Hey, fam, welcome to the free trail podcast. Of course, I am your host, Dylan Bowman, here today with Dale Garland, the run director

for the Hard Rock 100, a position that he has held for more than 30 years since its inception

in 1992. We are now less than two weeks removed from the 2023 Hard Rock 100, an event that I

have the good fortune of participating in this year.

I'm currently in Silverton, Colorado, trying to acclimatize to altitude and get my butt in shape for this legendary,

beautiful and brutal run in the San Juan Mountains of Southwestern Colorado.

For those who have been at Hard Rock as a runner, volunteer,

crew member, PACER, or simply as a fan and spectator, you know that it is a very special event

with a unique energy. And much of that energy is a reflection of the run director, Mr. Dale

Garland, the only person to hold that position in the

three decades the event has existed. And he is our guest today. We chat about what makes Dale

unique, his career as an educator, lessons in leadership, the early days of hard rock and some

of its legends. We talk about the tension of honoring

the spirit of Hard Rock while evolving with the times. We talk about dealing with criticism,

succession planning, and a lot more. We recorded this a couple of weeks ago, but Dale is such a

great guy. It was an honor to host him on the podcast. Before we get to the show, a big thank you

to Speedland, our presenting

sponsor here on the Free Trail podcast, and my personal shoe of choice. Dave and Kevin have been

hacking together a few one-off options for me to choose from on the Hard Rock course for what is

shaping up to be a very snowy, wet, year at hard rock i just went running with avery

collins the other day who will be rocking a prototype of his forthcoming commission the evolution

of the s l platform i haven't tested yet myself but i have to say it looks sick you can preview

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