The world of ultrarunning is a unique enclave of individuals whose personal stories come alive through the feats they accomplish on foot. One such individual is Luis Escobar, whose Road Dog Podcast chronicles the marquee stories coming from the world of ultrarunning. Ultrarunning is loosely defined as any event with a distance greater than 26.2 miles. The sport has grown to encompass distances of 100 miles or more in a single or multi-day adventure.
I met Luis Escobar through mutual friends in conjunction with the organization of Bhutan’s Snowman Run, where I am a founding participant. Luis has been retained by the Bhutanese government as its race director and is in charge of making the race happen while keeping the runners safe.
Recently, I made it back out West in my newly acquired Sprinter Van (aptly named FOXO1) and have been spending time with Luis and friends while getting back to basics in the great outdoors.
On a recent trip to Death Valley, CA I met up with Luis where, after sitting in on a Road Dog Podcast interview with Badwater Ben Jones in Lone Pine, CA at the base of Mt. Whitney, I asked Luis if we could turn the microphones around, and I could interview him on his own podcast.
I know there is a lot to Luis’s own story, but he is the kind of person who allows others to tell theirs and rarely speaks about himself.
So sitting at the base of Telescope Mountain on a warm fall evening, we got the microphones out to hear the ultra story of Luis Escobar. Take a listen and gain some insights from one of the most important ultra trail runners of our generation. This guy was born to run and it’s a pleasure knowing him and recording this podcast.
An accomplished photographer within the ultrarunning community and beyond, Luis gets the credit for all of the stunning Death Valley photos in this blog post.