What happens when a group of six runners—some of whom just met—piles into an RV to run 340 miles through the desert? Whitney Dancaster and Peter Haggemeier take us inside their recent journey through The Speed Project.

​In this episode, we learn how the team navigated the "OG Route," alternating 10K segments while battling extreme winds and high-desert heat. Peter and Whitney discuss the intense bond formed in the "Petri dish" of a cramped RV, the surrealism of seeing the Vegas lights after two days of effort, and the unique challenges of self-crewing a race where the only rule is to just keep moving.

What does it look like to have 107 races and 104 trophies? For Rachel Entrekin, it looks like a duffel bag full of hardware under the bed and a life recently transformed by professional running contracts.

In this episode of the Dirt & Vert Podcast, we sit down with Rachel to discuss her transition from a Doctor of Physical Therapy to a full-time professional athlete. Rachel takes us through her "prolific" racing schedule, her shift from road marathons to the mountain trails of Colorado, and the incredible 10-hour improvement she made at Cocodona 250 just by fixing her fueling strategy. She also shares one of the most harrowing (and hilarious) "rookie mistake" stories in ultra history involving a heat wave, a bad case of chafing, and a very poorly timed application of Icy Hot.

Key Takeaways

The Pro Pivot: How Rachel leveraged her success in 2025 to sign professional contracts and leave her 40-hour PT job.

The Cocodona Breakthrough: A deep dive into how she shaved 10 hours off her time through better fueling and altitude training.

The Multi-Day Mindset: Lessons from Matt Shepard on why you should sleep when you're tired rather than sticking to a rigid plan.

Gear & Humility: Why she traded Old Navy shorts for technical gear like Teregnota and Norda to survive the triple-digit distances.

The "Why": Why Rachel runs "because her life is too easy," using the sport as a practice ground for resilience.

What happens when you trade the high-stress world of Tesla for a career in Sales Engineering? For Sierra DeGroff, it meant finding the mental space to become one of the most dominant forces in the ultra-running community.

In this episode of the Dirt & Vert Podcast, we sit down with the 2026 Umstead 100 Female Champion to deconstruct her journey from a Michigan track athlete to the top of the ultra podium. Sierra gets real about her transition from the marathon distance to the grueling world of 100-milers, sharing the "nitty-gritty" of her Umstead race strategy and the nutrition plan that kept her fueled for a first-place finish. We explore the central theme of her career: how improving her work-life balance didn't just make her happier—it made her faster.