Race Photographer Anastasia Wilde on What 200-Milers Really Look Like

Anastasia Wilde is a Missoula-based adventure photographer who has spent the last five years shooting the country's biggest 200-mile races like Bigfoot, Tahoe, Cocodona, and hiking up to eight miles into the backcountry with thirty pounds of gear to photograph runners at their most unfiltered. In this conversation, Anastasia tells us how a Costco camera kit and a suspiciously well-timed $500 raffle win turned a middle school music teacher into one of ultrarunning's most prolific race photographers, why the mid- and back-of-pack will tell a stranger with a camera things they haven't told their families, the memory card catastrophe at the Bigfoot finish line she still thinks about, whether AI will ever make any of us look good while running (no), and what it means to photograph someone crying alone at sunrise on their way to a five-year buckle. This episode is brought to you by LMNT and their new lemonade iced tea flavor. Get a free sample pack with any order at drinklmnt.com/UltraSignup. This week's featured race is the Machete Muertos 200 at Lake Perris, California, starting Wednesday, October 28. 200 miles, 44,000 feet of climbing, and a 96-hour cutoff at one of the toughest 200-milers in the country, part of Machete Madness's Día de los Muertos celebration. There's also a 100-miler, a 50-miler, and 10- and 20-mile ruck divisions, with free family camping, free professional photos, and no pacer fees. Registration closes Friday, October 16. Sign up at UltraSignup.com. The Trailhead is part of the UltraSignup Podcast Network.