Mercedes Siegle-Gaither, Pre Beast of Big Creek Interview

A course can look “runnable” and still scare you a little. That’s exactly why Beast of Big Creek is so intriguing, and why I brought back Mercedes Siegle-Gaither for a tight, honest pre-race chat. She’d just been on the route previewing and training, and her take is vivid: long stretches of shady forest on smooth trail, a relentless uphill grind, then a shift above treeline into steeper, rockier skyrunning terrain with wildflowers and big mountain energy on the Olympic Peninsula near Hoodsport.

We also get real about the not-so-glam side of endurance sports: coming back from injury. Mercedes talks through finishing an earlier 100-miler while likely dealing with a pulled hamstring, the months-long recovery, and the mental whiplash of seeing old running segments and choosing to let them go for now. Add altitude back into the picture and the body gets humbled fast, but the mindset stays steady: stay calm, keep stacking work, and trust the rebuild.

Gravel biking becomes the hero of the summer. We dig into why gravel cycling is such a smart cross-training tool for trail runners and ultrarunners, plus the practical fears that come with it, from cars to learning clipless pedals (including the classic slow-speed flop). We also touch on how fast Beast could be, what out-and-back passing might feel like on a narrow descent off Mount Ellinor, and what races she’s lining up next as fitness returns.

If you’re into trail running, skyrunning, race previews, injury recovery, altitude training, and the Pacific Northwest mountain scene, this one will light you up. Subscribe or follow, share it with a friend training for a comeback, and leave a rating and review so we can keep telling these athlete stories.

Follow Mercedes on IG - @theslimcede

Use code SteepStuff for 20% your cart on Sidas.us

Follow James on IG - @jameslauriello

Follow the Steep Stuff Podcast on IG - @steepstuff_pod

Follow Sidas USA on IG - @sidas_usa

Transcript

Welcome And Quick Subscribe Ask

SPEAKER_01 0:05

This is the Steam Stuff Podcast. What's up, guys? Uh hey, before we get started, if you haven't already, whatever platform you're listening to this on, please hit that subscribe or follow button, whether that's Apple, Spotify, or YouTube. Those subscriptions go a super long way in being able to keep the podcast going and allowing me to continue to tell the stories of these amazing athletes and also do some of the race coverage and all the good stuff that we've been doing over the last few years. And also, if you haven't already, please give us a rating and a review if you haven't. Yeah, let us know what you guys think about the podcast and hope you enjoy this episode. Thanks so much for tuning in.

Catching Up With Mercedes-Segal

SPEAKER_01 0:49

All right, Mercedes-Segal Gaither. Welcome back to the Steep Stuff Podcast. How's it going?

SPEAKER_00 0:54

Thank you. Uh it's going great. Good to see you. It's been a while.

SPEAKER_01 0:57

I know it's been a minute. I know. I feel like I always miss you. Like we uh you were about broken arrow, also. I was there. You connected me with like you're always so good about connecting me with people. I super appreciate that, by the way. Please keep doing that because I get to meet so many people through you. So much appreciated.

SPEAKER_00 1:12

Yeah, of course. I love to. I love to like bridge the gap and like make people friends with one another. So it's fun. Small world.

SPEAKER_01 1:19

Yeah, it's amazing. It's amazing. Um,

First Look At Beast Course

SPEAKER_01 1:21

so yeah, we're here to chat, Beast of Big Creek. Funny enough, you were just on the course getting to preview it and train on it. Initial thoughts, reactions. What'd you think of the course?

SPEAKER_00 1:31

I loved it. I loved it so much. Like you're under the trees the majority of the race, and it's just beautiful, buttery trails, just uphill the whole time until you get above treeline kind of for a bit, and then it gets more mountainy skyrunning, more typical to like the history of skyrunning. I feel like with the rocky, steep, hard climbing, and then it just opens up into beautiful wildflowers. And so I was just in heaven out there, like under the trees. It smelled so good, just like being in nature. Yeah. So I'm super lucky. I got to check it out.

SPEAKER_01 2:05

What did you think of the Olympic Peninsula? I've heard like amazing things about that area, just in general.

SPEAKER_00 2:10

Well, I didn't get to see much of it. I was staying out in Leavenworth, which is really hot. It's like in the 90s. I was there for two weeks trying to train, but I love you just climb in your lower elevation. So everything like coming back from injury, granted, it's everything's slower, but it's just like runnable, steep, huge climbs. And then we got to spend two days out by Hood Sport to check out the course. So I didn't get to adventure as much as I wanted, but it was beautiful. I was like, this is amazing. Like I love trees, and then low altitude and being able to breathe was really nice.

SPEAKER_01 2:43

This is true. You have a forestry degree and you work in forestry as well. So that makes sense. I get why you love trees. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:49

Yeah. Fair enough.

Injury Recovery And Returning To Form

SPEAKER_01 2:53

Um, all right, let's transition. I know you had run a hundred miler earlier in the season and you've been working your way back post-injury. How is the body feeling now? Are you excited to be back and and you know getting yourself back into form to compete at this race?

SPEAKER_00 3:08

Yeah, I think I finished my 100 miler. I did like 48 miles on what was probably a pulled hamstring or two. And so the recovery took three months, but I got to gravel bike all summer, which has been a blast. You can still get vert and get outside. So that's been good. And I'm really happy to just be able to run now. It's slower. You know, you do a segment you've done when you're fit, and you're like, wow, that's I'm gonna ignore that for now. And then I just got back to 9,300 feet on Sunday night, and so it's even more humbling. You're like trying to get that running fitness back, but then altitude smacks you in the face. So it's it's a fun learning curve. I'm trying to just like stay calm, be like everything's alright, and just remember, like, yeah, it'll work out.

SPEAKER_01 3:54

Well, if you get like a little like a little altitude boost or like stimulus from it, like you're gonna be you'll be a beast, pun intended, when you when you get down to the beast of big creek.

SPEAKER_00 4:03

Fingers crossed, that'd be lovely. I mean, gosh, I'm already leaving in a week to go to Beast of Big Creek. That's crazy, it's so soon. So I'll get a little bit of something.

SPEAKER_01 4:12

Yeah,

Travel Fatigue And Training Balance

SPEAKER_01 4:13

you've been all over this summer. I I like, I don't know. I I I like the traveling as well. Like I did uh we you and I were talking about this offline, but dude, just like coast to coast a lot of the time in June, it's nice to be home and just be somewhere like to have like a home base to train because when it's so much traveling and all over the place, it gets uh it's hard to like just be in a routine, I guess, right?

SPEAKER_00 4:34

The balance is rough, especially when you drive cross country and you're still trying to get like 30, 40 hours of regular work in, and your training is just you just have to stay calm and remember like one thing at a time. It's been a lot, but it's been a blast, and everyone will have changed a thing so far.

SPEAKER_01 4:51

So I love it.

Gravel Biking As Fitness Bridge

SPEAKER_01 4:53

Uh let's talk about the cycling, the gravel. Uh I I got into gravel last year when last summer when I was injured, and I I go back to it all the time because it's super fun. It's a great stimulus to get fit on, and and uh you can have a blast and it just opens up new locations. Uh how much fun did you have being on the gravel bike kind of uh and was it was it just completely new for you?

Cetus Insoles Sponsor Break

SPEAKER_01 5:14

Interrupting this episode to talk to you guys about Cetus Insoles, official partner of the Steep Stuff Podcast. How many of you athletes out there wear insoles? I do. Not only do I get a little performance boost, a whole lot of foot comfort, but I also get about a quarter inch to a half inch of height boost, which is a win-win-win, if you ask me. Doesn't matter, run, ski, outdoor, multi-sport, and daily life. Cet as insoles have something for everyone. I alternate between the three feet protect and the three feet low to give me optimal comfort on uneven and technical terrain. Check them out online at Cedus.us. Cedus is the official football care partner of Western States and UTMB. Cetus, your foot company.

Clipless Pedals Fears And Learning Curve

SPEAKER_00 5:59

I love it. It's pretty new. I normally just drive around with my gravel bike in the back for like a year or so before I take it off. So it's been nice actually using it and getting all the things like a little pump in case you get a fly and like actual you know bike clothes. So it's been an adventure. It's also terrifying. It's like a love terrifying sport dynamic because I'm terrified of cars, and I just got clips maybe three weeks ago, which is really scary. I got them when we were in Idaho, and we did this big 55-mile adventure with 4,000 feet overt over Trail Creek Road, which is out of Ketchum, like Sun Valley, Idaho, and we went down and back up, and that was my last day on flats, and so now I'm trying to navigate like how you stop, or if a car gets too close with the pedals, and that's my biggest fear, or like if it's too technical and you're like, oh my god, I can't. And so I have fallen once. It was just no one was around, and I tried to pull a UE going like a mile an hour, and I just flopped over. So it's a learning curve.

SPEAKER_01 7:04

Oh, dude, I've done the same. It's so embarrassing, too. And you look around, you're like, Oh my god, is someone watching me? Did it did I just make it on social media? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:12

Yeah. But I'm super thankful for it because it's letting me get outside and still, you know, be in the mountains and still kind of maintain some level of fitness. It's not the same as running fitness at all by any means, but like I still can eat like I'm a runner and I can still be outside and do things. So it's been a boss.

SPEAKER_01 7:33

Yeah. I like to do in the uh I always love uh I follow like the uh, you know, your Kyle Richardson's of the world and and Anton and like they're always doing these like bike link ups to runs and stuff like that to like peaks and the high peaks. And I'm like, huh, that's a lot of work. But that that could be really cool one day. I've never done it, but you know, that's something that's definitely inspiring to go do stuff like that with the gravel bike.

SPEAKER_00 7:56

Yeah, that was the goal before getting injured, and so the running didn't get to be a part of that adventure. But a couple of years ago when I was living out of my car, I was doing that on Chavano at like bike up and then run and then bike back, and that was pretty fun. But to make like a full day of it would be a blast.

SPEAKER_01 8:14

Yeah, yeah, it's pretty dope.

Silverton After Hardrock And Tourists

SPEAKER_01 8:16

What's the uh how's the vibes in Silverton right now, especially now that like hard rock is over, Kendall Mountain's done, like it's like kind of quiet time now? Like it's probably amazing because a lot of people go home and you could just kind of get get back to everyday life.

SPEAKER_00 8:29

Yeah, I think it's mostly just like I did Kent part of Kendall, I did a very small part of Kendall today, and I think it was just a few locals out there. So things have calmed down. I feel like I missed everything. I thought I'd be back for hard rock, but my calendar didn't work out. So I would have liked to be here for it, but it's calm now. Okay, lots of tourists still.

SPEAKER_01 8:50

Yeah, yeah. The tourist thing, I feel like you know, I'm I'm I'm in the springs and yeah, dude. I feel like this year's been like kind of crazy for tourists. Like I've never seen this many tourists in Colorado. It's kind of wild.

SPEAKER_00 9:01

I guess I'm a tourist out somewhere. I was a tourist in Washington, so yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:06

Well, fair enough. Yeah, I want to go be a tourist somewhere else. I don't want to be a tourist here.

SPEAKER_00 9:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:13

Uh all right. Let's

How Fast Beast Will Really Be

SPEAKER_01 9:15

uh before we close it out, let's talk a little bit more about Beast and just the excitement for the race. And and I know we kind of already talked about the course. Can you give me a little just a little more insight into um just like how fast you think it's gonna be? Is it does it run more like a traditional sky race? Like, is this gonna be just like a particularly speedy one? Because the Euros come over, and obviously, like technical for them is a different level of technical for us, it's a completely different definition, proverbially. Um, so maybe any thoughts on that?

SPEAKER_00 9:44

Oh, it's gonna be so fast because it's so runnable. Like, I think my teammates are gonna crush it. Like Carmen's track background, like, this is the perfect course for her. Like, up top, I don't know how she feels about technical. Like, that might be a little difficult. Like, Tessa's running, she's a mountain beast. Like, Morgan's a mountain beast. So I feel like he would prefer it be way more technical. But I think the times are gonna be really fast, and it's interesting because it is an out and back, so we're gonna be like crawling up the mountain, and people are gonna be flying downhill, and there's not a lot of space to get out of their way. So that first like mile and a half, or I guess last mile and a half that'll be downhill from Mount Eleanor is it's gonna be spooky. We'll see how that goes. But I'm excited. Like the end is just like so fast, it's it's gonna be cool. I feel like the course record is gonna just disappear forever.

SPEAKER_01 10:38

It's gonna be obliterated. Yeah, it's interesting. I mean, it's uh I think it's a great choice because of location-wise, just because it's easy, you fly into Seattle and it's not too far from there, generally speaking. Like it's it's um, I don't know. It just kind of makes sense more. I don't know. I feel like there's only a few like places in the United States where that could make sense. Colorado is definitely one, Seattle, greater Seattle area, uh Salt Lake City could make sense as well. But uh, I'm happy they they made the choice with Beast and uh I'm curious to see how it's gonna play out. It should definitely be fun, without no doubt.

Washington Mountains And Volcano Trails

SPEAKER_00 11:11

Yeah, definitely opened my eyes to Washington. I had no idea. Like I've crewed Bigfoot 200 before, but I didn't know they have just these sharp, punchy climbs like this.

SPEAKER_01 11:19

So it'll be yeah. I feel like their their stuff is a little bit different. Like I've uh I'm gonna go out this year for Cirque Series Crystal, and I'm very pumped on that race. Like it it that course just I don't know with Mount Um, I must have said Mount Hood. That would be sacrilege. No, uh what is it? Mount Rainier in the background. Dude, that thing that mountain is huge. Like I guess it's called a volcano, it's not even a mountain, but that thing is gigantic. So I'm excited to see that and play around like Mount Rainier National Park. And it seems like there's still a lot there, you know.

SPEAKER_00 11:51

The one I always mess this up, the Wanderland Trail.

SPEAKER_01 11:54

Yeah, Wonderland.

SPEAKER_00 11:55

Yeah, Mount Rainier. Yeah, that one's beautiful. I love it there. And you can just see like these volcanoes, it'll just be like flat and nothing, and they're just like jetting up out of nowhere.

unknown 12:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:05

You so you said you paste Bigfoot. I did uh I ran it was like a while ago, it's maybe five years now. I did the Lewitt Trail, ran around like Mount St. Helens. That was pretty neat. I was pretty impressed with that. Like that's one of the most aesthetic 50k lines, just like I think in the United States, just because it's a perfect 50k around a volcano, which is kind of dope.

SPEAKER_00 12:25

Oh, that is sweet. That's a cool, I like the the point to points.

SPEAKER_01 12:29

Yeah, yeah, it's pretty sweet. Well, I

Upcoming Races And Season Plans

SPEAKER_01 12:32

think that's all I got for you as far as like pre-race stuff. Uh, what are you racing? What do you got? What do you got going on the rest of the summer? What do you what are you racing next?

SPEAKER_00 12:39

Oh gosh, I signed up for Box Canyon before I got injured, and I dropped down at the 10 miler, so I might do that this week and get and get very humbled by altitude and then tellyride mountain run. I also dropped down in distance just because I'm just trying to get some fitness. I guess I'm gonna race through it and just hope for the best and don't make things worse. But same, like I was supposed to do Kodiak 100k. I'm gonna try to do the 50k, and then it'd be cool if I could do big hundred miler somewhere in November.

SPEAKER_01 13:07

Yeah, that's ambitious. I like it. Dude, box game is a sweet race. That was like that was one of my first races I've ever done. Yeah, it's super cool, beautiful course. Yeah, and it's on this, it's like similar course to TMR, like they kind of overlap.

SPEAKER_00 13:19

Okay. I haven't ran much there, but it's conveniently located, conveniently unconvenient, still a two-hour drive, even though it's right there.

SPEAKER_01 13:27

Yeah, it's kind of a you need like a helicopter, you know, or something to like just go over the past and go over Oscar. It's kind of that's kind of a pain in the neck, yeah, from Silverton. But never yeah.

Thanks And Closing Thoughts

SPEAKER_01 13:40

Uh well, Mercedes, thank you so much for coming on for a chat. Always fun. Uh we'll have to do no, we'll have to do like a really long catch-up one, uh like a long form chat soon. But this is a good uh pre-race for Beast of Big Creek. Appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 13:52

Yeah, we can nerd out one day about all of the things.

SPEAKER_01 13:55

Yeah, that's true. The trees. We gotta talk about uh talk about the trees.

SPEAKER_00 14:02

Trees and chills, have a good one. Bye.