Kia ora e te whānau. We want to invite all who can be upstanding to welcome one R. Croft of Greymouth back for her Tenth appearance on Dirt Church Radio. We are Ruth fans. If there was a RAT for it (Ruth Antigen Test), we’d be positive. Or is that CAT? (Croft Antigen Test?). ANYWAYS. It’s been a minute since we’ve talked to old mate, and after an abortive attempt post UTMB (Thanks, French Internet, you dork), Ali P gets together for a long overdue catch-up with Ruth about the year she’s...

Kia ora e te whānau. Things we learned on this week’s episode. We suck collectively at Maths, there is such a thing called a Wet Globe Bulb Temperature (WHAT?!?!?), We are all pro-Kipchoge winning Western States. Despite their relative masses, Andrew and Matt cope conversely in the heat (at least psychologically) and are aligned in our distaste of the UTMB kilometre effort industrial complex. The gang is back together for the literal and figurative heat of the Grapian’s P...

Kia ora e te whānau. We’re baaaaack and beyond excited to bring to you Matt’s conversation with the most excellent Michael Sutton. The words “mountain,” “trail” and “ultramarathon” are somewhat interchangeable in the lexicon of the outdoors-themed pursuit. Michael Sutton, however, is the real deal. A 6 x NZ representing, 4:28 Mile running, Steeple chasing, sub three minute per km Mountain Machine. Matt goes to school with Michael and gets all the lore and in-and-outs about what sets th...

Kia ora e te whānau. Best laid plans and all that…We had a bumper episode lined up for you this week, with a lot of stuff to talk about, and an amazing GRE, that was even before we got to Andrew’s conversation with the mighty Helene Barron. Annoying story short, our entire episode got zoinked by the AWS outage. Perfect. So please enjoy this distilled episode of DCR, with the one and only Helene Barron, elite trail athlete, high-performance physiotherapist, coach, mother, wife, si...

Kia ora e te whānau. Even by our standards, this episode of the DCR AidStation is a lot. Future Andrew makes a record number of appearances to preface, foreshadow, recommend, and otherwise act as a lexographical zamboni for Ali and Matt (we all know it is mainly Matt). From last week’s epic Taupō Ultramarathon and some interviews Ali conducted whilst running, crewing, and slapping fives, to a lively debate about what is worse for you, port-a-loo stained grabbers sliding into nasty communal ch...

Kia ora e te whānau. Did we compare Tanya Carroll to The Lorax in the title? Maybe. Is Tanya Carroll worthy of such an accolade? Yep. Tanya is for the trails. Having run over 100 trail events and over 45 ultra marathons, including 10 Ultra Trail Australia 100s and a couple of UTMBs (not to mention a stack of other amazing results). Tanya is currently the Oceania Operations Manager for Ironman Trail events, bringing her years of passion and expertise as a participant to the biggest...

Kia ora e te whānau. We had a particularly nice time on this week’s AidStation podcast, celebrating one year of Ali and Andrew jumping on board. Matt had the opportunity to ask them a mix of longer-form and quick-fire style questions about the last 12 months, and what they were looking forward to in the next 12 months and beyond. If you are after an under-the-hood look at what makes the two “new” co-hosts of Dirt Church Radio tick, then dive in. Plus, Andrew from the future grabs interviews w...

Kia ora e te whānau. James Inwood is no stranger to challenge. The Greytown runner has completed numerous ultramarathons, including the infamous Coast to Kosci; however, nothing could have prepared him for the challenge of Badwater 135. 217 kilometers of road from Death Valley Basin, finishing on the road to Mount Whitney, the race starts at the lowest point in the contiguous USA and ends on the road to the highest. Brutal temperatures, tight cut-offs, massive crew requirements, and a finishi...

Kia ora e te whānau. Mistakes were made. The first of many in this week’s episode of the AidStation was Andrew McDowall describing Matt as having a “water off a duck’s back” mentality. This is not true. Especially when the water is the wider response to the Joyline Chepgnego doping saga.That water really sank in. The duck was soaked. . Ali, Andrew, and Matt discuss this thorny issue and where responsibility for supporting athletes accused of doping sits, and is the response from sponsors and ...

Kia ora e te whānau. This week, Ali Pottinger speaks with elite ultra runner and physician Justin Grunewald. Fresh off a second-place finish at the Leadville 100, Justin talks to Ali about managing his life as a parent and doctor when his wife, Amanda Basham (DCR 311) is also an elite runner. Justin’s story is intertwined with the loss of his first wife, Gabe Grunewald, to a rare form of cancer in 2019. Ali and Justin talk about living with grief, the Brave Like Gabe foundation...

Kia ora e te whānau. We make no bones about it. Dirt Church Radio is, was, and always will be Ruth Croft Positive. Over the (at least) 7 times Croft has appeared on DCR, there has always been one constant- a focus on moving forward. Ruth is on par with the best to take the gig, a wonderful human being, and an asset to our sport. The only criminal element? You aren’t going to hear about her on the news back in little old NZ, which is probably how she likes it. So if you aren’t in t...

Kia ora e te whānau. This week, Ali Pottinger and Matt Rayment speak to Sean Conway, the Zimbabwe-born, UK-based endurance adventurer whose life has been one long refusal to do things by halves. Sean’s palmarès reads like a dare whispered at closing time: cycling around the world, swimming the length of Great Britain, running across it, and then becoming the first person to complete a length-of-Britain triathlon. He’s broken the world record for the most Ironman triathlons completed on cons...

Kia ora e te whānau. It’s that time of year when we start to see the end of winter and the earliest glimpses of spring. Thoughts turn to the new year, big events, and the lead-up to those events. Does one size fit all when it comes to peak months and loading during the macrocycle? This doesn’t even begin to touch on the double-edged sword of Strava and the world of socials. Luckily, Andrew and Matt get to hang out each week with one of the best coaches in the business, our own Ali P. L...

Kia ora e te whānau. This week, Ali Pottinger and Andrew McDowall sit down with the one and only Phil Gore. You’ll know Phil from his two epic showdowns with our very own Sam Harvey at Dead Cow Gully — both times pushing themselves to the ragged edges of what we thought humanly possible. This time, they didn’t just flirt with the record — they obliterated it. Both sailed past the previous world mark, with Phil taking the win (and the record) in a staggering 119 yards. Before the race, t...

Kia ora e te whānau. I mean, the co-hosts of your third favourite trail and ultrarunning podcast haven’t gotten together for a chinwag for a while, and, if the universe has had a say in 2/3rds of our days, things are bound to get chaotic. Ultras at the Olympics, The legacy of Backyard Ultras, Overtraining and being Over Training, Plus Andrew’s bad ankle, Ali’s tumultuous toddler, and the dead dolphin under Matt’s house (really). Like a young lord patronised by a rich family we cover some grou...

Kia ora e te whānau. This week, Ali and Matt sit down with the legendary Sage Canaday. Since turning pro in 2012, Sage has been a defining presence in the trail and ultrarunning world. With a strong background in road racing and tidy marathon times, he helped usher in a new era of professional athletes in trail running. An outspoken advocate for clean sport, Sage has long used his platform not only to race but to educate, connect, and inspire. As both coach and athlete, he was an early...

Kia ora e te whānau. This week, we’ve got another special edition of the AidStation for you. Ali and Andrew caught up with Australian endurance legend Maree Connor to talk about her amazing ultramarathon career. From the iconic Spartathlon to the punishment of Badwater 135 to the World 24-Hour Championships, Maree has conquered some of the most incredible races in our sport. We couldn’t wait to bring you this conversation, so we’re putting it out as an AidStation special for you good people! ...

Kia ora e te whānau. This week, Ali Pottinger catches up with the mighty Marianne Hogan. We first tried to record this conversation before Tarawera Ultra Trail, but a patchy internet connection and a tight schedule meant we had to hit pause. Thankfully, we’ve picked it back up—and what a time to do it. Marianne has just come off an epic third-place finish at this year’s Western States Endurance Run, cementing her place as one of the sport’s leading talents. Her resilience and grit in the fa...

Kia ora e te whānau. This week we’ve something super special for you. Ali and Matt had the chance to catch up with Dan Jones about his third consecutive top-five finish at the Western States Endurance Run. We talk about the day that was, the lead up, his recovery, and what’s in store for the coming year in this extra special edition of the DCR AidStation. Dirt Church Radio- Best Enjoyed Running. --- --- --- Episode Links Daniel Jones instagram Adidas Terrex Suun...

Kia ora e te whānau. As the sport of trail and ultramarathon running evolves, we find ourselves searching for that extra 1%. Whether it's in efficiency and speed (just witness the spectacle of the elite aid stops at Western States) or pushing that bit further, it seems like we are heading towards uncharted territory. This week on Dirt Church Radio, we bring you two interviews with athletes who know how to go the Well. Sam Harvey makes his DCR three-peat this week and talks to Andrew abo...