He’s been called the “Mayor of Running,” has run pretty much everywhere, done pretty much everything and spent decades helping runners discover just how much fun this sport can be. His main role was as Chief Running Officer at Runner’s World magazine. He’s also the author of My Life on the Run and more recently 100 Runs of a Lifetime: The World’s Ultimate Races and Trails. Bart Yasso has collected more running stories, adventures and questionable decisions than most of us could fit into a lifetime, and the guys were honoured to chat with him.

The Rundown - upcoming races and events:

Oct 31 – Qualicum Bay 11K and 27K – last race in the Island Trail Series! https://www.islandtrailseries.ca/races/qualicum-bay/

Nov 11 – Prairie Inn Harriers Thetis Lake Relay - https://pih.bc.ca/race

Hornby Island Trail Race (Nov 1) and Finlayson Arm (Nov 15) registrations opening soon! https://www.coastlineendurancerunning.com/

The Island Miles Podcast wants to hear from YOU! Got a topic idea? Know someone doing something cool that should be celebrated? Email us: islandmilespodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram: @islandmilespodcast

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Ever wonder what’s actually happening to your brain when you’re pushing your body during prolonged endurance activity? You’re in luck! Katherine Boere is a human performance researcher and recent PhD graduate from the University of Victoria. Some of her research on cognitive performance took place through athletes running the Royal Victoria Marathon, and she joins the show for a fascinating conversation and provides lots of food for thought for distance runners! The guys also recap the most recent RVM, which was a massive success yet again.

The Rundown - upcoming races and events:

Oct 18 – Edge to Edge – Ucluelet – half and 10K - https://www.edgetoedgemarathon.com/race-schedules/

Oct 18 – Cowichan Autumn Classic – 5K and 10K - https://www.ceevacs.com/cowichan-autumn-classic/

Oct 31 – Qualicum Bay 11K and 27K – last race in the Island Trail Series! https://www.islandtrailseries.ca/races/qualicum-bay/

Island Race Series season passes available now! https://www.islandseries.org/

The Island Miles Podcast wants to hear from YOU! Got a topic idea? Know someone doing something cool that should be celebrated? Email us: islandmilespodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram: @islandmilespodcast

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During the pandemic, Jay and a few of his pals in Nanaimo decided to map out an ultra-marathon in the trails around and over Mount Benson and shared the GPX with some fellow runners. The course got shared around and took on a life of its own, and this grassroots race became the Hillbilly Hustle! The event now has three distances and continues to grow! Jay joined the show to talk about the race and share his own epic running journey, which includes finally conquering his ultimate goal of running Western States this past summer.

The Rundown - upcoming races and events:

Oct 3 – Butterfly Run – Nanaimo – 3K and 5K - https://raceroster.com/events/2026/129809/butterfly-run-vancouver-island-2026

Oct 4 – CIBC Run for the Cure – Nanaimo and Victoria - https://support.cancer.ca/site/PageServer?pagename=RFTC_NW_home

Oct 11 – RVM 8K still has room – https://www.runvictoriamarathon.com/8k-road-race

Oct 18 – Edge to Edge – Ucluelet – half and 10K - https://www.edgetoedgemarathon.com/race-schedules/

The Island Miles Podcast wants to hear from YOU! Got a topic idea? Know someone doing something cool that should be celebrated? Email us: islandmilespodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram: @islandmilespodcast

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We are closing in on the biggest race weekend on the Vancouver Island running calendar, with the Royal Victoria Marathon weekend coming up in early October. Dan is part of the RVM race committee and shares some insights into what the final weeks of preparation look like! Also, Jamie is on the shelf because of some foot issues after running the CVRR Backyard Ultra, and Darren talks in general terms about treatment plans and managing injury recovery, both physically and mentally.

The Rundown - upcoming races and events:

Sept 19 – Poke the Bear – Mount Finlayson repeats - https://sites.google.com/view/island-fat-ass/events/poke-the-bear-ifasir-collab?authuser=0

Sept 20 – Monster Marmot 5K/10K – Mount Washington - https://raceroster.com/events/2026/138146/the-monster-marmot

Sept 26 – Perseverance Trail Run – Cumberland – 3K is sold out, but still room in the 6K and 12K! https://www.perseverancetrailrun.com/

The Island Miles Podcast wants to hear from YOU! Got a topic idea? Know someone doing something cool that should be celebrated? Email us: islandmilespodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram: @islandmilespodcast

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The hottest weather might be behind us, but there are big events coming up where the temps could spike and throw a wrench into race day. There’s a lot to dive into with heat training and heat adaptation, and we’re very fortunate to have Dr. Trent Stellingwerff join us to share his incredible insights. Trent is currently the R&D Director for the Women’s Health, Sport & Performance Institute (WHSP) in Boston, and the Chief Performance Officer at the Canadian Sports Institute Pacific in Victoria. Talk about a busy guy! He’s a great storyteller and has some amazing tails of supporting elite Canadian athletes in the most extreme temperatures, including Olympic Champion Decathlete Damian Warner! We hope you get as much out of this conversation as we did!

More on Dr. Trent Stellingwerff:

https://whspinstitute.org/team

https://www.csipacific.ca/team-members/trent-stellingwerff/

The Rundown - upcoming races and events:

Sept 12/13 - Finlayson Arm 28K/50K/50M and Double (50M and 28K) – https://www.coastlineendurancerunning.com/finlayson-arm-races/

Sept 13 - Tall Tree 10K - Elk/Beaver Lake in Victoria - https://www.talltreehealth.ca/talltree10k

Sept 14 – Terry Fox Run – various locations – https://terryfox.org

Sept 20 – Monster Marmot 5K/10K – Mount Washington - https://raceroster.com/events/2026/138146/the-monster-marmot

The Island Miles Podcast wants to hear from YOU! Got a topic idea? Know someone doing something cool that should be celebrated? Email us: islandmilespodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram: @islandmilespodcast

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For a while Jamie has been intrigued with the quirkiness of Backyard Ultras, which have continued to blow up all over the world. A last person standing event where competitors run a 6.71km loop on the hour, every hour? Who wouldn’t want to take on that kind of torture?! He finally got the chance in late July with the Comox Valley Roadrunners Backyard Ultra, and in this episode he shares his experience, gratitude for the great running club that hosted it, and the cool people he met along the way. How did he do? Did his body hold up, or crash out?

The Rundown - upcoming races and events:

Aug 15 – Island Trail Series - Cobble Hill 12/27K - https://www.islandtrailseries.ca/races/cobble-hill-cobble-hill-mt/

Sept 13 - Tall Tree 10K - Elk/Beaver Lake in Victoria - https://www.talltreehealth.ca/talltree10k

Sept 12/13 - Finlayson Arm 28K/50K/50M and Double (50M and 28K) – https://www.coastlineendurancerunning.com/finlayson-arm-races/

Win your way into the race of your choice at Finlayson Arm with our Instagram contest! https://www.instagram.com/p/DbdoIW8IlXk/

The Island Miles Podcast wants to hear from YOU! Got a topic idea? Know someone doing something cool that should be celebrated? Email us: islandmilespodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram: @islandmilespodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

ParkRun is a free 5K race that happens every Saturday at 9am, all over the world. You sign up once, and you’re ParkRun ready. It’s that simple! Vancouver Island recently got a new addition to our collection, with Beban Park in Nanaimo joining races in the Comox Valley, Shawnigan Lake and Victoria! On this episode the boys chat with Race Director Charlotte Taylor and volunteer Nikki Scott, who share their experience building and launching a ParkRun, and the great community of people it has pulled together. Find the race here: https://www.parkrun.ca/beban/.

Other links:

Chris Sundby in support of Jacob’s Well: https://www.jacobswell.ca/chrisruns2

Jason Kirsch’s Mindfulness Miles: https://eurekasupportsociety.ca/mindfulness-miles/

The Rundown - upcoming races and events:

July 29 – Sunset Run x Dream Mile – PISE in Victoria - https://raceroster.com/events/2026/138385/sunset-run-x-dream-mile

Aug 4 – Nautical Days 4 Miler – Comox Valley - https://cvrr.ca/events/nautical-days-4-miler-2025/

Aug 15 – Island Trail Series - Cobble Hill 12/27K - https://www.islandtrailseries.ca/races/cobble-hill-cobble-hill-mt/

The Island Miles Podcast wants to hear from YOU! Got a topic idea? Know someone doing something cool that should be celebrated? Email

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James Kwinecki lost his vision 10 years ago, which meant basically re-learning many of life’s realities. For some, that might have been reason enough to stop reaching, but not for James, who has played blind baseball, rowed with the National team, and eventually, became a passionate runner. He has now run five marathons, including smashing Boston in 3:11. But he hasn’t done it alone, and on this episode James and his guide Mo Mannoe talk about their shared running journey and friendship.

The Rundown - upcoming races and events:

July 11 - Devil’s Ladder - Cumberland – room left in the 30K! https://devilsladderultra.com/

July 28 - Buckin’ Hell - 35K/50K and 50K relay - North Vancouver - https://trailrunning.ca/race/buckin-hell/

Aug 15 – Island Trail Series - Cobble Hill 12/27K - https://www.islandtrailseries.ca/races/cobble-hill-cobble-hill-mt/

Sept 20 - Monster Marmot 5K/10K trail race at Mount Washington - https://raceroster.com/events/2026/138146/the-monster-marmot

The Island Miles Podcast wants to hear from YOU! Got a topic idea? Know someone doing something cool that should be celebrated? Email us: islandmilespodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram: @islandmilespodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.