Transcordilleras: An 8 day bikepacking race up and over the three mountian ranges of Columbia. A race recap with Griffin Easter. Griffin's Recent Results: Transcordilleras: 1st GC Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder: 1st GC USA Cycling Gravel Nationals: 5th Rebecca's Private Idaho: 2nd BWR SD: 3rd BWR Cedar City: 2nd BWR Kansas: 3rd Wasatch All-Road: 1st Crusher in the Tushar: 3rd
Today we take a deep dive into the world of high performance, adventure, and the power of will through the lens of professional cyclist, Hannah Finchamp. For the uninitiated, Hannah was named to the Olympic Long Team in 2020 and in 2022 won the infamous Leadville 100 MTB. The lead out to these results started at age 9, when Hannah began her journey as a triathlete. Before turning 18 she became a 2x XTERRA Amateur World Champion and 2x high school State Champion through NICA. As a five-time colle...
Alyssa reached out in April and asked if I’d be up for a long “swimrun” effort. I asked her to send over the particulars of the race, she did, and I immediately replied that I’d need some time to think about it. Respect the distance. And good golly am I glad I did. Sweden: where water meets topography. 43 miles of swimming + 136 miles of running. Over 100 transitions as teams of three swimrun through an archipelago. I went to race an Extreme Triathlon in Sweden a few years back. The topography w...
What does it mean to be brave? In this episode I sit down with a long-time friend, colleague, and two-time Middleweight Karate Combat World Champion, Ross Levine. We discuss what the day to day of a world champion looks like; habits, routines, and going after goals beyond sport. Sparing, Jiu Jitsu, grappling, and dodging punches is really just "problem-solving" as Levine puts it. Something we can all relate to. Listen to this episode of The Andrew Fast Podcast via link above in description or on...
A picture is worth a thousand words but it never tells teh who story. Photography is art. It's a wonderful way to feel something or someplace. The process. The grit, elation, and let down--the smell in the van or the texture of the rock. Climbing, endurance, and adventure photography has room for a narrative. Story told from behind the lense helps us go there without going there, yet. Eric Wynn has been an industry leading photographer and film maker in the realm of endurance sport for over 20 y...
Daniel finished Tour Divide three days ago. The weather was particularly challenging this year. He stayed in two hotels and slept in a lot of pit toilets (for shelter). Over the course of 17 days, 10 hours, and 48 minutes Daniel covered ~2,362 miles. We unpack his kit and experience and his passion for "relentless forward movement". When it comes to tackling Tour Divide or trying cycle touring for the first time, as Daniel puts it: "if you can pedal around your neighborhood, you can cycle tour."...
Some people say wisdom comes from experience. Mike Nelson has an affinity for experiences, and he's a darn good story teller. From open boat canoe racing to climbing mountains followed by 28 Ironman finishes and then more recently a "To or From" swim project on Lake Washingon in which Mike swam 'to' or 'from' every public access beach on the shoreline (...it's a a huge lake). Mike is 75 years young and more curios and ambitious than most people I've met. From single speed bicycles to his recent ...
Eric Zaltas developed an affinity for pedaling hard and the science of nutrition at a young age. Growing up in the Bronx, New York, this meant racing bikes through Central Park and attending the Bronx High School of Science. After college, he raced full time for the US National Road Team collecting 75 career victories including a US National Championship in the Team Trial. Amidst his bike racing career, Eric had the unique opportunity to base out of Switzerland, the home of Nestle world headquar...
Becca Windell is a Wildlife Biologist and this year's Bear 100 Mile Endurance Run champion. In this episode, we talk about Home Range a non-profit dedicated to advancing wildlife conservation by conducting high-quality research, educating aspiring biologists, and engaging local communities. As a co-founder of the organization, Becca speaks to what we can learn from animal movement patterns, their response to fires, and living in areas that are increasingly densely populated among other things. A...
David Norris is an elite nordic skier and mountain runner. He is the 2019 US Nordic Skiing National Champion and 2016, 2018, and 2021 Mount Marathon Champion. If all goes to plan David is en route to represent Team USA at the Olympic Games in 2022 as a nordic skiing athlete. David is the most genuine (and talented) athlete I’ve had the honor to interview. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. Learn more about David here: http://www.norrisnordic.com/blog Help David continue to purs...
Brent Felnagle is a former collegiate runner in both Track & Cross Country at Gonzaga University where he competed from 800m to 10k. His hurdle as a runner wasn’t on the track--it was working through not being able to run. Being chronically injured stinks. But being injured does allow a person time to think, and it is within this space (between your ears) that Brent started asking good questions: “How can I train for my sport while not physically doing my sport?” And so began a life-long pur...
Rea Kolbl just set the female world record for the most vertical ascent on skis within 24 hours. As a Stanford graduate, Spartan Ultra World Champion, and runner-up with her team at The Worlds Toughest Race: Eco-challenge Fiji--it’s safe to say Rea demands a lot out of this one life we have to live. And with that comes some honest lessons, which we talk about in this episode. Rea and I met after a ski race in Aspen, Colorado. From the moment we met I could sense that she had a story to tell. It’...
Kurt Perham is a student of endurance sport and strength training. As he describes in this episode: “My knowledge is 10 meters wide and 100 meters deep.” Which I interpret to mean he stays up to speed on current research, his methodology is not easily influenced by trends, and he doesn’t overcomplicate the stress + rest = growth equation. He is a scientist with tattoos, a flat brim hat, and over 20 years of field experience as a coach within the wonderful world of endurance. I have been working ...
Kristin Mayer is a total Betty. And by Betty I mean she has the creativity and agency to be irresistibly attractive and feminine minutes after effortlessly emasculating a mere dozen men with her intellect and ability to deliver. Kristin coined the term ‘Bad Ass is Beautiful’ and altruistically supports the concept that women can be both strong + beautiful. In this episode we talk about the power of self-belief vs self-doubt, taking risks, and how to draw inspiration from a person’s surroundings ...
Abram and I met on the Wonderland Trail. Three close friends and I overestimated our abilities and underestimated the terrain. We staggered into Mowich Lake too tired to cook dinner and unenthused by the thought of a wet sleeping bag inside of a bivouac sac. There emerged Abram. Arm outstretched from a flap of a gargantuan warm tent, a bowl of spaghetti in one hand and a cold beer in the other. “Want some?” he said. The trail karma was palpable. And so the story goes. The day Aspire Adventure Ru...
Today’s guest is Amber Ferreira. She is one of the most influential multisport athletes I have ever met. While working toward a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree Amber and I trained together under the guidance of Kurt Perham (an absolute legend) in Concord, New Hampshire. Session after session I would show up with my head hanging low; another failed exam. Amber was like Brad Pitt from the movie Fight Club. I’d go back to class every Monday tired and beat up with bags under my eyes after a proper...
Cullen Easter is so awesome, and so are you. It is with a contagious enthusiasm that Cullen has started the non-profit OpiCure, a foundation keen to get addicts off drugs and on bikes. Like many, Cullen progressed through middle and high school accelling in sport and keeping up with the academic flow. Naturally, the current pulling him toward university. But unlike most people I know, when things didn’t feel right he had the foresight and self-awareness to pull back and re-direct. The thing I ad...
Skye Moench is the 2019 European Ironman Champion, Boulder 70.3 Champion, and was recently ranked 10th in the world by the Professional Triathletes Organization. As a friend and infrequent training tagalong, I am confident Skye is ascending to the top of long-distance triathlon racing. Near the end of the season of her life, Skye had a freak accident on her bike--a crash that would have ended the career for anyone less motivated. As she watched the Ironman World Championships from a hospital bed...
Katie Arnold is a contributing editor and former managing editor at Outside Magazine. I have never met someone with such a poetic and symbiotic relationship between writing and running. As an author, her efforts range from the wildly popular Raising Rippers, a column in Outside about bringing up adventurous kids, to her most recent work - Running Home. Katie and I met while leading runs/coaching/speaking at the Leadville 100 Run Camp, a race she won in 2018. In this episode we untangle the hyper...
Dear Bronco, Thank you for progressing the sport of ultra-distance running. Through strong performance and stewardship in a style that is all your own--you are a shot in the arm for a sport that is hard to make sexy. Bonus points for putting Rage Against The Machine in your all-time favorite bands. In this episode of the Andrew Fast Podcast, I sit down with Jeff Browning (aka Bronco Billy). One of the most decorated and down to earth ultra-distance runners in American history. I hope you enjoy t...
Alexis and Brennan are a breath of fresh air for any parent, or soon to be parent, wondering if it’s possible to keep progressing mountain pursuits after having children. If anything these two have gotten faster even while they have less time to train. As they explain in this episode, having kids has made them more motivated than ever, and on a deeper level, has grown their relationship with risk assessment. On a warm Friday evening in late August of last year, Alexis and Brennan found a baby si...
Noah Brautigam is the recent winner of the highly competitive Speedgoat 50km. But perhaps more impressive and worthy of dialogue is his vertical ascent over the last 31 days. In the month of October Noah went uphill an impressive 342,213 feet (104,306.5 meters). In this episode, we dive into Noah’s athletic background, unpack how he has maintained consistent performance during uncertain times, and expand upon the notion that our understanding of human capacity is poorly understood. What happens ...
This is Flash. He is strong. Not only does he have the best hair in all of Alta Utah, but he is also Italian. Joey Campanelli, aka Flash, aka @joey.camps (IG), is the current Fastest Known Time (FKT) record holder for Nolan’s 14 and the Wasatch Ultimate Ridge Link Up (WURL). Joey has an affinity for pushing the boundaries of human performance. He is a wise soul and one to watch. I do not apologize for the terrible lighting and camera angles--plug in your headphones, turn your phone face down, pr...
Today’s guest is Kelly Halpin. She is the first female to complete what Jackson Wyoming locals refer to as “The picnic,” a bike, swim, climb from town that tags the summit of The Grand Teton. She has an immense drive and propensity for challenge which has lead to setting fastest known times on long and technical high mountain routes. Put simply, Kelly has continued to level up year after year and her tick list is impressive. Join us as we talk about her record time on the Wasatch Ultimate Ridge ...
