Leave Nothing Out There: Sarah June on Failed Expectations, True DNFs, and Finishing 247 Miles

Sarah June didn't grow up a runner. She grew up a gymnast — until doctors thought she'd broken her back and the pain took the fun out of it. After college, she traded cigarettes and late nights for running shoes: every time she craved a smoke, she went for a run instead. Her first goal was a two-mile loop around a lake in Rochester, Minnesota. It took months. Then she accidentally signed up for a trail 5K, placed second without knowing races had places, and got hooked.

In this episode of the Dirt and Vert podcast, David and Matt dig into Sarah's evolution from reluctant runner to ultramarathon coach, strength coach, and FKT holder. She opens up about the races that broke her — a Black Canyon 100K DNF in a snowstorm at 47 miles, freezing in 30-degree wind while her watch auto-paused because she was moving too slow to register, and a Mogollon Monster 100 DNF at mile 70 after sitting in an aid station for two and a half hours, out of sodium, spiraling mentally until she called her husband and told him she was broken.

But this isn't a sob story. It's a masterclass in the endurance athlete mindset. Sarah talks about the race she's proudest of — Saddles 100, where she pulled herself out of mental lows, battled heat exhaustion, and walked the final ten miles to the finish — and her life-changing 247-mile Maricopa Loop FKT, completed in 84 hours and 17 minutes with an umbrella in 95-degree heat and a crew that never left her side. She breaks down the unsexy details that decide 100-mile races: ultra running nutrition, remembering your sodium capsules, changing your shoes before your feet turn into sausages, lining up pacers early, and why crewing an ultra well matters as much as training for one.

Whether you're deep into ultramarathon training, chasing your first FKT, or just trying to understand why anyone runs 100 miles through the mountains, Sarah's story is proof that the outcome you want isn't always the experience you need — and that the experience is what makes you dangerous next time.