Trail Running Culture Doesn't Scale | Bob Crowley's Response

Trail Running Culture Doesn't Scale | Bob Crowley's Response

Western States and UTMB are often framed as opposite visions for the future of trail running. One protects through limits. The other protects through growth. But after publishing an episode on that tension, I received an unexpected response from Bob Crowley, former President of the International Trail Running Association [https://itra.run] (ITRA). Bob argues that both sides may be focused on the wrong thing. What follows is a conversation about culture, stewardship, local races, and whether the values that built trail running can survive success. Somewhere along the way, the debate stops being about Western States and UTMB and becomes something much bigger. Please give us a follow, rate the podcast, and give a review. If you’re new to Borderlands, start here [https://www.borderlands.cc/start-here/]. RESOURCES / LINKS 1. Western States Wants to Protect, UTMB Wants to Grow [https://youtu.be/lQTQvwWqdrg?si=APBUJzgLaTB9m0ZL] 2. Bob's Full Op-ed [https://www.borderlands.cc/essays/the-trail-was-always-the-teacher/] 3. Borderlands.cc [Borderlands.cc] 4. La French Trail [https://pod.link/1834448454] RELATED EPISODES 1. Ultra Running isn't Just Running [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bShJtj-N-M] Presented by Kiprun [https://bit.ly/kiprun_pod]. ---- Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it. Watch on YouTube [YouTube.com/@runborderlands] Read on Substack [https://borderlandstrailrunning.substack.com]

Western States Wants to Protect, UTMB Wants to Grow

Western States and UTMB have become the two most influential institutions in trail running, but beneath the debate over lotteries, race series, and growth is a deeper question: when something becomes successful, how do you protect it? Josh explores why UTMB believes trail running is important enough to scale globally while Western States believes it's important enough not to. Along the way, he examines scarcity, culture, the hidden cost of success, and whether the thing worth protecting was ever the race itself. Please give us a follow, rate the podcast, and give a review. If you’re new to Borderlands, start here [https://www.borderlands.cc/start-here/]. TOPICS / TIMESTAMPS * 01:33 Two Philosophies of Trail Running * 03:19 Is Growth in Trail Running Corruption? * 06:13 The Scale Problem in Trail Running * 11:06 What Cultre are We Protecting in Trail Running? * 15:50 The Supply Chain of Trail Running Culture RESOURCES / LINKS 1. 8 Bit Trail Running [play.borderlands.cc] 2. Josh Rosenthal on IG [https://www.instagram.com/joshrosenthal1] 3. Borderlands.cc [Borderlands.cc] 4. La French Trail [https://pod.link/1834448454] RELATED EPISODES 1. Ultra Running isn't Just Running [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bShJtj-N-M] Presented by Kiprun [https://bit.ly/kiprun_pod]. ---- Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it. Watch on YouTube [YouTube.com/@runborderlands] Read on Substack [https://borderlandstrailrunning.substack.com]

Wasatch 100 & Bear 100: When Ultra Running Just Hurts

Wasatch 100 and Bear 100 are two of the hardest races in ultra running. Michael Whiteside ran both just three weeks apart, and what stayed with me from this conversation wasn't the accomplishment. It was the way he talked about suffering, expectations, and the moment he realized he wasn't going to feel better. What follows is less a race report and more a conversation about endurance. Crew guilt, self-doubt, late-race bargaining, and the strange acceptance that sometimes arrives when the problem in front of you can no longer be solved. Somewhere in the middle, Michael offers one of the best descriptions of ultra running I've heard: it wasn't hard, it just hurt. Please give us a follow, rate the podcast, and give a review. If you’re new to Borderlands, start here [https://www.borderlands.cc/start-here/]. RESOURCES / LINKS 1. Borderlands.cc [Borderlands.cc] 2. La French Trail [https://pod.link/1834448454] RELATED EPISODES 1. Ultra Running isn't Just Running [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bShJtj-N-M] Presented by Kiprun [https://bit.ly/kiprun_pod]. ---- Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it. Watch on YouTube [YouTube.com/@runborderlands] Read on Substack [https://borderlandstrailrunning.substack.com]

The Trail Running Sea of Sameness | Nike ACG, Nostalgia, and the Cost of Optimization

Modern trail running shoes are better than they've ever been. So why do so many runners still find themselves drawn to older designs like the Nike ACG LDV? Josh and Inky use one nostalgic shoe to explore a bigger question: what happens when an industry spends years optimizing toward the same answer? Somewhere between old Nike catalogs, modern trail shoes, and a sea of increasingly similar products, they uncover why certain designs still stop us in our tracks. Shout out to Marty from Global Sales Guys [https://www.globalsalesguys.com] who talks about the Sea of Sameness in outdoor retail. Please give us a follow, rate the podcast, and give a review. If you’re new to Borderlands, start here [https://www.borderlands.cc/start-here/]. RESOURCES / LINKS 1. The Mountain That Made ACG [https://www.nike.com/acg/acg-ldv-expedition] 2. Inky's Article about theROCKER [https://www.borderlands.cc/gear/satisfy-therocker/] RELATED EPISODES 1. Ultra Running isn't Just Running [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bShJtj-N-M] 2. I Was Wrong About Kiprun [https://www.borderlands.cc/podcasts/i-was-wrong-about-kiprun/] Presented by Kiprun [https://bit.ly/kiprun_pod]. ---- Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it. Watch on YouTube [YouTube.com/@runborderlands] Read on Substack [https://borderlandstrailrunning.substack.com]

Why Western States is America's Most Important Race | More than a Run

Western States 100 occupies a different place in trail running than almost any other race. Months before the starting gun, runners and fans are already studying the field, imagining the canyons, debating contenders, and wondering what story will emerge from Auburn. This episode explores why Western States feels bigger than a race. From Jim Walmsley and Kilian Jornet to Wendell Robie, Rucky Chucky, and the old buckle holders still working aid stations, Josh makes the case that Western States belongs in the same conversation as The Masters and the Kentucky Derby. Not because of the sport, but because of what happens when greatness, history, place, and uncertainty all meet in the same event. Please give us a follow, rate the podcast, and give a review. If you’re new to Borderlands, start here [https://www.borderlands.cc/start-here/]. TOPICS / TIMESTAMPS * 01:54 Elite Runners vs 'Participation Runners' * 08:05 The Course as Character * 11:14 The Importance of The Course * 13:54 The Importance of Rucky Chucky * 16:12 The Dual Nature of the Race * 19:58 The Spirit of American Trail Running * 22:09 The Unfolding Drama of Race Day RESOURCES / LINKS 1. 2026 WSER Entrants List [https://www.wser.org/2026-entrants-list/] 2. Live on Course - LoC by Borderlands [loc.borderlands.cc] 3. Borderlands.cc [Borderlands.cc] 4. La French Trail [https://pod.link/1834448454] RELATED EPISODES 1. Trail Running Loves Winners, Does it Love Competitors? [https://youtu.be/9uHcc4RJTkg?si=prvmKtQoE27k-OzG] 2. Ultra Running isn't Just Running [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bShJtj-N-M] Presented by Kiprun [https://bit.ly/kiprun_pod]. ---- Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it. Watch on YouTube [YouTube.com/@runborderlands] Read on Substack [https://borderlandstrailrunning.substack.com]