Trail Running Women

I'm so excited to have Alyssa Clark back on the podcast! We dive deep into the mental side of running and why racing your best takes more than just one mental strategy. It's about building a whole toolbox of skills and knowing when to pull out the right one.

Alyssa was already an incredibly accomplished runner, so hearing how she continued to explore, learn, and find new ways to overcome challenges through her mental game is pretty cool. There's always another layer, and this conversation is a great reminder that we can keep getting better.

Find her @theory_in_motion

Find Hilary and Lauren @trailrunningwomenpod - reach out for group and one on one coaching options!

We have some great listener questions for our first episode of Trail Tips with Lauren!

We chat gear, 100 mile training, maintenance phases, and pelvic floor health. What is the best rain coat? How little can you do and still pull off a 100 miler? Should the state of your pelvic floor stop you from running? All that and more!

Interested in coaching?

Find Lauren @lauren@ruggedconditioning.com or @laurenandrews604 or me (Hilary ) at @trailrunningwomenpod or @hilsport55

Training catch up with Lauren!

We chat about why effort can sometimes matter more than hitting an exact pace, and how stress and everything happening outside of running can sneak into your performance.

We also talk about learning to embrace the tough parts instead of constantly fighting them, and reminding ourselves that a run doesn't have to go perfectly to still be a good one.

Interested in coaching?

Find Lauren @ lauren@ruggedconditioning.com or @laurenandrews604 or me (Hilary ) at @trailrunningwomenpod or @hilsport55

I'm SO excited to be back, and this time with Lauren Andrews!

Lauren is a mom, a sub-3-hour marathoner, a coach, and a rising force in the trail running world. She brings the perspective of an accomplished athlete who understands what it takes to chase big goals. I could not be more excited to have her as our newest coach at Rugged Conditioning.

What's next for the pod? We will check in every month with life, running, and motherhood updates while also giving useful coaching tips and taking listener Q & A.

If you'd like to work with Lauren - reach out at lauren@ruggedconditioning.com or drop us a line @trailrunningwomenpod

Note ready for one on one? I also have space available in our group coaching - reach out for details! hilary@ruggedconditioning.com

A little catch-up on life, training, injuries, and where my head is at—and a little teaser of what's coming next for the podcast.

Stay tuned - Introducing a new assistant coach and future coaching Q&A episodes!

If you want your questions answered first - send them to hilary@ruggedconditioning.com

Find us at @trailrunningwomenpod

The future of the podcast :)

Kaz has a PhD in human behaviour and MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology, and has studied our power to perform when faced with adversity. Passionate about helping people believe in themselves she explores what is it about our fears, courage, resilience, and mindset, that drives us to succeed or sabotages us? And Kaz loves to run far.

Her trail running journey started in Chamonix, France with the Mont Blanc Marathon and UTMB races. Favorite adventures include Tahoe 200 (3rd F), Moab 240 (2nd F), Ouray 100 (1st F), Tot Dret, Italy (3rd F) and Across the Years (420 miles in 10 days – 3rd F), plus successfully completing 1 crazy loop of The Barkley Marathons, and most recently finishing Last Annual Vol State, a 500K continuous and self-supported race across Tennessee.

Follow the new pod insta @trailrunningwomenpod !!

Find Kaz @mountainkaz

Emma K. Wagner is a mental performance consultant (MPC) finishing up her Master's degree in sport and exercise psychology at Springfield College. She works in the endurance sport space, specifically with ultramarathon runners, trail runners, and triathletes. She has worked at mammoth trailfest and will be back this year! She will be working in Colorado Springs in the fall with Summit Sport Psychology.

We cover all things mental game and how to handle your mind mid race

Find her @emmawagner.mpc

Find us @trailrunningwomenpod

We are back with Jeff the foot specialst! We tackle listener quesetions on all things feet + running.

Liz is an accomplished ultra runner who also broke the three-hour barrier in the marathon. In this episode, we dive into how she got there—and it wasn't a smooth or easy path. Her journey of accepting that it will hurt, and learning how to respond to that pain, is something every runner can take something from, no matter the distance

More from Liz @runningtherockies

More from Me @trailrunningwomenpod and @hilsport55

Race Recap of Orcas Island 100 Mile! I recorded this as soon after the race as possible, so forgive the slightly foggy details—post-100-mile brain mush is real.

Race Highlights

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Distance: 100 miles

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Elevation Gain: ~8,000 meters / 26,000 feet

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Result: 2nd place female, 10th overall

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Hallucinations: 2

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Brits: 2

• Moms: 3

Shoutouts Huge thank you to my amazing crew and pacers, Hollie and Katie!!

It's Orcas 100 week! 🎉

In this solo episode, I'm diving into what it looks like to train for a 100-miler while raising kids — including listener Q&A. We'll talk about squeezing in long runs during ski season, balancing work and life, gear, and everything else that goes into getting to the start line feeling ready.

Find us @trailrunningwomenpod

More from me @hilsport55

Rene Unser is a coach, race director, and accomplished trail runner who's taken on countless ultras, including multiple stage races. We talk about how training evolves as you grow — not just as an athlete, but as a person — and the lessons that come with that process. Her passion for building community led to PACE Trail Running, now home to some of BC's best races, clinics, and coaching. She was an absolute blast to chat with.

@reneruns

@trailrunningwomenpod

https://www.pacetrailruns.com

Ria Xi is a Chinese-born ultrarunner attempting to become the first human to run across Asia and Europe on the Silk Road—20,000 kilometers from Vladivostok to Lisbon. After burning out from her tech career in Silicon Valley and struggling with mental health challenges, she discovered running as a path back to meaning. Within a year, she went from barely finishing a half marathon to setting FKTs on the Via Francigena and Camino de Santiago, and becoming the first person to run Egypt's 539km Sinai Trail. In May 2026, she'll begin a 14-month journey across 17 countries, building what she calls the "Planetary Run Club"—a community-driven project centered on human connection in a dividing world.

Follow her journey at @whereisriax.

Her Go Fun me is below!

https://gofund.me/ce935eb43

Find me @hilsport55 and @trailrunningwomenpod

I'm joined by the incredible runner and coach Jenny Quilty! We're ripping through listener questions on everything from getting through the lows and flying through aid stations, to 100km training, racing postpartum, losing muscle as a runner, and so much more.

Find Jenny @adventuresofjenthar and her coaching here https://pacificpinerunningco.com

More from me @hilsport55

Photo: @a.alevesque

Use TRW at www.naak.com for 15% off!

Callie Vinson is an ultrarunner who is making a huge impact advocating for body diversity and inclusivity within outdoor sports. She went from being unable to run 1 mile, to losing 200 lbs and running 240 miles at Moab. She's doing a lot of work to motivate others to get outdoors through sharing her story on instagram @callievinsonn. She's gearing up to run Western States 100 where she will be running to raise awareness for indigenous runners through Rising Hearts. A replay fav!!

More from me @hilsport55

For my personal trainign blog: Patreon!

Use TRW at www.naak.com for 15% off!

All things Mental Toughness! Alyssa is an outstanding runner and has toughed through the most extreme conditions. This is an episode you will not want to miss!

How to get out the door day after day, how to finish a hard workout, how to keep going in a race, and how to stay determined.

More from Alyssa @theory_in_motion

More from me @hilsport55

For my personal trainign blog: Patreon!

Trish's fitness journey began with the birth of her first child, Jess, in 1990. Her mom had battled with obesity and was unable to participate in most activities. Trish was determined to do it differently and wanted to be fit enough to be active with her kids. Her running journey began in 2020 when her next daughter Ally signed up to run a marathon and asked her to train to run a 5k with her as part of her training. Her initial response was "I'm not a runner", but ultimately, she couldn't say no. Trish talks about learning to run in your 40's and 50's and the importance of strength training. She had to overcome hip surgery and begin learning how to build up properly. Eventually, with a lot of work and even more determination she ran a full marathon herself.

For my personal trainign blog: Patreon!

Find more from the podcast @trailrunningwomenpod

My personal @hilsport55

I've been curious about stem cells since I started running, so I'm so excited to finally get to dive into it with Dr. Dan Pardi. Can they help us recover better and run longer?

Dr. Dan Pardi is the Chief Health Officer at Qualia Life Sciences, where he leads education to advance healthspan and peak performance. He's the founder of humanOS.me and host of humanOS Radio, the official podcast of the Sleep Research Society. Dan has advised elite military units, Fortune 500 companies, and startups through his consultancy, Vivendi Health. He holds a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience from Leiden University and Stanford, and speaks regularly at events like TEDx, VC Firms, and the Institute for Human Machine Cognition.

Link: http://qualialife.com/trw

TRW(listeners get an additional 15% off any Qualia order)

For my personal trainign blog: Patreon!

Try Naak at naak.com and use discount code TRW for 15% OFF

More from me @trailrunningwomenpod and @hilsport55

Bre Mirynech has been trail running for the past 6 years. She moved to Banf if 2013 and was big into climbing, hiking, mountaineering, snowboarding, backpacking- you name it. Over the years however, she really noticed the risk of a lot of it starting to take its toll on her mental space when she was out adventuring, and eventually came to a place where she was struggling to find the fun in it anymore. This led her to really fall in love with trail running. It satisfied her adventurous side, her love of the outdoors and movement, but it gave her back the spark of "fun". She has been all in on it ever since!

For my personal trainign blog: Patreon!

Try Naak at naak.com and use discount code TRW for 15% OFF

More from Bre @bremirynech

More from me @trailrunningwomenpod and @hilsport55