Borderlands Trail and Ultra Running

306 episodes

He Was Paid to Run for 20 Years. Then Running Felt Free Again | Jacob Puzey
25/05/2026 | 19 mins.
Professional running can quietly turn into pressure, performance, sponsorship obligations, and constant visibility. This episode with Jacob Puzey is for runners who have felt burnout creeping into the thing they once loved and want to rediscover simplicity, rhythm, and freedom in running again.
After twenty years as a professional runner, coach, race director, and sponsored athlete, Jacob reflects on what happened when the pressure finally disappeared. What starts as a conversation about road running slowly becomes something much deeper about identity, aging, social media, routine, and why signing up for hard things still matters even after competition stops mattering.
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If you’re new to Borderlands, start here.
Topics / Timestamps
00:43 Rediscovering the Joy of Running
07:41 The Journey Back to Running
11:39 The Transition from Competition to Personal Growth
14:50 The Journey to Scholarship and Running
19:20 The Importance of Commitment in Running
Resources / Links

Salt Lake Foothills Trail Races
Josh Rosenthal on IG
Borderlands.cc
La French Trail
High Tones
Subwhatever

Related Episodes
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
The Race That Makes Trail Running Real
21/05/2026 | 18 mins.
Trail running usually becomes real for people at a local ultra, not while watching UTMB or Western States online. The parking lot at 5am with 53 runners, one exhausted race director, and volunteers giving up their Saturday to help strangers keep moving is still the clearest entry point into the sport. This episode is for the runners who believe the soul of trail running still lives there.
Josh explores why the local 50K may be the most important layer in trail running, how participation precedes fandom in ultra culture, why authenticity in trail running still feels earned instead of performed, and why the small grassroots races that built the sport are becoming increasingly fragile in the modern era of spectacle, prestige, and professionalization.
Please give us a follow, rate the podcast, and give a review.
If you’re new to Borderlands, start here.
Topics / Timestamps
02:52 The Turning Point of the Race
03:57 The Ecosystem of Trail Running
07:45 The Local Ultra: An Introduction to Trail Running Culture
11:22 The Challenges of Local Trail Races
18:00 The Importance of Local Races in Trail Running

Resources / Links
Salt Lake Foothills Trail Races
Josh Rosenthal on IG
Borderlands.cc
La French Trail
High Tones
Subwhatever

Related Episodes
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
What SATISFY Reveals About Trail Running
18/05/2026 | 9 mins.
Trail running culture melted down this weekend after a Satisfy x Adidas event triggered accusations of cringe, elitism, rich-kid cosplay, and the death of authenticity. But the backlash revealed something much deeper about where trail running is headed and why so many runners reacted emotionally to it.
In this episode, Josh explores why the footage felt so disconnected online, why Satisfy exposes contradictions already present inside trail running, and how the sport may already be transforming into something larger than athletics alone. From Cocodona and expensive race culture to meme accounts, identity signaling, and the rise of trail running media, this conversation is about the growing tension between authenticity, aesthetics, status, and culture inside modern trail running.
This one’s for the trail runners trying to understand what the sport is becoming and why that question suddenly feels so uncomfortable.
Please give us a follow, rate the podcast, and give a review.
If you’re new to Borderlands, start here.
Topics / Timestamps
00:00
Resources / Links

Salt Lake Foothills Trail Races
Josh Rosenthal on IG
Borderlands.cc
La French Trail
High Tones
Subwhatever

Related Episodes
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
Can Trail Running Stay Human?
12/05/2026 | 45 mins.
Trail running is getting bigger fast. Bigger races, bigger brands, bigger media, and more money entering the sport every year. What happens to trail running culture as all of that growth accelerates? And will the human side of trail running we all love survive?
Recorded in Stockholm at Klättermusen headquarters, Josh sits down with Gonz Ferrero, CEO of Klättermusen, and Billy White, founder of Sörmlands 100, to talk about UTMB, independent trail races, elite sport versus dirtbag culture, why trail running still feels different from road running, and who actually gets to shape what the sport becomes from here.
Please give us a follow, rate the podcast, and give a review.
If you’re new to Borderlands, start here.
Topics / Timestamps
00:05 The Growth of Trail Running
00:24 The Evolution of Trail Running
13:19 The Personal Connection to Trail Running
33:33 The Diverging Paths of Trail Running
37:38 The Future of Trail Running: Balancing Elite and Everyday Experiences

Resources / Links
Klattermusen
Sormlands Trail Race
Salt Lake Foothills Trail Races
Josh Rosenthal on IG
Borderlands.cc

Related Episodes
Ultra Running isn't Just Running
Ultra Runners Need More Than Normal Life
Why Running Changes You with Raz Rauf

Presented by Kiprun.
----
Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it.
Watch on YouTube
Read on Substack
Can Trail Running Handle Growth?
07/05/2026 | 20 mins.
Cocodona 250 exposed something trail running still doesn’t totally want to admit: the audience is already here, but the fan experience still hasn’t caught up. After spending more than 13 hours inside the livestream tracking viewer behavior in real time, Josh breaks down why thousands of people kept tuning in while constantly disconnecting from the coverage itself.
This conversation goes deep on audience churn, race orientation, commentary drift, storytelling, and why trail running media still relies too heavily on goodwill from diehard fans. Not from the outside looking in, but from someone who desperately wants this sport to become easier to share with the people around him.
This one’s for trail runners, ultra fans, and anyone who wants the viewing experience to evolve alongside the sport itself.
Please give us a follow, rate the podcast, and give a review.
If you’re new to Borderlands, start here.
Resources / Links
Salt Lake Foothills Trail Races
Josh Rosenthal on IG
Borderlands.cc
La French Trail
High Tones
Subwhatever

Related Episodes
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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About Borderlands Trail and Ultra Running

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.

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