TDZ 155 - Adventure Racer Marina LeGree of Ascend Athletics and Her 134 Teammates
The Dark Zone: An Adventure Racing PodcastShow Notes
Returning guest Marina LeGree, Executive Director of Ascend Athletics, is always a delight to have on The Dark Zone. In this episode, we discuss her introduction to adventure racing, the parallels between Ascend and AR, and how her family is again returning to The Maine Summer Adventure Race. LeGree founded Ascend Athletics in Afghanistan in 2015 — taking girls into the mountains to teach navigation skills, rope work, and what it feels like to be part of a team. The Taliban shut that down in 2021. Ascend pivoted to Pakistan, and helped to resettle 134 Afghan alumni across three continents. The work of Ascend, in the face of incredible challenges, didn't stop. Marina and her team kept moving forward. It is easy to see the strong connection between Ascend and AR culture. There is always difficult terrain to traverse, the need for good navigation, and genuine teamwork. The Afghan alumni who made it out of Kabul in 2021 are now leading Ascend's Hike for Her events in Dublin, North Carolina, and around the world. One of them just volunteered to take the Ascend model to Africa. And some have dipped their toes into the AR waters. This is a conversation about adaptation when situations change rapidly, about building teams across impossible cultural distances, and why good work matters in an evolving world. Thank you to Marina for coming on the show! Shownotes: Ascend Athletics Hike for Her - https://www.ascendathletics.org/event Sponsor Links: ARWS Junior World Champs - https://tinyurl.com/mr48z4c6 Youth Adventure Race Camp - https://events.adengear.com/e/YouthRaceCamp2026
More from The Dark Zone: An Adventure Racing Podcast
This is a special Course Reveal episode of The Dark Zone: An Adventure Racing Podcast, released just as the 2026 Adventure Racing World Championships get underway in Corsica. Nancy Bahuaud of Raid in France joins us to walk through the course she and her husband Pascal built: 505 kilometers and twelve stages across an island often called the mountain in the sea. From the start in Corte to the finish on the northwest coast, teams will face nearly every discipline the sport has to offer, and terrain that will test the best in the world. In this conversation, we explore: How Raid in France thinks about building a race as a journey The river and sea sections, and why this dry year has everyone watching water levels The stage Nancy expects to be the hardest, and how long it may take even the fastest teams Why compulsory rest remains non-negotiable A prologue that brings the town of Corte into the race
Racing as Black Diamond NZ, Luke Jansen and Silas Jones of New Zealand traveled to Canada and became the first Junior Adventure Racing World Champions. In this episode, they recount a childhood of hut trips, orienteering before their teens, and cycling the vertical height of Everest for the fun of it. All of it compounded, quietly, into a team that could go around the world and come home champions. What comes through most is how much fun they're having. These are two friends who race hard and laugh the whole way through it, still finishing high school and already eyeing the next mission, the next film, the next start line. Youth is definitely not wasted on these young people, and as we like to say, the kids are alright. Shownotes: Instagram: Team: @Turbo.platypus.squadron.ss Luke: @luke_jansen101 Silas: @prodbysilas Chasing Seconds - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cW8fmwFFxnY Black Diamond - https://blackdiamondequipment.com/ Inspire Foundation - @inspire_foundation_nz AXICO Financial Advisers - @axicoadvisers Pure Sports Nutrition - https://www.puresportsnutrition.com/ Canterbury Sports Foundation - https://www.sportcanterbury.org.nz/funding/canterbury-sports-foundation-1
Rachel Nolan is back on the show FOUR YEARS (We can't believe it either!) after her first visit on Episode #35, and it's great to have her join us. In July 2026 she won PC12 in Colombia with Vidaraid, her first race with the team. Rachel and Brian also get into how she got there: solo bikepacking across the Atlas Mountains and the Pan Celtic, a training week built on hill repeats and packrafting off the west coast of Ireland, and a racing style she calls steady rather than fast. They also talk meat-free fueling in a meat-heavy country, sleeping (or not sleeping) through a five-day race, running her own tour company, and why she thinks waiting to feel ready is a mistake. Next stop for her is the world championship in Corsica. Shownotes: Rachel on TDZ #35 - https://ardarkzone.com/2022/06/27/the-dark-zone-35-rachel-nolan-irish-adventure-racer-bikepacking-champion-and-african-donkey-whisperer/ Jen Segger - https://jensegger.com/ Jill Mooney - https://barrultra.com/about-us/jill/ Northwave - https://www.northwave.com/en/bike/shoes Infinity Bike Seat - https://infinitybikeseat.com/ Albion Cycling - https://www.albioncycling.com/ Orbea Bikes - https://www.orbea.com/es-es Columbia Sportswear - https://www.columbia.com/ TransAtlanticWay - https://www.transatlanticway.com/ Montenegro Mountain Madness - https://www.montenegromountainmadness.com/ Super Jay - https://www.instagram.com/jay_jantaraboon/
Just days before the ARWS European Championship Montane Adventure Race, race director Lars Bukkehave sits down with TDZ to explain the 48-hour course that he built. Showcasing the beauty and challenge of Denmark, the race runs 19 stages including a sea cliff where you can still see the black clay layer left by the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs, underwater checkpoints, a Cold War nuclear bunker turned checkpoint, a vertical orienteering stage that sends racers climbing into the trees, and a maze set in a public park so spectators can watch. Lars also gets into what holds it all together: 70+ volunteers, and the bonfires, stick bread, and shared meals that turn 50 teams from 17 countries into a reunion before the gun even goes off. His 22-year career as an adventure racer, race director, and championship-winning teammate has led to this moment, and he looks forward to sharing it with the world. Shownotes: Race Social Media - https://www.facebook.com/MontaneAdventureRace Atlas Explorers Expeditions - https://www.atlas-explorers.com/
New Zealand's Louie Burger is 18. He's also four expedition races deep, including a run at the iconic Godzone. He got there by way of one of the country's strongest school adventure racing programs, a last-minute addition to a team at The Magnificient, dedicated training and teamwork, and a lot of very long days in the bush. We talk about what it takes to trust people you've known for 24 hours versus teammates you've raced with since school, what actually goes wrong on a six-day expedition race, and the moments both fun and not-so-fun that always come along during a race. Along the way, Louie speaks about mentors, challenging moments, an unforgettable in-race surprise, and his own thoughts on how hard to push a young body built for a sport he wants to still be doing at 60. Shownotes: Facebook Page - Link Here Instagram Page - Link Here Godzone Report - Link Here Tasman Adventure Race - www.tasmanadventurerace.nz