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Lee Grabarek - From the Nutmeg State to Ōtautahi, a trail well travelled - Dirt Church Radio 289.

Kia ora e te whanau! This week Matt has the distinct privilege of speaking to Lee Grabarek. Lee (they/them) is a non-binary person who has been ripping it up on the trails and roads of Aotearoa for the last ten years, after travelling from Connecticut, where they enjoyed a very outdoorsy existence.

Matt spoke to Lee about their life growing up, their initial foray into trail running and the sweet, sweet, sweet, transgression of wearing road shoes on the trail. We discuss Lee’s attendance at Out Trails, a trail running retreat for queer and trans people, and the massive impact that this had on their life. Lee, who puts it elegantly, does not “think about my gender every second of every day” so what this conversation is mostly about is running, how unifying this is, and what work there is to do in the space.

Lee is here to, in their words, “Send it” and will be competing at this year's Crater Rim 30km. This is a truly interesting conversation with a super-interesting runner.

Music by Andrew McDowall, Digicake

Enjoy!