Lauren Gregory | Journey to Trail Running, Year Recap, Golden Trail vs WMRA & Nike ACG

A conversation with Lauren Gregory, a trail runner who’s spent the last few years figuring out where she feels at home in the sport! Lauren grew up running in the foothills around Fort Collins, went on to spend six years at the University of Arkansas winning team titles and racing at the NCAA level, and eventually found herself on the start line of the 2024 Olympic Trials in the 5K. The twist: on the day she finally got there, all she really wanted was to be at Broken Arrow.In this episode we talk about what it looks like to shift from track to trail while navigating contracts, injuries, and expectations, and why she pushed so hard to make trail part of her pro path with Nike and now ACG. Lauren shares her experience racing Golden Trail and WMRA events, the contrast between “show” and “sport,” and what happens when you build an entire block around a race like Sierre-Zinal and it just doesn’t click. We also get into travel fatigue, jet lag, team camps in Chamonix, and why she’s oddly excited about gaming airline status as part of being a pro.More than anything, this is a conversation about staying in love with the work. Lauren talks about coming back from burnout, learning to trust a second (or third) chapter in running, and why the most powerful thing she’s found—on the track, in the Alps, and on Colorado trails—is simple, steady consistency.Hope you all enjoy this conversation :)!Episode 48.SHOW NOTESLauren GregorySubstack Golden Trail SeriesWorld Mountain Running Association (WMRA)Follow us on instagram @wanderstudiossIf you enjoyed the episode, leaving a quick Spotify review would be really rad :)