Latest / The Steep Stuff Podcast / #85 - Sydney Petersen

Transcript

#85 - Sydney Petersen · The Steep Stuff Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What's up guys?
• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Steep Stuff Podcast.
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: I'm your host, james Lariello, and I'm so excited to bring you guys an episode today with none other than Sydney Peterson, so stoked to have Sydney on the pod.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Sydney absolutely had such an amazing 2024 season and is pretty much just getting started, with top finishes at Broken Arrow, at the 23k, as well as the Golden Trail Series race, the Mammoth Trail Fest 26K.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: Last year, sydney absolutely set it on fire.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: Oh, did I mention she's also a former champion of the Imogene Pass Run from back in 2023?
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: So she's an absolute crusher.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Also just signed her first professional contract with Brooks Trail Runners, which, as a brand, I'm so excited to see them investing so heavily on the sub-Ulter scene.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: We talked a lot about Sydney's 2024 and 2025 plans, or 2024 season and plans for 2025.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: Those plans include heading to Soonipi Scramble this year for the US Mountain Running Champs and the Mountain Classic to compete there, as well as the Broken Arrow Ascent and the Broken Arrow 23K.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: Again, it was really fun.
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: We got a lot of conversation around some of the Golden Trail Series races, specifically like Broken Arrow, and you know what she learned from last year and how to apply and get better and improve going into this year.
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: It was a really fun conversation, so wishing Sydney the absolute best of luck in her 2025 season and what she's got planned, so yeah, without further ado, I hope you guys enjoy this one.
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: It's a personal favorite of mine Such a fun conversation.
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: Here we go, sidney Peterson.
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: It's time, ladies and gentlemen, we are live.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: Listen up, guys.
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: The Steep Stuff Podcast is brought to you by Ultimate Direction USA.
• 2:37
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• 2:46
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• 3:18
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• 3:33
  Speaker 1: Sydney Peterson, welcome to the Steep Stuff Podcast.
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: How are you?
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: I'm doing super well.
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: How are you?
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: I'm doing great.
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: It's Wednesday, we're middle of the way.
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: Through the week it's been warm in Colorado Springs.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: I don't have much to complain about in life right now.
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: It's pretty good.
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: How about yourself?
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: I have nothing to complain about either.
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: It's 55 degrees.
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: I'm in Gunnison, Colorado, right now and for those of you who aren't familiar with Gunnison, it's one of the coldest places in the lower 48.
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: So while it's maybe not great for March temps, I'm not complaining because it's great for training.
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: So oh yeah, no, it's hard to complain about it.
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: I mean, I just I literally had Josh Eberle on the podcast last week and we were joking about how cold Gunnison is and like just how like I guess, technically, I guess, yeah, it is a Valley, but, dude, yeah, I don't know how you guys do that.
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: I see Kieran Ney is really big on posting quick stories on his Instagram of stuff that he's doing and it just looks so cold.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: I'm like, oh, it looks brutal.
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: So, yeah, yeah, all right.
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: So let's dive in, let's get into this, introduce yourself.
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: I know we already introduced you, but maybe give me the five-minute elevator pitch on your background, where you're from and your story with running?
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure.
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: So my name is Sydney.
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: I grew up in Crested Butte, colorado, so very close to Gunnison.
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: This place is near and dear to my heart and I kind of got into running pretty late for an NCAA career.
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: I know ultra runners and mountain runners no-transcript and kind of have a background, a very diverse athletic background.
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: Played a bunch of team sports growing up.
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: My parents are huge skiers, my twin brother skis for Rossignol and has kind of been doing the pro free ride thing the past few years and big ski family.
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: So that's a lot of my athletic background as well.
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: And after college just kind of got a real job and wasn't sure what running would hold and started going to some trail races that I've always wanted to do and slowly dipped my feet into it, if you will, and ended up really kind of loving it.
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: And here we are now.
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: So Wow, I love it.
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: Let's let's rewind a little bit.
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: I do want to kind of dissect and talk about running for Colorado state Cause like I mean, what a what a fun program to run for.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: I love it.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: Let's rewind a little bit.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: I do want to kind of dissect and talk about running for Colorado State, because what a fun program to run for.
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: I've only heard really good things.
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: Maybe talk about your experience there.
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: I know you said it was really beneficial, but maybe talk about your career there, what you specifically ran in on the track side and things like that.
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: So I have nothing but good things to say about my career at CSU.
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: I was a walk-on, so that basically means like no scholarship or anything coming out of high school.
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: It's the coaches are like okay, I guess we'll give this girl a spot here.
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: And I had three different coaches throughout my time there Art Seamers, who is the brother of Chris Seamers, who is the head coach for Colorado School of Mines, so just very talented coaches who are really good at developing athletes.
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: And Art Seamers was kind of known for maybe not taking the five-star recruits right out of high school.
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: If he got them, that's great, but he was able to really develop athletes and that was very appealing to me and I was really happy that he saw something in me.
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: So kind of just was like here goes nothing, We'll see what happens.
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: And then I was also coached by Andrew Epperson, who was the assistant coach for four years and then a head coach for one year.
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: He actually still writes my training, so if that says anything about just his coaching.
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: And Kelly Hart is now the coach.
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: So nothing but good things to say about all of them.
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: And it was really cool to be on the women's team the time I was there because when I started the men's team was really good, getting top 10 at NCAAs as a cross-country team, and the women's team wasn't even making it to nationals and by the time I left the program we were one of the best teams in the country, which I think is just a testament to the culture and the way they were able to develop athletes like myself and I was never an all American Like I there's so many just amazing women in the sub ultra scene right now, like Sarah Carter, who is my teammate and she's has multiple school records and stuff, and, you see, like Lauren, Allie, Anna, and they're all just these super fast, amazing, like have raced at the Olympic trials caliber athletes.
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: And I was never that way but I slowly got better each year and I feel like that's kind of all you can ask for in a sport that can be so rough and with injury and just kind of all over the place sometimes.
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: So I had very good mentorship and guidance and still kind of do from that program.
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: How did you do from a durability perspective?
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: Because I know some people come into these programs and their bodies just get wrecked from workouts on workouts or just like they have a hard time with the durability component ability like component yeah.
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: So I went from high school I distribute so small that you don't have club programs or anything so I really ran like 12 weeks of maybe a little bit more than 12 weeks, but very little of the year, and would run 15 to 20 miles a week.
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: And so going from that to a division I program where people are training year-round at 50 to 80 miles a week for the women, it was definitely a big jump and the coaches did such a good job developing me.
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: I redshirted my freshman year.
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: I don't think I went over 40 miles a week until the end of my freshman year and just slowly built that base till the end of my freshman year and just slowly built that base and it took two or so years to be able to train.
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: The same way.
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: A lot of the other girls on the team were training but they just took the time to invest in me and I think, with that being said, with that strong base, I only had one injury in college that took me out for a few months but did well and was able to sustain pretty high mileage by the end of it.
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: So yeah, that's awesome.
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean that's kind of a rare thing to hear too is like dude.
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: I talked to so many people that are just like completely worn out from the collegiate system, Like they're just their bodies just like can't handle it from and like I don't know.
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: There's quite a few examples, too, where folks will have to take like years off after they leave the NCAA programs, before they even start the trails.
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: So, yeah, that's amazing to hear.
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: I love that you've had a good experience there.
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: So let's fast forward to the trails.
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: You made quite a name for yourself over the last year, plus maybe two years.
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: You had some great finishes at Broken Arrow.
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: You signed up for US Mountain Running Champss.
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: You also had a great finish at the us mountain running champs last year.
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: What was that transition like for you?
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: Like like what, what started?
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: Like the excitement for the trails.
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: Like did you sign up for a race?
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: You're like, oh, this sounds cool.
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: Like what?
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: What kind of prompted that to uh, for you to pursue that?
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: so I've always loved the mountains and trail running and just running in the mountains and just as a thing in itself and not so much competitively.
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: I almost think that's where my running career started, even before high school cross country or anything like that.
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: I remember being in volleyball practice in high school and then going on a run afterwards just on trails and I was like this is amazing, I can't think of anything better.
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: So I always had that kind of as a part of me and during college sometimes I would miss being able to train on the trails and just being in the mountains.
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: As much as you are in Crested Butte and growing up in Crested Butte, I'd always heard of the Imogene Pass run and so my mom and I had this pact where we were like, okay, when we're, when I'm done with my college running, we're going to do the Imogene Pass run or sign up for it and race it.
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: And um, that was kind of recently after Taylor and I started dating, so his mom also did it and I ended up not really training super hard that summer, like I honestly did.
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: I ran, but I didn't train or anything.
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: I was kind of done with college and had an amazing race.
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: It was kind of a spiritual experience and it was the longest I'd ever run and um just loved it.
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: And so I was like I guess maybe I'm way more cut out for this than I was running flat on the track in the NCAA, so maybe I'll keep training a little bit.
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: So I reached back out to my college coach, and he also coaches Adrian McDonald and a handful of road and trail people, so he's just very knowledgeable and he's like sure I'll start writing you workouts.
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: And Taylor and I decided to sign up for broken arrow and a handful of other small low key races, some of which we ended up going to and some of which we did it.
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: Um, after broken arrow, and we didn't know.
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: We knew broken arrow was competitive, but we had no idea it was what it was until we got there.
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: Dissect that, dissect it.
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: Tell me, tell me what you thought about that when you got there.
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: We pulled up into the parking lot and we were like camping out of Taylor's truck which had driven from Colorado to um, truckee.
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: And we pull up in the parking lot like the day of the VK, next to the adidas tarix van and like there's just so many pro athletes and all the tents and we're used to going to races like the imogene pass run or run through time that are just super low-key citizens races and we're like, oh, this is like a big scene, there's a lot of people here and it was just such a fun event like so much energy, and that's the thing I love about trail races that they're citizens races also and just it draws a really cool crowd of people.
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: And, um, we did the VK and the 23 K.
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: Both of us and I I think I'm a better uphill runner than downhill runner I definitely had no idea what I was getting into and kind of got crushed a little bit in the VK.
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: It wasn't exactly what I wanted and we were both kind of, I remember, after the day of the VK we were both kind of bummed out and like maybe we're just not meant for this.
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: And then the next day or two days later we ran the 23k and both had great races and, um, I just remember feeling so good the whole time and passing people where I'm like this person's, like a really good trail runner.
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: I really shouldn't be running with them right now and like passing them, but I guess we'll just go with it and they're probably going to catch me later, but I might as well just go with it feeling good.
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: And I remember I knew nothing about nutrition during races at the time, cause I'd never really run races that long before.
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: Cause in college you're running a 5k or the steeplechase, which were my events, and doing that for 10, 15 minutes.
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: And I remember I had no, I had one handheld water thing.
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: Didn't bring any gels or anything, and somebody at mile nine was like please take a gel, and I think that saved my race, honestly.
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: So whoever that person was, thank you, but um, yeah, that's so crazy, especially for your first, like roll the dice of broken arrow.
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: I mean, what did you have?
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: I think it would be your 12th or 13th place in the VK and then seventh at the 23 K, which is absurd for someone just coming into the sport just dabbling.
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: You're like I don't really know what I'm doing, but I'm just going to see what happens.
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: That's so crazy.
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: And Taylor had amazing results as well, which is just like I don't know.
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: It's pretty cool.
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: What do you think?
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: And I don't want to shift too hard into this season, but what did you take away and learn now that you have all this experience going into the US mountain running champs and other races like Sunopee and the VK and Broken Arrow this year?
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: SUNA P and the VK and Broken Arrow this year.
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: Oh, that's a good question.
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: I still feel so naive and like I don't know anything in the sport, but people are so willing to share information and just experience, which is really cool and one of the things I love about this community learning to dial my nutrition during races and fueling during races and training in a lot right now and I'm hope I'm hoping that'll lead to some breakthroughs during races and also just race strategy, like I feel like I made even though the results on paper look good for broken arrow and stuff like that.
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: I feel like I made tactical mistakes of just like, oh, I went out too fast or pushed this part of the climb too much and then was just toast by the time I had to run downhill, or just strategic stuff like that that I'm hoping to dial in a little bit more this year, but I still have such a beginner mindset with it and feel like I know so little.
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: So yeah, I love that approach and I love the takeaway.
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: It's it sub alters weird.
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: Cause it's like, especially coming from the track or like a cross country background, like I feel like those types of athletes adapt a lot faster to it because especially like the Cirque series races and even something like broken arrow Cause it's so competitive that if you don't put yourself in the race in the mix within the first like mile or so, or even from the gun, like moves are being made and like you're not going to be able to get in the front because there it's just so competitive and people are like making moves from the gun, which is wild, so it's it's bananas, like it's crazy how competitive they are yeah, I totally agree yeah, so all right.
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: So fast forward from broken arrow and you find yourself at the us mountain running champs, at snowbird, where you're racing grayson, murphy, rachel, tom jack some of the biggest women names in the sport.
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: What was?
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: What was that like like?
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: Was that?
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: Obviously that's a significant step up in competition, even for broken arrow.
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: Like.
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: What was that like for you?
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: Because you, you had such an amazing result.
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: Talk about that race.
• 18:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that race was a wild one and I was really stressed about it because just in the Gunnison Valley we don't get super hot summers or hot temps, so I was not acclimated to the heat at all and I remember it was like a hundred degrees that day and Taylor and I went up to just kind of scout the course the day before and run around the snowbird base area and I was so hot and I was like I don't know how I'm going to race in this.
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: This is so brutal.
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: And then I think just kind of adjusted my mindset and um, it was crazy lining up next to Grayson and just such storied people in the sport.
• 19:10
  Speaker 2: But I think when you've never raced people in the same setting, I just tried to keep my same beginner mindset, like I have nothing to lose, nobody knows who I am, and let's just go have a great day in the mountains and remember to look up once in a while on the climb and enjoy the view and just have that kind of mindset.
• 19:31
  Speaker 2: And you're talking about people going out super fast in that race and are in sub ultra races and people went out so fast in that race.
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: It was a downhill start and I just remember being.
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: I think I was in like 20th or 30th after the first mile and I was like I guess it's just not my day Like these.
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: These girls are gonna just have great days.
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: It's not mine and I didn't want to go out too hard because of the heat.
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: And then I think by halfway through the climb it was Grayson and MK Sullivan leading it and I passed MK and it was Grayson and I for a while and then I actually passed Grayson and was in the lead for a little bit.
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: But I have the tendency to climb really hard and I think this is where I just show my like inexperience in the sport and I went way too hard on the climb and, I think, treated it more like a vk and my legs were shot and I got passed by Grayson right at the top and then um, a few other like Rachel passed me and a handful of other girls.
• 20:37
  Speaker 2: So I think tactically not my best racing, but also like there's a lot of good that came out of that race and I was proud of the confidence I had to just like go mix it up with the best people in the world.
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: But yeah, definitely um was kind of put in my place with like okay, yeah, this is your first us championships.
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: You have no idea how to race these crazy up down races.
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: Dude, they're hard man, and especially like that particular course.
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: I've never raced snowbird, but I know the course relatively well.
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: Like what is it like?
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: Eight or nine?
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: I think it's like seven to nine miles.
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: And what is it like?
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: Almost 4,000 feet of vert or somewhere in that range?
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: Did you have any?
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: Did you struggle at all with that, like amount of vertical for up down, or was that totally fine for you?
• 21:20
  Speaker 2: I thrive on the climbs, like the steeper.
• 21:23
  Speaker 2: The gnarlier the climb, the better for me.
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: And then I really struggled on the descent off of baldy, like I lost so much time off of that and then that's a sense nasty, was fine on the mountain road and then I got passed again on a really steep single track right into the finish, and so I think I just need to train my like technical downhill running a lot more and put that in my training way more intentionally than I did last year.
• 21:54
  Speaker 2: Um, because that descent was so gnarly and I felt the descent to answer your question way more than the climb.
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: Just with that 4,000 vert like feel like anybody can climb that much, but it's the descending that really like makes or breaks the race.
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: It's weird too, cause, like those types of races like I raced Alta this past summer as well and, dude, like you get off the yet I think it's off the Baldy, because we're on Baldy for a section two at the Alta one and you get off Baldy to this like insane, like downhill, and then you connect to the road and like if you don't have legs on the road, like you're toast, you're going to get rolled up and like that was the problem I had.
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: Like I was just like dude, like I just climbed 3000 feet, like how am I supposed to run?
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: Like these guys are running like sub five minute miles.
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: It's so crazy.
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I love the sport.
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: It's the best sport in the world.
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: Like it's so competitive and so fun.
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: Um, yeah, so are you going to go back to any Cirque series races, you think this year?
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: Um, I don't think so.
• 22:56
  Speaker 2: If it was a US champs, definitely, and I loved that snowbird race and would love to do the Cirque series as a series someday, but not planning on it this year so far.
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: Okay, let's, let's talk about, let's dive into it, you.
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: There's a lot to unpack here.
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: You recently signed a professional contract with Brooks, which is congratulations, it's amazing, thank you.
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: Let's talk about that.
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: I want to because Brooks made a huge announcement In my opinion.
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: I don't want to go all over the place here, but in my opinion I think Brooks might have the best sub-Ultra Trail team on the planet right now, just between how stacked both the American and the European side is right now.
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: Maybe talk about like how that process played out.
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: Did they reach out to you, did you reach out to them?
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: And kind of how that conversation unfolded.
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: You don't have to give away too much, whatever you feel comfortable with.
• 23:47
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I totally agree with you.
• 23:50
  Speaker 2: I think Brooks is doing a great job just investing in the athlete right now, and could not agree more.
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: They have one of the best sub ultra teams in the U S right now and it's just with we I don't know just with the sub ultra culture right now, and we have Taylor and I are friends with a lot of people who are sponsored and I feel like it's just really hard to get a contract right now.
• 24:17
  Speaker 2: So I feel very grateful to have connected with Brooks and um.
• 24:22
  Speaker 2: I felt like it was very similar to my recruiting experience in college.
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: Like I reached out initially, but it was just them seeing a lot of potential in me, like, okay, I only raced a few races.
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: I had a few good results somewhat consistent, but like nothing crazy showing that I'm gonna be like a world champion or anything, and so I think just that trust and belief in me went a long way.
• 24:52
  Speaker 2: So, and they make a great product too, like um, a product that I'm like very happy to train in and race in, and yeah, so what's your favorite show?
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: what do you like so far?
• 25:06
  Speaker 2: I love the calderas, the caldera seven and eights, and then I've been doing a lot of road running right now too, just because it's chrysobutin gunnison in the winter.
• 25:16
  Speaker 2: So the glycerin 22s are definitely a go-to for that.
• 25:20
  Speaker 2: But was?
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: is it?
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: Was it kind of like a I wouldn't say a dream come true, because I think that's I don't know if that's the right word usage but was it like kind of surreal because, like coming off like your first season, you signed with a, you know, with one of the biggest, if not the biggest, sub-ultra brand in the sport.
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: Now, were you anticipating something like that happening, or it just came to be?
• 25:41
  Speaker 2: Not at all.
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: It felt very surreal that's a very good way to describe it.
• 25:46
  Speaker 2: And in college I had a great experience at CSU, like we've already talked about.
• 25:50
  Speaker 2: But there were also a lot of moments where I felt like I was just trying so hard to achieve a certain outcome, like making a conference team or getting a certain time cut off and it just felt so forced and I was just trying so hard and not getting any results and just for it to happen that easily, or not easily, but just very seamlessly, and it just happened quickly and it was kind of just, I think, the most surreal because of that, like in my running career, like I have had success but it has come like from years and years of grinding, and so for it to just happen like that was kind of a nice surprise.
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: Super cool, are you guys?
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: What is it?
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: At the end of the month or April, you guys have your um.
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: What was it?
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: Athlete summit, right?
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: Dan Kurtz told me.
• 26:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah.
• 26:44
  Speaker 2: That's cool, that'll be fun to meet everybody and it seems like a great crew.
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: So I think summits are the best.
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: Like I don't know, it's really weird, and especially like I don't know for me like my first.
• 27:03
  Speaker 2: Like my first one, like dude, like I got to meet joe gray I was like, oh my god, like this is the goat, like what the hell?
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: like what am I doing here?
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: Just so weird, yeah, so, yeah, it's exciting, um, very cool.
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: Well, congratulations, I'm so excited.
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: Do you think, like not to pivot too hard but like, um, with that support, are you guys planning to like go race it all in Europe?
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: What are your plans for this year besides Broken Arrow and Soonapy?
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: So we're going to start local and, I think, open our season at Desert Rats in kind of Fruita Grand Junction area, which is nice and close, and it's just fun to have a somewhat local race to start the season off.
• 27:38
  Speaker 2: And then, um, we're going to do us champs and soon to pee and um broken arrow and then, I think, planning on going over to Europe.
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: So that'll be super exciting and I've never been to Europe before so I could not be doing that without Brooke.
• 27:54
  Speaker 2: So I think that's the dream come true, part of it.
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: So that's the picture I try to paint to the audience and like for people that like, don't understand, like spot, like that is.
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: One of the biggest helps is to be able to go race the races and do the things that you want to go do over there.
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: What races, in particular over in Europe, are you thinking about, are you trying to get into?
• 28:12
  Speaker 2: I think right now we're planning on doing Austria um golden trail, that stuff, um, I think pits Alpine glacier is the official name, and then we're going to do Sears and all so Ooh, oh my gosh.
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: I can't.
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: That's like, that's my bucket list race.
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: Like I, I am upset.
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: Like I don't think people understand either.
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: Like it starts in a place called Siri and ends in a place called Zanol Uh, nobody got that.
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: But like hey, it's kind of cool.
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: I don't think people understand either.
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: Like it starts in a place called Siri and ends in a place called Zanal Nobody got that, but like hey, it's kind of cool.
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: I don't know, I think it's kind of neat.
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: It's a little point to point, but like I don't know, like that is such an iconic, like the pinnacle of our sport, which is kind of dope.
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: Yes, I run like I've wanted to do that race since I was in like high school, early college, so yeah, really wow, that's kind of crazy that like people like that young, like in the college scene, like learn about um, like learn about the trail, like the trails in general and like our biggest races, which is kind of crazy, like killing it and people like not doing this stuff, that's so cool um, let's, let's get on to the nitty-itty on broken arrow and soon to pee Like.
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: I think you have like an amazing shot at making like one of these teams.
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: Is that?
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: Is that a goal for this year?
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah.
• 29:28
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, definitely a big goal.
• 29:30
  Speaker 2: I mean it's going to be a hard team to make, like the most competitive on the men's and the women's side that compared to past years than it's ever been.
• 29:42
  Speaker 2: Um, but I don't know.
• 29:45
  Speaker 2: You got to just throw yourself into it and give yourself a chance and do your best with what you have on that day and do all the training ahead of time.
• 29:54
  Speaker 2: And I mean I think people try to overcomplicate running and the end of the day, like you just got to do the training and show up on race day and do the best you can and, um, I hope that, like with what I do, um, I'll be in a good spot to make that team.
• 30:09
  Speaker 2: But I mean, whoever we send, we'll be sending a super stacked team on both sides.
• 30:16
  Speaker 2: But yeah, really hope to be a part of that.
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: Big time.
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: That's amazing.
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: Are you more excited for Sunipi or Broken Arrow?
• 30:23
  Speaker 2: They're such different races.
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: That's why I asked.
• 30:28
  Speaker 2: I'm excited for Sunipi because I really want to redeem myself and just like my technical downhill running because I feel like I just had a tough time with that last year and I've been working really hard on that and just like my technical downhill running because I feel like I just had a tough time with that last year and I've been working really hard on that, so would love to have another stab at that and just put the tactical part um to the test again and see if I could better myself in that way.
• 30:52
  Speaker 2: So I'm really looking forward to that.
• 30:54
  Speaker 2: About synape I love climbing.
• 30:58
  Speaker 2: I feel that's by far my favorite type of racing and um, I've also seen the broken arrow VK course now, so I'm really excited to hopefully do well at that one too.
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, it's going to be crazy.
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: I um, I don't know, I think soon to be is going to be interesting race this year.
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: Like watching it play out is going to be fun, just because it's two loops and it's like all right, whoever goes out the hardest in the loop, are you going to hold on to the second loop?
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: Because it's the same thing with Broken Arrow, the 46k.
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: It's a two-loop race and whoever's leading on the first loop generally is not leading on the second loop.
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: So it's going to be very interesting to see the dynamics at play there and who like asserts himself early in the race and who can hang on, you know, and finish it off.
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I can't wait to follow along.
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: It's going to be yeah, we've got a big june coming.
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: It's going to be crazy, yeah, um, and the broken arrow course as well too.
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: Like what did you think when you line up?
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: And it's just like a.
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: It's like a ski hill, like there's like shrubbery, like shrubs like in, like like plants in the middle of the, in the middle of the course, like for that, it's like kind of crazy, right.
• 32:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I like I live in a ski town so I think I was less phased by that than most people Like.
• 32:16
  Speaker 2: One of my favorite runs in the summer is starting in the base area and then running up the Mount Crested Butte Ski Resort to the top of the lift and it's just a mountain road, but then you can cut switchbacks and just run straight up the ski run and I do that quite a bit.
• 32:31
  Speaker 2: So I was like, oh, this is just what I do at home, so I was not that phased.
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: But then taylor's like it's a literal ski ride I think everybody was like scratching their head, like wow, this is a really crazy thing for a mass start.
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: Like there's like plants in the middle of the like I've run down that before, I've never run up that part and I'm like what the hell, like what a strange place for everybody.
• 32:53
  Speaker 1: But I guess it like thins it out because like when you get to the top and I guess when you get to the road, it like kind of thins things out a little bit.
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: I guess I have no idea.
• 33:01
  Speaker 2: It's kind of crazy though yeah, it's kind of funny.
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: It's cool, though of course a little altered too this year, like it's like a little bit longer and like almost ends somewhat on a descent, because, like they, I guess to mimic the course of the um, of like the world's course, I don't know different interesting.
• 33:20
  Speaker 2: I haven't, I haven't heard that, but I'm excited oh yeah, check it out.
• 33:23
  Speaker 1: It's on the website.
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: It's not that much further, it's like a little bit.
• 33:25
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I, when I had joe on the podcast, like he and I were like like looking at the, the, like all the stats on it and all the things it's gonna be like.
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: That might be the most.
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: If if, like some of the golden trail series, guys and gals that like are going to race on Sunday show up and decide to race the VK too, like just to see if maybe they'll give them bibs, it might be like the most competitive race ever assembled on American soil, which is going to be crazy.
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: So yeah.
• 33:50
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I totally believe it.
• 33:51
  Speaker 2: It was so competitive last year Like I can't imagine it being much more competitive than it was, and I already feel like it is that way.
• 33:59
  Speaker 2: So yeah, that's crazy.
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: All right, so let's let's get into training a little bit.
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: I'm very curious to hear, like, what you do, what your training build looks like.
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: Um, you know, prepping for the summer season, even desert routes and stuff like that.
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: Like if you I know you said you were on the roads a bunch but like what does your mileage look like?
• 34:14
  Speaker 1: Like what kind of workouts are you doing?
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: Things like that.
• 34:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a good question.
• 34:19
  Speaker 2: Um, I feel like I'm still again the newbie mindset, like I'm still trying to kind of figure out what I'm doing.
• 34:28
  Speaker 2: Um, but after we raced mammoth I took about a month off of just any sort of running or structured training which I feel like was really good for me mentally and physically, and then slowly started building a base and started workouts kind of in January and I incorporate a bunch of skiing into my training, either Nordic ski or skin up the resort in Crested Butte once or twice a week, either as a double or a standalone session.
• 35:04
  Speaker 2: So I think that just helps me keep a higher volume without as much time on my feet, especially when there's really no trails here in the winter.
• 35:17
  Speaker 2: I know, like Colorado Springs in the Front Range, sometimes you can get a taste of trails in the winter, a little bit between storms and snow cycles.
• 35:25
  Speaker 2: But pretty much once the snow falls here the trails are done until March, April.
• 35:32
  Speaker 2: So they're just starting to kind of melt out again and so I'm trying to kind of focus on just developing speed right now and while building a good base.
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: Um do you hit the track at all?
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: Like, do you any track sessions?
• 35:46
  Speaker 2: yeah, yeah and treadmill and um, kind of just yeah, whatever fits around my work schedule and I have a great.
• 35:57
  Speaker 2: The Western team has a great facility with an indoor track so I've utilized that and so really lucky with training resources, especially for the winter.
• 36:08
  Speaker 2: I feel like on paper it could look really limited just because of the snowfall and how cold it is.
• 36:14
  Speaker 2: But if you use your resources well and get creative you can get really good training in and I think it also gives you a mental edge going into the summer, like you're diversifying your activities and doing stuff a little bit differently and I think it leaves you very mentally sharp going into the summer.
• 36:31
  Speaker 1: So yeah, yeah, you're not burnt out.
• 36:33
  Speaker 1: I think that's the big thing is like not coming in overcooked.
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: Like I wonder, with there being like basically no snow in the front range this year, like how many athletes are either going to come in like super fit for June races but by the time like August rolls around like everybody's going to be super cooked, I would guess.
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: I mean, we'll see.
• 36:50
  Speaker 2: And every person's different too, like I know some people who can just train year round, no problem.
• 36:59
  Speaker 2: But I do like to give myself a proper break and kind of rebuild period throughout the winter and off season.
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: So yeah, no, I think it's important to like um, I think it's like the key to is like taking little breaks and being able to like build back.
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: I'm like self coach myself now.
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: So I've been like really getting into training theory, like I've had coaches like the entire time I've raced, like the entire time I've been in the sport and like this is the first year of like kind of taking off to be like a mad scientist and kind of like play around with things and it is interesting like taking time off and like figuring out how to do proper builds like really works.
• 37:31
  Speaker 1: Like I got into uh, john albin, uh the north face athlete, and his wife henrietta have like a um, this dope podcast that like I don't think anybody knows about, but it like talks about like all of their builds and everything they do and like they have like psycho preparation.
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: Like it is so crazy how much people like get involved in this sport.
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: Um, and yeah, like little tidbits from that, like really like add up some good stuff out there.
• 37:56
  Speaker 1: So yeah yeah, um, let's talk competition.
• 38:00
  Speaker 1: I'm so curious.
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: I've been dying to ask you this question because I had kate on the podcast and kate was like taylor is the most competitive human I've ever met in my life.
• 38:09
  Speaker 1: Are you as competitive as taylor or like what?
• 38:11
  Speaker 1: What's your relationship with competition?
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: Um?
• 38:14
  Speaker 2: so I'm a pretty competitive person, like I have a twin brother and he's a really good athlete too, and so I think, I think, and that just growing up in that environment and I have a younger brother too and was just in sports from a super young age and like I've kind of already alluded to, crested Butte is just so small and my parents just signed us up for all the same sports and there was one other girl and I kind of just learned to be confident and competitive from a very young age in that environment.
• 38:57
  Speaker 2: And I attribute a lot of that experience from when I was nine, 10 years old, just growing up, to how competitive I am now and skiing with my family.
• 39:10
  Speaker 2: Like my brothers are such good skiers and I was always trying to keep up with them and hit the same airs that they did and ski just as fast as they did, and I think that mindset was just very ingrained in me at a young age.
• 39:23
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, but Taylor is very competitive.
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: I think he takes the cake.
• 39:29
  Speaker 1: Like I said, I've never heard like Cade literally told a story that like he'll.
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: He's the type of person I'll like.
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: Lock himself in a room and come out when he's ready to destroy you.
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: I was like I love that.
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: Like there's not.
• 39:38
  Speaker 1: You don't meet too many humans like that.
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: I it's uh, I like people that are built differently, so that that's interesting to me.
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: Um.
• 39:45
  Speaker 2: I got to.
• 39:45
  Speaker 1: I'm gonna press him on that when we have him on for the broken arrow or soon to preview.
• 39:49
  Speaker 2: I'm very curious to get that one out of him it's an interesting mix because he's one of the most mellow people I've ever met.
• 39:57
  Speaker 1: He was so calm yeah, I was like so what is that like having a say like a boyfriend, girlfriend, like significant other that also trains at a high level?
• 40:09
  Speaker 1: Like do you guys like is most of your conversation?
• 40:11
  Speaker 1: Do you guys talk about running a lot?
• 40:13
  Speaker 1: Like what is that like from a relationship perspective?
• 40:15
  Speaker 1: Like is it all about training or?
• 40:18
  Speaker 2: um, it's definitely not all about training at all, um, but it's so fun to.
• 40:23
  Speaker 2: I mean, we started dating and Taylor was done running like he had taken a year off after college.
• 40:33
  Speaker 2: He won his NCAA title in the steeplechase and then kind of hung up the spikes, was out doing research in Shaver Lake, california, and then moved back to Fort Collins to pursue grad school and I was still in my last year of college and so there was no really talk of competitive trail running, like all of this was not on the horizon for either of us and we just started going to races and running together because we loved it and it's slowly evolved into what it is and I feel like we have a very similar approach to the sport and approach to training and how it balances with life and, um, I think that being really similar between the two of us keeps it really healthy and so it's a thing that really brings us together.
• 41:20
  Speaker 2: But also it's not at all like our whole relationship and I think doing distance since I'm in Crested Butte right now like I get up and train and I think about the races we're going together and I know he's doing his training, so it's almost like a mini team, like holding me accountable.
• 41:38
  Speaker 2: So that's really cool and um, also, just getting to travel to races together and have these experiences and be in the mountains and meet all these amazing people and immerse ourselves in this new community and doing that together is a really cool thing and I hope to never take it for granted because it's been so fun so and I'm looking forward to more of it this year.
• 42:02
  Speaker 1: Let me ask you this, because you're so new to this like what kind of goals are you setting for yourself other than like like one year at a time?
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: Are you thinking like long term in the sport, or what is that thought process like?
• 42:12
  Speaker 1: Because I'm old so I think long term right, but you're young so you got like year to year kind of deal.
• 42:18
  Speaker 1: Like how does that work for you?
• 42:20
  Speaker 2: I think I'm trying not to put limits on myself, like I am so new to it, but, um, I'm just kind of.
• 42:29
  Speaker 2: I think my goals are more daily goals, like show up, do the work every day, um, take care of my body, take care of my mind, and like meet cool people along the way and just focus on one race at a time.
• 42:45
  Speaker 2: And, um, I think my goals are way more short-sighted right now, but I do see myself being in the sport for a while and I think less so focusing on results, but more like I would love to travel to this place and have this experience, and seeing it more as an experience in the mountains and less so as a race is, I think, where my goals are.
• 43:12
  Speaker 1: Last year getting the look at, well, obviously, Broken Arrow.
• 43:15
  Speaker 1: You got to see Mammoth as well and Mammoth is a true and tried Golden Trail Series race where most of the Europeans came out and you get to see a completely different side of the sport than I think other people get to see.
• 43:28
  Speaker 1: It's very different.
• 43:28
  Speaker 1: The way Eurocentric racing is is not what American racing is.
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: Are you excited for I guess this year, with Series and All, as well as the race that I can't pronounce that you were talking about, Are you excited to kind of get that mix up of the Euroflare?
• 43:46
  Speaker 1: It's much more competition-derived, much, much different.
• 43:49
  Speaker 1: But I think the people there, from what I've heard and what I've understood, it's like a little family Like.
• 43:54
  Speaker 1: It's like everybody kind of travels together.
• 43:56
  Speaker 1: Everybody kind of, you know, everybody kind of lives out their journey together on, you know, in the Golden Trail Series.
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: It's very unique.
• 44:11
  Speaker 2: I'm so excited.
• 44:11
  Speaker 2: I think it's going to be a really big learning curve.
• 44:13
  Speaker 2: Just from friends that I've talked to who have gone to Europe for the first time and raced there over the last few years, I think I'm definitely going to make mistakes and learn from them, especially in the tactical racing and just how technical everything is over there.
• 44:26
  Speaker 2: But yeah, I'm just excited to learn and have a new experience and race different people and yeah, mammoth was my first experience racing internationally or an international field, I should say.
• 44:42
  Speaker 2: So I'm excited to do more of that and just mix it up with new people and experience a total different style of racing.
• 44:49
  Speaker 1: Maybe I'm being redundant with this, but like what was, because I know we already kind of went through the season, but like I'm just so curious to see, like from people what their experience is, like the first time they race a euro field, or like that, like because that's the best competition in the world, more or less like.
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: Were you like whoa, like this is a giant step up even from, like the broken arrows and the us mountain running champs, or did you feel right at home, like I can hang and and I can eventually figure this out?
• 45:15
  Speaker 2: I.
• 45:16
  Speaker 2: There was a lot of just chatter around the race because it was such a big golden trail race and I was just trying not to psych myself out.
• 45:25
  Speaker 2: Honestly like, again, I've never raced half the people in that field.
• 45:31
  Speaker 2: Why put limits on myself or be in the race and be like I think I should be with this person or around these people in the race, when I've never raced any of them?
• 45:44
  Speaker 2: so I just kind of threw myself in it and really listened to my body and again, I went out really slow compared to most of the field and I think I was in like 30th and we were going in those switchbacks like by the campground and I was like, oh, there's like Allie and Lauren and Judith and just everybody was up there, and.
• 46:04
  Speaker 2: But you also have to remember these races are short but they're long enough for a lot of stuff to happen.
• 46:09
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you can make moves, yeah you can definitely still make moves.
• 46:14
  Speaker 2: And I remember I passed a bunch of people on the climb and was with Judith and then Meow, meow and Cade passed me and was like Sydney, you're running with the best in the world.
• 46:29
  Speaker 2: Like, keep going, you're having the race of your life.
• 46:32
  Speaker 2: Like I don't know how he got all this out, but like it was like my favorite moment of that whole trip because the women started before, so you got to see the whole guy's race unfolding and that was like a really hard point in the race for me and those like the energy I needed and the pickup I needed, and it was like, oh yeah, I am running with some of the best in the world.
• 46:54
  Speaker 1: like this is so cool, let's keep it rolling, and yeah, so I feel like that's got to just do because, like running, there's a lot, there's a lot of confidence to the sport too.
• 47:04
  Speaker 1: Like, if you're not feeling super psyched on yourself I feel like it's it's hard to have a good race.
• 47:08
  Speaker 1: But if you are excited, if you're not feeling super psyched on yourself, I feel like it's hard to have a good race.
• 47:10
  Speaker 1: But if you are excited and you're confident about your abilities and what you can do on race day, sometimes magic can happen and you can even surprise yourself.
• 47:17
  Speaker 1: I'm sure, out of last season, you must have a ton of confidence going into this year, especially given the fact that it was your first season.
• 47:24
  Speaker 1: Would you agree with with that or you don't think about that?
• 47:29
  Speaker 2: is the right way to describe it.
• 47:30
  Speaker 2: I think you just need to start a race like totally at ease, that like you've done everything you can to prepare and like you're going to try your best.
• 47:41
  Speaker 2: It's a race and I think I'm confident in my mindset and approaching stuff.
• 47:47
  Speaker 2: But every race is so different Every every like you, you can do everything right and still have a tough day, and I think just knowing that and knowing that you're trying your best, that's the best way to approach a race, and you're going to have good days, you're going to have bad days, and you just kind of got to approach it as a blank slate every day and trust that you've done the work.
• 48:10
  Speaker 1: But are you nervous?
• 48:12
  Speaker 2: on the start line Like are you a nervous person standing it's funny, I was so nervous before races in college and I don't really get that nervous before trail races because, so much can happen and at the end of the day, like you're out, you can't forget why you're doing it, and it's to be out in the mountains with a great group of people having this amazing experience.
• 48:38
  Speaker 2: And I think whenever I get nervous, I just focus on that, like that's why all of us are doing this anyways, and the competitive part of it makes it really fun.
• 48:46
  Speaker 2: But you just can't focus too much on that.
• 48:50
  Speaker 2: Like we're all so naturally competitive, that's going to come out just fine.
• 48:55
  Speaker 1: It's like it's like conflict and conflict that's the way I described it Conflict and conflict resolution and like the resolution is the race and unfolding in front of you.
• 49:02
  Speaker 1: It's always weird, I don't know.
• 49:03
  Speaker 1: Like the way I like the way I think about start lines in my brain is so strange because every time I think about the race starting I can't remember any noise.
• 49:12
  Speaker 1: It's completely quiet, which is really weird.
• 49:15
  Speaker 1: I don't know.
• 49:15
  Speaker 1: I've talked to a couple of people and they actually sometimes think about that the same way.
• 49:20
  Speaker 1: They're like I don't remember anything happening other than just starting and going as hard as I possibly can, but I don't remember any noise with it starting at the start line, which is really weird.
• 49:29
  Speaker 1: So I don't know, it's a strange, strange thing.
• 49:31
  Speaker 1: Yeah, um, what was I gonna ask?
• 49:36
  Speaker 1: Oh, yeah, so I wanted.
• 49:37
  Speaker 1: So you're.
• 49:38
  Speaker 1: You really are inspired by the mountains.
• 49:40
  Speaker 1: It's one thing you, you know, you talk about a lot, you know, and on your instagram you've got some like cool stories and video or some uh cool shots and videos of you you doing some insane technical ridges and stuff like that.
• 49:50
  Speaker 1: Is there any FKTs that get you excited?
• 49:53
  Speaker 1: Anything that you might be pursuing FKT-wise in the near future?
• 49:59
  Speaker 2: Yes, well, one of my college teammates stole my FKT on Towers Road in Fort Collins and so I need to go get that back.
• 50:10
  Speaker 2: So that's definitely on the list.
• 50:14
  Speaker 2: I'd love to try to get one up, chavano or something like that and just kind of incorporate it into training.
• 50:22
  Speaker 2: Chavano is a 14er kind of over by Salida Buena Vista area is a 14 or kind of over by Salida Buena Vista area, um, but I think none like other than those two no crazy ones.
• 50:39
  Speaker 2: I feel like there's not this huge Strava culture in the Gunnison Valley, so there's no crazy segments like oh, this is the incline or this is what was the peak.
• 50:55
  Speaker 1: That Mount Tam.
• 50:56
  Speaker 2: Mount Tam Gibson.
• 50:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah, there's no just iconic features like that, that are segments or like FKTs.
• 51:04
  Speaker 2: So I think less so in the Valley, but it's always fun to mix it up on those.
• 51:10
  Speaker 2: So I would love to do the incline and see how I do on that.
• 51:15
  Speaker 2: I this is kind of a side note, but I like volunteer coach with the high school cross-country team in christabu.
• 51:21
  Speaker 2: We were at the state meet colorado springs and I was like I want to run the incline the day of the state meet and I didn't realize you needed like reservations and stuff oh yeah, it's kind of done now, like yeah, it used to be a thing.
• 51:33
  Speaker 1: Now it's like if you just keep running, no one stops you just okay, that's good to know, yeah just don't, don't.
• 51:39
  Speaker 1: I mean, they stopped it like a while ago.
• 51:41
  Speaker 1: I go up that's like my workout every saturday.
• 51:44
  Speaker 1: I'll do.
• 51:44
  Speaker 1: I do like certain like repeats off of, uh, some of the bailouts and stuff and like turn it into a long run and nobody ever stops me and I've like I haven't seen anybody at like the guardhouse in a long time, so I'm guessing it's stopped or hoping maybe it's like a winter thing.
• 51:58
  Speaker 1: But you should.
• 51:59
  Speaker 1: If you haven't like gone to do it, like, yes, go do it.
• 52:01
  Speaker 1: Um, yeah, you have to.
• 52:03
  Speaker 1: Like it's like such a fun, like rite of passage.
• 52:05
  Speaker 1: It's so hard.
• 52:06
  Speaker 1: It starts off really easy and then once you hit like I think it's like 1,300 steps, I think steps 1,300, something like that you hit what we call the steeps and it's just like heinous.
• 52:17
  Speaker 1: It's so steep, like if you're, yeah, I'm not going to give anything away, I want you to experience it for yourself, so go do it.
• 52:33
  Speaker 1: Okay, back, yeah, yeah, I should.
• 52:34
  Speaker 1: I don't even want to like build up any mental guards, but just be prepared for it to be like a hand over fists, like really really steep at points, but it's fun.
• 52:38
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's uh.
• 52:38
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's kind of like uh, I don't know like a staple of a lot of folks training here, because it's just, if you want to get your heart rate really high, it's an easy way to do it you know so yeah, yeah all right, so we're almost in an hour.
• 52:48
  Speaker 1: I'm going to start diving into some ending questions.
• 52:51
  Speaker 1: I'm so curious to see who inspires you oh, that's such a good question.
• 52:58
  Speaker 2: I think I draw a lot of inspiration from women in the sport who are such good women and men in the sport.
• 53:06
  Speaker 2: But I'm thinking concrete people here, women who are so good on the trails and so good at their sport, but then almost live a double life and just give so much back to their community.
• 53:20
  Speaker 2: Do you know who Stevie Kramer is?
• 53:21
  Speaker 2: I grew up while she was teaching at Crested Butte Community School and she gives so much to her students every day, like so much to her community, pours her heart out and then, like, flies halfway across the world and wins a trail race and is just so talented and gives so much of herself in the running world but also like gives so much back to her community.
• 53:50
  Speaker 2: And I think I'm really inspired by people doing that right now and I work in the medical field, so I'm really inspired also by, like Rachel Drake and Megan Roche and people who have, like committed themselves to these crazy careers and then also are just like crushing on the trails.
• 54:07
  Speaker 1: So have you gotten a chance to meet Rachel Drake yet?
• 54:10
  Speaker 2: I raised her at Mammoth.
• 54:11
  Speaker 1: I don't know her or Megan Dude one of the you should talk to her One of the nicest humans in the world, like super cool people.
• 54:17
  Speaker 1: Yeah, there's.
• 54:18
  Speaker 1: You know, it's one of the things I love so much about the sport is like no one's really an asshole, Like everyone's really nice, Like no one's mean nice, no one's mean.
• 54:26
  Speaker 1: There's not a lot of.
• 54:28
  Speaker 1: Maybe in some instances there's gatekeeping, but I haven't really experienced too much of it.
• 54:31
  Speaker 1: Everybody's really helpful and wants everyone to succeed.
• 54:34
  Speaker 1: I think it's from a professional perspective.
• 54:37
  Speaker 1: The professional scene is not very toxic.
• 54:40
  Speaker 1: It's very, very uplifting and fun.
• 54:42
  Speaker 1: I feel like once you get to that level, everyone wants you to succeed and is excited for you to succeed.
• 54:50
  Speaker 2: I completely agree, like I think every kind of everybody kind of has this mutual respect on what it took to get to this level.
• 54:58
  Speaker 2: And yeah, I don't think I've met a person I don't like in the like at any of the races, and I've met so many people at these races so yeah, Greatest sport on earth.
• 55:12
  Speaker 1: Um, all right.
• 55:13
  Speaker 1: So you're getting ready for a race or a hard effort and you got your earphones in.
• 55:18
  Speaker 1: What song are you listening to Like?
• 55:20
  Speaker 1: What's the walkout song?
• 55:22
  Speaker 2: Oh gosh, um, it really depends on my mood and like, if I I've been, if it's an afternoon workout and I've been tired, it might just be like something super mellow or no music at all.
• 55:36
  Speaker 2: But if I'm like really trying to get hyped, I've um been on a Miley Cyrus like mix and like remix, um kick lately.
• 55:48
  Speaker 2: But I think I'm disappointing one of my brothers because he's a dj and is like so into music and he's always like your music sucks.
• 55:56
  Speaker 2: I can't believe you're listening to that before your race oh my god, what kind of dj does he do?
• 56:01
  Speaker 1: is he like edm or like?
• 56:02
  Speaker 1: What kind of?
• 56:03
  Speaker 2: a little bit like house edm.
• 56:04
  Speaker 2: Oh, I like it all.
• 56:05
  Speaker 1: Right, that's my, that's like kind of my favorite genre or one of my favorite genres.
• 56:09
  Speaker 1: I love house music and it's like perfect for running because, like, if you could find like the right, like um, like the right beat, kind of like it, like it's kind of nice if like workout days and stuff like that, I don't know, yeah, yeah he has?
• 56:23
  Speaker 2: he has good music.
• 56:23
  Speaker 2: Maybe him I'll shout out Reverend Severin, that's his DJ name.
• 56:28
  Speaker 1: I'll listen to him.
• 56:29
  Speaker 1: Does he play?
• 56:30
  Speaker 1: Does he play like local venue, like where's he playing at?
• 56:32
  Speaker 2: it's like he plays a lot of local events like in crested butte, and djs like apres ski stuff um does he know laura hamilton?
• 56:41
  Speaker 1: I didn't know she was a dj until she came on the podcast and she's like yeah I think I think I think he knows laura.
• 56:47
  Speaker 2: I don't think they do music stuff together or anything like that, but I mean I cross paths with Lara all the time just because of running and training and she's great.
• 56:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's crazy.
• 56:57
  Speaker 1: That's the second DJ out of the Gunnison Valley.
• 56:59
  Speaker 1: That's cool.
• 57:00
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah.
• 57:02
  Speaker 1: Keep them coming.
• 57:02
  Speaker 1: I'll never forget because I'm aging myself here when I was in college was when Avicii and Levels first came out.
• 57:09
  Speaker 1: We're talking 1492.
• 57:10
  Speaker 1: And I can remember like, oh my God, what a cool career would it be to just quit college and just go become an international DJ.
• 57:17
  Speaker 1: Right, it's a good life, it could be a fun life.
• 57:22
  Speaker 1: Rip Avicii, anyway.
• 57:25
  Speaker 1: So all right, if you could race one race this is a new question If you could race one bucket, like what's one bucket list race?
• 57:34
  Speaker 1: You got on there Like you can't say series and all because you're going to do it this year.
• 57:37
  Speaker 1: Give me something else.
• 57:38
  Speaker 2: Oh, that was my answer.
• 57:40
  Speaker 2: Okay, I really want to do it's so close to home.
• 57:45
  Speaker 2: But I really want to do it's so close to home.
• 57:46
  Speaker 2: But I really want to do Pike's Peak.
• 57:48
  Speaker 2: I was signed up for it last year and I was so bummed it didn't end up being on the golden trail circuit, but I love crushing uphills and I feel like just at high altitude.
• 58:00
  Speaker 2: That is where my body thrives and the kind of stuff I just love, and to have that in a race would be really cool.
• 58:07
  Speaker 2: So I know it's really close to home and I have the whole world to pick from but probably not.
• 58:13
  Speaker 1: I'm so excited for you to hear you say Pike's Peak like backyard race.
• 58:17
  Speaker 2: I've never done it and I was like, signed up last year, ended up going to Mammoth and I don't know.
• 58:23
  Speaker 2: I think Colorado has some of the coolest terrain you can race, and so that's the next one that really inspires me, that I want to do so, all right.
• 58:34
  Speaker 1: All right.
• 58:34
  Speaker 1: Well, if you're back in September, cause that's after well, if you don't go to worlds, and if you happen to be back in September, I'm on the board of pikes.
• 58:44
  Speaker 2: You have a bib.
• 58:44
  Speaker 1: You have a bib waiting for you.
• 58:45
  Speaker 1: So does Taylor.
• 58:46
  Speaker 2: Let's get you guys going.
• 58:47
  Speaker 2: I love to have you guys, it is.
• 58:48
  Speaker 1: So does Taylor.
• 58:49
  Speaker 1: Let's get your ass going.
• 58:49
  Speaker 1: I'd love to have you guys.
• 58:51
  Speaker 1: It is one of the greatest braces in the world.
• 58:52
  Speaker 1: This is the 70th anniversary, so we're trying to make it a big deal yeah.
• 58:56
  Speaker 1: So think about that, all right.
• 59:01
  Speaker 1: So I usually ask my ending questions kind of crazy, usually aliens or Bigfoot or something like that.
• 59:06
  Speaker 1: But because you live in Connoisseur, should I go Bigfoot, or something like that.
• 59:10
  Speaker 1: But because you live in Connison, should I go Bigfoot?
• 59:12
  Speaker 1: Let's go Bigfoot.
• 59:13
  Speaker 1: What do you believe in Bigfoot?
• 59:14
  Speaker 1: Um?
• 59:16
  Speaker 2: no, and I'm gonna say that because I get so scared of wildlife when I'm like out running by myself on the trails, like we'll see a dog way in the distance and I'll be like, oh my gosh, is that a mountain lion?
• 59:30
  Speaker 2: And Taylor's like, no, that's a like white lab, it's not like something that's going to hurt you.
• 59:38
  Speaker 2: So, and there's just so much wildlife in the Gunnison Valley that I don't need another thing that can attack me, like I don't need that going through my head.
• 59:47
  Speaker 2: So I'm going'm gonna say no, that's fair enough when I first moved here what's not listening?
• 59:52
  Speaker 1: when I first moved to colorado.
• 59:53
  Speaker 1: I have terrible vision and I don't wear I only wear glasses, like because like to see far away and I don't wear them very often as much as I should.
• 1:00:00
  Speaker 1: So like, especially not running.
• 1:00:02
  Speaker 1: And dude, when I first moved here, like I was like very scared about the bears.
• 1:00:06
  Speaker 1: I don't know why, but I was like like scared about the bear.
• 1:00:09
  Speaker 1: So, anyway, I come up on this climb and I'm like maybe like half a football field away from this, like blurry black image that like look, could be a bear, could also be a man.
• 1:00:18
  Speaker 1: So I'm like running towards it, trying to finish the climb, and I'm like, hey bear, hey bear.
• 1:00:23
  Speaker 1: It turns out to be a person.
• 1:00:24
  Speaker 1: This guy's like who is this clown?
• 1:00:26
  Speaker 1: It was so awkward.
• 1:00:30
  Speaker 1: So, yeah, I could definitely relate to, uh, seeing animals from a distance and uh, yeah, being spooked by them makes sense.
• 1:00:39
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, we have moose and mountain lions.
• 1:00:42
  Speaker 2: Like my brothers have seen mountain lions on trails.
• 1:00:44
  Speaker 2: I run on all the time while they're on their bikes.
• 1:00:47
  Speaker 2: And now there's wolves in the mix, and that's true.
• 1:00:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah, like bears and yeah, there's just a lot of stuff out there that.
• 1:00:56
  Speaker 2: I'm like no thanks, I'm five, four.
• 1:00:59
  Speaker 2: I'm tiny Like I.
• 1:01:01
  Speaker 2: I would lose, I'd be a little snack for you, so let's just.
• 1:01:07
  Speaker 1: No, it could be it for you, so let's just not.
• 1:01:11
  Speaker 1: Could be, it could be worse.
• 1:01:12
  Speaker 1: We could have grizzly bears, um very true.
• 1:01:12
  Speaker 1: Thankfully we don't have those, um, all right.
• 1:01:13
  Speaker 1: So if you don't believe in bigfoot, what's your take on the aliens?
• 1:01:17
  Speaker 2: oh, I definitely believe in aliens.
• 1:01:18
  Speaker 2: There's no way we are the only form of life out there.
• 1:01:22
  Speaker 1: Yeah, okay yeah, you ever seen any like ufos and stuff like that?
• 1:01:28
  Speaker 2: no, I I did.
• 1:01:31
  Speaker 2: I was skinning up the resort on new year's eve and I saw this weird like satellite thing and I was hoping it was a ufo, but I don't think it was so yeah I've never had any crazy cool sightings, but I do.
• 1:01:43
  Speaker 2: I do believe there is some other form of life out there.
• 1:01:46
  Speaker 2: There has to to be.
• 1:01:47
  Speaker 2: I'd like to think there is.
• 1:01:48
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 1:01:50
  Speaker 1: It'd be kind of weird if we were just like just us.
• 1:01:52
  Speaker 1: Yeah, no, it's not too fun.
• 1:01:54
  Speaker 1: Well, sydney, thank you so much for coming on the podcast.
• 1:01:56
  Speaker 1: It was an amazing conversation, wishing you the best of luck in your 2025 season.
• 1:02:01
  Speaker 2: We'll, we'll be, you'll be when we do Broken Arrow and Soonapeep reviews in a couple months, so looking forward to chatting then, awesome.
• 1:02:12
  Speaker 2: Well, thank you so much for having me and have a great rest of your night.
• 1:02:15
  Speaker 1: Yeah, super great conversation.
• 1:02:16
  Speaker 1: Thank you.
• 1:02:16
  Speaker 1: What'd you guys think?
• 1:02:18
  Speaker 1: Oh man, what a fun conversation.
• 1:02:20
  Speaker 1: I want to thank Sydney so much for coming on the pod Great combo and just wishing her the best of luck in her 2025 season and what she's got planned Big things to come.
• 1:02:30
  Speaker 1: It's pretty exciting getting to follow along.
• 1:02:31
  Speaker 1: I know she just got back from the Brooks trail running camp that they put on this past week and it was just cool to see all those Brooks sub-ultra athletes absolutely getting ready to crush their 2025 season.
• 1:02:42
  Speaker 1: So cool stuff.
• 1:02:44
  Speaker 1: Guys, before you get going, hop on Instagram.
• 1:02:46
  Speaker 1: Give Sydney a follow.
• 1:02:47
  Speaker 1: You can find her at sydneypeterson33 on Instagram.
• 1:02:50
  Speaker 1: Send her some messages, let her know what you guys thought about the episode.
• 1:02:54
  Speaker 1: Give her a follow.
• 1:02:55
  Speaker 1: For sure she is primed to have a huge season, so definitely someone to follow along as they achieve great things.
• 1:03:04
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that's pretty much all that for that, if you guys enjoyed this episode, let's do a five-star rating and review.
• 1:03:10
  Speaker 1: That would be dope.
• 1:03:11
  Speaker 1: Really appreciate that.
• 1:03:12
  Speaker 1: For real, though, if you wouldn't mind, please give us a five-star rating review on all Apple, spotify and YouTube or wherever you guys consume your podcast.
• 1:03:20
  Speaker 1: That would mean the absolute world to me.
• 1:03:22
  Speaker 1: And, yeah, this episode is brought to you by Ultimate Direction.
• 1:03:26
  Speaker 1: If you guys haven't already check out the new Race 6 liter and Ultra 12 liter vests in these beautiful static colorways, definitely recommend Check them out and use code SteepStuffPod for 25% off your purchase at UltimateDirectioncom.
• 1:03:40
  Speaker 1: Guys, thanks so much.
• 1:03:41
  Speaker 1: Have a great weekend, enjoy your long runs.
• 1:03:43
  Speaker 1: I hope everyone's build is going well for summer and spring racing and, yeah, I'll be with you guys next week.
• 1:03:48
  Speaker 1: Thank you.