Rest Day | TROY Recap & Stats, Addressing Criticism, Free Agency, + Road to Trail News
The Freetrail Podcast with Dylan Bowman
Release Date: 01/16/2026
Beth McKenzie | Anti-Doping, Entrepreneurship, & Maintaining Love of Sport
The Freetrail Podcast with Dylan Bowman
is an American pro trail runner living in Australia. She is also the Founder and CEO of , a performance sports apparel brand, and a mother of two. Over the last two seasons, Beth has accumulated several very strong performances including 2x podium finishes at Ultra Trail Australia and 2x podium finishes at Tarawera. Last fall, in her 100 mile debut, she finished 2nd place at the Javelina Jundred. Previous to her trail running career, Beth was a professional triathlete where she and her husband both enjoyed very successful careers. During that time, Beth tested positive for...
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Rest Day | TROY Recap & Stats, Addressing Criticism, Free Agency, + Road to Trail News
The Freetrail Podcast with Dylan Bowman
Welcome to Rest Day, Freetrail's occasional news pod covering the latest happenings in trail running. This week we're joined by to talk through the following topics: Trail Runner of the Year voting process, results recap & stats Interpreting the results and what we can learn Confronting TROY criticism Free agency news: Hans Troyer, Will Murray, Theo Detienne, Ben Dhiman, etc. Road to trail news: Molly Seidel, Des Linden, & Shelby Houlihan Tim's Transcendent Truth A lot more! Chapters 03:26 – Introduction...
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Will Murray | Mastery in Simplicity + Going Pro
The Freetrail Podcast with Dylan Bowman
is a pro trail runner living in Bellingham, WA. He was one of the breakout stars of the 2025 season, finishing 2nd at the Black Canyon 100k and winning the Javelina Jundred in a new course record time. Entering the 2026 season in partnership with Brooks, Will is poised to continue the momentum into a new year and towards the Western States 100 - his main goal for the season. This is his first time on the podcast. Chapters: 04:15 – Introduction and Personal Insights 06:59 – Recognition as #8 Ultra Runner of the Year 09:40 – Athletic Roots and Trail Running...
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Jim Walmsley & Katie Schide | #1 Trail Runner of the Year
The Freetrail Podcast with Dylan Bowman
Today we welcome the #1 Trail Runners of the Year, and , both Americans who currently reside in France. This is the second time each has won our prestigious award and they've both been featured all four years of TROY's existence. Jim's season was anything but straight forward. He started with a big win at Chianti by UTMB in the spring before an injury prevented him from defending his win at the Western States 100. Luckily, he bounced back in a big way, winning OCC in August and then the Long Trail World Championship in September - the second individual gold medal of...
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Ruth Croft & Francesco Puppi | #2 Trail Runner of the Year
The Freetrail Podcast with Dylan Bowman
Today we welcome the #2 Trail Runners of the Year, of New Zealand and of Italy. We start with Ruth who is unquestionably one of the best to ever do it. This season, she started with a huge victory at Tarawera, another at the MaXi Race 60k, all building towards UTMB where she won in what felt like a flawlessly executed performance. In doing so, Ruth became only the second person to win all three of the UTMB world final events, showing her career-long consistency and range across distances. Francesco Puppi posted the best season of...
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Caleb Olson & Sara Alonso | #3 Trail Runner of the Year
The Freetrail Podcast with Dylan Bowman
This episode is part of Freetrail's annual Trail Runner of the Year Rollout -- an opportunity to reflect on the 2025 season and celebrate the athletes who performed the best according to the global trail running community. We're proud to partner with to bring the awards to life. Today we welcome the #3 Trail Runners of the Year, Caleb Olson of the USA and Sara Alonso of Spain. Caleb established himself as one of the best long course athletes in the world, starting his season with a huge win and CR at Transgrancanaria before focusing...
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Abby Hall & Elhousine Elazzaoui | #4 Trail Runner of the Year
The Freetrail Podcast with Dylan Bowman
This episode is part of Freetrail's annual Trail Runner of the Year Rollout -- an opportunity to reflect on the 2025 season and celebrate the athletes who performed the best according to the global trail running community. We're proud to partner with to bring the awards to life. Today we welcome the #4 Trail Runners of the Year, Abby Hall and Elhousine Elazzaoui. Elhousine, our reigning 2024 Trail Runner of the Year, posted another amazing season, winning the Golden Trail World Series for the second year in a row, including...
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Tom Evans & Nina Engelhard | #5 Trail Runner of the Year
The Freetrail Podcast with Dylan Bowman
This episode is part of Freetrail's annual Trail Runner of the Year Rollout -- an opportunity to reflect on the 2025 season and celebrate the athletes who performed the best according to the global trail running community. In 2025, we're proud to partner with to bring the awards to life. Today we welcome the #5 Trail Runners of the Year, Tom Evans and Nina Engelhard. Tom enjoyed a perfect, undefeated season including winning the 2025 UTMB. Nina might be the biggest breakout star in the sport, winning double Gold Medals in both the Vertical and the Classic...
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Trail Running Year in Review 2025 | Athletes, Performances, FKTs, Rookies, Storylines, 2026 Predictions & More
The Freetrail Podcast with Dylan Bowman
For the fourth year in a row, returns for our end-of-season retrospective podcast to summarize the year in trail running. It was another incredible season with so many amazing athletes and performances - we do our best to encapsulate everything in this episode. The Docket: 00:00 Celebrating Trail Running Traditions 12:21 Trail Runner of the Year: Women's Picks 20:40 Trail Runner of the Year: Men's Picks 33:00 Trail Performances of the Year 39:06 Rookies of the Year 45:18 Key Storylines of 2025 50:58 The Bill Dooper Spirit Award: Celebrating...
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Asker Jeukendrup | Endurance Nutrition Masterclass
The Freetrail Podcast with Dylan Bowman
is a sport scientist whose work has been massively influential, especially in the world of endurance nutrition. His resume is incredible, working with many of the top athletes, teams, brands, and research institutions during his remarkable career. In addition to his academic, consulting, and speaking work, Asker is a co-founder of Neversecond -- a leading supplier of feuling and recovery products in endurance sport and an important partner of Freetrail. This is Asker's first appearance on the podcast. Timestamps: 04:15 What Makes You You? 09:28...
info_outlineWelcome to Rest Day, Freetrail's occasional news pod covering the latest happenings in trail running. This week we're joined by Tim Tollefson to talk through the following topics:
- Trail Runner of the Year voting process, results recap & stats
- Interpreting the results and what we can learn
- Confronting TROY criticism
- Free agency news: Hans Troyer, Will Murray, Theo Detienne, Ben Dhiman, etc.
- Road to trail news: Molly Seidel, Des Linden, & Shelby Houlihan
- Tim's Transcendent Truth
- A lot more!
Chapters
03:26 – Introduction and Overview of Trail Runner of the Year
06:30 – Voting Process and Community Engagement
09:12 – Nationality Diversity in Rankings
11:52 – Distance Dynamics: Long, Short, and Mid-Distance Athletes
14:46 – Significance of Major Races and Championships
18:03 – The Rise of 200-Mile Racing and Its Recognition
20:58 – Criticism and Community Feedback on Rankings
42:19 – The Rise of 200-Mile Races
44:39 – Criticism and Integrity in Trail Running
47:00 – The Fragmentation of Trail Running
50:34 – Free Agency News and Athlete Transfers
59:51 – Emerging Athletes and New Partnerships
01:03:04 – The Complexities of Doping in Sports
01:09:35 – Tim's Transcendent Truth
Sponsors:
- Grab a trail running pack from Osprey
- Use code FREETRAIL25 for 25% off your first order of NEVERSECOND nutrition at never2.com
- Go to ketone.com/freetrail30 for 30% off a subscription of Ketone IQ
Freetrail Links: Website | Freetrail Pro | Patreon | Instagram | Yo