Eric Jenkins is on his second solo week and has recruited his first-ever Off the Rails guest host: Ali Feller, world-renowned podcaster, certified Rail Rider loyalist. They record from Ali’s bed in Hopkinton, NH — Eric's choice of location — after approximately an hour of technical chaos involving dead batteries, two phones and a call to Mac Fleet.

In this episode:

– Ali’s hospitality: On arrival, Eric was offered cucumber lemon water, Sprite, brownie bites, red-white-and-blue peanut M&Ms, pasta salad, Caprese salad, cheese balls, and fresh superhero muffins. Ali has never had soda in her life due to a childhood tonsil surgery and has therefore never had a Sprite.

– Fourth of July recaps

– Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce allegedly got married at MSG: Ali has gone full conspiracy theorist. She doesn't believe the wedding actually happened there. 

– The Scrabble Champion saga: In sixth grade, Ali was the first-ever Scrabble champion at Maple Street School. Her opponent — tall, smart, athletic, redhead, the one that got away — missed a round due to a family funeral. That was the week Ali pulled ahead.

– House of Dragons/doppelganger list: Eric claims Olivia Cooke from House of Dragons looks like Sinclaire Johnson.

– Nikki Hiltz wins the mile at Pre-Classic: Ali was screaming at the TV. Describes herself as not usually a sports girly but having moments, and this was one of them. 

– Men's Bowerman Mile: Cam Myers wins to become the first Australian to win the Bowerman Mile. Led from the moment the pacer stepped off. Yared Nuguse was very close behind, trying for an American sweep on home soil.

– Ali does not accept the absence of Jakob Ingebrigtsen: It's not the same without him.

– Other Pre-Classic highlights: Tate Taylor wins the men's 200 in 19.75 — a high schooler taking it to the pros. Melissa Jefferson-Wooden beats Sha’Carri Richardson in the women's 100 (10.84/10.85, photo finish). Brandon Miller wins the men's 800 to hand Cooper Lutkenhaus’ first loss of the season. Parker Wolfe wins the men's two-mile on Friday for one of the biggest wins of his career.

– Ali responds to the listener about loneliness: Last week, a listener called in about feeling lonely and struggling to make friends as an adult. Ali had been thinking about it all week.

– Voicemails: Track etiquette conflict — a woman with three kids refused to move out of Lane 1; a caller jokes that trail running is just "jogging and hiking"; A Portland, Maine listener asks whether Eric's 2014 NCAA DQ was the beginning of his PR career; team ritual question leads to Ali’s full hazing week story from Quinnipiac dance team.

📞 Call in to (856) 279-0080‬ to leave us a voicemail with any question you may have, whether it’s running-related or not.

📲 Be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or follow the show on Spotify to stay up-to-date with all the latest episodes.

🎥 Subscribe to our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@OffTheRailsWithEricandAisha

Follow your hosts on Instagram:

🗣️ Follow Eric Jenkins: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@_ericjenkins⁠⁠⁠⁠

🗣️ Follow Aisha Praught-Leer: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@aishapraughtleer

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⚠️ WARNING ⚠️

Listening to “Off The Rails with Eric and Aisha” while running may result in uncontrollable laughter, side stitches, funny looks from strangers, and the occasional trip hazard due to snort-laughing mid-stride. Proceed with caution—and maybe stretch your abs beforehand. Use caution when wearing earbuds in public places—people will wonder if you’re okay. You are. You’re just having a really good time.