deal with the variables that inevitably come with international travel.
27:17
[SPEAKER_00]: It was really nice to have that under my belt before the World Championships, so I guess hadn't been to Europe before this year, but then I've since been to Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, and I guess I did a run from like Spain to France and then back into Spain, so I guess I can say
27:38
[SPEAKER_02]: It sounds so fun, so tell us about your competition in Italy.
27:43
[SPEAKER_00]: Unlike I'd say like track where you have the pillar or like the key race in your sport that's just the pinnacle of everything, the Olympics or the World Championships, trail running is a little bit different.
27:56
[SPEAKER_00]: You have a lot of different circuits that are sponsored by different brands or entities.
28:01
[SPEAKER_00]: So the World Championships was sponsored by like the same World Athletics organization that helps with the Olympics and track World Championships.
28:12
[SPEAKER_00]: but um there's a lot of other brands like Solomon or Hoka will put on like major shoe brands will sponsor um other series or events um I participated in like the Golden Trail World Series this year and so there's like six or seven different races that happen from like April to
28:33
[SPEAKER_00]: September all over the world.
28:35
[SPEAKER_00]: I think two in Asia this year.
28:37
[SPEAKER_00]: The series was China, Japan There was a race like on the Great Wall of China, which is so cool like to do that.
28:44
[SPEAKER_00]: I didn't go But you'll need to do like three races to qualify for the final, which was what I did in Italy after the World Championships, but there's just this whole tour Asia Europe United States all over the plate.
28:59
[SPEAKER_00]: There was a race in Mexico as well
29:01
[SPEAKER_02]: Sydney sounds so cool what you've been doing and what you've learned about this new scene, US Mountain running team, all the things, the Olympics potentially coming up, how fun would that be to be able to be a part of that?
29:15
[SPEAKER_02]: But I'm kind of curious, how is this impacted your life thus far?
29:21
[SPEAKER_02]: It's a, I know that this was your first world championship, but still, how would you say that it's impacted you?
29:28
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that's a good question.
29:29
[SPEAKER_00]: It's impacted me a few different ways.
29:32
[SPEAKER_00]: I think it's, first way is just like the community I've built in the Trailing Mountain running world is unparalleled.
29:40
[SPEAKER_00]: everybody is so willing to share information and experience and you should go to this race to qualify for this race.
29:49
[SPEAKER_00]: This is the way I fuel.
29:50
[SPEAKER_00]: This is the way I train and it's just a very inclusive community that has added so much to my life.
29:56
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean I've met people in March and April of this year.
30:01
[SPEAKER_00]: and they've become some of my closest friends in this band of a few months just through the travel and the racing.
30:07
[SPEAKER_00]: I think second, it's given me the opportunity to travel the world.
30:12
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sponsored by Brooks, like a shoe company, and run for the Brits Render's team.
30:18
[SPEAKER_00]: and they've given me the support to be able to travel the world and put a lot more energy into this than I was able to previously and I think just yeah, having the means to put that much energy into this that I'm really passionate about has been really, really cool and totally changed my life and
30:37
[SPEAKER_00]: kind of, yeah, what I put my energy towards and it's pretty cool to be able to put a lot of your energy towards something you're so passionate about and is like your play, hobby, outside of work.
30:48
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, just also giving me the opportunity to travel the world and yes, we're racing and like when you're racing the eyes on the ball and you're 100% present with racing, but
30:59
[SPEAKER_00]: I've been to five countries this year that I don't know when I would have traveled to otherwise and met people from across the world and like seen places I would have never seen otherwise and when something you're so passionate about like I love racing and competing, but when that can bring so much travel and life experience in your world as well, it's just so cool and I've so much gratitude for like everything that it's added to my life.
31:25
[SPEAKER_02]: Hmm, I love it.
31:27
[SPEAKER_02]: I love it.
31:27
[SPEAKER_02]: That's one of the things we always come back to on the Adventure Sports podcast is it's life impacting when you take up some sort of a I hate to use the word hobby because I think that doesn't do it justice.
31:39
[SPEAKER_02]: It's more of a passion or even a lifestyle But that is you know oriented toward adventure whatever that whatever your sport is it seems like it just gives back so much
31:52
[SPEAKER_02]: When we invest in that and I can see that, you know, in you, where do you want to be in the future?
31:59
[SPEAKER_02]: What are your thoughts and dreams and goals for this?
32:02
[SPEAKER_00]: It's so hard to answer that question and I don't want to set limits on myself.
32:05
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, if you would ask me this question six months ago, my answer would have looked totally different and qualifying for the 14 USA to compete at World Championships is truly like changed my life in so many ways and also the goals I have in this sport.
32:22
[SPEAKER_00]: I think no matter where I go or what I do, I never want to lose my love of this sport and being in the mountains and I always want to make sure, yeah, it comes from a place of joy and I never lose sight of that, but would love to just travel to new places and just keep progressing and the sport would love to improve my downhill running, would love to qualify for the next World Championships in South Africa.
32:50
[SPEAKER_00]: in 2027 and would love to be top 10 in the world at that if I'm able to qualify.
32:56
[SPEAKER_00]: But yeah, I think at its core just never lose, lose side of why I love this and why I want to keep doing it and never lose my like fire for competition that I have and I just like love competing so much.
33:14
[SPEAKER_00]: And yeah,
33:14
[SPEAKER_00]: Never get so wrapped up in the results in the competition that I forget to look up and see the beautiful places I learned.
33:22
[SPEAKER_00]: The people I'm sharing these experiences with.
33:25
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, super cool.
33:26
[SPEAKER_02]: So how do you train?
33:28
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, if you're going to continue in this board and advance in this board, then that means you're going to have to be on it.
33:34
[SPEAKER_02]: So what is training for uphill racing?
33:38
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I just want to what that looks like.
33:40
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I'm like an uphill specialist in the sense where that's what I'm best at.
33:45
[SPEAKER_00]: But a lot of the races I do also involve some downhill running to, um, because there's way less uphill races uphill specific races.
33:52
[SPEAKER_00]: So I guess when I'm like training for an uphill specific race, I do try to run as much vertical feet as I can.
34:01
[SPEAKER_00]: I'll crank the treadmill up to 15% and
34:05
[SPEAKER_00]: Just go really slow to just so I don't have to go drive out to a mountain all the time if I'm like rolling in after work and it's 5pm and I need to get around and it's easier to do that sometimes.
34:17
[SPEAKER_00]: But I guess my training looks different depending on what time of year it is.
34:21
[SPEAKER_00]: This winter I'm wanting to incorporate a bunch of Nordic skiing and schema, just as like different movements, you're using different muscles and that really helps with like like you're saying the agility of jumping over rocks and roots and all that.
34:36
[SPEAKER_00]: I do one or two like longer runs a week so two to four hours and then I'll do like one to two speed workouts a week and that can be on a track or uphill on trails on a treadmill.
34:50
[SPEAKER_00]: I do have a speed background from the track in the road so I do like to keep that skill somewhat sharp still.
34:56
[SPEAKER_00]: And practice out a few days a week, usually running most days, or cross training, or biking, or skiing other days, and then spend some time in the weight room doing yoga.
35:07
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, you name it just moving my body in as many different ways as I can.
35:11
[SPEAKER_00]: And
35:12
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's a balance of just planning my training, you're on really cool adventures in the mountains, like, oh, I want to go run Shabbano this weekend.
35:20
[SPEAKER_00]: I want to go run this mountain this weekend, and then also like, okay, I need to work this skill or sharpen this element of my training improve my turnover.
35:30
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to do this specific workout this week.
35:34
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, you already mentioned the imaging trail, or pass, and also the west maroon, and I was just both of those sound glorious to me.
35:42
[SPEAKER_02]: I've not done either one.
35:44
[SPEAKER_02]: I've climbed the maroon bells, multiple times, but always from the other side.
35:47
[SPEAKER_02]: I've never done the pass.
35:49
[SPEAKER_02]: Just so people get to feel for what it's like.
35:51
[SPEAKER_02]: If you were running from, well, essentially, Scofield, right, over west maroon pass, down toward maroon lake and Aspen,
36:00
[SPEAKER_02]: What is that like?
36:02
[SPEAKER_02]: How far is it?
36:02
[SPEAKER_02]: How steep is it?
36:03
[SPEAKER_02]: What's a scenery like?
36:05
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that's a good question.
36:06
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think this is pretty representative of like the average run I do in a week.
36:12
[SPEAKER_00]: Like I'll do one or two of these runs in a week when I'm training for a big race in this summer.
36:17
[SPEAKER_00]: So Westboro and Pass is just over 10 miles.
36:20
[SPEAKER_00]: I think between three and 4,000 feet of elevation gain.
36:23
[SPEAKER_00]: It starts in Crested Beauty Colorado and goes to Aspen Colorado.
36:26
[SPEAKER_00]: Crested Beauty
36:27
[SPEAKER_00]: is I think around like 9 or 10,000 feet where the trail actually starts just outside of gothic.
36:33
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a pretty steady like incline and then you kind of reach this saddle um three or four miles in and you just look out, it's on the tip of my tongue but you just like look over to the other side and it's all downhill after you get to that saddle into aspen and you have pyramid peak on your
36:54
[SPEAKER_00]: It's just this gradual descent into, like, I think it's my room, like, I don't know what the lakes called.
37:01
[SPEAKER_00]: The bells for like people who don't, for people listening to this who don't know what the bells are, you do know what the bells are and you've seen pictures of them.
37:10
[SPEAKER_00]: You just might not put two and two together.
37:11
[SPEAKER_00]: They're just the most iconic,
37:14
[SPEAKER_00]: cool pyramid looking mountain.
37:16
[SPEAKER_00]: So you'll see a picture of a m and DIA.
37:18
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like when you Google Colorado, that's the first image that pops up because they're just so ironic.
37:24
[SPEAKER_00]: And there's like a lot of times in the year like snow on top and they're just it's really rotten rock.
37:30
[SPEAKER_00]: So the formations are just like eroded in a really cool way.
37:34
[SPEAKER_00]: And
37:35
[SPEAKER_00]: They're, yeah, just like finishing runs in front of this crystal clear blue lake and then some of the most iconic mountains in the US, it's really cool.
37:45
[SPEAKER_02]: Okay, so you said it's like 10 miles, so you run to ask, but how do you get home again to turn around and run back?
37:50
[SPEAKER_00]: You run back and that way, it's hard work for us when you're going to feel for seven miles.
37:56
[SPEAKER_00]: And then just downhill for like three or four on the end.
37:59
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that was like my first big trail run I ever did with my mom.
38:04
[SPEAKER_00]: And I remember like walking the last two miles.
38:07
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think I was like 13, 14 years old.
38:10
[SPEAKER_00]: And she was just like feeding me candy.
38:12
[SPEAKER_00]: Like trying to get me to the.
38:14
[SPEAKER_00]: back to the car on the other side because I was so tired.
38:19
[SPEAKER_02]: It's just such beautiful scenery through there.
38:22
[SPEAKER_02]: And I have been on top of that pass because that's how you climb the southern of the bells, Marin Peak, as you go up to that to the saddle and then you continue on up the peak.
38:33
[SPEAKER_02]: So I've been up the other side to there, but never from the Scofield side.
38:37
[SPEAKER_02]: So very, very, very cool.
38:39
[SPEAKER_02]: And imaging is another scenery-wise world class.
38:44
[SPEAKER_02]: It's beautiful up there.
38:46
[SPEAKER_02]: What is that one like?
38:47
[SPEAKER_00]: The sand wands are just such beautiful mountains.
38:51
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, it's hard to even find words to describe it.
38:55
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, I remember, because the race goes from Yurei, Colorado to tell you, I call her out of it.
38:59
[SPEAKER_00]: And I remember both years I've done it since the first year, I did it.
39:04
[SPEAKER_00]: I remember sitting in eating dinner in Yurei the night before and the sun's like setting over the box, canyon, and the mountains just like so tall.
39:13
[SPEAKER_00]: How am I going to run?
39:14
[SPEAKER_00]: Like how do people run over that?
39:17
[SPEAKER_00]: Like that is just so steep.
39:18
[SPEAKER_00]: It's hard to even like fathom moving that like on that steep of terrain.
39:24
[SPEAKER_00]: But you do.
39:25
[SPEAKER_00]: And I just remember getting to the top like by legs, the top of the past.
39:30
[SPEAKER_00]: My legs were hurting so bad.
39:31
[SPEAKER_00]: But then like,
39:32
[SPEAKER_00]: same thing people are cheering for you people are at the aid station in costumes and then you just do this downhill it's like I think 10 miles uphill 7 miles downhill and the just coasting down the downhill and to tell you ride on this mining road and just looking out over tell you ride and just seeing those canyon walls and
39:53
[SPEAKER_00]: Just tell you I just just so beautiful and I like that that time of year they hold that race It's the beginning of fall so the leaves are starting to turn and you have like a little bit of that cold fall air And it's just so beautiful.
40:06
[SPEAKER_02]: Very very fun.
40:08
[SPEAKER_02]: So this is not just an athletic event This is an athletic event that takes you to some of the world's most spectacular places.
40:15
[SPEAKER_02]: How fun is that?
40:17
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm really really lucky and you're so grateful for it
40:21
[SPEAKER_02]: It's so, so cool, so if people want to get involved in this type of mountain running, any recommendations for them, how can they learn more?
40:36
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, um, I think it's becoming more and more common to find like run clubs and run groups.
40:41
[SPEAKER_00]: So if you don't feel comfortable going out by yourself, there's lots of social media is a really good way to find run clubs and run groups and in more like mountainous places, um, I want to say like bend organ has good trail running run groups, but that's a really good way to meet people and build community and go out from people.
41:02
[SPEAKER_00]: If you're coming from not knowing anything, like go out with people who know what they're doing, and learn new trails and stuff, I'd say get a good pair of shoes that works for you, and doesn't hurt your feet.
41:13
[SPEAKER_00]: And yeah, the hardest part is starting.
41:16
[SPEAKER_00]: And then just get out there and don't lose sight of just the beautiful place you're in.
41:21
[SPEAKER_00]: And
41:21
[SPEAKER_00]: how lucky you are to move your body in a beautiful place and connect with people and use it as a way to connect with people.
41:27
[SPEAKER_00]: I think run clubs are a great way to start and then you can go on the internet or go on YouTube and find races close to you that are just iconic or find a place you've always wanted to visit and if it's mountainous and or not mountainous there's plenty of culture of races on coasts too but I'm sure there's a trail race sign up for it like why not jump in
41:51
[SPEAKER_02]: and how can people learn more about the U.S. mountain running team?
41:54
[SPEAKER_00]: The U.S. mountain training team has an Instagram.
41:56
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a USA track and field branch of USA track and field.
42:00
[SPEAKER_00]: So anything on that website, also a good way is to just follow athletes that have been on the team through social media.
42:07
[SPEAKER_00]: And then there's recaps of all the races and they did such a good job filming all of these races and like the most remote parts of Spain.
42:15
[SPEAKER_00]: Through like starlink and people with cameras and stabilizers on mountain bikes, so really good recaps of the races as well on YouTube.
42:24
[SPEAKER_00]: So go check that out Oh, that's awesome.
42:27
[SPEAKER_02]: And how can people follow you?
42:28
[SPEAKER_00]: You can follow me on Instagram.
42:31
[SPEAKER_00]: My Instagram handle is at Sydney Petersen 33 and Yeah, I think that's my main form of social media and the one I update the most and probably the best one to follow me on
42:43
[SPEAKER_00]: And I compete with Brooks, so follow Brooks at Brooks Trail Runners on Instagram.
42:49
[SPEAKER_00]: You'll see a lot of me, and also my Brooks Trail Runners teammates who are incredible humans and way better at this than I am, so yeah, give them a follow as well.
42:59
[SPEAKER_02]: Okay, and Peterson is not Patterson and it's not Patterson, it's Peterson.
43:04
[SPEAKER_02]: So P-E-T-E-R-S-E-N is on, right?
43:08
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
43:08
[SPEAKER_00]: I make all the different ways of spelling Peterson into my own way that nobody else spells it that way.
43:15
[SPEAKER_02]: So we can find you.
43:16
[SPEAKER_00]: If you can't find me, you're probably spelling it wrong.
43:19
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, Sydney, thank you so much for your time.
43:23
[SPEAKER_02]: I really enjoyed visiting with you, and I'm jealous.
43:26
[SPEAKER_02]: I would have loved to have done this, and honestly, while I still climb mountains, running on them is going to be, I don't know, I hope I get back there someday, but then maybe a challenge.
43:38
[SPEAKER_02]: So, anyway, I'm just think it's so cool what you do, and I say more power to you.
43:46
[SPEAKER_02]: So thank you for being on the show.
43:48
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, thank you so much.
43:49
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm honored to be on a such a cool podcast with such incredible guests and yeah, thanks for chatting the adventure sports podcast community such great people.
43:58
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm so so honored to have been a part of this so everyone maybe this is a sport that you would love to do too, but whatever it is, make sure you do get out there and have some fun.