Western States Wants to Protect, UTMB Wants to Grow
About this episode
Josh explores the contrasting philosophies of Western States and UTMB regarding the growth and protection of trail running culture.
Western States and UTMB have become the two most influential institutions in trail running, but beneath the debate over lotteries, race series, and growth is a deeper question: when something becomes successful, how do you protect it? Josh explores why UTMB believes trail running is important enough to scale globally while Western States believes it's important enough not to. Along the way, he examines scarcity, culture, the hidden cost of success, and whether the thing worth protecting was ever the race itself. Please give us a follow, rate the podcast, and give a review. If you’re new to Borderlands, start here . Topics / Timestamps 01:33 Two Philosophies of Trail Running 03:19 Is Growth in Trail Running Corruption? 06:13 The Scale Problem in Trail Running 11:06 What Cultre are We Protecting in Trail Running? 15:50 The Supply Chain of Trail Running Culture Resources / Links 8 Bit Trail Running Josh Rosenthal on IG Borderlands.cc La French Trail Related Episodes Ultra Running isn't Just Running Presented by Kiprun . ---- Borderlands explores trail running through culture, media, and the forces shaping it. Watch on YouTube Read on Substack
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- Western States 2026 Analysis | 10 Things I Couldn't Stop Thinking About
- Trail Running Culture Doesn't Scale | Bob Crowley's Response
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