The Steep Stuff Podcast
Welcome to the Steep Stuff Podcast, your source for all things Short Trail
The Steep Stuff Podcast
#145 - Coree Woltering
What happens when a top ultrarunner steps behind the curtain and starts managing athletes, budgets, and contracts—while still chasing Western States dreams? We sat down with Coree Woltring for an unfiltered deep dive into the modern trail ecosystem: how sponsorships really get done, why timing matters, what brands value beyond results, and how the sport can better support its athletes.
Coree traces his arc from triathlon hopeful to crewing Leadville, to a breakout North Face contract sparked by a well-timed magazine article. Then the script flips. He explains life on both sides of the table at Merrell—shaping a roster that spans Skyrunner World Series, Western States, and UTMB—while guiding athletes through contract season, social expectations, and the art of the ask. If you’re wondering how to pitch a brand, whether to hire an agent, or how to stand out without selling out, Coree’s playbook is refreshingly clear: start early, know your value, and communicate like a pro.
We also tackle the money question head-on. From Broken Arrow’s big prize purse to the financial squeeze on golden ticket chasers, Corey lays out why meaningful prize money and smarter collaboration between races and brands would elevate competition and sustainability. And when injury forced a midyear reset, photography and storytelling filled the gap—leading to paid work with Cirque Series and a new creative lane that complements, rather than replaces, racing.
There’s plenty of forward look, too: Western States is back on Coree’s calendar, with Moab 240 and Cape Town in the mix, plus a sharp take on trail running’s Olympic prospects through sub-ultra formats. It’s a conversation for athletes, fans, and industry folks who care about performance, credibility, and the future of the sport. If this resonated, subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review—then tell us what you’d fix first: contracts, prize money, or social expectations?
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Welcome back to the Steep Stuff Podcast. I'm your host, James L'Oreal. And today I'm so excited to welcome Corey Waltering to the show. Probably at this point a first ballot hall of famer on the ultra scene. Corey is definitely one of my favorite thought leaders in the sport as well as athletes. He and I kind of go way back. Uh, when I first got into the sport, Corey had some segments in Florida that I had been chasing. So he was kind of like really the first like pro in the sport that I had kind of learned about before I found out about Anton and athletes like that, which was this was pretty cool. Very special full circle moment for me. Uh, this conversation wasn't really one about racing or performance. We talked about where Corey's at in the sport. Uh, we talked about some of the things that he still has left to do before it's all said and done. Um, we talked about how close he had come in the previous year to retirement and the discussion about retirement, where he's at with that. And then most importantly, we got into his new role. Um, Corey is both an athlete and the athlete manager on the Merrill team right now. And we had a discussion around what it's like to be come from an athlete perspective to becoming an athlete manager. Uh we talked about contract season, dealing with agents, uh, we talked about negotiation, um, all different kinds of stuff, and including Merrill and kind of where they're at right now as far as their brand strategy and what they're looking for in athletes. Corey was also kind enough to give a lot of uh just information uh out there to athletes that might be interested in trying to get sponsored and what they can do to start those conversations and stand out and be a little bit different. Uh, like I said, Corey's one of my favorite humans in the sport, super interesting guy, and I just really appreciate him for uh being able to come on and have this discussion. So without further ado, I hope you guys get a lot of value out of this one. Corey Waltering. Ladies and gentlemen, we all right, Corey Waltering. Welcome to the Steep Stuff Podcast. How's it going, man?
SPEAKER_00:Hey, thanks for having me. I'm good. How are you? I'm doing great.
SPEAKER_01:I I I'm so excited to finally chat with you. Dude, I I I kind of told you this in the in the DMs, I was fanboying a little bit. But I was like, man, back in the day when I first got into the sport in like 2019, 2020, like I lived in South Florida and I was going after these segments of Jonathan Dickinson State Park, and you had most of them. And uh you were like the first like professional trail runner that I actually like kind of like learned about on the scene, which is kind of funny, besides like uh stuff I'd seen on YouTube of like Anton and uh um maybe some of the Billy Yang stuff, but like yeah, you were one of the first like where it was like it felt real a little bit more chasing your segments and stuff like that. So it's kind of a full circle moment, a little weird.
SPEAKER_00:Nice, that's awesome. Yeah. Uh Florida, Florida shockingly, has like a super great trail running scene down there.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah. Yeah, man. Have you been back in a while? Like I I remember, I think I saw on Instagram a while ago you did like the Ocean of Lake Trail and some stuff like that.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I went back uh last year, I guess it was, uh, for the Dunes 50K in April. And that was like one of my first 50Ks back, I don't know, like 2016, maybe 2015. So uh it was nice to go back.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's beautiful. Yeah, I'm gonna actually I'll be back next week, which is kind of weird. Not like too ready for the sunshine and the humidity, so it'll be a little strange. Freeze my I mean, you're freezing your ass off too in Maiden now. I'm freezing my ass off in Colorado, so here we are.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's single digits right now. Like single digits, wind chill of minus 15, minus 20. It's brutal.
SPEAKER_01:Oh my gosh. How do you like living up there, by the way?
SPEAKER_00:I love it, but uh, you need to ask me that when I haven't just been like on the road for the last four months because it is so cold right now.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, oh I'm sure. I'm sure. I mean, like, I don't know. I it uh the Northeast trail running scene, I think, is all like just big time slept on, but just from a place to live. I was in Maine over the summer and I was astonished by it. It's so beautiful. Like the Northeast in general is awesome. But um cool, man. Well, why don't we I feel like most of the audience probably knows who you are, but maybe give me like the five-minute elevator pitch. I'm curious to hear like your backstory and how you got into running and some stuff like that.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, uh, I mean, I feel like most people get into running when they are, you know, a kid and they just have too much energy, and there you go. Um and so uh running was always a sport that I had to do for other sports to stay in shape, get fit, all of the things. And I mean, I was a baseball player, soccer player, swimmer, ran track, cross-country, all of the things. And I would show up late to baseball practice because I didn't enjoy doing drills early in practice. But if you were late, then you had to run. So that was uh my little, oh, I guess I'll run for 10 extra minutes rather than do the drills. Um, but it was kind of wild because soccer is really my passion, I guess, and uh had a few concussions in high school, which ended up causing me to not play soccer in college, and instead ran cross-country and track and field for the school that I was going to play soccer for. And it's kind of wild because it ended up being a great thing. Uh, I feel like had I pursued soccer, I probably wouldn't be sitting here talking to you now about ultrarunning. So uh I guess everything works out, but uh yeah, just I don't know. It's I feel like that was 30 years ago, which is really like 15. Where did you where did you grow up at? Uh I grew up in a small town in Illinois and then went to a small college in southern Illinois uh before finally moving to Colorado for a little bit to pursue some triathlon goals after college and started hanging out with mountain bikers, trailer runners, which then turned into like, oh, you should try this, and I did and kind of never looked back.
SPEAKER_01:Wow. Was there any like one race that you can point to for the trail running scene that you're like, ah, this is like you heard about Western states or hard rock or something to the degree of that, and you're like, this this has me really interested, or was it more so just getting introduced to other people that were participating in the sport and kind of learning through it that way?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, definitely uh learning through people that were in the sport. So it was funny. So when I was hanging out with the mountain bikers and trailer runners, um, one of them was like, hey, you know, like I need crew and pacers for Leadville 100, and I was just like, I don't even know what that is. Like, what do you mean, Leadville 100? And he's like, it's a foot race, and like, so you're gonna run a hundred miles like on foot. It's like, okay, where is it? And he's like, Leadville. I had no idea that Leadville is even a place in Colorado. So, like, my mind, it was just opening up this completely new world to me. So I ended up going and crewing and pacing Leadville uh as like my first introduction to trail racing. And I think that's when I kind of fell in love with the sport because uh back then you could still have pacers going over Hope Pass, uh, or coming back over Hope Pass, I guess it was. And so that I got to pace uh from Winfield back to Twin Lakes, and just absolutely loved it.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:All right, so so how paint the picture for me? Because like this is something like ultra sign up or like results doesn't paint. Like, what was your ascent like in the sport? Like, how did you I know like one of your first sponsors, like the big, big sponsors were like TNF, and I'm sure that was like life-changing and like a whole like big thing for you, like when that did come about. How did you get to that point? Like, when did you realize like I'm pretty good at this, I'm gonna compete at it, and then how did like sponsors start first start coming knocking for you?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, uh, that's a great question. So I don't know, it's all it was all kind of rapid, I guess, to be completely honest, because I uh in college qualified for the Half Iron Man World Championships twice. So uh I was dead set on trying to become a professional triathlete, which is why I moved from Illinois to Boulder. Um and it was like I think that's what I really wanted to do at the time. But you know, when you start hanging out with the wrong people that encourage you to do bad things like run an ultra, um, life can change. And so uh I had never when I moved to Colorado, I still had never run a marathon at that point. Like my longest run, I think, was maybe 16 miles. Um, but I was used to having to run a half marathon at the end of a half Iron Man. So it's not like it was completely foreign to me to be moving for that long, but never just like running, running. So uh I ran my first marathon, the Quad Cities Marathon, which is on the border of Illinois and Iowa, and it was super fun. Uh I ran 237 for my first attempt at the marathon, and it was like, oh, this this might be something that I should put a little more effort into. So I ran 237 in September, and then in November went to uh Southern California, did the Malibu Canyon 50K. It was a two-loop course, like 7,000 feet of gain, and ended up finishing third there and enjoyed it. It was fun, suffered a lot, learned a lot, and then I got mono, and so that took me out for most of the winter. And then my next ultra back was uh Silver Rush 50 up in Leadville, because after crewing and pacing Leadville, I was just so obsessed with it that I signed up and finished fourth at Silver Rush and missed the podium by 52 seconds. And so at that point, I was like, I'm just gonna quit the sport and go back to triathlon. And everyone's like, no, no, no, no. Like, fourth is really good at Silver Rush, and like, no, but I missed the podium by 52 seconds. They were like, no, no, no, like you don't understand. So from that, I got picked up by uh a company called Down to Run out of Florida, which they do like the Dunes 50K, they have the Dunes 100 Miler. Uh, got picked up by them for a couple of years, and in that, I ended up uh getting signed by Innovate as like my first bigger sponsor, and they were trying to, you know, bring back a US team and whatnot. So I was on that team for two years, uh, signed with Rabbit as well. And uh it was my second year on the team, and it was just funny because I'm I'd moved back to Illinois at that point, and just doing a lot of like smaller 50k races, but then flying out to California for some bigger stuff, and didn't really have a pulse on, you know, trail running or how to get sponsored and whatnot, but I was just doing things that seemed fun. And then Trail Runner magazine wanted to do an article, and they're just like, what's it like being black and gay in the sport? And for me, as like, honestly, there are more important things for me to talk about right now. I'm like, why is there no sponsorship for uh professional runners that live east of the Mississippi? Like, why are we just completely forgetting about, you know, half of the country when some of the oldest ultras in the country are east of the Mississippi? And it was just so funny because they're like, we've never thought about this before. And so instead of doing the article that they wanted to, I just completely flipped it and made it my own article. And the day that the article came out, uh, I got a message from the athlete manager at the North Face, and they're like, Hey, we want to sign you. Wow. And so, um, so it was just funny because I mean I had just been like doing my own thing and grinding away for the past couple of years, and then finally it just took like one magazine article of just completely taking control of what I wanted to talk about, and that's where like the North Face came knocking.
SPEAKER_01:What was it life-changing for you in any way? Like you go from being the sky kind of like on the fringe of the scene, and then this big article comes out, and then you're you're in the scene at that point. Like I North Face has, I mean, some of the best trailrunners in the world always has a consistent roster of the best and uh just amazing athletes in general. Like, how how did that change things for you, especially at that time in your life?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it was pretty wild because here I am just like I deleted the first email because I just thought it was spam. I was like, there's no way that Maeve from the North Face is emailing me, so I was just like, I'm gonna delete it. Uh so then she emailed me again, and it was funny because she's like, hey, you know, like I emailed you once, like, this is real, please like get a hold of me. And I'm just thinking, there's still no way. But anyway, there I took a phone call, and sure enough, it was real. It's like, oh, I'm going to be a TNF athlete next year. Amazing. So uh my next race was Silver Rush 50 Mile, and like Kristenuki was there, Rob Krar, a few other people, and I ended up finishing second to Rob, and like he beat me by like two and a half minutes or something that year. And that's when people are like, oh, you're not just like the dude that's running around in a speedo, but like you're a legit athlete. And so uh it was all kind of validating, but at the same time, it's like, oh, I'm actually gonna make some money at this now, and I have the funds and the means to go do bigger things, and uh it it was uh it was great.
SPEAKER_01:Back in those early days, like was it immediate to where like, okay, I have to, and you can go and you don't have to go into super detail on this, like, but like my question more so is was it immediately known that like okay, I can make a living at this or I have to work a second job and try to keep things like a balanced that way? Like, how did you kind of approach it from a professional perspective?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, uh, you know, I think that's always the hard part because it's it's one of those things where sponsors maybe want results at bigger races and bigger events, but at the same time, the bigger things are usually more expensive. There's travel or international travel involved. There would be, you know, just the time that it takes to get to some of these places. And if you really want to do well, sometimes you have to go over two or three weeks early and uh see the course and all that. And so, like for me, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Uh, I don't know that I ever thought that I'd make like real money doing it. Uh, I knew that it was gonna open up opportunities to race some really cool places and go some fun places. But uh, I don't know, I just had to keep approaching it like I I want to have fun and enjoy what I'm doing, and the day that it's not fun anymore is probably the time that I have to step away from the sport. Um and thankfully it's usually been fun, but I've always stayed. Uh but yeah, it's I don't know, it's really hard in those early years to figure out uh what the most important thing is because um like back then, like 2016, 17, 18, uh social media was kind of a thing, but it wasn't, you know, such a big thing. And so just finding that balance of legit athlete still being able to get content, and honestly, like, do I spend X amount going to this place or this race knowing that there's a chance that I may not make any money on it at all?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Wow. Now I I know this is kind of a question that's maybe separate from money, but more career-oriented in the sense where when you first got into this, I mean, outside of like I don't even know if you can like look at Rob, like maybe like Anton and a few others like had like a tangible, like they'd been in this thing for a while and it was gonna be like a standalone thing in their life for a long period of time. Did you think this was just gonna be, oh, I'll do this for a couple of years? I know this might be sound a little redundant from the first question, but I kind of wanted to get in your head and understand a little bit more about longevity and because you've been in the sport for a long time. Like, did you ever look at it like or was start to look at it at any point in time, like, oh, this is gonna be a career of mine?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I think uh early on I just wanted to have fun and do the things that were competitive and just go out and see what I could do. And I don't know that I really thought of it as like this is what I'm going to do, just because, you know, as you're saying, it's like there weren't very many people that that's what they were just able to do. Um, and so, and like at the time, I mean, looking back on when I really got into the sport, it's like Jim Walmsley and the Cocanino Cowboys, they were all just starting out, like Courtney DeWalter had maybe run an ultra or something bigger, like by the time that I was kind of in it. But like, um, so like it's wild to think that I've been doing this as long as them or a little bit longer than some of them, you know? And um I don't know that any of us got into it just thinking this is this is going to be what we do, because I don't know that uh like people aren't super open about contracts and lengths of contracts and like the amount of money that you could or could not make and all of those things. And so it was just really hard to figure it out, but you just kind of went with it and did what you could. Uh, but I think it was probably year three or so on the TNF team when I realized, like, oh, like maybe this is what I could do.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Let's talk about racing. I I find this interesting because like you, I mean, did you look at your ultra sign up? Like, you've been you've been doing this for for a while and you've raced a ton. Like, how has that played like as far as um just like longevity on the body? Like, how has the body held up over the years? How have you been able to like recover and and still do these things? Because I look at your body of work and the things that you've done. I'm just like, dude, like, this is very impressive. Like, I don't think I could ever my body would never hold up like that.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's uh it's a very fine line of uh figuring out what your key targets for the year are going to be and what you're gonna go all in on, and then the other things that you just kind of do for fun. Um this year has been just a very tough year on me, to be completely honest. Uh it's funny, my physical therapist is like, well, as we age, we don't we don't recover as faster. And it's just like, who is he talking about as we age? Because like I'm not getting older. Oh wait, I am 35 now. And there are certain days that 35 feels like 70, and there are still moments where 35 feels like 20. And so I just I pick things that are fun, that are exciting, knock out the qualifiers that I need for, you know, West Stream states, hard rock, UTMB, those types of things, and then honestly just have fun with it now. But uh, I don't think my body has held up super well this year. And in the past, I've always been very good about shutting things down if there's something that hurts, if there's an injury, or whatever. But this year I've just been trying to push through things because to be like 100% honest, I thought I was gonna try to retire from the sport after this year. And so I was like, well, might as well go big and do all the things that I haven't done yet. And that ended up uh me taking like two months completely off running this summer, and uh now I I don't know, I'm I I actually feel refreshed and uh like definitely put on weight and did not. You know, wasn't able to run for a while, but like I actually feel good again. So now it's like, oh, I can I can actually try to be competitive again next year, and I'm not retiring anytime soon.
SPEAKER_01:Ooh, let's let's talk about this retirement. Like, what what got in your head about that as far as like because I I find it really interesting in our sport. Like we're we're finally professional professionalizing to the point where like retirement is kind of an official thing more. Like Eric Sentzman did it a while back, and as uh it used to be where if you're just not sponsored anymore, you kind of just fall off and nobody hears from you again. And it's kind of sad. Um, but I like the idea of like in the sense where there is a retirement. There's a there's a during, there's a before, and then there's an after. Uh talk about that, like what was going through like mental process-wise for you.
SPEAKER_00:Totally. It's it's wild because uh to be it's like the mental process for me was basically like uh I have not taken a an extended period of time off, um, literally at any point during my ultra career, or even during my triathlon career, or college sports, high school sports, junior high sports. And so I'm 35 and I don't remember the last summer that I've ever just been like, I'm not training for something and I can do whatever I want. And so when I was finally injured this summer is like, oh, this is the perfect exit. Like, I actually can't do the sport that I get paid to do. And so if I just don't come back from this, that's okay, and there are other things out there. Um, but then it's really funny because I started thinking more about it. I'm like, well, actually, retirement for me more looks like I run a super hard 100-mile race every other year that still gets me my hard rock and my uh western states qualifier. And then on the down year, I just run like a hundred K that gets me my Western States qualifier to keep putting my name in the lottery. And then from there, it's like I spend half of the year and I just run, you know, 30 to 60 minutes a day and enjoy running, drink all the coffee, do all the fun things, and then, you know, you have like four months of the year that you train hard for something, and there you go. And so that's what retirement would look like for me. Um, but I was just very much ready for that this summer, and I think it was just I packed so much into the first half of the year that instead of just saying, I would like to take a break from this for a hot second, uh, it just took being injured.
SPEAKER_01:It's a weird thing. Like, do have you thought about like, all right, so yours is a little bit different where like you would still run and do things. Like, I've thought about like what I would do if I didn't do the sport, and I think I would lose my mind because like if running just wasn't a thing tomorrow, I'd have to go find something else to be obsessed with. It's a little weird. It's a hard, it's a hard thing to tussle with. Like, I don't know, do you I don't maybe you can elaborate more on this. Like, do you find it as like an identity for you or is it separate from your identity?
SPEAKER_00:Uh I would say separate. So like during the during the two months or so that I didn't run, uh, it was actually really funny because I started to take the kay out a lot more. And I'm like, oh, this is actually really fun, which is funny because I've done some adventure racing, and so it's like it's not like kayaking is foreign to me, but I just never made the time for it. Um also got a gravel bike and absolutely love riding that thing and um picked up photography last year and so had a lot more time to just like go out and be in nature and take photos of things and not have the stress or the pressure of like going out and doing a five or six hour training run. And so it was weird because uh I was just like, yeah, I could totally just be done with running. And then I thought about it's like, no, I actually missed it after like two months. But uh I missed it to the point that running 30 minutes a day when I finally was done, like, shouldn't say done being injured, but when I was able to run again, running 30 minutes a day was like the sweet spot. And then after a few weeks of that, it's like, oh, an hour a day is still the sweet spot, I guess. But um, I wasn't super quick to come back to just like this is the training regiment, here we go. Uh, didn't want to do anything too intense. Um, and so I don't know. It's I enjoy running, I love it, it's fun. It has taken me literally all over the world to some of the most amazing places. But uh, if I couldn't run tomorrow, I think I'd be okay.
SPEAKER_01:Wow. That's inter that's so interesting to me. How how do you view things like competitively now? Because you've been so competitive over the years, you've had some amazing finishes and performances. Is there something you still have left to do before it's all said and done? Or is it more goal like is it a different goal-oriented?
SPEAKER_00:Uh I would say a lot of the stuff that I do is definitely different goal-oriented now. Um I I enjoy community events, I enjoy being able to do things with friends, with other people. Um the still equally as intense, but just, you know, not necessarily in a race setting. Um, but still like to push myself that way. But um, I don't know. I just got back into Western states uh for the third time, and so uh it was really funny because I'm like, oh yeah, I'm not gonna race anything long next year. I'm only gonna race like 50k max. Wanna do like half marathon, marathon, here we go. And then I get back into Western states and it's like, all right, I have one more week of thinking that I'm only gonna do short stuff, but really I'm going all in on states again. And uh I'm very excited to see what that looks like.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, dude, I'm excited for you. Congratulations on getting back in again. I mean, that's that's so it's uh it's not easy to get into that race.
SPEAKER_00:Nope. So yeah, thanks. Third time's a charm.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that's right. Will there will you be in a speedo this time around or no?
SPEAKER_00:Hmm, I don't know. That's a good question. We'll have to wait until next day.
SPEAKER_01:All right, let's pivot a little bit. I want to talk about your role with Merrill as um so are it are you athlete manager, or what are you specifically doing on the athlete team with Merrill?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so technically I'm still an athlete, but I am also managing the athlete team, um, which is just uh very interesting because we just uh we had an athlete manager for the first like three months that I was on the team last year, and then she left, and the position just never really got filled. And so we had Ben that's in sports uh trailer and marketing, was kind of I mean not kind of, he was managing the team, but it was just uh a lot of extra duties for him that you know wasn't part of his initial job description, and so that's where I kind of stepped in and I'm helping out with that now and uh figuring things out as we go.
SPEAKER_01:Oh wow. So you're building the plane while you're flying though. Talk about that a little bit. Like like as far as the duties go, I I mean uh it's I I think I find it really cool because I love seeing like your back most athlete managers or a lot of them don't really come from the athletic side. They're not at least like the professional athlete side. So it's cool to be an athlete and then see the complete other side of it as well. Um talk about that a little bit and and how you like the duties and and kind of what you've been doing with them.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's pretty wild because uh I now understand why certain things take a week to happen and other things take six months or nine months. And uh I think that it's something that if you are coming from a competitive athlete background and kind of stepping into that role, then I think that it's a super valuable position because um, like as you said, you know, a lot of people that work for some of these bigger brands, they maybe got their business degree or their marketing degree or whatever, but maybe haven't been in, you know, the trail run sport or just, you know, maybe even running in general. And so uh there are a lot of things that kind of look good on paper that don't necessarily always translate well to like actually the what the reality of it is. And the and so like being able to like help shape uh what the athlete team should mean to a brand and like talk with corporate about that is pretty exciting. And then like the flip side of that is uh I now have a lot more information that I can just pass on to the athletes. And uh there are certain times where it's like, hey, you know, I I know that this would be super beneficial for you, but like we can't do that right now. But can we revisit this in a couple months? Or there are other things where if they're requesting something, it's like, oh yeah, that totally makes sense. Let me take that to my higher ups and see what I can do. And uh it's I would say it's a lot of just trying to help both sides understand each other.
SPEAKER_01:Interesting. Do you do you like it? Do you do you like being that that middle man?
SPEAKER_00:I do, I love it. Um, although it is still contract season right now, and so this is like like I've already my contracts, I've always negotiated them myself. There you go, pretty simple. Uh I know how to ask for things and get things, and so all good. Uh, but contract season right now has just been absolutely wild. And so uh I yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, you don't have to go into detail. Do you uh one thing I do have to ask you, is it a pain in the ass dealing with agents on the other side? That's that's gotta be question number one.
SPEAKER_00:Uh, you know, most agents uh that I've had to work with have been great. And sometimes, you know, it's just been you know, being able to say, like, hey, you know, I absolutely think that the person that you're trying to get me to sign is a wonderful person, but maybe they're just not the fit right fit right now, um, or just things like that. But like the agents that I've been talking to have been super lucky where um we've all just been like, hey, you know, like this is either working or it's not, and you know, just let's keep this line of communication open because uh, you know, things are always up in the air and things can change, and uh you don't really want to burn any of those bridges. Um but it's also like from the athlete side of things, the athletes that are using agents, I totally get why they're doing it. It's way less stress for the athlete. But um, like personally, I would rather pay an athlete directly than pay an agent who then pays the athlete. So if you're a solid negotiator, um like I'm always open to talk to athletes. Oh, I like that.
SPEAKER_01:I like I I see, I think there's I don't know, this is a really interesting topic because as the sport professionalizes and grows, more agents come into the sport. I I think the agents in a lot of ways are an amazing thing, but also I could see as far as the negotiation side, I think the number one question though is like athletes knowing their worth and then having that conversation. I think it's a difficult conversation to have. And then even knowing, like, okay, I'm worth X amount, and then being able to conversate that with you, it's gotta be a difficult conversation to have, no?
SPEAKER_00:Totally. It's a very difficult conversation to have. And, you know, I think that there are some athletes that are really good at just pitching themselves, and there you go, and then there are some athletes that absolutely suck at it. And um and it's and it's just it's so wild to me because uh contracts are so like under wraps where you're not supposed to talk about with your contract to like teammates other people and what you're making and all that. But like there's more and more information that's coming out where it's like you kind of know what people are making, or at least what you think you you think you know what they're making. And it's I don't know, like just you don't get what you don't ask for. So I mean, ask for it. Like if the brand says no, that's okay, but then take what you just said and repackage it and pitch it a different way. And so, yes, it sucks to have to do that multiple times at times, but uh if you stick to it, it's worth it. I love that.
SPEAKER_01:I got a question more strategy related with the brand itself, and maybe you can answer this, maybe not. One one of the things I've really enjoyed about Merrill and really liked is you know, there's always been that heavy investment and strong emphasis on the World Skyrunner series and short trail. But on the flip side, too, there's investment and long trail. There are athletes like yourself, Reed, and others. What is the this I guess the strategy going forward? Like, is it continued to be kind of you know, looking at both sides of the sport, short trail and long trail? Is there gonna be more of an emphasis on one side versus the other? Like, is there anything you could share as far as that goes, maybe going forward?
SPEAKER_00:For sure. Um, yep. So the brand uh definitely just they love the Skyrunner World Series, and that's great. Uh we uh I would say that for the next couple of years there will be kind of a big, bigger emphasis on that. Um, you know, Europe is definitely big into it because I mean a lot of the sky races are over there, but uh from the US side of things, we'll be interested in that as well. But right now, I think that where we're kind of lacking is just um having athletes at like a Western States, a UTMB. And so um it's great that we focus on the Skyrunner stuff, but I'm also trying to get people that are just even a looking to be at Western states or UTMB, and then from there it's like building on people that I think have, you know, that top 10 potential um just because skyrunning is great, but is skyrunning, you know, something that most of the general public and most trail runners are actually going to do? Uh probably not. And so with that, um, if you're trying to be relevant and relatable, like you need to actually have, you know, people doing things that get some eyes on it, that is your kind of target market. Um, but that's not to say that, you know, like a golden trail world series isn't exciting because I mean the Golden Trail World series was streamed on HBO, which I had no idea until the final. And so it's like, oh, like there's there's still plenty of just great stuff happening in shorter trail as well. And you know, I think it's just important to be a well-rounded team. Yeah, I love that.
SPEAKER_01:What is it like being a talent scout and like picking it? Like, are you like in the weed trying to figure out like who's who? Are you or are you more so like you've got to be inundated, people coming to you all the time asking you for like, hey, Corey, sponsor me? Um what is it like like having to one, say no to a lot of people, obviously, and have that difficult conversation, but also be looking for ah, that person's got it. That person's got what I'm looking for. Like, is it difficult to find that particular brand fit, if you will?
SPEAKER_00:Totally. It's uh I I'm scared to open up Instagram or my email right now because like every day there's probably three to five people that are like, hey, you know, like I love Merrill, my first hiking boots are Merrill, and now I'm trying to, you know, run for you guys. What can I do? Or are you looking for people? It's like, uh, well, most of these conversations started back in June and July. So like that's one thing. Like, if you're if you're looking to get sponsored, start looking early. Um, and you know, I'm doing some of the scouting for it. Thankfully, being in the sport for a very long time, I have a pretty good idea of like who I'd like on the team and who uh who would be able to help us out. But then, you know, I get a lot of suggestions from uh the athletes that we're currently working with. They are always sending people my way. And it's there have been a ton of good options. It's all just been so late in the season that's like, hey, you know, like budgets for next year are pretty much set. And so um, yeah, start early.
SPEAKER_01:Interesting. Oh, I gotta ask you this, because this is something I've always been weird about. Um how do you feel? Like, are you open to like when athletes on your team are sending you people? Because like I always feel weird. I'm like, oh, if I want to forward someone like the higher ups in Sportiva and like like, oh, I really recommend this athlete, I want to make sure like that is a super ironclad person that's like a very good brand fit. Because I don't want to be inundating like someone in your role with um you know, with recommendations.
SPEAKER_00:Totally. No, I I absolutely love when people send a recommendation just because uh, you know, they're I live way up in Maine, so I'm like pr I mean, I should pretty much be Canada. And so like with that, I'm so far away from a lot of other things that are going on that you know, I'm not seeing what's happening in these group runs in Boulder. I'm not seeing what's going on down in Phoenix at like Aravipa stuff all the time. And so uh there are definitely a lot of options uh or opportunities for you know our current athletes or even just people in like the general public that are like, hey, you know, I don't know if you saw this race result from XYZ, but this person's put together a super solid like three-year run of things and they're finally about to break out. Like, maybe you should look into them. And so uh I absolutely love suggestions from people, but then at the same time, it's realizing that um, you know, it would be nice to sign everybody, but realistically, there's maybe one to three people that are gonna get signed a year.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. I mean, it's especially for a team like that size, as far as that goes, and scalability and stuff like that. Yeah, it's dude, and this landscape has gotten crazy. I feel like this year more than ever, I'd probably say maybe last year, this year has the feel like this sport has gotten not just significantly more competitive, but there's way more people in it. It's kind of crazy.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely. And that's that is the hardest part right now, just because I mean, literally any direction you turn, it's like, oh, this person is just like 15th at the World Championships. Oh, this person just ran a 214 marathon, like, oh, this person had never done a sky race before and finished fourth and stuff. It's like these people are just popping up literally everywhere. And so the options are kind of endless.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Yes. What what's your take on the sport now? Like as far as now getting to see it from both sides, a the brand side, and B, the athlete side. Like, I guess the evolution that you've seen since what, 2015, 2016 when you got in the sport to now, are are you happy with where the sport is and where it's going, or do you think there's some course correction we need?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I think uh I think that for a while the sport got uh maybe a little too influencer heavy. Um, and so uh, I mean, influencers are a great thing, and you know, an influencer doesn't have to be a bad thing. Like there are people that are Olympians that are now getting into trail running, and some would say they're influencers, and but they're also like competitive. And so like there's there's for a while there's just a lot of sponsorship money that might have been going to uh maybe the more not necessarily most competitive influencers, and like that can be frustrating as an athlete that's put in, you know, the time and the effort to be a competitive person that should be on a team, but then to get passed up for someone that, you know, just has a bigger social media following. And so I think that for a while the sport was kind of going that direction, but I think it's very much coming back to like brands now have a budget for influencers to do what they want to do with the influencers for product launches and activations, whatever, but then they still have you know a core athlete team. And so I think we're in the right direction.
SPEAKER_01:Ooh. I don't know if you can answer this, but like do you guys have a social media requirement? The only reason I ask that is because like there's a lot of brands that still have it, have social media requirements for their athletes.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, for sure. So we do. Um, it's not much at all. And so, I mean, it's if there's something that you're doing that's relevant to Merrill, which I mean most things that you're doing are, because I mean, we have, you know, our trailer run footwear, but we also have lifestyle and we have winter boots and we have literally everything. So I mean, it's really not that hard to get a photo of you doing something in Merrill. And post it to a story, and like we're pretty happy with that. Um, the bigger time that we will use like our athletes for social media type stuff is um is like monthly, we kind of have a different product that we're kind of focused on, and we're never just gonna be like, hey, you have to post about XYZ, but we do just say, like, hey, of these three to five shoes that are kind of a focus for us this month, is there one that you use? And if so, can you please post about it? Um and so that's like our social media requirement. It's very little.
SPEAKER_01:Interesting. The only reason I ask is because like you've got a couple members on the team that are like really good at it. Like social, like Rachel Temaichak has an amazing social, and same with Mercedes, another one who has a really good, like they're very good with their social media game, and they're good at can I think like I'd say Rachel more than anyone is like so good at conveying what she's doing and sharing her story. Does an amazing job at that.
SPEAKER_00:Totally, absolutely. Rachel's like amazing at that. And so, um, like, and that's that's a wonderful thing because you know it helps her build her brand, but like it also very much helps Meryl. Um, and so um, yes, I would say if you are trying to figure out social media and like what to do, like look at Rachel, and maybe you don't have to do everything that she does, but I mean she's very good at what she does.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, no, a hundred percent. Yeah, it's it's an interesting thing, man. I bring this up a lot on the podcast. Like, I'm always I I used to be very big on poo-pooing on influencers, and then I started thinking about this because someone brought it to my attention. They're like, well, in the climbing world, if you're a big climbing voice or someone that has a voice in the climbing scene, generally you do, like you're more or less an influencer. Like you have your you have a large audience, put it that way, like as far as the social media goes. And I find it to be a very like nuanced conversation around trail running, where we've got like a group of very hardcore athletes that are very much oriented in performance, and I would consider myself very much understand like under that idea. And then you have people that are very much there's not many in-between, is what I'm trying to say. Like your Rachel, who's very performance-oriented, but also is very good in the social media game. You seem to be one or the other, which is weird.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, for sure. And um, you know, I think I think it's very much one of those things where if you are winning all of the bigger things, you don't have to be good at social media. Um, like if you're like the Courtney, the Jim, the Katie, like any of those people, you really don't have to be good at social media because you're getting enough media content, whether it's the brand doing it for you, the race you're going to, or whatever, like you're getting enough content there that it's like, cool. Like all they have to do is, you know, do a collab request on Instagram, and boom, you're on that page, and there you go. Um and so like it's it's one of those things where they're focused on performance and they are like a hundred percent focused on performance, and I think that's a great thing. Um, but I think we're gonna see more people that end up kind of like in that in-between space where it's like, especially as contracts start to get maybe a little bit bigger than they have been in the past, it's like, sure, you're getting paid more, but you're also expected to produce more. And so whether that's the results or the social media and just staying relevant, I think uh we're gonna kind of trend that way a little bit.
SPEAKER_01:I like that. I I I gotta ask the contract question, and by no means am I asking for numbers, but just an idea. Like, is there is it is it much more common now? Because we a lot of numbers get thrown out, dude. I'm sure you saw um a podcast recently, they were talking about athletes making 500 grand a year, all these different things. My question is more is it much more common space for athletes to be making a full-time living in the sport now versus before? Like is are you seeing that more?
SPEAKER_00:I would say I would say it's definitely a lot more possible now than it has been in the past. And I think it's gonna continue to trend that way. And um, I think brands are going to have to kind of look at athlete teams and be like, hey, do you wanna, you know, be the team that sponsors, you know, a ton of runners, but maybe they're not making that much? Or do you want to sponsor fewer runners, but your athletes are making a little bit more? And so um, you know, what approach do you want to take to that? And I don't necessarily think there's a right or a wrong answer to it, but there are definitely plenty of brands that have, you know, a lot of athletes that don't get paid that much. And so um, you know, if you want to be different, pay your athletes more.
SPEAKER_01:I like that. All right, I'm gonna I'm gonna take a left-hand turn on this one. I'm so curious because you've been in the sport for so long. I've one bone I have to pick with long trail versus short trail is the prize money. This is something I actually brought up on Instagram the other day. And I've been thinking a lot about this because I think about from a contract perspective. If I do good at a race, right, I'll get a race bonus. Let's just say, I don't know, Cirque series or something like that. I don't know. Um one of the things I've always been frustrated with, I think it's good. I'm very athlete first. I think athletes should be making the bag, dude. I I mean it's a finite life like life anyway. It doesn't last very long. When you're doing it, I hope you make a ton of money doing it. But one of the things I've always had a gripe with is I feel like races have always relied on brands to subsidize race bonus, like race performance bonuses to subsidize prize money. And that's always driven me nuts. Do you have more information on this? Like I know like Western States is a nonprofit, they say that's why they don't do prize money, hard rock is a more community thing, don't do prize money, but a lot of races don't do prize money. Uh what what is your what's your take on this?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's kind of wild to me because um, you know, some contracts have performance bonuses written into them, some don't. Um and so it's it's just wild to me that you would like UTMB has prize money now. Um and I think it's decent. I don't know, I haven't really looked at it. Um, but it's one of those things where when people say, you know, oh, like this such and such race wasn't super competitive anymore or whatever, it's like, okay, but like if there are races that are paying athletes to be on those start lines, like if there's the opportunity to win, you know, prize money, then I would think that a competitive athlete would probably choose that over something that maybe doesn't have the prize money. And I think if brands and races were better at, you know, just like talking and collaborating on things, there's kind of a perfect world where brands would be, I mean, I know that brands sponsor races as well, but like if UTMB, for example, if there were five major brands that were all like, we gonna kick in$20,000 each, all of a sudden, like that makes the prize purse a lot bigger and it's still getting exposure for their athletes, it's gonna set up a competitive race. And so I don't know. I just I think that there are better ways of doing it, other than just being like, oh yeah, hopefully the athlete does well, and maybe they get a little bit of a bonus from a brand, and oh, they got a couple thousand from you know winning a race. When it's like, but the amount of work that goes into being able to win that race is worth way more than that uh, you know, bonus.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I I couldn't agree more. It's funny because like, I don't know, there's there's two sides of this too. The other side of it, and I think of this as like a from a golden uh ticket perspective, right? So like let's say you're somebody like Will Murray, you go and and you get yourself a golden ticket, you're not a sponsored athlete, maybe by like a nutrition company, but you it's not like you're running for Merrill or Adidas or someone like that. So you're probably not getting a performance bonus, definitely not, and there's no prize money for you. But like the body of work you just put together, in my opinion, and this is just my opinion, it's probably worth at least 50 grand. Like you should be getting a sizable payout for getting a golden ticket or for winning a race like that in today's day and age of sport. Dude, say we're in Western states. If we win western states, I I think that should be$100,000, like or something close to that, um, just because of how competitive it is, the amount of work that goes into it. And it, I don't know. The reason it struck a nerve with me is because Broken Arrow just this past week announced a hundred and sixty thousand dollar prize purse. If I go win the 23K, it it's$30,000 for the first male, first women. And it's like I think that's fair for an hour and a half worth of work, that's not bad.$30,000. You know, whereas like in the ultra scene, there's a lot you're putting 40, 30, 40 hours a week into this, not just running, but all the accessory work, everything for recovery. It's a lot of work, dude. Um, so yeah, I don't know. That's been a big gripe of mine that I think they're they need to revisit the prize money situation and they should do it soon, sooner rather than later, as the sport continues to grow.
SPEAKER_00:Totally, absolutely. And yeah, broken arrow, their their prize money that they just put out, like that's absolutely nuts. And I mean, it's amazing to see, um, but it's wild. And so, um, I don't know, and same with Will. I mean, to think about Will. So not only that, it's like the amount of training that went into that to get a golden ticket, and then, you know, the travel out there, getting your crew out there, all that stuff, however much that costs, it's a lot. Um, and then it's like, oh, get the golden ticket, great. Well, Western states costs 600 bucks to register for, um, because it's not a free entry, he still has to pay his entry. Um, and then to think that if you want to go out there, bring like a couple person crew, and then all of a sudden it's like trying to find a house in like the Tahoe area to have your whole crew out there and all that, like it's a really expensive weekend. And it's like if you're not sponsored, it's not super sustainable.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Yeah, not super sustainable. And like you said, like you can do that, yeah, you do that once, but that's like there goes your vacation for a year. If you're working a full-time job, like there's all your PTO, getting ready for that, going out to that gaming. And then it's like, all right, well, the sport demands you to perform there. And if you want to be sponsored, or if you want to be at the top of the sport, you can't just perform there, you have to perform at other places too. So the financial pool is substantial for a for a sport that really used to be so simple. It's kind of crazy.
SPEAKER_00:Totally. Yeah. I mean, I don't know. There but I don't know. I feel like Will will probably get picked up by somebody.
SPEAKER_01:So yeah, definitely, definitely. He seems to be the media likes him, people like him. I think it, yeah, no doubt, I wouldn't be surprised. Um switch gears a little bit. One question before we go, because I do want to talk about your for your photography and and background with that as well. Um Olympic sport. Do you think we become an Olympic sport? You think that goes somewhere?
SPEAKER_00:Oh, for sure. Um I definitely think it will. I think it's uh it's probably gonna be something on the shorter side, like the sub-ultra distance, just because um like as much fun as watching people go after like a world record for a hundred K or something like that. Uh, I do think it will be like trail 25k, something, something kind of like a golden trail world series type thing.
SPEAKER_01:Interesting. All right, I like that. I think I think we're headed in that direction. Something. VK, something short, something punchy. Um, I think we can borrow a lot from schemo there, whether good or bad. I think there's there's some things to that we'll see as far as short, you know, short racing goes. All right, I do want to ask you about your photography because I saw the Circ series share some of your stuff um this year from I think it was Aliaska. Were you in uh you were shooting over there? Dude, talk to me about this. Is this like a business that you're doing as well? Like talk about your photography.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, um, so it's wild. I bought a camera like last October, September, um, so a little over a year ago, basically, because it's like, oh, I live in Maine. I'm gonna be able to capture the fall colors with something other than my phone. Um and so got the camera, started having some fun with it, and then um like mainly do like landscape stuff, and then kind of got into some wildlife stuff, and like being injured, it's like, well, I can't run, but I can hike, so I'm definitely just like focused on wildlife and landscape. But then uh I was gonna go up to Alaska for the Cirque series race because Alaska is the 50th state for me to go to. And then I just texted Julian and is like, hey dude, like I'm injured, I can't run. Uh, do you need any more photographers? And he's like, Yes, actually we do. And I was like, oh, okay. Um, and so he's like, still, come on up and we'll take care of it. So I went up and shot uh the Cirque series race up there in Alaska, and that was like my first real paid gig or whatever. And he's just like, Do you want to come to all of our races? Yeah. And I was like, sure. Um, absolutely. And so it's fun, and I don't really advertise that I'm like doing any paid stuff or whatever, but like if people need uh race photography or just like following athletes, um I'm super open to it. Uh so like Cape Town this year, I ended up getting super sick and not getting to race in Cape Town. Uh, but my teammate Emily was still racing, so I ended up just like instead of just sitting in my Airbnb all day, it's like went out, did photography for that, documented her day, and it was super fun. And um, and I think that Merrill like was like, oh, he does actually know how to use a camera.
SPEAKER_01:Well will we see you like so for instance, like I'll race the Cirque Series next year. Will I be seeing you at Cirque Series races doing some shooting? Like any anything in particular, like at least like the New Hampshire race and the Vermont. That's not far from you.
SPEAKER_00:They're not far, but they're like right around western states. So I don't know that I'll be there. And I really wanted to be, um, but I don't think I'll be there for that. But I am going back to Alaska. Okay. Um, so super excited for that. And who knows where else I'll be.
SPEAKER_01:Dude, I'll check maybe we gotta I I'll see. I don't know what Michelino's plans are, but maybe we'll have uh like a a party it up at Targy if Francesco, if I can get Francesco out there, we can have a group.
SPEAKER_00:That could be fun. Yeah. That could be fun. Yeah, that'd be really fun, actually. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Talk talk a little bit about uh your experience in South Africa. It sounds like obviously you said you got sick, so that that's not good. But like talk about like the experience just being out there and the race, like the race in general, like getting to follow that and cover that. Like, what was that all about?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, um, you know, it was kind of wild. So I had never been to Cape Town or anywhere in South Africa before. And it always gets, you know, the reputation of being just a very dangerous city, and so um for the longest time I kind of stayed away from it. And uh it's amazing. It's absolutely amazing. The people are super friendly there. Um, you know, coming from the US, it's actually not expensive to get there or even be there. So like that's a super positive thing. Um the trails are really rugged, it's warm, it's windy, it's it's all of the things that make Cape Town such a hard race, but like such a great experience. And like I'm super sad that I didn't get to run the 100 miler this year, but crewing the 100k at least got to see a lot of the course and like understand what I'm getting myself into next year. Yeah, next year. Um, but you know, I think I think more people should go to Cape Town. I honestly do. It's um to have the ocean right there and be able to go to the beach, but then also be like standing on top of a mountain not that far away, is pretty incredible.
SPEAKER_01:I mean, the wildlife there is supposed to be crazy too. Like there's like cobras and shit like hanging out, and apparently like I don't know, you can cage dive with the great whites. Like, there's like amazing stuff that you can do there. It's sounds pretty cool.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's uh it's a really neat place. And then like if you just venture out a little bit farther, you know, you could go on safari and you can do all that stuff. So I mean, they're like, there's everything is there. Um, and so it's uh it's a really cool place, and I'm looking forward to going back.
SPEAKER_01:So it's definitely worth it then. It's exciting too, because we have I think worlds in 2027 is gonna be there. So that that'll be kind of piggybacked onto that. So it'll be uh so you said the trails are rugged. Is it so like when you say rugged, like northeast technical or technical in a different way? Like what about it pops out to you that like makes it so so different and unique?
SPEAKER_00:Uh it's steep and it's sharp. Um and so like they're definitely there are definitely points on the course where you'll need like three or four points of contact. Um and so I think that's one thing a lot of people don't realize going into it, where it's like, yeah, you know, it's gonna be steep, okay, and like, yeah, it's rocky and some of the rocks are kind of sharp and stuff, okay. Um, but like there are points where you need three and four points of contact. And so that's what makes it just hard, I think. And at the same time, uh they had like 50 to 70 mile per hour wind at times out there on the course. They're like, sometimes you're dealing with heavy fog, the wind, uh, just the steepness of stuff, and um apparently there's like no ozone there. So like the UV index was like uh 11 or a 12 out of 10. Um and so it was one of the yeah, so it's like everyone gets pride there, and so it was super funny. It's like uh on one of my first days there, we were just walking around and it's like, oh, there's another black person with sunscreen on. I should probably put sunscreen on. I'm like, if the locals are putting sunscreen on and you're not from there, that means you put it on. Um and so it was just really funny. It's like there are just a lot of environmental conditions that make it a hard place.
SPEAKER_01:Interesting. Well, what is the I I know you you were sick. Was it water? Like, do was it the food? Like, what what do you think got you got you sick?
SPEAKER_00:You know, honestly, I have no idea. Um was that good? Oh, the f the food's great. Um and like Uber Eats is super cheap, so like that's one of the best parts because like sure, you know, it's kind of a dangerous city where it's like you don't walk places alone after dark. And um realistically, if you're in an Airbnb, the easiest thing to do is just like Uber Eats food to the Airbnb if you want. Um, and so it's really nice because it's like, oh, I can be in a great place and I don't have to go anywhere. Um, I love it. Um, but yeah, it was maybe the water, I don't know, because like technically you can still drink the water, but like just because you can drink the water doesn't always mean that you should. And for a while I was like, am I the only one that got sick? But it's like, oh no, no, no. There are definitely a few people from North America and Europe that tried to race there that ended up getting pretty sick. And so um I still don't know what it was, but it wasn't just me.
SPEAKER_01:So I was it's a recurring thing every year. I mean, Anton was over there a few years ago, he got sick and it derailed his entire race weekend as well. So it's not it's like a North American thing. I don't know. We're just not whatever it is now, water. We're not used to that the biome or whatever.
SPEAKER_00:You know, it was like it was so sad though, because I was just like, I think I can still race. I think I can still race, and it's like every 15 minutes just running to the bathroom and like the night and like the night before the race, I didn't even get to sleep in my bed. I just like slept on the bathroom floor because I just like this is so terrible. And then it's like, but I'm still gonna race. It's like, no, no, you're not.
SPEAKER_01:Uh what's uh so obviously Western States is kind of next for you as far as big goals, but what else what else do you have on your plans for I guess late 2025? Well, 2025 is pretty much over, but going into 2026, is it just gonna be Western States or in in November UTC?
SPEAKER_00:Uh trying to figure everything out still because uh I need to figure out like a half marathon, marathon, uh probably sometime February, March. Um just I don't really know what I want to do, to be completely honest. So it's just like find something that's interesting and fun. Uh it's a road marathon, so it's like, am I looking for interesting, fast, or just fun? So we'll figure that out. Um I still have an I rolled my entry from uh Moab two forty from this year over to next year. So there's like a super solid possibility that it could be Western Moab in Cape Town this year, which I think would be a pretty pretty solid triple. Um but who knows, there's there are always things that pop up where I'm like, oh, that's really exciting. Here we go. Get on a plane. I love it. I love it.
SPEAKER_01:Alright, I think it's a good place to put a pin in it. Corey, I hope I get to hang out with you this summer, man. It was really fun getting to talk to you and uh getting to know you a little bit more and listen to more of your story. Um much appreciated and uh wishing you the best of luck going into the new year. Yeah, thanks. This has been great. Appreciate it. Awesome. Sweet dude. What'd you guys think? Oh man, what a fun episode. Like I said, this one's a little bit different. Not too much about performance, not too much about racing, but just about you know, his thoughts on the sport, where we're at with prize money, where we're at with um just the athlete management side, um, and just Corey's take on the sport, which I found to be super interesting. And I hope those that are uh, you know, kind of aspiring pros got some value out of that discussion um around what it's like being an athlete manager and uh you know some of the advice Corey had to had to provide. Um guys, before you get going, you can find Corey on Instagram. It's gonna be linked in the show notes, but you can follow him at Corey Waltering. It's gonna be uh on there for you guys to find. Give him a follow, send him a DM. I'm sure that's what he'd love to hear is more DMs. Um but that said, uh, I'm sure he'd love to hear what you guys thought about the episode. I'm sure he'd be super appreciative. Um guys, before you get going, if you enjoyed this episode, please give us a five-star rating and review on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, uh, wherever you consume your podcast. We are trying to grow that YouTube channel. So hop on over to the Steep Stuff Podcast on YouTube and give us a subscription. Subscribe. I still gotta get that down. Subscription, subscribe, yeah, whatever. Uh click the click the button. Click the button. Give us some love. Um and yeah, definitely give us a five-star rating review on Apple or Spotify. And if you guys have been really enjoying this, don't just give us a review. On Apple, let us know what you like. Let us know what you don't like uh and let us know what you like. It'd be it's pretty good stuff. So uh definitely appreciate you guys. Thanks for tuning in, thanks for listening. We've got a whole slew of really fun announcements and really cool end of year stuff we're gonna be working on in the next few weeks, um, especially as we start to close out the year. Thanks for tuning along. Uh, much appreciated.
