Trail running has exploded into a global business, and Karl Meltzer somehow ended up at the center of it. HOKA turned his Speedgoat nickname into one of trail running’s defining shoes, Red Bull paid him to chase the Appalachian Trail record, and UTMB eventually bought the race he created.

Karl came up when ultrarunning was tiny and has watched the money, brands, athletes, and races transform around him. Josh and Karl talk about the strange experience of becoming valuable to an industry that barely existed when he started, selling Speedgoat to UTMB, his relationship with HOKA, and what someone who has lived through the entire boom thinks about where trail running goes from here.

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Resources / Links

  1. Salt Lake Foothills Trail Races
  2. Borderlands.cc
  3. La French Trail


Related Episodes

  1. Ultra Running isn't Just Running


Presented by Kiprun.

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Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it.

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