The Steep Stuff Podcast

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A skimo World Cup podium is rare. Coming back after an ACL and meniscus tear, then surviving a major shoulder injury right after, is even rarer. We sit down with Cam Smith to talk about what it really takes to rebuild your body and your confidence when momentum gets ripped away and the biggest goal is still out there: qualifying for the 2026 Winter Olympics (Milano Cortina) in ski mountaineering. 

Cam walks us from Rockford, Illinois to Western Colorado University’s Mountain Sports program, then into the Crested Butte skimo scene that helped him snowball from “mid-pack and stoked” into Team USA and a history-making World Cup result. We get specific about what changed at that breakthrough moment, why belief matters in elite endurance sport, and how training at altitude forces you to chase power and pace, not just watts per kilo. 

Then we zoom into the Olympic reality for skimo. The format is sprint and co-ed relay, the athlete quota is tiny, and the qualification math is unforgiving. Cam explains how nations earn spots, how the U.S. plans to test relay pairings, and why the level is rising fast as countries pour resources into these short, explosive events. Along the way we hit the fun stuff too: training in France, the croissant count tradition, vegetarian fueling, Dynafit sponsorship loyalty, Pierra Menta as a “lifetime memory,” and a mindset reset that comes from working with a sports psychologist and staying grounded through work outside sport. 

If you care about ski mountaineering, trail running, strength training, ACL rehab, or Olympic qualification, this one delivers. Subscribe, share this with a mountain athlete friend, and leave a five-star review if it helps, what part of Cam’s story are you taking into your own training?

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A mountain town, a brutally steep VK, and a trail festival that’s trying to feel like a hometown party instead of a corporate expo. We’re joined by Joe McConaughey, ultrarunner, coach, and race director of North Bend Trailfest, to break down why Mount Si delivers one of the most compelling short-course mountain running tests in the Pacific Northwest and why that matters for the future of sub-ultra racing.

We talk course specifics and what you actually get when you show up: a Mount Si Vertical Kilometer that hits sustained steep grades, a 30K that links ridgelines toward Tenerife, and a 10K option that still gives you a real summit-style effort. Joe also shares how North Bend’s location near Seattle makes travel simple, and why building the event around the park, local vendors, and family-friendly ideas like childcare support can make the weekend feel bigger than the distance on paper.

Then we zoom out into the behind-the-scenes reality of race directing on public land. Joe walks through permitting constraints in Washington, the difference between DNR land and other agencies, and the constant tradeoffs between protecting wilderness and keeping trails maintainable and usable. If you’ve ever wondered why some iconic routes can’t host races or why certain events cap fields well below demand, this conversation gets specific.

We also get into Joe’s athlete brain: FKTs, big ultras like Cocodona, John Muir Trail experience, and why overplanning hydration and sodium can backfire when the body refuses to follow your model. Add in new dad life and you’ve got a real look at how endurance goals evolve when time and energy are no longer unlimited. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves steep singletrack, and leave a rating or review so we can keep bringing you conversations like this.

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A lot of runners dream about a breakthrough season. Adam Joland is living one, and he’s honest about how messy it looks from the inside. Right after a standout run at Sierre-Zinal and a strong Golden Trail campaign, we sit down to dissect what actually went right: keeping the monster climb under control, staying mentally present for the whole race, and learning how to race with confidence instead of just hanging on and hoping. If you follow mountain running, Golden Trail World Series racing, or just love hearing how elite athletes problem-solve in real time, this one gets specific fast. 

Adam also shares the long road that led here, from growing up in Bonnie Lake, Washington to running collegiately at the University of Nevada, Reno where trail running became part of the training culture early. Then comes Flagstaff, Arizona, a training environment that can either sharpen you or swallow you. We talk about adjusting to altitude, finding a crew, and building the Ponderosa Pirates as a group of hungry “misfit” trail runners who keep each other honest. 

Outside the racing, Adam balances a mechanical engineering PhD at NAU with research focused on carbon sequestration, plus the practical question every emerging athlete faces: how do you chase a professional trail running contract without turning your brain over to social media? He explains why he quit posting, why he came back, and how outsourcing Instagram helps him stay focused on training, nutrition, and technical skills. We also get into the sport’s rapid professionalization, what we gain with bigger money, and what we risk losing from trail running’s dirtbag roots. 

If you enjoy the conversation, subscribe or follow, share it with a training partner, and leave a rating and review so we can keep telling these stories.

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Mason Copi just came off a win at Cirque Series Alta, and what stood out to us wasn’t only the speed it was the optimism. We talk right after the race about the course, the steep Baldy descent, and why feeling “locked in” can look like smiling, waving, and actually enjoying the chaos.

From there we zoom out into Mason’s full arc: Southern California roots, a nationally competitive high school program, Division I running at Furman, and the moment the sport started to feel like self-worth instead of sport. Mason shares how David Roche’s The Happy Runner mindset helped him rebuild a healthier relationship with training, then why trail running and sub-ultra racing became the perfect reset. If you care about mountain running, the Golden Trail Series, and the rise of the hybrid track-to-trails athlete, this one hits all the right notes.

We also get practical. Mason breaks down how he trains like a road athlete during the week with threshold and 10K-style work, then adds mountain specificity on weekends. We dig into cross-training doubles on the bike to build aerobic volume with less wear and tear, plus his simple race-day nutrition for an hour-long mountain race, including caffeine gel timing and why “something sweet” can help you go all out.

If you’re chasing faster sub-ultra results, better mindset under pressure, or just a more sustainable love for trail running, you’ll leave with tools you can use right away. Subscribe, share this with a running friend, and leave a rating and review so more people can find the show.

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He just set a Grand Teton FKT, but what grabbed me most wasn’t the time on the clock. It was the way Michelino “Mike” Sanseri thinks about mountains, suffering, joy, and what it actually takes to become dangerous on a start line without losing yourself along the way.

We talk about how a single run on the Teton Crest Trail and a moment on Hurricane Pass pushed him to leave Tahoe and move to Teton Valley, why trails always felt like home, and why college running on roads and flat paths broke his body year after year. Mike gets real about quitting, the “lost years,” and the surprisingly human way motivation can come back when you finally reconnect with what makes movement feel alive.

From there we trace the messy climb into elite mountain running: early comeback races, learning ultrarunning through painful mistakes, and the competitive edge that helped lead to major results like Speedgoat and Broken Arrow. We also get into The North Face partnership and team culture, ski mountaineering goals (including skiing the Grand Teton), and what it’s like to train where grizzlies, wildfire smoke, and real consequences live right outside the door.

We close with mindset and training lessons you can steal today, including Mike’s “box of matches” metaphor for managing intensity, plus a fun detour into aliens, pyramids, and the simulation question. If you’re into trail running, mountain running, FKTs, ultrarunning training, and big mountain adventure, this one hits. Subscribe, share it with a mountain friend, and leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify so more people find the show.

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A hip that might not cooperate. A course that’s basically a slip-and-slide. A start line you’re not even sure you’ll stand on. Then somehow… you find yourself racing at the front anyway. That’s the headspace Allie Mack brings us into right after earning another Team USA spot with a hard-fought third place at a gnarly mountain running qualifier. It’s her eighth team since 2014, and she explains why it somehow feels more special now than it did early on, especially as the U.S. trail running and mountain running depth keeps getting stronger. 

We walk through how the race actually unfolded: the calm choice to run “within herself,” the reality of technical mud and rocks where speed is capped by footing, and the tactical moments where you decide whether to chase a move or protect the result. Allie also opens up about the mental whiplash of being a high-level athlete: expectations after winning a world title, the pressure you can put on yourself, and the way one good day can reset your whole season. 

From there we look ahead to Broken Arrow and the Vertical Kilometer style battle she loves, plus the idea of Team USA chemistry and how bonding and shared experience can matter when you’re heading to the World Mountain Running Championships. We close with a real look at support systems, including what it meant to have her fiancé Dylan there when the weekend could have gone the other way. 

If you’re into trail running, mountain racing strategy, injury decision-making, and the mindset it takes to keep showing up year after year, hit play. Then subscribe, share this with a running friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

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Winning world titles is hard. Getting told you are “fine” for 18 months while your body is clearly breaking down might be harder. We sit down with Grayson Murphy to talk through the parts of elite mountain running that rarely get said out loud: identity, sponsorship pressure, health uncertainty, and the behind-the-scenes work it takes to keep showing up.

Grayson opens up about her Crohn’s disease diagnosis and the long, frustrating path to getting answers, including how repeated dismissal can wreck an athlete’s ability to trust their own body signals. We also dig into what changed once treatment started working, why volume and lower intensity made more sense during recovery, and how shifting to short trail and 50K racing created a lower-pressure space to learn again.

Then we go straight at the athlete versus influencer debate. Grayson explains how trail running sponsorships are evolving, why engagement metrics can punish even the best performers, and how she now avoids partnerships built around algorithm-driven reach. We also talk entrepreneurship through her Wild Strides Paper Co planners and training logs, sustainability consulting work that pushes back on greenwashing, and her hot takes on Olympic trail running, pay-to-race pro expectations, and anti-doping reality in the sport.

If you care about trail running, mountain running, Golden Trail style racing, athlete marketing, or health advocacy for endurance athletes, this conversation will stick with you. Subscribe, share it with a friend who loves the sport, and leave a review, what topic should we go deeper on next?

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UTMB week brings out the most honest kind of sports conversation: we have a stacked start list, a million storylines, and almost no certainty once the race hits the high climbs and the long night. Nick Tusa joins me for a focused UTMB and CCC preview where we argue through the men’s and women’s fields, call our shots, and explain what we think actually decides Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc when everyone is fit.

On the men’s side, we dig into the big questions around Jim Walmsley and Kilian Jornet lining up after Western States DNFs and why UTMB is a totally different test with more hiking, longer climbs, and way less room for error. We talk about Caleb Olsen’s upside as a mountain athlete, John Alban’s winning profile, and why names like Josh Wade, Hannes Namberger, Zach Miller, and Theodore Diente sit right on that edge between a career day and a hard blow-up. Then we make a clear call on who we think wins, including the case for Ben Diemon and the mental side of “closing” when the podium is in reach.

On the women’s side, it turns into one of the best matchups in trail running: Ruth Croft returning as defending UTMB champion against Courtney Dauwalter, who is always capable of rewriting what we think is possible. We also hit the depth behind them with Marianne Hogan, Abby Hall, Rachel Drake, and more, plus the wild card factor of limited UTMB experience across parts of the field.

We wrap with a CCC preview full of redemption and breakthrough potential, including why certain runners look ready to finally get over the hump. If you love UTMB predictions, ultrarunning strategy, and smart race coverage, hit subscribe, share this with your trail crew, and leave a rating and review so more people find the show.

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UTMB week has a way of making trail running feel bigger than sport. The streets of Chamonix fill up, legends stroll past like it’s normal, and suddenly a 60K like OCC feels like the center of the universe. We’re back with Nick Tusa to break down why this year’s OCC field looks so deep, how the course changes keep reshaping the short trail world, and why tactics matter as much as fitness when everyone’s fast.

We dig into the men’s side with a real focus on decision-making: who can stay patient, who risks detonating early, and why “letting guys go” might be the difference between a podium and a long walk home. We talk veterans with course reps, skyrunning talent jumping in, and the Americans we’re most curious about when the pace goes nuclear. Then we pivot to the women’s race, where one question hangs over everything: how do you beat someone who doesn’t crack? We lay out what it would take to pressure Tove Alexandersson, who has the downhill and durability to try it, and why Lauren Gregory vs the field could turn into a defining moment.

After OCC, we zoom out to UTMB and CCC for the biggest storylines of the week: Jim and Kilian after Western States DNFs, Ben Dhiman’s closing problem, and the women’s title fight with Ruth Croft and Courtney Dauwalter. If you’re building fantasy picks, planning your livestream schedule, or just want sharper context before the starts, this one is for you. Subscribe, share this with a UTMB-obsessed friend, and leave a quick rating and review if the show helps you follow the racing.

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