Off The Couch

You’ve probably encountered the adage that running is 90 percent mental, yet despite this feeling (and how true it may be), most runners dedicate the majority of their training to making sure they’re physically fit. But the brain fatigues too, so we talked with running coach and licensed clinical social worker, Danielle Snyder, about the importance of mindset training and the connection between me...

Tailwind Nutrition’s story starts with Co-founder Jeff Vierling’s head in a trash can, losing his breakfast after the Leadville Trail 100 MTB. Following years of dealing with gut issues during endurance events, and having exhausted just about every sports nutrition product on the market, Jeff and his wife, Jenny, did what every frustrated endurance athlete would do — they designed their own. Tailw...

After finishing 6th at this year’s Western States 100, Salomon athlete (and sometimes co-host) Leah Yingling returns to the show to give us a play-by-play of how her day panned out. Along the way, we talk about the race’s rich history; helpful strategies for assembling a crew; the best hour in all of sports; what it was like for Leah to sprint the final 100 meters with her dad; and a whole lot mor...

Paddy O’Leary’s path from the farm he grew up on in Wexford, Ireland to becoming an elite runner for The North Face is by no means a linear one. Long before he started running, Paddy spent much of his early 20s growing the sport of lacrosse in Ireland. It was only after an opportunity to pursue cancer research led him to San Francisco that he found his knack for racing on trails. So, we sat down w...

Endurance training has come a long way from handwritten logs and fax machines, and we owe a lot of that progress to web-based platforms like TrainingPeaks . Founded in the late 90s by endurance coaches Dirk Friel and his father, Joe, TrainingPeaks has helped modernize the way athletes can track, analyze, and plan their training. So we sat down with Dirk to hear more about how better data leads to...

Naked Sports Innovations ’ line of products has evolved a lot from the popular Running Band that started it all, and this month they announced plans for their first trail running shoe, the Naked T/r. So we sat down with Naked’s President and Co-founder, Lindsay Dakota, to break down their debut model, from (laceless!) upper to outsole; the challenges of growing a small brand sustainably; the futur...

Ultramarathons are sometimes called eating competitions with a bit of running thrown in, and with so many different nutrition products and approaches at our disposal these days, it can be hard to know how to fuel properly. So, we talked to GU Energy Labs’ Nutrition and Performance Research Manager, Roxanne Vogel, about the ins & outs of eating on the run; how GU’s line of products fit into tha...

If you grow up in Portland, OR, running is practically a birthright, and for David Laney, it quickly became a way of life: he was already running 5 to 6 days a week by the time he turned 10. After a successful collegiate career followed by a brief stint racing on the roads, David burst onto the trail scene in the early 2010s and has gone on to build an impressive resume of race results on the stre...

On this “Running Through the News” edition of Off The Couch, Salomon athlete Leah Yingling stops by to catch us up on current events in the running world, including — a debate around Tom Cruise’s running form; the rise of 200-mile races; what mountain runner Joe Gray is doing to make trails a more equitable space for people of color; course records at the Zegama-Aizkorri Marathon; and Kilian Jorne...

Over half of all runners will deal with an injury each year, but run enough miles and you’ll know that number is a lot closer to 100%. The irony is most running injuries are easily preventable, so as folks ramp up their summer training, we had Dr. Hal Rosenberg on to talk us through some simple tips for staying healthy out on the trails (and off the couch). Along the way, we get into Hal’s own exp...

After discovering running in his 30’s, ultra-endurance athlete Robbie Balenger became obsessed with the power of human endurance and quickly found that he needed challenges far exceeding standard ultramarathons to test his limits. So, he started creating his own. Since then, Robbie has run across America, completed the “Colorado Crush,” and recently outran a Tesla. We had him on to unpack each of...

Rabbit Elite, Elan Lieber, called his recent second-place finish at the 2022 Miwok 100K, “the run of his life,” but not for reasons you might expect. Before setting a massive PR and running the course’s 3rd fastest time ever, Elan said goodbye to his grandfather for the final time. With a heavy heart, he showed up at Miwok with one goal in mind: to not race in fear. 9 hours later, cresting from an...

Brian Metzler has been writing about running, in one form or another, for the better part of the last 25 years. His latest book, Trail Running Illustrated: The Art of Running Free (which he co-authored with Doug Mayer), captures the playful side of trail running through illustration while also offering helpful advice for runners of all levels. It’s a genre-bending book with an interesting backstor...

If you’ve followed coverage of ultrarunning at all over the last few years, Corrine Malcolm is a name you’ve probably heard a lot. But between her many roles as a member of the media, it could be easy to overlook her as an elite runner in her own right. So we talk to Corrine about how she went from an Olympic-level biathlete to running professionally for adidas Terrex; setting the supported FKT on...

Pablo Vigil has been called the greatest mountain runner in the world. In the 1980s he was nearly unbeatable, winning the famous Sierre-Zinal four consecutive times. We talk to Pablo about the early days of mountain running; what has changed since then; why he thinks simplicity is still the key to training (and life); how he ended up on a show with Kilian Jornet; and much more.  TOPICS &...

In this ‘Race Edition’ of Running Through the News, Salomon athlete, Leah Yingling (who’s already been on major podiums twice this year), joins us to discuss race results from the past few weeks and to preview the stacked fields at Madeira Island Ultra Trail and Canyons 100k.   TOPICS & TIMES: Why moving to Utah will make you faster (1:17) Racing across the Canary Islands (7:29) Desc...

Devon Yanko’s resume speaks for itself. She’s had success at numerous signature races over her career, including victories at the Leadville 100, Javelina 100, and a 3rd place finish at Western States, to name a few. But after years of pursuing races for their prestige, she found her motivation drifting towards other goals. Thus was born Devon’s 2022 DY DIY Slam, an ambitious plan to run 5 100-mile...

We talk to Brendan Madigan, race director of the Broken Arrow Skyrace , about the current state of races; prize purses; the economics of putting on a race; and why Brendan sees independent races as such a critical part of the race landscape. TOPICS & TIMES: Alpenglow Sports & starting Broken Arrow Skyrace (1:54) Economics & logistics of putting on a race (6:28) Independent races (12:13...

We talk to Marta Fisher about how her experience at Hardrock 100 led her to the creation of Women Who FKT ; what the near-term goals of the group are; how to get involved; and more. TOPICS & TIMES: Growing up, starting to run, & grad school (1:26) 2021 Hardrock 100 (4:47) Women who FKT (15:08) Near-Term Goal of Women who FKT (28:02) Underrepresented groups in the ultra community (31:43) Gr...

Blister running editor, Matt Mitchell, is joined by Blister reviewer, Gordon Gianniny, to discuss current events in the running world. The two dish on race results from the month of March, including the Way Too Cool 50k, Chuckanut 50k, and the Barkley Marathons; talk through the significance of Broken Arrow Skyrace’s prize purse announcement; look forward to the North American Golden Trail Series;...

We talk to Adam Hill about how dealing with anxiety disorder led him into Ironman competitions; his new book, Shifting Gears ; and the process and mechanisms of personal transformation. TOPICS & TIMES: Anxiety & Alcohol (2:23) Anxiety & Sobriety (18:03) Getting into Ironmans (26:22) Overcoming hopelessness - (46:44) Shifting Gears (51:37) The support of Adam’s wife (56:05) YoYo Ma vs....

Jason Hardrath holds more “Fastest Known Times” than anyone in the world. We talk to Jason about his upbringing; how a nearly fatal car accident introduced him to the world of FKTs; and his upcoming film, “ Journey to 100 ,” which chronicles Jason’s attempt to climb the 100 tallest peaks in the state of Washington over 50 days; and more. TOPICS & TIMES: Have you always pushed yourself? (1:33)...

CTS coach Jason Koop makes his return to Off The Couch following the release of the 2nd edition of his book, Training Essentials for Ultrarunning. We talk to Koop about why he updated his book; the increase in ultramarathon-specific research; myths around running economy; the art of pairing coaches with athletes; how to sift through all the bad science on social media; and his time with Timothy Ol...

Our running editor, Matt Mitchell, sat down with Salomon athlete Logan Williams to discuss his recent top 10 finish at the Black Canyon 100K. This top-10 finish happened after Logan ruptured his achilles last year at Black Canyon, so Logan talks about what returning to the scene of the crime meant for him; his relationship with injury; how he’s recovering from racing 62 miles through the desert; h...

Why would two friends who’d been working at the highest levels of product design at Nike, Under Armour, and Puma — and in some of the biggest product categories (soccer, basketball, and running) — set out to create a hyper-specific, hyper-performance trail running shoe company? We talk to the co-founders of Speedland , Dave Dombrow and Kevin Fallon to get the answers; to learn about their paths to...