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iRunFar brings you the most in-depth race coverage of trail races and ultramarathons around the world. If you enjoy our race coverage, please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/iRunFar .
The Pain Cave is a free-flowing conversation with a wide variety of guests from the worlds of running and exercise science. We talk about physiology, sports science, politics, music, beer, and occasionally running.
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Episode 79 - The Shoe Draft with Bryon Powell and Ian Golden
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1:26:14
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We’ve drafted ultrarunning fantasy teams, we’ve drafted the elements of the perfect aid station, and now we’re drafting the perfect shoe closet. Bryon Powell of iRunFar and Ian Golden of the Trails Collective join Phil and I for a brief state-of-the-sport discussion before we select our favorite all-time shoes in each of eight different categories.…
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Episode 80 - Twenty Questions with Cole Crosby
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40:45
We’re back on the 20 Questions beat with #beastcoast stud and US National Snowshoe team member Cole Crosby. We talk to Cole about his recent run across the entire length of New Jersey, plus ducks, horses, motivation, pizza, and much more. Links: Cole’s business, Cresting the Summit Cole on IG Beers for this episode: Lawson’s Sip O’ Sunshine, Woodst…
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Episode 78 - Twenty Questions with Kaytlyn Gerbin
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31:48
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The defending champ at Transgrancanaria and the newly minted holder of the Wonderland Trail FKT, Kaytlyn Gerbin faces her toughest test: the 20 Questions hot seat. We talk about her favorite races, snowboarding, watermelons, weird costumes, and much more. Links: Instagram: @kaytlyn_g Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kaytlyng/ Strava: https://www.…
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Episode 77 - Getting to Know Taggart VanEtten
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37:34
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37:34
We start the new year off right with a visit to the Pain Cave from Taggart VanEtten. Who is that, you ask? He’s the triathlete-turned-marathoner who shocked the ultrarunning world with an outstanding 12:19 win at the Tunnel Hill 100 in his ultramarathon debut. Taggart tells us about how his tri background helps him as an ultrarunner, why he decided…
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Episode 76 - Year in Review with Dylan Bowman
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1:47:16
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Time to bid goodbye to the possibly the strangest year in ultrarunning history. Phil and I do a quick recap of recent results before we welcome back the great Dylan Bowman to look back at the yar that was and to make our picks for Ultrarunner of the Year, Performance of the Year, FKT of the Year, and much more. Links: DBo’s website DBo on the Pain …
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Episode 75 - Twenty Questions with Patrick Reagan
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42:57
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The pride of the #Beastcoast, Patrick Reagan, joins us in the Pain Cave for another edition of 20 questions. We talk about his favorite race, why he like racing in hot weather, playing guitar, racing 100s, why watermelon is awesome, and much more. Links: Follow Patrick on Instagram Patrick’s website Interested in being coached by Patrick? Beers for…
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Episode 74 - Twenty Questions with Sabrina Stanley
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Phil gets to fanboy out as we welcome in defending Hardrock champ Sabrina Stanley to the Pain Cave to sit on the 20 Questions hot seat. We cover Sabrina’s exploits on Nolan’s 14 this summer, her favorite race and toughest race (hint: they’re the same race), which one of us won the Ultrarunning Fantasy Draft by selecting her (hint: it was me), and m…
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Episode 73 - South West Coast Path FKT with Kristian Morgan
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31:13
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British ultrarunner Kristian Morgan had to forego a second attempt on the Appalachian Trail this summer due to the travel restrictions in place because of the pandemic. Instead, he stuck close to home and took on the longest trail in the UK, the 630-mile South West Coast Path, taking aim at the four-year-old record set by the great Damian Hall. Kri…
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Episode 72 - Confronting Failure with Zoë Rom
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51:48
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Trail running beast Zoë Rom is the Associate Editor of Trail Runner magazine and the host of the DNF Podcast—a show about “failure in life and running…about unfinished business, and the unglamorous work of picking yourself up, dusting yourself off, and moving on.” Zoë joins us to talk about failure vs. hardship, overcoming fear, practicing self-com…
In the past two years, SoCal native Jake Jackson has progressed from a solid competitor on the southwestern trail-running scene to a top-10 finish at the 24-hour World Championships. Jake joins us on the show to talk about his meteoric rise to becoming one of the top US runners ever at 24 hours, how he balances his training with full-time work and …
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Episode 70 - Rockin' Out with Tony Fletcher
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Are you ready to rock? Author, music journalist ,and trail runner Tony Fletcher makes his face-melting debut in the Pain Cave. We talk about how he cut his teeth in the British punk scene of the late 1970s, becoming a de facto professional journalist at fourteen, the Who vs. the Stones, trail running in the Catskills, traveling around the world, Cr…
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Episode 69 - This Month in Ultrarunning with Phil Vondra
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Nice! The Legend is back for a “This Pandemic in Ultrarunning” update, as we check in on some of the recent trail and ultra races starting to every so slowly come back on line. We cover results from the Bear 100, IMTUF, Yeti, and Stumpjump and discuss our own returns to racing at Cat’s Tail and 3 Days at the Fair. Plus, we discuss qualification for…
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Episode 68 - Twenty Questions with Megan Roche
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It’s a Some Work, All Play party in the Pain Cave this week as we welcome physician, epidemiologist, coach, author, and five time US trail running champ Megan Roche onto the 20 Questions hot seat. We talk about Megan’s favorite race, her dream running partner, the loss of the North Face 50, how to cook a scoby, and much more. Links: Some Work, All …
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Episode 67 - Twenty Questions with Bob Hearn
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Continuing with our 20 questions format, and fulfilling our goal of interviewing the entire podium from the Last Annual Vol State, we welcomed Bob Hearn into the Pain Cave and onto the 20Q hot seat. Since turning 50, Bob has become one of the best and most consistent 24-hour and multi-day runners in the US, holding national age-group records at 24 …
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Episode 66 - Twenty Questions with Ellie Pell
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This week we’re trying out a new format that we’ll be using from time to time: Twenty Questions, where we’ll attempt to find out everything you never wanted to know about your favorite ultrarunners, or get to know someone you may not know all that much about. For our inaugural attempt at this we welcome in Beastcoast marathon and ultra stud Ellie P…
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Episode 65 - Domination at Vol State with Francesca Muccini
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In what SteelTownRunner describes as one of the greatest multiday performances ever, full stop, Francesca Muccini just obliterated the women’s course record at the Vol State 500K, out-dueling pre-race favorite Bob Hearn in winning the race outright for the second time in the second-fastest performance ever at this insane event. Phil and I welcomed …
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Episode 64 - Return to Racing at Vol State with Phil Vondra
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Maybe you don’t know why we call him the Legend. THIS IS WHY. Phil Vondra is back in the co-pilot’s chair for this episode, as we blow through a couple of notable FKTs and pay lip service to the gradual restarting of the 2020 race schedule. Then, we dive into the main event—a recap of Phil’s incredible, epic, dare I say LEGENDARY performance at thi…
Join iRunFar for the FREE, week-long To The Moon Virtual Relay! Sign up: https://i-rn.fr/ToTheMoonRegistration From June 29 through July 5, the running community will run and walk 238,900 miles (384,400 kilometers), the average distance from the Earth to the Moon! Learn more: https://i-rn.fr/ToTheMoonVR…
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Episode 63 - Gender Equality and the Ultimate Aid Station Draft with Aliza Lapierre and Phil Vondra
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49:22
As we discussed in our recent podcast with Yassine Diboun, the ultrarunning community is generally a very welcoming one—but one in which diversity still continues to lag. While the sport strives for inclusivity, only about a third of ultrarunners are female. We we very happy to be joined in the Pain Cave by elite ultrarunner Aliza Lapierre, who cal…
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Episode 62 - Chasing FKTs with Ben Nephew
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41:02
Without much happening on the racing front over the past several months, many athletes have been venturing in to the world of chasing “Fastest Known Times”—that is, identifying a route and trying to complete it faster than anyone ever has. Legendary trail runner Ben Nephew has been putting up FKTs all over the northeast for years, including classic…
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Episode 61 - #Eracism with Yassine Diboun
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In the midst of the ongoing protests against police brutality and systemic inequality, the great Yassine Diboun stops into the Pain Cave to discuss his experience as a minority athlete in an overwhelmingly white majority sport. One of the most accomplished ultrarunners in the US, Yassine brings us his unique perspective on growing up as the target …
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Episode 60 - Sports in the Time of Coronavirus with Dr. Keith Strudler
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1:25:56
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The pandemic has altered our lives in myriad ways—as runners, as sports fans, and obviously just in our daily interactions. To sort this all out, I was very happy to be joined by my good friend and fellow Cornell XC/track alumnus, elite triathlete Dr. Keith Strudler, the director of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State Universit…
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Episode 59 - Radio and Running with Jimmy Buff
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1:08:27
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If you’re in the music business—or you’ve listened to the radio in the Hudson Valley or New York City in the past thirty years—you probably know the name Jimmy Buff. But you may not know that in addition to being a longtime DJ, producer, and program director, “Buff” is also an accomplished ultrarunner and triathlete. He and I sat down for a fascina…
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Episode 58 - TV, Music, and (Show)running with Andy Greenwald
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47:06
Continuing our quarantine-friendly series of running guests who are famous for things other than running, I was ecstatic to welcome Andy Greenwald into the Pain Cave this week. Andy got his start as a music critic for Spin magazine in the late 1990s, then became both a respected TV critic and a writer on TV shows such as Legion and Cat’s Cradle in …
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Episode 57 - Mens' Ultrarunning Fantasy Draft with Phil Vondra and Rich Heffron
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54:02
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54:02
Despite Phil’s abominable behavior during our womens’ draft (for which he was roundly criticized in the media and penalized by the voters), he was invited back, along with GFOP Rich Heffron, to select our mens’ ultrarunning fantasy teams. And this time, the Legend did not disappoint! Take a listen and let us know who had the best performance in thi…
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Episode 56 - The Best Running Books with Joe Puleo (Part II)
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56:05
Quarantine content continues! Now that you’ve had enough time to plow through our favorite running movies, you should have plenty of time to tackle the reading list we’re about to assign you. I’m joined by my great friend, coach and author Joe Puleo, possibly the most well-read person I’ve ever met, to go through our favorite books about running. I…
