Hey everybody!

I’m happy to introduce this project: Strides’ pre-race coverage of the Sky Island trail race.

The race, one of West Texas’ finest, is in its ninth year. Boasting views of Fort Davis, the McDonald Observatories, and the skies of Texas, the race is much-loved — and it's calling the name of some badass runners.

For this coverage, I sat down with nine runners from San Antonio who are running the 25k and 50k races. While Borderlands’ Western States interviews inspired this, this was also a chance to live vicariously through the endurance chase.

I would love to run this race at some point. I will run this race at some point.

Each of the interviews followed the same formula, but each person also brought their own character into the mix. There are some familiar faces and some new ones in these episodes, and I have even gotten to share a few miles with several of them over the past few weeks.

From now up to race day, you will hear from these runners:

• Santiago Ortega - 50k
• Madison Ortega - 25k
• Will Rocha - 25k
• Joe Sierra - 50k
• Roy Gallegos - 50k
• Cale Williams - 25k
• Courtney Rouse - 25k
• Julia Hargesheimer - 50k
• Juan Pina - 50k

Consider following them on Instagram. Stoked to see them finish, and eager to have them all back on to debrief.

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Check out Strides on Apple Podcast and Spotify

Love it or hate it? Got a topic idea? Please leave a review and email any feedback to stridestrailpod@gmail.com.