Western States 100 occupies a different place in trail running than almost any other race. Months before the starting gun, runners and fans are already studying the field, imagining the canyons, debating contenders, and wondering what story will emerge from Auburn.

This episode explores why Western States feels bigger than a race. From Jim Walmsley and Kilian Jornet to Wendell Robie, Rucky Chucky, and the old buckle holders still working aid stations, Josh makes the case that Western States belongs in the same conversation as The Masters and the Kentucky Derby.

Not because of the sport, but because of what happens when greatness, history, place, and uncertainty all meet in the same event.

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If you’re new to Borderlands, start here.

• 00:00 The Anticipation of Western States
• 02:25 The Significance of the Course
• 04:56 The Elite vs. Participation Experience
• 07:23 The Course as a Character
• 08:09 The Legacy of Western States
• 10:34 The Global Trail Running Scene
• 13:30 The Importance of Rucky Chucky
• 16:00 The Dual Nature of the Race
• 19:16 The Spirit of American Trail Running
• 22:09 The Unfolding Drama of Race Day

1. 2026 WSER Entrants List
2. Borderlands.cc
3. La French Trail

1. Trail Running Loves Winners, Does it Love Competitors?
2. Ultra Running isn't Just Running

Presented by Kiprun.

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Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it.

Watch on YouTube

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Trail running culture loves winners. That's obvious. The sport builds documentaries about them, fills Instagram feeds with them, and spends months debating who will win Western States. But the more Josh thinks about it, the more he wonders whether trail running is actually comfortable with the competitive mindset that creates those winners in the first place.

As Western States season begins, this conversation explores the difference between the participation version of trail running and the elite version, why those two worlds often get conflated, and what we miss when we use the values of one to understand the athletes competing in the other.

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If you’re new to Borderlands, start here.

• 00:00 Two Sports Sharing One Start Line
• 02:51 The Values That Make Champions
• 05:49 Elite, Professional, and Why It Matters
• 08:38 What Trail Running Rewards
• 11:26 Telling an Inward Story About an Outward Competition
• 14:22 Do We Actually Want Competitors?

1. Borderlands.cc
2. Salt Lake Foothills Trail Races
3. Josh Rosenthal on IG

1. Ultra Running isn't Just Running

Presented by Kiprun.

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Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it.

Watch on YouTube

Read on Substack

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.

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

2. Salt Lake Foothills Trail Races
3. Josh Rosenthal on IG
4. Borderlands.cc
5. La French Trail
6. High Tones
7. Subwhatever

1. 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

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.

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If you’re new to Borderlands, start here.

• 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

1. Salt Lake Foothills Trail Races
2. Josh Rosenthal on IG
3. Borderlands.cc
4. La French Trail
5. High Tones
6. Subwhatever

1. 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

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.

00:00

2. Salt Lake Foothills Trail Races
3. Josh Rosenthal on IG
4. Borderlands.cc
5. La French Trail
6. High Tones
7. Subwhatever

1. 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

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.

• 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

1. Klattermusen
2. Sormlands Trail Race
3. Salt Lake Foothills Trail Races
4. Josh Rosenthal on IG
5. Borderlands.cc

1. Ultra Running isn't Just Running
2. Ultra Runners Need More Than Normal Life
3. Why Running Changes You with Raz Rauf

Presented by Kiprun.

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Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it.

Watch on YouTube

Read on Substack

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.

1. Salt Lake Foothills Trail Races
2. Josh Rosenthal on IG
3. Borderlands.cc
4. La French Trail
5. High Tones
6. Subwhatever

1. 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

Ultra running nutrition is getting more extreme. More carbs, more precision, more pressure to “get it right.” But if you’ve ever had your stomach shut down mid-race, you know something isn’t adding up. This episode is for runners trying to fuel better without breaking their body in the process.

I sit down with Chris Bellamy, engineer, ultra runner, and founder of Yanaa, to explore the hidden cost of the high-carb movement, what it’s doing to gut health, and why real food might be the missing piece. We get into the tension between performance and health, and what elite athletes are actually doing when it matters.

This is for ultra runners who want to perform without sabotaging their system.

Please give us a follow, rate the podcast, and give a review.

If you’re new to Borderlands, start here.

1. White Paper - From Health to Performance
2. Salt Lake Foothills Trail Races
3. Josh Rosenthal on IG
4. Borderlands.cc
5. La French Trail
6. High Tones
7. Subwhatever

1. An Elite Coach Reframes Fueling for Ultrarunners
2. Pre-Race Nutrition for Ultrarunners
3. Nutrition Myths for Ultrarunners

Presented by Kiprun.

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Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it.

Watch on YouTube

Read on Substack