PODCAST · sports
Off The Couch
by BLISTER
Off The Couch is the weekly podcast from BLISTER that's dedicated to the wide, weird, and wonderful world of running. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
-
26.2 TO LIFE: Running, Prison Reform, & Personal Transformation
Does running have the power to transform the prison system? According to the data, it might, and it definitely has the power to ignite personal transformation, as you will see in the remarkable new documentary, 26.2 TO LIFE. Our guest today is Christine Yoo, the director and producer of 26.2 TO...
-
Jason Hardrath & The Rocky Mountain Grand Slam
The Rocky Mountain Grand Slam: it involves summiting 122 peaks and 318,000 feet of elevation gain (the equivalent of summiting Everest 11 times from sea level). And Vuori & Athletic Brewing athlete, Jason Hardrath, recently set a new FKT by completing it in under 40 days. So I caught up with…
more -
Michele Graglia on the Tahoe 200, Walking Away from Racing, & Next Steps
Recently at the Tahoe 200, Michele Graglia found himself in first place with an hour lead. Then he decided to stop running. So why did the former winner of the Moab 240 and Badwater 135 stop? And why, shortly thereafter, did he announce that he would be walking away from racing? Blister founder,...
-
Western States Weekend Recap; Courtney Dauwalter’s Course Record Clinic; & Golden Hour Greatness
The 50th running of the Western States 100 took place over the weekend and delivered on all of the excitement and drama we’ve come to expect from US ultrarunning’s biggest stage. Snowy conditions in the high country weren’t enough to stymy blistering times, including a new women’s course record...
-
Paddy O’Leary on Winning the 112th Dipsea; Trail Running Film Recs; & the Broken Arrow Skyrace
First run in 1905, the Dipsea is the oldest trail race in the US. Its course takes runners from Mill Valley, CA to Stinson Beach, 7.4 miles separated by 700 stairs, shortcuts, thickets of poison oak, technical singletrack, and stretches of trail with nicknames like “Suicide,” “Cardiac,” and...
-
Olivia Amber on Endless Summers; Her Huemul Circuit FKT; & Fastpacking 101
The North Face athlete Olivia Amber is just about to roll into her second summer of 2023. Earlier this year, she set out on a 3-month road trip through South America, running and climbing (and occasionally fly fishing) from Santiago, Chile all the way down to Tierra del Fuego, an archipelago off...
-
Leah Yingling on Lululemon’s FURTHER Initiative, Their New Women-Specific Road-to-Trail Shoe, & Her Western States 100 Expectations
Leah Yingling returns to the show to discuss her partnership with Lululemon and their FURTHER initiative, a first-of-its-kind ultramarathon specifically for women; the brand’s efforts to close the sex and gender data gap in sports medicine that historically underrepresents female athletes;...
-
Mike McKnight on His Record-Setting Cocodona 250 Comeback & Discovering His Potential
Even in a 250-mile race, falling 10 hours behind the leaders is an almost insurmountable gap. Almost. After some electrolyte issues threatened to derail Salomon athlete Mike McKnight’s third attempt at the Cocodona 250 this year, he found himself confronted with a choice: pull the plug and take a...
-
Andrea Sansone and Andrew Hamilton on Tackling Colorado’s Most Coveted FKTs
It’s probably fitting that Andrea Sansone and Andrew Hamilton met at the summit of a Colorado 14er, one of the 58 such peaks in the state that have gone on to help forge their relationship. Though neither considers themselves trail runners, the duo routinely puts up times on popular alpine routes...
-
Sarah Ostaszewski on Winning Round 3 at the Cocodona 250
Sarah Ostaszewski has run the Cocodona 250 all three years of its existence, each go-around shrinking the amount of time it’s taken for her to get from where the race starts just outside of Phoenix, Arizona, to where it ends 250 miles north in the town of Flagstaff. Sarah’s latest attempt on the...
-
Sarah Keyes on Living & Training in the Adirondacks, US Long Distance Team Dreams, & Pastry (Mis)adventures
For the most part, competitive trail running in the US is perceived to bias heavily toward the West Coast, with many of its marquee races and popular training hubs lying left of the Mississippi. This imbalance has stoked a gentle sense of rivalry in trail runners who call the East Coast home, an...
-
Jason Hardrath on Preparing for the Pico de Orizaba Infinity Loop
Last time Jason Hardrath was on Off The Couch he teased a future project that involved a trip down to Mexico, a volcano, and a whole lot of running and climbing, but aside from those hints, gave no major clues as to what exactly he had cooked up. Well, during his spring break from teaching…
more -
Speedland Founders Dave Dombrow and Kevin Fallon On Their Latest Hyper-Performance Trail Shoe, the GS:TAM
Speedland recently released their much anticipated third commission, a hyper-performance trail shoe intended for ultra-length distances, which they call the GS:TAM. So, Matt Mitchell sat down with co-founders Dave Dombrow and Kevin Fallon to catch up on all that’s transpired since their first...
-
Preston Cates on Aid Station Dance Parties, Gas Station Go-To’s, & Redefining His Limits
When Preston Cates popped up on most peoples’ radars with his unexpected 6th place finish at the 2021 Canyons 100k as a 23 year-old, he had a pretty simple motivation driving his young trail running career: to never have to pay for shoes again. Since then, the Boulder, CO native has racked up...
-
Andy Wacker on Creating A Roadmap to Professional Trail Running
“So, how did you get into trail running?” is an evergreen question, one that’s likely to field a variety of interesting and original responses regardless of who you ask. Underlying its premise, though, rests one of the sport’s major shortcomings, at least on the elite level. Up until recently,...
-
Courtney Dauwalter on Building Her Pain Cave, Nacho Connoisseurship, & Running By Feel
As far as superlatives go, there’s little hand wringing about Salomon Athlete Courtney Dauwalter’s standing as one of the best ultrarunners in the world, period. In a sport known for its fickleness, she’s been outright untouchable on the trails for the past two years, riding a 15-race win streak...
-
Corrine Malcolm on Running Media, Barkley Marathons Coverage, & Trail Trend Forecasting
Corrine Malcolm is a true trail multi-hyphenate. In addition to running professionally for adidas TERREX and recently launching her own coaching business, Corrine also covers the sport as a writer, editor, race broadcaster, and podcast host. Matt Mitchell recently sat down with her for a grab bag...
-
Max Romey on “No Lost Shoes,” Nnormal, and Striving for Sustainability in the Footwear Industry
Recycling old running shoes is hard, really hard. The concoction of glues, plastics, fabrics, and foams that go into making each pair can each require their own form of disposal, a drawn out sorting process that’s often as inefficient as it is unrealistic. As a result, every year millions of…
more -
Ryan Scura on "Urban Oasis," Trail Running in San Francisco, and the Importance of Green Spaces in Cities
Ryan Scura and Dylan Ladds have been making movies together since they were both teenagers. What began as a childhood friendship quickly evolved into a creative partnership, culminating in Dooster, the award winning production company they started several years ago. Much of the duo’s work focuses...
-
Anthony Costales on Smashing Course Records, Chasing States, & Sharpening His Competitive Edge
The Black Canyon 100k in Arizona is one of the most competitive ultras in the US. As the penultimate Hoka Golden Ticket Race promising automatic entry into this year’s Western States 100 to the top two female and male finishers, its elite field runs deep, meaning finishing times are often...
-
Francesco Puppi on the Pro Trail Runners Association and the Future of the Sport
Trail running’s evolution from recreational to professional sport has not been without its own share of setbacks, and as often is the case, athletes are the ones most immediately affected by them. Facing the lack of a collective voice to confront these challenges, Nike Athlete Francesco Puppi...
-
Rod Farvard on The North Face’s Athlete Development Program
Newly christened The North Face Athlete, Rod Farvard, returns to the show to talk about the brand’s unique Athlete Development Program, an initiative launched earlier this month to provide 17 young athletes from a multitude of outdoor sports with resources to accelerate their careers and serve as...
-
Jeff Pelletier on Adventure Filmmaking, Storytelling Through Trail Running, & ‘Racing Georgia’
Ultra-distance trail running is a sport ripe for storytelling, something that filmmaker Jeff Pelletier recognized when he first began chronicling his adventures back in 2018. Since then, his background in video production, married with his passion for exploring the world by trail, has produced...
-
Katie Asmuth on Beating the Injury Bug, Mom Strength, & Golden Ticket Season
Running injuries are often talked about in hushed tones, as if mere mention could speak one into existence. While undoubtedly the suckiest part of the sport, they’re also perhaps the most inevitable, so learning how to approach them mentally can make time away from running an opportunity for...
-
John Kelly on Barkley Marathons Lore, Being Uncomfortable Being Comfortable, & Rebuilding Speed
La Sportiva Athlete John Kelly has speculated that one of his weaknesses is that perhaps he’s uncomfortable being comfortable, and one look at his resume sure suggests as much. After trying his hand at triathlon for a few years, a stint that included a few trips to Kona, John found his way into...
-
Jeff Stern on the 2022 UltraRunners of the Year Awards, the Art of Profile Writing, & Covering the Sport as a Pro
We recently talked to Salomon Athlete, Jeff Stern, about racing as an elite while simultaneously covering the trail running landscape in his role as the assistant editor of Ultra Running Magazine, a still independently owned publication that has served as “the voice of the sport” since 1981. Jeff...
-
Abby Hall on Desert Chronicles, UFO Encounters, & Going All In
The high desert of Northern Arizona has been a hotbed for trail running for decades. The combination of altitude, changing topography, and year-round trail access the region affords helps to harden the legs and fortify the lungs. It’s perhaps no coincidence then that since moving to Flagstaff in...
-
Dani Moreno on Stepping Up In Distance, Spearfishing, & Planning for Podiums
As a newly minted thirty-year-old, Dani Moreno has already been racing trails professionally for the better part of a decade. Over the last couple of years, she’s solidified her status as one of the world’s best sub-ultra distance trail runners, a position she’s reached through patience,...
-
Barney “Scout” Mann on the Pacific Crest Trail, “Journeys North,” & the Future of Thru-Hiking
Barney “Scout” Mann has been called “the dean of America’s long-distance trails” and is one of the rare individuals to have conquered the Triple Crown of thru-hiking, successfully completing the 8,000 combined miles of the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide Trails. Each spring for...
-
Jeff Colt on Chasing Western States, the Beats, & Managing Expectations
For On athlete, Jeff Colt, the chase for a coveted spot into Western States had been a multi-year saga fraught with close calls and near misses, that is until a near-perfectly executed run at the Black Canyon 100k in February earned him a Golden Ticket and automatic entry onto one of…
more -
Dr. Anh Bui on Running Resiliently, Strength Training 101, & the Fine Points of Form
Running injuries seem inevitable; almost everyone has a story about being sidelined at some point in their career, either from an acute issue or from general overuse. While no one is completely immune to the stress the sport places on our bodies, there’s plenty we can do to make ourselves more...
-
Ryan Montgomery on Creating an LGBTQ+ Trail Community Through ‘Out Trails’
Ultrarunning is often admired for the strength of its community, a quality that unites runners with a sense of belonging. However, we can always do more to ensure that this feeling of acceptance extends to everyone, regardless of how they identify. As one of our sport’s most vocal advocates for...
-
Jason Hardrath on Deer Collisions, Convoluted Bliss, & Keeping the Dream Alive
We first had Jason Hardrath on the show back in March, before the release of his film, “Journey to 100.” Since then, Jason’s spent much of the summer on tour, hosting screenings in cities across the country. But that hasn’t stopped him from continuing to set some pretty mind-blowing FKTs while…
more -
Matt Seidel on Racing the Oldest Ultramarathon in the US & His Rookie Year Reflections
After placing 4th at the 60th annual JFK 50 Mile, the oldest ultramarathon in the US, Matt Seidel is taking a break. The 26-year-old former D1 runner has finished in the top 6 at every trail race he’s entered this year, a successful rookie campaign that’s included multiple wins and put the rest…
more -
Joe DeMoor on the Sub-Ultra Trail Scene, His Colorado Running Roots, and Riding the Red Line
Joe DeMoor is about as Colorado as they come; he’s from Buena Vista, ran collegiately for the Buffalos at CU Boulder, lives in Carbondale, and works on Aspen Snowmass’s trail crew in the summer and grooms ski runs there in the winter. As a professional mountain runner for La Sportiva, he’s had a...
-
Leah Yingling on Chiang Mai Trails, World Champs, and Running Long for Team USA
After a few months in the field, Off The Couch’s reporter-at-large, Leah Yingling, returns to the show to catch us up on how she rounded out her summer season after a top-10 finish at the Western States 100 back in June. We talk about her experience taking in the scene at UTMB this year, and why...
-
Chef Soraya Smith & CEO Duane Primozich on the Future of Backpacker’s Pantry & Making Adventure Food Sustainably
Backpacker’s Pantry has been family-owned and operated for over 70 years, a legacy that’s as important to the brand’s identity as the gourmet adventure meals they make. While that’s not set to change anytime soon, they recently welcomed a new leader to take the company into its exciting next...
-
Olivia Amber on Ego Trips, Halloween Costumes, & How Not to Die In the Mountains
Since her first appearance on Off The Couch back in 2021, Olivia Amber has switched things up. In addition to joining The North Face’s athlete team as a mountain-ultra runner, Olivia also recently decided to step away from the corporate grind for a bit to double down on investing in herself. So…
more -
Canyon Woodward on “Rural Runners,” Life on the Campaign Trail, and the Value of Showing Up
Canyon Woodward has found success on a few different types of trails over the last few years. In addition to an impressive top-50 finish at the Ultra-Trail Du Mont-Blanc in August, he served as the campaign manager for Maine State Senator Chloe Maxmin’s victorious House & Senate runs in 2018 and...
-
Ted Hesser on “Chains of Habit” & Destigmatizing the Conversation Around Mental Health
As an adventure photographer and videographer, Ted Hesser spends most of his professional life behind the lens, shooting some of the world’s top mountain athletes for major outdoor brands and publications. His eye for capturing dramatic scenes in the high alpine and willingness to immerse himself...
-
David Kilgore talks Pro Trail Teams, On Running, & Leaning Into the Grind
David Kilgore is living the dream. In addition to his role as On Running’s Sports Innovation Manager, David also runs professionally for On himself. As an athlete privy to several sides of the trail running industry, his perspective offers unique insights into the future of the sport as it...
-
Claire Bernard Miller, PT, on Building Strong Feet, Pelvic Floor Health, & Running Injury Free
Running is often praised for its simplicity, but what it requires from the body can be quite complex. As October rolls around, many of us will feel the stress from all those hard summer miles take the form of unexpected aches and pains, which sometimes demand more involved treatment than just…
more -
Victor Diaz on Renegade Running, Representation, & Creating Space for New Communities
Specialty-running stores are seldom just places to buy shoes; as community hubs, they serve as places where runners of all skill levels can gather to learn, connect, and train. In this way, they’re essential to the sport, key landmarks in its growing future. However, the demographics these small...
-
Jennifer Strong McConachie on “Go Far,” Dostoevsky, and the Four Corners of Endurance
As an accomplished endurance athlete who has let ultrarunning, mountaineering, marathon swimming, and more take her around the world, Jennifer Strong McConachie has cultivated a life philosophy informed by principles that have brought her success in competition. Lucky for us, she’s also pretty...
-
Davy Crockett on the History of 100-Milers, Ultrarunning in the 1800s, and the G.O.A.T. Debate
Despite its fast rise from a quirky pastime to budding professional sport, ultrarunning is anything but new; people have been running (or walking) long distances competitively for centuries. Fueled by beer, and usually motivated by a wager or two, these early pioneers helped establish a long...
-
Rod Farvard on UTMB, “Hobby Jogging,” & Making the Transition from Triathlon to the Trails
If Rod Farvard had grown to be a few inches taller, we might be watching him contend for a rebound on the basketball court instead of toeing the line at some of ultrarunning’s biggest races. After his hoop dreams fell short, Rod found trail running by way of triathlon, two sports that rewarded…
more -
Todd Aydelotte on Running Through History, Edgar Allen Poe, & The Warriors UltraRun
Ask ultrarunner and race director Todd Aydelotte for a bit of New York City history and he’ll probably tell you to lace up your running shoes. After injury derailed his marathon training a few years back, Todd traded a competitive approach to the sport for a uniquely historical one. Through…
more -
Travis Soares on Setting the Sierra Peaks Section List FKT
Established in 1955, the Sierra Peaks Section List includes 247 of the most prominent peaks scattered throughout California’s Sierra Nevada Range. Reaching every summit is a lifetime’s work for most, and up until recently, no one had completed the list within a calendar year. Far more complex…
more -
Reviewer Reports: On Running vs. Skiing, Go-to Gear, & Ramen Bombs
With summer in full stride, Matt Mitchell and Drew Kelly sat down to take stock of how their mountain running seasons have played out thus far, including the ways Drew sees his skiing translate to the trails; our tendency to bite off more than we can chew; and gear picks for a big day out in the...
-
Alex Nichols on Coaching College Cross Country, Pikes Peak Streaking, & Beekeeping
Relying on a bunch of college kids to crew you through the Western States 100 might sound misguided, but for trail and ultra runner, Alex Nichols, it’s an important part of team building. After being named the head coach of Colorado College’s cross country program last year, Alex has made a habit...
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Off The Couch have?
Off The Couch currently has 182 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Off The Couch about?
Off The Couch is the weekly podcast from BLISTER that's dedicated to the wide, weird, and wonderful world of running. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How often does Off The Couch release new episodes?
Off The Couch publishes regularly with 182 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Off The Couch?
You can listen to Off The Couch on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Off The Couch?
Off The Couch is created and hosted by BLISTER.
URL copied to clipboard!