Trail Love | Humans of Trail Running

Join me for a personal conversation with Katharina Hartmuth to learn her story. Katharina is quite simply one of the fastest, grittiest trail runners in the world today, and she's an amazing, brilliant, and humble human being. Besides having a PhD in Climate Science and years of experience working in that field, she has had two podium performances at UTMB in the past three years, plus a record shattering run at Tor de Geants that s...

Meet Josh Garcia and Mari Perez, a trail running couple from Albuquerque who started a business for trail runners. I wanted to learn who they are and what makes them tick. If you run in New Mexico, you may have meet Josh and Mari at a trail running event representing their business, Trail Gains. They make performance hydration products with natural ingredients specifically for trail runners. This episode isn't a deep dive into thei...

I sat down with Bryon Powell, founder of iRunFar, at his home in Silverton the day before Hardrock. We didn't talk about the race or the world famous trail runners literally passing by his window, but about his story, choices he has made, and what wisdom he has gained from his relentless outward pursuits and his necessary retreats into quiet spaces.

For links related to the podcast and to this episode, visit the Trail Love LinkTree...

Are you familiar with Simon Gutierrez and his story?

Simon Gutierrez is a legend in New Mexico trail running and a member of the Colorado Running Hall of Fame. He grew up in New Mexico and started running in the 8th grade. Later we ran together on the same state championship winning high school cross-country team.

Tune into this episode to hear Simon's story. Get some of the wisdom he has to share, and learn what he is doing today....

Sofie Schunk grew up in Albuquerque, then moved on to play NCAA division one soccer at Marquette. After graduating, she discovered she had a talent for running fast on roads. After a series of attempts, she qualified for the 2024 Olympic Trials in the marathon. Since then, she has shifted her focus to trail running. She placed third in the 50k at Kodiak last year, qualifying her to run OCC in 2026. Meanwhile, she recently placed fi...

Welcome to season two of Trail Love. Today I'm talking with two more great humans in the world of trail running, Travis and Amanda McWhorter. As photographers of many trail running events in New Mexico, they are doubtless warm and familiar faces to many trail runners in the state. In 2025, you may have also run into them as the official photographers at Hardrock. I am sure you're going to enjoy this conversation, which ranges from ...

This week I had the privilege of talking with Howie Stern, an internationally recognized trail running photographer who lives in Silverton, Colorado. Howie has gained a reputation for going out and getting the gritty shots in his quest to capture the human essence of trail running. His photograph of Jasmin Paris finishing Barkley turned heads of trail runners and fans of endurance sports around the world. If there's a big race goin...

You're going to love this conversation with Ken and Margaret Gordon, founders of New Mexico's most iconic grass roots trail running races, the Mt Taylor 50k. They share how the race almost never got started; about the year Jim Walmsley and Gordon Ainsley showed up; how the race developed with the love and support of a community; and stories that show why this race is beloved by people who come from all over the United States to run...

The first time I met Adam Arguello we were on top of a mountain. Specifically, we had both run separately up to South Peak overlooking the city of Albuquerque. The second time, he was volunteering at packet pick-up and cheering on runners at the Mt Taylor 50k, one of New Mexico's most iconic trail races. It's fitting to have met Adam in each of these ways because he is an authentic member of the trail running community, a pure runn...

Blake Wood is the kind of guy you want to go out on a very long run with and just shoot the breeze. Blake can talk about winning Hardrock, finishing Barkley, competing at the highest levels as a master's athlete, coaching high school state champions, overcoming injury, and working with some of the most brilliant scientists in the world. And more than all that, he's a family man who, along with his wife, has raised three wonderful d...

I'm talking with Megan Eckert, of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Megan just set her second ultrarunning world record in the past year by running 603 miles in 6 days at a World Championship event in France. Our conversation includes what it's like physically and mentally to run for six days straight, comparing 6-day events and backyard ultras, trail running in New Mexico, her work as a teacher and coach, hints of a possible shot at Barkley i...

Imagine a running club that invites whole families to come and participate alongside the kids, that embraces and serves Indigenous New Mexicans, that celebrates and includes everyone equally from the parents walking laps to young first time runners to youth competing in national meets and winning.  Dr. Anthony Fleg imagined it, talked to his family about it, and together they made it a reality called Running Medicine. You're g...

Steve Tripp is a tough-as-nails trail runner from Dunedin, New Zealand. He's the director of some of the coolest trail running events you've never heard of (until now), and he's an amazing human who I've been privileged to call a friend. I met him when we both lived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and I'm stoked to have him on the podcast. In this episode we talk about trail running in New Zealand, some of the events that Steve has helped...

Many trail runners in New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona, have met Cliff Matthews on a trail at some point. If you have, you may remember him. He's talkative and leaves quite an impression. Lots of people know his name, but fewer know the story of this computer programmer, father, self-described deadhead, and prolific ultramarathoner who came to the sport somewhat later in his life. In this episode, we'll at least scratch the surface...

This is the first episode of Trail Love introducing my story and why I decided to create a podcast about trail running, living well, and aging well. In this solo episode I talk about how I got into trail running in 2019, the trail and ultra running community I've found in Albuquerque, New Mexico, an injury to my meniscus, and the surgery and recovery I'm facing during 2025. 

For all podcast links, including links related to pre...