Dirt Church Radio Trail Running

By Matt Rayment and Eugene Bingham

What's Dirt Church Radio Trail Running about?

Trail running talk and banter, delving deep to gain insight and inspiration from interesting runners in New Zealand, Australia and the world. Learn more: dirtchurchradio.com

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Dirt Church Radio Trail Running episodes:

04.23.2024
Greig Hamilton - Worsley Warrior and Barkley Marathons Finisher
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...
04.19.2024
Our quads are shaking already: Taking on the Furber Steps in a Blue Mountains challenge
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...
04.09.2024
The origins of trail running and other great yarns with Roger Robinson
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...
03.30.2024
Northburn100 BONUS POD with Gareth Morris!!! The Race Where Suffering is the Prize
Kia ora e te whānau! Enjoy this cheeky little bijou podcastette from this year’s Northburn 100. Llaingholm’s favourite son, Episode 33 alumni, and Commonwealth Games Medallist Gareth Morris went to Northburn to document the action (okay, so he was supposed...
03.27.2024
Backyard ReLaps and Northburn and Barkley Marathons Special – A Weekend For The Ages
Kia ora e te whānau! WOOOOO some weekends in the calendar just stack up don’t they? This weekend certainly didn’t disappoint with the fourth running of Aotearoa’s original Backyard Ultramarathon, the Riverhead Backyard ReLaps Ultra, the Northburn 100 mile, one...
03.23.2024
Suzanne McFadden: How Sandy Barwick set a record which took 34 years - and Camille Herron - to break.
Kiwi Sandy Barwick ran 549 miles in six days back in 1990, establishing a world record that stood for 34 years, until Camille Herron broke it, running 560 miles last week. How did Sandy do it, and what does she...
03.13.2024
Ali Pottinger - The future of Trail Running for Women in Australasia
Kia ora e te whānau! Our friend, fellow MC, and DCR away game co-host Ali Pottinger sent us a message wanting to talk about what the trail running community could do better (and is doing better) to support women in...
03.09.2024
Of surgery and stuff: A quick catch-up with Kerry Suter
Just before Tarawera we caught up with Kerry Suter and Ali Pottinger from Squadrun for our annual pre-race preview. Days later, as he told us, he was going in for surgery to help get some mobility back after his big...
02.28.2024
Polly Taylor, unbroken: Hit by a car, she's back chasing her UTMB dream.
Kia ora e te whānau! She’s 90 lbs soaking wet and with a personality 150 feet tall: Polly Taylor is a force to be reckoned with. A guide in the Marlborough Sounds, past Northburn 100 mile winner, and someone who...
02.24.2024
Tarawera Bonus: Caravans of Courage and Curated Content
We went to Tarawera Ultra-Trail in 2024 and it was incredible. Moments so surreal you question reality. Simple pleasures, mundanity, joy, filth, pride, and noble stupidity (and this was just the car trip down). Please enjoy this episode of the...
02.19.2024
Tarawera Ultra-Trail 2024 Special
Kia ora e te whānau!! Holy Hecka ... the four-day three-ring circus that is Tarawera Ultra-Trail has rolled into town for 2024, and we couldn’t wait to get this out to you all as a wee bonus treat. First off,...
02.14.2024
Robyn Lesh – Putting the Puzzle Together: Life as a Pro Trail Runner
Kia ora e te whānau. Throughout this episode, Robyn Lesh talks about puzzles. From working out how not to drop a single point in her community college maths class, to graduating MIT whilst figuring out the ideal point of balance...
01.31.2024
2024 Tarawera Ultra Trail Preview with Kerry Suter and Ali Pottinger
Kia ora e te whānau. The Big Friendly is rushing up again and Eugene and Matt have the privilege of being joined by their fellow MC’s, friends, and the Squadrun brains trust Kerry Suter and Ali Pottinger. Kerry and Ali...
01.27.2024
Bonus Ep: Our new AidStation podcast
AidStation 001 – Insert Something Cliche About Processes. A special taste for DCR listeners of our new subscriber-only AidStation podcast. We didn’t know this, but the second Friday in January is known as “Quitter’s Day”. This is the day that...
01.17.2024
David Haunschmidt - Life Is Short, So Live it.
Kia ora e te whānau. When David Haunschmidt was racing his brothers over the beaches of Westray in the Orkney Islands, he never dreamed that his life would one day take him to New Zealand and near to the top...
01.03.2024
A running masterclass with Zachary Friedley and Eric Orton, Born to Adapt
Kia ora e te whānau. For our first podcast of 2024 Eugene and Matt have the pleasure of speaking with Zachary Friedley and Eric Orton. Zach is a returning Champion on DCR, having spoken to Matt on episode 202, and...
12.20.2023
2023 Dirt Church Radio Christmas Live Special!!
Kia ora e te whānau. Gosh, it’s been a year, right? Do they get shorter and longer as we get older or is that just us. Fresh from Coviduszko, Thredbro, and Taipei, our heroes reunite with man-about-town Andrew McDowall to...
12.13.2023
Ali Pottinger and the 2023 Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko Special.
Kia ora e te whānau. *We acknowledge the Monero Ngarigo people, the traditional custodians of the land that this podcast was recorded on, and pay respect to their elders past, present, and emerging*. STONE THE FLAMING CROWS! No, literally. They...
12.06.2023
Kristian Morgan: Southbound Appalachian FKT.
Kia ora e te whānau. Running is often seen as a solitary endevour, however we are always buoyed up by those around us. For those of us who attempt feats that many would consider impossible, or at best improbable, family...
11.22.2023
Carly Webber from Runners NZ - The WHY
Kia ora e te whānau. Some of running’s biggest truisms are also the most tried and tested clichēs. And if you think about it, they are cliche for a reason. Because they are true. What’s your why? Have you thought...
11.08.2023
Scott Bougen - From local races to toeing the line with the best in the world.
Kia ora e te whānau. The phrase “from out of nowhere” is overused, and largely inaccurate in the sense that everyone, and indeed everything,came from somewhere. Everything (and indeed everyone) has a beginning, a middle, and an end. If this...
10.25.2023
Amy Whitehead - Adventure for Dementia and the Pipeline of Pain.
Kia ora e te whānau. Amy Whitehead’s Auntie Joan had dementia. And it killed her. Like most illnesses that effect the brain and function, the seriousness of dementia is little understood and often mischaracterised. Grateful for the support that Dementia...
10.11.2023
Sarah Pendergrass: Light to Light in Scotland
Kia ora e te whānau. Sarah Pendergrass has changed. I mean, we all do, right? But Sarah’s journey has taken her from being a self-confessed “pom at bondi” to being an ultramarathon runner, podcaster, bike-packer, successful illustrator and all round...
09.27.2023
The Blue Lake 24 Hour Challenge 2023: Mud and Mayhem.
Kia ora e te whānau. This year, Matt was back at it at the Blue Lake for (what was supposed to be) 24 hours of challenge and excitement in the best worst kept secret on the Aotearoa trail running calendar....
09.12.2023
Cath Wallis: Find your Adventure
Kia ora e te whānau. Cath Wallis lost herself in the midst of a career and the focus of raising family. Standing at the threshold of middle age, Cath honestly didn’t know who she was anymore, and felt “invisible”. Growing...
08.29.2023
Naseby: A great race, great distances, and lessons learned from a DNF.
Kia ora e te whānau. This week we feature the great, the good, and the not so good from the Great Naseby Water Race. This event has been an Aotearoa trail running institution and has been on the bucket list...
08.15.2023
Andy Carruthers: Tararua S-K, the movie and the magic
Kia ora e te whānau. This week Matt has the pleasure of speaking to Andy Carruthers, Wellington adventure lover, runner, and creator of the Tararua S-K movie. The S-K, or Schorman- Kaitoki, is a tramping route in the Tararua Range...
08.01.2023
Ash Bartholomew: Wrong Turns, Redemption, and being Lucy's Dad
Kia ora e te whānau. This week by popular demand Eugene and Matt speak to Ash Bartholomew, who triggered a worldwide explosion of “it’s suddenly being very dusty in here” as he rolled into the Placer Track at the end...
07.18.2023
Dan Jones, Living the Dream: From Whakatāne to Western States.
Kia ora e te whānau. This week Eugene and Matt have the extreme pleasure of speaking to returning champion Dan Jones about his incredible 5th place finish at the 2023 Western States Endurance Run. When last we spoke to Dan...
07.04.2023
Sam Harvey, Never Surrender: The psychology and physiology of running for 101 hours
Kia ora e te whānau. This week Eugene and Matt sit down to speak with Sam Harvey fresh off his return from Dead Cow Gully. Sam was competing at the Australian Backyard Masters and managed a world record equalling 101...
06.20.2023
George Murray: How a “Weekend Warrior” became the UTA 100 Champion
Kia ora e te whānau. This week Eugene and Matt speak to UTA 100 Champion George Murray. Originally from the South Island town of Blenheim, George has taken a circuitous journey to be at the beginning of an amazing journey,...
06.06.2023
Alex Bezzina, The Lost Hobbit: How to take on Te Araroa (and become Lord of the Rings)
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...
05.23.2023
Sophie Power: Taking it Back
Kia ora e te whānau. This week Eugene speaks with Sophie Power. Sophie is an ultrarunner who has recently been announced in the Great Britain team for the world 24 hour champs, after setting a lifetime best of 235.739 km....
05.16.2023
UTA 2023 Special: 15 years of Blue Mountains Goodness
Kia ora e te whānau. *We acknowledge the Gundungarra people, the traditional custodians of the land that this podcast was recorded on, and pay respect to their elders past, present, and emerging*. Stop what you are doing and go run...
05.09.2023
Erchana Murray-Bartlett: Tip to Toe
Kia ora e te whānau. Running a marathon is difficult, be it a PR, a grind, a failure, or in training, 42.2km is a distance the demands respect. Imagine running one, then another, then another, then another 147 back-to-back, mainly...
04.25.2023
Malcolm Law: The Wild
Kia ora e te whānau. Mal Law is one of the best known names in the Aotearoa trail running. Mal has raised just shy of a million dollars for charity with his many multi-day adventures. Mal and his wife Sally...
04.14.2023
Lazarus Lake - Barkley Marathons, Big’s, and Beyond.
Kia ora e te whānau. Out the gate with a bonus episode recorded with Lazarus Lake and Shaun Collins on the last night of Laz’s stay. Gary ‘Lazarus Lake’ Cantrell is a self described “Hillbilly from Tennessee” who for the...
04.11.2023
Majell Backhausen - An End To An End
Kia ora e te whānau.Majell Backhausen is many things to many people. To Eugene and Matt Maj is, was, and always will be the 13th person ever to come on Dirt Church Radio. Speaking to Majell is always such a...
03.29.2023
Martin Gaffuri - Athlete, Commentator, Coach: For the love of the sport.
Kia ora e te whānau. You can learn a bit about a person from standing on a finish line with them through the night, and we were super lucky to have had that experience at TUM with Martin Gaffuri. We...
03.15.2023
Richard Askwith - Fell runner and author of Feet In The Clouds on the race against time.
Kia ora e te whānau. Not to gush, but if Eugene and Matt did ever start a DCR book club, the first book in the curriculum would be Feet In The Clouds by Richard Askwith. For years we discussed inviting...
03.01.2023
Nancy Jiang - What it took to win Tarawera and the Golden Ticket
Kia ora e te whānau. Last time Eugene and Matt spoke to Nancy Jiang was way back in 2018 on DCR #16. Way back then Nancy was beginning her trail running story, having just carved it up at the CCC...
02.22.2023
Ryan Montgomery - Gunning for the Golden Ticket.
Kia ora e te whānau. Eugene and Matt had the privilege of speaking with Ryan Montgomery from Park City, Utah, whilst he was at the Tarawera Ultramarathon by UTMB 102km. Born and raised in the misty Pacific Northwest, Ryan is...
02.15.2023
Tarawera Ultramarathon 2023 Special: If this isn’t nice, we don’t know what is.
Kia ora e te whānau. HOLY HECKA we’ve got a stacked show for you this week. From the shores of Lake Okataina (literally) to the village green where we interviewed a galaxy of this sport’s brightest stars, Tarawera Ultramarathon by...
02.08.2023
Daniele Danesin - Don’t be Like an Apple Tree
Kia ora e te whānau. An elite mindset is transferable across all ventures. Just ask Daniele Danesin. This week, Eugene and Matt sit down to talk with the five-time world champion rower and Olympian about his transition to running trails,...
02.03.2023
Top Tips to Help (Safely) Complete A Trail Race with Dr Tom Reynolds (re-release)
This is a DCR special bonus repeat episode. Back in Episode 126 we caught up with Dr Tom Reynolds, part of the medical team at the Tarawera Ultra. Now, in that episode, as well as talking to him about his...
02.01.2023
Kerry Suter and Ali Pottinger and the ultimate 2023 Tarawera Ultra preview
Kia ora e te whānau. It’s fair to say that Eugene and Matt are getting super excited about Tarawera coming up. And this week, they are super grateful to be able to catch up with their MC amigos Ali Pottinger...
01.25.2023
Matt Bixley - Old Man Wisdom
Kia ora e te whānau. We’re BACK!! This week Eugene and Matt speak to Matt Bixley, a South Island trail running legend. Matt went from the couch to 18 Keplers, and a bunch of Rogaines and Barkley Marathons, in fact,...
01.18.2023
DCR Summer Edition - Dr Stacy Sims
Kia ora e te whānau. Welcome to the third and final week of the 2023 DCR Summer Editions. And what a way to finish up. Dr Stacy Sims is a powerhouse of empowerment and agency for the female athlete, her...
01.11.2023
DCR Summer Edition - Christopher McDougall
Kia ora e te whānau. Welcome to the second week of the 2022/23 DCR Summer Editions. This week we bring you the amazing conversation we had with New York Times Best Selling Author, Christopher McDougall. Matt really wanted this one...
01.04.2023
DCR Summer Edition - Ruth Croft via Between Two Beers Podcast
Kia ora e te whānau. We’re taking some time off as 2022 has been a whole mood (as the youth say). So for the next few weeks we’ve got our annual summer editions. This week we have a colab! This ...

What's Dirt Church Radio Trail Running about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Dirt Church Radio Trail Running episodes:

Greig Hamilton - Worsley Warrior and Barkley Marathons Finisher

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

The origins of trail running and other great yarns with Roger Robinson

Northburn100 BONUS POD with Gareth Morris!!! The Race Where Suffering is the Prize

Backyard ReLaps and Northburn and Barkley Marathons Special – A Weekend For The Ages

Suzanne McFadden: How Sandy Barwick set a record which took 34 years - and Camille Herron - to break.

Ali Pottinger - The future of Trail Running for Women in Australasia

Of surgery and stuff: A quick catch-up with Kerry Suter

Polly Taylor, unbroken: Hit by a car, she's back chasing her UTMB dream.

Tarawera Bonus: Caravans of Courage and Curated Content

Tarawera Ultra-Trail 2024 Special

Robyn Lesh – Putting the Puzzle Together: Life as a Pro Trail Runner

2024 Tarawera Ultra Trail Preview with Kerry Suter and Ali Pottinger

Bonus Ep: Our new AidStation podcast

David Haunschmidt - Life Is Short, So Live it.

A running masterclass with Zachary Friedley and Eric Orton, Born to Adapt

2023 Dirt Church Radio Christmas Live Special!!

Ali Pottinger and the 2023 Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko Special.

Kristian Morgan: Southbound Appalachian FKT.

Carly Webber from Runners NZ - The WHY

Scott Bougen - From local races to toeing the line with the best in the world.

Amy Whitehead - Adventure for Dementia and the Pipeline of Pain.

Sarah Pendergrass: Light to Light in Scotland

The Blue Lake 24 Hour Challenge 2023: Mud and Mayhem.

Cath Wallis: Find your Adventure

Naseby: A great race, great distances, and lessons learned from a DNF.

Andy Carruthers: Tararua S-K, the movie and the magic

Ash Bartholomew: Wrong Turns, Redemption, and being Lucy's Dad

Dan Jones, Living the Dream: From Whakatāne to Western States.

Sam Harvey, Never Surrender: The psychology and physiology of running for 101 hours

George Murray: How a “Weekend Warrior” became the UTA 100 Champion

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

Sophie Power: Taking it Back

UTA 2023 Special: 15 years of Blue Mountains Goodness

Erchana Murray-Bartlett: Tip to Toe

Malcolm Law: The Wild

Lazarus Lake - Barkley Marathons, Big’s, and Beyond.

Majell Backhausen - An End To An End

Martin Gaffuri - Athlete, Commentator, Coach: For the love of the sport.

Richard Askwith - Fell runner and author of Feet In The Clouds on the race against time.

Nancy Jiang - What it took to win Tarawera and the Golden Ticket

Ryan Montgomery - Gunning for the Golden Ticket.

Tarawera Ultramarathon 2023 Special: If this isn’t nice, we don’t know what is.

Daniele Danesin - Don’t be Like an Apple Tree

Top Tips to Help (Safely) Complete A Trail Race with Dr Tom Reynolds (re-release)

Kerry Suter and Ali Pottinger and the ultimate 2023 Tarawera Ultra preview

Matt Bixley - Old Man Wisdom

DCR Summer Edition - Dr Stacy Sims

DCR Summer Edition - Christopher McDougall

DCR Summer Edition - Ruth Croft via Between Two Beers Podcast