The Threshold Podcast

Mark Dowdle won Last Soul Ultra 2026 with 94 yards — 391.7 miles (630.4 km) — after nearly four days of backyard racing in Germany. Ayyoub “Ello” El Osrouti reached 93 yards, and Garrett and Tanner break down the finish, the bizarre Loop 87 battle, Dowdle’s gamesmanship, and a livestream that may have raised the bar for how backyard ultras are covered.

Nick Steel followed with a win at Tartarus Backyard Ultra, completing 53 yards and securing the final U.S. Silver Ticket for the 2026 Backyard Ultra World Team Championships. With the at-large qualifying window now closed, we go through Team USA, the difference between the Silver...

UTMB 2026 brings the trail-running world to Chamonix for 108 miles (174 km) and roughly 32,500 feet (9,900 m) of climbing through France, Italy and Switzerland. Garrett and Tanner break down UTMB, CCC and OCC, the biggest names in every field, and make full podium picks, winning-time predictions, dark-horse calls and DNFs before race week begins.

UPDATE — Episode recorded Tuesday, August 18. Since recording, Kilian Jornet has withdrawn from UTMB because of his ongoing knee injury, and Jim Walmsley is also out. You’ll hear discussion on both runners and predictions based on the field as it stood when recorded.

The inaugural SISU Backyard Ultra starts September 5 at 9 a.m. at Lake Rebecca Park in Rockford, Minnesota, on a 4.167-mile hourly loop. Co-race directors Ryan and Steve Koivisto join Garrett and Tanner to explain how the race went from a text sent while mowing the lawn to a permitted backyard event, and what runners can expect on race weekend.

We also discuss:

How Sydney Backyard Ultra helped spark the idea for a new Minnesota backyard race

The Lake Rebecca course, including the paved climb, trail sections, and...

Phil Gore holds the Backyard Ultra World Record at 119 laps and is the reigning Big's Backyard Ultra World Champion, having taken the title with 114. This week on The Threshold Podcast, Tanner and Garrett sit down with him three weeks before the biggest feat he's ever attempted: Project 168 — a solo, seven-day, 700-mile run.

We also discuss:

How a back-of-the-pack high school cross country runner turned a 2015 commitment to run 5K every day into a marathon, then his first ultra in 2019, then a 39-yard assist finish at his first backyard ultra in 2020 that hooked hi...

Max Jolliffe just became the first man in history to break 21 hours at Badwater 135, running 20:53:41 in a photo finish up the final climb to Whitney Portal. This week on The Threshold Podcast, Garrett and Tanner break down a historic weekend in Death Valley, where Carmen Maria Perez also set a new women's course record at 21:05:32 — finishing second overall, ahead of every runner except Jolliffe himself.

We also discuss:

Ludovic Pommeret just became a three-time Hardrock 100 champion at age 50, breaking his own course record by 22 minutes with a 21:11:36 finish. This week on The Threshold Podcast, Garrett and Tanner break down a historic weekend at Hardrock, where Courtney Dauwalter also set a new clockwise course record at 26:03:10 for her fourth win, and Tara Dower completed a brutal Western States-Hardrock double, finishing third just 13 days after taking sixth at States. With 147 runners taking on 33,000 feet of climbing through the San Juan Mountains, this year's edition delivered one of the most dominant performances the race has seen.

We also...

Hardrock 100 is six days from its scheduled start in Silverton, and for the first time in years, it may not happen at all.

This week on The Threshold Podcast, Garrett and Tanner break down the Gold Mountain Fire's threat to the race, the same fire that already forced the Ouray 100 to cancel less than two weeks before its own start. If Hardrock goes down too, it's only the fourth cancellation in the race's 34-year history. Is proactive cancellation the responsible call?

We also discuss:

Western States 2026 may go down as one of the most historic editions in race history.

This week on The Threshold Podcast, Tanner and Garrett break down a record-shattering day at the Western States 100, highlighted by Vincent Bouillard's stunning 13:46:15 victory. Bouillard not only smashed Jim Walmsley's course record by more than 23 minutes, but became the first athlete ever to break the 14-hour barrier at Western States. With Francesco Puppi, Ryan Montgomery, and Thomas Cardin all running under the previous course record, was this truly "The Year of the Euros?"

On the women's side, Jennifer Lichter continued...

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In this episode of The Threshold Podcast, we sit down with one of the most recognizable voices in the world of Backyard Ultras—Patto, host of the Backyard Ultra Podcast.

Patto shares his journey from a recreational marathon runner to becoming one of the sport's biggest storytellers and advocates. After discovering the Backyard Ultra format and realizing there were virtually no resources dedicated...

The Threshold Podcast is back with a special Running News Rundown, covering the biggest stories from the world of running, ultrarunning, trail racing, backyard ultras, and Hyrox.

In this episode, Tanner dives into the headlines shaping the endurance community this week. We reflect on Threshold Podcast surpassing 1,000 downloads, address the conversation sparked by our recent Instagram post, and discuss what accountability and open dialogue look like in today's running culture.

On the racing side, we break down Aaron Kubala's incredible course-record performance at the Tahoe 200, where he clocked a blistering 48:09 to take the win and...

Garrett and Tanner are back for episode 13.

Dead Cow Gully just wrapped in Australia and Sam Christie took the win at 66 loops on a 1,600-acre working cattle farm. We break down the race, McCormick's heartbreaking calf injury that likely cost him a silver ticket to the Australian national team, and why Bagman might just be the people's champ of backyard ultra. Also, if you finish Dead Cow Gully, you get a vacuum-sealed bag of cow manure. True story.

Cocodona held its first ever lottery. Nearly 2,000 applicants, 475 spots, 80% first-time starters, all 50 states represented, 42 countries, and one...

Garrett and Tanner are back for episode 12, and this week we bring the heat.

The Cam Hanes and Sage Canaday saga keeps developing. Cam fired back with his own take on the PED situation. We break down his response, what it means for the brands backing him, and whether race organizations are going to hold influencer athletes to the same standard they hold everyone else.

Then, the Enhanced Games came and went. Fred Curley ran clean and still won. The entire enhanced field couldn't get close to Usain Bolt's world record. We get into what...

Tanner and Garrett are back for episode 11. This time, we lay out the blueprint for building your own training plan, the "why" behind it, and the 5 areas where you'll experience growth through training intentionally.

Plus, in the Rundown:

Cocodona 250 just dropped their viewership numbers and they are staggering. 247,000 live viewers in 2023. 303,000 in 2024. 841,000 in 2025. 1.42 million this year. We break down what Aravaipa is doing differently from every other race organization in the sport and why other races should be paying attention.

Brian Calloff, a Minnesota runner who trains at Elm Creek, just won Cruel...

Garrett & Tanner are back for double-digit episode 10 of The Threshold Podcast - the podcast for the everyday runner.

We kick it off with Free Trail 2025 trail performances of the year and there are some names on the list that surprised us, and a few notable ones missing. Jim Walmsley had three performances of the year while reportedly battling injury heading into Western States. Ludwig Pomeré won Hard Rock at 50 years old. Ann Flowers broke a 31-year course record at Leadville. David Roche broke his own Leadville course record and didn't crack the list. The b...

Tanner and Garrett are back for episode 9, where we cover the most comprehensive Midwest race preview you'll find anywhere.

We start with Cocodona 250. Rachel Entrekin won the race overall. New course record: 56 hours, 9 minutes, 28 seconds. We break down her race, the full podium, the fueling, what Mount to Coast is building, and whether a sub-50-hour Cocodona is eventually possible. We also take a moment at the top to acknowledge the tragedy that occurred during the race.

Then we get into Jim Walmsley taking a Hoka sponsor bib into Western States. He didn't run a...

Garrett and Tanner are back for episode 8 of The Threshold Podcast, the podcast for the everyday runner.

We kick things off with the Rundown: Legends Backyard Ultra just wrapped in Belgium with a 114-yard, 475-mile finish that spanned nearly five days. Sydney's Backyard Ultra drew 645 starters and produced one of the more unhinged race stories you'll hear this year. And Sebastian Sawe ran 1:59:41 at London, the first official sub-2 marathon, on two slices of toast and a cup of tea.

Next, we get into Cocodona 250, starting May 4. We break down both fields, talk through who's...

Garrett DuPont & Tanner Elmore are back for episode 7 of The Threshold Podcast, joined by James Smith to break down the Elm Creek Backyard Ultra in Maple Grove, Minnesota.

This one is a full race recap.

We get into what the backyard ultra actually feels like once you’re in it — the loops, the pacing, the decisions, and how quickly things can shift over the course of a long day (and night) of running.

We talk through how the race played out for each of us, what changed as the hours stacked up, and what...

In this inspiring episode, ultra runner Nick Steel shares his incredible journey of pushing physical and mental limits through relentless ultra marathons, overcoming personal struggles, and finding purpose in running. Discover how his mindset, community support, and unique challenges shape his pursuit of the youngest athlete to complete one hundred 100-mile races.

We Cover:

...

Garrett DuPont and Tanner Elmore are back for episode 5 of The Threshold Podcast, a show for runners who are chasing growth, goals, and personal greatness.

In this episode, we focus on the roles that surround the runner: crewing, pacing, and volunteering, and how they shape the overall race experience.

It covers:

• the responsibilities of a crew and how they support performance and logistics
• the role of a pacer in maintaining effort and decision-making
• the importance of communication and planning before race day
• how volunteers contribute to the structur...

Tanner Elmore and Garrett DuPont are back for episode 4 of The Threshold Podcast, a show for runners chasing growth, goals, and personal greatness.

In this episode, we take a step back from training and look at the direction of the sport as a whole.

Trail running is growing, not just in participation, but in attention, investment, and opportunity. We break down what’s driving that growth and what it means for the future of running.

It covers:

• the rise in trail and ultra participation and what’s fueling it
• what makes tr...

Tanner and Garrett are back for episode 3 of The Threshold Podcast, a show for runners who are chasing growth, goals, and personal greatness.

This episode centers around preparing for race day through a simulation effort, which is a training run that mimics race day as closely as possible.

It covers:

• what a “sim” actually is and why it matters this close to race day• what we’re trying to learn before stepping onto the start line• how fueling has been evolving in training and what we’re bringing into longer efforts• the d...

Tanner Elmore and Garrett DuPont are back for episode 2 of The Threshold Podcast, a show for runners who are chasing growth, goals, and personal greatness.

This episode breaks down what it means to train with purpose, and how runners and athletes alike can step up their game with a structured training plan.

It covers:

Also in this episode:

Garrett DuPont and Tanner Elmore kick off The Threshold Podcast, a show for runners who are chasing growth, resilience, and the kind of challenges that force you to find out what you're really capable of.

In Episode 1, we talk about how a coaching relationship, countless running conversations, and a shared obsession with endurance sports turned into a podcast.

We dive into our personal running journeys, the mindset that keeps runners showing up when things get hard, and why the Backyard Ultra format might be one of the most fascinating tests in endurance sports.

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