Trail Society

Episode 115 is a winter roundtable with Corrine Malcolm, Keely Henninger, and Hillary Allen that explores how resilience in endurance sport is built not in isolation, but through people, culture, and environment. We open by checking in on winter training realities across snow, mud, rain, and darkness, and how community helps athletes keep showing up during the hardest part of the year. The episode also covers standout performances from CIM, including a historic day for women chasing the Olympic Trials standard, updates in women's sport science and leadership, and notable moments across trail, road, and skimo. At the heart of the episode is a deep dive into new research by Chen et al. (2024), which challenges the idea that resilience is an innate trait. Instead, the study shows how grateful team climates foster individual gratitude and long-term psychological resilience. Hillary breaks down the science behind coaching environment, gratitude, and burnout prevention, connecting it to real-world trail running experiences. Together, the hosts reflect on where resilience actually comes from, how grit is often confused with adaptation, and what coaches, teammates, and communities can do to create environments where athletes grow braver rather than smaller. The episode closes with Society Slam listener questions and examples of organizations doing it right when it comes to supporting athletes through pregnancy, setbacks, and long-term participation in sport. A huge shoutout to our sponsor rabbit! Check them out at www.runninrabbit.com with code HOPPYHOLIDAYS for 10% off in December!!

Episode 114 takes us to Cape Town as Corrine gives a full UTCT race recap, reflecting on why she returned to the Deep South, the big-volume training block leading in, and the challenges of racing after travel sickness and time zone chaos. We talk pacing through the first 50 kilometers, fueling decisions, and what makes a night start feel uniquely disorienting. The conversation touches on heat training, mental reframing, and the honest emotional landscape of managing expectations when things out of your control land in your lap during race week. We also round up an exceptionally fast weekend of racing across the globe including standout results from the JFK 50 Mile, the competitive UTCT podium battles, and record-breaking runs at the Quad Dipsea. Wrapping with recovery plans, what is coming next, and a Society Slam covering ultralight waterproof jacket recommendations and the wide range of pregnancy running experiences, this episode brings together community, science, and the real-life messiness of training and performing. Thank you to our sponsor, rabbit, for making this happen! If you want to snag any new colder weather run gear you can hop on over to www.runinrabbit.com and use code → HOPPYHOLIDAYS for 10% off.

In Episode 113 we sit down with Dr. Margie Davenport, Professor of Kinesiology and Director of the Program for Pregnancy and Postpartum Health at the University of Alberta. Margie has spent more than two decades advancing the science of exercise during pregnancy and postpartum, collaborating with organizations including FIFA, Sport Canada, ACSM, and the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada. She walks us through the transformative cardiovascular, metabolic, and biomechanical adaptations that make pregnancy "the ultimate stress test," while explaining how exercise supports both maternal and fetal health. We also dig into her recent work on long-duration training during pregnancy, postpartum return-to-run recommendations, pelvic floor considerations, and the complex intersections of REDs, mental health, breastfeeding, and musculoskeletal injury risk. Margie's research dispels longstanding misconceptions and offers evidence-based guidance for athletes who want to stay active through every stage of pregnancy and return to sport with confidence. This is an essential conversation for anyone who cares about the science of women's health and performance. Follow Margie here: @pregnancyandexercise Big shout out to our sponsor, rabbit, for helping us with this scholarship. If you want to snag any new colder weather run gear you can hop on over to www.runinrabbit.com and use code → FALLTRAIL10 for 10% off.

In Episode 112 of Trail Society, Corrine, Keely, and Hillary head to the desert for the Javelina Jundred. Keely was on the ground with the rabbit x Trail Society scholarship athletes, Clarivel Vega and Daisy, crewing, pacing, and celebrating their powerful performances. From first trail race jitters and high and low moments, to late-night grit, the weekend was a reminder that showing up for one another can make all the difference. The crew dives into what it means to create access, not just by giving out scholarships, but by building community and support systems that help women get to the start line and stay in the sport. They also discuss cut-off times in ultra races and how expanding the times may impact finish rates and access to women. They also recap some of the record-breaking performances from Javelina's golden ticket chase and reflect on how mentorship and representation can spark the next generation of trail runners. Big shout out to our sponsor, rabbit, for helping us with this scholarship. If you want to snag any new colder weather run gear you can hop on over to www.runinrabbit.com and use code → FALLTRAIL10 for 10% off.

In this episode of Trail Society, Corrine, Keely, and Hillary sit down with researcher Jill Colangelo to unpack their newly published review, "Exploring the Presentation of REDs in Ultra Endurance Sport." This conversation dives deep into the intersection of low energy availability (LEA), disordered eating (DE), and exercise dependence (EXD), issues that are all too common yet rarely discussed openly in the ultra-endurance community. Many athletes are unknowingly underfueling, especially for efforts lasting over two and a half hours, and whether this is intentional or unintentional, the consequences can be profound. The discussion explores how extreme training volumes, psychological pressures, and cultural norms around toughness and body image make ultra athletes uniquely vulnerable to both the physiological and psychological components of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs). Together, Jill and Keely break down what current research tells us, and what's still missing, about fueling, recovery, and mental health in endurance athletes. They also tackle one of the hardest questions for athletes and coaches alike: how do we tell the difference between being disciplined and being disordered? This episode challenges assumptions, questions long-held beliefs about "grit" in sport, and offers a more compassionate lens on what it means to truly care for the athlete's body and mind. Follow Jill here: www.jillcolangelo.com Sponsors: HUGE thanks to our sponsor rabbit for helping us with this scholarship. Shop their fall looks with 10% off using CODE → HOPTOBER10 at https://www.runinrabbit.com/ Citations: Colangelo, J., Smith, A., Henninger, K. et al. Exploring the presentation of REDs in ultra endurance sport: a review. J Eat Disord 13, 210 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-025-01381-0