The Steep Stuff Podcast

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A single gear text from a mountain guide sparked a bigger question: why do the most trusted people in the outdoors drive so many purchases and earn nothing from it? We sit down with Hunter Macy, founder and CEO of Rendezvous, to unpack how that moment turned into a platform built for trail running gear recommendations, athlete monetization, and brand partnership management all in one place.

We get specific about the athlete side: building a profile that reflects what you actually use, earning from authentic recommendations without living in your DMs, and using real analytics to prove your value. Hunter explains why transparent click and sales data can change sponsorship conversations from “take a chance on me” to “here’s what I’ve already driven,” especially for the large middle of the sport trying to go fully pro.

Then we flip to the brand perspective: ambassador roster management, campaign tools, product gifting, messaging, and sales tracking that help small teams run high-impact programs without scattered spreadsheets and endless email threads. We also talk growth with intention, staying mission-led, responding fast to community feedback, and expanding internationally without losing what makes trail running feel like a soul sport.

If you care about the future of outdoor commerce, trail running sponsorships, and buying gear you can actually trust, press play. Subscribe, share this with a running friend, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

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A last minute race entry. A season stitched together from recovery. A mindset that refuses to let results decide your worth. James L’Oriello sits down with mountain runner and endurance athlete Hillary Allen for a wide ranging conversation that starts with a literal tide mishap on a bike in California and quickly climbs into the real terrain: returning to hard efforts after injury, trusting your body again, and finding joy in the grind of uphill racing. 

We talk Vertical Kilometer racing, power hiking, and why stacking events like Run The Rut, Mammoth, and Pikes Peak Ascent can work when you manage impact and keep expectations light. Hillary shares how cycling helped her maintain fitness during rehab, and why VKs feel like the perfect blend of brutal and beautiful. Then we go deeper into applied sport psychology, including her approach to “healthy detachment” from outcomes and how that shift changed the way she competes at the highest level. 

Hillary also tells two Team USA stories that still sound unreal: the Broken Arrow qualifier surprise and the phone call in Europe that nearly turned her VK week into an 80K long trail world championship in the Pyrenees. From team dynamics to pacing differences, it’s a behind the scenes look at world class mountain running that’s equal parts tactical and human. We wrap with her experience publishing a book about recovery, how she keeps her identity bigger than sport, and why Unbound Gravel can be 200 miles of mud, wind, and pure problem solving. 

If you enjoy conversations about trail running, mountain running, injury comeback strategies, sport psychology mindset, and endurance training across running and cycling, you’ll want this one. Subscribe to Steep Stuff, share this with a friend who’s rebuilding after injury, and leave a review to help more runners find the show.

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Something wild happens when a runner stops chasing “perfect” and starts chasing what they actually love. Casey Campbell is living proof. Casey joins us to unpack his late-season shift toward uphill racing, including a breakout day at the Broken Arrow Ascent that surprised even him, and the training choices that helped it happen. We talk uphill specificity, winter Nordic skiing as strength-building cross training, and why Bend, Oregon is one of the best all-around places in the U.S. to train for mountain running thanks to its mix of Cascades climbs, high desert terrain, and year-round options. 

We also get into Casey’s path from soccer to starting running in high school, then walking on at the University of Oregon for track while studying architecture. That background shapes how he thinks about progress: building blocks, patience, and problem-solving instead of panic. From there we dig into what it’s like to race in a Team USA jersey overseas, including his recent trip to Poland for a fast, punishing mountain course with huge vert and relentless climbs. Casey shares what team racing adds that most of us miss after college, and how the shared effort changes your mindset mid-race. 

The real heart of this conversation is balance. Casey works a demanding architecture job, manages travel stress and limited PTO, and still shows up ready to compete. We talk coaching with Joe "Stringbean" McConaughy, why adaptive communication beats cookie-cutter plans, and why AI coaching and spreadsheet “magic numbers” can’t capture sleep, stress, and real life. If you care about trail running, uphill racing, mountain running performance, and sustainable motivation, this one hits deep. 

If you enjoy the show, subscribe, share it with a trail friend, and leave a rating and review so more runners can find these conversations.

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A 47-mile pacing shift on a record attempt would be a season highlight for most runners, and Noah Disot treated it like another valuable day in the mountains. Fresh off crewing and pacing Joe McConaughy on a John Muir Trail (JMT) effort, Noah joins us ahead of North Bend Trailfest to talk about what he learned from nonstop movement, staying on top of nutrition, and keeping the vibe positive when the work gets long and messy. 

We also dig into the Pacific Northwest trail running scene and why the Seattle area deserves more credit as a training base. Noah explains how Issaquah, Tiger Mountain, Squawk Mountain, Cougar Mountain, and North Bend can deliver serious vertical gain without living at altitude, plus why connected trails and a tight community make it easier to stack consistent weeks. If you’ve wondered how the PNW compares to places like Boulder or Flagstaff, Noah gives an honest, athlete-level view of what actually matters day to day. 

From there we zoom out to Noah’s bigger ultrarunning goals: building on strong races like Cascade Crest, chasing sponsorship, and taking a real shot at a Western States golden ticket at Havelina 100. We get specific about what changes his 100-mile outcomes, including patience early, finishing strong, dialing fueling (think higher carb intake), and using sauna sessions for heat prep without digging a dehydration hole. Noah also opens up about altitude and breathing challenges and why he’s drawn to rugged, mountainous hundreds even when they bite back. 

If you like pre-race energy, training talk that stays practical, and the real-life balancing act of an athlete with a demanding engineering career, subscribe, share this with a trail friend, and leave a rating and review so more runners can find the show.

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Race week exposes everything: what you’ve built, what you’ve ignored, and what actually holds up when the course turns steep. We’re joined by Dustin Mullaney, defending North Bend Trail Fest champion, to talk through the reality of racing often, recovering from monster efforts like The Rut, and why a condensed stretch of competition can feel like a cross-country season with a “never-ending taper.” If you’re trying to balance fitness, fatigue, and injury history, this conversation gets honest fast.

We also go deep on why the Cascades and Western Washington are an underrated training ground for mountain running and skyrunning. We compare Seattle-area vert to Colorado, talk about how long runnable climbs change race dynamics, and why sea-level speed, humidity, and sustained climbing can translate well to UTMB-style racing. Dustin shares what keeps pulling him back to Chamonix, what hut-to-hut days taught him, and why goals like OCC and other iconic European-style races demand more than just a big engine.

Then we nerd out on the details that decide results: smooth transitions from running to steep power hiking, building fatigue resistance so you do not panic before a technical descent, and why winter ski mountaineering and backcountry skiing can be the smartest endurance cross-training for durable mountain legs. We even take a left turn into genetics, de-extinction headlines, and what it means to be skeptical while still loving the science.

If you enjoy trail running training talk, mountain race strategy, UTMB prep, and behind-the-scenes athlete pathways, you’ll get a ton out of this one. Subscribe for more, share it with a training buddy, and leave a rating and review so more runners can find the show. What part of your training needs the biggest upgrade right now?

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A hundred-mile podium doesn’t happen by accident, and Matt Zupan doesn’t chalk it up to luck. From a quiet start in Missouri to finding his stride in the Reno and Truckee trail running scene, Matt tells the full story of how community, mountain obsession, and steady habits shape the runner he is now, including a breakthrough day at the Leadville 100.

We talk through the Sierra Nevada pull that keeps bringing him back, from the John Muir Trail to big linkups and the kind of off-trail scrambling that tests more than fitness. Matt unpacks Norman’s, the 13 fourteeners route that echoes Nolan’s, and why failing multiple times in the same spot became the point. The win isn’t just finishing; it’s learning navigation, patience, and how to keep going when the goal stops impressing anyone but you.

Then we get tactical on Leadville. Matt shares how he deliberately goes out slow, manages altitude, and climbs the ranks without drama, plus what it feels like when a lifelong dream race finally clicks. We also get into guiding with Rogue Expeditions, ski patrolling with an avalanche rescue dog named Kazakh, chasing Western States and UTMB dreams, and the debate around distance hype versus beautifully designed courses that actually make you want to suffer.

If you like honest trail running conversations with real lessons and big goals, follow the show, share this one with a friend, and leave a rating and review so more runners can find it.

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Something breaks in an athlete’s season, and the story usually gets edited into a neat comeback. We do the opposite here. Matt Daniels talks with us in real time about the messy middle: a divorce, an unexpected mold exposure that kept making him sick after travel, and the slow process of feeling like a normal human again. From there, we map how he’s rebuilding toward Run Rabbit Run, including what changed once he brought on CTS coach Cliff Pittman and started treating long-distance development as a craft, not a gamble.

We also get into the side of trail running most people only whisper about, the business. Matt shares how working with an agent takes the stress out of negotiations, why brand alignment matters more as you get older, and how athlete media is becoming a real second lane. That naturally leads to the Boulder Boys Show: how it started as friends talking on long runs, why honesty resonates, and what joining Jonathan Levitt’s collective could mean for exposure and sponsorship opportunities.

Fueling is the performance thread that ties it together. Matt explains why nutrition has been his limiter in ultras and how Hyperlight’s simple, high-carb approach helps him train his gut for 100 miles. We trade stories on Sierre-Zinal and Zegama, then zoom out to the future of professional trail running: UTMB’s gravity, why the Olympics might be the wrong fit, how prize money and media rights could shape athlete pay, and why anti-doping conversations are only getting louder.

If you care about ultramarathon training, sponsorship reality, and where trail running is headed next, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a running friend, and leave a rating and review so more people can find the show.

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Winning Pikes Peak isn’t just about fitness, it’s about decisions you make when your lungs are burning, your stomach is turning, and the mountain keeps asking for more. I sit down with Chrissy fresh off her Pikes Peak Marathon win to replay the day from the first miles on Barr Trail to the long, lonely stretches above treeline where you don’t get feedback from the pack, you only get truth from your own pacing.

We talk about the tactical side of mountain racing: why the W’s can ruin your race if you surge, how she stayed controlled even while moving into the lead, and what it’s like to chase the men and run your own race when you’re suddenly out front. Chrissy also gets real about race-morning nausea and the unsexy skill that separates great days from disasters: continuing to fuel with gels, fluids, and sodium so you still have something for the descent. If you care about trail running nutrition, high altitude strategy, and finishing strong instead of just surviving, you’ll get a lot out of this one.

From there we zoom out to the season that built this result, including consistency on trails, learning through frequent racing, and the value of having coach Rachel Spaulding and a tight Colorado Springs training community. Chrissy shares how she balances a demanding nursing career with training, why gravel biking helps her stay durable, and what’s next as she pivots toward CIM and a faster road marathon while still keeping her heart in the mountains. We even nerd out on shoes, including why the La Sportiva Prodigio Pro felt so locked-in on Pikes Peak.

If you enjoy these athlete deep dives, subscribe, share this with a training partner, and leave a rating and review so more runners can find the show.

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Ten tries at Pikes Peak can either break you or build you. Our guest Darren Thomas shows exactly what it looks like when it builds you, turning a decade of near-misses into a 2026 Pikes Peak Marathon win that’s equal parts patience, craft, and pure downhill grit. We talk through the emotions of finally getting the hometown title, the weird whiplash of flying home and going straight back to work, and why “post-race depression” gets easier to manage when you return to real life quickly. 

Then we get into the race breakdown trail runners actually want: where Kieran Hammer put pressure on the climb, how Darren refused to chase splits, what altitude felt like above treeline, and how a six-minute deficit at the summit disappeared fast once the descent began. We also dig into how the Bar Trail has changed over the years, why downhill running is a skill you earn, and what “racing by vibes” really means when you’re trying to win at 14,000 feet. 

From there, the conversation widens into Darren’s full 2026 trail running season, staying healthy after years of injury cycles, strength training, and the simple rule that saves careers: if it starts to hurt, don’t run that day. We also talk long-distance racing, hydration and nutrition, chasing classic European events like Zegama and UTMB, sponsorship without becoming an influencer, and why stepping back from social media can make you a better athlete and a happier person. If you love mountain running, altitude training, and honest race strategy from a champion, this one delivers. 

If you enjoy the show, subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube, share it with a friend who loves trail racing, and leave a rating and review so more people can find Steep Stuff.

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A new 100-mile race is coming to the Catskill Mountains, and it’s not pulling any punches. Amy Kohler, race director at The Running Kind, joins us to reveal the Catskill 100, a technical Northeast ultra marathon that leans hard into steep climbs, rocky descents, and true backcountry vibes. Think Devil’s Path brutality up front, big mountain linkups across the range, and more than 27,000 feet of vert that won’t feel “easy” for a single step. If you’ve ever felt like the Catskills get overlooked in mountain running conversations, this one makes the argument in the loudest possible way. 

We walk through the course like a guided tour: where it starts, how the Devil’s Path packs massive elevation into a short distance, and why this terrain can favor strong hikers as much as fast runners. We also get into the on-the-ground realities that make this a serious undertaking, including DEC permitting through state-designated wilderness, minimal road running, long stretches with limited cell service, and the operational lift of building aid stations at trailheads. Amy shares ideas for a Phoenicia halfway cheer zone and what it takes to staff an event that can run for 51 hours. 

Then we zoom out to the bigger “why.” The Running Kind is a carbon neutral race organization, and Amy ties trail running directly to stewardship and advocacy, including what she learned meeting lawmakers in Washington, DC with Runners for Public Lands. We break down the Roadless Rule and the Travel Management Rule in plain language, why they matter for trail access and safety, and how runners can have real influence by paying attention and speaking up. 

If you’re excited for the Catskill 100, share this with a friend who loves technical terrain, then subscribe so you don’t miss upcoming race previews and interviews. And if the show helps you, leave a rating and review to help new listeners find it.

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