Weathering The Run
By Andrew Buck Michael
Weathering The RunMar 15, 2023
Episode 8: The Buck Fifty Relay Race, Dave Huggins, & B-TEAM
This is a little different style of episode. I recently ran The Buck Fifty, a 150 mile relay race around Southern Ohio. There are 5 person and 10 person teams and all the money raised for the event helps the a local chapter of Drug Free Club of America. The local area has been featured in documentaries on the opioid epidemic. So local youth and race organizers wanted to stop the problem before it started. The local community buy-in and involvement in this race is phenomenal and the volunteers are top-notch. What is also unique is that the relay race inspires the team to dig deep for their 4-7 miles legs for the race that runs around Ross County including three state parks: Great Seal, Tar Hollow, and Scioto Trails. And it would not be an episode of Weathering The Run without weather getting involved and this race delivered some very wet weather for all of the 87 teams.
So I sat down with the race director to talk about this year's event, that I took part in. The race had a lightning delay because of very strong storms that went through the area along with some hail and rain that lasted for hours. After talking with Dave Huggins, the race director I catch up with the B-TEAM. This was the 5 person relay team that I was on and it was a great experience.
To find out more about the race, visit their website: https://www.thebuckfifty.com/
Episode 7: Chris Ward, Like a Bigfoot
It was a pleasure to sit down and chat with Chris Ward. You may already know him from his Like A Bigfoot podcast, which has more than 300 episodes where Chris talks with amazing endurance athletes. Chris loves a challenge and we caught up, on some of his recent adventures. From running across the desert a couple times to then doing a documentary on the Desert Rats, 150 mile stage race. The documentary is called "A Long Way from Nowhere", and it does not disappoint. Chris is also a father to young kids so we talked a little about squeezing in the running time or adventures while also juggling other responsibilities.
Links:
Documentary: A Long Way from Nowhere
Episode 6: John Kelly
Honored to chat with John Kelly in this episode. He has completed the Barkley Marathons TWICE and has a list of multi-day FKT (Fastest Known Time) records. We chat about how weather plays a big part in his endeavors and the gear planning for events when the forecast becomes less certain for multi-day mountainous challenges.
John's big sponsors are La Sportiva and Ultimate Direction. His website & blog is randomforestrunner.com with amazing write-ups to his races and events, along with links to his social media accounts.
Episode photo taken by Stacey Holloway, while John tackled the Grand Rounds.
Episode 5: Andy Salamone
Andy Salamone just completed the Southern Lakes Ultra, a 7-day staged race in New Zealand. Torrential rains arrived hours earlier than expected and this stranded some runners in the mountains with temperatures near freezing. Some runners experienced hypothermia and helicopters were used for rescue. Andy shares his story of what happened and some of the challenges he experienced. Andy's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mybandinc/
Episode 4: Jennifer Russo
Episode 3: Star Blackford
From being a human popsicle to running in the hottest place on earth, we talk to Star Blackford. She is gearing up to run Badwater 135, the toughest footrace on earth, across Death Valley.
Star ran Badwater 135 in 2015 and often helps crew other runners for the race.
Link to Star's blog: http://starstrees.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/star.blackford
Instagram: @seblackford
Episode 2: Samuel Hartman
This is a jam-packed episode and I am stoked to chat with Samuel Hartman.
Samuel is a race director for some of the most challenging and hilly races in Ohio.
He was also the crew chief last year for Harvey Lewis for the Barkley Marathon.
We talk about wet snow vs. dry snow on a recent mountain climb he did in Oregon.
Here is the Strava log from that run: https://www.strava.com/activities/8055325597
Sam is also a gear-head working at REI and it was great talking about different types of gear used for unique situations in the elements.
Sam's website: https://about.me/samuelhartman
He is the race director for TINAR Race Series: https://www.tinarraceseries.com/
His Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/21301536
His Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sam_metal/
Episode 1: Michael Gampp
We are kicking off the podcast with someone that I have shared more than a thousand miles with over the recent years: Michael Gampp.
Michael shares some of the times we have been caught in the elements and what made him want to keep pressing on. He also shares some stories about other challenging events like running a self-supported 150 mile run around the Shawnee State Park with more than 30,000 feet of climbing.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happygampper/
Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/38903435
For more episodes: https://anchor.fm/weatheringtherun
Weathering The Run Trailer
Thanks for checking out Weathering The Run. This is the trailer to lay the groundwork for the plans with the podcast. The goal is to talk with runners about unique weather events that they were caught in and what they learned. I have some great guests planned and hope to even expand on the idea of "weathering" some mental challenges with some of these endurance events.