Road Dog Podcast

"Something so hard can be so beautiful and sharing this with everybody is kind of the mission of the race."

Erik Koenig, Tim Brasier, and Bridgett Heser are all accomplished long-distance runners and organizers of the Island View Endurance Run, a premier event hosted by the Santa Barbara County Trails Council that attracts trail runners from across the nation. Experience breathtaking island and ocean views while challenging yourself on the stunning Gaviota Coast. In this special episode, they chat with Luis about where they are from, where they like to run, Island View Endurance Run, and needing...

"I think you're thinking about the end of your life, you're thinking, "how do I make every moment, as much of it as I can?" That's where my head went.

Jennifer George is an American ultra trail runner and entrepreneur. In this episode, Jennifer chats with Luis about running 9 Trails, getting into Western States 100, her experience running Western States in the past, dealing with breast cancer, her treatment, her recovery, DNFing, getting into Western States again, everything she endured to get to the start line of Western States, Badwater, her experiences out on the trail of Western...

"Economically they had a lot of hardships in Appalachia, and if we can bring more people to this area to see the beauty of it and really experience what it is like to be here, then it helps both local community and it helps other people get into different outdoor spaces."

Alyx Barnett & Melissa Londry are running races in Southwest Virginia. In this episode Alyx and Melissa chat with Luis about how they got into trail running, Melissa's series of trail racing events, bringing races to Southwest Virginia, the beauty of Virginia, Their races like Crystal Springs...

"It was kind of fun being chased and being the front runner but also not fun being chased because I felt like I had to keep moving that the person behind me would keep doing more laps and then go in front of me. So I felt like I had to keep pushing."

Rylan Reynolds is a ultra runner. In this episode, Rylan chats with Luis about his work, distance running, how he got started in trail running, DNFing, experiences from Born to Run Ultramarathon, Marine Core Marathon, races he has coming up, and his dream race.<...

"I kind of feel like it's just a normal habit like brushing your teeth. It's just something you do every day."

Ursula Hall & Micky Cecil are run streakers. In this episode Ursula and Micky chat with Luis about run streaking, what constitutes a run streak, the why, where they are on their streak journey, working with wood, what runs they have coming up, Fear & Loathing run, and their big announcement.

Support Road Dog Podcast by: 
1. Joining the Patreon Community: https://www.patreon.com/roaddogpodcast

2. Subscribe to the podcast on whatever platform you li...

"It's a state of mind. I am choosing to live with joy."

Dr. Karna Chana Fox is an educator, speaker, and director of an early childhood center. When she's not wrangling tiny humans, supporting families, or teaching future educators, you'll probably find her out on the trails training for an ultramarathon, drinking great coffee made by her husband, Yan, or at home with their beautifully busy blended family of six children, five of whom still live at home. A breast cancer survivor, Karna is passionate about honest conversations on resilience, simcha/joy, the courage to ask for...

"Everybody that goes running knows if your consistent there you're going to get better."

Chuck Bruns is a runner, a running coach for over 40 years, and teacher of AP English for over 30 years. In this episode, Chuck chats with Luis about being a teacher, coaching cross country running, their mutual friend Clint Welch, reading Born to Run, the relationship between running students and coaches, how a high school cross country meet is scored, Western States 100, his upcoming book, and fun running stories from his past.

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"…and then I noticed that the more I ran on trails, the less I got injured. So I just switched over completely to trail running."

Kirsty Michealsen is a mother of 4 and a trail runner. In this episode, Kristy chats with Luis about her first trail running experience at Back on the Ranch, other trail running races she has ran, running Boston Marathon, how she started running, Born to Run experience, winning a 50k race, running into a cougar at BTR, hurting her knee on a trail, and her Instagram account.

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"It's so wonderful, the community of people that offered to be a part of this in so many different facets."

Shaun, Jennifer, and Peter Wahl are an amazing family with an even more amazing story. Hear the Wahl family chat with Luis about Shaun's medical condition of cerebral palsy, their experience at multiple Born to Run Ultramarathons, the welcoming nature of the trail community, the preparation that goes into getting the Wahl family ready to run, the device created to keep Shaun comfortable on the course, the help of the firemen, getting the 100-mile buckle, the film...

"I listen to music almost all the time, I have to."

Val Vasquez is a musician and runner who lives in Hawaii. In this episode, Val chats with Luis about working for the military, Hawaiian music scene, playing gigs, styles of music, most requested music, what he listens to, how he got into running, his proudest running achievement, where he likes to run in Hawaii, his connection to Born to Run and Christoper McDougall.

Support Road Dog Podcast by: 
1. Joining the Patreon Community: https://www.patreon.com/roaddogpodcast

2. Subscribe to the podcast on...

"Your Born to Run was my first 200 miler I have ever completed."

Jeannie Munoz is an ultra-runner. In this episode, Jeannie chats with Luis about placing 2nd at the Born to Run Ultramarathon, losing weight, how she started running, her background, her mental state, coaching running, treating her body like a temple, helping inspire people, her relationship with Ann Trason, and her experience at Born to Run.

Support Road Dog Podcast by: 
1. Joining the Patreon Community: https://www.patreon.com/roaddogpodcast

2. Subscribe to the podcast on whatever platform you listen on.

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"100 miles is like the new 10k."

Luis Escobar talks with Ultramarathonman Dean Karnazes, one of TIME magazine's "Top 100 Most Influential People in the World." Men's Fitness hailed him as one of the fittest men on the planet. Among his many accomplishments, he has run 350 continuous miles, foregoing sleep for three nights. He's run across Death Valley in 120 degree temperatures, and he's run a marathon to the South Pole in negative 40 degrees. On ten different occasions, he's run a 200-mile relay race solo.
Dean talks about his introduction to distance running and his involvement over the past t...

"How come there are hardly any 60 year old women in hundreds? Go look at it. There's not a whole lot of them."

Pam Reed is a 2022 inductee in the American Ultrarunning Hall of Fame. Pam chats with Luis about this season's plan of completing Badwater 135, Hard Rock, and Western States 100. Pam also discusses the support of her husband, plans to run across America, staying positive and stories and advice on running.

Support Road Dog Podcast by: 
1. Joining the Patreon Community: https://www.patreon.com/roaddogpodcast

2. Subscribe to the podcast on whatever platform you...

"I am what I call a back of the packer runner. And I felt encouraged by everybody on the course. People that I would be like, why are they going to try and encourage me, they're off running really fast. But everyone was so encouraging and so nice. I did not feel invisible on the course which sometimes I do."

In this special episode, Luis chats with a bunch of Born to Run first timers. Hear first-hand experiences at the event, how they found Born to Run, their personal running journeys, the welcoming nature of the community...

"It was the Angeles Forrest that really got me out there. I looked up at that mountain and said, 'That's what I want to climb. That's what I want to do. That's going to get me to the next level of whatever it is I've got inside of my mind.'"

Rocky Reyes & Lorena Rubio are distance runners in California. Rocky and Lorena chat with Luis about where thy love to run, what running groups they hang with, Angeles National Forrest, Angeles Crest 100, the different courses ran at the Angeles Crest 100, being able to adapt on a...

"How do I get into a state where I am doing all this endurance running and stuff? It's just one foot in front of the other."

Miles Victors is an ultra-runner, health and fitness consultant, and fellow podcaster of Beating the Statistics. In this episode, Miles chats with Luis about extreme long-distance running, his weight loss journey, his mental fortitude, reading the book Born to Run, his Copper Canyons running experience, Bear 100, goals, wearing luna sandals during runs, running 420 miles in 8 days, Still I Run fundraising, Miles Coin web application, and what he has learned in his...

"You know you have an RV on wheels, and you want to put together an event for your community, you can pretty much do it anywhere."

Garr Russell is the founder and Chief Firestarter at Fireside RV Rentals. In this episode, Garr chats with Luis about the different RVs, places to buy an RV, used RVs vs. a new one, his RV rental business, living full-time in an RV for 5 years, how he came up with the business idea, how to get started renting or using your RV as a rental, different ways to use the RV...

"One of the real pleasures for me, I feel that Born to Run has stood up over time."

In this special episode of the Road Dog Podcast, Luis chats with Christopher McDougall, Eric Orton, Ted McDonald, Billy Barnett, and Jenn Shelton. These are all original members who went down into the Copper Canyons back in 2006 which inspired the book Born to Run. They discuss that original trip down to the Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon, how the photo cover of the book was picked, Caballo Blanco, how the trip came to be, impactful memories, the near fist fight...

"People want to be outdoors. They need space. It's inate in our being."

Recorded live at Main Street Cycles, Luis chats with Scott Clark of Main Street Cycles, James Grennan of Santa Barbara Land Trust, Doug Wilson a board member of Santa Maria Valley Open Space, Jon Blanchard of Santa Maria Valley Open Space, and Nick Batchelor from Orcutt Kids Bike Club. Topics include Santa Maria, the Land Trust, trail systems, Orcutt Kids Bike Club, conservation vs preservation, owning property on conservation lands, why it's so important, how to donate, why you shouldn't trespass, and recreational trails.<...

"Our goal here is really to just provide a better option. We lead by example with supplying clothes that are made in the right way, the best way and most sustainable way we can possibly find with the resources available currently."

Liam Moffat and Carson Leong are changing the game of outdoor clothing with their company called Seadon. In this episode, Liam and Carson chat with Luis about where they met, how the company started, eco friendly materials and packaging, run specific clothing, why they care about eco-friendly products, aligning the clothing they produce with their values...

"Through the last 10 years I look back at the life I lived 10 years ago and the life I'm living right now and I'm so much happier, more fulfilled."

Ken Skrien is on a Marathon Odyssey to run 250 x 26.2 miles for America's 250th birthday in 2026. This odyssey includes 150 events covering all 50 states and 7 continents. He is raising awareness for brain injury survivors and adaptive athletes. In this episode, Ken chats with Luis about his bike hit and run, being homeless because of the crash, how he embraced running, dealing with a brain injury, opportunities for growth, training for...

"Look, these group of people they go out and camp and then they go running."

Helen Payne is a distance runner, Trail Work Ambassador, and student who lives in Santa Barbara. In this episode, Luis is joined by Jon Zaid as a co-host and they chat with Helen about studying plant ecology, plants and relationship to fire, Runners For Public Lands, 9 Trails, where she loves to run, how she got involved with Runners For Public Lands, her running history, the Mammoth 200, High Lonesome 100, and what she has coming up next.

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"You see locals wearing very proudly their Nine Trails Rabbit shirts."

Sam Marks is the Community and Events Manager for the brand Rabbit. In this episode, Sam chats with Luis about running, 9 Trails, working with Rabbit, trail races that they sponsor and put on, and custom gear created for specific races.

Support Road Dog Podcast by: 
1. Joining the Patreon Community: https://www.patreon.com/roaddogpodcast

2. Subscribe to the podcast on whatever platform you listen on.

GO SLEEVES: https://gokinesiologysleeves.com

HAMMER NUTRITION show code: Roaddoghn20

Listeners get...

"There was a lot of throwing up going up that river and no one would give anyone a ride. I've learned that the hard way."

Ann Trason is widely regarded as one of the greatest ultrarunners of all time. A 14-time

champion of the Western States 100, she dominated the sport throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, redefining what was possible for women in endurance running. She's also a two-time winner of South Africa's legendary Comrades Marathon and a former world record holder at 50 miles and 100 kilometers. Known for her fierce competitiveness, quiet humility, and relentless...

"It takes a lot of effort to innovate and then to educate people with why it's different, how to wear it, and why you have to wear it differently than packs that are designed with a typical chest strap."

Josh Sprague is the founder of Orange Mud, which makes hydration packs for endurance athletes. In this episode, Josh chats with Luis about starting his company Orange Mud, his first products, putting water bottles on your back, how the company name came about, specifics about his products, stability, Transition Wrap, what put them on the map, the good...

"When things happen, we don't just send a whole bunch of Band-Aids—we say, 'What do you need?'"

Jon Zaid is a runner and director of software engineering at Direct Relief. In this episode, Jon chats with Luis about how he got into running, 100 milers, how he met Luis and ran with him, 200 milers, his experience at Born to Run, his 6 ½ year running streak, difference between passion and addiction for running, working with Direct Relief, and details of the Tough Enough run.

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1. Joining the Patreon Community: https://www.patre...

"It's just this awesome environment that it's cool to be able to play a part in contributing to the community coming together."

Michael Miller is the owner and operator of the Copper Canyons Endurance Run. In this episode,Michael chats with Luis about Mexico, Sea of Cortez, the Copper Canyons Endurance Run, True Messages, Wander Project, and his new book.

Zander Chase is the Executive Director of the Wander Project. In this episode, Zander follows up with Luis about the Wander Project, relationship with True Messages, and how to apply.

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"There are not too many cities and towns in the world that are known for music, and Bakersfield is one of those towns."

Zane Adamo is a musician in the band Soda Crackers, music teacher, and videographer. In this episode, Zane chats with Luis about music, Bakersfield, the history of music coming out of Bakersfield, dealing with nerves playing in front of people, the California spirit, where they perform, outfits, playing at the Born to Run event, being a jogger, being on the road, and Country Western music.

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"I think brands are looking for people to represent all different aspects of running."

Michael Wardian is a TEVA sponsored professional athlete. In this episode, Michael chats with Luis about where to run in Washington DC, relationship with TEVA, history of TEVA, TEVA's new trail shoes, advise on being a brand ambassador, the DMV Chipotle Burrito League, and running prizes for different segments.

Support Road Dog Podcast by: 
1. Joining the Patreon Community: https://www.patreon.com/roaddogpodcast

2. Subscribe to the podcast on whatever platform you listen on.

GO SLEEVES: https://go...

"My vision for the soap is to keep getting it into the hands of people that want it and need it in the local area."

Cassady Ozimec is the Co-Owner of the Paradise Road Soap Company. In this episode, Luis chats with Cassady about poison oak, homemade remedies to relieve pain, how Paradise Road Soap Company came to life, how Cassady and his wife took over the company, learning how to be a business owner, all the trails and tribulations they went through, their visions for the future, mug wort, poodle dog brush, poison ivy, how the...

"People are referring to me as a medical miracle."

Jo Giese is an award-winning journalist, author, and lifelong hiker who knows firsthand the wild ups and downs of adventure. In this episode, Jo chats with Luis about where she loves to hike, her love of waterfalls, her new memoir, You'll Never Walk Alone, her life changing accident, her determination and grit, getting around without an Achilles, finding her path, getting herself whole again, her trip to Bhutan, making the audio recording for her new book,

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"Highest high alpine environments where nothing can live naturally all the way down to lush jungle forest ripe with every type of plant and animal and water flying downhill everywhere."

Meghan Hicks is an accomplished ultrarunner and iRunFar.com's Editor-in-Chief. Anna Frost is a professional mountain, trail and ultra runner. In this episode Meghan and Anna chat with Luis about Bhutan, the Snowman Trek, making her way through the Trans Bhutan Trail, the terrain of Bhutan, having a guide, the history of the Trans Bhutan Trail, the unexpected things that happened on the trail, getting sick, and...

"The beauty of trail running, as massive as some of these distances are, is that they are always so different."

James Nalley, John Pipolo, and Nick Allen are trail runners who joined Luis at his Tierra Redonda Trail Run. In this episode, James, John, and Nick chat with Luis about how they got into running, running 100 milers and beyond, finding the value of rest, their experiences at the Tierra Redonda Trail Run, the last Person Standing running format, the course, dealing with weather, advice for running this style of format, winning the race, and run coaching with...

"I came across the Wander Project, which is a non-profit organization that helps runners raise funds, raise awareness for a cause close to them through different endurance events."

Zander Chase is a runner, a student at Berkely College studying for his MBA in Climate Solutions, and Executive Director of the Wander Project. In this episode, Zander chats with Luis about trail running, travelling around, how he met Jeff, how he found the Wander Project, fundraising, how the Wander Project works, being a runner with the Wander Project, and how to get involved.

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"One of the first lessons that I learned as being a master of ceremonies is to never pass the mic."

Justin Manning is a master of ceremonies, NY Mets Host, mainstage MC, sport announcer, and author. In this episode, Justin chats with Luis about bringing the hype, being an announcer, Spartan Races, where he is from, his connection to baseball, how he got the NY Mets gig, how to handle unhappy fans, his thoughts on the LA Dodgers, folks throwing out the first pitch, improvisation, failing spectacularly, and how he maintains his level of energy and positivity.<...

"If you really take fitness seriously and you train regularly; you can really reduce the amount of decline you are going to experience."

Jeffrey Weiss is an endurance athlete and author of the new book Racing Against Time. In this episode, Jeffrey chats with Luis about how he got started running, the running community in Tel Aviv, learning about how to run, about his book Racing Against Time, why he wrote it, what he has learned in 63 years on Earth, stepping outside your comfort zone, the Midnight Express race in Tahoe, what he has coming up next...

"Why it's important for us personally is to share."

In this special group episode, Raul Martin, Rae Johnson, Mark Wieneke, Kimberly Miller, Michael Miller, Vincente chat with Luis about their experience in the Copper Canyons, hanging with the Tarahumara, children's race, the structure of the Copper Canyons Endurance Runs, access for hikers, sweat lodges, the spiritual connection, what to expect if you go on this adventure, how you end your days there, and the frog story by Michael Miller.

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...

"For me the biggest issue is the overpopulation so, we will treat any animals for anything that I do have medications for while we are there."

Shannon Dawkins is a veterinarian doctor working with animals down in the Copper Canyons. She founded a non-profit called Compassion Copper Canyon. In this episode Luis chats with Shannon about her work, why her work with animals is so important, dog diseases, street dog life, adopting a dog, solutions, why spay and neutering dogs is important, how you can help, and where to contact her.

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"I would love to see the sport grow in northern California and just to get more awareness and participation. I'd love to see more burros get homes."

Jenifer Rishel trains mustangs and burros. In this episode, Jenifer chats with Luis about managing wild horses, how she trains them, how to adopt them, her personal running, Burney Mountain 100, Intermountain Endurance, difference between a donkey, a burro, and a mule, the organization Nor Cal Pack Burros, adopting burros, running with donkeys, Weekend at Burney, renting out burros for running, and what is burro racing.

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"When we go run a hundred mile run or a 50k and you get some buckle or award at the end. There is nothing for us to do this. This is all just personal goals."

Ursula Hall, Micky Cecil, Ellen Adamo, and Brad Guy are run streakers. A run streaker is someone who runs at least one mile consecutively every day. In this episode, the group chats with Luis about run streaks, how many days in each person is in, how keeping the streak alive is super tough, what they have learned from the experience, unusual places...