Off The Couch

Trail Sisters founder, Gina Lucrezi (Ep.35)

by
Gina Lucrezi talks with Brendan Leonard and Maddie Hart on Blister's Off the Couch Podcast about Trail Sisters

Trail Sisters is a trail running community for women and an online journal that offer lots of great resources — including articles and stories, grants, retreats, directories for female coaches, trail locations, and races that meet the trail sisters standards for gender equity. So we spoke to Gina Lucrezi, the founder of Trail Sisters, about the unusual way in which Gina got into running; her impressive accomplishments as a runner; the remarkable things happening at Trail Sisters; the ways you can get involved with and support Trail Sisters; and more.

The Evolution of Grayson Murphy (Ep.34)

by
Grayson Murphy goes on Blister's Off The Couch podcast to discuss her running career and more.

In 2019, Grayson Murphy won the US Mountain Running Championship; the World Mountain Running Championship; and the Xterra Trail Run World Championship. But there were many twists and turns along the way in getting there, and perhaps even more impressive and instructive than her wins is her willingness to experiment, adjust, and explore new ideas and practices, which we discuss in this conversation.

Sanjay Rawal on Running Dumb, Training Slow, & Finding Joy through Exertion (Ep.33)

by
Sanjay Rawal goes on Blister's Off The Couch podcast to discuss running the California International Marathon, the concepts of running dumb; training slow; finding joy through exertion, and much more.

We talk to Sanjay Rawal about his rather spectacular performance — and even more spectacular meltdown — near the end of the California International Marathon, and discuss the concepts of running dumb; training slow; finding joy through exertion; whether it is possible to run a great time by not caring about running a great time; and more.

Diets & Nutrition with Kylee Van Horn (Ep.32)

by
Kylee Van Horn talks with Jonathan Ellsworth about Nutrition on Off the Couch Podcast

What’s the best way to eat to feel good and perform well? Nutrition and Diet are massive topics, as are all of the related issues surrounding them. So on our latest Off The Couch podcast, we talk with Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Kylee Van Horn, about the various diets out there; whether certain diets are prone to help or hurt training recovery; athletes & eating disorders, and more.

How to Design a Great Race (Ep.31)

by
Caleb Efta goes on Blister's Off The Couch podcast to discuss planning and directing races.

New running events seem to be popping up all the time, which raises the question: Are there some specific policies, and practices that should be built into all or most running events? To help us think about this, we talked to Caleb Efta, the race director of the High Lonesome 100, about some of the specific policies and requirements of the event that are designed to mitigate its environmental impacts and increase gender equality.

Brendan Leonard on Running 52 Marathons in 52 Weeks (Ep.30)

by
Brendan Leonard talks on Blister's Off The Couch Podcast about how and why he ran 52 marathons over the course of a single year

For 2019, Brendan Leonard (semi-rad.com) set a goal for himself: run 52 marathons in 52 weeks. He told very few people about this goal, and we are proud to report that Brendan accomplished his goal with several weeks to spare. So we talked to Brendan about what prompted him to create this plan; why he decided to tell very few people about it; exactly what the parameters were for these ‘marathons’; how he handled the logistics; what he learned along the way; and more.

Runner & Chef: Kelly Newlon of RAD (“Real Athlete Diets”) (Ep.28)

by
Kelly Newlon goes on Blister's Off The Couch Podcast to discuss her business, Real Athlete Diets, her work as a chef, her work with the ultra running community, and more

By the time she was 5 years old, Kelly Newlon had already identified two of her biggest passions: running and cooking. Those passions led her to running longer and longer races and becoming a classically trained chef who now is — quite literally — feeding and fueling the ultrarunning community, including a high number of its elite performers.

Is Cappuccino Cowboys Ruining Ultrarunning? (Ep.25)

by

What is Cappuccino Cowboys, and who is the person behind it? Is he an evil genius hell-bent on ruining ultrarunning? A provocateur shaking up the stodgy state of running media? Or is he just a giant pain in the ass of Jim Walmsley, Eric Senseman, Jared Hazen, Cody Reed, Tommy Rivs and a few other unfortunate souls? We spoke to Mr. Cappuccino himself to find out.

Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra Winner, Maggie Guterl (Ep.24)

by
Maggie Guterl goes on Blister's Off The Couch Podcast to discuss being the first woman to win the Big Dog's Backyard Ultra.

Maggie Guterl just became the first woman ever to win Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra, a multi-day race that does not have a fixed-distance finish line. So we talked to Maggie about how this extraordinary race works, and Maggie does a brilliant job of detailing what it was like to overcome the unique physical and mental challenges of Big’s; the significance of being the race’s first female champion; the next insane race she has her sights set on, and more.

Triple Crown of 200s Winner, Mike McKnight (Ep.23)

by
winner of the Moab 240, Mike McKnight, goes on Blister's Off The Couch Podcast to discuss his recent win, how he managed to win three 200-mile races in a single year, and more.

Simply put, Mike McKnight is amazing. He won the Bigfoot 200 in August, the Tahoe 200 in September, and he just won the Moab 240. And in covering those ~640 miles of racing, he smashed his own cumulative-time record for the 3 races by … 43 hours. That’s not what you’d expect from a chubby kid who grew up on a dairy farm and didn’t participate in sports til he tried 1 season of highschool football, nor from a person who broke his back in a ski accident 8 years ago and had 2 rods and 9 screws placed in his spine, along with part of his hip bone. So we talk to Mike about all of this and more.

Interviews from Mile 201 of the Moab 240 (Ep.22)

by
Jonathan Ellsworth interviews runners in the Moab 240 on Blister's Off The Couch podcast

What’s it like to run two hundred and one miles … and know that you still have another 40 miles to go? And why would you sign up and subject yourself to this? To find out, we went to Moab, Utah, to the Moab 240 Endurance Run to capture the very raw and unfiltered reactions from runners, pacers, friends, medics, and concerned mothers from the Geyser Aid Station at mile 201 of the Moab 24. And we also learned what this race — and this community — is really about.

Cam Smith on Moving through Mountains (Ep.21)

by
Cam Smith goes on Blister's Off The Couch Podcast to discuss how he went from living in Illinois to winning races like the Grand Traverse & Grand Traverse Triple Crown.

When Cam Smith graduated high school in Rockford, Illinois in 2014, he had little or no mountain experience. But fast forward a few years, and Cam is now an accomplished trail runner, mountain biker, a member of the U.S. ski mountaineering team, a repeat winner of the Grand Traverse Mountain Run from Crested Butte to Aspen, and a repeat winner of the Grand Traverse Triple Crown. So we talk to Cam about his journey, his goals, his relation to running and skiing and mountain biking, his work as a coach and as a guide at the Adaptive Center here in Crested Butte, and more.

Jason Koop: Runner, Head Coach at CTS Ultrarunning (Ep.20)

by
Running coach, Jason Koop, goes on Blister's Off The Couch podcast to discuss his running career, how he got into coaching, his approach to coaching, and more

Jason Koop is a passionate runner, the author of Training Essentials for Ultrarunning, the head coach of CTS Ultrarunning, and someone who is not afraid to speak his mind. So we talked to Jason about his endurance coaching; “nonsensical” training aids & techniques; his recent running of the 330 km Tor de Geants; the current state of the minimalist / maximalist shoe debate; what he thinks the running scene will look like 10 years from now; and a *whole* lot more.

Kyle Robidoux on Running, Skiing, & Being Legally Blind (Ep.19)

by
Kyle Robidoux goes on Blister's Off The Couch podcast to discuss how running has helped him as someone with limited vision, including running dozens of marathons and ultramarathons

Kyle Robidoux is passionate about running and skiing and beer. He has run 25 marathons and ultra marathons, including three 100-mile races, and the Boston Marathon six times. Kyle also happens to be legally blind. So Kyle and I talk about his background, his anger about his receding vision and what he did about it; how he got into running and trail running; his efforts to create more inclusive trail races; his advice about how to deal with loss of any kind; and what specific things we all can do to be more supportive of everyone dealing with disabilities. (And we talk about beer.)

Why We Built a Running-Shoe Brand Guide (Ep.17)

by
Maddie Hart, Gordon Gianniny, Luke Koppa, and Jonathan Ellsworth discuss Blister's running shoe Brand Guides on the Off The Couch podcast.

Finding the right running shoe can be extremely complicated and confusing. So reviewers Luke Koppa, Jonathan Ellsworth, Maddie Hart, and Gordon Gianniny discuss our new BLISTER Brand Guide to Running Shoes; why we saw a need for it; what we hope it accomplishes for runners everywhere; and the trends and takeaways we’ve seen in the process of building it.

Jackson Brill: Full-Time Student, Full-Time Runner (Ep.16)

by
Jackson Brill goes on Blister's Off The Couch podcast to discuss his young but very successful running career, being teammates with Killian Jornet, how he balances school and professional running, and more.

Salomon athlete, Jackson Brill, is a 21-year old senior in college at CU Boulder, but given his approach to running, the way he talks about the sport, and his race results, you’d be forgiven for assuming that he was twice as old as he is. So we talked to Jackson about his studies and his work in CU’s Locomotion Lab; being teammates with Kilian Jornet; his experience with the Golden Trail Series; and his strong interest in coaching.

+ More