For this episode, I sat down in person at TrailCon with Kristina Randrup—an ultrarunner, wildlife ecologist, and PhD student at the University of Washington studying blue whale populations. Kristina joined me just after winning the 18K at Broken Arrow Skyrace to talk about her lifelong relationship with ecology, her early start in ultrarunning, and what it means to split your life between rigorous academic research and long days in the mountains.

We discussed growing up on the East Bay trails, the future of large cetaceans and what it means to defend public lands not just as a user, but as a scientist. Kristina is the kind of guest who’s equally comfortable talking about Bayesian modeling as she is about the finish-line chaos of major ultra races. Whether she’s running 100K races or analyzing blue whale stock assessments, she brings a level of curiosity and humility that feels especially rare - and especially needed - in both science and sport.

We talk about:

• What it’s like to grow up running ultras - and having her mom sign her up for her first 50K

• Why she almost didn't get into her PhD program—and how she ended up studying blue whales (and why it’s important to study them!)

• Why data modeling is powerful, but not everything—and how Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) is finally being taken seriously

• The case for embracing multiple ways of being outdoors, without hierarchy or gatekeeping

• The connection between running, science and place

Links

• Natural Climate Solutions – The Nature Conservancy

• Kristina’s paper about natural climate solutions for Washington

• Dr. Trevor Branch – UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences

• The Boldt decision

• More about the Boldt decision

• IWC large cetaceans population estimates

• International Whaling Commission

• North Atlantic Right Whales

• New paper on baleen whales and climate change

• Bayesian modeling

• Camas!

• More Camas

• Dr. Lydia Jennings – Soil Scientist & Advocate

• Run to Be Visible – Patagonia film feat. Lydia Jennings

• Polar bears and traditional ecological knowledge

Can you tell I interviewed a PhD researcher? Links galore! :)

Keywords: climate science, marine mammals, trail running, ultrarunning, blue whales, public lands, outdoor equity, environmental science, PhD student, GIS, Bayesian modeling, natural climate solutions, whale conservation, University of Washington, outdoor community, Indigenous knowledge, traditional ecological knowledge, land sovereignty, recreation access, seal overpopulation, Broken Arrow, Brooks Trail Team, science communication