Kia ora e te whānau.This week Eugene and Matt speak with Alex Bezzina who has completed the FKT for the northbound Te Araroa Trail – 3000km in 60 days travelling from Bluff to Cape Reinga. Alex fell in love with running during lockdown and was Inspired by hearing the story of Brooke Thomas’ Te Araroa Southbound FKT. The added impetus for Alex was that he is a massive LOTR fan and therefore is rather enamoured by the topography of the central North Island, so Northbound it was. Having convinced his dad (who, to be fair didn’t need much) and embarking on a training regime with Adam Keen of Aerobic Edge  Alex was off on his journey. There was also the small matter of attempting to raise $30,000 for NZ Forest and Bird whilst he was at it. This is an amazing conversation recounting an incredible journey. Alex remains curious, and full of gratitude, which makes his achievement all the more righteous. Best enjoyed whilst running.  Episode Links  The Lost Hobbit on Instagram  Givealittle for NZ birds  SCOTT Running  Julbo Eyewear  UltrAspire irunfar Dirt Church Radio on Instagram Dirt Church Radio on Twitter  Dirt Church Radio on Facebook  Dirt Church Radio on Patreon Ciele Further Faster New Zealand 


Alex Bezzina, The Lost Hobbit: How to take on Te Araroa (and become Lord of the Rings)

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Kia ora e te whānau! This week we’ve got something different for you. Eugene and Matt take a trip to Ōtautahi/Christchurch for our first ever live show at Further Faster. We were joined by the epic Jess Campbell and Michael Mitchell as we ran through some stories from the past six years. We rounded the evening off by challenging the audience to a rousing round of Rock, Paper, Scissors for a Crater Rim entry and finally found the answer to the oft-asked question, “What is worse, being bitten by a shark or doing The Revenant?”. Then, our heroes travelled to Island Hills in North Canterbury for the Skedaddle Trail Race, which is bound to become a litmus test in terms of toughness over the marathon distance, and Matt certainly found that out in spades.  
 Episode links: Her International NGO (courtesy of Jess Campbell) NickrunsAustralia.org.nz  Inia Raumati Kia Mau Kia Ora  Curranz SCOTT Running  Julbo Eyewear  UltrAspire Irunfar Dirt Church Radio on Instagram Dirt Church Radio on Twitter  Dirt Church Radio on Facebook  Ciele Further Faster New Zealand 
 
 Enjoy! Music by Andrew McDowall, Digicake

The Inaugural 2024 Further Faster Live Show Special and the Skedaddle Weekend

Kia ora e te whānau! This episode we catch up with Jenny and Jeff Vierling, the founders of Tailwind. They were in Aotearoa for the Faultline Ultra on the weekend, and right about now they’ll be riding the Old Ghost Road. They live in the mountain town of Durango, Colorado, where they have made a deliberate decision to grow and keep their business. We talk about life in a small town and why it’s important to them to be part of the community,  the origins of Tailwind, which is a bit of a famous story about Jeff having a bad time at the Leadville Trail 100 MTB race. We also talk about the science of race nutrition, the best and worst flavours, and that time Jeff almost had the whole of Chicago Airport shut down because of the bunch of white powder he was carrying. They were delightful and sweet – not too sweet, just right, like a chocolate-flavoured Tailwind Recovery. 

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Jeff and Jenny Vierling: Tailwind Tales - Taste-Testing and Airport Antics

Kia ora e te whānau! This week, Eugene and Matt have the distinct pleasure to speak to Greig Hamilton and let us tell you this has been a long time coming! In case you don’t know, Greig Hamilton became the first Kiwi finisher of the Barkley Marathons. It was his third crack, having knocked off fun runs in 2019 and 2022. This year there were five finishers, including the first female finisher, Jasmine Paris. Barkley is a five-loop course in the Frozen Head National Park in Tennessee. Greig is from Christchurch, he’s a two-time world champion in the Rogaine, and, by all accounts, one of the most self-effacing human beings around. However with the help of our sources we managed to crack the nut for a wonderful conversation – five years after we first asked him. We talk about Greig’s beginnings in sport, how he was “abysmal” at running (then got better), adventure racing, the burden of an endeavour like Barkley on loved ones, the difference between suffering and enjoyment, and some details about the race itself. This one was worth the wait. - Best Enjoyed Running.

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 Music by Andrew McDowall, Digicake



Greig Hamilton - Worsley Warrior and Barkley Marathons Finisher

The Furber Steps are an iconic part of the UTA course in the Blue Mountains, more than 900 stairs that make up the only path to the finish line. This year, NSW Firefighters are going to climb it for 24 hours raising money for Motor Neuron Disease. And everyone is invited along, so Matt and Eugene and going to be there. We speak with the brainchild of this quad-shredding challenge, Gavin Clifton, about the event, the special nature of the steps, and how he came up with the idea. We also catch up with him about how the UTA course is holding up after recent torrential rain. 
Best enjoyed running!

Firies Climb for MND

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 Sit Back and Enjoy! Music by Andrew McDowall, Digicake 



Our quads are shaking already: Taking on the Furber Steps in a Blue Mountains challenge

Kia ora e te whānau! This week on the podcast Eugene speaks to returning champion and one of the most impressive human beings we’ve had the pleasure of speaking with, the one and only Roger Robinson. Roger is an age group world champion runner, an emeritus professor at Victoria University where he was in the English Department, he is a world-leading writer on running, a delightful, engaging teller of stories and commentator, and shares his time between Wellington and New York, with his wife, the celebrated women’s running pioneer, Kathrine Switzer. He has a new book out titled “Running Throughout Time: The Greatest Running Stories Ever Told”. The book is full of fascinating research and discoveries, from chapters about Atlanta, the heroic woman runner of ancient Greece, to Allison Roe, the New Zealander who won the New York Marathon. In his research, Roger arguably discovered the true roots of trail running in a ditch, and most definitely busts some myths about some of our sport’s most famous stories. Roger was a guest on DCR episode 37 which you should have a listen to if you missed it, with Kathrine on DCR episode 45. Also on show, we celebrate Riverhead Rampage’s 10th year, catch up with Dr Inia Raumati about his quest to run 8 ultras on 8 continents, and bring you a Kiwi for Greatest Run Ever – as in, an actual Kiwi, Best Enjoyed Running. Roger Robinson Home  Running Through Time: The Greatest Running Stories Ever Told  NickrunsAustralia.org.nz  Inia Raumati Kia Mau Kia Ora  Curranz SCOTT Running  Julbo Eyewear  UltrAspire Irunfar Dirt Church Radio on Instagram Dirt Church Radio on Twitter  Dirt Church Radio on Facebook  Ciele Further Faster New Zealand Sit Back and Enjoy! Music by Andrew McDowall, Digicake

Alex Bezzina, The Lost Hobbit: How to take on Te Araroa (and become Lord of the Rings)

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