Did you ever have your car break down in the middle of nowhere and you had to walk down the highway to get help? And did you have to do that in the middle of a hot, summer day? Now did you also have to end up walking for 314 miles and you didn’t even have a car that broke down…you just walked on the side of a lonely, hot, humid and stormy highway. You know, a vacation WITHOUT a car, as the website says? Yeah, me neither! But my guests today did exactly that. Wes Plate and Joe Hardin each went 314 miles across the state of TN in the hottest part of summer, as part of the Last Annual Vol State 500K Road Race. Today I get to find out just what the heck they were thinking, and what kind of crazy adventures, catastrophes and life lessons they learned on that road. And be sure to stay tuned after the conversation for a new edition of Running Out Loud, where I feature a piece by none other than Joe Hardin. So, grab that Desitin for your feet, a credit card to buy some Gatorade and Twinkies and lets’ get ready to hit the road with Wes and & Joe.

Wes on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/midpackelite/

Joe on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trail_tortoise_running/

Wes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wplate

Wes' film on his 2026 Vol State Road Race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqQsWqLEivE

Joe's "Beyond The Finish Line" podcast on the Everyday Athlete network: https://open.spotify.com/show/1wf56FRHeEdbrl8QIxtXuV

Wes' Copper Kings 100 race: https://www.onwardendurance.com/

Joe's Odd Duck Running Co on IG: https://www.instagram.com/odd_duck_running_co/

Joe's RTB Awards: https://rtbawards.com/

The Last Annual Vol State Road Race site: https://vacationwithoutacar.com/races/vol-state/

Joe’s writings and poetry on Substack: https://sobrietysweatandsawdust.substack.com/

Joey's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Run_Joey_Run

Running Behind on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/running.behind_pod

Joey's Strava Profile: https://www.strava.com/athletes/111237895

Chasing Cutoffs w/Ben Mead (Go listen! It's awesome!):

https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/chasingcutoffs

Artwork by Ed Linder

I am doing something today that I’ve never done before. I am re-releasing an episode! This episode was originally released as episode 11, with the one and only, Mr. Tim Tollefson. Now why am I doing this…because I’m lazy? Well, I might be lazy but that’s not why. I am re-launching this conversation because #1, Tim is one of the best freaking people on the entire planet! We love hearing him on Freetrail’s Rest Day and other podcasts, and there just is no way to get too much Timmy T. #2, It’s Mammoth Trailfest time and I am headed back for 2026 BABY! This episode has the entire story of how Tim thought of it, what it takes to put this event on, what he is trying to do with it, and what it means to the community. Pay no attention to any speculation about my 2025 race, I will have some Director’s cut commentary to mitigate any nonsense. And finally #3, because Tim is just an amazing guy. He’s been very supportive of me of the podcast and of the Grace To The Finish campaign. So whether you’ve heard this one before, or whether you are about to experience its amazingness for the first time, head out for your run and let’s get ready to hit the trail again with Tim.

[NEW LINKS]

Tim interview with Rich Roll: https://youtu.be/m1aBpqU1DyU

Jeff Pelletier film of the 2025 Mammoth 200: https://youtu.be/6KwOoFXLR_M

[Previous Links]

Tim on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timtollefson/

Mammoth Trailfest: https://www.mammothtrailfest.com/

Runners For Public Lands: https://runnersforpubliclands.org/

Born To Adapt website: https://www.borntoadapt.org/

Born To Adapt documentary (WATCH THIS!): https://youtu.be/QFKJyWXxcws

The Mammoth 200 movie with Sally McRae: https://youtu.be/2a0efndmmsE

UTMB Trail Race: https://montblanc.utmb.world/races/UTMB

Western State Endurance Run: https://www.wser.org/

Joey's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Run_Joey_Run

Running Behind on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/running.behind_pod

Joey's Strava Profile: https://www.strava.com/athletes/111237895

Chasing Cutoffs w/Ben Mead (Go listen! It's awesome!):

https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/chasingcutoffs

Artwork by Ed Linder

James Bonnett....Oh yeah, many of you know exactly who he is. For those of you who do not; this is the guy who started running so early, he had finished his first marathon and ultramarathon before he was 10 years old. This is "The Kid", who was so fast that he WON his first 100 mile race when he was 12. This is the guy who later became a coach and coaches, and is friends with, folks like Nick & Jamil Coury, and Jim bleeping Walmsley. Yeah, that is that dude! The Young Gun himself! I was lucky enough to chat with him earlier this summer, and we talked about all of that. But really, we talk a lot about the 2026 Western States and how he helped get Neeraj Egbert across the finish line. James tells the story of giving out the golden ticket and how he then became his coach and friend and came up with a plan to help Neeraj realize his dream of redemption. This is one FANTASTIC conversation!

Man Against Horse Race website: https://managainsthorse.com/

James' coaching website: https://www.mcmillanrunning.com/product/online-coaching-james-bonnett/

James' Ultrasignup results: https://ultrasignup.com/results_participant.aspx?fname=James&lname=Bonnett

FUN video on Trail GangstAZ with James and Nick Coury: https://youtu.be/XB8Jql-eS0g?si=QaIFQcXKCMpEXwGq

GRACE To The Finish website: https://www.gracetothefinish.org/

Joey's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Run_Joey_Run

Running Behind on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/running.behind_pod

Joey's Strava Profile: https://www.strava.com/athletes/111237895

Artwork by Ed Linder