Kyle Richardson - Mountains & Music

Kyle Richardson is a Colorado-based professional runner and mountain athlete who is best known for his high-stakes, high-speed endurance feats in the Rocky Mountains. Over the past two years, Kyle has set several Fastest Known Time (“FKT”) records in the Colorado mountains—most notably on Boulder’s First and Third Flatirons, as well as the renowned LA Freeway route that stretches from Longs Peak to Arapahoe Peak. Away from his endurance feats, Kyle is a formally trained musician, and he composes original music for filmmakers and outdoor brands such as Black Diamond and La Sportiva.

Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Kyle’s youth was defined by time in the outdoors with his family and a deep commitment to music and playing the drums. His love of the West’s wide-open spaces led him to college at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he began to realize his talent for endurance and moving quickly through the mountains. After several years of running and climbing throughout Colorado, he captured the attention of the endurance community with his record-setting time on the LA Freeway, a difficult and exposed route that combines running, scrambling, and rock climbing. Since then, he has earned sponsorships from major outdoor brands that have allowed him to pursue his adventures in the mountains with full focus and intensity.

I met up with Kyle in Boulder, where we had a wide-ranging conversation about his passion for the mountains and music. We started by discussing his athletic career and some of the details around his fastest known times on well-known mountain routes. We also discussed Kyle’s love of the process of training—in both athletics and music—and how his commitment to preparation gives him the confidence to pursue challenging and sometimes dangerous goals. We discuss the common skills required to be great in both endurance sports and music, and Kyle talks about some of the mentors and heroes who have shaped his career. Kyle is a voracious reader, so we talk a lot about books, and Kyle reveals a very interesting personal tie to one of my favorite history books, "Empire of the Summer Moon."

Kyle is humble and thoughtful, and it was a real pleasure getting to know him. Hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

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Full episode notes: https://mountainandprairie.com/kyle-richardson/

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TOPICS DISCUSSED:

• 3:00 - How Kyle describes his athletic pursuits
• 6:00 - Kyle and Fastest Known Times (“FKT”)
• 10:30 - FKTs in the Boulder’s Flatirons
• 16:00 - Training routine
• 18:00 - Growing up in Texas
• 20:30 - Music and how it informs athletics
• 22:50 - Film scoring, composing, and music industry
• 26:30 - Heroes and mentors in the music world
• 28:00 - Drums, running, and excess energy as a kid
• 29:30 - When people began to take note of Kyles running
• 32:30 - Athletic mentors
• 38:30 - Artistic, cerebral aspects to mountain sports
• 39:30 - Assessing risk in the mountains
• 42:30 - Nature making you feel small
• 46:30 - Kyle’s parent’s support for his career
• 48:30 - Running goals for 2020
• 52:00 - Books he’s currently reading
• 54:15 - Favorite books about the West
• 56:00 - Limiting screens and social media
• 57:30 - Favorite location in the West
• 58:45 - Most powerful outdoor experience
• 1:00:25 - Parting words of wisdom

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