Carolina Ultra Runners Podcast Patrick Lloyd

Tak Niino made the long trip from Cary, NC to Black Canyon City, AZ to take part in the Cocodona 250. His journey featured a major scare with his phone, wild hallucinations while climbing up Mt. Elden in Flagstaff and much more.



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On this episode, we're chatting with two of the three NC/SC finishers of the inaugural Southern States 200! Naji Husseini from Cary, NC finished 7th overall with a time of 69:30, and Mike Busick from Piedmont, SC finished 20th place with a time of 88:02. Naji and Mike talk about what led them to pursue their first 200 miler, how the race went, whether they'd do another 200+ mile race and much more.

Jen Shetler is the founder of one of the biggest and fastest-growing running clubs in the Carolinas. TUFF Run Club, short for Trail + Ultra Fun Fam, is a group of 600+ Raleigh area runners who meet regularly for training runs and who have a strong presence at races in the Carolinas. Jen is also a 2024 Umstead 100 finisher. On this episode, Jen tells us how TUFF started, what she has planned for its future, and we dive deep into how her experience at Umstead went. You can join the TUFF Run Club Facebook group here.

Shannon Jarvis shocked herself at the 2024 Umstead 100. She went into the race thinking she'd finish in around 26 hours only to crush the race in 22:21:06, finishing as the fifth place female. Shannon's story is a testament to the power of the human spirit and is proof of the fact that nothing is impossible.

Lisa McFadden has run many races including some of the most notable races in the sport of ultra running. But none of those previous races compare in terms of notoriety than her recent DNF at the Barkley Marathons. Making it to the yellow gate in the first place is an impressive feat in and of itself. On this episode, Lisa tells us how her Barkley experience went down.

John Kelly is a three-time finisher of the race many consider to be the toughest in the world: The Barkley Marathons. He joins us on this episode to talk all about his third finish. He also talks about how almost no one wants to interview him this year, some of the Barkley mementos he keeps at his house, whether a hot dog is a sandwich and much more. Follow John on Facebook here. Follow John on Instagram here. Follow John on Twitter or X or whatever it's called now here.