Though Mother Nature cut short Shamzi Alkaff’s Moab 240 run this year, he wouldn’t trade the experience, especially since he ran the same trails that made him fall in love with trail running.

Anyone who follows the trail running scene has likely seen the images and videos that came out of Utah last week during the Moab 240. More than 100 started the run, but none finished after severe storms and winds washed away aid stations and stranded runners.

Shamzi was part of the group that ran this year’s race, including several chasing Triple Crown records.

I met Shamzi earlier this summer during a training run at San Antonio’s Babcock Powerlines hosted by the Extra Credit run community. I believe that when you run the powerlines, you’re bound to find someone training for something; in this case, I was right.

Shamzi came to San Antonio by way of Fort Collins, Colorado. A college swimmer, some IRONMAN efforts eventually led him to trail running, and he gradually checked off 100K and 100-mile attempts. Naturally, the road led Shamzi to the 200-mile distance.

We chat about how he found trail running, what volunteering at the Leadville 100 taught him, and his “unfinished business” with the 200-mile distance. Plus, is he planning to complete Moab next year?

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It’s safe to say a love for West Texas flows through Joe Sierra. It’s where he has spent considerable time on trails—at races like Sky Island and the Big Bend Ultra—and the place that helped inspire the design of his run group’s hat.

Joe has appeared on two previous pre-race interviews on Strides, but our conversation comes after Joe finished the 46K at the Broken Arrow Skyrace in June; a race that draws the elites, and for Joe, pushed him to newer limits. We chat about what drew him to the California race, its connection to the famed Western States course, and how his friendship with friend of the show, Javian Quinones, helped Joe reach the starting line.

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Boy Scouts meets endurance sports with a touch of Wes Anderson and Rocky; that is what nearly 30 athletes will experience next month in the Texas Hill Country, courtesy of Javian Quinones and U:LTRA EQUIPMENTS.

For weeks, Javian has been teasing bits and pieces of what campers can expect—from sponsors such as LMNT electrolytes and Rayo Energy—over Instagram. Javian is carving a unique experience with U:EQ and CAMP, rooted in nature.

Part of the experience for campers is not just on the bike or on the trails; guests include an actual Boy Scout, a Master Naturalist, a Media Director prepared to capture unique CAMP content, and more. Campers will even get their own custom-made Field Notes pamphlet to capture their observations and collect badges. Javian plans to put together a zine with copies of all of the participants’ notebooks after CAMP.

We discuss what campers can expect across the weekend, what inspires Javian to pursue this project, and what he has learned along the way.

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To check out some of the U:EQ products, click here.

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Check out Strides on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

Got a topic idea? Feel free to leave a review and email any feedback to stridestrailpod@gmail.com.