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The Steep Stuff Podcast
Brian Whitfield - Pre Broken Arrow 46K Interview
The countdown to Broken Arrow is on, and Colorado Springs crusher Brian Whitfield has his sights set firmly on earning a coveted spot on Team USA for the World Mountain Running Championships. This conversation reveals not just an athlete ready to race, but one who has methodically transformed his approach to professional trail running.
Whitfield offers a refreshingly candid look at his evolution from self-coached athlete to someone with a comprehensive support system. "I think if I really want to step it up and make that leap, I need to fund my own team," he shares, explaining his decision to invest in a physical therapist, strength coach, dietitian, and athlete agent. This professional development represents a significant shift in his approach and demonstrates the increasingly professionalized nature of elite trail running.
The strategic elements of championship racing come alive as Whitfield breaks down his approach to the two-loop Broken Arrow course. With experience from races like Black Canyon 50K and Desert Rats, he emphasizes patience and racing intelligently when stakes are high. "That first lap is really the warmup and you'll see a lot of guys go and try and make a name or get to the top of the mountain first," he explains. "The second loop is where you want to be closing and that's where you want to be in the money." This measured approach, combined with meticulous nutrition planning and heat management strategies, showcases an athlete who has learned from past experiences and refined his racing philosophy.
What makes this conversation particularly compelling is witnessing an athlete at a pivotal moment in their career. Making Team USA represents a two-year goal for Whitfield, who balances his elite running aspirations with his roles as a teacher, husband, brother, and son. His desire to "show up for my community" reveals the deeper meaning behind his competitive pursuits.
Listen in as host James Lauriello and Whitfield discuss the nuances of championship racing, professional development in trail running, and what it would mean to represent the United States on the global stage. Are you ready to watch this race unfold?
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What is up, fam? Welcome back to the Steep Stuff Podcast. I'm your host, james Lauriello, bringing you guys another Broken Arrow pre-race episode, this one for the 46K, with none other than Colorado Springs crusher, local legend you name it, legend in the making, mr Brian Whitfield, one of my favorite people, one of the kindest humans that I know. Good, buddy, yeah, super excited to get to catch up with Brian. Brian comes to us for the Broken Arrow Super stoked. The stoke is high. It was fun getting to have a nice little pre-race conversation with him. We've caught up, talked a little bit about his race at the Desert Rats back in April, as well as the Black Canyon 50K that he raced back in February. Brian's ready for this race. It seems the stoke is high and he's definitely one of the top contenders. So it's going to be fun to see how the race plays out for him and see how things roll out. So, without further ado, I hope you guys enjoy this one, wishing Brian the absolute best of luck. And this is going to be Brian Whitfield, brian Whitfield, welcome back to the Steep Stuff podcast.
Speaker 1:How's it going, buddy, good, james, good to be here. Thanks for having me. Yeah, man, it's always good to catch up. I feel like I was just telling you before. It's like time goes by so quick. It's like man, the quick three months, and it's like a quantum leap in time, and then we're catching back up and chatting more. Yeah. So, dude, I can't believe it's Broken Arrow. It's the week man. Yeah, we're here. I feel like 2025 just started and time flies when you're having fun. So here we go. It's true. It's true. How's everything going? I know your Strava is private. So is mine. One of the things probably my favorite Brian Woodfield quote amongst many is my training is for me, and I really adopt that. I feel like my training is for me, so I really like that. How's training going? How's the build been going into the 46 K?
Speaker 2:Yeah, things are. Things are really good. I, you know I like having it private, but, um, yeah, I think you know I've showed a select couple of people. I've added my um, my strength coach, my PT, my dietitian, um, you know, a couple of buddies, a couple of friends of mine. But uh, yeah, the build is good. I've been super healthy. I got a lot of cross training in a lot of time on feet, um, great speed sessions. I'm, I'm, uh, I'm ready to go chomping at the bit.
Speaker 1:So okay, all right, I like this. I did. This reminds me of like 2023, um, you know, pre Pike's peak, brian, like before, before, you wouldn't absolutely hit a home run at the descent, which was probably I mean up until this one that was probably the last most competitive race on american soil. So you seem to do pretty good at these most competitive race on american soil, so yeah, I think it.
Speaker 2:You know it's just training with uh intentionality and coming into it. Like you know, I've been building to this uh intentionality and coming into it. Like you know, I've been building to this to broken arrow. I think I've wanted to make this world team now um for almost two years. So it's been it's definitely been a a long-term goal and I think you know I've been putting in the preparations for a while now.
Speaker 1:So yeah, let's talk about that. So you've had, I dude, like obviously you've competed at 50k national championships. You've competed at usually all the usatf marathon or 50k races more or less. What can experience? I feel like you have so much experience in this sport. What experience can you draw on going into this race like where this is not going to be a surprise for you, you're you know how to line up with these guys. You know how to race a course like this. What experience do you have for this?
Speaker 2:I think, just you know, namely going into an event like this, like this distance is definitely one, like the 50 K marathon type distance is the four hour, three and a half hour type race. Um, that's something I've practiced the most in my career. Um, and I think one thing I've done really well in a lot of my races is I go out to compete. Um, I'm not typically going out to just put a time on the board or to just get a fast, you know, a PR, whatever it is. I'm going out to race and I'm going out to um to to line up with the rest of the competition and I think, um, you know this would be a great race, to do it. It's, uh, I've raced, you know, national championships and I'm two-time national champion in the marathon, so, um, I think it bodes well for this type of race and I think, um, I think it'll line up well and, yeah, it'll fit me.
Speaker 1:I dude. I think there's a like, a massive opportunity for someone like you. I think people might, I I don't want to say people look past you, but like they're all, I think, I think they do all right.
Speaker 2:All right, let's see I.
Speaker 1:I all right, maybe a little slept on, bro, and, like you know, we just saw this with son of p. David norris was extremely slept on and went yeah, won the damn race. You know, we got to look at like the field right now, like michelino is coming back from injury and he's not at 100. David sinclair won't be there. Uh, david norris is probably going to race the ascent harder and maybe race the 46k more you know how do I say this a little more conservatively.
Speaker 1:So I think this might be anybody's race dude like I. I think a lot of people that, like that, people are expecting to go win the race either are compromised or might not be showing up to their full potential.
Speaker 2:So I think this actually is anybody's race which is going to be interesting yeah, it's a bummer to see some of the you know, the quote-unquote top tier guys out of the race. I'd love to be able to line up against them and, um, you know, have the most competitive field on the day. But uh, yeah, there's definitely a team within the ranks and I think, if you look and if you know what you're looking for and you kind of um, if you're paying attention, I think you can. There's some obvious players in this, in this race, who are going to be some standout favorites.
Speaker 1:Yeah, let's talk about professionalism. One of the things I really like about you and you said this right before we, you know, before we the process of when we started recording was you have the PT like. You have a whole, almost like a team around you and I feel like at this point, if you want to be at the top end of the sport, you have to have a team and, you know, a strength coach and just people that you're working with to be able to obviously learn from, get better, improve, but it's, it's not just about running, it's so much more to it. Can you, can you speak more to that?
Speaker 2:Uh yeah. So I think up until up until 2025, I'd really been doing a lot of it on my own. Like you know, all my strength work was like YouTube tutorials and you know, stuff I had learned in college at the Western team and, um, you know, I just picked up nuggets along the way and I'd been doing it alone for almost five years post-grad. So I kind of, I think, I just got stale. I got a little, you know like, stuck in my ways at the end of 2024. And you know it was, it was going well, like I have good performances up until that point and you know nothing to, you know, shake your head at. Um, you know nothing to, you know, shake your head at.
Speaker 2:But I got to a point where I was like, okay, like I see, you know, I'm competing against pros that are being paid full time to do this and then they have, you know, they have the budget to go forward to do this and, um, I think if I really want to, you know, step it up and I want to make that leap, I need to fund my own team. So I started paying for a physical therapist, I started paying for a strength coach. Um, I started working with you know, an athlete agent. So putting all those pieces together, uh, it's definitely.
Speaker 2:I think it's just part of the game now and I think, um, you know, I don't want to like take away just the pure simplicity of joy of running, um, but you know, to do it at the highest level and to do it at the sharp end of the spear is that's what's most fun for me. So, having those players in my corner and, um, you know, those people in my team to say it's, uh, it definitely helps to be able to do it the way I like to do it, I love it man, I love it.
Speaker 1:You mentioned athlete agent. This is always a hot topic. I love it, I think. In my honest opinion, I think the agent helps so much for a lot of things. Um, can you talk about maybe how that's expanded opportunities for you and has continued to expand opportunities for you as you kind of progress in your career?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I started working with Kelly Nolan from Rad Boulder, out of Boulder, colorado. She's a super cool, down to earth person. I love her whole vibe and her whole approach. Um, I'm sure she'd be comfortable with me sharing this, but she's not willing to take on anyone who's just like I want to come up and win or I want to go be the best, and I think she's hand selects individuals who are wholesome, good people and also crush it on the athletic side. So it was an honor to be, you know, just like, picked by her.
Speaker 2:First of all, I think, you know I, going into the conversation, I was kind of like, oh, I don't know if she would take me, um, and she did. So it was really. It was really cool to be, you know, um, you know, picked by her, which is great, um. But then, yeah, we've worked on, uh, we've worked on my resume and we've worked on putting together a pitch deck. I think in the past I've definitely been in seasons or in post-race highs where I probably could have landed a contract, and I've been offered spots from Solomon and I've interviewed with Adidas and I had a spot opportunity with. I think. Coming down to it, it's like I've I've really marketed myself poorly on my own, so bringing in a professional is a is a great way to kind of elevate the space and, you know, rise to the occasion.
Speaker 1:I think it's a beautiful way to say it. Man, I have to be honest with you Cause, like the one thing I will say about the agent I just had a good conversation with Rachel to my check about this is, above all else, this is a business and they know our worth and you need to have someone in the room that's going to be able to argue that and push your worth and be able to get you what you deserve when it comes to that contract. Yeah, I definitely, especially as the sport gets more professionalized and we understand, like, how much money these brands make and the budgets that are at play here. Yeah, the agent is a very important person for those conversations to advocate for us.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, yeah, and you know, to just be clear, the end goal is not professionalization of the sport. For me it's just to to be able to continue doing it and to afford doing it. Um, so, having a contract, you know, put some, put some wind in the sails, and it would allow you to. You know, it'll allow you to fly out to UTMB and go race the best and, you know, do the whole circuit and, um, it would just allow new opportunities and open doors. So, totally agree, totally agree.
Speaker 1:Let's talk a little bit about the course itself and strategy wise, obviously, this is a two looped course. These two loop courses seem to be so much fun we were just talking about, like this about Sunapee, where there's a lot of strategy that goes into racing. Something like this, broken Arrow, historically, is an interesting race. Usually the people leading at the front of the race on the first lap might not unless you're Davidid sinclair, might not be winning the race and even david has kind of sat back historically in years and moved his way up what strategy, do you?
Speaker 1:you don't have to give too much inside baseball away, but are you going to maybe sit back a little bit on the first lap? What are you going to race aggressively like? What's your take on this?
Speaker 2:um, yeah, I think so. I just did the gopro mountain Games 20K up in Vail, colorado, and that was a two loop course. I went into it pretty flat, just as far as training goes. I had a lot of volume in the legs, a lot of stimulus going in, and that was the goal I wanted to. You know, I wanted to simulate basically that second lap of Broken Arrow coming in tired, coming in fatigued and, um, I do think there's going to be. It's kind of like we mentioned earlier.
Speaker 2:There's a lot of guys that are gunning for this. You know, world championship team spot and when you have like big stakes on the line, there's a lot of people that get, they get excited or they get nervous and, um, you know they're, they're hot to trot and they'll go out quick and they will definitely, um, crush that first climb. Um, and I think an older version of myself would have been in that group Um, you know, you look back at the 2021 black Canyon when I led the whole 60 K of the race and you know it was getting close to Hayden Hawks his records on the way to it. Uh, before I DNF, but um, yeah, I think you know was getting close to Hayden Hawks' records on the way to it before I DNF'd. But yeah, I think you know, going into this race, you know, being a championship-style racer, you have to be aware of how things are going to play out and a lot of my training has been tailored towards high performance at the end of big sessions and high performance under fatigue. So you know that first lap is really the warmup and you'll see a lot of guys go and try and make a name or get to the top of the mountain first and yeah, that's where it just starts.
Speaker 2:So the second loop is really that's where you want to be closing and that's where you want to be in the money. I think, if you're doing it right, you're going to be a little patient. My fueling strategy is really tailored towards consistency and just a nice even burn. I've been working with Taylor Brower over at Scratch Labs for over a year now and we've got a great system, her and I, with just carbs and electrolytes and the way that I'm taking in bottles. My dad will be out there crewing me so I'll be able to get some, get some family support halfway and yeah, I like the plan going in. I'm definitely. I'm so excited, I'm definitely feeling good.
Speaker 1:So All right, all right, all right, I'm pumped. I'm pumped to hear that, as far as the build goes, like I know, like I said, don't give away too much inside baseball. Are you taking a one week taper, one and a half, to like how much? How serious are you taking the taper going into this one?
Speaker 2:started it was nine days out from the race, so I'm gosh, that would have been like thursday last week, um. So nine days of taper, nice and chill. I use a lot of heart rate data to kind of gauge my effort and see where things are at um, but you know, most of my training is at altitude, so I'll be able to drive up to like 10 000 feet and then I'll go run and keep my heart rate at 130 for 10 miles or an hour. It's at 130 and I'm just taking it easy and getting in the altitude training, getting in my nutrition practice. Coming from Colorado, going down to California, it'll be nice to have that little boost of altitude and familiar terrain. I think that I've never been on the course out there, but yeah, I think we can simulate a lot of the Broken Arrow course pretty well out here in Colorado.
Speaker 1:I think the Springs, particularly, is a good. I mean, I've been on the course just once. It's not super. At least I didn't think it was very technical. It's very fast. This is a fast course, you know, when you think of like a ski, roads and stuff like that, and then obviously some you know techie single track, but at the end of the day, like there's nothing you have. In my opinion, I don't think there's anything you haven't seen Like when it comes to the course. It's pretty straightforward. What's your plan for the heat? You think I don't. I honestly have not checked the weather. I would imagine I know it's historically hot usually on these races. Do you adjust your nutrition strategy for the heat or are you to kind of just make sure you adopt cooling? Like what do you do for a hot race like this?
Speaker 2:Yeah, nutrition strategy does change a little bit. I just did the desert rats 50K out in Fruita last April or this recent April and it was like over 90 degrees the whole day. So we definitely had. You know, I started with a plan and then I changed my plan going in, which means I increased the amount of water I was taking in. I added ice into the pack, which is a game changer.
Speaker 2:I love the ice in the pack. Um, that's a free pro tip right there. If you put ice in your pack, it sits right on your back, which is actually where your heart is. Um, so it really keeps your core body temperature down and it just feels so good. Um, but you know, you can put up like like half a pound of ice or whatever in your backpack and it's just sits there for an hour and drips your whole body cool water. So, um, definitely going to be doing some ice out there.
Speaker 2:Um, I don't know if they're going to be providing it at aid stations, so I'll be bringing my own for at least halfway, If they have it at the summit. You know I'd love to pick up some more ice whenever I can. Um, I think a lot of this, you know it. Come coming back to that championship style racing, it's like, um, you know you stay calm, cool and collected until you know you're in the last, third, fourth half of the race, maybe, and uh, yeah, then you got matches to burn and it's you know, then I'm dangerous.
Speaker 1:So that's right, it's burned down the house. I like it. Oh man, dude, what would it? Uh, what's your expectation? I mean, I could probably guess it, but what is your expectation for race?
Speaker 2:day. Um, I think my, you know, first, first goal is to just make the team, put myself in a spot to make the world championship team. Um, I think, in like track racing. You see, you know, you just got to do pre prelims, I'm just doing prelims, and then the big day will be in fall, this, you know, this, uh, fall in Spain. So, hopefully, hopefully, I can kind of show that level of talent and that level of performance I, I feel like I have and, um, you know, this will just be the prelims and get myself a podium spot. Top four goes to the Worlds and then, you know, go compete for a World Championship out in Spain.
Speaker 1:Oh dude, I love it. What would it mean to you to make this team?
Speaker 2:I think it would mean a lot. I think it's. It's definitely something that I've always looked up to. Josh Eberle was my coach in college. He was on a world team in 2016, or something like that. He just talks so highly of it. I think the culture around trail running right now is just so great. I think it'd be super, super fun to be a part of that team and to be a part of that team and to be a part of the the representation of our country, um, you know, in a, in a positive light. Uh, I think this is a great, you know, a great way for for the U? S to show up and and, uh, you know, maybe, maybe, change a little bit of our, our, uh, preconceived notions about the U?
Speaker 2:S people, yeah, trying to trying to walk delicately around it, but, um, yeah, I think it'd be. It'd mean a lot and, you know, like being a teacher and being a husband and a brother and a son, like I'm just I play a lot of roles and I wear a lot of the hats and I think it would be, um, it'd be cool to to kind of to show up for for my community and yeah, dude, I love it.
Speaker 1:That's a beautiful answer. I'm excited for you, man. This is going to be it's going to be one heck of a race. Are you going out super early? When do you? When do you head it up?
Speaker 2:Um, I'm, I'm just leaving on. We're driving out of Colorado on Thursday. My dad and my wife and I three of us are going to drive out Thursday and Friday. Okay, um, hopefully, my, my dad can do like a lot of the lion share the driving, so it takes the load off of me. Um, I'll just be kicking back and probably listen to an audiobook, um, having some good conversations with the pops. Um, yeah, we're going out there Thursday. Friday We'll be staying right in Palisades, so won't be too far from the race. It'll be nice and convenient, nice, um yeah, dude, it's.
Speaker 1:So I mean, it's obviously this year is going to be crazy, but it's a beautiful place. It's so cool around there, so yeah, it hang out.
Speaker 2:It looks so special. It really does. Lake Tahoe you always hear amazing stories. I went to California for one Christmas. My wife's side of the family is out there but I've never really been to California outside of I went to Ventura Never in the mountains of California.
Speaker 1:We're here for a treat. I'll give you some time back. I know you got an appointment. Listen, man, I just want to wish you the absolute best of luck. I'm going to be so excited, uh, to watch this race unfold and, uh, hopefully the next time we chat it'll be uh post race conversation about team USA.
Speaker 2:Yes, sir, I did want to do a quick shout out for, uh, my strength, ben Townsend's dad. He's a legend. He's actually like the coolest dude ever and I've been working with him for a long time, so I'm super, super happy with the results we've been getting with him. And then my physical therapist, ken Obermeyer, here in Colorado Springs at Align Therapeutics so great team behind me.
Speaker 1:Oh, dude, I'd love to hear it. Love to hear it. All right, man, best of luck. All right, what's up, guys? It's summer and you know what that means. You're going to need a new pack, hydration solution, bottle belt, you name it. Guess what Ultimate directions got you covered, guys.
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Speaker 1:Like I said, it's summer, it's broken arrow week, it's crazy. The vibes are high, the stoke is high. You're going to need a new vest, you're going to need a hydration solution. Like I said, go to ultimate direction. They've got you covered 25% off with the code steep stuff, pod and you are all set out the door. So, guys, enjoy your week. It's broken arrow week, go crazy, go wild, guess what. Next week is trail con. And then we are in Western States. It's. This is the best few weeks of our sport. So it's wild, thank you.
