Finn Melanson, Brett Hornig, and Leah Yingling provide in-depth analysis, commentary, and predictions for the competition at the 2026 Canyons 100K.

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• Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever made
• Raide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains
• Janji - premium trail running apparel
• Momentous - use code SINGLETRACK for up to 35% off your first order
• Kodiak Cakes - my favorite oatmeal and pancakes

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Courtney Dauwalter returns to the Singletrack Podcast ahead of her second attempt at Cocodona 250, the race she started last year and didn't finish, to talk through everything that has happened in between.

We open with the Tenerife cancellation and the scramble to pivot to Chianti, including the late surge that won the race and why she credits road marathon training for giving her a new gear she didn't know she had.

From there we get into her first real reset in her ultra career, what went wrong at mile 108 at last year's Cocodona, and the one problem she's most excited to solve across day two, night two, and day three of this year's race.

We close on her five year Salomon contract extension, what a post-racing chapter actually looks like to her, and what's on the bucket list beyond the three classics (Western States, Hardrock, and UTMB) she's built her career around.

Partners:

• Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next order
• Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever made
• Raide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains
• Janji - premium trail running apparel
• Momentous - use code SINGLETRACK for up to 35% off your first order
• Kodiak Cakes - my favorite oatmeal and pancakes

Support the show

We're coming off one of the most action-packed single weekends of the trail running year. We recap Lake Sonoma, Gorge Waterfalls, Desert Rats by UTMB, Calamorro Skyrace, Marathon des Sables, and the BPN Backyard Ultra all in one episode with co-host Alyssa Clark.

Lotti Brinks ran fifth overall at Gorge Waterfalls 100K and shattered the women's course record. Dylan Bowman suggested it might be the trail performance of the year, and we ask whether she's now a legitimate podium threat at Western States. Jennifer Lichter won the 50K against Yao Miao, the back-to-back OCC champion, by nearly four minutes, coming off a 100K course record at Black Canyon this past February. She is the truth right now.

At the BPN Backyard Ultra, veteran Mike Egan used a wheelchair to complete 110 miles. When the mud got too thick to push through, he got out and dragged it. It might be the photo of the year in trail running, and we're only in April. The event pulled 19.6 million TikTok searches in its first edition, and we ask: who's building the Trail Team equivalent for backyard ultra?

At Marathon des Sables, Des Linden made the podium in her desert ultra debut. We call it her arrival in the trail scene. Heather Jackson won Desert Rats 100K three weeks out from Cocodona 250. She has a vlog series called "The Season That Might Break Me" and we break down what her win means for her race at the Cocodona 250 next month. In a field she wasn't even seeded in, Jane Maus went to Spain and took second at the Calamorro Skyrace in her first official sky race ever.

We also cover:

• Ryan Sullivan going wire-to-wire dominant at Lake Sonoma 100K (a Norda athlete from Grand Junction worth watching)
• Spencer Shellberg, another Grand Junction name, winning Desert Rats 100K by 40+ minutes
• Gerda Steyn seventh win at Two Oceans, one of the most dominant ultra runners of this generation
• Nicholas Thompson (editor-in-chief of The Atlantic) setting the 50+ American record at USATF 100K Champs
• Rendezvu, Faves and the case for athlete-led affiliate commerce in trail running
• Lucy Bartholomew running a 2:41 marathon in Paris to close out a 23-hour training week
• Given to Fly, the new Brian Morrison book on his 2006 Western States near-win

Partners:

• Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next order
• Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever made
• Raide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains
• Janji - premium trail running apparel

Support the show