This week, I’m breaking down everything I think about when it comes to moving efficiently in the rugged Northeast mountains during summer. Shoes, gear, strategies & more. If you don't listen, it could be summed up simply as: don’t ever stop moving, bring the lightest gear (safely) possible & don’t fight the trails and its many obstacles, just keep moving forward relentlessly and as unphased as you can.

First I go through shoe choice. I like a shoe with great grip, big lugs, light as possible, and cushion and stack height that vary by distance: low stack and minimal cush for short uphill, low stack and medium cush for short up down, medium stack to a lot of cush for ultra distance.

Then, I go through all my gear and tricks to bring the essentials while staying lightweight. This is not a safety talk, this is an efficiency talk! Linking the NH hike safe 10 essentials in the episode!

I discuss a few debatable topics:

• Pack vs belt

• Poles vs. no poles

• Running vs. hiking inclines.

Give it a listen and learn and maybe you can add something to your kit. Drop any good gear hacks in the comments. Always looking to upgrade my own kit.

NH HIKE SAFETY INFORMATION:https://www.wildlife.nh.gov/get-outside/hiking-safety

YOUTUBE

https://www.youtube.com/@runmountainpeaks

TRAINING & NUTRITION INFO

https://substack.com/@runmountainpeaks

FREE ENDURANCE TRAINING GUIDE

https://www.runmountainpeaks.com/run-coaching

FOLLOW

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#TrailRunning #Mountains #WhiteMountainNationalForest

This week, I dive into how the podcast came to be, lessons learned through 6 months, and how I feel being a content creator. Two years ago, I had zero social media presence, no TV, no laptop & no wifi. Now I’m posting a weekly podcast and posting on multiple social media platforms almost daily. The transition was gnarly and I talk about all the growing pains and why doing a podcast is so much harder than I thought. I also got my first full fledged hate message and I break that down lol

I talk about the spectrum of professional athletes/trail running and content creators. I think they are actually doing the same thing in a sense. And embracing the two together isn’t a bad thing at all for most people.

Lastly, I discuss my thoughts on the Northeast trail scene and why this region can get overlooked by some people, brands and the media in general.

Give it a listen.

YOUTUBE

https://www.youtube.com/@runmountainpeaks

TRAINING & NUTRITION INFO

https://substack.com/@runmountainpeaks

FREE ENDURANCE TRAINING GUIDE

https://www.runmountainpeaks.com/run-coaching

FOLLOW

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runmountainpeaks/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61588592565447

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#TrailRunning #Mountains #WhiteMountainNationalForest

This week I interviewed Joe Palisi. He is a runner, hiker, climber and skier and this March became the first person to finish the Northeast Ultra 8 Gold Skyrunner Challenge. Joe completed the Presi Traverse, Pemi Loop, Mahoosuc Traverse, Devil’s Path, Great Range Traverse, Taconic Crest Traverse, Saranac 6 & Cranberry 50 in both summer and winter all under strict time limits. These are eight of the toughest single day routes in the northeast and he had some crazy and epic stories getting this project done. He’s a great athlete, strong runner & hiker and a good dude.

I ended the episode with a discussion on trail conditions and trail season, race results and race previews, and a bit of a deep dive into some “dream talk”.

Give it a listen.

HOW TO FIND JOE:

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/joe.palisi/

STRAVA: https://strava.app.link/Q8ZAnr0ar2b

YOUTUBE

https://www.youtube.com/@runmountainpeaks

TRAINING & NUTRITION INFO

https://substack.com/@runmountainpeaks

FREE ENDURANCE TRAINING GUIDE

https://www.runmountainpeaks.com/run-coaching

FOLLOW

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runmountainpeaks/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61588592565447

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Threads: https://www.threads.com/@runmountainpeaks?hl=en

X: https://x.com/runmtnpeaks

#TrailRunning #Mountains #WhiteMountainNationalForest

This week’s episode is an unplanned deep dive into setbacks and the uncertainty of training & running goals. I was gearing up for an FKT attempt, but an untimely ankle roll on my bad ankle that just got good, changed my plans and gave me some flashbacks of my long recovery this fall/winter. Luckily, it wasn’t bad at all and should be fine in the near future. I still wanted to get an effort in so I decided to give an uphill only push to limit the impact on the ankle. I landed on a time trial up North Uncanoonuc and tied for the overall crown on a stacked leaderboard. I gave some thoughts and take aways on the effort. I also threw in some last minute thoughts on the latest season of Love on the Spectrum (with a couple more follow up points to come), plus race previews and recaps from the New England ultra scene.Give it a listen.

YOUTUBE

https://www.youtube.com/@runmountainpeaks

TRAINING & NUTRITION INFO

https://substack.com/@runmountainpeaks

FREE ENDURANCE TRAINING GUIDE

https://www.runmountainpeaks.com/run-coaching

FOLLOW

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runmountainpeaks/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61588592565447

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Threads: https://www.threads.com/@runmountainpeaks?hl=en

X: https://x.com/runmtnpeaks

#TrailRunning #Mountains #WhiteMountainNationalForest

This week I talked through the essentials in my training and coaching philosophy for mountain running and ultra running. I think there is so much information out there, quick hacks, new research, supplements, etc. that it is hard to know what to focus on and what is worth it. But I truly believe that endurance training fundamentals along with unwavering consistency is where all the gains are actually made. I talk through everything and give personal insights on how I've used it myself to become stronger in the mountains. If you don’t believe me, here’s what one of my close buddies has to say about it:

“Reality is that 99% of our capacity comes from the BASIC and INDIVIDUAL boring and unexciting training.” - Kilian Jornet, January 2026, Trail Running 2026, where are we, where are we going.

Also, one resource that really helped me when I started seriously training 4 or 5 years ago was the book Training for the Uphill Athlete by Scott Johnston. For anyone looking to train themselves I highly recommend reading it through and then building from there with more recent research and strategies. For a long time I slept with it on my tote box nightstand lol.

Lastly, maybe I am delusional about my own goals, but one thing that I think a lot of people underestimate is their own potential. I think the best of the best have just been working WAY harder and WAY longer than the rest. How many YEARS are you willing to put in to achieve your goals? (Running, hiking or other goals).

OKAY that got a little out of hand but maybe not. After the training talk I give you a slightly dramatic story about me accidentally throwing a water bottle at somebody the first day at my new gym. Did a Runamuck 50k preview. Big hype for this race. It's back after two years and some sluggers have signed up. Then I wrap up with a couple more quick race previews and some results.

YOUTUBE

https://www.youtube.com/@runmountainpeaks

TRAINING & NUTRITION INFO

https://substack.com/@runmountainpeaks

FREE ENDURANCE TRAINING GUIDE

https://www.runmountainpeaks.com/run-coaching

FOLLOW

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runmountainpeaks/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61588592565447

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Threads: https://www.threads.com/@runmountainpeaks?hl=en

X: https://x.com/runmtnpeaks

#TrailRunning #Mountains #WhiteMountainNationalForest

This week I sat down with Conor Brown. He is a hiker and trail runner that has accomplished some pretty mind blowing feats over the past few years. He was the finisher at the inaugural Mt. Ascutney Vertical Backyard Ultra, hiking over 200 miles and 108k ft of climbing in a single push over four days. He set records for most summits in 24 hours on his home mountains North Ucanoonuc and South Uncanoonuc (48 & 58 respectively). He thru hiked the Appalachian Trail. Had an impressive win at the well known Manchester to Monadnock ultramarathon and a blazing time at the Jigger Johnson 50 miler. He’s young, he’s tough and he’s fast. We talked about how he got started with all this madness and touched on most of his big efforts. Give it a listen.

HOW TO FIND CONOR:

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/conorbrwn/

STRAVA: https://strava.app.link/jwlLR9yWZHb

YOUTUBE

https://www.youtube.com/@runmountainpeaks

TRAINING & NUTRITION INFO

https://substack.com/@runmountainpeaks

FREE ENDURANCE TRAINING GUIDE

https://www.runmountainpeaks.com/run-coaching

FOLLOW

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runmountainpeaks/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61588592565447

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@runmountainpeaks

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@runmountainpeaks?hl=en

X: https://x.com/runmtnpeaks

#TrailRunning #Mountains #WhiteMountainNationalForest

This week I give my New Hampshire spring trail & mountain running playbook. Dirt, rocks and roots are here, you just gotta go find them. Spring shoulder season in the White Mountains is full of postholes, rapidly changing trail conditions and other surprises. I usually take this time to check out a handful of other mountain gems in the region, of which there are many. Some of these are very popular, some of these are more off the beaten path. All awesome trails. Lots of dirt in my future, spring is almost here and I’m getting stoked.

I finish the episode off with some race talk. Trustrength Uphill Will 24 hr and F.I.T. Trail races went down last weekend. And next weekend is “one of the toughest, gnarliest races in the Northeast!”, the Sleeping Giant Trail Runs. I share my research and thoughts. Lots of crushers on the entrants list.

INSTAGRAM

https://www.instagram.com/runmountainpeaks/

YOUTUBE

https://www.youtube.com/@runmountainpeaks

TRAINING & NUTRITION INFO

https://substack.com/@runmountainpeaks

FREE ENDURANCE TRAINING GUIDE

https://www.runmountainpeaks.com/run-coaching

#TrailRunning #Mountains #WhiteMountainNationalForest

This week I'm diving into a recent time trial effort I did on my local peak. I ran the same 1 mile route (510ft of climbing) twice in the span of five days. The first effort was at a 7:37min/mi pace, but during the second effort, I was able to knock off almost 30 seconds and run a 7:08min/mi pace (4:50min/mi grade adjusted pace).

Obviously, I didn’t gain a ton of fitness in those five days, so I talk through some of the “race” day execution that let me run faster and be mentally stronger in the red. Short, fast road efforts are not my strong suit, but I think there is a lot of value in getting out of your comfort zone. I plan on mixing more of these efforts in between my ultramarathons.

Then, I talk about my injury history. I’ve dealt with so many different running injuries over the last handful of years. I discuss the two major injuries that have taken the most time to come back from: bone stress injuries in my shins & ankle pain that became problematic due to a 10 year old injury that left my ankle not quite fully functional.

I finish up with a look at the race calendar, including results from the BURCS Satan’s Sidewalk virtual race from February and a preview of some events coming up in Rhode Island, Maine, and Massachusetts. Give it a listen.

INSTAGRAM

https://www.instagram.com/runmountainpeaks/

YOUTUBE

https://www.youtube.com/@runmountainpeaks

TRAINING & NUTRITION INFO

https://substack.com/@runmountainpeaks

FREE ENDURANCE TRAINING GUIDE

https://www.runmountainpeaks.com/run-coaching

#TrailRunning #Mountains #WhiteMountainNationalForest