After forgetting to hit record, AFB and Anna G welcome Brian Vanderheiden of Steep Endurance to talk about the races, people, and ideas shaping the Connecticut trail-running community.

Brian went from running ultras to putting on races in some of Connecticut's best natural spaces. What started as a passion project to share his favorite trails has grown into a busy race calendar featuring a wide range of distances, challenging courses, and events designed to welcome more people into trail running.

We talk about the growth of women's trail running, including the Lake Mohegan women's-only trail race, and why having approachable events can make a difference for runners who are new to the sport. Brian also shares the thinking behind his race calendar, the challenge of creating new events, and his perspective as a race director.

Along the way, we wander through old-school New England trail races, the Nipmuck Marathon, Catskills classics, the legendary Escarpment Trail Run, and the joys of courses that make you actually run when all you want to do is walk.

We also get into the changing economics of ultrarunning, the eye-opening prize money announced for Run Rabbit Run, and the evolving world of UltraSignup and race registration.

And, of course, there's some CUT112 talk. Registration is open, and we're looking for more women to take on the Connecticut Ultra Traverse. You won't be alone out there!

Plus, a special appreciation for the race directors, volunteers, and supporters who keep this whole wonderfully muddy enterprise going.

Cultra remains 112% listener-supported, thanks to the patrons and supporters who keep us out in the woods and behind the microphones. We are pleased to shout out all of our Patreons by name in this episode.

Steep Endurance Website

Blue Blaze Race Series

Bimblers Bluff

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Miles Victors is back on Cultra with a story that goes way beyond running.

In 2022, Miles Victors weighed 450 pounds and needed a cane to walk. A half-mile trip to a pharmacy became the beginning of a transformation that took him from 3,000 steps a day to 100-mile races and eventually to a much deeper realization: he was enough.

Miles talks about his weight-loss journey, addiction, mental health, his Wasatch 100 DNF, the voices in his head, and the powerful experience in the Copper Canyons that changed his perspective on running and his purpose.

Now he's putting that purpose into action. On October 10th, Miles plans to run 420 miles across Utah in seven days, raising $25,000 for Still I Run, an organization that uses running and community to support people struggling with mental health.

We also get into Luna sandals, exposed Utah roads, 55–60 mile days, crew logistics, dirtbag races, Born to Run, wasps, and why sometimes the most important thing you can do is simply keep moving forward. We are so glad to have our long time supporter and number 1 Utah Cultra Personality back on.

You are enough.

Miles Victors' Link Tree to Connect with it all!

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Note: AI tools used to create final song

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Patreons First, then on to the show: Motherhood, Mindset & the Pursuit of More

What happens when a former collegiate high jumper, coach, mother and lifelong athlete decides to find out just how far she can push herself?

Kat Bright joins Art, Anna G. and Phred to talk about her incredible journey from high-level track and field to ultrarunning—and the very personal path that eventually led her to a supported FKT on the Pennsylvania section of the Appalachian Trail.

Kat covered roughly 230 miles and 31,000 feet of elevation gain in 4 days, 2 hours, 41 minutes and 10 seconds, traveling from the Delaware Water Gap area south toward Maryland.

But the FKT is only part of the story.

Kat talks openly about two dramatically different pregnancies, including one that required her to spend the entire pregnancy on bed rest before an emergency C-section at 32 weeks. During that period, she used sports-psychology visualization to mentally run the trails and tracks she couldn't physically access.

Running eventually became part of her recovery and a way to reconnect with a body she felt she had lost trust in.

We get into her evolution as an ultrarunner, including a difficult first Eastern States 100 where she finished DFL with only minutes to spare—and how that experience eventually convinced her that she was capable of much more.

Kat explains how she prepared for the Pennsylvania AT while balancing two kids, family responsibilities, a business and all the normal chaos of life. Her training included treadmill work, repeated runs on familiar trails, and deliberately boring sessions designed to prepare her brain for the monotony of hundreds of miles.

Kat also talks about her coaching business, where she works primarily with women 35 and older. Her philosophy is refreshingly realistic: training doesn't have to be perfect to work.

Missed workouts happen. Life happens. Sometimes you only have 10 or 15 minutes.

The goal isn't perfection. It's showing up repeatedly.

She discusses strength training, cardiovascular fitness, mobility, pregnancy and postpartum training, perimenopause and menopause, and why women shouldn't allow age, motherhood or hormones to define what their bodies are capable of.

At the heart of the conversation is a simple idea that applies far beyond running:

You don't have to feel motivated to take the first step.

The voice of doubt never completely disappears. But the more you show up, the quieter it becomes.

And sometimes, when you're standing at the trailhead wondering if you have any business attempting something completely ridiculous, the answer is simply:

Fuck it. Let's go for it.

https://www.instagram.com/milesfromherview

https://www.instagram.com/katfitstrength/

Website: www.kat.fit

Fastest Know Time

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The Cultra crew gets together for a full-on Vermont 100 debrief with Josh Gaetjen, Christian Dockum, Chase Smith and Marc Kelly who all finished the 2026 VT 100 between 18:19 and 20:15.

The conversation covers the highs, lows, suffering and fun of one of the Northeast's classic 100-milers including what happens when your legs fall apart, your stomach quits, and you decide that six ibuprofen during a 100-mile race is a good idea.

Chase Smith joins the conversation just days after his wedding to recap his Vermont 100 experience, including a dramatic mid-race collapse, a comeback up the field, severe stomach problems, and an extremely unpleasant final quarter of the race.

The guys also dig into the crew experience and how seeing familiar faces at aid stations can keep a runner moving when things get ugly. Art and the crew talk about the strange but wonderful relationships that develop between runners, crews and volunteers over the course of a 100-mile race.

There's plenty of discussion about what makes the Vermont 100 special, including its incredible community atmosphere and the fact that it is essentially a world-class 100-mile race in the backyard of many Northeast runners.

Vermont 100

UTMB Bans Painkillers

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At just 21 years old, Kaylee Frederick has already established herself as one of the most exciting young ultrarunners on the East Coast. She ran her first 100 miler at 16 years old, and when she was 18 became the youngest ever finisher of The Badwater 135.

In 2026, she won the Eastern States 100 outright, setting a new women's course record in brutally hot conditions. She also completed the Pennsylvania Triple Crown, finishing as the overall fastest person and Queen of the Mountain.

But Kaylee's story goes well beyond race results.

In this episode, Kaylee talks about discovering running as a kid, finding ultrarunning at 14, losing her father at age six, and how those experiences shaped the person and runner she has become.

She opens up about depression, anxiety, therapy, faith, and learning to deal with the negative voices in her head. We also get deep into her Eastern States race including the moment she realized she was leading the entire field and the wild final miles when she was convinced someone was right behind her.

Most importantly, Kaylee talks about a simple goal that has become central to her life:

She doesn't want to just survive. She wants to actually live.

Eastern States 100 Results

Badwater 135

Kaylee's UltraSignup Results

Follow Kaylee on Instagram

Episode Photo Credit Phil Cuppernell

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This week on Cultra, we're digging into a brutal Eastern States 100, reflecting on our marathon-length conversation with Camille Herron, and looking ahead to one of the most exciting young runners on the East Coast.

Eastern States delivered the kind of race that separates the merely enthusiastic from the completely unreasonable. With hot conditions pushing the DNF rate to roughly 54.5%, only 55 runners made it to the finish. And leading the women and first finisher overall was Kaylee Frederick, who put together an extraordinary 23:09 finish to set a new women's course record and become the first woman to break 24 hours at Eastern States.

Naturally, we need to talk to her. How about next episode?

We're also looking back at our recent three-hour conversation with Camille Herron. What started as an interview turned into a fascinating exploration of competition, neurodiversity, ADHD, hyperfocus, records, rules, and how easily people can misunderstand someone whose brain works differently.

We get into the differences between competition on the track, trails, and at races like Badwaterand why some of Camille's controversial questions about records may have had more substance behind them than people realized.

Plus:

• The Eastern States 100 carnage
• Kaylee Frederick's historic performance
• Kaylee's incredible East Coast résumé
• The youngest finisher at Badwater
• Jigger Johnson and trail-race talk
• Anna's Bald Face Loop adventure
• Art's trail maintenance adventures on the Old Osseo Trail
• Phred's seemingly endless running streak
• Creatine, protein bars, bicarbonate and other ultra-runner science
• Getting older, getting slower, and pretending we're not
• John Kelly's Appalachian Trail attempt
• Colorado heat, smoke and water restrictions

Another episode of the Cultra Trail Running Podcast where somehow we manage to talk about elite ultrarunning, trail maintenance, supplements, aging, technology and Patreon before remembering that we were supposed to be talking about a race.

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World-record holder and ultrarunning legend Camille Herron joins AFB and Anna G for one of her most personal and wide-ranging conversations to date.

This episode is not just a controversial hot take on Facebook, but is a long run in her fast but sometimes troubled shoes. Rather than focusing on splits and statistics, this episode explores the experiences that have shaped Camille both on and off the race course. She shares what it was like receiving a late diagnosis of autism and ADHD, how those discoveries helped explain decades of challenges and successes, and why many of the traits she once struggled with have become strengths in elite ultrarunning events.

Camille also reflects on her Vermont 100 comeback, racing without crew or pacers, evolving her training as she enters her mid-40s, and managing the effects of perimenopause while continuing to compete at the highest level.

The conversation then shifts to several of the sport's biggest topics including race integrity, anti-doping, SafeSport, pacing, record ratification, and what the future of professional ultrarunning might look like.

Whether you know Camille through her world records or the recent headlines, this episode offers a thoughtful, honest look at one of ultrarunning's most accomplished and most outspoken athletes. Life is complicated, and we are all wired in our own unique way. Sometimes it takes three hours to start to understand these differences.

Links for this Episode

• Vermont 100
• Spartathlon
• Comrades Marathon
• Western States 100
• International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU)
• SafeSport
• WADA
• GOMU

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Outro music by Nick Byram

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The Cultra Crew is headed north, and Josh is just days away from toeing the line at the legendary Vermont 100. This week is all about race week preparation as the gang dives into crew logistics, pacing strategy, nutrition plans, and the organized chaos that goes into surviving 100 miles.

Anna G, Fred, josh and AFB break down everything from aid station bag organization and hydration bottle swaps to why carrying spare bottle nipples might be the most important piece of gear you'll never think about...until it's too late.

The episode also covers an incredible weekend at Western States, updates from around the Beast Coast trail community, the heartbreaking news of the Hamster Wheel race director's house fire, and a few upcoming adventures that may involve even more questionable decisions.

As always, expect plenty of laughs, tangents, and just enough useful ultrarunning advice to accidentally make you a better runner.

In This Episode

• Josh's Vermont 100 race week strategy
• Crew and pacing logistics
• Fueling 120 grams of carbs per hour
• Western States and the church in the shopping mall
• Hamster Wheel community update
• Erica Nortini's White Mountains adventure
• RIOT and other future ultrarunning stupidity
• Tour de France, World Cup, and the usual Cultra nonsense

Donate to the Conley Family Fire fund

Vermont 100

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Outro music by Nick Byram

Become a Cultra Crew Patreon Supporter basic licker. If you lick us, we will most likely lick you right back

Cultra Facebook Fan Page Go here to talk shit and complain and give us advice that we wont follow

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Buy Fred's Book Running Home

More Information on the #CUT112