Off The Couch

Today we’ve got some race recaps for you; our initial impressions of Saucony’s Switchback2 (which features the BOA system); and we discuss the arrival of the first carbon-plated trail shoe, The North Face's Flight Vectiv.TOPICS & TIMES:Race Recap: Moab Red Hot (2:05)Race Recap: Black Canyon Ultras (8:52)Review: Saucony Switchback2 (15:03)Carbon-plated trail shoes have arrived (24:26) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

My Off The Couch co-host Brendan Leonard has a new book coming out, so I talked to Brendan about zen koans, piñatas, other running books, kids, alternate titles for the book, and why Jonathan thinks that you should read this book whether you hate running, or love it.TOPICS & TIMESBest Table of Contents Ever? (2:00)Who is the book for? (4:23)Alternate titles  (11:09)Running books & Born to Run (17:18)From Zero to Try (29:38)How do books work? (36:52)The importance of piñatas (41:43)Running & Love & Your Kids (44:45)When / Where to get the book (48:03)RELATED LINKS:SEMI-RAD.COMBOOKSHOP.ORG See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Brendan Leonard & Jonathan Ellsworth talk to Mike Foote, who on 12.31.20, headed out with fellow The North Face athlete, Rob Krar, to attempt an FKT of the Rim to Rim to Rim “alt” route of the Grand Canyon. So Brendan and I caught up with Mike to get his version of events, and we discuss a number of interesting and important topics that show just how terrific and thoughtful of a person Mike is (in case you didn’t know that already).TOPICS & TIMESMike’s attempt to photograph Rob Krar’s butt (2:30)Racing, training, & race directing in 2020 (12:19)Races planned for 2021 (17:27)Getting in to race directing + Mike’s previous jobs (25:45)Books & reading habits (39:29)Ted Lasso! (52:16)Mental Health, exercise, & sports psychology (53:57)RELATED LINKSTHE VIDEO: R2R2R ALT ROUTE See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Brendan Leonard & Jonathan Ellsworth talk to Ed Roberson, the creator of The Procrastinator’s Punishment 50k; the host of the excellent Mountain & Prairie podcast; and the author of a fantastic Books Recommendation series. So we talked to Ed about all of the above, and more.TOPICS & TIMES:Ed’s podcast, Mountain & Prairie (1:52)The Procrastinator’s Punishment 50k (9:09)Ed’s Scary DNF (30:22)ED’s Gross DNF (36:41)Triathalon community vs the Ultra community (39:31)Ed’s bi-monthly book recommendations (44:40)RELATED LINKS:Ed’s Mountain & Prairie PodcastSignup for Ed’s Book Recommendation Emails See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Zoë Rom is a runner / scrambler / climber; reader; writer; and host of the DNF Podcast. And we talk about all of this plus her interest in continuing to deepen and enrich running culture; the very specific way to win her heart; getting cut from the cross country team in high school; winning her first ultra with the help of Oreos & Fireball; her FKT on Capitol Peak; what she’s reading, watching, and listening to; and more.TOPICS & TIMES:Fruit, books, & growing up in Arkansas (2:29)Getting cut from the XC team (6:40)Oreos, Fireball, & Winning her 1st Ultra (12:55)Moving to Boulder, CO (22:38)Climbers or Runners: who are more cerebral? (26:55)Writing about Running (30:13)Mountain Running (34:11)How to win Zoe’s heart (35:51)Zoe’s FKT on Capitol Peak (37:47)DNF Podcast (44:32)What Zoe’s reading, watching, & listening to (49:47)RELATED LINKSSurvivor Endurance phone case Our experience with the Survivor Endurance See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Brendan Leonard and I talk with Peter Bromka, a runner that grew up in Portland, ran at Tufts University in Boston, started trail running around San Francisco, and now, is back in Portland where he runs for the Bowerman Track Club Elite Program. But in addition to training hard and running fast, Peter is focused on writing about running itself. And in this conversation, you’ll hear more about how he is currently pursuing both.TOPICS & TIMES:Confession of being an OTC impostor (4:26)How Brendan and Peter met (10:05)Running / Not Running / Running (13:32)Falling short (25:35)Peter’s “The Bubble of a Dream” (32:34)Getting better at running without getting faster? (38:45)Thoughts on the book, Win At All Costs (42:31)Compensation & professional running (49:18)Going forward: writing & running (55:24)See Peter’s work: peterbromka.com (1:00:30)RELATED LINKSSurvivor Endurance phone case Our experience with the Survivor Endurance See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Most of you are familiar with the BOA fit system, but do you know what BOA is up to today? Or maybe you’ve thought, What’s wrong with regular shoe laces? We went to the BOA Performance Fit Lab to learn more; hear why they see a big opportunity in trail running shoes; and see how they are working with companies to optimize products.TOPICS & TIMES:BOA’s background & the Performance Fit Lab (2:29)Dan Feeney & Kate Harrison’s backgrounds (6:20)BOA vs traditional shoe laces (8:20)3rd-Party Testing (14:28)BOA’s biggest categories & emerging categories (16:15)Trail running benefits of BOA (21:50)Lateral Stability & BOA (23:50)Working with companies for optimization (25:55)Different foot shapes & BOA (28:37)Data collecting with athletes (30:10)Current BOA products to try on (32:55) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Our guest today is Matt Hart, author of the book, Win at All Costs: Inside Nike Running and its Culture of Deception, which is an important book that everyone interested in competitive athletics should read.We talk to Matt about how he got interested in and involved with this story; whether we should just make all performance-enhancing drugs legal in all sports; who is most to blame for PED use in sports; what Nike’s response to the book has been; Alberto Salazar’s upcoming trial; and more. This is a great conversation that raises a lot of important topics, and after you listen to this conversation, you should read Win at All Costs.TOPICS & TIMES:Matt’s background (3:45)The Nike Oregon Project (18:42)Legal vs. illegal drugs (23:16)Drugs in sports: who is most to blame? (31:54)Fact-checking the book (1:06)Nike’s response to the book? (1:15:45)Alberto Salazar’s upcoming trial (1:18:51) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

If you are interested in product design and the process of innovation, then you need to listen to this conversation. Jean-Luc Diard started as an intern at Salomon, developed the first shaped ski, became the CEO at Salomon, played a major role in the development of Salomon’s running shoes, moved on to found Hoka One One, and is currently the VP of Innovation for the Deckers Group, where he currently heads up the Deckers X Lab.This conversation explores the process of bringing about real innovation, how to make it happen, what to do, and what to avoid. It is not to be missed.TOPICS & TIMESWhat is the Deckers X Lab? (3:18)What is the Deckers Group? (4:25)Jean-Luc’s background (5:50)Why outdoor brands used to be narrowly focused (10:08)From intern to CEO of Salomon (14:40)Designing Salomon’s first ski (17:45)Getting Salomon into running shoes (24:23)Tangent: what happened to inline skating? (31:56)Starting Something New: Hoka One One (34:58)Adoption - and Resistance - to Innovation (48:39)From Hoka to the De

Billy Yang is (among other things) a runner, filmmaker (Billy Yang Films), podcast host (Billy Yang Podcast), and someone who has been chronicling the sport of running in a fashion that is often beautiful, and always inspiring.In this conversation, Brendan Leonard and Jonathan Ellsworth talk to Billy about everything from cigarette brands to the need for more compassionate critical thinking in our world.TOPICS & TIMES:Smoking / not smoking (1:52)Filmmaking & influences (8:23)Different mediums (16:54)Immigration (22:08)Finishing projects (34:10)LA & moving? (43:25)NFL and the NBA (51:02)Podcasting & media (57:07)Hopes for the coming year (59:09)RELATED LINKS:YouTube: Billy Yang FilmsBilly Yang Podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Today we’re putting our Off The Couch co-host, Brendan Leonard (semi-rad.com) in the interviewee seat to hear about his recent FKT; his review of his FKT route and whether you should do it; movies; his current running program; gas station donuts; how well he deals with deadlines; some of his current and upcoming projects, and more.TOPICS & TIMES:Brendan’s new FKT (7:27)Interlude: movie talk (9:42)Brendan’s review of his FKT (12:16)Gas station donuts (17:18)Are you a heart rate monitor? (19:12)Running as a couple (29:02)The deadline dungeon (33:31) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Six months ago, professional skier, Cody Townsend, hated running. Now he loves it. So what happened?? And will his current training program really get him ready to ski tour up and down some of the gnarliest peaks in North America for his ongoing Fifty Project? If you have ever found yourself in the “I hate running” camp, you should listen to this episode.WATCH THE CONVERSATION ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Brendan Leonard and Jonathan Ellsworth talk to Kaytlyn Gerbin about her work as a bioengineer, the Rainier Infinity Loop; running ultras vs mountaineering; why scientists make good ultra runners; cheating on snowboarding; and a whole lot more. TOPICS & TIMESKaytlyn tries to remember the name of her dissertation (2:21)Describe the Rainier Infinity Loop? (6:35)Choosing projects / running ultra vs mountaineering (10:30)How much do you tailor training for specific events? (14:03)Is your brain on or off while exercising (15:57)Why scientists make great ultra runners (19:59)Rock climbing vs. ultra running (21:23)What was your introduction to running? (26:11)Growing up in Wisconsin (32:30)Imposter syndrome & start line at Western States (35:09)Snowboarding / cheating on snowboarding (37:50)Ultra runner couples & pacing your partner (51:42)The rest of 2020? (57:41) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Last Saturday, Blister reviewer & accomplished ultrarunner, Maddie Hart, ran the Emma Coburn Elk Run 5k with Blister founder & very unaccomplished runner, Jonathan Ellsworth, and they recorded the experience. Hilarity (and embarrassment) ensued, but it was all for a great cause: Living Journeys. Check it out.TOPICS & TIMES:Running attire (5:50)Maddie’s FKT attempt(10:33)5k Update: how’s Jonathan feeling? (13:21)Converting miles to kilometers (17:52)Listening to music while running (21:15)Maddie’s FKT training (23:32)Finishing! (26:39)Closing thoughts (30:06) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Coree Woltering is definitely one of the most interesting ultrarunners out there, so Brendan Leonard and Jonathan Ellsworth talked to Coree about the one time when a catcall actually worked; why the running world needs to stop overlooking midwestern athletes; Quick Trip burgers and how to remove ticks and deal with bird-sized mosquitoes; and the injury and the miracle that happened while he was setting a new FKT on the Ice Age Trail.TOPICS & TIMESQuick Trip Burgers & FKTs (5:32)Catcalls, skydiving & a white minivan (12:31)Start of Trail Running and Biology (29:17)Ice Age FKT, Ticks, Mosquitos (40:30)The injury & the miracle (51:27) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ryan Hall is a two-time Olympian, holds the U.S. record in the half marathon, and is the only American to run a sub-2:05:00 marathon. But these days, Ryan has cut back quite a bit on his running, and is currently far more focused on lifting — and his transformation from a ~130 lb. worldclass runner to ~180 lb. bodybuilder is wild.But that’s not the only wild thing Ryan’s got going on — he just completed his first ultramarathon, The North Face Grand Traverse here in Crested Butte — and he did it in the most ‘Off The Couch’ way possible.So I sat down with Ryan in Blister HQ to talk about his first ultra; some of the incredible highs and some painful lows in his running career; weight and performance and his own struggles as a professional runner to find the right balance; the importance of finding proper perspective; and his current work as a running coach where others can benefit from what he’s learned over the years.Check out runfreetraining.com to learn more about working with Ryan.TOPICS & TIMES:Welcome

Ever feel like you aren’t — or couldn’t ever possibly be — a “real” runner? Most of us have, which is why most of us need to meet Kelly Roberts. Kelly is good at making us feel fine about the fact that we sometimes hate running. And she’s equally good at helping us continue to run — or walk, or bike, or just keep moving. So we talk to Kelly about her moving (and hilarious) entrance into running; her Badass Lady Gang; angel ghosts; and more.TOPICSLife currently in Brooklyn (8:05)Best motivating tips / tricks (18:24)Kelly’s origin story & getting into running (21:44)Kelly’s first half marathon (30:08)From first half to first full marathon (39:23)Badass Lady Gang (46:27)Coaching (52:08)Current personal goals? (101:50) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We talk to 3-time Olympian, Simi Hamilton, about XC skiing and running; competition & competitive drive; his recent win of the Audi Power of 4; and Jonathan Ellsworth tries to instigate a battle between Simi and a previous Off The Couch guest. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we take a look at the trends in running shoes for 2020. Jonathan Ellsworth is joined by Maddie Hart and Gordon Gianniny to talk about knit uppers on trail shoes (??), massive heels, marketing copy, and we even design our own ‘Blister Pro’ shoe. Then we wrap up by talking about a few current events and get Maddie and Gordon’s upcoming plans.TOPICS & TIMES:Current Running Shoe Trends (2:40)Brand Marketing (8:36)Carbon? (17:00)The Blister Maddie Pro (18:03))Minimalist Shoes (25:05)Heavier Shoes? (29:00)Massive Heels (31:50)Some Current Events & Trends (36:44) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What do Taco Bell, the Harlem Globetrotters, a twisted femur, & Rocky Balboa have in common? They’ve all played a role in the journey of Camille Herron to become a world champion runner and a multiple world record holder — and Camille still has some very big plans. So Brendan Leonard and Jonathan Ellsworth talk with Camille about all of the above, including her unusual path to trail running, and what her sites are set on next.TOPICS & TIMES:Taco Bell update (3:16)Early basketball aspirations (5:16)Track & cross country background (12:21)Marathons & the Olympic Trials (15:27)Getting into Ultras, breaking world records (17:43)Next Up: Trail Running (22:25)Telling Nike to Just Do It (23:53)Winning the 2017 Comrades Marathon (28:19)The advantage of a twisted femur (36:01)How Camille trains (41:15)Sponsorships & Gender Equality (49:04)Rocky Balboa & the IAU 24-Hr World Championship (55:59)Camille’s upcoming plans & goals (1:02:56) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out informatio