22
Outdoors
Smoky Mountain News
Brendon Voelker stretches his legs on a run in Panthertown. L.J. Gay photo
Freedom on foot Cashiers man shares trail running passion through guide company
ages 1,500 to 2,000 miles on foot and has completed various 50-milers as well as the Pinhoti 100-mile race in Alabama. He often finds himself completing solo routes of 30 or more miles through the mountains of Western North Carolina. BY HOLLY KAYS “For me, I always enjoy just being able to STAFF WRITER get out, and that’s why I enjoyed road biking hese days, Brendon Voelker’s life revolves so long,” he said. “You put your head down, around running, but eight years ago the you get into a zone, and it helps you relax. Texas native was still struggling to comThen I discovered trail running.” plete his first mile. Bikes have limits. If the trail is too rough, He was overweight and out of shape back or too steep, or peters out altogether, the trek then, and while he could happily spend a day has to stop, or at least hit pause long enough riding around on his road bike, running a to move the bike past the troublesome spot. mile was out of the question. But after a Feet, on the other hand, can go anywhere. weight loss journey that left him 80 pounds There’s a lot of freedom in that, Voelker has lighter, Voelker made it a personal goal to get found. that first mile under his belt. By the end of Prior to his arrival in WNC, Voelker spent 2013, he’d completed a nonstop 5K for the about three years touring the country as a first time, and the distances ballooned from traveling representative for a mountain bike there. company. He and the 40 bikes he was responsible for lived out of the van he drove from Florida to South I’ve not only created a brand, but Dakota and everywhere in between, but the job had a lifesI’ve created a concept. Trail running pan. Eventually, he knew, he’d tours are a new thing. Running want a permanent address. Two years ago, he moved to tours in general are a new thing.” Asheville with the intention of organizing WNC’s second 100— Brendon Voelker mile trail race. He’d already invested several months into the “Next thing I knew, I went out for a run planning and permitting process when he one day and I ran 26 miles, just on a Monday decided to change course. morning at my parents’ house in Dallas, “I just went out on a run one day and I Texas,” said Voelker, now a 28-year-old said, ‘I don’t really enjoy racing as much as I’d Cashiers resident. like to. Why would I want to put a race on Since then, running — and trail running that I wouldn’t personally want to run?’” he in particular — has grown from a hobby to a said. full-fledged lifestyle. Most years, Voelker averVoelker loves to run, but he doesn’t love
T
the single-minded focus on forward progress that accompanies racing. When he passes an overlook, he wants to be able to stop and take it in. When the trail veers near a waterfall, he wants to take the detour and check it out. That realization prompted him to pivot his focus from organizing a massive trail race to founding a trail running tour company instead. “I wanted to allow people the opportunity if you see a waterfall or you see an overlook, to stop and spend as much or as little time as you want to out there,” he said. Voelker launched White Dot Adventures in spring 2019, naming the business after the
Voelker (right) takes in a view accompanied by some of his fellow trail running enthusiasts. L.J. Gay photo
symbol that marks the 1,200-mile Mountainsto-Sea Trail’s path from Clingmans Dome to the Outer Banks. Since then he’s led dozens of groups on excursions ranging from 3-mile trots through well-known places like the N.C. Arboretum to remote 30-mile runs through the heart of the national forest. “One big thing for me that’s been tricky throughout the first year is I’ve not only created a brand, but I’ve created a concept,” he said. “Trail running tours are a new thing. Running tours in general are a new thing.” “I can’t look at another guide company and say, ‘That’s how they handle it,” he added. Luckily for Voelker, he has experience in a variety of relevant skills outside of running itself. He’s done web design work, as well as consulting for other guide companies. And for the last several years he’s been a freelance guidebook writer for the online publication FATMAP. Nevertheless, explaining to people just what they might expect from one of his excursions — and then matching prospective customers with the right route — can be challenging. “One thing that’s been difficult to navigate is people think, ‘Oh, trail running? I could never do that,’” he said. “It’s not about whether you can run it. It’s about going out and having that experience and pushing yourself. If you think you’re not capable, go ahead and give it a shot. If we have to hike, we have to hike.” Conversely, he works with customers who overestimate how far they can run and how quickly they can do it. Voelker recalls one customer who
F
