Free Outside

Joe McConaughy: The “4-Minute Miler” Who Broke the John Muir Trail Record

Joe “Stringbean” McConaughy recently set the supported fastest known time on the John Muir Trail. Somehow, he did it on only 38 minutes of sleep—and felt better on the th

Hallucinations, a Broken Pack, and a JMT Record

The John Muir Trail is back in the FKT spotlight, so I dug up the story of one of the wildest things I have ever done. In 2022, I started in Yosemite carrying everything

Should I Ride a Unicycle Into My Wedding?

Nine days before our wedding, Allison Powell and I sit down to settle the truly important details: whether I can ride a unicycle into the ceremony, where Ted will sit and

15th in the World on a Sprained Ankle: Inside the 100K World Championships

Nine days before the 2026 IAU 100K World Championships, Allison Mercer sprained her ankle and wondered whether she would even reach the starting line. She ultimately ran,

Ultrarunning Was Never Supposed to Get This Big

Andy Jones-Wilkins has been part of ultrarunning for more than 30 years. He remembers when races felt like secret societies, runners learned through stories around campfi

Time Is Worth More Than Your Money

We protect our money like it’s our most valuable resource, but we’re surprisingly careless with something we can never make more of: time. In this solo episode of the Fr

550 Miles Unsupported: Cody Taylor’s Long Trail Yo-Yo FKT

Cody Taylor returns to the Free Outside Podcast after completing one of the most ambitious unsupported hiking efforts on Vermont’s Long Trail: a complete out-and-back, al

Ben Dhiman: Before he was a UTMB Champion

Ben Dhiman is now a UTMB champion, but his path to the top of ultrarunning started long before he considered himself a runner. Ben thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail and C

3.65 Million Feet in One Year with Amber Constant

Amber Constant is attempting to climb 3.65 million vertical feet in a single year and claim the overall vertical world record. Rave Cave Playlist: https://open.spotify.c

Six Hours in the Hot Seat and a Huge Week in Ultrarunning

My Appalachian Trail record film, Rewritten, is finally out in the world. In this episode, I take you behind the scenes of the documentary and share part of the six-hour

The Goal I Was Afraid to Say Out Loud + The Story Behind Rewritten

For years, there was one goal I wasn't sure I was good enough to accomplish: breaking the self-supported Appalachian Trail record. I planned to try in 2020. It never hap

Appalachian Trail Record Untold Stories (and a Costco Pizza)

What does an Appalachian Trail record attempt look like from the perspective of the person watching from home? Check out the substack on eating an entire Costco Pizza: h

You Can’t Buy Your Way to the Top of Running?

Derrick Lytle has spent the year filming some of the best ultrarunners in the world at Western States, Hardrock, Speedgoat, Black Canyon, and beyond. After watching elite

Doping, Money and the Future of Ultrarunning with Zach Bitter

Running culture is changing fast. Athletes now share every workout, fans follow races year-round, money and attention are concentrated around a handful of major events, a

What Have Adventures Lost? | Halfway Anywhere

Mac, the creator of Halfway Anywhere and the annual PCT Thru-Hiker Survey, joins the show to talk about hiking Corsica’s GR20, how the Pacific Crest Trail has changed, an

How I Trained for the Appalachian Trail Record (+ Our New Podcast)

One year after standing on Katahdin wondering if I even had a chance, I finally sat down to break down exactly how I trained for the Appalachian Trail self-supported FKT.

You Don't Have to Live the Life Everyone Expects | Mike Kratzer

I met Mike Kratzer at the Zugspitze 100 after organizers turned our 100-mile race into a 100K just hours before the start. Somewhere between sharing a helmet that I never

Records are falling everywhere (Badwater, PCT, mile world record)

Every weekend it feels like another record falls. This week we're diving into one of the biggest stretches of performances trail running has seen in years. We break down

Beyond Western States with Canyon Woodward

Western States made Canyon Woodward one of the top ultrarunners in America—but that's only part of his story. Before earning a top-10 finish at Western States, Canyon sp

My Wildest Hitchhiking Stories From Europe

This week is a little different. We catch up on everything happening in the trail running world, from Greybeard's incredible Appalachian Trail attempt and the latest Pac