Michael Sutton - Ain’t No Mountain High Enough | Dirt Church Radio 349

 Kia ora e te whānau. We’re baaaaack and beyond excited to bring to you Matt’s conversation with the most excellent Michael Sutton. The words “mountain,” “trail” and “ultramarathon” are somewhat interchangeable in the lexicon of the outdoors-themed pursuit. Michael Sutton, however, is the real deal. A 6 x NZ representing, 4:28 Mile running, Steeple chasing, sub three minute per km Mountain Machine. Matt goes to school with Michael and gets all the lore and in-and-outs about what sets the mountain apart from the trail in this most epic facet of our sport. Dirt Church Radio. Excellent Stuff.Dirt Church Radio – Best Enjoyed Running.--- --- --- Episode Links Michael Sutton Instagram Michael Sutton Substack Merrell NZApair Store The Physio Collective The Recovery Hub Sign up for the DCR AidStation newsletterThe Squadrun 4-Week Training Trial for DCR Listeners!Dirt Church Radio on InstagramDirt Church Radio on FacebookFurther Faster New ZealandEnjoy!Music by Andrew McDowall, Digicake

 Kia ora e te whānau. Best laid plans and all that…We had a bumper episode lined up for you this week, with a lot of stuff to talk about, and an amazing GRE, that was even before we got to Andrew’s conversation with the mighty Helene Barron. Annoying story short, our entire episode got zoinked by the AWS outage. Perfect. So please enjoy this distilled episode of DCR, with the one and only Helene Barron, elite trail athlete, high-performance physiotherapist, coach, mother, wife, sister, friend, and legend. The trail exploits are but a small part of Helene’s story, as she has recently gone through a two-year battle with tongue cancer. Andrew talks with Helene about overcoming this most serious challenge, and a whole to more on this episode of Dirt Church Radio. Excellent Stuff.Dirt Church Radio – Best Enjoyed Running.--- --- --- Episode Links Helene Barron Instagram Sign up for the DCR AidStation newsletterThe Squadrun 4-Week Training Trial for DCR Listeners!Dirt Church Radio on InstagramDirt Church Radio on FacebookFurther Faster New ZealandEnjoy!Music by Andrew McDowall, Digicake

Kia ora e te whānau.Even by our standards, this episode of the DCR AidStation is a lot. Future Andrew makes a record number of appearances to preface, foreshadow, recommend, and otherwise act as a lexographical zamboni for Ali and Matt (we all know it is mainly Matt). From last week’s epic Taupō Ultramarathon and some interviews Ali conducted whilst running, crewing, and slapping fives, to a lively debate about what is worse for you, port-a-loo stained grabbers sliding into nasty communal chippies for 100km vs drinking some beer out of a shoe. I guess everyone has a hill they will die on, and we are no different. We discuss being broken up with at a Swedish Wedding, Matt discusses his upcoming pacing duties at the Muriwai Half Marathon, and Andrew and Shaggy Redfern ran 100km through the Waitākere Ranges last Friday because, of course they did. We discuss crewing, why you should always say hi, and whether to yap it up or lock it in at your next big event.Excellent stuff.Dirt Church Radio – Best Enjoyed Running.--- --- ---Episode LinksSign up for the DCR AidStation newsletterThe Squadrun 4-Week Training Trial for DCR Listeners!Dirt Church Radio on InstagramDirt Church Radio on FacebookFurther Faster New ZealandEnjoy!Music by Andrew McDowall, Digicake

Kia ora e te whānau. Did we compare Tanya Carroll to The Lorax in the title? Maybe. Is Tanya Carroll worthy of such an accolade? Yep. Tanya is for the trails. Having run over 100 trail events and over 45 ultra marathons, including 10 Ultra Trail Australia 100s and a couple of UTMBs (not to mention a stack of other amazing results). Tanya is currently the Oceania  Operations Manager for Ironman Trail events, bringing her years of passion and expertise as a participant to the biggest stages. Tanya is legit. She’ll go the extra mile for race participants no matter what (listen to her Birthday story) and in her free time volunteers as the operations manager for the Six Foot Track Marathon, one of the most storied grassroots events in Australasia. Ali Pottinger and Matt Rayment speak to this absolute legend of a human being about her start in the sport, her journey to ultras, and beyond. Excellent Stuff.Dirt Church Radio – Best Enjoyed Running.--- --- --- Episode Links Tanya Carroll on Instagram Six Foot Track MarathonUltra-Trail Australia Tarawera Ultra-Trail Ultra Trail Kosciuzsko Sign up for the DCR AidStation newsletterThe Squadrun 4-Week Training Trial for DCR Listeners!Dirt Church Radio on InstagramDirt Church Radio on FacebookFurther Faster New ZealandEnjoy!Music by Andrew McDowall, Digicake

Kia ora e te whānau.We had a particularly nice time on this week’s AidStation podcast, celebrating one year of Ali and Andrew jumping on board. Matt had the opportunity to ask them a mix of longer-form and quick-fire style questions about the last 12 months, and what they were looking forward to in the next 12 months and beyond.If you are after an under-the-hood look at what makes the two “new” co-hosts of Dirt Church Radio tick, then dive in. Plus, Andrew from the future grabs interviews with 24 Hours of Blue Lake RD, Sarah Sunshine, and Sue Hunter.Excellent stuff.Dirt Church Radio – Best Enjoyed Running.--- --- ---Episode LinksSign up for the DCR AidStation newsletterThe Squadrun 4-Week Training Trial for DCR Listeners!Dirt Church Radio on InstagramDirt Church Radio on FacebookFurther Faster New ZealandEnjoy!Music by Andrew McDowall, Digicake

Kia ora e te whānau. James Inwood is no stranger to challenge. The Greytown runner has completed numerous ultramarathons, including the infamous Coast to Kosci; however, nothing could have prepared him for the challenge of Badwater 135. 217 kilometers of road from Death Valley Basin, finishing on the road to Mount Whitney, the race starts at the lowest point in the contiguous USA and ends on the road to the highest. Brutal temperatures, tight cut-offs, massive crew requirements, and a finishing list that includes the legends of our sport- the Badwater 135 is an ultimate test of endurance. Andrew McDowall spoke to James Inwood about what it takes to undertake and complete such a massive undertaking. They discuss the training, the journey, and the cost of one of the most legendary races ever. Excellent stuff.Dirt Church Radio – Best Enjoyed Running.--- --- ---Episode LinksAlzheimer’s Wairarapa Sign up for the DCR AidStation newsletterThe Squadrun 4-Week Training Trial for DCR Listeners!Dirt Church Radio on InstagramDirt Church Radio on FacebookFurther Faster New ZealandEnjoy!Music by Andrew McDowall, Digicake

Kia ora e te whānau. Mistakes were made. The first of many in this week’s episode of the AidStation was Andrew McDowall describing Matt as having a “water off a duck’s back” mentality. This is not true. Especially when the water is the wider response to the Joyline Chepgnego doping saga.That water really sank in. The duck was soaked. . Ali, Andrew, and Matt discuss this thorny issue and where responsibility for supporting athletes accused of doping sits, and is the response from sponsors and the wider bodies in the sport is up to scratch. Furthermore, do the systems that drive these athletes to chase greater riches and fame provide adequate support and guidance to avoid potential pitfalls? This (of course) leads to a conversation about why Andrew would race David Bain in a half-marathon and not Lance Armstrong. Do age group wins count? How long could a post-race funk reasonably extend?  What even is Sunnyvale Baked Bean Syndrome? We touch on how running can be as much of an addiction as the next thing, and how being lubed for bear in civilian clothes when your plans change quickly feels in some way subversive.. As a parting thought,  there is some comfort in that we were probably never going to get sponsored by Salomon anyway. Also, check out our show notes for a great article in iRunFar on the subject written by Eszter Horanyi.Excellent stuff.Dirt Church Radio – Best Enjoyed Running.--- --- --- Episode Links IrunFar Article on ChepgnegoSign up for the DCR AidStation newsletterThe Squadrun 4-Week Training Trial for DCR Listeners!Dirt Church Radio on InstagramDirt Church Radio on FacebookFurther Faster New ZealandEnjoy!Music by Andrew McDowall, Digicake

 Kia ora e te whānau.This week, Ali Pottinger speaks with elite ultra runner and physician Justin Grunewald. Fresh off a second-place finish at the Leadville 100, Justin talks to Ali about managing his life as a parent and doctor when his wife, Amanda Basham (DCR 311) is also an elite runner. Justin’s story is intertwined with the loss of his first wife, Gabe Grunewald, to a rare form of cancer in 2019. Ali and Justin talk about living with grief, the Brave Like Gabe foundation, and how this continues to shape his life and his work. This is a beautiful conversation, and Justin’s perspective on living one’s life fully, engaged in the present, whilst holding appropriate space for the past, is one that needs to be heard. Dirt Church Radio – Best Enjoyed Running.--- --- --- Episode Links Justin Grunewald on Instagram Brave Like Gabe AltraSign up for the DCR AidStation newsletterThe Squadrun 4-Week Training Trial for DCR Listeners!Dirt Church Radio on InstagramDirt Church Radio on FacebookFurther Faster New ZealandEnjoy!Music by Andrew McDowall, Digicake

 Kia ora e te whānau. We make no bones about it. Dirt Church Radio is, was, and always will be Ruth Croft Positive. Over the (at least) 7 times Croft has appeared on DCR, there has always been one constant- a focus on moving forward. Ruth is on par with the best to take the gig, a wonderful human being, and an asset to our sport. The only criminal element? You aren’t going to hear about her on the news back in little old NZ, which is probably how she likes it. So if you aren’t in the mood for three grown adults being just a bit stoked about Ruth’s win at UTMB, then turn away now. Of course there’s more to the AidStation than us speaking about the fact that RUTH CROFT WON UTMB (ahem), we touch on among other things, How much is too much when it comes to race coverage,  that F%$king kelpie dog, AMCD’s war on pacers (for the elites), why are there (comparatively) no women at UTMB, bung eye, panic attacks, and the madness of the Crush The Cargill 200 miler.  Excellent stuff.Dirt Church Radio – Best Enjoyed Running.--- --- --- Episode Links Sign up for the DCR AidStation newsletterThe Squadrun 4-Week Training Trial for DCR Listeners!Dirt Church Radio on InstagramDirt Church Radio on FacebookFurther Faster New ZealandEnjoy!Music by Andrew McDowall, Digicake

Kia ora e te whānau.This week, Ali Pottinger and Matt Rayment speak to Sean Conway, the Zimbabwe-born, UK-based endurance adventurer whose life has been one long refusal to do things by halves. Sean’s palmarès reads like a dare whispered at closing time: cycling around the world, swimming the length of Great Britain, running across it, and then becoming the first person to complete a length-of-Britain triathlon. He’s broken the world record for the most Ironman triathlons completed on consecutive days, and carved out a niche as one of the great eccentrics of adventure sport— with his signature beard and being, as he puts it, part-terrier part-monkey. Whether he’s towing logs up mountains, riding Penny Farthings for charity, running the London Marathon dressed as Big Ben or pushing the boundaries of human endurance, Sean’s mission has always been the same: inspire others to dream bigger, be braver, and live a little wilderDirt Church Radio – Best Enjoyed Running.--- --- ---Episode LinksSean Conway HomeSean Conway Instagram Sign up for the DCR AidStation newsletterThe Squadrun 4-Week Training Trial for DCR Listeners!Dirt Church Radio on InstagramDirt Church Radio on FacebookFurther Faster New ZealandEnjoy!Music by Andrew McDowall, Digicake