The 2026 Blue Lake Special | DCR AidStation 062

This weekend was about love. Love of the trails, Love of the sport, Love of grassroots events (Yes, CTC, we mean you too) and love of the people who dream up these foolhardy endeavours. Long story short, we all ran a bunch of loops of Blue Lake, and it ruled. We did a tonne of interviews, and they were great too. It all got very Scottish. Give it a hoon. All this and more at the AidStation.Dirt Church Radio – Best Enjoyed Running.--- --- ---Episode LinksBlue Lake 24 HoursSign up for the DCR AidStation newsletter and never miss an episode! Join us today.Dirt Church Radio on InstagramDirt Church Radio on FacebookFurther Faster New ZealandEnjoy!Music and editing by Andrew McDowall, Digicake

The boundaries between what is possible and what was once thought impossible are crumbling by the day. This is especially true in the ultra space. This week, Ali and Andrew speak to the mighty Katharina Hartmuth about her journey to Tor des Géants, and what she hoped to achieve before her incredible, emphatic win.  Pragmatic, driven and engaging, Katharina has delivered some incredible performances in the past, including the record on the Bob Graham Round. The gang discusses all this and more, including how to navigate injuries and unexpected events during races, such as losing her vision at Hardrock. This is an incredible conversation with an incredible athlete. We hope you enjoy it.Dirt Church Radio – Best Enjoyed Running.--- --- ---Episode LinksKatharina Hartmuth InstagramHokaLeki TrailrunningSuuntoSign up for the DCR AidStation newsletter and never miss an episode! Join us today.Dirt Church Radio on InstagramDirt Church Radio on FacebookFurther Faster New ZealandThe SpectacleEnjoy!Music and editing by Andrew McDowall, Digicake

Look, we’ve lately taken to welcoming the heat death of the universe, or a comet, to rid us of the continued madness of the ultrasphere. Our dudes, it’s getting bad. We’re in a hectic headspace, and we’re here to chat shit. What’s that alternative to the Sweeny-ness of it all? Can you have your OnlyFans and eat it too? (Sorry). Why is golf? WHILE WE ARE AT IT, what is the furthest you’ve ever walked? And why, as older runners, must we be cognizant that whatever residual strength we had warps and fades? On the positive, we (Matt) love Jeff Garmire and encourage you all to watch his new film. We are also unreasonably excited to all be at 24 hours of Blue Lake next weekend. Circling back to the top, and speaking of chatting shit, is it ever okay if the train goes to brown-town to keep pushing on to your goals, literally and figuratively? All this and more at the AidStation.Dirt Church Radio – Best Enjoyed Running.--- --- ---Episode LinksRewritten | Attempting the Appalachian TrailSign up for the DCR AidStation newsletter and never miss an episode! Join us today.Dirt Church Radio on InstagramDirt Church Radio on FacebookFurther Faster New ZealandEnjoy!Music and editing by Andrew McDowall, Digicake

All we are is a collection of stories. As hard as we may try, we scream a narrative. It seeps from our pores. Everything speaks, from our genetics to our blood markers; our history written for us, and the history we make ourselves. We became who we are by telling stories, and at the end of the day, all any of us really want is that sense of excitement, understanding, and connection that a story gives us. Who then, is better to have on the pod this week than Roger Hanney? Ali and Matt speak to Roger about his journey and how being diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic in his early thirties altered the course of his life trajectory and led him to tackle some of the wildest ultra marathons in the world, through to the business of running with Hoka and, later, Mount to Coast. Brilliant, funny, poignant, and wise. This is an excellent yarn, and we hope you enjoy it.Dirt Church Radio – Best Enjoyed Running.--- --- ---Episode LinksRoger Hanney InstagramRoger Hanney WritingMount to CoastSign up for the DCR AidStation newsletter and never miss an episode! Join us today.Dirt Church Radio on InstagramDirt Church Radio on FacebookFurther Faster New ZealandEnjoy!Music and editing by Andrew McDowall, Digicake

Community gets bandied around too much these days. Everything is a community, even though around us our worlds get smaller, our networks become increasingly online, and our horizons narrow. Even accounting for our jaundiced views, this weekend was a true display of what community can and should be. MND sucks; this has been established. The fight that people like Professor Dominic Rowe, Gavin Clifton, Matt Pridham, and others are waging against this disease, and the advocacy for the community affected by it, are staggering. There are lots of serious discussions in this podcast; however, there is also lightness, hope, humour, and fun. Please enjoy our conversations with the aforementioned above, plus Rob Philpott, Fionn Curran, Sarah Jenkins, and current Firies Climb course record holder Jess. Dirt Church Radio – Best Enjoyed Running.--- --- ---Episode LinksFiries Climb For MNDSign up for the DCR AidStation newsletter and never miss an episode! Join us today.Dirt Church Radio on InstagramDirt Church Radio on FacebookFurther Faster New ZealandEnjoy!Music and editing by Andrew McDowall, Digicake

This week we’re delighted to welcome returning DCR champion Jeff Browning, one of our OG guests, featured in episode 10 waaaaay back in 2018. Ali and Matt speak to Jeff about his amazing career and how, since 2018, he’s continued to move forward, smash races, and roll with the punches. Fresh off an age-group record at Western States and looking towards TDS, Jeff was in fine form. This conversation covers his storied racing career, how his coaching philosophy has evolved as he’s aged, the sport's evolution, what inspires him, and what keeps him moving forward. This is an incredible conversation with one of the true legends of our sport, and we hope you enjoy it. Dirt Church Radio – Best Enjoyed Running.--- --- ---Episode LinksJeff Browning CoachingJeff Browning InstagramJeff Browning YouTubeKEENUltrAspireInjinjiSign up for the DCR AidStation newsletter and never miss an episode! Join us today.Dirt Church Radio on InstagramDirt Church Radio on FacebookFurther Faster New ZealandEnjoy!Music by Andrew McDowall, Digicake

This week, Ali and Matt stock the AidStation with all the goodness you need. We have a very special conversation with Gavin Clifton, one of the leading voices for the Firies Climb for (against) MND. We are so excited to be joining this amazing event for the second time and look forward to being there in The Blue Mountains next week. Then we hit on the totally non-complicated and 100% non-minefield of engaging in trail and ultramarathon with a member of the opposite sex who is not your partner. From simple fun and mateship to a situation fraught with trust issues. Should you run with your mates of the opposite sex, and if not, why not? Where do you stand on this issue? We’d love to hear from you. Dirt Church Radio – Best Enjoyed Running.--- --- ---Episode LinksFiries Climb For MNDSign up for the DCR AidStation newsletter and never miss an episode! Join us today.Dirt Church Radio on InstagramDirt Church Radio on FacebookFurther Faster New ZealandEnjoy!Music by Andrew McDowall, Digicake

In this special bonus podcast, Ali Pottinger talks to Sophie Woods about her incredible 28-day, 17-hour, 59-minute Via Alpina FKT. This is a very special conversation, and we hope you enjoy it. Dirt Church Radio – Best Enjoyed Running.--- --- ---Episode LinksSophie Woods InstagramSophie Woods DCR episode 101La SportivaSign up for the DCR AidStation newsletter and never miss an episode! Join us today.Dirt Church Radio on InstagramDirt Church Radio on FacebookFurther Faster New ZealandEnjoy!Music and editing by Andrew McDowall, Digicake

The Champ is back! This week, Ali and Andrew have the pleasure of speaking to Lucy Bartholomew. It’s strange to call someone as young as Lucy a veteran of the sport; however, with her years of racing experience at the highest levels, that’s just what Lucy is. Fresh off her Brisbane Marathon win and her stunning second place at Laverado. Lucy talks us through her continued evolution in the sport, what she has learned this season, and her goals for the latter half of the year. It’s not lost on us the privilege of having an athlete of Lucy’s caliber being a return guest, and we are stoked to bring you this chat.  We hope you enjoy it. Dirt Church Radio – Best Enjoyed Running.--- --- ---Episode LinksLucy Bartholomew InstagramSalomon RunningShokzIneos GrenadierJulboGarminSign up for the DCR AidStation newsletter and never miss an episode! Join us today.Dirt Church Radio on InstagramDirt Church Radio on FacebookFurther Faster New ZealandEnjoy!Music by Andrew McDowall, Digicake

There is a lot to be exercised within the ultrasphere if you let it. Clickbait, AI Slop, and the rules-don’t-apply-to-me of it all. I mean, are races just about the livestream now? And how does it feel to be in a place where attention, and not performance, is the main driving factor? On the other hand, have you been for a run on the trails lately? We did, and can confirm it’s still AWESOME. What about all the beauty, pain, and noble folly of this sport? What about Carmen Maria Perez, Max Joliffe, and those Badwater CRs falling? How good is it that there is still no substitute for hard work? It’s okay to be mediocre at something you love. And why not try adding a kilometre a day or 100m vert a day? For a month or so, because you can? Because you have free will. How about you did it and didn’t talk about it (much)? Surely that, above all else, is staring into the pulsing void of the algorithm and raising a solitary single digit?  All this and more at the DCR AidStation.Dirt Church Radio – Best Enjoyed Running.--- --- ---Episode LinksSign up for the DCR AidStation newsletter and never miss an episode. Join us today.Dirt Church Radio on InstagramDirt Church Radio on FacebookFurther Faster New ZealandEnjoy!Music and editing by Andrew McDowall, Digicake