Built for the Long Run

If you run the trails around Chico, there’s a good chance you know Karen Weintraub’s name — or at least recognize it from a race result.

But how well do you actually know Karen?

In this episode of Pod on the Run, Ross and Petar sit down with one of Chico’s most accomplished ultrarunners to talk about the person behind the miles.

Karen has quietly put together an incredible ultra résumé, with podium finishes at races like Pine to Palm, American River and the Crazy Mountain 100 — along with an outright win at the 2023 Loco 100 in Butte Meadows.

We get into how running became such a huge part of her life, why she gravitates toward big mountain races and long days on the trail, how Chico and Bidwell Park have shaped her as a runner, and why so many of her miles are spent following her own rhythm.

Karen takes us inside the reality of running 100 miles: training, fueling, crew, pacers, drop bags, doubt, suffering, and those late-race moments when the challenge becomes as much mental as physical.

What does Karen tell herself when she wants to stop?

Does 30 miles alone ever actually feel lonely?

What happens inside your head at mile 70?

And after you win a 100-mile race outright… do you wake up feeling accomplished, or start thinking about what you could have done better?

We also build Karen’s perfect Chico day, construct the ultimate mile-70 drop bag, run through a rapid-fire round of ultrarunning choices, and ask the question at the heart of the episode:

When you keep putting yourself into incredibly difficult situations, what are you looking for?

We knew the race results.

Now it’s time to get to know the person behind them.

Karen Weintraub joins Pod on the Run.

Thanks for running with us.