As the Western States lottery approaches, host Scotty Sandow sat down with the legendary Shannon Weil, co-founder of the Western States Endurance Run, to talk about her book, Buckle Fever. The book explores the history of the Western States Endurance Run and how the passion and creativity of the founders cultivated a race that became one of the world's oldest, most revered 100-milers.

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Podcast host Scotty Sandow sits down with URM editor in chief Amy Clark to get a sneak peek of the Dec 2025/January 2026 issue. No major spoilers because the issue just went to print, but Scotty talks with Amy about new columnists, the issue theme and why this one is going to be an awesome edition to get in your mailbox (along with the annual UR training calendar).

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NOTES:

Fixing Your Feet podcast w/ Tonya Olson

Host Scotty Sandow sits down with UltraRunning Magazine columnist Jared Beasley, an author and journalist who never expected to find himself embedded in the sport of ultrarunning and just wrote a new book called The Endurance Artist. The book offers an all-access pass to some of the world's most grueling races — and to the mastermind behind them: Gary Cantrell, better known as Lazarus Lake.

The Barkley Marathons is legendary — a secretive, punishing event with book checkpoints hidden in the woods, and an elevation gain equivalent to climbing Mount Everest twice.

And then there's Big's Backyard, where runners tackle a 4-mile loop every hour, on the hour, until only one runner remains.

In The Endurance Artist, Jared uncovers the world of a reclusive figure (Laz) determined to rewrite the rules — challenging our ideas about success, failure and human potential.

The Endurance Artist is available now at bookstores everywhere.

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Host Scotty Sandow and editor-in-chief of UltraRunning, Amy Clark, sit down to discuss the August/September issue including tips on how to train on technical terrain, a sports bras 101 feature, a review of essential gear for running 100 miles and coverage of Western States, Bighorn 100 and much more.

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Waldo 100k race director, Craig Thornley, sits down with host Scotty Sandow to talk about the history of this Oregon ultramarathon and why it's such a classic, old school race. As one of UltraRunning Magazine's 2025 Old School Ultas, there's a lot more to the event that makes it so special including the volunteers, unique awards for on-course activities (beyond running) and much more.

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Host Scotty Sandow sits down with Bob Becker. As a race director and ultrarunner, Becker recently became the oldest finisher of Badwater 135 at age 80. But this isn't the first time Becker has crossed the finish line of a major ultramarathon. As a pillar in the ultrarunning community, Becker talks more about his finish at Badwater, his ultrarunning career and what he has in store for the future.

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Fresh off a standout performance at the 2025 Canyons 100k, Ryan Montgomery secured a Golden Ticket and is headed back to Western States for the third time. With a previous 8th-place finish under his belt, Ryan returns with sharper strategy, bigger goals and deeper intention.

But his story goes far beyond his success. As one of the few openly gay elite ultrarunners, Ryan is a powerful advocate for inclusion, authenticity and representation in the trail and ultra community.

In this episode, we dive into his race-day mindset at Canyons, his approach to training for Western States and what it truly means to show up—fully and fearlessly—in a sport still finding its footing in diversity.

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In this episode, host Scotty Sandow sits down with two remarkable athletes whose stories push the boundaries of resilience and possibility: Adam Popp and Dave Mackey.

Popp, a retired US Air Force veteran and above-knee amputee, made history as the first above-knee amputee to finish a 100-mile ultramarathon. This June, he's taking on the iconic Western States 100 with none other than Dave Mackey by his side.

Mackey's story is legendary. A former Ultrarunner of the Year (UROY), course record holder and longtime elite competitor, Dave lost his leg below the knee after a devastating mountain running accident. His comeback is the stuff of ultrarunning lore—gritty, grounded and deeply inspiring.

In this conversation, they talk about what it takes to train and compete as adaptive athletes, how they've redefined success, and the deep connection forged through trail and adversity.

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