Nick Thompson has spent his life chasing big stories and finish lines. The CEO of The Atlantic and author of The Running Ground joins Zoë and Brendan to talk about running through life's hardest moments, from a cancer diagnosis at 30 to balancing elite training with parenthood and a high-powered media career.

Together, they explore why running became Nick's anchor through chaos and change, the strange parallels between journalism and endurance sports, and the lessons he learned from his father, and why he runs to not become him. They talk about what aging athletes get wrong about decline, the emotional threshold of a "real" ultra (and the world's shortest one), and how Nick manages to fit sub-three-hour marathons into a 60-hour work week. Along the way, Zoë and Brendan share their own thoughts on parenting as endurance training, finish-line family moments, and why run commuting deserves a comeback.

The Running Ground: A Father, a Son, and the Simplest of Sports is out now from Penguin Random House.

Sponsored by: LMNT, stay hydrated year-round with a free sample pack at drinklmnt.com/ultrasignup.

Featured Race: Peacock Gap Trail Run — a love letter to Bay Area trails at China Camp State Park.

What kind of person dreams up the hardest race on earth, and then follows it up with one of the weirdest? This week on The Trailhead, Zoë and Brendan dive deep into the mind of Lazarus Lake, the man behind both the Barkley Marathons and Big's Backyard Ultra.

Our guest, author Jared Beasley, joins to talk about his new book on Laz, unpacking the mystery, mischief, and mythology that made one man's backyard into a global endurance phenomenon. We explore what drives people to suffer on purpose, why Laz's races capture our collective imagination, and what they say about the culture of ultrarunning itself.

🏃‍♀️ Featured Race:
Yankee Springs Winter Challenge — 50K, 25K, 10K, and 5K distances in Middleville, Michigan on January 3, 2026.
A beautiful, snowy loop through Yankee Springs State Recreation Area. Fast course, frosty singletrack, and plenty of aid.
👉 Register now on UltraSignup.

👟 Presented by: UltraSignup, check out all our podcasts!
💥 Sponsored by: Running Warehouse — your source for the best shoes, gear, and deals in trail and ultrarunning.

Harvard evolutionary biologist Dan Lieberman is the scientist whose work reshaped how we understand running. His research on human evolution helped popularize the idea that we're born to run, that our bodies, from our toes and tendons to our oversized glutes, are uniquely adapted for endurance. In this conversation, he joins Zoë and Brendan to explore what running reveals about being human.

This week's featured race is the Naughty Hog 100k, 50k, 25k, 10k, and 5k! Dec 20. Register now!

We dig into why ultrarunning is evolutionarily bizarre but still deeply natural, what persistence hunting really looked like, and how belly fat, treadmills-as-torture-devices, and even the barefoot craze all tie into our running story. It's part science lesson, part reminder that while we didn't evolve for nipple tape, running is still one of the most human things we do.

Thanks to LMNT for supporting The Trailhead!