Off The Couch

Trail running’s evolution from recreational to professional sport has not been without its own share of setbacks, and as often is the case, athletes are the ones most immediately affected by them. Facing the lack of a collective voice to confront these challenges, Nike Athlete Francesco Puppi co-founded the Pro Trail Runners Association (PTRA) in 2022 to enable an international body of elite trail runners to share concerns about the sport’s present and future. So, Matt Mitchell sat down with Francesco to learn more about the association’s specific areas of focus, including anti-doping, athlete rights, and environmental protection; why forming a union was necessary at this point in trail running’s level of professionalization; what the US can learn from Europe when it comes to further developing the sport; and much more.

TOPICS & TIMES

• How Euros develop as runners (4:50)
• Where Francesco gets his passion for running (7:19)
• Top training resources (11:52)
• His background in physics (13:14)
• 2022 recap (14:18)
• Trail running in the US vs. the EU (18:38)
• Breaking down the current pro trail running landscape (28:36)
• Co-founding the Pro Trail Runners Association (30:24)
• Where do we go from here? (43:16)
• Matt Carpenter & the “Legend of Pikes Peak” (47:13)
• How to support the PTRA (48:49)

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Newly christened The North Face Athlete, Rod Farvard, returns to the show to talk about the brand’s unique Athlete Development Program, an initiative launched earlier this month to provide 17 young athletes from a multitude of outdoor sports with resources to accelerate their careers and serve as activists in the outdoor space. Rod and I talk about the critical role such programs play in continuing to professionalize the sport of trail running; how he intends to use his platform to help decrease our environmental impact while enjoying trails and wilderness spaces; and a whole lot more.

TOPICS & TIMES

• Doi Inthanon: a series of unfortunate events (3:41)
• Getting Rhabdo (7:49)
• “What’s your longest ride on Zwift?” (14:43)
• TNF’s Athlete Development Program (16:12)
• Mentorship with The North Face (20:41)
• Meeting the ADP team (25:04)
• Is running inherently selfish? (29:20)
• 6-month program goals (33:29)
• 3rd time’s a charm at Western States ’23 (35:13)
• UTMB & TDS (38:12)

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Ultra-distance trail running is a sport ripe for storytelling, something that filmmaker Jeff Pelletier recognized when he first began chronicling his adventures back in 2018. Since then, his background in video production, married with his passion for exploring the world by trail, has produced dozens of compulsively watchable POV-style films of his experiences at events like UTMB, the 205-mile Tor des Géants, and most recently, a 7-day stage race in the country of Georgia. We talked to Jeff about the added challenges of filming himself during grueling ultramarathons; how YouTube is helping to grow the sport of trail running; bucket-list fastpacking trips; and more.

TOPICS & TIMES

• Trail running in Vancouver, BC (4:59)
• Jeff’s background in video production (9:05)
• How YouTube helps grow trail running (10:27)
• Storytelling through races & Tor des Géants (17:45)
• ‘Racing Georgia’ (26:46)
• Travel tips (35:28)
• Fastpacking in the US & Europe (36:36)
• Choosing to film himself vs. someone else (44:26)
• Jeff’s relationship with Salomon (47:24)
• Thoughts on the S/LAB Genesis (50:50)
• Goals for 2023 (54:35)

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• Jeff's YouTube Channel
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Running injuries are often talked about in hushed tones, as if mere mention could speak one into existence. While undoubtedly the suckiest part of the sport, they’re also perhaps the most inevitable, so learning how to approach them mentally can make time away from running an opportunity for growth. Saucony Athlete Katie Asmuth spent much of 2022 nursing a broken foot, yet despite being sidelined, she discovered new ways to connect with the greater trail running community. Now healthy and in the process of building back up for a big 2023, we caught up with Katie to talk about how she dealt with her injury; the strength of being a mother to 2 boys gives her deep into ultras; the major family vibes of the Western States 100; race coverage; and a whole lot more. 

TOPICS & TIMES

• Katie’s background (2:42)
• Living & training in Mammoth Lakes, CA (10:45)
• Her career as a nurse practitioner (13:45)
• Nabbing a Golden Ticket in 2021 (15:40)
• Why trail running is NOT therapy (19:35)
• SWAP & the one and only David Roche (22:17)
• Saucony’s small but mighty trail team (25:21)
• Running with a tampon in her nose (28:13)
• Western States 2021 & 2022 (30:46)
• Injury & life advice (42:43)
• Diving into trail running media (48:44)
• Things Katie’s excited about in 2023 (49:54)

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La Sportiva Athlete John Kelly has speculated that one of his weaknesses is that perhaps he’s uncomfortable being comfortable, and one look at his resume sure suggests as much. After trying his hand at triathlon for a few years, a stint that included a few trips to Kona, John found his way into ultrarunning and quickly began to prod at the limits of an already extreme sport. Since then, he’s become only the 15th person to finish the infamous Barkley Marathons (as well as the last to do so) and he holds several FKTs over 200 miles in length. So we sat down with John to learn more about the mindset required to run for several days straight; living and running in the UK; how he recently rebuilt his speed to run a sub-2:30 marathon; who’s winning the Super Bowl; and much more. 

TOPICS & TIMES

• From triathlon to trail running (3:00)
• The story behind his nickname, “Random Forest Runner” (6:19)
• The 2017 Barkley Marathons (8:50)
• Does John still have the legendary orange hat from the race? (13:07)
• UK trail running culture (19:13)
• Training for “shorter, faster stuff” (40:53)
• Plans for 2023 & a potential long trail FKT (45:00)

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We recently talked to Salomon Athlete, Jeff Stern, about racing as an elite while simultaneously covering the trail running landscape in his role as the assistant editor of Ultra Running Magazine, a still independently owned publication that has served as “the voice of the sport” since 1981. Jeff hopped on the show shortly after they announced their UltraRunners of the Year for 2022, so we spent some time talking about the history of the award, this year’s winners, and a whole lot else — including, how he came to trail running after years of racing bikes competitively; his profile writing process; the 111th running of the famed Dipsea Race; and more.

TOPICS & TIMES

• How the SF Giants helped Jeff get into running (2:47)
• A Dipsea deep dive (6:11)
• His background as a cyclist (10:33)
• Making the jump to ultrarunning (15:00)
• 2022 goals (18:42)
• The JFK 50 / Quad Dipsea double (22:16)
• Ultra Running Magazine and profiling athletes (30:57)
• Adam Peterman & Courtney Dauwalter (40:32)
• History of the UltraRunners of The Year Award (46:31)
• Jeff's 2023 goals (53:37)

RELATED LINKS:

• Jeff’s work at Ultra Running Magazine
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The high desert of Northern Arizona has been a hotbed for trail running for decades. The combination of altitude, changing topography, and year-round trail access the region affords helps to harden the legs and fortify the lungs. It’s perhaps no coincidence then that since moving to Flagstaff in early 2021, adidas TERREX pro, Abby Hall, has been tearing up the international racing scene. So, we sat down with her to talk about some of the changes she’s made to fuel this success in a winding conversation that also includes a recount of a potential UFO encounter, musings on writing and creativity, an ode to the Eastern Sierra, and much more. 

TOPICS & TIMES

• Moving to Flagstaff, AZ (2:50)
• “The Big Ditch” (7:48)
• Running full-time (8:25)
• How to set priorities (10:25)
• What actual goes down at athlete training camps (20:27)
• Musings on writing (22:33)
• Adventures from last year (27:41)
• JMT UFO encounter? (34:46)
• Her Transvulcania victory and Lowest to Highest (45:42)

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As a newly minted thirty-year-old, Dani Moreno has already been racing trails professionally for the better part of a decade. Over the last couple of years, she’s solidified her status as one of the world’s best sub-ultra distance trail runners, a position she’s reached through patience, consistency, and an intuitive knowledge of exactly the right time to give it some gas. This approach continued to pay dividends in 2022; Dani finished in podium position at both the Mont Blanc Marathon and OCC, two marquee international races historically swept by euros. As the calendar ticked over into 2023, we sat down with her to recap a few memorable performances from the previous year; discuss how she mended her broken relationship with running after graduating from college; offer some beta on spearfishing, of all things; and a whole lot more.

TOPICS & TIMES

• Dani’s background (2:07)
• Advice she’d give to aspiring college athletes (8:56)
• Motorcycles & spearfishing (15:01)
• How she mended her relationship with running (18:23)
• Why trail runners shouldn’t fear the track (24:52)
• Dani’s 2022 racing season & stepping up in distance (30:36)
• “What are your long-term goals?” (41:17)

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Barney “Scout” Mann has been called “the dean of America’s long-distance trails” and is one of the rare individuals to have conquered the Triple Crown of thru-hiking, successfully completing the 8,000 combined miles of the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide Trails. Each spring for the past fifteen years he and his wife Sandy have hosted hikers starting out on the PCT (more than 7,000 to date) at their San Diego home, providing them with a final hot meal and a bit of encouragement before they begin their trek from Mexico to Canada. So, we sat down with Barney to chat about his deep connections to the PCT and the community it creates; "Journeys North," the memoir he wrote about his own 2007 thru-hike; the future of thru-hiking in America; and much more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Trail names (2:02)
• Scout 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 (12:10)
• Career as a “kind” lawyer (16:05)
• Mastering the art of storytelling (19:28)
• "Journeys North" (20:30)
• His 2007 PCT thru-hike (24:13)
• Vulnerability on the trail (32:43) 
• The endurance mindset (42:02)
• The future of the PCT & being a trail advocate (47:10) 

RELATED LINKS:

• Journeys North
• Barney’s website 
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For On athlete, Jeff Colt, the chase for a coveted spot into Western States had been a multi-year saga fraught with close calls and near misses, that is until a near-perfectly executed run at the Black Canyon 100k in February earned him a Golden Ticket and automatic entry onto one of ultrarunning’s biggest stages. We pick up Jeff’s story there and hear all about his journey leading up to Western States, a play-by-play of his 11th-place finish, and the complexities of looking back at that experience now. Along the way, we also get into topics like the Wilderness Act, the Beat Generation, books currently on our nightstands, and much more. 

TOPICS & TIMES

• Gary Snyder and the Beat Generation (1:46)
• Working & running in the White Mountains hut system (5:49)
• Hardrock 100 & the Wilderness Act (12:47)
• Jeff’s journey to Western States (17:23)
• Pandemic silver linings (27:04)
• Reflections on his performance at Western States (33:54)
• His interests outside of running (42:30)
• “What books are currently on your nightstand?” (44:57)
• Representing the US at the Trail World Champs in Thailand (49:09)

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