DCR AidStation

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dirtchurchradio.substack.com This week, Matt and Ali carry the torch, as Andrew said he was popping out for soy milk and went to Australia. We run down Vertual July, the controversy with the Six Foot Track Marathon finishing times, and a Hardrock Preview. We debate one of the great trail-running conundrums: shakka vs. goat horns? What w...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dirtchurchradio.substack.com Crushers Lydia O’Donnell, Charlie Simpson, and Beth McKenzie at the UTA Women in Trail Panel

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dirtchurchradio.substack.com This week is a tribute to togetherness that running can bring us. Ali, Andrew, and Matt celebrate the experience of heading out for a run with your mates, be it a marathon relay, a Denny’s Marathon, or a Coast to Coast to Coast. We explore (literally) some of the cool places you can get to in a city on foot....

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dirtchurchradio.substack.com Kia ora e te whānau. Ian Sharman is a straight-up Legend in the sport of ultramarathon running. A Coach and Athlete hailing from the Golden Age, before 4K cameras in everyone’s pockets and when fans had to pass around a pirated copy of Unbreakable, Sharman and his kin were like trail gods, foreshadowing and...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dirtchurchradio.substack.com This week, Ali, Matt, and Andrew get philosophical: if an influencer were to influence the woods and no one were around, would anyone GRWM? We take a shot at amateur doping (and why this sucks), and share our undying admiration for the NZ 24-hour championship team. While we are at it, why is Andrew so calm?...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dirtchurchradio.substack.com Mike D Body Movin’ at UTA 100. Photo: Tim Bardsley Smith Kia ora e te whānau. We ran away and joined the circus. And it was cool as hell. No, not that dork-fest in the desert, but a true example of community and fellowship at the 2026 Hoka Ultra Trail Australia by UTMB. These are incredible four…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dirtchurchradio.substack.com We’ve had some big weeks in the running world. With some incredible performances and a new normal being established across the board, from 42.2 to 250 miles. Ali, Andrew, and Matt are here for it, and we have some questions as well. Is our sport, and the big tent that it has become, lost some of its sparkle,...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dirtchurchradio.substack.com Ben Duffus - Photo : Sportograf Kia ora e te whānau. Who is excited for UTA? Gosh, we certainly are. This week, Join Ali and Matt as they preview the elite fields in the miler, 100km, 50km, and 22km events at Ultra Trail Australia, as well as answer those last-minute questions that athletes have when staring...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dirtchurchradio.substack.com We’re not going to lie, there was a lot on the docket this week, and boy did Ali, Andrew, and Matt rip through it. We, the aforementioned, declare that Tamaki is now the distance-running capital of Aotearoa. And also that it is “mad nice” (Friedland, 2026). We charge that big companies should stop doing thin...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dirtchurchradio.substack.com Running and maths are for the birds, not for this guy. Way back in 2023, when Eugene and Matt first spoke to Matt Bixley (on DCR 228 if you are interested), they were impressed not only by the attention he paid to detail in planning his adventures, the scope of the adventures - 18 Keplers (at …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dirtchurchradio.substack.com Goodness me, we got through a bit on the AidStation this week. From hard racing choices to boners to proper hard choices (Yes, you read correctly) and knowing the difference, to better mental health and running strategies you can use every day. Paying to pace? yep, we go there too, and yes, Backyards aren’t...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dirtchurchradio.substack.com Kia ora e te whānau. This week, Ali Pottinger chats with Annie Hand, fresh off her second-place finish at the Six Foot Track Marathon. Hand, a Blue Mountain stalwart, completed the Ultra Trail Australia Miler in 2025 and is off for a lap of Mount Blanc in 2026. Annie and Ali talk about performance, Annie’s a...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dirtchurchradio.substack.com This was the only photo I took the whole time. I was literally kicking rocks. The Tussock Traverse and/or the Ring of Fire is an event that you must do. 100%. We can’t really jazz it up more than that. If you like a unique mountain-running adventure that is both a grassroots event and offers the most incredi...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dirtchurchradio.substack.com Paula Griffin in action for the Northern Mystics

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dirtchurchradio.substack.com Would you let these two name (Curate, I guess) a trail for you? thought not… I don’t know, man. What’s in a name after all? We’re lucky enough that Matt’s youngest daughter isn’t called Skipper or Queenie (both names he went in hard for). Trying to decipher the lore behind a trail name is hard enough, right?...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dirtchurchradio.substack.com Jack Harris crushing the Rise and Shine. Photo Diego Belli Kia ora e te whānau. In our sport, we often hear stories of when people found trail running. Seldom do we hear of moments where trail running found us. Jack Harris was, as he tells it, going through a bit of a hard time, and one day decided to go for...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dirtchurchradio.substack.com Ruth Croft, driving the stoke at Old Ghost Ultra 2026. Photo Credit Allan Ure @ photos4sale Kia ora e te whānau. This episode has been a long time coming. DCR has been wanting to get down to the mighty Old Ghost Ultra for years, and this year, Ali P made it happen. The stoke is evident in her retelling of th...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dirtchurchradio.substack.com Ruth Croft is as Ruth Croft Does- Photo Credit: Graeme Murray Kia ora e te whānau. Holy Hecka, what a weekend with the filth, fury, and triumph of Tarawera Ultra Trail New Zealand by UTMB. Join Ali Pottinger and Matt Rayment for a wonderful conversation with some of the leading lights in our sport for our an...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dirtchurchradio.substack.com On this week’s AidStation, we have the distinct pleasure of speaking with Race Director Tom Heath about the exciting new event on the calendar, Ultra Wanaka. Ali and Matt also speak to the most powerful returning champion, L. Bartholomew of Diamond Creek, Victoria, about her go-to Rotorua trails, Race week s...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dirtchurchradio.substack.com Jackson ripping it up at the Minotaur Sky Race. Photo cred @skyrunning Kia ora e te whānau. What a way to kick off 2026 with this awesome conversation with Goat Tongariro winner Jackson Cole. Jackson spoke with Matt from his base in Missoula, Montana. We touched on the usual topics like training and racin…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dirtchurchradio.substack.com Ali and Kate Southern on the startline of The Goat Tongariro On this week’s AidStation, we bring you an excellent chat Ali P had with Michael Sutton at The Goat Tongariro. Michael, if you will remember, has represented New Zealand multiple times at the World Mountain Running Championships, and has recently …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dirtchurchradio.substack.com Kia ora e te whānau. We’re back again for the third annual DCR Tarawera Ultra Trail by UTMB special. Joining Ali and Matt at the helm is a special guest, two-time Tarawera champion, and running coach extraordinaire, Mr Kerry Suter. What a treat you have in store for yourselves this episode, as we dive deep i...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dirtchurchradio.substack.com Maybe we were all a bit too hopeful that 2025’s madness would not continue into 2026. Maybe these first two weeks are a post-credit scene, or maybe, just maybe , this is 2026 saying “hold my beer” in response to last year’s antics. Anyway you cut it, it’s probably best to get yourself out for a run. It’ll pr...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dirtchurchradio.substack.com Kia ora e te whānau. Welcome to the second of our DCR Summer Series episodes, where we’ll be bringing you our most popular conversations from 2025. This week, we’ve got a double header, throwing it back to July when Sam Harvey made his DCR three-peat and spoke to Andrew McDowall about (literally) running him...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dirtchurchradio.substack.com Photo Credit: David Hill Kia ora e te whānau. Welcome to the first of our DCR Summer Series episodes, where we’ll be bringing you our most popular conversations from 2025. Kickin’ it off this week, we are taking it back to March, and episode 318, when Ali and Matt spoke to the one and only Jasmin Paris. Jasm...