Two weeks before a race, the glamor disappears and the real work shows up: shipping cutoffs, permit conversations, course marking decisions, and an inbox that never stops. We sit down with race director Mathias Eichler to talk about what it takes to bring Beast of Big Creek back and level it up as part of the Skyrunner World Series, without sanding off the personality that made it special in the first place.

We get specific about the runner experience and the race director reality. Mathias breaks down how a family-run, community-driven trail running event can host international skyrunners, build a full weekend at camp, and still feel local through handmade details and creative choices. We also talk about the unsexy essentials that protect a race long-term: enough bathrooms, clear briefings, smart aid station planning, and communicating expectations across cultures and languages.

Then we go deep on the hard constraints of mountain media and race logistics: drones in national forest boundaries, Starlink priorities for timing and search and rescue, tree cover that blocks coverage, and why livestreaming a short, technical skyrace often doesn’t pencil out. If you care about skyrunning, trail race directing, responsible trail running, and how events grow without going cookie-cutter, this conversation is a clear look behind the curtain.

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