Aaron Lutze is a creator and sports marketing savant. He's also a dear friend and mentor who has had an enormous impact on my career as an athlete and content creator. Aaron recruited me to Red Bull and acted as my manager for many years. He's recognized as one of the best sports marketers in the industry. Now, Aaron and I co-host another podcast called Second Nature where we talk about the Outdoor Industry, endeavoring to help people build brands, businesses, and careers in the space.

In this conversation, we talk about the past and present of athlete partnerships, the reasons brands sponsor athletes, the value of creating longform content, audience vs. community, the future of athlete partnerships, and a lot more!

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Sponsors:

• Use code freetrail10 for 10% off Speedland Footwear
• Use code freetrail15 for 15% off Gnarly Nutrition
• Get 30% off your first subscription of Ketone IQ at HVMN.com/FREETRAIL30

Freetrail Links: Website | Freetrail Pro | Patreon | Instagram | YouTube | Freetrail Experts

Dylan Links: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Strava

Courtney Olsen is a pro runner for HOKA living in Bellingham, WA. She is also the brand new World Record holder for the 50-mile distance, something she was able to achieve last weekend at Tunnel Hill in Southern Illinois. Finishing in a time of 5:31:56, Courtney managed to lower the existing record held by Ann Trason for 33 years by nine minutes. This is her first appearance on the podcast.

Topics we discuss:

• Courtney’s background and history with sport
• Her struggles with depression and finding purpose in her 20s
• The Bellingham Distance Project, a training group she helped to found 10 years ago
• Her passion for art and writing
• Her experience at lululemon’s FURTHER event where she was there supporting Devon Yanko
• Her huge podium performance at Comrades
• A deep unpacking of her WR at tunnel hill
• Look ahead to the 100k World Championship next month
• And a lot more!

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If you enjoy listening to the Freetrail Podcast, please consider leaving us a review to help other like-minded listeners find our show.

Sponsors:

• Use code freetrail10 for 10% off Speedland Footwear
• Grab a trail running pack from Osprey
• Use code FT15 for 15% off Gnarly Nutrition
• Go to ketone.com/freetrail30 for 30% off a subscription of Ketone IQ

Freetrail Links: Website | Freetrail Pro | Patreon | Instagram | YouTube | Freetrail Experts

Dylan Links: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Strava

Kilian Jornet is one of the greatest athletes of all-time across all sports. His athletic accomplishments are staggering across trail running, alpinism, and ski mountaineering. This season he won Zegama for the 11th time, Sierre Zinal for the 10th time, and then completed a 1200km traverse of the Alps -- a personal project he called "Alpine Connections."

Some topics we discuss:

• Kilian and Emelie’s expanding family and lessons from parenthood
• The value of exposing kids to a life of adventure
• Zegama, a race that Kilan has now won 11 times over 17 years
• Kilian’s training, including a fascinating discussion around belief, circadian rhythm and stress management
• Sierre Zinal, exploring how we maintain high performance as we get older
• Alpine Connections, talking about the vision, the complexities, flow state experiences, and artistic influences inherent in the project.
• Kilian's future goals including some exciting potential races in 2025
• A lot more

• Use code freetrail10 for 10% off Speedland Footwear
• Grab a trail running pack from Osprey
• Use code FT15 for 15% off Gnarly Nutrition
• Go to ketone.com/freetrail30 for 30% off a subscription of Ketone IQ

Freetrail Links: Website | Freetrail Pro | Patreon | Instagram | YouTube | Freetrail Experts

Dylan Links: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Strava