294 CUT112 After Party 2024

·1 hr 42 min·5 clips

Host Art Byram and guests Jackie Smith and Celeste Fongating-Tong debrief after the brutal Cut 112 ultra-run.

Episode 294 of the Cultra Trail Running Podcast features host Art Byram with guests Jackie Smith and Celeste Fongating-Tong, both participants in the 2024 Cut 112 ultra-run. Art introduces the show's explicit, raw tone and explains the Cut 112 is a 112-mile trail run from Rising Corners to Guilford, Connecticut, which started in 2017 with two runners and has grown to 36 participants this year, including a 50K race called the Butt. He shares stats: 21 starters for the 112-mile, 10 finishers, 11 DNFs, with Justin Kowski setting a new course record of 21:53:34. Jackie Smith details her six-month training plan involving hill repeats, night runs, and recon, but she dropped at mile 84 due to depletion and crew advice, expressing guilt but planning to return next year. Celeste Fongating-Tong ran over 70 miles despite a sinus infection, hallucinating and losing memory before dropping for safety. Later, finishers Chris Bennett and Steve Stark join; they met during the race at mile 40 and finished together in 36:19:07, describing aid station support, encounters with a bear and a panda costume, and community camaraderie. Art discusses event logistics, like extending cutoffs for finishers to preserve records, and renames the 50K race after Sherry Bilby for her help. The episode emphasizes the Connecticut trail running community's role, with pacers and crews often attempting new distances themselves. Art mentions future plans, including a 12-hour race on June 15 and making the Cut more self-sustaining. Stories include Amy Jennifer Hanlon getting engaged at the event, Lee Davis winning the 50K, and participants balancing family life with running. The tone is conversational, with humor and emotional reflections on DNFs and perseverance.

As heard by us

A loose Koltra hangout turns camera trouble and a Magic 8-Ball prediction into trail-running comedy.

Episode 294 treats the Koltra Trail Running Podcast like a trailhead hangout: loose, funny, and happy to wander. The host and two crew members move from one runner's pull toward the 100-mile distance to the more local appeal of CUT112, with Vermont measured against the simple…

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Why you'd press play

For the runner who wants 100 miles and can tolerate a Magic 8-Ball detour.

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