Episode 72? Welp, the shit starts getting really real at mile 72, so you better get up outta that chair and hang on! New Social Distance Challenge? Check! This one is all about…you’ll have to listen. Speaking of listening, we love our Patreon supporters, even the ones that don’t listen- what are we talking about? Fucking LISTEN! We dive deep into a lot of topics but most importantly we ask “what can the community do to help each other right now?” Below you will see a lot of links to shoe stores,...
Apr 24, 2020•2 hr 2 min•Season 3Ep. 72
CULTRA is back in the studio, well the quarantine studio. Which is actually our various living areas and bedrooms and stuff, so yeah. We get down an dirty with VT race director extraordinaire Jonathan Vass and he gives us some unique takes on his outdoor events as well as his background in endurance sports. We do our Patreon shtick, Becky's insane strength Social Distance Challenge, Art does the 2nd Annual Hoppin' Hodges 50k and sets a new course record in the process. Speaking of course records...
Apr 17, 2020•2 hr 21 min•Season 3Ep. 71
We have local speedster Jeff Grant (and his even faster wife Mary-Louise Timmermans) checking in with us via Zoom to talk about all the FKTs they've bagged recently plus Becky getting awkward, yes- Fred's still running every day and Art being Art. Jimmy says something mildly controversial, starts a fire with his words. It's largely a Patreon shout out episode, takes us literally an hour to get through that and we announce the winner of the Week Three CULTRA Social Distance Challenge (it's Koby N...
Apr 10, 2020•2 hr 16 min•Season 3Ep. 70
CULTRA Trail Running Podcast is completely out there in the ether my people, since we can't meet in person we're meeting in the virtual space. So we wax poetic on the state of affairs- Western States 100 is cancelled, so that's cool. Jimmy has been waiting eight years so what's another? Maybe we make it a cool decade- if you people can't stay the F inside and get the hell away from each other we can't have nice things, like races... anytime soon. Agenda: we talk about the Social Distance Vert Ch...
Apr 03, 2020•1 hr 55 min•Season 3Ep. 69
Socially distanced but not anti-social! We are legion, for we are many... just stay the fuck six feet away. Postponed events? Yes, us too. We commiserate but stay optimistic. Art says we sound tinny but the hipsters among us will say it's "lo-fi indie" like our early stuff before we signed to a major label. We talk virtual races, FKT attempts and how to self-support for your next big attempt because we don't see any races happening anytime soon so start sharpening up the skills for the long stup...
Mar 27, 2020•1 hr 52 min•Season 3Ep. 68
Times they are a changing, but the trails are still there. The Cultra Crew gets together, well not exactly together, as we practice social distancing in the studio. Then Becky comes up with several Cultrivia questions for Fred. Do you know the answers? We also announce our new weekly contest, The Cultra Social Distance Challenge! Post up a run on the Cultra Fan Page, and tag in on Strava (if you want) and you have the chance to win a really cool Ragged Cuts award, plus we will possibly make fun ...
Mar 20, 2020•1 hr 48 min•Season 3Ep. 67
Stacey Clark takes over from Colorado and does a one on one interview with Joshua Stevens. Joshua shares the very raw and real story of his life, which involved the special forces, injury, addiction, and a love for animals and nature. Having lived through these struggles, Joshua has a new, deep, and profound appreciation for life, which has now led him to many Ultra runs including VT100, Leadville, and Badwater 135. Joshua Stevens now makes his living from Ultra Running and we are glad to have h...
Mar 19, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 66
This week's episode finds the crew sitting down with Glastonbury's Shan Riggs, fresh off a stunning 15-hour 100-mile performance in the desert of Las Vegas. What makes Shan go? The crew asks pointed questions and receives pointed answers. They also all deep dive into the coronavirus and its impact on running events around the world. Some mild 4% talk of course and a touch of random Becky awkwardness. The RiMaConn Relay Race: https://www.hartfordmarathon.com/rimaconn-relay/ The Blue 2 Blue Challe...
Mar 13, 2020•2 hr•Season 3Ep. 65
This episode we talk, and we talk and talk some more, mostly about Fred’s FOMO at the Colchester Half (and Art and Becky’s double half and even one guy that did the triple half; looking in Tony Bonnano’s general direction), we get real with Seasonal Affective Disorder, and what the F is wrong with the marathon and USATF for that matter and just general shenanigans and hijinks and jackassing all around. Jimmy barely says anything actually. A few karaoke jams to soothe the soul, and some serious “...
Mar 06, 2020•2 hr 2 min•Season 3Ep. 64
Disclaimer: this episode barely talks about Western States, maybe some Golden Ticket shit but we put that in the title because this will make people download it or something, and new listeners we love you (allegedly). We jackass around for a bit before landing on our preferred topic of the night: Tribalism (and take a deep deep dive into that). You're in Maine, boy- we got gators! We talk about the Delaware Water Gap and Mt. Tammany and all that Jersey-PA shit you love. We kinda made a new theme...
Feb 28, 2020•1 hr 56 min•Season 3Ep. 63
Whoosh! That's the sound of George Daniels passing you at your last race, and if you've been running the trails here in CT the last few years, good chance you've heard that whoosh and seen the man pass you at some point. Don't worry it's happened to all of us. George sits down and explains where he came from and what he was doing the previous 56 years before ultrarunning stardom. Fred has been running a bit and both Becky and Art have their own semi-decent streaks nipping on the heels of Mr. Mur...
Feb 21, 2020•2 hr 7 min•Season 3Ep. 62
'ello governor! Today we venture across the ol' pond to jolly England and Scotland for a bit of a field trip with the one and only LSE. We get serious for a moment, then we remember who we are and well, that's all right. The greatest benefactor the podcast has ever known (as well as my favorite triathlete ever), Peggy Byram sits down with us to talk shop and get the running (and swimming and biking) routes from Lord LSE as Art looks on in horror. We're a full-on tri podcast now, too late to stop...
Feb 14, 2020•1 hr 36 min•Season 3Ep. 61
It’s that time of the week again- I swear this is a very special episode. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll do everything in between. We have the lovely Carly Eisley in studio this week to talk about adventures, racing (she's a 10+ year vet in this sport, people) and life and how all three merge and the beauty and wonder of it all. Ups, downs and dickin' around. Rhode Island receives a minimum mention but is really #1 in our hearts. Definitely won't want to miss this one. Fred says a few words...
Feb 07, 2020•2 hr 35 min•Season 3Ep. 60
Here we go with yet another installment of the pod my peoples! And just like that, the CULTRA Crew grows! We asked Fred Murolo of he’d like to go steady with us and he said YES! Then Becky made it really awkward and gave him a ring. So there’s that. But what did we talk about? A lot of jackassing to be honest. But some timely facts (possibly) and some race reporting (allegedly). Just what you know and love from us. Really though we got topical for a huge portion of the pod. You’ll just have to l...
Jan 31, 2020•1 hr 49 min•Season 3Ep. 59
CULTRA is a podcast about... welp, tonight... we're about nothing. We just jackass around the whole show. Literally just that. Jackassing. We attempt to approach a point, but hey man- squirrels. Art's buddy Al stops by, John Coctostan and Close Talker make appearances as well. If you get those references, you'll do just fine. Jimmy manages to offend all people of Italian heritage, then walks it back (mostly). Evil Becky raises the awkwardness level to infinity in the first three minutes and ther...
Jan 24, 2020•1 hr 55 min•Season 3Ep. 58
What's good CULTRA Nation? You ready to start training again? Yeah me either. But in the meantime, let's get dirty with some training talk- Jimmy's got Boston coming up and his heart rate data is off the chain, let's troll his ass on Strava. Speaking of Strava, stout group out there, keep it up gang. Art went to Nashville and got busy, and when I say busy I mean BIZZAY. Thoroughly AND consistently. Explicit and raw too. Fred drops knowledge per usual and this one you have to listen all the way t...
Jan 17, 2020•1 hr 32 min•Season 3Ep. 57
This episode features a one on one interview with 79 year old Barry Stoner. We hear what it was like to be a high school track runner in the time of Rodger Bannister, but we also talk about so much more than running. Barry has lived a purposeful and interesting life traveling the US in an airplane that he built himself. What was it like to serve in a missile base, build a kayak, bike through the mountains of Colorado, or compete in the early years of triathlon? What was it like to run the Manche...
Jan 03, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 56
We sit down for a talk with The Revered Run, Will Fisher. Fresh off a finish at Wasatch 100 in Utah, we dissect running and spirituality and when (and if) the two ever meet. We go in-depth into Will's former life as an elite oarsman and how he entered this wacky world of endurance running. Hint: the two are related. Stay tuned! Without giving too much away, since it really is a #special episode, you'll just have to listen. Featuring a few five star reviews and another long-ass reading of the Pat...
Dec 27, 2019•2 hr 8 min•Ep. 55
This is a one on one interview with Ultra runner Sean Greaney. Sean grew up in CT and has run extensively in the White Mountains and now lives in Seattle with his wife Sara. He is a true outdoors-man, who just loves playing in the mountains. Sean and I have some history as we have traveled a few hundred miles together on the trails, including the CUT 112 in 2018. Sean has a special way of describing Western States, Angeles Crest, the Cut112 and high altitude mountain skiing that really makes you...
Dec 20, 2019•2 hr•Season 2Ep. 54
Disclaimer: Art wrote the title for the podcast this week, I have nothing to do with it. Wanted to name it "Lottery Season: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Statesmas" or "A Decade (Almost!) Under the Influence" but here we are. My view of Western States is very much a western view, allegedly. Let's get into TACOS! That's right, it was the 2nd Annual Taco Trials, a stupid thing to do but probably the highest finish I had all year. We talk other podcasts, chickens, White House petitions, athleti...
Dec 13, 2019•2 hr•Season 2Ep. 53
Hey gang, how's it been? We've had a busy few weeks and we're ahead of the curve in terms of providing you with excellent, up-to-date ultra coverage here in New England and beyond... actually I don't know if that's true and I don't care because we got a ton of phone calls to the CULTRA Karaoke line last week! Party in the USA my dudes and dudettes! In all seriousness, no. We are never serious. But we have a podcast and it has our old pal Stacey (not that Staci) visiting from Colorado and we talk...
Dec 02, 2019•1 hr 36 min•Season 2Ep. 52
Happy Thanksgiving, CULTRA Fans! Have we got a show for you- featuring Fred Murolo, finisher of 39 hundos as well as having an epic run streak of almost 38 years. Fred sits down for a candid talk of what can go right during a race as well as what goes wrong and how to overcome that. Becky recaps her run at the Steep Rock half marathon and we review last week's episode about mental health. Art retells his story of the NJ One Day and we jackass around a bit. Then Fred- what an amazing story. I don...
Nov 28, 2019•2 hr 17 min•Season 2Ep. 51
Episode 50: One Day with Rachel Belmont Some people run to be the fastest. Some run to see how far they can go. Others run to heal themselves, or to help serve others. Rachel Belmont is a young athlete who has run for all of these reasons. From running sub 5 minute miles, to running 100 miles, her adventurous spirit has taken her to many exciting places. During this episode Rachel talks one on one with Art about what it was like to be a High School Cross Country Champion, and what it was like to...
Nov 22, 2019•1 hr 34 min•Season 2Ep. 50
Mr. Trailmixer himself Michael LoPresti sits down with the crew tonight as Evil Becky takes over the hosting reigns from Art F&%*ing Byram and we dive deep into 2019's hot button issue, mental health. We go over topics like rates of access, availability of services and how Michael and some friends ran across the entire state of Connecticut to not only fundraise but to raise more awareness for the need for better mental health services and to promote recovery for people with mental health con...
Nov 15, 2019•1 hr 42 min•Season 2Ep. 49
The Crew sits down with RD Jimmy Mac (and CULTRA co-host slash cast member, how convenient) to recount the inaugural Pachaug Trail Runs, as Art keeps him on task (squirrel blinders) by asking pointed questions and demanding pointed answers. We go over the history and conception of the idea for the race and all the associated rigamarole. Hashtag very special episode or nah? Then the interviews! MONKEY SPLICE! Art and special correspondent Kate Gelato get after the winners (most of them) for some ...
Nov 08, 2019•1 hr 8 min•Season 2Ep. 48
It’s about time we talked about Timed Races. They are a great way to dip your toe into the ultra world or a new distance PR. Evil Becky and AFB offer suggestions on how to set up your gear, what to bring to the race, pacing strategies, bad nutrition advice and what mental games to play to keep you moving! We talk about how to choose a race. Some people are afraid that running in circles would drive them crazy. But every lap is different, and draws you into the experience. Kinda Like Cultra… Some...
Nov 01, 2019•1 hr 42 min
“If at first you don’t succeed, dust yourself off and try again...” is the motto of the week here at CULTRA HQ as we welcome back Regan Fitzgibbons to the podcast, and this one sure doesn’t disappoint. Yeah that’s right, I quoted Aaliyah right there, but I digress. The crew this week discusses the TARC Ghost Train 100 up in New Hampshire, then Art does something insanely stupid and awesome at the same time (which can be said for basically any accomplishment in ultrarunning, especially ones we fo...
Oct 26, 2019•2 hr 44 min•Ep. 46
CULTRA Trail Running Podcast Show Notes Episode 45: Manchester Road Race Director Jim Balcome The Manchester Road Race is an iconic New England Thanksgiving tradition, and draws some of the worlds best elites. For many weekend warriors, it is the only race they run all year. We get a bird’s eye view on what it looks like from high above it all from race director Jim Balcome who has been the race director for 43 years. Spoiler Alert: The Manchester Road Race (allegedly) started out as a trail rac...
Oct 26, 2019•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 45
The second installment of CULTRA Live! from Connecticut Sports and Fitness and Art does a bang up job rallying the troops to talk about our experiences with failure, specifically our big ultra fails. What works? Who cares- this episode is all about what didn't work and maybe we learned something. We deep dive into Eliud Kipchoge's sub-2 stunt and Brigid Kosgei's dominating performance in Chicago and 81-second takedown of the women's world marathon record. We talk about it 4% faster like the SHOE...
Oct 18, 2019•1 hr 54 min•Ep. 44
This week’s CULTRA we come back at you with a repeat offender, one Mister Andy O and his dominating run down at YETI 100 two weeks ago. He obliterated his previous 100-mile PR by a good two and a half hours. That's some serious #hundo speed folks. Before that we go into Jimmy's day at the Nipmuck Marathon and preview the upcoming races this weekend: the Midstate Massive in Massachusetts and the Tesla Hertz Run out on Long Island. Art also ran the Nipmuch Relay and he suddenly is fit AF! Alpacas!...
Oct 11, 2019•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 43
