Second Nature

How To Write A Book About Running

Raziq Rauf is the author behind "This Is Running" a new book that comes out in a few short months. Raz is also the author behind Running Sucks on Substack, and in this episode we dig into the process of becoming a published author, along with all the necessary hurdles to get over the hurdles to making it happen.

Show Notes:

Raziq Rauf: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raziqrauf/

This Is Running (Book): https://amzn.to/3O7h1Ke

Running Sucks (Newsletter): https://www.runningsucks101.com/

Batsford Publishing: https://www.batsfordbooks.com/

David Miller (Photographer): https://www.instagram.com/davidmiller.photography/

Brandon Leonard: https://semi-rad.com/

Like The Wind: https://www.likethewindmagazine.com/

Chuck Palahniuk Substack: https://chuckpalahniuk.substack.com/

Grant Wall (Journalist): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Wahl

Sabrina Little - The Examined Run: https://amzn.to/3LGvFHQ

Duhkha: https://buddho.org/dukkha-the-unsatisfactoriness-of-existence/

BPC - Brand, Product, Content:

"The Running Ground" - Nicolas Thompson: https://amzn.to/4qLgbl6

Paperclip.cc: https://www.thepaperclip.cc/

Greeking Out (Nat Geo): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/podcasts/greeking-out

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Alex Mather and his team at Eternal are building a platform that addresses long term health of active, athletic people looking for a proactive approach. In this episode, we dug into the lessons Alex learned while being an early employee at Strava, founding The Athletic (as well as exiting it) and it all played into his latest venture.

Show Notes:

Alex Mather: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexemather/

Eternal: https://www.eternal.co

The Athletic: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/

Strava: https://www.strava.com/

Rebecca Rusch: https://www.rebeccarusch.com/

Mel Strong: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-strong/

Next Ventures: https://www.nextventures.com/

BPC - Brand, Product, Content:

Oura: https://ouraring.com/

Nuclear War (Book): https://amzn.to/4jRGT8Z

Semafor - Jonah Weiner: https://www.semafor.com/article/10/14/2025/blackbird-spyplane-jonah-weiner

The War Of Art (Book): https://amzn.to/45nir9z

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Steve Holmberg joins the podcast for our annual predictions podcast. Based on his insights from the industry, he shares a bit of where we've been - as well as where he thinks we're headed in the year ahead. Steve takes us through his analysis on participation, brands, marketing, product, marketplace, retail and external.

Show Notes:

Steve Holmberg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenholmberg/

Insight Accelerator: https://www.stephenholmberg.com/

Raide: https://raideresearch.com/

Half Days: https://www.halfdays.com/

Mount to Coast: https://mounttocoast.com/

Norda: https://nordarun.com/

Matt Trappe: https://substack.com/home/post/p-180904392

Peter Abraham: https://peterabraham.medium.com/the-2025-bicycle-trend-report-1d262a7b0351

Nike ACG: https://www.nike.com/acg

Terignota: https://terignota.com/

Grand Slam Bankruptcy: https://www.espn.com/olympics/trackandfield/story/_/id/47286330/grand-slam-track-files-bankruptcy-johnson-vows-press-on

BPC - Brand, Product, Content:

Field Mag: https://www.fieldmag.com/

Columbia x Star Wars: https://www.columbia.com/starwars/

Kitworks (Aaron's Ambassador Page!): https://alnk.to/hsyF2FO

Snow Peak: https://www.snowpeak.com/

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FlyLow was founded by Dan Abrams and Greg Steen twenty years ago to create backcountry ski pants that could hold up to the demands of the sport and terrain. They continued to refine and expand the product line, as their own proficiencies were expanding and refining. Dan joins us this week to share stories and lessons from the journey so far.

Show Notes:

FlyLow Gear: https://flylowgear.com/

Dan Abrams: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-abrams-4287775/

Megan Michaelson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganmichelson/

Greg Steen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-steen-7419041b/

Alibaba: https://www.alibaba.com/

Cactus Outdoor: https://cactusoutdoor.co.nz/

CAGR (term): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compound_annual_growth_rate

Hot Tub Short (FlyLow): https://flylowgear.com/products/hot-tub-short

Anderson Shirt (FlyLow): https://flylowgear.com/products/anderson-shirt

Irwin Fleece (FlyLow): https://flylowgear.com/products/irwin-fleece-shirt

BPC - Brand, Product, Content:

Moment Skis: https://www.momentskis.com/

Momentous Creatine: https://crrnt.app/MOME/P1ZgGplx

Todd Snyder: https://www.toddsnyder.com/

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It's the end of an era, and what a chapter it was. Red Bull, the brand that brought Dylan and Aaron together, has graduated Dylan from their official athlete roster. It felt like the perfect time to put the partnership in perspective, with takeaways, stories and lessons from nearly a decade-long partnership. This is the lifecycle of a brand relationship that brings the best out of everyone involved - but, all good things must come to an end.

Show Notes:

Dylan Bowman: https://www.instagram.com/dylanbo/

Aaron Lutze: https://www.instagram.com/superridertv/

Lisa Burnes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-burnes-670a356/

Red Bull Lost Coast Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhbO241F_xE

Campfire Stories - DBo Croatia: https://www.redbull.com/int-en/episodes/dylan-bowmans-tale-of-teeth-and-triumph-campfire-stories-s01-e01

Red Bull - Last Set: https://www.redbull.com/us-en/videos/action-clip-(dirty)-dylan-bowman

Freetrail: https://www.freetrail.com

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Chef Corso launched Outdoor Eats to improve the quality of trailside food. On his journey to level up everyone's culinary experience outdoors, he managed to build a brand that includes a TV series (going on its third season), a line of cookbooks, and plenty more. Reaching the outdoor audience has been an iterative process, and we dug into all of the details and steps along the way.

Chef Corso: https://www.instagram.com/outdooreats365/

Outdoor Eats: https://outdooreats.tv/

Trail Meals Cookbook: https://outdooreats.com/product/trail-meals-cascade-edition/

Chef Corso Substack: https://chefcorso.substack.com/

Creativity Inc: https://amzn.to/48UruQ4

Science Of Scaling: https://amzn.to/4r6MviC

Heliconia Productions: https://heliconia.ca/

Aaron's SF Peninsula Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHqGcGxmvGw

Titanium Spork: https://outdooreats.com/product/creekside-titanium-spork/

OE Guided Trips 2026: https://outdooreats.com/outdoor-eats-guided-trips-2026/

BPC - Brand, Product, Content:

Why You Eat What You Eat: https://amzn.to/4j2ypLy

Mama Lil's Peppers: https://amzn.to/3KRoUm0

Red Bull - Everest Ski Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjZvFY6__qw

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It's the dream: starting your career as a mechanic and working your way up to running one of the largest bike companies in the world. Ben Coates recently joined Canyon Bicycles to lead their North American division, and in our discussion, we dug into his journey to learn everything we could about the steps he took and how he handled some of the wildest curveballs imaginable.

Show Notes:

Ben Coates: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-coates-669997a/

Canyon Bicycles: https://www.canyon.com/en-us/

Professor Galloway: https://www.profgalloway.com/

John Burke: https://www.instagram.com/jbtrek08/

Travis Campbell - Eagle Peak: https://www.linkedin.com/in/straviscampbell/

The Noto Group: https://www.notogroup.com/

The First 90 Days (Book): https://amzn.to/4r6NUpt

People For Bikes: https://www.peopleforbikes.org/

LeBron James x Canyon: https://www.pinkbike.com/news/video-lebron-james-and-canyon-bicycles-partner-to-inspire-a-new-generation-of-riders.html

BPC - Brand, Product, Content:

Sage Flyrod: https://farbank.com/pages/sage

The Science Of Scaling (Book): https://amzn.to/4r6MviC

Mountains Of The Moon (Trailer): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlY-gn7yVyM

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The Truth About Athlete Sponsorship

Kelly Newlon is leading the way with her approach to athlete sponsorship in the trail running space, and we get into the ethos of her process. Athlete sponsorship is going through some incredible changes at the moment, and this conversation with Kelly highlights the opportunities for both brands as well as athletes - in any sport.

Show Notes:

Kelly Newlon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-newlon-5245569/

RAD Boulder: https://www.radboulder.com/

USATF Agent Test: https://www.usatf.org/resources/athlete-representatives/prospective-authorized-athlete-representatives

Jennifer Lichter - Freetrail podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jenn-lichter-from-orphan-to-trailblazer/id1492327668?i=1000722502523

BPC - Brand, Product, Content

Unreasonable Hospitality (Book): https://amzn.to/47QaET8

Dirt Dispatch: https://www.instagram.com/dirtdispatch/

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Behind The Scenes Of The Snow League

The Snow League is one of the most successful new athlete-led sports leagues in this new wave, and we're joined by The Snow League's Head of Broadcast Production, Scott Bradfield, and Vice President of Marketing, Tom Dunmore, to learn about everything that goes into making a global sports league like this happen.

Show Notes:

The Snow League: https://thesnowleague.com/

Snow League IG: https://www.instagram.com/thesnowleague/

Scotty Bradfield: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-bradfield-a244581a/

Red Bull Project X: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1Zoh2JC_XA

Tom Dunmore: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tdunmore/

Momentum - Social Series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzpW7nAG2I4

Eileen Gu: https://www.instagram.com/eileengu/

BPC - Brand, Product, Content:

Intake Breathing Strips: https://amzn.to/3LEOfzz

Baller League: https://ballerleague.uk/

ManyChat: https://www.manychat.com

Run Through A Wall: https://runthroughawall.com/

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It's been a while since we've been in the same place, and over the past 130+ podcasts, we've only recorded one other podcast in person. Now that our schedules are slowing down, we were able to catch up and talk about what we got right in 2025, what we want to do differently, and what's in store for the year ahead.

Show Notes:

Marin Bikes: https://www.marinbikes.com/

Outdoor Media Summit: https://outdoormediasummit.com/

Super Rider: https://www.superrider.tv

Freetrail: https://www.freetrail.com

BPC - Brand, Product, Content:

Osprey x Houdini: https://www.osprey.com/featured/houdini/

Netflix into podcasts: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-11-09/netflix-is-getting-serious-about-video-podcasts

Hard MTB League: https://www.hardmtbleague.com/

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