This week on the Conversation Pace podcast, the High Lonesome 100 tables turn: Taylor Bacon interview her crew, pacers, and parents!

In this follow-up to episode 48 (High Lonesome 100 recap with Taylor Bacon), we learn what actually happened behind the scenes while Taylor was running 100 miles. Listen in as Taylor hears the stories in real time. They go through the details of crewing and how they overcame difficulties, like a flat tire when they were about to leave for the second crew-able aid station. They walk Taylor through each pacing leg from the pacing perspective. Who threw up 2 minutes into their pacing leg? Who was doing 180s to constantly check whether the runner behind them was actually a mountain lion? Who didn't get to eat any aid station food because Taylor was so efficient? In the second part, Taylor interviews her parents, who volunteered at Hancock aid station and took care of her crew all weekend. What is it like for parents to watch their daughter complete her first 100 miler? And, of course, they discuss the highlights from the weekend.

This week on the Conversation Pace podcast, we get a High Lonesome 100 recap with our teammate, Taylor Bacon.
Taylor completed her first 100 mile race and we go through all of the nitty gritty details with her. You’ll feel like you, too, are running 100 miles! From the struggles of walking on a “runnable” dirt road to a dancing unicorn that pulls you out of a low point (and was not a hallucination!), to what it meant to have her crew, pacers, and parents at crewable aid stations to give her a big ol’ hug at key points throughout the race.
This episode can be broken into 3 parts:
1. HiLo recap. In-depth thoughts, feelings, mountain views between crewable aid stations.
2. Mid-race pod!! Taylor and teammate/pacer Courtney recorded a voice note at mile 58 of HiLo! Moment-by-moment mid-race thoughts and gabbing.
3. Reflections. What did Taylor take away from this build, what did she feel fully prepared for and what surprised her? How much can be fixed with a hug and a snack?

Braden Nicholson and he is, a 2x NCAA National Champion and 7x All-American from NorthCentral College, a top DIII program located in Naperville, Illinois.

Braden has incredible range. He has run 8:07 for 3k, 14:06 for 5k, 29:18 for 10k, and 1:04 in the half marathon. He just wrapped up an incredible NCAA career, winning two national titles—one in dramatic fashion after a competitor wasdisqualified with 150 meters to go for stepping inside the rail. Braden handled it with grace, and even offered his 1st place trophy to the runnerwho was DQ’d.

Beyond his racing success, Braden is someone who brings passion to everything—fromexperimenting with bicarbonate in training to sharing books that have help him improvehis mindset and music recs that get him excited during cross training. He’s thoughtful, humble, and genuinely fun to learn from. Enjoy!

On this weeks bonus episode of Conversation Pace we check back in with Adrian Macdonald and hear all about his Western States experience, how he is recovering and his random early return to running because of an opportunity to run with donkeys!

If you didn't hear his pre-race thoughts check out Episode 43 first.

Adrian finished Western States in 20:14:25 in 35th place. While wildly impressive to gut out a 100 mile finish, this isn't the result Adrian had trained and hoped for.

Thank you for sharing your race recap with us about resilience, reflection, and what it takes to keep showing up, even when things go sideways

Adrian also shares thoughts on his Strava - you can find him here: https://www.strava.com/pros/8368561

Check out Adrian's YouTube recap: https://www.adrian.run/

Thank you again Adrian, for sharing your experiences, thoughts and running dreams with us!

Follow Adrian:

@macdonaldadrian

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Instagram: @front.range.elite

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Rachel Conhoff is a two-time national record holder for the U.S. Virgin Islands in the 1500-meter and 3000-meter steeplechase, with times of 4:25 and 10:54, respectively. In this episode, we discuss Rachel’s athletic journey- from running a sub-6-minute mile in the schoolyard as a kid, to moving to the States to compete at the Division III level for Ursinus College in Pennsylvania, and ultimately completing her NCAA eligibility at the Division I level with Indiana State University. Rachel radiates positivity, and you won’t want to miss this fun, inspiring interview with the real-life Moana!

Dr. Elijah Flenner is a staple of the Fort Collins trail running community. He has completed many ultramarathons, including Quad Rock 50 miler, Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB), Western States Endurance Run, and High-5 100. He recently started a coaching business, Ridgeline Rhythm, combining his love for supporting the running community, using his experience to help others, and diving into the scientific literature.

Adrian Macdonald is a decorated ultra-distance runner sponsored by On Running and based right here in Fort Collins, Colorado. A competitive runner since high school, he transitioned to mountain, ultra, and trail racing in 2020 and has since established himself as one of the top 100-mile athletes in the sport.
His major victories include back-to-back wins at the Leadville Trail 100 in 2021 and 2022, a win at the 2024 Tarawera Ultra-Trail Miler in New Zealand, and first place at the 2022 Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko Miler in Australia. He recently finished 2nd at the 2024 Leadville Trail 100, 3rd at the 2025 Tarawera Ultra-Trail 102k, and 3rd at the 2023 Speedgoat 50k.
Outside of racing, he serves on the board of the Fort Collins Running Club, volunteers at local events, and coaches other athletes. He works at Colorado State University as the Financial Officer for the Department of Statistics and the Treasurer of the Classified Personnel Council.
In his free time, he enjoys ice cream, traveling to soccer matches, and biking around Fort Collins.

Watch: "What It Takes"

Episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3-kHh4G0P8

Episode 2: https://youtu.be/6O6REsOiTG8?si=9IydNeb9aAtM2vHN

We are so thrilled to chat with Alicia Monson today and get to know her a little better. She grew up in Amery, Wisconsin and ran for the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she earned Big Ten titles and won the 5,000m NCAA Indoor Championship. Alicia moved to Colorado in 2020 to join the On Athletics Club as a professional runner. She competed in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and holds the 5,000m and 10,000m American Records. Currently, she is returning to training for competition after having a meniscus root tear and surgery in 2024. We get to hear all about her return to running, what got her into the sport, and more importantly, what kept her loving it.

Here is a podcast we mention in the episode where she talks about her Olympic Trials 2020 10k race: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5YgEvFAmIHRTzEcNTSdBT0?si=zeVZ81AlTaqQdlZ-_C6VUw