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In this episode of The Mile 99 Interview, we sit down with Mike Dimond, a hometown ultrarunner from Auburn, CA, who just punched his ticket to the 2025 Western States 100—not in the main lottery, but through the exclusive M45 Automotive Auburn residents raffle!

A Sacramento Metro firefighter, father, and long-time runner, Mike shares how living in the shadow of the Western States finish line shaped his dream, and how his name being drawn at the post-lottery raffle changed everything.

🔥 In This Episode:

• 🏠 Auburn Roots – Mike’s journey from where he grew up to making a home in the Endurance Capital of the World.
• 🚒 Balancing the Firehouse & the Finish Line – Insights into life as a Sac Metro firefighter and the delicate balance of career, family, and ultrarunning.
• 🏃‍♂️ Running Journey – From school sports to long miles on the trail, and how he first discovered the magic of Western States.
• 🎟️ The Lucky Draw – How the M45 Automotive local raffle gave him an unexpected shot at 100 miles in 2025.
• 🏋️‍♂️ Training Talk – Who’s helping him prep? What does his training look like? And how do work shifts factor in?
• 🧠 Mental Grit – How Mike deals with setbacks and tough races, and the mindset he’s building for the big day.
• 🥾 The Support Squad – Crew, pacers, and the power of local running groups and training partners in the Auburn area.

This episode is a testament to perseverance, community, and what can happen when preparation meets a little bit of lottery luck!

🔗 Resources & Mentions:

• Western States Endurance Run
• Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District
• M45 Automotive – Auburn, CA

🎧 Whether you’re a Western States hopeful or just love a great story from the trail, this one will leave you fired up!
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In this inspiring episode of The Mile 99 Interview, we sit down with two passionate trail stewards: Elke Reimer and Tim Tollefson. You might know Tim for his elite trail running accomplishments, but today, he’s wearing a different hat—one of advocacy, stewardship, and public lands protection. Alongside him, Elke shares her deep experience in trail maintenance and volunteer coordination.

Together, they unpack the behind-the-scenes work that keeps our trails runnable, beautiful, and accessible.

🌲 In This Episode:

• 🥶 Seasonal Worker Freeze – Tim explains the impact of federal hiring freezes and what that means for public lands and trail maintenance.
• 🏛️ Advocacy in Action – Learn about Runners for Public Lands and their push to mobilize the trail running community to lobby and engage with Congress.
• 🚫 Permits at Risk – What happens if races lose access to public land? Tim and Elke share real concerns about shrinking outdoor access.
• 🛠️ What is Trail Work, Really? – Elke walks us through what it takes to show up and dig in: the tools, the clothing, the snacks, and the heart.
• 🥾 Elke’s Trail Work Journey – How she got started, and why it's become a core part of her outdoor life.
• 🌐 Volunteer Power – With limited government staffing, volunteer groups are essential. Elke explains how trail systems are divided and maintained by local crews.
• 📍 Trail Work Across California – From the Western States Trail to Mammoth Lakes, there are opportunities to give back all over the state.
• 🌄 Looking Ahead – Tim and Elke talk about expanding the nonprofit Sierra Nevada Trails Alliance and how you can get involved in the next chapter of trail stewardship.

💬 Whether you’re a trail runner, hiker, or just someone who loves the outdoors, this episode is a call to action: our trails need us.

🛠️ Volunteer. Advocate. Protect.
This is your trail too.

🔗 Resources & Links:

• Runners for Public Lands
• [Sierra Nevada Trails Alliance (coming soon)]
• Volunteer Opportunities – Mammoth Lakes Trail System
• Western States Trail Foundation

🎧 Available now wherever you get your podcasts – hit that play button and get inspired to get dirty!
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We had a great time chatting with Joey "Coach" Montoya, local Auburn ultrarunner, football coach and PE teacher at Placer High School. We first met Joey back in episode 60 when he was getting ready for his first attempt at the 2021 Western States. He finished the race, but as he described to us, there was a lot of stress to manage as he approached the event.

Fast forward three years, and he's once again been given the honor to run the race in a designated aid station spot (El Dorado Creek), and he has a whole new approach and is enjoying the process!

Joey's positive attitude and outlook are infectious, and he takes many of the lessons and methods that he uses with his high school students and players to develop mental toughness and applies them to his own training. In a typical display of dedication, he was also juggling a football booster club commitment, so we spent the first half of the show talking to Joey and wrapped up with other race news, volunteering updates and chit-chat!

Join for an inspirational episode with Joey and follow his progress to that next finish on the Place High track, his home track, in June!

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George Ruiz, race director of the Tahoe Rim Trail Endurance Runs, dropped by to talk about the changes for the 2025 race after getting word that a major reconstruction project would prevent the new 100k and popular 100 mile race from occurring this year. This was a shock to the trail running community since this race is incredibly popular and has extremely dedicated entrants.

George didn't just decide to close up for 2025 once he found out that the dam at Marlette Lake had to be repaired. He dug in and came up with alternative plan with a 50k race and a new 14 miler! It's still going to be a great weekend up in Carson City with the races and the finish line ultra lounge, so tune in now to get all the details and then go press that green Register button!

Register here: https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=123701

Main web site: https://trter.com/

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Fourmidable race director Paulo Medina and original founder of the Mile 99 Interview visited us to go over everything related to this year's race! It's one of the traditional 50k races in the Auburn area to kick another season of trail and ultrarunning and always draws a great crowd!

There are multiple distances and lots of great information to share about each one in the episode and we went over all of the pre-race and race day details and fielded questions from the audience too. If you aren't signed up to race, please consider volunteering! And if depending on which race you're signed up for, you'll see the Mile 99 crew at the Knickerbocker AS. We can't wait to get you all refueled and on your way!

Sign up by February 13th here: https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=118733
Volunteer here: https://ultrasignup.com/volunteer.aspx?dtid=58552

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Bri hung out for a while after the main show and talked about her White Mountain Traverse FKT from Boundary Peak in Nevada to White Mountain in California - inspiring stuff!

She also shared advice for runners whether they are just getting into trail running or even if they've been around a while. HINT: plan for longevity and incorporate cross training!

We talked about other bucket list trips and adventures, so make sure to tune in and get some ideas for yourself! We finally wrapped up with some ideas about improving fueling and developments in mindset for training and racing.

Check out the Dr. Dirtbag blog that Bri mentioned!

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Bri joined us for a fantastic episode where we learned all about her start as a young kid riding her bike and chasing her mom on her runs. She was instinctively drawn to climbing any nearby hill, and this fit well with her future direction in life!

Fast forward to recent years and to the present day, and Bri has become a highly accomplished ultrarunner, coach and FKT holder. Her journey and stories about her many endeavors have great lessons for all of us, whether we're just starting out or are seasoned athletes. She has a lot of insight into athletic performance and also shared some of her philosophies that she has developed through her coaching business. Join us for this episode, get to know Bri and get inspired!

See ya on the trails!

Bri's IG
High Desert Endurance - Bri's coaching business
Bri's FKTs

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Happy New Year everyone!

We caught up with previous guest Todd Woodward as we kick off 2025 after a bit of a break. Todd last joined us in 2024 after his speedy performance at Miwok 100k. Unfortunately, he had to spend a bit of time rehabbing his ankle after that race and we got all of the details about how that went.

He finished the year strong with a solid performance at the NorCal Backyard Ultra and a podium finish at the Doomsday Half Marathon. For 2025, he's gunning for a fast finish at Canyons 100 miler in April. He clued us in on all of his new training methods, including cross-training, and we're excited to follow his progress!

See ya on the trails!

Todd's Instagram
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