Off The Couch

When Cam Smith graduated high school in 2014, he had little or no mountain experience. But fast forward a few years, and Cam is now an accomplished trail runner, mountain biker, a member of the U.S. ski mountaineering team, a repeat winner of the Grand Traverse Mountain Run from Crested Butte to Aspen, and a repeat winner of the Grand Traverse Triple Crown.All of that is extremely impressive, perhaps especially since Cam grew up in Rockford, Illinois, which isn’t exactly an incubator of high alpine achievement.So I sat down with Cam in BLISTER HQ to talk about his journey, his goals, his relation to running and skiing and mountain biking, his work as a coach and as a guide at the Adaptive Center here in Crested Butte, and more.TOPICS & TIMES:Racing the Grand Traverse (2:45)Growing up in Rockford, Illinois (7:38)Getting into ski mountaineering & racing (10:57)Overcoming an overly competitive mindset (21:35)Who do you look up to? (25:55)Short & long term race goals (28:30)Cam’s “intuitive” training

Jason Koop is a passionate runner, the author of Training Essentials for Ultrarunning, the head coach of CTS Ultrarunning, and someone who is not afraid to speak his mind. So Maddie Hart & Jonathan Ellsworth talk to Jason about his endurance coaching; “nonsensical” training aids & techniques; his recent running of the 330 km Tor de Geants; the current state of the minimalist / maximalist shoe debate; what he thinks the running scene will look like 10 years from now; and a *whole* lot more.TOPICS & TIMES:How Jason got into running & coaching (1:40)The early days of remote coaching (4:01)Jason’s book Training Essentials for Ultrarunning (9:11)What’s the current state of endurance science? (12:31)Coaching “physiological anomalies" (15:20)“Nonsensical” training aids & techniques (22:44)Minimalist vs maximalist running shoes? (30:42)Running the 330 km Tor des Geants (38:14)Sharing your pain on social media (44:45)What will the racing scene look like in 10 years? (47:39)Jason’s coaching work tod

Kyle Robidoux is a passionate runner and skier and beer enthusiast. He has run 25 marathons and ultra marathons, including three 100-mile races, and the Boston Marathon six times. He also happens to be legally blind.Like the vast majority of us, Kyle Robidoux grew up loving sports and the outdoors. But at the age of 11, Kyle was diagnosed with a degenerative eye disease, and he was declared legally blind at the age of 19.So Kyle and I talk about his background, his anger about his receding vision and what he did about it; how he got into running and trail running, his efforts to create more inclusive trail races; his advice to all of us about how to deal with loss of any kind; and what specific things we all can do to be better to and more supportive of everyone dealing with disabilities. (And we talk about beer.)TOPICS & TIMES:Kyle’s work with the Massachusetts Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired (2:30)Growing up & playing sports (3:37)Being diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa (5:20)The

Luke Nelson is a professional runner, physician assistant, race director (of the Scout Mountain Ultras in his town of Pocatello, Idaho), climate activist, husband, father of three, and … someone who doesn’t get a lot of sleep. And in this conversation, my co-host Brendan Leonard and I talk to Luke about how he and Brendan first met; his background as a serious snowboarder, climber, and kayaker; how and why he got into running — and did his first marathon; his obsession with testing his limits; how he attempts to balance that obsession with family life; why (given everything else he’s got going on) he makes the time to also be a race director, and more.TOPICS & TIMES:How Luke & Brendan met (1:30)Running his 1st marathon b/c of a bet (5:40)Learning from Jared Campbell (13:13)FKT of WURL / managing risk & fear (15:04)Balancing athletic & professional ambitions w/ family life (21:34)Sleeping little, training lots (23:47)Snowboarding & kayaking (& origami?) (26:38)Why Luke is racing le

Finding the right running shoe can be far more complicated and confusing than it should be. So this week, reviewers Luke Koppa, Jonathan Ellsworth, Maddie Hart, and Gordon Gianniny discuss our new BLISTER Brand Guide to Running Shoes; why we saw a need for it; what we hope it accomplishes for runners everywhere; and the trends and takeaways we’ve seen in the process of building it.TOPICS & TIMES:Gordon Gianniny’s whereabouts & recovery (2:00)Maddie & the Eleven Experience Trail Running Camp (3:45)Is Stevie Kremer dodging Jonathan?? (5:00)The major problem with buying new running shoes (6:35)Our biggest takeaways from developing the guide (9:25)Brand lineups with redundant shoe designs (11:30)What are the overall market trends? (13:22)Should companies provide a stated last? (17:05) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Salomon athlete, Jackson Brill, is a 21-year old senior in college at CU Boulder, but given his approach to running, the way he talks about the sport, and his race results, you’d be forgiven for assuming that he was twice as old as he is. So we talked to Jackson about his studies and his work in CU’s Locomotion Lab; being teammates with Kilian Jornet; his experience with the Golden Trail Series; and his strong interest in coaching.TOPICS & TIMES:Golden Trail Series (3:10)Lessons learned from studying physiology (14:02)Ascents or Descents? (19:30)Do you strategize races based on your competitors? (21:58)Being teammates with Killian Jornet (25:53)Growing up & downhill ski racing (31:00)The “distance” question (34:41)If you could only run 1 race in the next 2 years? (39:38)What was your best day running? (41:41)Jackson’s upcoming races (45:47) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On Saturday, August 25th, 2019, Zach Bitter set an incredible world record for the fastest time that a human being has run 100 miles — 11 hours, 19 minutes, 13 seconds.And for an encore, Zach kept on running, then set another world record — the 12-hour distance world record. (In 12 hours, Zach ran 104.8 miles.)To call these achievements remarkable is an understatement. So we talked to Zach a few days after his big day about the logistics of the event; training for it; why he considers it his masterpiece; his perspective on other world records, and a whole lot more.TOPICS & TIMES:Recovering from the race (2:50)Race day report (6:17)Running on a track vs. trail (15:47)Zach’s headspace while running (20:56)When did you start training for this event? (33:23)Thoughts on Ian Sharman & David Roche’s training philosophies (45:07)How to get to a 6:40 split (57:47)Thoughts on other world records (1:01:53)Why we need to celebrate more runners & events (1:07:27)What’s Next: Preparing for the Spartathalon (1:1

David Roche is one of the most successful running coaches out there, but he is certainly not the most conventional running coach out there.And while data-driven training play an important role in the “SWAP” coaching program run by David and his wife Megan, there are some foundational and existential principles that underlie their approach to running, coaching, and life.So we explore with David the philosophy and principles that undergird his coaching; how he arrived at them; how he went from being a 200 lb. football & baseball player to two-time national champion in the 10k; how he has evolved and improved as a running coach; what new training ideas seem most promising to him; whether he would consider coaching non-runners; and more.TOPICS & TIMES:Races as celebrations of training (3:50)David’s days as a 210 lb football player (5:45)David’s philosophy (16:05)Running and Death (26:00)How have you most improved as a coach? (32:40)Insecurity (36:34)Training for fast twitch vs. slow twitch (47:08)Is succe

This week’s episode is a bit of a prodigal son story, because our guest today, Justin Ricks, was an accomplished young runner who walked away entirely from the sport early into his college running career — he just dropped running completely. But some years later he found himself drawn back to running, and he gave up a secure corporate job, moved his family into a camper, and started to put on race events.Then, Justin and his family kept putting on more and more race events each year under the Mad Moose Events moniker, and as you’ll hear, Mad Moose is very much a ‘whole family’ affair.But Justin and his family don’t merely make a living in running, they also live to run, and they literally run together - the whole family - every single morning.And despite putting on over 20 races a year in Colorado and Utah, Justin himself somehow manages to score some very impressive race results when he himself decides to race, including his 1st place finish two weeks ago at the Silverton Ultra 55k; his 5th place finish last

Ian Sharman likes to keep running fun, and is extremely good at running races in Spiderman, Santa Claus, and Elvis costumes.But Ian is also a fierce and amazingly consistent competitor, and has completed over 200 ultras and marathons. He is the only person to finish in the top 10 at Western States 100 9 times in 9 starts; he is a 4-time Leadville 100 champion (and the only person to break 17 hrs four times at Leadville), and … we could go on about Ian’s records and results.And Ian is equally passionate about keeping ultrarunning fair, and keeping doping out of the sport. So we talk to Ian about setting Guinness World Records for racing in costumes; some of his impressive wins and records; the most common mistakes he sees people making in training and in racing; his strategy for keeping doping out of ultrarunning; and more.TOPICS & TIMES:Trial-and-erroring his way into endurance sports (2:16)Becoming the World’s Fastest Elvis (13:11)Racing in costumes: Pro Tips (18:36)Coping with injuries & life lesson

Brendan Leonard and I recently talked to Meghan Hicks, who is one hell of a trail runner in her own right, in addition to being the managing editor of iRunFar, a website that, among other things, produces some of the best race coverage out there — or as Meghan so eloquently puts it, they cover and capture “everything from the puke fests to the transcendental moments” that make up this sport of trail running.Meghan is also just a real joy to talk to, even if, she made Brendan and me work really hard to get her to talk about her accomplishments. But try we did, and along the way, Meghan painted for us a very interesting picture of her life and background; how iRunFar.com came to be; what motivates her to run; her unusual but wonderful combination of self-deprecation and overflowing optimism; her lowest lows lows and highest highs as a runner; what she thinks is the most misunderstood thing about ultra races; and more.TOPICS & TIMES:Growing up in Minnesota, discovering trail running (3:57)Bonking during her

BLISTER reviewer & contributing editor, Maddie Hart, just won the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 Mile Run, making her the youngest person — male or female — to ever win the event.So we talked to Maddie about the race; her strategy; how she felt throughout it; what gear she used and how it performed; whether running the demanding 60k Infinite Trails race in Europe was good or bad prep for the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 Miler; her pacers; and her achievement.TOPICS & TIMESRecovering Post-Race (2:02)Why did you decide to run this race? (4:45)Race Day Recap: obstacles, emotions, and the finish (6:23)The eating trick that helped Maddie during the race (11:23)People’s reaction to her age (13:52)Was her 60k Infinite Trails race good or bad preparation? (16:43)Gear: what worked, and what didn’t (19:18)Biggest lesson learned from the race (23:24)What her pacers did right (25:47) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

There’s a common narrative in the running world about people who are struggling in life, then they are saved by running. But what happens when you’ve been an endurance athlete for over twenty years, and you then find yourself in search of some answers? We talk to Duncan Callahan — 2-time winner of the Leadville 100 and a number of other ultras — about his story, things he’d do different, and what he’s still hoping to learn.TOPICS & TIMES:Duncan’s background in endurance sports (3:23)Ultrarunning at an early age (6:55)Duncan's first Leadville 100 (13:45)Winning the 2008 Leadville 100 — i.e., the ‘Gunnison’ 100 (18:15)Burning out (21:49)What would he have done differently? (25:20)On identifying as a “runner” (30:34) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Clare Gallagher just won the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Race, and she did so in spectacular fashion. And normally, that is all the introduction we’d need here, since winning Western States is a very big deal. But there happens to be a whole lot more to this particular story. Because right before this race, Clare accepted an invitation from Tommy Caldwell to go on an expedition to the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge to raise awareness of and opposition to plans to give oil and gas companies the right to drill in the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge.But backpacking and mountaineering around the wild landscape of Alaska is not how professional runners typically spend time right before their biggest race of the year.So in addition to diving into the details of her epic Western States win, we discuss with Clare why she was willing to go to Alaska; why she runs; and how wins at Western States — or her 2016 win of the Leadville 100, or her FKT of the Zion Traverse last year — all work to create a larg

Scott Jurek, one of the greatest trail runners of all time, called his attempt to break Jennifer Pharr Davis’ FKT (Fastest Known Time) for hiking the Appalachian Trail the hardest thing he’d ever done. And yet, hiking and thru-hiking often isn’t given the credit it deserves either as a monumental test of endurance, or as a more accessible / less intimidating activity to get more people outdoors.So we talk to former National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, Jennifer Pharr Davis, about the differences and divides between hiking culture & trail running culture; why — and how — she works to break down barriers and get more people outside; the increasing importance of connecting with nature; lessons from her book, The Pursuit of Endurance, and more.TOPICS & TIMES:Jennifer’s unconventional book tour (5:05)“Hiking” vs “Trail Running” culture (7:50)Inclusivity & diversity in the outdoors / outdoor industry (16:09)How hiking can help individuals & communities (22:50)Jen’s favorite story from The Purs

While participation in trail running and ultra trail races is increasing, it has tended to draw an older crowd. But things are changing. Younger runners are getting into the sport, and they aren’t following all the old conventions.So we discuss the current and future state of trail running and ultra trail running with two young and rising trail runners — Maddie Hart and Gordon Gianniny. We also talk about how they got into trail running and longer-distance racing as teenagers; their take on the idea that a lot of people get into ultras later in life as a way to cope with inner demons or certain life crises; how they see trail running changing; and more.TOPICS & TIMES:Getting into running & ultras as teenagers (2:55)How do you see trail running changing? (19:47)Inner demons & ultras (24:00)How do you see the future of competitive trail running? (30:50)On Maddie & Gordon’s upcoming relay-style trail ultramarathon (36:03)Ultras as Eating Contests (41:55)Which races are on your bucket list? (49:32

This past weekend, our Off The Couch co-host, Brendan Leonard, ran the Bighorn Trail 100 Mile Endurance Run. So Jonathan Ellsworth talks with him about why he decided to run it; how he prepared; the highs and lows of the experience; dealing with the race’s signature mud; his advice for anyone thinking of running a 100; and then, the big question: whether or not he plans on running another 100 miler.TOPICS & TIMES:Recovering from the race (2:23)The story behind the Bighorn Trail Run (5:15)When & Why did you decide to do it? (10:41)Preparing for the Bighorn 100 (11:25)How mud changed the race (12:27)Resisting comfort at aid stations (16:00)Pushing through the 2nd half of the race (18:22)The patience of race pacers (23:12)The Finish (30:13)Wildlife encounters? (32:29)Hellbender 100 vs. Bighorn 100 (35:36)The Question: Will you do another 100? (36:57) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Stevie Kremer is a world-class runner, but her life sure doesn’t include many of the stereotypes that description might conjure up. So we discuss her unusual training routine; sitcoms & life lessons; how she got into trail running and ski mountaineering; and juggling being a runner, mother, and educator.TOPICS & TIMES:Sitcoms and life lessons (2:12)Stevie’s background & early races (4:00)Hangovers & long-distance mountain races (8:00)Running at over 21,000 ft. elevation (18:30)Stevie’s (remarkably) precise daily routine (24:59)Ski mountaineering & running (34:23)Racing goals in exotic locations (38:50)The Salomon Eleven Running Experience (42:50)Running & real life (47:22)What do you listen to when trail running? (52:27) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Brendan Leonard and I talk to Sarah Lavender Smith, who ran her first marathon back in 1995, and has gone on to complete eighty marathons and ultramarathons since.Sarah is the author of the excellent book, The Trail Runner's Companion: A Step-by-Step Guide to Trail Running and Racing, from 5Ks to Ultras; she is a columnist for the magazines UltraRunning and Trail Runner, she also keeps an active blog at TheRunnersTrip.com; and she is the co-host of the UltraRunnerPodcast.We talk to Sarah about what inspired her to start running; the problem of “mommy guilt”; the importance of being process oriented; running marathons with horses; her relationship with competitiveness; and how she gradually went from smoking and partying to running ultras.Sarah has strung together a very interesting life and career, and she has a ton of insight to offer both newbies and seasoned veterans. So we hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did.Connect with Sarah:TwitterInstagramFacebook personal pageFacebook blog pageBlog: Th

In this episode, Brendan Leonard and I had a remarkable conversation with a remarkable person, and we urge every runner — and non-runner — to listen to it.Filmmaker and runner, Sanjay Rawal (3100: Run and Become; Food Chains; Challenging Impossibility), joined us to talk about how running can be far more than just a fitness routine or a competitive outlet, it can be transformative, and make us better people.An accomplished runner himself, Sanjay shares how burning out on competitive running, a fraught political climate, and a desire for self-discovery led him to veer off the 'straight-A's / med school' path that he was on at Berkeley, and instead go explore running as a form of meditation under the guidance of the spiritual leader Sri Chinmoy.We then talk about Sanjay’s most recent film called, 3100: Run and Become, which centers on the longest certified race in the world, the Self-Transcendence 3100 — that’s right, this is a three thousand and one hundred mile long race that takes place in, of all places, Qu