Francis Sanzaro (PhD) is a mountain athlete, speaker, and the author of books on philosophy, athletic theory and comparative religion. He spends the vast majority of his time climbing and running in the hills and valleys of western Colorado. His essays, poetry and fiction have appeared in The New York Times, Outside, Huffington Post, Climbing, Adventure Journal, The Baltimore Post Examiner, Continental Philosophy Review, and Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Rock and Ice, among a dozen others. His books include The Boulder: A Philosophy for Bouldering; and Society Elsewhere: Why the Gravest Threat to Humanity Will Come From Within. He appeared at TEDx Ascend in Colorado speaking on approaches to risk and our relationship with the natural world. He is currently the Communications Director at Wilderness Workshop.

Jeff Colt, Carbondale, Trail and Ultra Runner
Born and raised in New Hampshire, Jeff chased his older brother and sister around the White Mountains on skis and foot.. Jeff works as a product designer and Brand Director for ZipFit ski boot liners. He lives with motivated partner, Annie, and his lazy, but loving, black lab Radley. Jeff’s greatest strengths in ultrarunning are his durability and ability to focus on positive thinking. Jeff was part of the Team USA gold medal men’s 80km team at the 2022 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Chiangmai, Thailand. He has twice secured golden tickets for the Western States 100 where he finished 9th place in 2023. His dream race is the Hardrock 100 as well as the routes he dreams up here in the Elk Mountains. In 2024, Jeff launched the Roaring Fork Runners in an effort to promote trails and community amongst runners in the valley.

Kristin Layne is an endurance sport athlete and coach at Microcosm Coaching. She is based in Aspen, CO where she enjoys exploring the mountains and trails throughout the Roaring Fork Valley with her husband and two young daughters. Kristin is a two time Skimo National Champion who enjoys skiing of all kinds, trail running, and baking. She is focused on building up both the running and skimo community to get more people outside utilizing the amazing landscapes that the Roaring Fork Valley has to offer.

Michelle is known for identifying truly unique subjects and bringing their stories to life. She broke onto the film festival scene in 2018 with “The Frenchy”, an audience favorite that closed down the Banff World Tour every night and won the “Pure Joy” award at Carbondale’s 5Point Film Festival. She currently specializes in short documentary films for athletes, non-profits, and small businesses and has worked as a freelance editor for leading production houses in the outdoor industry such as Outside and Reel Rock. 
She has had two films on Trail Running Film Festival. “Running with the Belles” went on the first tour in 2016/2017 and “Hope Run” featuring athlete Caroline Gleich in 2021. 
Michelle currently lives in Colorado with her husband Jason, ten year old son Kilian, five year old daughter Mikaela, and her three cats.

Moderator: Zoë Rom is an award-winning journalist and runner based in the Roaring Fork Valley. A Southern storyteller turned mountain dweller, she starts every day with a cup of strong coffee and a good story. Her work has appeared on NPR, Outside, and High Country News. She is co-author of the book Becoming a Sustainable Runner with Tina Muir and a coach at Microcosm Coaching.