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The Steep Stuff Podcast
Sydney Petersen - Pre Sunapee Scramble Interview
Sydney Petersen stands at the threshold of a defining moment in her trail running career as she prepares for the Sunapee Scramble—a race that could earn her a coveted spot on Team USA. In this candid pre-race conversation, she opens up about her journey, aspirations, and the meticulous preparation leading up to this pivotal competition.
Fresh from attending the Brooks Summit with what she describes as "the most stacked trail team in the world," Sydney offers unique insights into the professional side of trail running. Her training build has been comprehensive, mixing tempo runs and flat speed work while waiting for mountain trails to melt, then transitioning to technical terrain work as conditions improved. A recent 20-mile effort—her longest run ever—has provided a crucial confidence boost heading into race week.
Sydney's refreshing perspective on race strategy reveals the mind of an elite athlete who has learned from experience: "Every time I go into a race with a really concrete plan, it never turns out well for me." Instead, she emphasizes presence, adaptability, and responding to the flow of competition in the moment. This approach seems particularly well-suited for the unpredictable nature of the Sunapee course and its formidable field of competitors, including aggressive front-runners like Allie McLaughlin.
When asked about her preference for race day conditions, her answer speaks volumes about her mental toughness: "The poorer the conditions are and just the gnarlier it is, the better." Training in the extreme climate of Colorado's Gunnison Valley at 9,000 feet has prepared her to embrace rather than fear challenging environments.
Listen in as Sydney discusses the emotional significance of potentially making Team USA after coming close but falling short of goals throughout her running career, her equipment choices for the technical East Coast trails, and her ambitious plans for the season beyond Sunapee—including competing in both events at the ultra-competitive Broken Arrow Skyrace. Her journey represents the evolving landscape of American trail running as it continues to attract world-class talent and global attention.
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What's up, fam? Welcome back to the Steep Stuff Podcast. I'm your host, james Lariello, and I'm joined today with none other than Sydney Peterson for a pre-race interview for the Sunapee Scramble taking place this Sunday, june 1st. It was really fun. I caught up with Sydney we actually had spoken not too long ago, but we caught up just about a month after she had gotten back from the Brooks Summit with some of her Brooks teammates as well and got to talk about what that was like, having just freshly joined the Brooks team, which is arguably the best sub-ultra team in America right now, if not the world, which is kind of crazy. We talked a lot you might as well recognize that name, sydney with some top finishes, both at Broken Arrow with the 23K last year and 2024, as well as Mammoth Trail Fest.
Speaker 1:Like I said, we caught up to chat all things Sunapee and her preparation and her build for the race, which she's super excited for and that would be a dream for her to make Team USA. We talked about travel. We talked about getting out to the race, preparation, what the Brooks team has planned, pre-race for the house and stuff like that which is kind of cool. Um, just a lot of fun stuff. So wishing Sydney the absolute best of luck in her race, it's going to be fun to follow along, and, without further ado, none other than Sydney Peterson. Sydney Peterson, welcome back to the steep stuff podcast. How's it going?
Speaker 2:Great, how are you?
Speaker 1:I'm doing good. I'm doing good. Like I was saying before we started the pod, it's so crazy that we're here. Soonapie and Broken Arrow are right around the corner. Soonapie is literally in a week and a half, which is it came up quick, a little too fast, I don't know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, it definitely came up quick. I feel like we were just talking a few weeks ago.
Speaker 1:For sure, For sure. You've been busy since the last time we chatted. How was the? Uh, I can't remember. Do we chat before or after you went to the Brooke summit? I feel like it was before, right it?
Speaker 2:was before everything, so that's right, that's right.
Speaker 1:Sorry, I lose track of time. Yeah, so it was before Cause. Yeah, it was right around the time I chatted with Remy. So, yeah, that would make sense. Uh, how was the Brooke summit? How was that? Did you have a good time?
Speaker 2:The Brooks summit was so much cooler than I ever could have imagined. Um, we, I had no idea what to expect. I've never been to an athlete summit before and just to meet all the athletes and Brooks really gets just high quality people on and off the trails on their team, and that was very evident. Getting to know the men's and women's teams there and to see that inside of everything that goes into shoe development and product development and just how many people and what it takes to put out these amazing products and what really goes into, I mean, creating these great trail seasons for us and, um, all the people in hard work behind that process was really cool to see.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I mean some great products they've come out with over the years, Like the catamount agile is like such a sweet shoe, like there's a lot, of, a lot of good stuff, um, and that's really cool. I'm glad you enjoyed it and just like what a team.
Speaker 2:I say this I feel like every time I talk to a Brooks athlete.
Speaker 1:but it's like I gotta say, like if you were to sit there and like pound for pound, like look at the all the UTMB indexes and like get your scores, and like it's gotta be the most stacked trail team, sub ultra team in the world right now, which is pretty crazy. So good stuff, absolutely.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So how's trading going? I know we got soon to be right around the corner, so how's the build been Any? All good stuff.
Speaker 2:The build has been great.
Speaker 2:I feel like the sum of all the weeks has been really good stuff. I've mixed in a lot of different things, so, um, lots of tempo and flat stuff and speed work while we were waiting for the trails to melt, um, and then now that all the trails are melting, I've really been trying to squeeze in a lot more technical trail running and workouts on trails and pushing vert and technical downhill. Did the longest run of my life last weekend with Taylor, so that was a big confidence boost. And then how far did you go? 20, which is not a big thing, but for me it's big, yeah, and did a workout with that where I pushed the uphill and some technical downhill. So that was a big confidence boost and felt amazing doing that and, um, just mixing a lot of cool things together, doing a track workout this evening.
Speaker 2:And then I skied. We skied Chauvinot last Sunday, um, and skiing Chauvinot this time of year you're hiking up with like a 30 pound pack and up steep vert. So it's just been mixing a lot of different stimuli together and hopefully it pays off at Sainte-Pete.
Speaker 1:Oh, it definitely will, definitely will. Are you going out? I think I can't remember if I asked Taylor this question Are you guys going out like Thursday, friday, like how far in advance are you going before the race?
Speaker 2:I think my travel plans are a little bit different than everybody's, just because I'm coming from the middle of nowhere. So I found really cheap flights out of gunnison. So I'm leaving a day earlier than everybody and um, meeting one of my friends in boston and then, um, I think we're gonna all kind of as a group go up. There's a huge color Colorado contingent flying out on Thursday, so meeting them and then, yeah, preview the course and kind of get all situated before the big day.
Speaker 1:Sweet, sweet. How do you do with humidity? I asked this question to everybody and I get so many like sporadic answers, so I'm curious to hear, like what? What's your thought on humidity is?
Speaker 2:Um, to be honest, I never trained in humidity, so I don't really know, but I feel like I train in such extreme weather for so much of the year, whether it's like zero degrees and snow and ice, and I definitely have a lot of dry weather up here and dry extreme weather but I mean, I feel like humidity to me is more of a mild situation than some of the extreme weather that I'm used to training in. So that's what I'm going to tell myself, even if it is bothering me.
Speaker 1:I know I think it's a good answer because you guys in the Gunnison Valley you got a lot thrown at you. I feel like that's the coldest place in Colorado to live, man, it's so brutal. So, excitement level, are you more excited? I think I've asked you this question before are you more excited for sunupi? You're more excited for broken arrow. Like what's the, what's the stoke level out? Is this going to be like a good tune-up for you to go into broken arrow? Like where's your headspace at going into this race?
Speaker 2:oh, the stoke level is like a 10 out of 10. I'm I'm always focused just on the race in front of me, so so focused. Broken arrows out there, yes, but I'm always focused just on the race in front of me, so so focused. Broken Arrow's out there, yes, but I'm so focused on Sunapee and after this race I'll be fully focused and stoked on Broken Arrow. But I've been very intentionally training for this race and I think this course will point out some of my weaknesses and things that don't come as naturally to me in trail running, and I've really been trying to hit those hard in training. So I'm just super excited and it's going to be a really competitive race and just a great opportunity to work on things I've been working on in training and put that to the test.
Speaker 1:So cool. This course is unique. It's two loops but they're not the same. The first loop is different than the second loop. Second loop's a bit gnarlier, a little more technical on the ascent and then it kind of joins the same descent as the first loop. Usually the person and I just remember this because I think of Broken Arrow Usually the first person that's leading the first loop is not necessarily the person winning the race at the end. What is your strategy? Going in, I know your competitors like Allie and.
Speaker 1:Anna people are going to. I know how Allie races. She's so aggressive. Is your intention to go out with the lead pack? Is it maybe sit back a few yards back off the lead girls and just see how the race unfolds? How do you plan on racing this?
Speaker 2:That's a great question. I think every time I go into a race with a really concrete plan, it never turns out well for me and my best races, especially on trails, have been I'm just going to go out and run at a pace that feels right to me and we'll just see how it unfolds, and be really present and respond to moves as they go and just be very in that moment. And I think that's kind of my only race plan. Like you can wake up and feel horrible on the day and then, if you go out thinking you're going to be with Allie and Anna right from the gun and then you feel horrible like that, you just ruined your whole race and so trying to not put expectations on where I should be, because that just makes it really easy to mentally spiral if things aren't going to plan. So I think, put myself in it and on the line that day with the belief that I can make that team and be really present and respond to moves and at the end of the day, that's all you can really do.
Speaker 1:So I think it's a beautiful answer. So this is something I want to double back on. Given the fact that you live in the Gunnison Valley, where the weather's kind of wild and this is a new question that I haven't really asked anybody If it's sunny and 80, or if it's raining, wet and muddy, what would you prefer?
Speaker 2:Honestly, the poorer the conditions are and just the gnarlier it is, the better. So, cause I'm tough and I feel like I can run in any conditions, so, yeah, the worse it is, the better. I haven't done a ton of heat training just cause it hasn't been super hot up here. I mean, the snow's still melting, it's at 9,000 feet, so, um, haven't done a ton of that, so I'd prefer it to be cooler. But whatever it is on the day, I'll be ready for it so.
Speaker 1:I like it. I like it. What's your expectation for race day?
Speaker 2:I think my expectation is it's going to be really really hard and really really fast from the start and, um, it's not going to be an easy team to make and just going in with expectation that I'm going to have to give everything and work really really hard to get the results I want, and yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Nice, very nice, if the day goes your way and you do make the team. What would that mean to you to make Team USA?
Speaker 2:It would mean so much. I mean I think we've reflected on this a little bit in the last podcast that we talked on and I had so many times in college where I was so close to making teams and so close to getting like outcome results that I wanted that but fell short of that.
Speaker 2:So I think if I can make this team, that would mean a lot to me and be really cool, Cause I feel like I've fallen gotten really close and fallen short to a lot of goals in my running career, but um, at the same time, it's going to be a really hard team to make. So yeah, I think as long as I show up and in present during the race and respond to moves and give everything with what I have on that day I'll be happy, regardless of the outcome.
Speaker 1:Oh, I think it's a, it's a great answer and it's going to be so exciting. I mean, it's like what a better place to you know, celebrate our sport with a bunch of your peers and just absolutely smash yourself trying to achieve a goal. It's, it's going to be, it's like. It's like the. It's the best sport on earth, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so cool and racing is so fun. Like I'm so excited and, yeah, the last, the first race I did earlier this year we just got separated really quick. The top three women and I was kind of in no man's land the whole race. And I'm so excited to race this because I know I will not be in no man's land at all in this race and yeah, the top women are going to be just like neck and neck the whole race. So I'm so excited to race in an environment like that and mix it up.
Speaker 1:So it's going to be. It's going to be action nonstop. I'm so curious to see, like for me, just like as a I guess analyst commentator, to follow this, like follow this race. It's like all right. In the women's race, we already know what Allie is going, just because Ali's just so aggressive and just goes out so hard. I have not really followed like Ana's races and, like I know, lauren Gregory is a beast as well, so it's going to be just like interesting to see like who's going to make moves where in the race. Who's going to cover? How are they going to cover? Is there going to be blowups after the first loop? Because that's going to be bananas. Um, yeah, it's going to be a lot of fun, so yeah absolutely yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what's the race day shoe? What are you going to wear for race day?
Speaker 2:Race day shoe. Um, I think I'm going to bring a bunch, a bunch of shoes out there. I have never been to the East coast before and I've heard from so many people that East coast trails are way different than West coast trails. There's lots of roots and rocks and stuff. So I'm going to agile, um, the catamount fours and just a bunch of other stuff and I think it'll probably be between those two shoes, just because they're so responsive and light, um, in kind of technical, more rocky, slippery conditions. But yeah, kind of bring both on that course preview and make the decision after that yeah, it's going to be interesting, like I wonder.
Speaker 1:Obviously the weather is kind of crazy up there. Sometimes it's rainy and muddy, sometimes it's warm. I don't know what's going to be like on race day, but if it's anything like last year even though it was like a month ahead of time, like it's usually kind of like rainy, there's some mud, so something with aggressive luck so, and like lower like profile stack height, so I guess the agile might be. That's a good. You know, we'll see if that's the one. It seems like a lot of people are going to be wearing that. I know, I'm pretty sure it's what dan said he was going to wear.
Speaker 2:So interesting yeah well, that's what dan's doing. He's very familiar with that territory and this kind of racing, so I'll probably do whatever he does yeah, that guy's, that's a monster.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was kind of cool. So that's something I meant to ask you off. The team Brooks thing, I think Remy LaRue told me that you guys are going to have. It's probably going to be pretty deep. You guys have a team house and all that stuff going on while you're out there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it feels like college again, it's like oh everybody's flying out on the same flight and getting in on the same day and we're just gonna have a big brooks house. So I'm so excited and we got to know everybody at camp and or like the summit, and we were all there. I think every person showed up at least for part of it and we got to know each other really well there.
Speaker 2:So I'm just excited to see everybody again and hear about people's races. Courtney coppencher was over in asia and crushed two golden trail races there. She's definitely somebody to watch out for at this race too yeah, no, big time, big time yeah yeah, there's so many, yeah, it's.
Speaker 1:It's crazy how many berks athletes are going to be at this one, so it's gonna be fun to follow um. So outside of broken arrow in this is the plans changed at all. Are you still doing some of the same races that you had said after the fact? Some of the Golden Trail stuff?
Speaker 2:I think everything's pretty set as long as training keeps going well and I'm happy and healthy and all of that. I think everything's pretty set through August. We'll just see kind of after august going to sierra zanol and austria golden trail, how my body's feeling like, how these first two or these next two races go and um then kind of reassess their what goals. So there will definitely be fall races.
Speaker 1:What those end up being, we'll see but nice, are you doing both broken arrow, 23k and the ascent? Yes if I if the rate. I've been asking a lot of people this and this is a very curious question. If you do, let's say you make team usa in the up down, will you still race the ascent and or save it for the 23k?
Speaker 2:yeah, okay, I'll totally race the ascent. I feel like I'm a way better climber, or like the ascent in vk distance is way more natural to me than the up down kind of race. So I would like I that's the team I want to be on for sure. So if, if I make the team or if I don't make the team at sunopee, I will totally 100 race the vk as well. And then every week they're adding more people to that race, like I think yesterday they were like, oh, killian's going to be there and so, yeah, just the amount of talent that's going to be at that race, like you just have to for this sport.
Speaker 1:I'm pretty sure when it's I mean, if people get to the start line healthy, I'm like almost sure that that's going to be so. Right now, the most competitive race ever assembled in American soil was 2023 Pikes Peak Ascent. This might be the one to offset that, especially with KJ now and Jim and Remy Bonet there's talk that Remy Bonet might jump in it's going to be interesting, it's going to be crazy and, as far as the women go, if I don't know if Grayson's going to race, it's kind of up in the air. But if that happens like you're just adding all those UTMB indexes then yeah, it's probably the most competitive race ever on American soil, which is so crazy.
Speaker 2:So, so cool, so cool so yeah you have to, you have to run the VK.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, it's got it for you, even outbroken arrow if you didn't run the VK, like you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1:Well, listen, I think we covered everything. Sydney, I'm wishing you the absolute best of luck in your race. It's going to be so fun to follow along. I might. I'm going to be available in some way. I'm trying to figure, we're trying to figure this out now. I was originally going, but now I'm not going because I'm injured. But that said, I think I might still be doing the live stream, so my voice might be present on race.
Speaker 2:Okay, yay, I'm sorry You're injured. That's unfortunate, but glad you're still involved.
Speaker 1:Thanks, yeah, trying to get through that. So yeah, wishing you the absolute best of luck. It's going to be fun. This will drop next week, so race week. I'm going to release all the elite women and on one day, and all the elite men on the other, and I'll tag in a bunch of stuff on Instagram so you'll be able to follow along. Sweet Good luck and we'll be in touch.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
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