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@runfreetrail

#TrailCulture Information & inspiration for trail & ultra runners🎙Listen to our pods 📺 Watch our videos 💻 Visit our website 🚀Join our community.
San Rafael, CA freetrail.com Joined September 2020
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Freetrail Verified account @runfreetrail
SHARK IN THE WATER

I was like, "I can do this." Like, I knew I was 10 minutes out the previous loop, I think, from second place. And now I had intel that I was only like three to five minutes out from second place. Like, I just knew like this is what I came here to do. I've been thinking about doing this for basically a full year at this point. Like, I can hurt for 20 miles.

So that was where I decided, at the beginning of that second loop, I was like, "I need to put time into people now." And the chase for the top two after that was on. I was having a really great time even though I was like in the hurt locker so bad. Being able to—I don't know, this is the fun part of our sport, is like being able to be in the chasing position is so empowering and fun. And it's like a little game. I feel like I'm in Mario Kart or something. Like it's just like you're constantly chipping away into time into people.

And I passed second place around probably close to Jackass, maybe like two miles, three miles out. And I just kept employing that same strategy of like, "We're not going to—we're going to press the gas when I pass this place or this person." But at that point, you know, golden ticket is mine. Oh my god, I said it out loud! I passed a couple people in the race, and I was like, "I'm in a golden ticket position! Like, I'm doing it! I'm fucking doing it!"

I was like freaking out, but also I was like, "You have to calm down." And I had to kind of make a decision leaving Jackass of like: do I go for it right now, and do I push myself to potentially break maybe going down to the finish, or do I just maintain? And I was like, "Let's just go for it. Like, I'm here, I'm ready." And I could see Noah right before Rattlesnake, around sometime around like maybe 92, 93 miles, and I was like, "Oh, I'm going to get him." I could smell—I could smell like a shark in the water.
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Freetrail Verified account @runfreetrail
ROB MOLKE HAS ARRIVED

About a mile out, I was like, "Man, I just want to soak this in. Like, I'm just so excited." I was like maybe a quarter mile out from camp, and I could hear my partner actually yelling "Robbie!" and it was just like it switched something in my brain to just go into this celebratory moment and I kicked it in.

I was overstimulated, honestly, crossing the finish line, but it was such a feeling of just release, elation, and validation. Validation is like the big feeling—like, I knew I could do that, and so I'm proving it to you right now. Like, this is me. This is my coming out party. Like, I'm here to be one of the top athletes in the sport and compete at Western States next year, and this is you finding that out right now.
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Freetrail Verified account @runfreetrail
YOU'RE IN IT!

"I got to give a huge shout-out to Matt Zupan, who was on the podium with me at Big Alta. Incredible human being, and he actually ran in and out of the aid station with me the second and third loops.

Something he told me snapped me out of it, and it was that "you're in it". You know, you forget you're 40 miles into a 100-mile race—like, you're not going to feel good. So, you have to remind yourself of that. And he told me, he's like, "The guys ahead of you... like, you're in it, but the guys ahead of you don't look as good as you right now. Remember that".

And I went off on that third loop, and I started to pick people off slowly."

- ROB MOLKE, 2026 Javelina Jundred champion
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Freetrail Verified account @runfreetrail
The Great Debate: Should Trail Running Be An Olympic Sport

Last week we continued the rollout of sessions from the 2026 edition of TrailCon. The most recent session tackles an important discussion around trail running's path to potential inclusion in the 2032 Olympic Games.

The panel is made up of four important voices:

— Corrine Malcolm (Moderator) - Trail Running Thought Leader and Media Figrue
— Natacha Manchado - Running Project Manager at World Athletics
— Francesco Puppi - Pro Athlete and Co-Founder of the Pro Trail Runner's Association
— Anna Gibson - Pro Athlete and 2026 Winter Olympian

Each individual brought a unique perspective based on their experience in the sport, exploring the incentive structures of Olympic inclusion, the potential pros and cons, and what we can learn from how the Olympics have shaped other outdoor sports.

Find the episode wherever you listen to the podcast.
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