Distance To Empty

FLAGSTAFF BOUND is BACK for 2026!

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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Janji.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and be sure to select 'podcast' > 'Distance to Empty' on the post purchase "How did you hear about Janji" page. Thank you!

She came to Cocodona 2024 burnt out on running, couldn't run in the two months leading up to the race, cross-trained her way to the start line, showed up with zero expectations, and finished on the podium. Then she signed up for the entire Triple Crown — Tahoe, Bigfoot, and Moab — and broke the women's record by 29 hours. She is back for Cocodona 2026, and for the first time she gets to actually arrive before the race starts.
In this episode of Flagstaff Bound, Kevin and Peter sit down with Manuela Vilaseca — yoga teacher, Brazilian, Barcelona-based, and somehow one of the most decorated 200-mile runners in the world despite training on 20-kilometer runs and flying across three time zones to get to her races. Manu talks about what changed in her relationship with running — from obligation to opportunity — and what it feels like to come back to a race knowing you did it right the first time and still having plenty left to find. She talks about the sleep experiments she ran throughout the Triple Crown, what she's correcting this year, and why arriving a full week early feels like a genuine luxury.
She also has absolutely no confidence in her basketball game.
Cocodona 250 kicks off Monday, May 4th at 5 AM Pacific. Follow the action live on the Mountain Outpost YouTube channel.

Become a Distance to Empty subscriber!: https://www.patreon.com/DistancetoEmptyPod

Code IRON at www.goodranchers.com and mention us in the post purchase survey!

Get some free DTE Swag by supporting out sponsors!
Check out Mount to Coast here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://mounttocoast.com/discount/Distance⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Janji.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and be sure to select 'podcast' > 'Distance to Empty' on the post purchase "How did you hear about Janji" page. Thank you!
Kevin and Peter take the podcast out of the studio and onto the course for the first time, recording live during the Badwater Salton Sea race. In this experimental field episode, you'll hear clips captured throughout the race stitched together into a full audio journey. Back in the studio a few days post-finish, Kevin and Peter recap how they're recovering, tease some of the highlights (including a missed vomit recording), and preview what's coming up fast — Peter has the Cocodona 250 Brute just days away. They also cover the upcoming shakeout run at Deep Canyon Ranch, how to snag a free MBA shirt at Cocodona, and the Mets absolutely falling apart.

FLAGSTAFF BOUND is BACK for 2026!

Become a Distance to Empty subscriber!: https://www.patreon.com/DistancetoEmptyPod

Code IRON at www.goodranchers.com and mention us in the post purchase survey!

Get some free DTE Swag by supporting out sponsors!
Check out Mount to Coast here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://mounttocoast.com/discount/Distance⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Janji.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and be sure to select 'podcast' > 'Distance to Empty' on the post purchase "How did you hear about Janji" page. Thank you!

He won the Showcase on The Price is Right. He survived 60 days alone across six extreme ecosystems in South America to win Discovery Channel's The Wheel, losing 45 pounds in the process. He ran 2,500 miles across America. He ran 1,050 miles across Great Britain. He broke Kilian Jornet's Tahoe Rim Trail record. He has never run Cocodona 250.
In this episode of Flagstaff Bound, Kevin and Peter sit down with Adam Kimble: professional ultrarunner, motivational speaker, race director, coach, and by his own description, amateur survivalist, for one of the most varied origin stories in the series. Adam talks about crewing his athlete at Cocodona 2022, running through Prescott and Jerome and knowing immediately this race was going on the list, and what it actually takes to show up to something this long having spent his career doing things that have almost nothing in common with it.
He also reveals that as a high school basketball player he once finished second in a three-point shooting competition that sent him to the state level. The MBA at Mingus Mountain has never had a more dangerous entrant.
His five-word description of Cocodona 250 'a is beautiful tour of Arizona.' His chalkboard message is 'remember why you're here.' Both feel exactly right.
Cocodona 250 kicks off Monday, May 4th at 5 AM Pacific. Follow the action live on the Mountain Outpost YouTube channel.

FLAGSTAFF BOUND is BACK for 2026!

Become a Distance to Empty subscriber!: https://www.patreon.com/DistancetoEmptyPod

Code IRON at www.goodranchers.com and mention us in the post purchase survey!

Get some free DTE Swag by supporting out sponsors!
Check out Mount to Coast here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://mounttocoast.com/discount/Distance⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Janji.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and be sure to select 'podcast' > 'Distance to Empty' on the post purchase "How did you hear about Janji" page. Thank you!

He won Cocodona 250 on his first attempt in 2022. He came back in 2024, had a great first 50 miles, couldn't sleep, slowly eroded, finished fourth, and watched Arlen Glick open a three-hour gap on him while he thought he was running decent. He is back for 2026. He also just had a baby, which according to Joe is actually race prep.
In this episode of Flagstaff Bound, Kevin and Peter sit down with Joe McConaughy — Stringbean, returning champion, new dad, founding father of the All In Trail Collective, and the only person in this series who asked us to write "the rest of the race hinges on this shot" on his Mingus chalkboard. Joe talks about what went wrong in 2024, why Cocodona is getting closer to being the Western States of 200s but isn't quite there yet, and what it actually feels like to race something this demanding while running on newborn sleep deprivation. He also admits he told his partner Katie he might get to the finish line and immediately wish he was home cuddling his son instead, which is either the most honest thing anyone has said on this series or a sign the sleep deprivation has already started.
He is 6'3". He has dunked once in his life. He does not think Mingus will be the second time.
Cocodona 250 kicks off Monday, May 4th at 5 AM Pacific. Follow the action live on the Mountain Outpost YouTube channel.

FLAGSTAFF BOUND is BACK for 2026!

Become a Distance to Empty subscriber!: https://www.patreon.com/DistancetoEmptyPod

Code IRON at www.goodranchers.com and mention us in the post purchase survey!

Get some free DTE Swag by supporting out sponsors!
Check out Mount to Coast here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://mounttocoast.com/discount/Distance⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Janji.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and be sure to select 'podcast' > 'Distance to Empty' on the post purchase "How did you hear about Janji" page. Thank you!

She ran her first ultramarathon as a high school senior in road shoes, ate one spoonful of peanut butter for the entire race, finished second overall, cried at the finish line, drove home, and signed up for another one. She is 23 years old. This is her first 200-mile race.
In this episode of Flagstaff Bound, Kevin and Peter sit down with Lila Gaudrault — nurse, Substack writer, self-coached, 10 FKTs, New England trail running ambassador, and the only person in the series who has trained for Cocodona 250 using something called Burrito League. Lila talks about building her own training plan that isn't really a training plan, what it feels like to step up to a distance 150 miles longer than anything she's ever done, and why she's approaching her first 200 as an adventure rather than a race.
She also has a message ready for herself at Mingus Mountain at mile 107 — the moment she'll cross into the longest she's ever gone. It is the most honest thing anyone has said in this entire series.
Cocodona 250 kicks off Monday, May 4th at 5 AM Pacific. Follow the action live on the Mountain Outpost YouTube channel.