The Dark Zone: An Adventure Racing Podcast

Brian Gatens
  • 5.0 (53)
  • Sports
  • Updated Semiweekly

The Dark Zone: An Adventure Racing Podcast welcomes you to our world. Come hear from racers, race directors, fans of AR, and everyone in between. The podcast's out there, you pick it up, it's yours, you don't, I got no sympathy for you. (as inspired by Glengarry Glenn Ross)

  1. 3d ago

    TDZ 165 - Allison Marinucci: Racing, Loss, and the Work of Recovery

    Therapist, ultra runner, and race director Allison Marinucci joins the show for a conversation that starts with endurance and goes somewhere deeper. Allison traces her path from Couch to 5K, through COVID-era backyard ultras, to a double hip replacement that forced the question every athlete eventually faces: who are you when the sport goes away? From there, Brian and Allison dig into what therapy and adventure racing teach each other, and why the lessons of the racecourse matter most when life delivers its hardest disruptions. Allison also shares the deeply personal story behind Serenity on the Trails, the four-mile race she directs in Schenectady's Central Park on August 22 in support of people in recovery. Registration and resources in the show notes. Shownotes: Serenity On The Trails - https://runsignup.com/Race/NY/Schenectady/SerenityOnTheTrails NY State Office of Addiction Services and Support - https://oasas.ny.gov/ SAMHSA Drug and Alcohol National Helpline - https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/helplines/national-helpline

  2. Jul 16

    TDZ 164 - The Endless Mountains Podcast, Episode 4: Journey to the Crossroads

    For the next two weeks, Rootstock Racing is taking over the Dark Zone feed, offering a limited series podcast chronicling the 2026 Endless Mountains Adventure Race. In this episode, the first sleep, the cliff jump, and the race starts to take its toll. Shownotes: The Endless Mountains Adventure Race - www.endlessmountainsar.com Rootstock Racing - www.rootstockracing.com MRS Packrafting - https://www.microrafting.com Sound credits: Film clip: Up. Directed by Pete Docter, Pixar Animation Studios / Walt Disney Pictures, 2009.

  3. Jul 7

    TDZ 163 - Nathan Fa’avae Returns, Bound for the Yukon 1000

    Nathan Fa'avae returns to the Dark Zone — over 100 episodes after his first appearance as guest #50. A seven-time adventure racing world champion with Seagate and Avaya, Nathan officially stepped back from traditional AR in 2023, not to slow down but to redirect: growing youth and women's adventure racing in New Zealand through his events company, and chasing ultra-endurance paddling with longtime racing teammate Sophie Hart. In ten days, they head back to the Yukon River for their second attempt at the Yukon 1000, the longest kayak race in the world, after taking the win — and the second-fastest time ever — in 2024. Nathan talks candidly about why this retirement stuck when earlier ones didn't, the outdoor-education philosophy he and his wife Jodie built their family around, and his advice for anyone trying to break into adventure racing. He also opens up about a small moment with Sophie mid-race that's stuck with him ever since, and shares how listeners can support his $10-a-mile fundraiser for his family's foundation supporting Pacific Island youth in New Zealand. Shownotes: $10 Per Mile Donation Page - https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/httpsnathanfaavaenzfaavaefund The Yukon 1000 - https://www.yukon1000.org/

  4. Jul 2

    TDZ 162 - The Endless Mountains Podcast, Episode 3: Out of the Frying-Pan, Into the Fire

    For the next two weeks, Rootstock Racing is taking over the Dark Zone feed, offering a limited series podcast chronicling the 2026 Endless Mountains Adventure Race. In this episode, the race kicks off at the summit of Mount Defiance in Ticonderoga, New York and teams push through their first night on the course. Shownotes: The Endless Mountains Adventure Race - www.endlessmountainsar.com Rootstock Racing - www.rootstockracing.com Old School Bagels Bakery and Cafe - https://oldschoolbagels.com/

  5. Jun 23

    TDZ 161 - The Endless Mountains Podcast, Episode 2: The Ring Goes South

    For the next two weeks, Rootstock Racing is taking over the Dark Zone feed, offering a limited series podcast chronicling the 2026 Endless Mountains Adventure Race. In this episode, final gear preparations, race fuel, and packing your fears. Shownotes: The Endless Mountains Adventure Race - www.endlessmountainsar.com Rootstock Racing - www.rootstockracing.com Music credits: Mountain Sun, Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive, CC BY.

  6. Jun 17

    TDZ 160 - The Endless Mountains Podcast, Episode 1: A Long Expected Party

    For the next two weeks, Rootstock Racing is taking over the Dark Zone feed, offering a limited series podcast chronicling the 2026 Endless Mountains Adventure Race. In this episode, teams talk preparation, goals, and the blurry lines between adventure racing and adventure parenting. Shownotes: The Endless Mountains Adventure Race - www.endlessmountainsar.com Rootstock Racing - www.rootstockracing.com Music credits: Crazy Folk-Rock Happy Timber, Vlad Annenkov, Free Music Archive, CC BY. Inspiring Acoustic and Strings, Vlad Annenkov, Free Music Archive, CC BY.

  7. Jun 15

    TDZ 159 - Introducing: The Endless Mountains Podcast

    For the next two weeks, Rootstock Racing is taking over the Dark Zone feed, offering a limited series podcast chronicling the 2026 Endless Mountains Adventure Race. In case you missed it, this is a rebroadcast of the teaser. Listen here for Episode 0.5 of the Endless Mountains Podcast, produced by Rootstock Racing. Shownotes: The Endless Mountains Adventure Race - www.endlessmountainsar.com Rootstock Racing - www.rootstockracing.com Bones Adventure - https://bonesadventure.com/

  8. Jun 12

    TDZ 158 - One Degree Racing — Adventure Racing, Friendship, and The Cerberus

    We love it when race directors send teams our way, and that's what RD Mark Lattanzi did in 2025 following his three-day The Cerberus Expedition Stage Race. Three-person team, One Degree Racing, tackled the course and stood out for their enthusiasm, high spirits, and teamwork. This conversation is a clinic for newer teams. One Degree digs into strategic point-dropping, rotating the maps so everyone learns to navigate, and a mind/body/spirit check-in used by the team to squash trouble before it festers. These may be the most varied topics ever covered on TDZ: Paul Farmer and Mountains Beyond Mountains, chess boxing, the Wundt Curve, friendship beyond the teenage years, and why a short-term rental beats sleeping in the dirt. Thank you to One Degree Racing for coming onto The Dark Zone! Shownotes: The Cerberus Expedition Stage Race - https://www.thecerberusrace.com/cerberus/index.php Sponsor Links: ARWS Junior World Champs - https://tinyurl.com/mr48z4c6 Youth Adventure Race Camp - https://events.adengear.com/e/YouthRaceCamp2026

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The Dark Zone: An Adventure Racing Podcast welcomes you to our world. Come hear from racers, race directors, fans of AR, and everyone in between. The podcast's out there, you pick it up, it's yours, you don't, I got no sympathy for you. (as inspired by Glengarry Glenn Ross)

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