The Dark Zone: An Adventure Racing Podcast

Rachel Nolan is back on the show FOUR YEARS (We can't believe it either!) after her first visit on Episode #35, and it's great to have her join us. In July 2026 she won PC12 in Colombia with Vidaraid, her first race with the team. Rachel and Brian also get into how she got there: solo bikepacking across the Atlas Mountains and the Pan Celtic, a training week built on hill repeats and packrafting off the west coast of Ireland, and a racing style she calls steady rather than fast.They also talk meat-free fueling in a meat-heavy country, sleeping (or not sleeping) through a five-day race, running her own tour company, and why she thinks waiting to feel ready is a mistake. Next stop for her is the world championship in Corsica.Shownotes:Rachel on TDZ #35 - https://ardarkzone.com/2022/06/27/the-dark-zone-35-rachel-nolan-irish-adventure-racer-bikepacking-champion-and-african-donkey-whisperer/Jen Segger - https://jensegger.com/Jill Mooney - https://barrultra.com/about-us/jill/Northwave - https://www.northwave.com/en/bike/shoesInfinity Bike Seat - https://infinitybikeseat.com/Albion Cycling - https://www.albioncycling.com/Orbea Bikes - https://www.orbea.com/es-esColumbia Sportswear - https://www.columbia.com/TransAtlanticWay - https://www.transatlanticway.com/Montenegro Mountain Madness - https://www.montenegromountainmadness.com/Super Jay - https://www.instagram.com/jay_jantaraboon/

Just days before the ARWS European Championship Montane Adventure Race, race director Lars Bukkehave sits down with TDZ to explain the 48-hour course that he built. Showcasing the beauty and challenge of Denmark, the race runs 19 stages including a sea cliff where you can still see the black clay layer left by the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs, underwater checkpoints, a Cold War nuclear bunker turned checkpoint, a vertical orienteering stage that sends racers climbing into the trees, and a maze set in a public park so spectators can watch.Lars also gets into what holds it all together: 70+ volunteers, and the bonfires, stick bread, and shared meals that turn 50 teams from 17 countries into a reunion before the gun even goes off. His 22-year career as an adventure racer, race director, and championship-winning teammate has led to this moment, and he looks forward to sharing it with the world.Shownotes:Race Social Media - https://www.facebook.com/MontaneAdventureRaceAtlas Explorers Expeditions - https://www.atlas-explorers.com/

New Zealand's Louie Burger is 18. He's also four expedition races deep, including a run at the iconic Godzone. He got there by way of one of the country's strongest school adventure racing programs, a last-minute addition to a team at The Magnificient, dedicated training and teamwork, and a lot of very long days in the bush.We talk about what it takes to trust people you've known for 24 hours versus teammates you've raced with since school, what actually goes wrong on a six-day expedition race, and the moments both fun and not-so-fun that always come along during a race. Along the way, Louie speaks about mentors, challenging moments, an unforgettable in-race surprise, and his own thoughts on how hard to push a young body built for a sport he wants to still be doing at 60.Shownotes:Facebook Page - Link HereInstagram Page - Link HereGodzone Report - Link HereTasman Adventure Race - www.tasmanadventurerace.nz

In December 2021, Racer and Race Director Shawn Lemaster sat down with us for Dark Zone #16. He was building races through 361 Adventures and putting in his own long days planning race courses and personal adventures. This year, we hit five years of the show, so we're running it back with some of those early voices, and Shawn was first in the chair.A lot has happened. 361 Adventures continues to grow, this spring he ran his first hundred-miler, and connects even more with his community through racing, directing, and adventures both near and far.That's the thread running through the whole hour. Triathlon, then AR, then bikepacking, now ultras. Every time Sean moved to a new sport, what he was really looking for was his people. We also get into 361 going all in for 2026, their signature event The Fig growing to twenty-four hours for its twenty-fourth year, and a mountain bike race that broke his social media. The Dark Zone is delighted to welcome Shawn Lemaster back to the show. Shownotes:361 Adventures - https://361adventures.com/361 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/361.Adventures/361 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/361adventures/Stagecoach 400 Documentary - Click Here

Rootstock Racing is taking over the Dark Zone feed, offering a limited series podcast chronicling the 2026 Endless Mountains Adventure Race.In this, the final episode, official standings, returning to real life, and holding on to the magic of the adventureShownotes:The Endless Mountains Adventure Race - www.endlessmountainsar.comRootstock Racing - www.rootstockracing.com

For the next two weeks, Rootstock Racing is taking over the Dark Zone feed, offering a limited series podcast chronicling the 2026 Endless Mountains Adventure Race.In this episode, strategic route decisions, the field stretches to the max, and stress levels rise as the finish line is in sight. Shownotes:The Endless Mountains Adventure Race - www.endlessmountainsar.comRootstock Racing - www.rootstockracing.com

Therapist, ultra runner, and race director Allison Marinucci joins the show for a conversation that starts with endurance and goes somewhere deeper. Allison traces her path from Couch to 5K, through COVID-era backyard ultras, to a double hip replacement that forced the question every athlete eventually faces: who are you when the sport goes away?From there, Brian and Allison dig into what therapy and adventure racing teach each other, and why the lessons of the racecourse matter most when life delivers its hardest disruptions.Allison also shares the deeply personal story behind Serenity on the Trails, the four-mile race she directs in Schenectady's Central Park on August 22 in support of people in recovery. Registration and resources in the show notes.Shownotes:Serenity On The Trails - https://runsignup.com/Race/NY/Schenectady/SerenityOnTheTrailsNY State Office of Addiction Services and Support - https://oasas.ny.gov/SAMHSA Drug and Alcohol National Helpline - https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/helplines/national-helpline

For the next two weeks, Rootstock Racing is taking over the Dark Zone feed, offering a limited series podcast chronicling the 2026 Endless Mountains Adventure Race.In this episode, the first sleep, the cliff jump, and the race starts to take its toll. Shownotes:The Endless Mountains Adventure Race - www.endlessmountainsar.comRootstock Racing - www.rootstockracing.comMRS Packrafting - https://www.microrafting.comSound credits:Film clip: Up. Directed by Pete Docter, Pixar Animation Studios / Walt Disney Pictures, 2009.

Nathan Fa'avae returns to the Dark Zone — over 100 episodes after his first appearance as guest #50. A seven-time adventure racing world champion with Seagate and Avaya, Nathan officially stepped back from traditional AR in 2023, not to slow down but to redirect: growing youth and women's adventure racing in New Zealand through his events company, and chasing ultra-endurance paddling with longtime racing teammate Sophie Hart.In ten days, they head back to the Yukon River for their second attempt at the Yukon 1000, the longest kayak race in the world, after taking the win — and the second-fastest time ever — in 2024. Nathan talks candidly about why this retirement stuck when earlier ones didn't, the outdoor-education philosophy he and his wife Jodie built their family around, and his advice for anyone trying to break into adventure racing.He also opens up about a small moment with Sophie mid-race that's stuck with him ever since, and shares how listeners can support his $10-a-mile fundraiser for his family's foundation supporting Pacific Island youth in New Zealand.Shownotes:$10 Per Mile Donation Page - https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/httpsnathanfaavaenzfaavaefundThe Yukon 1000 - https://www.yukon1000.org/

For the next two weeks, Rootstock Racing is taking over the Dark Zone feed, offering a limited series podcast chronicling the 2026 Endless Mountains Adventure Race.In this episode, the race kicks off at the summit of Mount Defiance in Ticonderoga, New York and teams push through their first night on the course.Shownotes:The Endless Mountains Adventure Race - www.endlessmountainsar.comRootstock Racing - www.rootstockracing.comOld School Bagels Bakery and Cafe - https://oldschoolbagels.com/

For the next two weeks, Rootstock Racing is taking over the Dark Zone feed, offering a limited series podcast chronicling the 2026 Endless Mountains Adventure Race.In this episode, final gear preparations, race fuel, and packing your fears.Shownotes:The Endless Mountains Adventure Race - www.endlessmountainsar.comRootstock Racing - www.rootstockracing.comMusic credits:Mountain Sun, Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive, CC BY.

For the next two weeks, Rootstock Racing is taking over the Dark Zone feed, offering a limited series podcast chronicling the 2026 Endless Mountains Adventure Race.In this episode, teams talk preparation, goals, and the blurry lines between adventure racing and adventure parenting.Shownotes:The Endless Mountains Adventure Race - www.endlessmountainsar.comRootstock Racing - www.rootstockracing.comMusic credits:Crazy Folk-Rock Happy Timber, Vlad Annenkov, Free Music Archive, CC BY.Inspiring Acoustic and Strings, Vlad Annenkov, Free Music Archive, CC BY.

For the next two weeks, Rootstock Racing is taking over the Dark Zone feed, offering a limited series podcast chronicling the 2026 Endless Mountains Adventure Race.In case you missed it, this is a rebroadcast of the teaser. Listen here for Episode 0.5 of the Endless Mountains Podcast, produced by Rootstock Racing.Shownotes:The Endless Mountains Adventure Race - www.endlessmountainsar.comRootstock Racing - www.rootstockracing.comBones Adventure - https://bonesadventure.com/

We love it when race directors send teams our way, and that's what RD Mark Lattanzi did in 2025 following his three-day The Cerberus Expedition Stage Race. Three-person team, One Degree Racing, tackled the course and stood out for their enthusiasm, high spirits, and teamwork. This conversation is a clinic for newer teams. One Degree digs into strategic point-dropping, rotating the maps so everyone learns to navigate, and a mind/body/spirit check-in used by the team to squash trouble before it festers. These may be the most varied topics ever covered on TDZ: Paul Farmer and Mountains Beyond Mountains, chess boxing, the Wundt Curve, friendship beyond the teenage years, and why a short-term rental beats sleeping in the dirt.Thank you to One Degree Racing for coming onto The Dark Zone!Shownotes:The Cerberus Expedition Stage Race - https://www.thecerberusrace.com/cerberus/index.phpSponsor Links:ARWS Junior World Champs - https://tinyurl.com/mr48z4c6Youth Adventure Race Camp - https://events.adengear.com/e/YouthRaceCamp2026

Twin sisters Jennifer Robertson and Jamie Miller of Team Overconfident and Undertrained join TDZ to talk about the greatest team name in adventure racing. Based in Oklahoma, Jennifer and Jamie discovered adventure racing two and a half years ago and never looked back. In this episode, they talk with TDZ about the accountability of training with your twin living across the street, learning navigation by stumbling into checkpoints, two 24-hour races that humbled them, and the third they're determined to finish.It's a conversation about saying yes, and about getting past the what-ifs and the fear of finishing last, and discovering that the joy outweighs all of it. Jennifer and Jamie came up through high family expectations, youth sports, college basketball, and learned the hard way that performance isn't identity. During their adventure racing journey, they get into the dehydration and cold-weather lessons that ended their first two 24-hour attempts, the videos they make on the long drive home to bring more people into the sport, and a candid take on where youth sports have gone wrong. It's a reminder that the best adventure racers are the ones who keep showing up, do their best, are good teammates, and refuse to let a bad day decide who they are.Shownotes:Overconfident and Undertrained on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@OverConfidentUnderTrainedSponsor Links:ARWS Junior World Champs - https://tinyurl.com/mr48z4c6Youth Adventure Race Camp - https://events.adengear.com/e/YouthRaceCamp2026

Adam Rose joins The Dark Zone for a full debrief on the 2025 Bimbache adventure race in Morocco. Racing with Team Beacon, Adam has a lot to say about five days in the Atlas Mountains — the terrain, the race design, the decisions that cost them, and the moments that made it worth every dirham.Race director Antonio de la Rosa leaves his signature on everything he touches. Bimbache was no different. Adam unpacks what that means for teams on the ground, what the AR community should know before they sign up, and why this race is already being discussed in the same breath as a world championship.Adam and Brian dig into the gap between what a stage looks like on paper and what it demands in practice — and what happens to a team's decision-making when sleep debt starts compounding across multiple days. Spoiler: it doesn't go well. It makes for great podcast listening though.Also in the conversation: the tension between giving racers information and preserving the uncertainty that makes expedition racing what it is, European teams making smart sleep decisions before the 24-hour mark, and why some of the best moments in Morocco didn't always happen during the racing.Adam sacrificed to race Bimbache, and he has zero regrets. That tells you everything you need to know about what kind of episode this is, who he is, and why he loves adventure racing so much. Shownotes:AR on AR - https://www.youtube.com/@ARonARSponsor Links:ARWS Junior World Champs - https://tinyurl.com/mr48z4c6Youth Adventure Race Camp - https://events.adengear.com/e/YouthRaceCamp2026

Returning guest Marina LeGree, Executive Director of Ascend Athletics, is always a delight to have on The Dark Zone. In this episode, we discuss her introduction to adventure racing, the parallels between Ascend and AR, and how her family is again returning to The Maine Summer Adventure Race. LeGree founded Ascend Athletics in Afghanistan in 2015 — taking girls into the mountains to teach navigation skills, rope work, and what it feels like to be part of a team. The Taliban shut that down in 2021. Ascend pivoted to Pakistan, and helped to resettle 134 Afghan alumni across three continents. The work of Ascend, in the face of incredible challenges, didn't stop. Marina and her team kept moving forward. It is easy to see the strong connection between Ascend and AR culture. There is always difficult terrain to traverse, the need for good navigation, and genuine teamwork. The Afghan alumni who made it out of Kabul in 2021 are now leading Ascend's Hike for Her events in Dublin, North Carolina, and around the world. One of them just volunteered to take the Ascend model to Africa. And some have dipped their toes into the AR waters.This is a conversation about adaptation when situations change rapidly, about building teams across impossible cultural distances, and why good work matters in an evolving world. Thank you to Marina for coming on the show! Shownotes:Ascend Athletics Hike for Her - https://www.ascendathletics.org/eventSponsor Links:ARWS Junior World Champs - https://tinyurl.com/mr48z4c6Youth Adventure Race Camp - https://events.adengear.com/e/YouthRaceCamp2026

Before we get into the race and event updates, we take a moment to remember TDZ Guest #2 Shelley Johannesson. Her loss has been a tremendous blow for our community, and TDZ wanted to join the community in honoring her and who she was. We then turn to Jason's Adventure Bash, June 13th in Columbia, South Carolina, a race that Jason Schmidt designed himself before he passed away this past winter. His wife Liz made sure it's happening. Two formats, beginner to advanced, and 50% of proceeds go directly to a college fund for Jason's three kids. If you want a race that means something, this is the one.Ascend Athletics' Hike For Her goes global May 30th, one day, one trail, one mission connecting women and girls from Afghanistan and Pakistan to wherever you're lacing up. Get involved at the link belowAnd come late June, the keys to this feed are getting handed over to Rootstock Racing while we're out racing the 5-day Endless Mountains. Rootstock is producing an in-race podcast, dropping episodes right here while we're still on course. We're happy to give RR this platform, and this episode captures the spirit of The Endless Mountains Adventure Race. Thanks for being here for this unique episode of TDZ.Shownotes:Remembering Shelley Johannesen - https://www.usara.com/news/community-loss-1Shelley's Dark Zone Episode #2 - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dark-zone-2-shelley-mclaughlin/id1578529221?i=1000530189736Jason's Adventure Bash - https://www.gritadventureracing.com/racesAscend Athletics Hike for Her - https://www.ascendathletics.org/eventEndless Mountains Adventure Race - https://www.endlessmountainsar.com/Endless Mountains Lite - https://www.rootstockracing.com/endless-mountains-adventure-race-lite.html#/