Kia ora e te whanāu.This week on Dirt Church Radio Ali and Matt speak to a colossus of our sport, Mike Wardian. Mike’s achievements in running are probably easier to document if you go back and look at what he hasn’t done. Mike is known for his phenomenal endurance, ability to recover from huge efforts (sometimes backed up the next day), and an all-consuming love for adventure. In this episode, we talk about completing his first marathon with his son, his trip down to attempt Tour Te Waipunam...

Kia ora e te whānau! On this episode of the AidStation podcast, Matt is joined by the brains trust of SQUADRUN, Ali Pottinger, and Kerry Suter to talk about how to plan the lead-up to your big event. We talk training, gear, logistics, nutrition, and distraction strategies, so your golden carriage doesn’t turn into a pumpkin when you’ve put so much effort to get to the ball. Enjoy! Dirt Church Radio - Best Enjoyed Running. Dirt Church Merch!SQUADRUNCurranzJulbo Eyewear UltrAspireDirt Chur...

Kia ora e te whanāu. Please join Matt in welcoming the new co-hosts of Dirt Church Radio, Ali Pottinger and Andrew McDowall. Both have been regulars on DCR for some time now, so it should be little surprise that Matt would reach out to them to join him in the next chapter of Aotearoa’s third favourite forest-based running podcast. Both bring a wealth of experience to the table, are community-minded, and love a good yarn. This is going to be sweet-as. This week we learn a bit about Ali and And...

Kia ora e te whānau! Dirt Church Radio presents to you their 300th show! This is special because we spoke to the legend that is Dr Inia Raumati about his foundation Kia Mau Kia ora and the logistics behind his goal to be the first person in the world to to 8 stage races on 8 continents in one year. This show is special because it is the last time Eugene Bingham will take the mic at Dirt Church Radio. We say every conversation is interesting and special because it is, but this one is super spe...

Turn Downhill for What? The 2024 Crater Rim Ultra – Dirt Church Radio 299. Kia ora e te whanāu. This week we bring you some of the action from the Crater Rim Ultra. A Grass Roots race with Champagne Hills. We speak with Dwight Grieve, Emma Timmis, Vicky Havill, Grant Guise, Chris Pike, Rocky Walker and Rebecca Short about this super challenging race. Dirt Church Radio - Best Enjoyed Running Crater Rim Ultra DCR Live Show Tickets! October 29!Sign up to the DCR AidSta...

Kia ora e te whānau! In this episode of the AidStation Eugene and Matt are both huge Steve Magness fans, and are super excited about his new book Win The Inside Game, so naturally they talk through tips, tricks, and strategies that they both use when the going gets rough on the trails was on the cards. The big news of the episode is that Eugene has announced his departure from DCR after 6 years and 300 episodes, you’ll read more about this in his announcement. Enjoy! Dirt Church Radio - Best ...

Kia ora e te whanāu. This week, Matt is joined by Stephen Parker, the author of “There Is No Finish – The Backyard Ultramarathon Story”. Compelled to write a book whilst being inspired by a speaker at a conference, Stephen chose to focus on the story of the niche of ultrarunning that he loves the most, the Backyard. Nearly a year later, that book is here and ready to be read. For those unfamiliar, the Backyard format is 6.76km on the hour, every hour, until there is one person standing....

Kia ora e te whānau! On this episode of the DCR AidStation we are back with two of our favourite coaches and the brains behind SQUADRUN, Ali Pottinger and Kerry Suter. The famous saying “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face” rings true with running. In fact, one could argue that 99% of our races have an element of the uncontrollable, but we are not going to talk about this. We are going to focus when we’ve become our own Mike Tyson, and punched ourselves in the face. We rip ...

Kia Ora e te whānau! Simply put, Daniel Jones is heaps good at running, so good that at the start of the year he transitioned from being an elite runner supported by a brand to being a professional athlete on an international team. Matt spoke to Dan from his home in Lower Hutt, off the back of his first USA and European season as part of the Adidas Terrex team. We discuss Western States, CCC, just how fast the OCC is, the surprises and challenges of being a professional runner, and his deep a...

Kia ora e te whānau! Where were you when you first heard about the big orange S? On this episode of the DCR AidStation podcast, Eugene and Matt dive deep into the good, the bad, and the (very) ugly that is Strava. Our heroes discuss what they love and love less about the social fitness platform and the positive and less positive impacts it has had on their lives. What brought this topic up was the dawning incredulity that people are hiring Strava Mules to run things fast for them for the purp...

Kia Ora e te whānau! If, as we posited last week, the collective noun for a group of Fire Fighters is a Calendar then in this episode we’ve got most of the months ticked off!!! First off, we’ve got all the action from day 2 of the Firies Climb for MND. Then in the second part of our show Matt had the pleasure of sitting down at home with Helen Waterworth and Chris Newsome from His & Hers Endurance Events KITS when they swung through from Whangarei on their way to The Great Nase...

Kia ora e te whānau! We are not going to lie to you, this is a heavy episode, however it is absolutely one that you need to hear. Matt and Ali Pottinger ventured to Scenic World in Katoomba to facilitate this discussion for the Firies Furber Stairs Climb. We spoke to the original Firies Climb Organiser, Matt Pridham, about his personal experience with MND and how this drove him to start an event which raised millions of dollars, We spoke to Professor Dominic Rowe of Macqurie University. A con...

Kia Ora e te whānau! This week on the pod, Eugene and Matt settle in for a good old chat about Matt’s upcoming 100 mile event and Matt gets the opportunity to chat to one of his running idols (Eugene, and yes, we are leaving that in) about his process and engagement with the distance. Following on from last week’s AidStation when we spoke to coach Kerry and Ali from SQUADRUN, we discuss the where, the what, and most importantly the why around an event that has bludgeoned itself into the runni...

Kia ora e te whānau! The great questions of our age answered by two of the greatest minds (and Matt and Eugene)!! When it comes to training, how much is too much? Or too little? And do we go by time or distance? And how will we know?!?! The answer? It depends … sort of ... This is a great discussion with SQUADRUN coaches Kerry Suter and Ali Pottinger around the quantitative and qualitative approach to training for your next big event. Matt reminds us how context is everything, Ali refuses to ...

Kia ora e te whanau! This week Matt has the distinct privilege of speaking to Lee Grabarek. Lee (they/them) is a non-binary person who has been ripping it up on the trails and roads of Aotearoa for the last ten years, after travelling from Connecticut, where they enjoyed a very outdoorsy existence. Matt spoke to Lee about their life growing up, their initial foray into trail running and the sweet, sweet, sweet, transgression of wearing road shoes on the trail. We discuss Lee’s attendance at O...

Kia ora e te whānau! This week we’re joined by DCR favourite guest Gareth Morris as he recounts to us how he knocked off a run he first dreamed of more than a decade ago when he read the DCR favourite book, Feet in the Clouds, by Richard Askwith. The famous Bob Graham Round, a fell running loop in the English Lake District, challenges runners to tackle 42 peaks over a 66 mile course in less than 24 hours. (Bob Graham was the first person to go under that mark, in 1932). Gareth talks all about...

Kia ora e te whanau! David Hellard has had a long and varied history with running. From hashing with his army dad, to reclaiming fitness in his 20’s obstacle racing, adventure racing, a love of city exploration, running everywhere, ultras, to founding the long-running and wildly popular Bad Boy Running podcast. David has run many of the world’s greatest marathons and has a passion for a life on two feet. Lately pivoting to creating Caffeine Bullet, a chewable caffeine source that packs a mean...

Kia ora e te whānau! We’ve had the pleasure of some salubrious recording locales with Mr Andrew McDowall and this time is no different. Fresh off a DCMF he’s hit the Forestry Road Subaru Studios with Eugene and Matt for a full rundown of his Western States experience. We even got to stroke the buckle. *Spoiler Alert* That’s a pretty flash buckle, alright. Sign up to the DCR AidStation Episode links:Andrew McDowall’s blogSQUADRUNDirt Church Merch!NickrunsAustralia.org.nz Inia Ra...

In its nine-year history the WUU2K has kicked many a runner in the ass. This year it kicked Matt in the head. Antecedently to the unfolding malarky, Eugene and Matt caught up with NZ trail legend Jenny Hirst, WUU2K race director and founder Gareth Thomas, and long-time collaborator Brent Robinson. You’ll get all the action from the start line, and Matt out on course, alongside Eugene’s interviews with Tailwind NZ’s Mark Drew, Carly Webber from Runners NZ and many more. Best Enjoyed Runn...

Kia ora e te whānau! On this episode, Eugene and Matt are joined by the brains trust of SQUADRUN Ali Pottinger and Kerry Suter for a play-along-at-home adventure around the start of planning for a big adventure or event, in this case, Matt’s build up to the Tarawera Ultra Trail. As usual with these conversations, Kerry and Ali are wise beyond years, and a font of incredible knowledge. Not to be missed. Dan Jones also checks in after his remarkable fourth-place run at Western States last ...

Kia ora e te whānau!“At least I don’t have to listen to my own voice”. So goes the bio of Bradley Houghton, the maestro behind Trail Running NZ, the newsletter that has taken the scene by storm. Breaking his own rule, Bradley sits down with Eugene and Matt to discuss his own history with trail running, and the motivation to start Trail Running NZ. Bradley, like most of us who start something creative, juggles a full time job, family, and a love of running to bring you a weekly dose of trail r...

Kia ora e te whānau!Our mate Andrew McDowall is quite good at running. Eugene calls him (inexplicably) the fifth Beatle of DCR, which is absolutely true if not numerically suspect. Andrew has been trying to get into Western States for what has felt like 100 years, but is actually 9 years. Which can feel like 100 years, I’m sure. He only went and bloody got in this year, and we speak to him about what this means for him, his training, and what he is most excited about. We also crack into a gam...

Kia ora e te whānau! Anthony Kerr-Taylor – Ant K-T – couldn’t tell you what got him out onto the Riverhead trails during the country’s first Covid lockdown, but that first run four years ago has lead to a string of incredible results including an 8th place at this year’s Tarawera Ultra Trail 100 mile and a couple weeks ago Ant ran 348kms (or 52 laps) at Kings Backyard to take the record for the farthest run at a backyard on New Zealand soil. Ant talks us through “going down the rabbit hole” i...

Kia ora e te whānau. This week we speak to the returning champion and guest on DCR episode 102 Coach Maree Leith of GoRunGirls. We talk to Maree about her efforts in writing and publishing her first book, Finding Her Stride, a compilation of 19 New Zealand woman runners and their stories. We also discuss our top tips for hitting the streets in the midst of winter, nerd out about headlamps (well, Matt does). We announce our new competition with The Spectacle, Aotearoa’s newest running festival...