ATRA Founder Nancy Hobbs on Whether Trail Running Belongs in the Olympics episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 2, 2026 · 54 MIN

ATRA Founder Nancy Hobbs on Whether Trail Running Belongs in the Olympics

from The Buzz

Nancy Hobbs founded the American Trail Running Association in 1996, helped establish USATF's Mountain Ultra Trail Council and chaired it for decades, and has served on the international boards governing trail and mountain running for some thirty years. Buzz and Nancy get into the underbelly of the sport: the governance. They cover how the USATF Mountain Ultra Trail Council grew from a $750 annual budget to six figures, what a membership fee actually buys you (secondary medical insurance and drug testing, not just a warm fuzzies), why the biggest races, UTMB, Hardrock, Western States, aren't the official championships and what that imbalance does to the sport, the women reshaping who shows up on the start line, and the question Buzz keeps poking at: does trail running belong in the Olympics, and would it survive the trip? Also: a throwdown, a postcard, and a hard-won case for permission to walk. The Buzz is brought to you by Wahoo treadmills, and VKTRY insoles.  The Buzz is part of the UltraSignup Podcast Network.

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ATRA Founder Nancy Hobbs on Whether Trail Running Belongs in the Olympics

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This episode was published on June 2, 2026.

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Nancy Hobbs founded the American Trail Running Association in 1996, helped establish USATF's Mountain Ultra Trail Council and chaired it for decades, and has served on the international boards governing trail and mountain running for some thirty...

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