Hey friends. Welcome to the free trail podcast. Of course, I am your host, Dylan Bowman,

and today we're joined by one of the all-time

legends, the winningest 100-mile racer in history. The Speedgoat, Carl Meltzer is finally here on

the free trail podcast, and I could not be more honored. As we discussed in today's show,

Carl has been a massive pioneer in the sport and often in ways that I think are underappreciated.

Of course, yes, Carl is among the best to ever lace him up in the sport.

He's got the trophies to prove it.

But he has also been a leader in a lot of other ways.

He was the original marquee athlete for Hoka before it was clear what that

brand would become. He, in some ways, pioneered digital coverage of Long Trail FKT attempts

with his Where's Carl campaign on the Appalachian Trail way back in 2008. He was early to coaching.

He was sort of early to race directing as a pro athlete.

He was certainly early, maybe the first pro athlete to have a signature product that lives on

today with the iconic Speedgoat product from Hoka. And generally, he is just a great example

of making a career within the sport way before it was

practical or realistic for most people to do so i have always looked up to carl as an athlete

and as a professional so we had a lot to cover this was a 90-minute conversation that could

have easily gone for five hours so who knows maybe we'll go longer form again sometime in the near future.

Some topics that we discuss the value of simplicity. We talk about Carl's golfing prowess. We talk

about the founding story of Hoka and Carl's history with the brand. We talk about building a

career in the sport and some of the great stories from the olden days.

We recount a story from the 2012 Run Rabbit Run 100 where Carl passed me in the middle of the

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