We had the great privilege to jam with Rafal Nazarewicz the founder and nutritional wizard behind Spring Energy. Rafal is a sports nutrition scientist, ultra runner, and health fanatic.

We touch on a number of ideas and practices that may be interesting to anyone, not just ultra-endurance athletes. Rafal makes a case for eating real food at all times including during training and racing. We discuss why real food matters, and we explore industry trends and emerging Spring Energy products.

This episode is available courtesy of the Run Beyond Athlete Community.

Michael Fojtasek is a compassionate, curious, and courageous human, a husband, father, chef, and neophyte trail runner. After a 6 year hiatus spent building the Olamaie Southern Food restaurant in Austin, TX, Michael transitioned from a background in road running (up to the marathon distance) to trail running. He took his first stab at the ultramarathon distance with this year's Sky Island 50k. Michael ultimately DNF'd at Sky Island and we talk about what lessons he learned and how he will roll them into the Big Bend 50 coming this January.

We also talk about how Michael is building inclusive and compassionate culture at Olamie and reopening the restaurant with a new menu and staff focused on modernizing Olamaie's interpretation of modern Southern Food incorporating the latest trends and flavors.

We had the great fortune to catch up with ultra-running pioneer, Buzz Burrell. Buzz pioneered several game-changing innovations in the sport of ultra-running including water bottles on the front of running vests and the concept and world of the Fastest Known Time.

We philosophize about trail running history, lore, and culture. We compare international trail running cultures, and we talk discuss where the FKT movement may go in the coming months and years.

Follow Nick on His Colorado Trail journey (8/27 through about 9/3).

https://share.garmin.com/rmr

Nick Pedatella is a trail running legend you may have never heard of. His ultramarathon race record stands on its own, including an age group win at San Juan Solstice this year followed by a 6th place male finish at Hardrock 100, but his FKT resume is what really sets him apart. Nick has multiple FKTs on routes that take 48 hours or more to complete.

We chat with Nick a little about his background as a space weather researcher for the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and then unpack the layers of mental and physical training and preparation required to tackle epic challenges like Nolan's 14, the Collegiate Loop, or the Colorado Trail which is Nick's major FKT goal this year.

We had the great fortune to catch up with Dylan Bowman (2nd male) and Sabrina Stanley (1st female) to chat with them about their 2021 Hardrock 100 performances and their training approaches.

We hope you find some inspiration in this conversation!

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The Cirque Series is underway in North America. Julian Carr's vision was to create a series of short mountain races that are challenging and that reward you for accepting the challenge. The courses will climb high, present you with awe-inspiring views, and then guide you back to a celebration of mountain running among a community of mountain sports enthusiasts.

We caught up with Julian Carr earlier this summer, before the Cirque Series kicked off. We talked about how he got into mountain sports, his philosophy on extreme mountain sports, and their inherent risk, how he got into running, the art and culture of trail racing event production, and the value of community in racing.

Julian runs all of the Cirque Series races to stay in peak shape for his winter ski sports season. You can follow him in several ways:

Circqu Series: https://www.cirqueseries.com/

Personal Webiste: http://juliancarr.squarespace.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/juliancarr/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julianblakecarr/

We caught up this week with Emily Hawgood and Kyle Curtin. Emily finished 7th female (19:13:55) at this year's Western States 100 and Kyle was the 9th male (18:18:31).

Emily and Kyle shared their experiences ranging from the challenges of getting into this iconic race to their race strategies, their problem solving, and the community and energy that characterize this race.

We also had a chance to chat with Emily and Kyle about their coaching work and their educational backgrounds. Emily recently finished a master's program in Exercise Physiology with a focus on the effects of high altitude in endurance athletes. Kyle also studied physiology with a focus on metabolic health and performance.

You can follow Emil and Kyle on social media:

@emilyhawgood

@curtin103

We had a chance to catch up with our Run Beyond Co-Founder, Mallory Brooks, right after her Grand Canyon 2 x R2R2R FKT this May (2021). Mallory shares how she learned from her failed attempt in 2019, how she prepared for so much climbing while living in Austin, TX, the value of a solid support crew, and so much more.

You can find Mallory on IG @hilloflife and at any of our Run Beyond races (www.therunbeyondexperience.com).