The MidPacker Pod is part of the Freetrail network of Podcasts. You can now support the MidPacker Pod on Patreon. Make sure you leave us a rating and review wherever you get your pods. Want to leave Troy some feedback, recommend a guest, or make a suggestion? LINK HERE In this episode, Troy Meadows talks with Sarah Lavender Smith, an ultra runner, writer, and horse mom based in Telluride CO, who is passionate about women's participation in ultrarunning and sharing her knowledge and experiences with the trail running community through her weekly newsletter:   Colorado Mountain Running & Living  ←— This is a weekly must-read!!!  Sarah Lavender Smith, an experienced ultra runner and coach, discusses her background in trail running, the challenges of balancing running and family life, and the importance of longevity in the sport. She also shares insights on coaching midlife midpackers and helping road runners transition to the trails. Sarah's book, The Trail Runner's Companion, provides practical advice and training plans for trail runners of all levels. She also writes a weekly newsletter that offers valuable insights and inspiration for trail runners. In this conversation, Troy and Sarah discuss loop runs and training stimulus, the need for Western States to separate from UTMB, the impact of UTMB on independent races, increasing female representation in hard rock and Western States, the power of athletes in shaping the sport, Sarah's race calendar for 2024,  Sarahs Links Website - https://www.sarahlavendersmith.com/ IG - @sarahrunning Links to things we talked about on the pod The Trail Runner's Companion Sarah’s Articles for TrailRunner Sarah’s Articles for UltraRunner Magazine Running Up for Air Grandeur Peak 12-hour Run The Rocks Moab 3-Day Stage Race Lion Devide 100k Grand to Grand Ultra Stage Race Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Background 03:10 Getting Started in Trail Running 10:06 Longevity in the Sport 18:10 Balancing Running and Family Life 25:18 Coaching Midlife Midpackers 34:21 Transitioning from Road Running to Trail Running 39:05 Writing the Trail Runner's Companion 42:36 The Trail Runner's Companion Newsletter 43:30 Loop Runs and Training Stimulus 44:26 Separating Western States from UTMB 45:20 UTMB's Influence on Independent Races 48:05 The Impact of UTMB on Grindstone 49:24 Increasing Female Representation in Hard Rock and Western States 50:31 The Power of Athletes in Shaping the Sport 53:32 Sarah's Race Calendar for 2024 If you are enjoying the content, please consider supporting our sponsors using the links below. Sponsor Links:  Run Trail Life - This is a brand I am super passionate about because I am the Founder and Chief everything officer for RTL. Run Trail Life Brings you casual apparel that lets you show off your love of trail running and ultrarunning while giving back to ensure that everyone has access to the beauty of nature for generations to come. With each item purchased, we donate $1 to runners for public lands. Use code: midpackerpod to double the donation from your purchase.  Visit RunTrailLife.com to check out our line of Hats and Organic cotton T's. Freetrail - Bring Trail Culture with you everywhere you go and join an amazing community of extraordinary trail runners. Freetrail Pro membership is just $96 a year, giving you access to the Freetrail Slack community, training plans, weekly office hours, and so much more. I absolutely love this community and have personally used the training plans to get ready for my ultra efforts. Visit Freetrail.com to sign up today. MidPacker Pod Links: Instagram | Patreon Troy Meadows Links: Instagram | Twitter | Website Freetrail Links: Freetrail Pro | Patreon | Instagram | Website | YouTube