The Midpacker Podcast - podcast cover

The Midpacker Podcast

Freetrail - Hosted by Troy Meadowswww.freetrail.com
Freetrail presents The Midpacker Podcast, which follows middle and back of the pack trail runners and ultra runners at the heart of the trail running community. Join host Troy Meadows weekly as he talks through what it takes to balance life and running with everyday runners doing extra ordinary things on and off the trails.
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Episodes

33 Andrew Grillos | Running Ultras After Surviving A Stroke, Fortitude As A Superpower, & Loving The Process

The MidPacker Pod is part of the Freetrail network of Podcasts. Email: Troy@runtraillife.com for 1:1 Ultra Running Coaching. You can now support the MidPacker Pod on ⁠Patreon⁠ . Make sure you leave us a rating and review wherever you get your pods. Want to leave Troy some feedback, recommend a guest, or make a suggestion? ⁠LINK HERE ⁠ In this Episode, Troy Meadows talks with Andrew Grillos. Andrew shares his journey of resilience and perseverance. He discusses his passion for fly fishing and tra...

Feb 16, 20241 hr 13 min

Trailing Indicators 001 | Race Calendar Creation, Taking an Offseason, & Speed Work is Good.

The MidPacker Pod is part of the Freetrail network of Podcasts. Email: Troy@runtraillife.com for 1:1 Ultra Running Coaching. You can now support the MidPacker Pod on ⁠Patreon⁠ . Make sure you leave us a rating and review wherever you get your pods. Want to leave Troy some feedback, recommend a guest, or make a suggestion? ⁠LINK HERE⁠ In Episode 001 of Trailing Indicators Corinne Shalvoy, Troy Meadows, and Matt Van Dalsem discuss various topics related to trail and ultrarunning from the perspecti...

Feb 09, 20241 hr 3 min

#32 Joe Corcione | Overcoming Addiction, Life Design, & The Give Value First Mindset

The MidPacker Pod is part of the Freetrail network of Podcasts. You can now support the MidPacker Pod on ⁠Patreon⁠ . Make sure you leave us a rating and review wherever you get your pods. Want to leave Troy some feedback, recommend a guest, or make a suggestion? ⁠LINK HERE⁠ In this episode, Troy Meadows talks with Joe Corcione. Joe is the host of the Everyday Ultra Podcast, run coach, ultrarunner, & new husband. In the show, they discuss Joe's transformation from an unathletic and insecure i...

Feb 02, 20241 hr 48 min

#31 Josh Rosenthal | Borderlands, DFL Before DNF, & Building Community

The MidPacker Pod is part of the Freetrail network of podcasts. You can now support the MidPacker Pod on ⁠Patreon⁠ . Make sure you leave us a rating and review wherever you get your pods. Want to leave Troy some feedback, recommend a guest, or make a suggestion? ⁠LINK HERE⁠ In this episode, Troy Meadows talks with Josh Rosenthal, an ultrarunner and entrepreneur from Salt Lake City Utah. They discuss Josh's background, his love for trail running, and his involvement in the ultrarunning community....

Jan 26, 20241 hr 25 min

#30 Mathias Eichler | Trail Running Film Festival, The Original Singletrack Podcast, Speculation and Collusion about UTMB

The MidPacker Pod is part of the Freetrail network of Podcasts. You can now support the MidPacker Pod on ⁠Patreon⁠ . Make sure you leave us a rating and review wherever you get your pods. Want to leave Troy some feedback, recommend a guest, or make a suggestion? ⁠LINK HERE⁠ In this episode, Troy Meadows talks with Mathias Eichler, a race director, podcast host, and trail runner. They discuss Mathias' background, his love for running and trails, his involvement in the Trail Running Film Festival,...

Jan 20, 20242 hr 25 min

#29 Deb Hamberlin | The Grand Canyon R2R2R, Balancing Work, Life, & Running, Longevity in Ultra Running

The MidPacker Pod is part of the Freetrail network of Podcasts. You can now support the MidPacker Pod on ⁠Patreon⁠ . Make sure you leave us a rating and review wherever you get your pods. Want to leave Troy some feedback, recommend a guest, or make a suggestion? ⁠LINK HERE⁠ In this episode of the pod, Troy Meadows has a conversation with Deb Hambertlin. Deb Hamberlin, an experienced ultra runner and running coach, shares her journey into trail running and her love for the Grand Canyon. She discu...

Jan 11, 20241 hr 35 min

#28 Yan Fournier | Finding Running Late In Life, The Joy of Running Ultras with Your Kids, & Epic Adventures with Kapic 1 Expeditions

The MidPacker Pod is part of the Freetrail network of Podcasts. You can now support the MidPacker Pod on ⁠Patreon⁠ . Make sure you leave us a rating and review wherever you get your pods. Want to leave Troy some feedback, recommend a guest, or make a suggestion? ⁠LINK HERE⁠ In this episode of the pod, Troy Meadows talks with Yan Fournier. Yan is a father, trail runner, and ultra runner who does Buis Dev for SACO. A company that produces the LED technology used at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Yan and...

Jan 04, 20241 hr 29 min

#27 Christopher Thomas | Competing as a Grandmasters Ultrarunner, Getting Your Mojo Back, Fueling for Success

The MidPacker Pod is part of the Freetrail network of Podcasts. You can now support the MidPacker Pod on Patreon . Make sure you leave us a rating and review wherever you get your pods. Want to leave Troy some feedback, recommend a guest, or make a suggestion? LINK HERE In this episode, Troy Meadows talks with his longtime friend Christopher Thomas, an experienced ultra runner who was pivotal in helping Troy early on with his journey to running Ultras. Chris shares his journey and recent success...

Dec 28, 20231 hr 45 min

#26 Sarah Lavender Smith | Why Western States Needs to Break Up with UTMB, Increasing Women's Participation & Ultrarunning Longevity

The MidPacker Pod is part of the Freetrail network of Podcasts. You can now support the MidPacker Pod on Patreon . Make sure you leave us a rating and review wherever you get your pods. Want to leave Troy some feedback, recommend a guest, or make a suggestion? LINK HERE In this episode, Troy Meadows talks with Sarah Lavender Smith, an ultra runner, writer, and horse mom based in Telluride CO, who is passionate about women's participation in ultrarunning and sharing her knowledge and experiences ...

Dec 21, 20231 hr 18 min

#25 Brian Peterson | Going Beyond Your Percieved Capabilities, The Javalina 100k, Trail Talk Youtube Reactions Show

The MidPacker Pod is part of the Freetrail network of Podcasts. You can now support the MidPacker Pod on Patreon . Make sure you leave us a rating and review wherever you get your pods. Want to leave Troy some feedback, recommend a guest, or make a suggestion? LINK HERE In this episode, Troy Meadows talks with Brian Peterson, an ultra runner and father based in Arizona who is also passionate about vintage clothing and Wild West culture. Brian shares his background in sports and how he discovered...

Dec 14, 20231 hr 43 min

#24 Zach Friedley | Being An Adaptive Athlete, Not Saying No For An Answer, & Trail Blazing

The MidPacker Pod is part of the Freetrail network of Podcasts. You can now support the MidPacker Pod on Patreon . Make sure you leave us a rating and review wherever you get your pods. Want to leave Troy some feedback, recommend a guest, or make a suggestion? LINK HERE In this episode, Troy Meadows talks with Zach Friedley. Zach is an advocate, race director, trail runner, and Adaptive athlete running for On. The conversation starts out with Troy telling the serendipitous story of how they got ...

Dec 07, 20231 hr 34 min

#21 Kyla Maher | Radical Transformation, Following Your Passions, Finding Community

The MidPacker Pod is part of the Freetrail network of Podcasts. You can now support the MidPacker Pod on Patreon . Make sure you leave us a rating and review wherever you get your pods. Today on the show Troy Meadows is talking with Kyla Maher. Kyla is a community organizer, and trail and ultra runner based in Bozeman Montana. She is also a content producer and the athlete manager for Janji the up-and-coming running apparel brand that in Kyla’s words is a pocket company that also makes shorts. K...

Dec 05, 20231 hr 37 min

#23 Aum Gandhi | Living Your True Calling, Crafting A Life Of Service, The Triple Crown of 200’s

The MidPacker Pod is part of the Freetrail network of Podcasts. You can now support the MidPacker Pod on Patreon . Make sure you leave us a rating and review wherever you get your pods. Today on the pod Troy Meadows talks with Aum Gandhi. Aum is an entrepreneur, trail, and ultra runner based in Los Angeles. He is a partner and owner at Run Tri Bike the online site dedicated to sharing the voice of the everyday athlete and we discuss his journey from feeling trapped in a job he hated to developin...

Nov 30, 20231 hr 14 min

#22 Shelby Farrell | Betting On Yourself, Living The Van Life, Long Trail FKT Atempt

The MidPacker Pod is part of the Freetrail network of Podcasts. You can now support the MidPacker Pod on Patreon . Make sure you leave us a rating and review wherever you get your pods. Today on the Pod Troy Meadows brings you a conversation with Shelby Farrell. Shelby is a marketer, cat mom, trail runner, and ultra runner who last year took the plunge, quit her job at Coros , bought a van and with her partner Jason started living the van life with the goal of setting a new FKT on the Long Trail...

Nov 25, 20231 hr 42 min

#20 Travis Loncar | Building Freetrail Fantasy, Jigger Johnson 100, The Power of Doing Hard Things

The MidPacker Pod is part of the Freetrail network of Podcasts. You can now support the MidPacker Pod on Patreon . Make sure you leave us a rating and review wherever you get your pods. The stoke is high today as Troy Meadows brings you a conversation with Travis Loncar. Travis is a trail and ultra runner, computer programmer, and the brains behind Freetrail Fantasy the platform that allows you to pick your top finishers for some of the best trail and ultra races for great prize packages. They t...

Nov 09, 20231 hr 40 min

#19 Callie Vinson | Body Image, Crafting Meaningful Content, and Running for the Joy of Running

The MidPacker Pod is part of the Freetrail network of Podcasts. You can now support the MidPacker Pod on Patreon . Make sure you leave us a rating and review wherever you get your pods. Today on the pod Troy Meadows brings you a conversation with Callie Vinson. Callie is a body image advocate, trail runner, ultra runner, and creative director for a large ad agency who balances living the “Mad Men” vocational life with her love of running and the trails. In today's show, they touch on her journey...

Nov 03, 20231 hr 18 min

#18 Hillary Li & Celeste Banks | Trail Sisters Boston | Diversity & Inclusion | Run Club Culture

The MidPacker Pod is part of the Freetrail network of Podcasts. You can now support the MidPacker Pod on Patreon .Make sure you leave us a rating and review wherever you get your pods. Today on the Midpacker Pod Troy Meadow talks with Hillary Li and Celeste Banks. These ladies are trail runners and ultra runners who are passionate about creating diversity and inclusion on the trails. They recently took over the leadership roles at the Trail Sisters Boston Chapter and are eager to share their lov...

Oct 25, 20231 hr 48 min

#17 Timothy Lock | Talking Sustainability How You Should Think About Your Footprint as a Runner

The MidPacker Pod is part of the Freetrail network of Podcasts. You can now support the MidPacker Pod on Patreon . Make sure you leave us a rating and review wherever you get your pods. Today on the pod Troy Meadows talks with Tim Lock. They focus a lot of the conversation on sustainability and practical ways to minimize your carbon footprint. Tim is an architect and partner at a firm called OPAL where their focus is on sustainable building design. Tim is a subject matter expert in sustainabilit...

Oct 19, 20231 hr 45 min

#16 Michael Loeffler | The Mental Side of Being an Athlete, Mammoth Trail Fest, and Canyons 100k

The MidPacker Pod is part of the Freetrail network of Podcasts. You can now support the MidPacker Pod on Patreon . Make sure you leave us a rating and review wherever you get your pods. Today on the show Troy Meadows talks with Michael Loeffler. Michael is a father, husband, psychotherapist, and trail and ultra runner. They tease out some actionable tips that Micheal has for fellow trail runners looking to find balance with and have clear communications and expectations with the people in their ...

Oct 13, 20231 hr 21 min

#15 Matt Chittim | MidPack Rambling and Dissecting the Run Media Landscape

The MidPacker Pod is Presented by Freetrail. You can now support the MidPacker Pod on Patreon . Today, Troy Meadows talks with Matt Chittim. Matt should need no introduction as the host of the Rambling Runner Podcast and one of the founders and co-creatives at Relay . He is also a masters runner and father and recently started dabbling on the trails. They talk about several topics, including how Rambling Runner came to be, the new updates to the Boston Marathon qualifying standard, Matt running ...

Oct 05, 20231 hr 43 min

#14 Grindstone 100 Mile Recap with Troy, MVD, and Corinne

The MidPacker Pod is Brought to you by Freetrail. You can now support the MidPacker Pod on Patreon . Today we are flipping the script on you and the mics are getting turned on the host Troy Meadows! We are stoked to have Freetrailers MVD and Corinne Shalvoy host the pod to ask me about my latest 100 mile effort at the Grindstone Trail Running Festival By UTMB . They talk briefly about Troy's running background, some of his training this year and dive into how his 33 hour experience on the course...

Sep 30, 20231 hr 26 min

#13 Matt Feldhake | The Art of The Live Stream & Coming Out of Retirement

The MidPacker Pod is Brought to you by Freetrail. You can now support the MidPacker Pod on Patreon . Today on the Pod, Troy Meadows sits down to talk with Matt Feldhake. Matt is a father, husband, marketer, and trail runner. Matt is the Marketing Director at Aravaipa Running and has played a pivotal role in bringing us the amazing live stream coverage that we have all come to love from Jamil and Crew. We geeked out a lot on Marketing but also talked about Matt's running and his next race, the Ge...

Sep 21, 20231 hr 41 min

#12 Heidi Garner | Finding Your Stoke Again, Volunteerism, & Building a Small Business Around Your Art

​​The MidPacker pod is brought to you by FreeTrail with generous support from Vacation Races. Today on the Pod, Troy Meadows talks to his dear friend Heidi Garner. Heidi is a mother, community organizer, artist, entrepreneur, and Trail and UltraRunner. They talk about how Heidi has found balance in raising several children with her running goals. How she has used her passion for endurance sports to give back to her local community as a board member of the youth swim league that her children are ...

Sep 14, 20231 hr 27 min

#11 Eugene Day | The Value of Doing Hard Things, Leadership, and Poetry

Today on the Pod, Troy Meadows talks with Eugene Day. Eugene is a Data Science and Discrete Event Simulation Director at Seattle Children's Hospital who loves Trail and Ultrarunning, dabbles in poetry and is always striving to be a better leader. They discuss several topics, including Eugene's Sobriety and how he decided to stop drinking. His love of poetry, he actually recites a poem he wrote in the show about his relationship as a mid-to-back of the pack runner and the crazy fast folks at the ...

Sep 08, 20231 hr 44 min

#10 Jessica Grinspan | Dealing with Injury & Aligning Running with Social Advocacy

The MidPacker pod is brought to you by FreeTrail with generous support from Vacation Races. Today on the pod Troy Meadows sits down with Jessica Grinspan. Jessica is a public health researcher, trail runner, and ultrarunner from Philadelphia, PA, with a passion for aligning running pursuits with social advocacy. She is also a vibrant member of the FreeTrail community and an active member of the mental health channel in the FreeTrail Pro Slack community. In today's episode, they discuss how Jessi...

Sep 02, 20231 hr 45 min

#9 Ari Sonnenberg | Austerity, Selfless Service, Remembering the Fallen and Endurance

In this episode of the MidPacker pod brought you by FreeTrail , with generous support from Vacation Races , Troy Meadows has a discussion with Ari Sonnenberg. Ari has a mindset that is very powerful, and through reckoning with a lot of trauma in his life, more than anyone should have to bear, he has managed to cultivate a thoughtful approach to mindfulness and a zeal for living with a no-nonsense attitude that only a Boy from Brooklyn can have. We dive into Ari's upbringing, his 16-year tour of ...

Aug 25, 20231 hr 39 min

#8 Mat Glaser & Maureen Cane | Life Design, Moving to France, PTL and TOR

This episode of the MidPacker pod is brought you by FreeTrail , with generous support from Vacation Races , With all the UTMB festivities right around the corner, the stoke is super high to have this week's guest on the pod. In this Episode Troy Meadows talking with dear friends Mat Glaser and Maureen Cane. A year ago, Mat took a sabbatical from his job as a Teacher in Berkley, and together, he and Maureen moved their family of 4 to a sleepy village outside of Chamonix, France, to explore the mo...

Aug 17, 20231 hr 21 min

#7 Vivian Tang | Through Example and Creating Inclusivity on the Trails

In this episode of the MidPacker pod brought you by FreeTrail , with generous support from Vacation Races , Troy Meadows talks with Vivian Tang about acting locally while thinking globally when it comes to empowering the BIPOC community to embrace the trails. Vivian is a clinical pharmacist, trail runner, and community organizer. She is very passionate about inclusion in trail running and we dive deep into a few topics including the treatment of a group of BIPOC spectators at this year's Boston ...

Aug 10, 20231 hr 19 min

#6 Mellisa Sorenson | Finding the Trails, Backyards Ultras, and Running with Kids

In this episode of the MidPacker pod brought you by FreeTrail , with generous support from Vacation Races , Troy Meadows talks with Melissa Sorenson about finding the trails, parenthood, and the backyard ultra format. Melissa is an ultrarunner, educator, and mother of soon to be 3. Having just recently found out that she is pregnant with her 3rd child. In this episode, we talk about how Melissa and her Husband got into trail running from road marathons and the challenges of running races with sm...

Aug 03, 20231 hr 25 min

#5 Travis Weller | Art, Working with Brands and Loving the Trails

In this episode of the MidPacker pod brought you by FreeTrail Troy Meadows talks with Travis Weller about his art and how Travis has aligned with brands in the running space merge his passions with his vocation. Travis is an artist, father, trail runner, and ultrarunner whose work with brands like the North Face and Roark has crafted a life that aligns his creative pursuits and his love of the trails. His limited run with the NorthFace Vectiv launch back in 2021 put Travis on the map with brands...

Jul 28, 20231 hr 7 min
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