Did you ever have your car break down in the middle of nowhere and you had to walk down the highway to get help? And did you have to do that in the middle of a hot, summer day? Now did you also have to end up walking for 314 miles and you didn’t even have a car that broke down…you just walked on the side of a lonely, hot, humid and stormy highway. You know, a vacation WITHOUT a car, as the website says? Yeah, me neither! But my guests today did exactly that. Wes Plate and Joe Hardin each went 314 miles across the state of TN in the hottest part of summer, as part of the Last Annual Vol State 500K Road Race. Today I get to find out just what the heck they were thinking, and what kind of crazy adventures, catastrophes and life lessons they learned on that road. And be sure to stay tuned after the conversation for a new edition of Running Out Loud, where I feature a piece by none other than Joe Hardin. So, grab that Desitin for your feet, a credit card to buy some Gatorade and Twinkies and lets’ get ready to hit the road with Wes and & Joe.

Wes on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/midpackelite/

Joe on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trail_tortoise_running/

Wes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wplate

Wes' film on his 2026 Vol State Road Race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqQsWqLEivE

Joe's "Beyond The Finish Line" podcast on the Everyday Athlete network: https://open.spotify.com/show/1wf56FRHeEdbrl8QIxtXuV

Wes' Copper Kings 100 race: https://www.onwardendurance.com/

Joe's Odd Duck Running Co on IG: https://www.instagram.com/odd_duck_running_co/

Joe's RTB Awards: https://rtbawards.com/

The Last Annual Vol State Road Race site: https://vacationwithoutacar.com/races/vol-state/

Joe’s writings and poetry on Substack: https://sobrietysweatandsawdust.substack.com/

Joey's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Run_Joey_Run

Running Behind on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/running.behind_pod

Joey's Strava Profile: https://www.strava.com/athletes/111237895

Chasing Cutoffs w/Ben Mead (Go listen! It's awesome!):

https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/chasingcutoffs

Artwork by Ed Linder