Hello, friends. Welcome to the free trial podcast. Of course, I'm your host Dylan Bowman here today with Craig Thornley,

the race director for the iconic Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run, the granddaddy of them

all, the oldest 100-mile trail race in the world, which in 2023 celebrates its 50th year.

This is Craig's 11th year as the race director, a tenure that by all objective measures

has been wildly successful, so it was great to finally get Craig on the show. In the conversation,

we discussed the Memorial Day training camp last weekend. We discussed Craig's predecessor,

Greg Soderland. We talk about the race's nonprofit status and how that makes it

different. We talk about Craig's incredible history as a volunteer. And as a racer at Western

States, we talk about the restoration effort after the mosquito fire last fall. We talk about

lessons in leadership, the 2023 snowpack, the 2024 golden

ticket calendar that was just announced, and a lot more.

It was an honor to have Craig on the show, and I hope you all enjoy the conversation.

As always, the free trail podcast is presented by our good friends at Speedland, the footwear

partners and the makers of the GS-Tam, the new

maximally cushioned trail shoe released this past spring. The GS-Tam is the third commission

for Speedland, and we're all super proud of this amazing product. Like the other two footwear commissions,

the GS-Tam is made in small quantities.

We are already out of size 13s and we are running low on inventory and some of the other more popular sizes.

So if you're on the fence, now would be a good time to go grab a pair in your size before they sell out and are therefore gone forever. Go grab a pair. And when you do so,

please use code free trail 10 for 10% off your order over at run speedland.com. Use code free

trail 10. If you're in the market for some coaching, check out free trail experts where

badass trail pros like Black Canyon champion, Keeeley Henninger and Team USA athletes,

...