Run The Whites

Whites 100 2026 recap with Monte McIndoe and Russell Grant. 

In this episode, Andrew Drummond and Matt Hart sit down with Gary Cantrell, the visionary mind behind the infamous Barkley Marathons and the Last Runner Standing race format. They explore the creative genius behind these brutal endurance challenges, uncover whether Stephen King's "The Long Walk" sparked Gary's imagination, and reveal if ultrarunning legend Kilian Jornet has ever thrown his hat in the ring for Barkley.

In this episode, hosts Andrew Drummond and Matt Hart sit down with writer, Run The Alps founder, and longtime mountain runner Doug Mayer. Doug’s roots run deep in the White Mountains, where early adventures shaped his sense of adventure, curiosity, and community. We trace the arc that led him from Randolph, New Hampshire to Chamonix, France, where he now lives year-round. Doug is the author of many fine books that you should read: 

In this episode Andrew Drummond and Matt Hart talk to Tom Hooper and Josh Ferenc about the World Mountain Running Championships. Tom is a long-time race director here in the east who has had a front row seat for the evolution and development of Team USA and the Worlds. Josh an educator and who was an athlete on previous Worlds teams. This year he transitioned into coaching our U20 Team (under 20 athletes) traveling to race abroad. 

Our 2025 Bubba's wrap up podcast goes off the rails but resumes control 00:14:30 into it. Good times with Monte McIndoe and Russell Grant on this one.

Show Notes:
Bubba's Backyard Ultra Event Page
Lukas Janulitas (Strava)
Aaron Copelaned (Strava)
Erica Notini (Strava)

Bubba's Backyard Ultra Preview - another year, another stacked field. Russell Grant joins race directors Monte McIndoe and Andrew Drummond to chat about the upcoming event. All info can be found here: https://whitemountainski.co/pages/bubbas-backyard-ultra

In this episode, Andrew Drummond and Matt Hart talk to Jeff Garmire about his recent record run on the Appalachian Trail. Traveling southbound from Mount Katahdin, Maine, to Springer Mountain, Georgia he finished his self-supported record on September 21, 2025, covering the entire 2,189 mile trail, with 465,000 feet of elevation gain, in 45 days and 8 hours. Along the way he raised more than $42,000 for the suicide prevention nonprofit the Trevor Project. 

In this episode, Andrew Drummond and Matt Hart talk to Finn Melanson, host of the Singletrack Podcast and Co-Founder of Massif Running, an events company that hosts trail races in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. Finn has a love for the northeast and got his start on trails with a thru hike of the Appalachian Trail. On September 23, 2025 he set a new Fastest Known Time (FKT) on the Hundred Mile Wilderness, a 100-mile section of the AT from Monson, Maine to Abol Bridge, the southern border of Baxter State Park.

Finn's Hundred Mile Wilderness FKT on...

In this episode, Andrew, Monte, Russ, and Matt discuss the innaugural White Mountains 100 Event that Run The Whites hosted on September 12, 2025. 

Special thanks to Jake Acito, Nicholas Fucile, Jacquiline Fucile, Mac Guthrie, and Spencer Ralston for providing their audio interviews.

The White Mountain 100 Miler 2025 RESULTS Write Up
The Route on Strava
Fastest Known Time (FKT) Page
The White Mountain 100 Miler Event Page (keep an eye out for 2026)

In this episode, we sit down with David Sinclair to trace his journey from Nordic skiing at Green Mountain Valley School and Dartmouth to becoming one of the most versatile trail running athletes in the U.S. David shares stories from his early days balancing skiing and running, his progression into marathon racing and Olympic Trials qualification, and his breakthrough success on the trails with podium finishes at CCC and a golden ticket to Western States. Along the way, we chat about his Boott Spur VK Throwdown, the training and recovery strategies that keep him competitive, and what's required...

Andrew Drummond interviews Lexi Jackson after her new White Mountain Direttissima FKT of 5 days and 16 hours. 

White Mountain Direttissima FKT
Direttissima Route
Lexi Jackson on STRAVA

The Run The Whites Podcast is BACK! Matt Hart and myself (Andrew Drummond) interview Jeff Colt and riff on the White Mountains and trail running in general. Bear with us as we find our rhythm and work out the kinks. 

Interview with Danny Mejia 27:52
Save the date: Bubba's 2025, October 4th 2025, registration opens 1/1/25. 

To find all things Bubba's related, please visit https://whitemountainski.co/pages/bubbas-backyard-ultra

Check out Elizabeth's race on STRAVA
Manitou's Revenge Website

Larsen Ojala has solidified himself as the king of the grind in the White Mountains. He has an impressive list of accomplishments with the most recent being his NH AT project which follows the AT from the Maine boarder down to Vermont, roughly 160 miles with 56,000' of climbing. He wanted to do it in his style which was essentially a non-stop thru-hike.
Check it out on STRAVA. 

Very excited to chat with Patrick Gandini who just finished 4th at the Mount Washington Road Race. At just 19 years old, he proved that he can hang with the elites and took home the coveted Crossan Cup (top NH finisher) and age group record. Patrick talks about his prep, execution, and what's next as he heads to the US Naval Academy this year.
Follow Patrick on Strava

This is our first episode and we are joined by Abby Bennett who recently won the Chocorua Mountain Race. Abby has been gaining momentum over the past couple years and is off to a hot start for 2024. Follow Abby on Strava or Instagram

Post-event wrap up as we go over the event and recap the top DNF'ers and Ed Clifford's dominance at Bubba's. 

Event preview for Bubba's Backyard Ultra 2023. Be sure to follow @runthewhites for all the updates.

https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=95866

Jess is a phenomenal athlete and has gritted her way to the finish line countless times. She qualified for UTMB's TDS by way of UTHC as did her younger sister Stacy. It was fascinating to hear how they managed to finish together while each harnesses such a competitive nature. Jess holds down a full time teaching job while perpetually training for whatever race or challenge piques her interest. She has held several premiere FKTs, won numerous mountain races, and spends much of her time trail running and nordic skiing. 

Recapping Bubba's including an interview with 3x (and only) finisher Ed Clifford. This event gets better every year so a big thanks goes out to the runners, volunteers, and sponsors (Craft Sports, Athletic Brewing, STW Coffee Co, and Untapped Maple).

Show notes:
BBU 21 Results
Recap Video from Seth Acton
Big's Backyard Ultra

Monte and I throw out our race predictions for the 3rd Edition of Bubba's Backyard Ultra, held in Conway, NH. We're excited to announce that Craft is sponsoring the 24th lap, listen for the details.
Links:
Bubba's Ultrasignup
Blackout Reg
Road to Bigs
Craft CTM Ultra
Bill Cobb Fundraiser

We caught up with Jack Kuenzle (Ken-Zell) a day after his White Mountain Hut Traverse FKT. There's a lot of great stuff in here - full recap on his sub 10 hour effort, the unique training that went into it, and what's next. Jack wouldn't give us his Only Fans account but you can follow him on instagram @jackkuenzle and see his other FKTs here.

Pier and I linked up for a 24 mile run this summer - it only took several miles to realize that we would partner up on a coffee business that materialized a few month later. Pier's positivity carries over into his other passions for the outdoors but really shines when he shares his coffee with customers visiting the shop. If you're interested in linking up with Pier for some coffee roasting action, ping the shop and he'll make it happen. 

Thanks Ed for hopping on the phone and talking about his experience at Bubba's Backyard Ultra. Ed finished for the second time, which makes us question, when will Ed find his limit? 

The second annual Bubba's Backyard Ultra hit the over and went 34hrs. It was another great event that went into the second night before Ed Clifford was crowned the last person standing. We recap the event, start to finish, reg opens Jan 1st for the 2021 edition.

Event Photos from Joe Viger
Blackout 5k / 10k Registration
Run The Whites on Instagram

It was great to talk to Jordan a day after his White Mountain Hut Traverse FKT and hear that report as well as hearing a little more about his summer which also included a Pemi Loop FKT. There's a lot of specific training that went into achieve these goals and he talks about what has helped him excel at technical mountain running. Thanks Jordan for taking the time to chat!
Follow Jordan on Strava or Instagram.

Tom Hooper was the visionary behind Six03 Endurance, a multi-sport club that covers the spectrum of athletes from never-evers to elites. It's inclusivity and community atmosphere. In this episode we talk about the Ragged Stage Race and what it takes to get an event like that off the ground.  

Links:
Six03 Endurance
Kismet Cliff Beast of the East
Burro Racing
Bubba's Backyard Ultra

Pre-Trip Report: https://thetrek.co/a-new-challenge-the-white-mountains-direttissima-record/
Will on Instagram
Will on Strava

I was genuinely excited to see Will set the new FKT on the Direttissima. He has a solid mountain background and having thru-hiked the AT last summer, he knew what he was capable of but wanted to push things further. The Direttissima tests your mind and body in ways hard to describe. Will dealt with sleep deprivation, swollen feet, rain storms, and a few other difficulties along the way. Thanks Will for getting on Skype and providing a great trip report.

This week we pinned down Sarah Keyes to catch up on what she has been up to and what her revised summer calendar is looking like. Sarah is a nurse, coach, race director, and professional ultra runner. She has an impressive list of FKTs and race results but over six years of training and coaching experience which makes her a really good resource for all things running. We chat about what her schedule looks like this summer, some coaching tips, and the New England mountain running scene.

https://www.sarahruns.com/
https://www.instagram.com/sarahkeyes...

Ben Thompson is an accomplished New England trail runner who first came on my radar in 2017 when he set the FKT on the Presidential Traverse. Little did I know he had a deep history of trail running in NH, MA and a stint in TN. On Sunday he reclaimed his FKT of the Pemi Loop and we nerd out about his training, big efforts, and how his dog Wish became a speedy mountain dog.

 Read about Ben’s Middlesex Fells FKT: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/27/sports/medford-man-sets-record-middlesex-fells-trails-little-known-sport-fkt/

See Ben’s FKT on the PEMI: https...