Trail Society

Training stress isn’t just about mileage, vert, or workouts — it’s about everything else competing for your energy, too.
In this episode of Trail Society, Corrine Malcolm and co-host Hillary Allen share both the science and their experiences with mental fatigue, allostatic load, and burnout. From road marathon training and international travel to work stress, technology overload, and emotional strain, they unpack why athletes often feel exhausted even when training volume drops.
Training stress doesn’t exist in isolation. If you’ve ever wondered why you feel flat during a taper, overwhelmed by metrics, or stuck in a cycle of doing “more,” this episode gives you permission to zoom out and reset.
This episode is brought to you by rabbit. If you're looking to treat yourself after the holidays or upgrade your winter running kit, head to www.runinrabbit.com and use code FEBTRAIL in February for 10% off.
Additional support provided by ProBio: Use code Trail20 for 20%-off orders (30%-off + free shipping w/ subscriptions) at probionutrition.com
Feisty Strong Retreat in Atlanta - April 17-19, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-strong-retreat-atlanta/
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We're sharing a special episode today from our new Feisty Media family to help you deal with and take away some action items for the collective trauma many of us are going through right now, whether it's new for you or simply heightened.
Along with being a sports psychologist & therapist in her own right, the Feisty Women's Performance podcast host Dr. Erin Ayala also lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota — which has been at the center of the news over the last month since it became the target of the largest immigration enforcement action to date in the U.S. Thousands of federal agents have patrolled the streets and detained residents, and, over this past weekend, shot and killed a second bystander — leading to hundreds of thousands of people protesting in Minneapolis and around the country.
In this tense environment, how do we show up as athletes, as members of our community, as our best and healthiest selves?
Erin has brought together a group of experts and invites you to join them — Dr. Tess Kilwein, Dr. Quincy Guinadi, and Christine Bright — as they discuss how these experiences shape mental health and performance, and how you can respond to stress and trauma whether you're going through it right now with the news or you're dealing with your personal challenges.
Key Takeaways:
• What is collective trauma? Learn how collective trauma impacts communities and individuals, and why this understanding is crucial for athletes and coaches.
• Recognize that intentional rest in times of stress can be essential for long-term sustainability.
• Know that movement and sport can be powerful tools in community healing.
• Get tips on how to navigate the complexities of wanting to help without feeling performative or overwhelmed, and how to effectively engage in difficult conversations without shame or guilt.
Don't be perfect. Be brave.
Guest Introductions:
• Dr. Tess Kilwein: A board-certified clinical, health, and sport psychologist with expertise in mental performance and athlete wellness.
• Dr. Quincy Guinadi: A postdoctoral resident specializing in identity, mental health, and the experiences of marginalized communities.
• Christine Bright: Lead consultant at the Center for Healing and Justice through Sport, focusing on trauma-informed coaching and community support.
Resources Mentioned:
• Center for Healing and Justice through Sport
• Nothing Heals like Sport Playbook
• "What Happened to You" by Dr. Bruce Perry and Oprah
• Beyond Ally by Dr. Maysa Akbar
• Find ways to help at standwithminnesota.com
• The Feisty Women's Performance podcast

What does endurance look like when perfection is no longer the goal?
In this deeply personal episode, host Corrine Malcolm sits down with professional runner and mountain athlete Olivia Amber for a conversation about movement, identity, health, and choosing paths that don’t always make sense on paper but that feel right in the body.
Olivia grew up in a small Nordic ski community in northern Wisconsin, racing at a high level before stepping away from elite skiing after college. What followed was a series of pivots: a career outside sport, a rediscovery of running as a form of exploration, and eventually a return to the mountains — this time on her own terms.
At the center of this episode is Olivia’s recent completion of Norman’s 13, a roughly 105-mile, 40,000-foot link-up of California’s Sierra Nevada 14ers. Olivia became the first woman to establish a known time on the route, claiming the FKT in the process, but this achievement can’t be separated from the years that came before it: shaped by chronic pain, a stage IV endometriosis diagnosis, major surgery, and learning to listen to a body that no longer responded to “push through it.”
This is a conversation about redefining success, navigating health within high-performance sport, and allowing dreams to evolve when the old version no longer fits.
In this episode, we talk about:
Growing up in a Nordic ski community and how family shapes athletic identity
Walking away from elite skiing — and why it wasn’t a failure
Finding running as freedom, not replacement
Living and training with stage IV endometriosis
Fertility decisions, surgery, and long-term health realities
What makes Norman’s 13 such a unique mountain challenge
Choosing a harder line because it felt safer — and truer
The role of community in big, lonely objectives
Letting go of outcomes and committing to the process

This episode is brought to you by rabbit. If you're looking to treat yourself after the holidays or upgrade your winter running kit, head to www.runinrabbit.com and use code TRAILSOCIETYJAN in January for 10% off.
Feisty Strong Retreat in Atlanta - April 17-19, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-strong-retreat-atlanta/
@feisty_media
@trail.society

What does it really look like to pursue excellence over a decade — through injury, uncertainty, quiet rebuilds, and breakthrough moments that seem sudden only from the outside?
In this episode of Trail Society, host Corrine Malcolm sits down with one of her closest friends and most compelling athletes in the sport: Abby Hall. Fresh off her 2025 Western States 100 victory, Abby reflects on the long road that led there — and why the “messy middle” matters just as much as the podium.
This conversation is less about one race and more about a philosophy: making it "cool to care," showing up honestly, and staying in it when things don’t go to plan.
Together, Corrine and Abby dig into the rhythms of professional running beyond the highlight reels — from late-day training runs and household logistics to mindset shifts, team alignment, and the vulnerability of saying “I want to win.”
Whether you’re chasing podiums, consistency, or just a deeper connection to why you run, this episode offers a powerful reminder: there’s no one right way to do this — but there is value in doing it fully.
It’s a thoughtful, funny, deeply human conversation about longevity, grit, and what it means to grow alongside a sport that’s also growing up.
Support our partners:
This episode is brought to you by rabbit. If you're looking to treat yourself after the holidays or upgrade your winter running kit, head to www.runinrabbit.com and use code TRAILSOCIETYJAN in January for 10% off.
Trail Society is newly a part of the Feisty Media podcast network. Learn more about Feisty, a women's sports and health media and education company, at feisty.co
Feisty Strong Retreat in Atlanta - April 17-19, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-strong-retreat-atlanta/
@feisty_media
@trail.society

Episode 116 is a year end reflection with Corrine Malcolm, Keely Henninger, and Hillary Allen, released just ahead of the New Year. The conversation opens with lighthearted check ins on holiday routines, winter training, and how each host plans to ring in 2026. From there, the episode moves into results, news, and science, including a detailed discussion of new findings from the ReFUEL study examining menstrual recovery, estrogen exposure, and ovulation in endurance athletes with functional hypothalamic amenorrhea and oligomenorrhea. The hosts unpack what it actually means for cycles to return, why multiple consecutive cycles matter, and how this research informs coaching, athlete health, and family planning conversations.
The second half of the episode is a wide ranging reflection on the year that was. Corrine, Keely, and Hillary look back on major themes from Trail Society in 2025, including athlete contracts, travel and racing highlights, fertility, resilience, fatigue, recovery, and women's sports milestones. They reflect on favorite conversations and guests, moments that surprised them, trends they are ready to leave behind, and ideas they hope shape the future of the sport. The episode closes with personal roses and thorns from the year, Society Slam listener questions, and an exciting announcement about what's coming next: a short break, a new weekly format in 2026, and even more long run listening ahead.
Sponsors
This episode is brought to you by rabbit. If you're looking to treat yourself after the holidays or upgrade your winter running kit, head to www.runinrabbit.com and use code HOPPYHOLIDAYS in December for 10% off.
Citations
Mallinson, R. J., et al. (2025). Multiple eumenorrheic cycles are necessary to observe a significant increase in estrogen exposure and ovulation in exercising women with functional hypothalamic oligo/amenorrhea undergoing a nutritional intervention: Insights from the REFUEL study. PM & R: The Journal of Injury, Function, and Rehabilitation. https://doi.org/10.1002/pmrj.70024