The Freetrail Podcast with Dylan Bowman

Nick Thompson is the CEO of The Atlantic, the famous American magazine and digital publisher founded in 1857. Before that, Nick was an Editor at both Wired and The New Yorker, developing a reputation for his great reporting, unique perspectives, and impactful stories across a range of subject matter.     In addition to his amazing professional career, Nick has also been a committed runner for life, a talented marathon runner, who is now dabbling in trail and ultrarunning. Back in 2021, Nick set an age group American record for 50k running 3:04, famously at the same time that Des Linden broke the Women’s world record at the distance. Now, Nick is experimenting with trail and ultra running, doing a few 50 milers and a 100k, with at least some curiosity about the 100 mile distance. I’ve been a massive admirer of Nick’s for a while. A media guy who is also a runner, Nick is an inspiration for me and I’m honored to have him on the show.     FOLLOW NICK ON LINKEDIN     FOLLOW NICK ON IG     FOLLOW NICK ON STRAVA     MOSTLY HARMLESS STORY & FOLLOWUP     VOTE FOR TROY     VOTE FOR TPOY     Sponsors: Use code freetrail10 for 10% off Speedland Footwear Grab a trail running pack from Osprey Use code FT15 for 15% off Gnarly Nutrition Go to ketone.com/freetrail30 for 30% off a subscription of Ketone IQ   Freetrail Links: Website | Freetrail Pro | Patreon | Instagram | YouTube | Freetrail Experts     Dylan Links: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Strava

Lauren Gregory is a pro athlete for Nike Trail living in New England. This season, Lauren had a big breakthrough in her professional career, notching three top-10 performances in Golden Trail World Series races, including an amazing 2nd place finish at the World Final in October. She has a huge career ahead of her and we're excited to host her on the podcast.   Topics discussed: Lauren's background and history with sport Her bronze medal from the 2017 Junior Mountain Running World Championship Winning an NCAA Cross Country National Championship Signing with Nike and the realities of going pro The Trail Team and how it's onboarded new athletes to trail running The advantages and disadvantages of living on the East Coast Her coach Ben True, and he's influenced her training Her 2024 season and reasons for the success Goals for the future A lot more! VOTE FOR TROY   VOTE FOR TPOY   FOLLOW LAUREN ON IG   FOLLOW LAUREN ON STRAVA   Sponsors: Use code freetrail10 for 10% off Speedland Footwear Grab a trail running pack from Osprey Use code FT15 for 15% off Gnarly Nutrition Go to ketone.com/freetrail30 for 30% off a subscription of Ketone IQ Freetrail Links: Website | Freetrail Pro | Patreon | Instagram | YouTube | Freetrail Experts   Dylan Links: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Strava

Aaron Lutze is a creator and sports marketing savant. He's also a dear friend and mentor who has had an enormous impact on my career as an athlete and content creator. Aaron recruited me to Red Bull and acted as my manager for many years. He's recognized as one of the best sports marketers in the industry. Now, Aaron and I co-host another podcast called Second Nature where we talk about the Outdoor Industry, endeavoring to help people build brands, businesses, and careers in the space.    In this conversation, we talk about the past and present of athlete partnerships, the reasons brands sponsor athletes, the value of creating longform content, audience vs. community, the future of athlete partnerships, and a lot more!   LISTEN TO SECOND NATURE   SIGNUP FOR SECOND NATURE NEWSLETTER   FOLLOW SECOND NATURE ON LINKEDIN   SIGNUP FOR THE FREETRAIL NEWSLETTER   Sponsors: Use code freetrail10 for 10% off Speedland Footwear Use code freetrail15 for 15% off Gnarly Nutrition Use code BFCM24 for 20% off a one time purchase or 30% off a subscription of Ketone IQ at Ketone.com Get your next favorite pack at Osprey.com or at your favorite local retailer. Freetrail Links: Website | Freetrail Pro | Patreon | Instagram | YouTube | Freetrail Experts   Dylan Links: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Strava

Courtney Olsen is a pro runner for HOKA living in Bellingham, WA. She is also the brand new World Record holder for the 50-mile distance, something she was able to achieve last weekend at Tunnel Hill in Southern Illinois. Finishing in a time of 5:31:56, Courtney managed to lower the existing record held by Ann Trason for 33 years by nine minutes. This is her first appearance on the podcast.   Topics we discuss:   Courtney’s background and history with sport Her struggles with depression and finding purpose in her 20s The Bellingham Distance Project, a training group she helped to found 10 years ago Her passion for art and writing Her experience at lululemon’s FURTHER event where she was there supporting Devon Yanko Her huge podium performance at Comrades A deep unpacking of her WR at tunnel hill Look ahead to the 100k World Championship next month And a lot more! Follow Courtney on Strava   Follow Courtney on Instagram   If you enjoy listening to the Freetrail Podcast, please consider leaving us a review to help other like-minded listeners find our show.   Sponsors: Use code freetrail10 for 10% off Speedland Footwear Grab a trail running pack from Osprey Use code FT15 for 15% off Gnarly Nutrition Go to ketone.com/freetrail30 for 30% off a subscription of Ketone IQ Freetrail Links: Website | Freetrail Pro | Patreon | Instagram | YouTube | Freetrail Experts   Dylan Links: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Strava