Off The Couch

Abby and Cordis Hall are both very good runners who both run for Adidas TERREX and who both recently set FKTs for the Cottonwood Marble Loop in Death Valley . And Abby and Cordis are soon going to both be going after another FKT, this time, on the rather gnarly Pfiffner Traverse. So we discuss all of that, plus the benefits and challenges that arise when your partner is also a competitive runner....

Our guest this week is Shaun Martin, who we’ve talked about before on this podcast in our conversations with Sanjay Rawal , since Shaun appeared in Sanjay’s film, 3100: Run and Become. But this time we’re talking to the man himself, and Brendan Leonard and Jonathan Ellsworth talk to Shaun about his background, heritage, coaching philosophy, and a whole lot more. TOPICS & TIMES Shaun’s backgrou...

Faith E. Briggs is a filmmaker and a runner, and this week, Brendan Leonard and Jonathan Ellsworth talk to Faith about her latest film, This Land ; growing up and running track & cross country and transitioning into long distance running & trail running; and our current / not-merely-current circumstances here in America. TOPICS & TIMES Faith’s film, This Land (2:52) Boarding school &am...

A few weeks ago Brendan Leonard and I talked to the legend himself, Buzz Burrell. In the first part of our conversation, we talk about Buzz’s background, including his first ever long-distance run; starting the first organic farm in Colorado; the time he delivered a baby; inventing the hydration pack; and more. And then we discuss Buzz’s role in establishing the concept of the Fastest Known Time;...

On Saturday, August 25th, 2019, Zach set a new world record for the fastest time that a human being has run 100 miles. He did it on a track in Wisconsin in 11:19:13. And once he hit the 100-mile mark, Zach preceded to just keep on running, and he then set another world record: longest distance run in 12 hours (he went 104.8 miles). These are two mind-blowing feats, and you can listen to our conver...

Is it humanly possible to run 100 miles without consuming a single calorie? Would it be possible to run 100 miles in under 24 hours without consuming a single calorie? On May 8th, Mike McKnight set out to find out, and Mike, who is the record holder of the Triple Crown of 200’s , not only accomplished this extraordinary feat, he did it in 18 hours and 37 minutes. So we talked to Mike about why and...

We talk to Georgia Porter , co-owner and personal trainer at The Physio Shop in Flagstaff, Arizona, about her dislike of running as a kid; her grandma who was running ultras back before running ultras was a thing; how to incorporate apple fritters and beer into your training regimen; competing at the 2020 US Olympic Marathon Trials; her belief in combining strength training and endurance trai...

Hillary Gerardi won the 2018 Skyrunner Extra World Series Circuit, and yet, she still doesn’t necessarily think of herself as a runner. So Brendan Leonard and I discuss this with Hillary, and, turns out, her hesitation makes a lot of sense once you understand her background and what it is that she enjoys most about being in the mountains. Hillary was born in Vermont, but has lived in France since...

Rickey Gates is a professional runner, a writer, a photographer — and someone who has a whole lot going on. His new book, Cross Country, a 3700-Mile Run to Explore Unseen America , just came out, and it documents Rickey’s 2017 odyssey of running from South Carolina to San Francisco and the people and places he interacted with along the way. We also discuss his Every Single Street project, Hut...

Late last week, Brendan Leonard and Jonathan Ellsworth talked with @Jenny and Scott Jurek . This probably wasn’t the conversation that you ought to have when you get to talk with a running icon like Scott Jurek and someone who is as accomplished and interesting as Jenny, but, whatever. We had fun, and you will, too. Among other things, we talk about Scott’s very first race; Jenny’s transition from...

Dom Di Tommaso ( @domtomato ) is a freerunner, a certified mind blower, and the guy behind one of our favorite Instagram pages and YouTube channels in the world. He is also a fascinating person, and a perfect reminder that “running” is not a sport that we should narrowly define. So on our latest Off The Couch podcast, we talked to Dom about his uncommon upbringing; his training, his focus, his inj...

We talk to Topo Athletic founder, Tony Post, about serving as the CEO of Vibram USA; founding Topo Athletic; minimalist and maximalist shoes; Topo’s design philosophy and process; and more.  TOPICS & TIMES: Moving to Boston, working for Rockport (1:15) Were you always into running gear? (5:20) “Craftsmanship” in the running shoe industry (7:47) The decision to start your own shoe company...

Eric Schranz has been a staple of the trail running and ultrarunning world for over a decade — both as a passionate runner, and as the host of Ultrarunnerpodcast.com . And since Eric spends so much of his time writing about and interviewing other runners, Brendan Leonard ( semi-rad.com ) and I thought it would be fun to put Eric in the guest seat. So Brendan and I talked with Eric about how he got...

Ryan Van Duzer has a YouTube series called, Running with Ryan . And last fall, as our Off The Couch co-host, Brendan Leonard, was nearing his goal of running 52 marathons in 52 weeks, Ryan had Brendan as a guest on Running with Ryan . So we thought we’d give Brendan the chance to turn the tables and have him interview Ryan, and that proved to be a good idea. They talk about snakes; biking across t...

Joe Grant is an endurance athlete, a mountain runner, a reader, a writer, a thinker, a filmmaker, and, as you are about to find out, an exceptional storyteller. And in this conversation, Brendan Leonard and Jonathan Ellsworth talk to Joe about how he got into running; racing (and winning) the 2008 Caballo Blanco Copper Canyon Ultra and how that affected his life; his Tour de Fourteeners, a self-po...

When a 15-year-old Hayden Hawks first learned about the Western States 100, he knew that he would someday get into running ultras, and it became his dream to race Western States. Fast forward 14 years later, and the now-29-year-old Hayden Hawks is a world-class runner, he’s just won the Black Canyon 100k, and he’s qualified to race Western States this June. So we talked to Hayden about his Black C...

While most of us know the explorers, Lewis & Clarke, the exploits of John Colter (who was a member of Lewis & Clarke’s famous expedition) might be a bit less familiar, but they are arguably even wilder. And in their short film, Colter: A Legacy of Adventure , Sawyer Thomas and Riis Wilbrecht set out to venture through the territory John Colter had explored two centuries ago, across some of...

By some measures, Eric Walker is a pretty normal guy. He lives in Minnesota, he’s not a professional runner, he’s 38 years old, and he’s a husband and a dad. But at some point in 2018, Eric found himself committed to the goal of running 5 kilometers every day for 365 days, and a year later … he’d done it. So Brendan Leonard and Jonathan Ellsworth talked to Eric to find out what motivated him to do...

Nell Rojas is fascinating. And fast. So fast that on February 29th, she’s got a shot at making the USA Marathon team, despite the fact that she didn't compete in her first marathon until 2018. But she then won her second marathon (the very competitive Grandma’s Marathon), and now, the Olympic Trials are just around the corner. So we talked to Nell about her unique background; the dynamics of being...

Liza Howard is smart, funny, accomplished, humble, and by her own account … is extremely susceptible to peer pressure. She’s run marathons to impress a guy, still runs marathons for donut money, has won the Leadville 100 (and other big races) multiple times, is a coach, a parent, a NOLS Wilderness instructor, and the director of the terrific non-profit, Band of Runners . Her energy and enthusiasm...

Duncan Callahan is one of our favorite people, so we’re excited to have him back on the show to catch up. We had Duncan on last July ( Episode 9 of Off the Couch ) and it was a very compelling and very honest conversation about some huge successes of his, but also about some of Duncan’s struggles and doubts and questions. In this conversation, Duncan and I talked about the increasing amount of coa...

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 Brendan Leonard and Maddie Hart spoke with Gina Lucrezi, the founder of Trail Sisters, about the unusual way in w...

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 first and foremost, Grayson’s story is really about her constant push to evolve. Grayson is 24 years old and has already racked up some seriously impressive results. But perha...

Sanjay Rawal was our first guest on Off The Couch, and we are pleased to have him back on for our first episode of 2020. We invited him back to ask about his rather spectacular performance — and even more spectacular meltdown — near the end of the California International Marathon this past year. But in addition to getting a fantastic first hand account of that race, we touch on a number of i...

What’s the best way to eat to feel good and perform well? The fields of 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...