Pete Deneen is back, and this conversation goes in a lot of directions—in the best way.

We talk about what El Niño actually is, what it could mean for the West, and why Pete thinks it’s time to have a serious conversation about Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam. Pete also shares stories from his decade in the Coast Guard, including one wild night intercepting a major cocaine shipment.

But the conversation keeps coming back to something bigger: community. Pete tells me how a trail run club grew into a monthly gathering, a way to support local nonprofits, and a group that shows up to protect the places it loves.

We also get into purpose, belonging, and the simple practice of journaling. Pete’s advice before my wedding was to take 20 minutes and write. I tried a past, present, future prompt—and it might be a good place for you to start, too.

Check out Pete's writing

It’s Time to Drain Lake Powell https://gizmodo.com/its-time-to-drain-lake-powell-1848003413

A decade of climate whiplash in Ojai — https://issuu.com/ojaivisitorsguide/docs/ojai_magazine_winter_2024/106

Undeveloped Land Is Not “Vacant” — https://petedeneen.world/undeveloped-land-is-not-vacant/

Chapters

13:07 What El Niño is

47:39 Purpose, belonging, and community

56:23 How a run club became something bigger

1:03:01 Pete’s Coast Guard stories

1:12:00 Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam

1:26:30 Putting people to work restoring the West

1:30:20 Journaling before a big life moment

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#Trailrunning #Runningnews #Outdoors #Outdooradventure

The Moab 240 was canceled after flash flooding hit the course, leaving runners and volunteers at Bridger Jack Aid Station overnight.

Scott was running the race, and Jacqueline was crewing him. They join me to walk through the timeline: the weather turning, the call to head back, the long night at the aid station, and the eventual trip out.

We also talk about the uncertainty, the volunteers, the drop bags, and why they believe canceling the race was the right decision.

Follow Jacqueline on social media https://www.instagram.com/jacquelinetburnett

Follow Scott on social media https://www.instagram.com/scooterhughleyofficial

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Subscribe to Substack: http://freeoutside.substack.com

Support this content on patreon: HTTP://patreon.com/freeoutside

Buy my book "Free Outside" on Amazon: https://amzn.to/39LpoSF

Email me to buy a signed copy of my book, "Free Outside" at jeff@freeoutside.com

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#Trailrunning #Runningnews #Outdoors #Outdooradventure

Joe “Stringbean” McConaughy recently set the supported fastest known time on the John Muir Trail. Somehow, he did it on only 38 minutes of sleep—and felt better on the third day than he expected.Joe and I have been intertwined through FKTs for years. I’ve taken some of his records, he’s demolished some of mine, and he thoroughly beat me at Cocodona. In this conversation, we dig into what finally worked on the JMT, including sleep strategy, caffeine, hydration, sodium, fueling, altitude, and why this attempt felt so much more controlled than his previous efforts.We also compare our hallucinations, talk about coaching athletes through situations that cannot be perfectly planned, and discuss Joe’s move from corporate life into professional running, coaching, and race directing.Most importantly, we finally investigate the rumor that Joe was a sub-four-minute miler. He actually ran 4:09—but the legend continues to improve.Topics include:• Joe’s supported John Muir Trail record • Sleeping only 38 minutes • Hallucinations and extreme sleep deprivation • Saving caffeine for the final night • Changing his hydration and sodium strategy • Science versus intuition in multi-day events • Becoming an ultrarunning coach • Building community-focused trail races • The truth about Joe’s “sub-four” mile Subscribe for more conversations about ultrarunning, thru-hiking, FKTs, endurance, and the strange decisions we make outside.Support our Sponsors: Janji (code: Freeoutside): https://snp.link/a0bfb726CS Coffee: CSinstant.coffeeGarage Grown Gear: https://snp.link/db1ba8abSubscribe to Substack: http://freeoutside.substack.comSupport this content on patreon: HTTP://patreon.com/freeoutsideBuy my book "Free Outside" on Amazon: https://amzn.to/39LpoSFEmail me to buy a signed copy of my book, "Free Outside" at jeff@freeoutside.comWatch the movie about setting the record on the Colorado Trail: https://tubitv.com/movies/100019916/free-outsideWebsite: www.Freeoutside.comInstagram: thefreeoutsidefacebook: www.facebook.com/freeoutside#Trailrunning #Runningnews #Outdoors #Outdooradventure

The John Muir Trail is back in the FKT spotlight, so I dug up the story of one of the wildest things I have ever done.

In 2022, I started in Yosemite carrying everything I would need to cover 223 miles unsupported and chase the John Muir Trail record. Over the next three days, I peed brown, stopped eating enough, hallucinated a safari guide, broke both straps on my backpack, fell asleep while moving, and woke up face-down on the trail.

With the record slipping away, I took a 12-minute nap, climbed Mount Whitney through the night, and ran the final switchbacks hard enough that stopping to pee was no longer an option.

I finished in 3 days, 47 minutes, and 56 seconds—breaking the record by less than 13 minutes.

This is the full story of the highs, lows, questionable decisions, and tiny mental tricks that somehow got me to Whitney Portal in time.

Nine days before our wedding, Allison Powell and I sit down to settle the truly important details: whether I can ride a unicycle into the ceremony, where Ted will sit and how many wedding plans I have completely forgotten.

Then we get into Allison’s unsupported Tahoe-to-Yosemite FKT—the longest unsupported effort she has ever attempted. She started with a goal of finishing in 72 hours, but almost no real sleep, cold nights, no sleeping pad and a questionable commitment to calorie-dense nuts eventually turned the final miles into a fight against exhaustion.

We talk about what she would change, why sleep can matter more than pack weight, the problem with choosing food entirely by calories per ounce and why every multi-day effort needs an emergency supply of Skittles.

But the biggest lesson wasn’t about gear, pacing or nutrition. Somewhere along the trail, Allison realized that almost nobody knew what she was doing—and it didn’t matter. She was still giving everything she had to a goal that belonged entirely to her.

We also dig into the pressure to perform, wanting to be taken seriously without wanting to become a professional athlete, adjusting goals during a race and why fueling may be the most overlooked part of ultrarunning and FKT preparation.

This one starts with wedding chaos and ends up becoming a pretty honest conversation about ambition, recognition and learning how to do hard things for yourself.

Send questions, comments or voicemails to the Free Outside hotline: 541-903-8065.

This episode is supported by Janji. Use code FREEOUTSIDE for 10% off at Janji.com.

It is also supported by Garage Grown Gear, where you can find ultralight gear—and a sleeping pad so you can sleep better than Allison did.

Nine days before the 2026 IAU 100K World Championships, Allison Mercer sprained her ankle and wondered whether she would even reach the starting line. She ultimately ran, finishing 15th in the world and third in the masters competition.

Allison returns to Free Outside to take us inside the entire experience: the frantic ankle rehabilitation, racing 100 kilometers in extreme heat, her fueling and cooling strategy, Courtney Olsen’s late charge to the world title, Charlie Lawrence’s victory and the U.S. men capturing team gold by only 44 seconds. She also explains the sacrifices—and surprising out-of-pocket costs—required to represent Team USA.

Then we discuss Joe “Stringbean” McConaughy’s record-setting John Muir Trail run, their friendly FKT rivalries, ultrarunning’s latest OnlyFans controversy, and why road ultras might be the sport’s most underrated events.

Call or text the Free Outside Hotline with your questions, comments and ideas: 541-903-8065.

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Andy Jones-Wilkins has been part of ultrarunning for more than 30 years. He remembers when races felt like secret societies, runners learned through stories around campfires, trail shoes barely existed and signing up the day before a race was completely normal.

In this episode, AJW and I trace the evolution of ultrarunning through four distinct periods: the campfire era, the golden age of running blogs, the sport’s explosion into the mainstream and its current era of professional athletes, coaches, livestreams and full-time media.

We talk about Anton Krupicka posting 200-mile weeks before Strava, the influence of Born to Run and Unbreakable, Gunhild Swanson’s iconic Western States finish, the resentment surrounding Dean Karnazes’ rise to fame and the transition from mentors offering advice to athletes hiring professional coaches.

AJW also tells the emotional story behind his Cocodona 250 finish. After his friend Rob Martin died unexpectedly, AJW entered the race intending to run the first 125 miles for himself and the second 125 for Rob. During the final miles, he remembered something his father once told him: some things in life are only meant to be done once.

We finish with some wonderfully strange ultrarunning history: syrup bottles used as handhelds, sewn-on shorts pockets, gummy bears melted into a hockey puck, Little Debbie fueling and an $800 pair of custom insoles that injured AJW while he was preparing to win Western States.

This is a wide-ranging conversation about where ultrarunning came from, how it became a professional sport and what we need to protect as it continues growing.

We protect our money like it’s our most valuable resource, but we’re surprisingly careless with something we can never make more of: time.

In this solo episode of the Free Outside Podcast, I’m thinking through impending doom, uncertainty about the future, and why maybe being a little worried about what comes next can actually be useful. We spend so much of life saying “someday”—someday I’ll take the trip, run the race, quit the job, learn the thing, or finally chase the goal. But someday isn’t guaranteed.

I also get into something I’ve wrestled with throughout my life in thru-hiking, ultrarunning, and chasing FKTs: when does pursuing your dreams become selfish? There’s a difference between self-interest and selfishness, and I think a lot of it comes down to understanding the cost our goals have on the people around us.

I talk about quitting my old career, losing pieces of my old community, traveling through Europe, getting older, building a life with other people, and trying to balance big goals with the relationships and community I want to have.

Plus, I read some incredible marriage advice from the Free Outside Hotline, share some outtakes from recording my audiobook, rant about people declaring Ultrarunner and FKT of the Year when it’s only September, and talk about what’s coming next on Free Outside.

Maybe the world is uncertain. Maybe that’s not a reason to wait.

Your money can come back. Your time can’t.