The Dark Zone: An Adventure Racing Podcast

Rootstock Racing is taking over the Dark Zone feed, offering a limited series podcast chronicling the 2026 Endless Mountains Adventure Race.
In this, the final episode, official standings, returning to real life, and holding on to the magic of the adventure

Shownotes:
The Endless Mountains Adventure Race - www.endlessmountainsar.com
Rootstock Racing - www.rootstockracing.com

For the next two weeks, Rootstock Racing is taking over the Dark Zone feed, offering a limited series podcast chronicling the 2026 Endless Mountains Adventure Race.
In this episode, strategic route decisions, the field stretches to the max, and stress levels rise as the finish line is in sight.

Shownotes:
The Endless Mountains Adventure Race - www.endlessmountainsar.com
Rootstock Racing - www.rootstockracing.com

Therapist, ultra runner, and race director Allison Marinucci joins the show for a conversation that starts with endurance and goes somewhere deeper. Allison traces her path from Couch to 5K, through COVID-era backyard ultras, to a double hip replacement that forced the question every athlete eventually faces: who are you when the sport goes away?
From there, Brian and Allison dig into what therapy and adventure racing teach each other, and why the lessons of the racecourse matter most when life delivers its hardest disruptions.
Allison also shares the deeply personal story behind Serenity on the Trails, the four-mile race she directs in Schenectady's Central Park on August 22 in support of people in recovery. Registration and resources in the show notes.
Shownotes:
Serenity On The Trails - https://runsignup.com/Race/NY/Schenectady/SerenityOnTheTrails
NY State Office of Addiction Services and Support - https://oasas.ny.gov/
SAMHSA Drug and Alcohol National Helpline - https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/helplines/national-helpline

For the next two weeks, Rootstock Racing is taking over the Dark Zone feed, offering a limited series podcast chronicling the 2026 Endless Mountains Adventure Race.
In this episode, the first sleep, the cliff jump, and the race starts to take its toll.

Shownotes:
The Endless Mountains Adventure Race - www.endlessmountainsar.com
Rootstock Racing - www.rootstockracing.com
MRS Packrafting - https://www.microrafting.com

Sound credits:
Film clip: Up. Directed by Pete Docter, Pixar Animation Studios / Walt Disney Pictures, 2009.

Nathan Fa'avae returns to the Dark Zone — over 100 episodes after his first appearance as guest #50. A seven-time adventure racing world champion with Seagate and Avaya, Nathan officially stepped back from traditional AR in 2023, not to slow down but to redirect: growing youth and women's adventure racing in New Zealand through his events company, and chasing ultra-endurance paddling with longtime racing teammate Sophie Hart.
In ten days, they head back to the Yukon River for their second attempt at the Yukon 1000, the longest kayak race in the world, after taking the win — and the second-fastest time ever — in 2024. Nathan talks candidly about why this retirement stuck when earlier ones didn't, the outdoor-education philosophy he and his wife Jodie built their family around, and his advice for anyone trying to break into adventure racing.
He also opens up about a small moment with Sophie mid-race that's stuck with him ever since, and shares how listeners can support his $10-a-mile fundraiser for his family's foundation supporting Pacific Island youth in New Zealand.
Shownotes:
$10 Per Mile Donation Page - https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/httpsnathanfaavaenzfaavaefund
The Yukon 1000 - https://www.yukon1000.org/