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Borderlands Trail and Ultra Running

Borderlands Trail and Ultra Running

By: Josh Rosenthal | Ultra Runner
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Borderlands Trail and Ultra Running is a storytelling podcast for ultra runners who love this sport deeply, the iconic races, the legendary athletes, the gear, and the culture that makes all of it worth caring about. Hosted by Josh Rosenthal, founder of Borderlands Trail Running, this show exists to collect the ultra running stories that define the sport, from spending a day at Laz Lake's home to deep conversations with Scott Jurek, Dean Karnazes, Camille Herron, and the everyday runners doing extraordinary things out on the trails. This podcast covers the full world of ultra and trail running: race coverage and analysis of marquee events including Western States Endurance Run and UTMB, honest trail running shoes reviews and ultra running gear breakdowns from someone who has tested 44 pairs over 6,000 miles, and big conversations about where the sport is headed, including what dirtbag runners bring to a sport that's growing fast. This show gives ultra runners the stories, perspectives, and gear knowledge to go deeper into a sport they already love while celebrating what makes trail and ultra running unlike anything else. We'll answer questions like: - Who is Laz Lake, and why does everyone in ultra running revere him? - What makes the Barkley Marathons the hardest race in the world? - How does Western States Endurance Run work, and why is it so hard to get in? - What are the best trail running shoes and ultra running gear right now? - Who are the greatest ultra runners of all time? - What does dirtbag running culture actually mean? - How is ultra running changing, and is that a good thing? - What does it take to run a 100 mile ultra marathon? - What should ultra runners eat during training and on race day? If you want the stories, the gear, and the culture that make ultra and trail running the most addictive sport on earth, you're in the right place.All Rights Reserved Borderlands Industries LLC Hygiene & Healthy Living Running & Jogging
Episodes
  • Western States Wants to Protect, UTMB Wants to Grow

    Western States Wants to Protect, UTMB Wants to Grow
    Jun 19 2026

    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.

    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
    2. Josh Rosenthal on IG
    3. Borderlands.cc
    4. La French Trail

    Related Episodes
    1. Ultra Running isn't Just Running

    Presented by Kiprun.

    ----

    Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it.

    Watch on YouTube

    Read on Substack
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    17 mins
  • Wasatch 100 & Bear 100: When Ultra Running Just Hurts

    Wasatch 100 & Bear 100: When Ultra Running Just Hurts
    Jun 16 2026

    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.

    Resources / Links
    1. Borderlands.cc
    2. La French Trail

    Related Episodes
    1. Ultra Running isn't Just Running

    Presented by Kiprun.

    ----

    Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it.

    Watch on YouTube

    Read on Substack
    Show More Show Less
    15 mins
  • The Trail Running Sea of Sameness | Nike ACG, Nostalgia, and the Cost of Optimization

    The Trail Running Sea of Sameness | Nike ACG, Nostalgia, and the Cost of Optimization
    Jun 12 2026

    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 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.

    Resources / Links
    1. The Mountain That Made ACG
    2. Inky's Article about theROCKER

    Related Episodes
    1. Ultra Running isn't Just Running
    2. I Was Wrong About Kiprun

    Presented by Kiprun.

    ----

    Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it.

    Watch on YouTube

    Read on Substack
    Show More Show Less
    28 mins
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