405 | Mikey Kratzer, New Balance & Run Culture

The Grand Canyon is known as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. We visited and can confirm that this is truly a special place. Hear from Dirt Division reviewers Matt and Taylor about their day in the canyon celebrating the launch of the Mount to Coast BITR H1. They chat about the experience, gear, and people that made the adventure.

This week, we dive into the fascinating trend of Gen Z ditching alcohol and break down the big sponsor news of Clayton Young's move to Brooks. On the running front, it was a massive week for American records: Emma Grace Hurley officially beat Deena Kastor's 21-year-old 8K mark. Later in the show, we get into some shoe talk with the Mount to Coast C1 and 361 Miro Nude 2.SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSSOAROnly for Drop listeners, SOAR is giving away $300 in gear and apparel to TWO lucky winners. Their apparel is the best in the industry and their 1-Month Guarantee allows you to shop with total peace of mind – run for 1 month in your new apparel – test it in full – and if you’re still not satisfied you can return it, used, for a full refund. No questions asked. Ship worldwide, with all orders delivered direct-to-the-customer without any additional duties or taxes – no post-checkout surprises. Orders over $180 ship FREE. Enter the giveaway here: https://www.soarrunning.com/blogs/news/the-dropLMNTDid you know? LMNT Sparkling comes in a 12 oz slim can with four refreshing flavors: Pineapple Salt, Black Cherry Salt, Lemonade Salt, and Orange Salt, and they’re now available online! These tasty slim cans deliver 500 mg sodium, 100 mg potassium, and 30 mg magnesium. ​Get your free 8-count LMNT Sample Pack with any purchase: https://drinklmnt.com/thedrop

Taylor is fresh off the plane from San Francisco where he spent the weekend with the Salomon crew at the Big Alta. Alex and Taylor mull over the weekend and determine whether this is an event to check out in future years. Then, they have a quick chat about a shoe that has been a staple in Taylor's return to running over the last three months, the Salomon Aero Glide 4 GRVL.Guest: Grayson Murphy is a world champion trail runner who is also competing at the highest level on the roads. Taylor and Grayson discuss her exciting new chapters with Salomon and as a mom in her third trimester of pregnancy.SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSLMNT: Slim cans are our life, right now. It contains half of the original LMNT recipe with 500mg of sodium and adds some bubbles to the mix. If you prefer the original packets, we do too. You'll be getting 1,000 mg of sodium plus other key electrolytes that will restore balance to your life after any hard effort. You'll also get an 8-count LMNT Sample Pack with any purchase, so don't miss out: http://drinklmnt.com/dirtdivision

Thomas interviews Jeff Metzdorff of Mill City Running.

This week, Thomas sits down with Karl, our Media Coordinator, to talk through his origin story.SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSSOAROnly for Drop listeners, SOAR is giving away $300 in gear and apparel to TWO lucky winners. Their apparel is the best in the industry and their 1-Month Guarantee allows you to shop with total peace of mind – run for 1 month in your new apparel – test it in full – and if you’re still not satisfied you can return it, used, for a full refund. No questions asked. Ship worldwide, with all orders delivered direct-to-the-customer without any additional duties or taxes – no post-checkout surprises. Orders over $180 ship FREE. Enter the giveaway here: https://www.soarrunning.com/blogs/news/the-dropSWIFTWICKYou already know that Swiftwick makes our favorite socks for running, from training to race day. We wear them pretty much every day, whether it's the Flite XT crew or the low cut no-show. Get yourself ready for the new year and save 15% off your first purchase with code BELIEVE15: https://swiftwick.com

The crew is back to their normal shenani’s and reminisced on the olden days. They discuss some of the trends that were popular when they started running.Guest: Kevin Benes is the founder and owner of Running Wild Events in Estes Park, Co. He and Taylor talk about his history in running, his array of quirky events, why running is currently sitting in the back seat, and some of his favorite trail shoes of all time.

Meg is back from Los Angeles where she wrapped up the grand finale of the ASICS LA 100, a 16-week journey that culminated with one hundred women running the LA Marathon on International Women's Day. It was quite the weekend, to say the least. We also cover some thoughts on the Adidas Hyperboost Edge, a controversial design but with an undeniably great feeling underfoot.Also– Monday is the official pre-sale date of the Mount to Coast H1 BITR! Pick it up here: https://mounttocoast.com/products/bitr-h1SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSSOAROnly for Drop listeners, SOAR is giving away $300 in gear and apparel to TWO lucky winners. Their apparel is the best in the industry and their 1-Month Guarantee allows you to shop with total peace of mind – run for 1 month in your new apparel – test it in full – and if you’re still not satisfied you can return it, used, for a full refund. No questions asked. Ship worldwide, with all orders delivered direct-to-the-customer without any additional duties or taxes – no post-checkout surprises. Orders over $180 ship FREE. Enter the giveaway here: https://www.soarrunning.com/blogs/news/the-dropLMNTDid you know? LMNT Sparkling comes in a 12 oz slim can with four refreshing flavors: Pineapple Salt, Black Cherry Salt, Lemonade Salt, and Orange Salt, and they’re now available online! These tasty slim cans deliver 500 mg sodium, 100 mg potassium, and 30 mg magnesium. Get your free 8-count LMNT Sample Pack with any purchase: drinklmnt.com/thedrop

Reese, Alex, and Taylor talk about a hodgepodge of topics ranging from their current training, wearing headphones, and running with underwear. They eventually get around to initial thoughts about Arc'teryx race shoe, the Sylan 2.Guest: Dylan Bowman is, perhaps, trail running's Ambassador Supreme. His life and business revolve around the sport he loves. He is also stepping into a new season as an athlete who gets to choose his training, races, and gear. Dylan and Taylor chat about all of this and more.SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSLMNTSlim cans are our life, right now. It contains half of the original LMNT recipe with 500 mg of sodium and adds some bubbles to the mix. If you prefer the original packets, we do too. You'll be getting 1,000 mg of sodium plus other key electrolytes that will restore balance to your life after any hard effort. You'll also get an 8-count LMNT Sample Pack with any purchase, so don't miss out: https://drinklmnt.com/dirtdivision

Thomas and Karl are back from South Korea, where they got an up-close look at the all-new On Lightspray factory, full of droids producing a whole army's worth of running footwear. They cover the entire trip while Robbe defends Spirit Airlines to the death and Meg gives a preview of her upcoming weekend with ASICS and the Los Angeles Marathon 100 Women Challenge. Thomas also drops the deets on the upcoming Mount to Coast BITR H1 release.SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSSOAROnly for Drop listeners, SOAR is giving away $300 in gear and apparel to TWO lucky winners. Their apparel is the best in the industry and their 1-Month Guarantee allows you to shop with total peace of mind – run for 1 month in your new apparel – test it in full – and if you’re still not satisfied you can return it, used, for a full refund. No questions asked. Ship worldwide, with all orders delivered direct-to-the-customer without any additional duties or taxes – no post-checkout surprises. Orders over $180 ship FREE. Enter the giveaway here: https://www.soarrunning.com/blogs/news/the-dropSWIFTWICKYou already know that Swiftwick makes our favorite socks for running, from training to race day. We wear them pretty much every day, whether it's the Flite XT crew or the low cut no-show. Get yourself ready for the new year and save 15% off your first purchase with code BELIEVE15: https://swiftwick.comINDEX6:12 - USATF Half Marathon Champs Women Debacle17:36 - Busan21:52 - Shakeout run first 30:08 - On Factory (just follow the convo and plug in b-roll) 53:00 - Tokyo Marathon1:04:55 - Spirit Airlines 1:13:00 - Nate Bargatze1:15:55 - Meg’s LA Marathon 100 Women Challenge1:25:35 - Newport News Marathon 1:26:25 - BITR x MTC H1 Presale

The Dirt Division has reviewers around the country. This week we chat about the “art” of reviewing. Hear about our approach to building a profile and our opinions about each shoe we review.Guest: Max King has had a long illustrative career in trail running, and it continues with the support of Kailas Fuga. Most recently he took on the challenge of the Barkley Marathons.SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!LMNTSlim cans are our life, right now. It contains half of the original LMNT recipe with 500mg of sodium and adds some bubbles to the mix. If you prefer the original packets, we do too. You'll be getting 1,000 mg of sodium plus other key electrolytes that will restore balance to your life after any hard effort. You'll also get an 8-count LMNT Sample Pack with any purchase, so don't miss out: http://drinklmnt.com/dirtdivision