Dirt Church Radio Trail Running

This week, it’s Ali, Andrew, and Matt rolling as the power trio we are, without an interview, because we wanted to cover something important and increasingly on people’s minds. 

This started with a response to a Yaboyscottjurek post, where he’d come up with slogans for various personalities in the ultra world, including the race director of an ultra-ultra distance race, with “you wouldn’t want it to be affordable, would you?” on their cap. Matt saw this, laughed, nodded, and moved on with his life, but a listener tagged us and the Freetrail podcast in the post a...

This week is all about Western States. The history, the myths and legends, and how Ali, Andrew, and Matt first got drawn into the orbit of this incredible race. Andrew, who ran the bloody thing in 2024, confirms that the hype is indeed justified and talks us through the ins and outs of the iconic course. We have interviews with Caitlin Fielder, Holly Ranson, and Lachlan Colbatch, all of whom are toeing the line on Saturday.  Above and beyond all this, we discuss Matt’s wildlife encounter on the weekend, how NZ is a village, discuss the future of the WSE...

Kia ora e te whānau. This week, we bring you a double header of epic proportions. First, you’ll hear the 2026 Ultra Trail Australia Women in Trail panel. This episode features elite trail runners Beth McKenzie, Charlie Simpson, Lydia O’Donnell, and Olympian triathlete Sophie Linn. Next, Ali speaks to Dr. Pelle Kempe, a specialist Obstetrician and Gynaecologist based in Palmerston North. He is the Medical Lead for the Obstetrics and Gynaecology service at Palmerston North Hospital. Dr. Kempe also serves as Chair of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. A passionate trail runne...

This week is a tribute to togetherness that running can bring us. Ali, Andrew, and Matt celebrate the experience of heading out for a run with your mates, be it a marathon relay, a Denny’s Marathon, or a Coast to Coast to Coast. We explore (literally) some of the cool places you can get to in a city on foot. We salute and welcome Freden, Auckland’s new maunga-based running activity, and reveal our fondness for the ephemera collected post-race, and the memories they hold. We get sub-niche, learn that Fela Kuti’s mum was tough as all get ou...

Kia ora e te whānau. Ian Sharman is a straight-up Legend in the sport of ultramarathon running. A Coach and Athlete hailing from the Golden Age, before 4K cameras in everyone’s pockets and when fans had to pass around a pirated copy of Unbreakable, Sharman and his kin were like trail gods, foreshadowing and inspiring the current crop of legends and doing things us regular people could only imagine, and we had to, because it was before the great trailrunning media bubble formed. Starting DCR 8 years ago after growing up in the sport, listening to Shaman on Tra...

This week, Ali, Matt, and Andrew get philosophical:  if an influencer were to influence the woods and no one were around, would anyone GRWM? We take a shot at amateur doping (and why this sucks), and share our undying admiration for the NZ 24-hour championship team. We address some of the curliest issues afflicting trail running in the 21st century. While we are at it, why is Andrew so calm? It worries us when he goes all Zen. Should you date runners, even if you are one?  Is this a slippery slope? Does time count in the airport lounge?  How...

Kia ora e te whānau. We ran away and joined the circus. And it was cool as hell. No, not that dork-fest in the desert, but a true example of community and fellowship at the 2026 Hoka Ultra Trail Australia by UTMB. These are incredible four days in the majesty of the Blue Mountains. Ali and Matt were privileged to lead a brilliant conversation with some of the biggest talents in Trail and Ultra Running on Friday, after the first of our live shows was rained off. We speak with Beth McKenzie, Ruth Croft, Dan Jones, and two-time Leadville c...

We’ve had some big weeks in the running world. With some incredible performances and a new normal being established across the board, from 42.2 to 250 miles. Ali, Andrew, and Matt are here for it, and we have some questions as well. Is our sport, and the big tent that it has become, lost some of its sparkle, its unpredictability, its wonder? Now, every elite performance must surely hinge on the 1%ers. 

When is too much too much? Have accomplishment and performance been superseded by attention? Are races now cults of personality driven by an allegiance to race dir...

Kia ora e te whānau. Who is excited for UTA? Gosh, we certainly are. This week, Join Ali and Matt as they preview the elite fields in the miler, 100km, 50km, and 22km events at Ultra Trail Australia, as well as answer those last-minute questions that athletes have when staring an event like this in the face. This year, we’ve decided to do things a little differently, and Ali speaks with Ian ‘easy’ Meyer- one of the foundations of the course marking team, and event stalwart- to dive into the details of the course, what to expect, and the...

We’re not going to lie, there was a lot on the docket this week, and boy did Ali, Andrew, and Matt rip through it. 

We, the aforementioned, declare that Tamaki is now the distance-running capital of Aotearoa. And also that it is “mad nice” (Friedland, 2026). We charge that big companies should stop doing things that make them look like dicks, and that the Boston thing was sort of okay, and also we wonder if that dude that Jurek helped across the line at Western States ever got a sympathy cougar. READ THE RULES, PEOPLE.

Attendi...

Way back in 2023, when Eugene and Matt first spoke to Matt Bixley (on DCR 228 if you are interested), they were impressed not only by the attention he paid to detail in planning his adventures, the scope of the adventures - 18 Keplers (at the time) , a Barkley Marathons, a million rogaines, and an astounding back story, but the sheer ability of the man to spin a great yarn.  

Fast forward a couple of years, and we find out that not much has changed. Settle in for round two with Matt, this time with DCR’s Andrew McDowall. There’s bee...

Goodness me, we got through a bit on the Aidstation this week. From hard choices to boners (Yes, you read correctly). Better mental health and running strategies you can use every day. Paying to pace? yep, we go there too, and yep, Backyards aren't dead. Also, most importantly,  I know, it’s not Mack or Mac, it’s Mc, as in McDowall, but goshdarnit, Andrew is back, and we’re all the better for it. Did we mention boners?  Excellent stuff.

Dirt Church Radio – Best Enjoyed Running.

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Kia ora e te whānau. This week, Ali Pottinger chats with Annie Hand, fresh off her second-place finish at the Six Foot Track Marathon. Hand, a Blue Mountain stalwart, completed the Ultra Trail Australia Miler in 2025 and is off for a lap of Mount Blanc in 2026. Annie and Ali talk about performance, Annie’s abiding love of the Blue Mountains, and the pleasant surprise of ending up on podiums in this excellent conversation you won’t want to miss. Also, don’t miss out on our Greatest Run Ever this week, a brotherly battle at the Delerious West.  Also, we...

The Tussock Traverse and/or the Ring of Fire is an event that you must do. 100%. 

We can’t really jazz it up more than that. If you like a unique mountain-running adventure that is both a grassroots event and offers the most incredible scenery, and world-class trails. After a tough couple of years, 2026 saw the event organisers putting it all on the line again. Ali and Matt run through the weekend and all the experiences therein, including a two-part tale of one of the greatest sporting battles of the last two decades.  excellent stuff.

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Kia ora e te whānau. Paula Griffin is among the many professional athletes we’ve spoken to over the years who have pivoted from their original sport to trail running. Paula Griffin is the first professional netballer we’ve had on the podcast, so that’s really something. Paula speaks to Ali Pottinger about her life in professional netball (including becoming a Silver Fern), her pivot to MMA (of course), and then, after a circuitous route through motherhood and partnership, onto the trails, where she found her passion for this wonderful sport and inspiration to support other mums who lov...

I don’t know, man. What’s in a name after all? We’re lucky enough that Matt’s youngest daughter isn’t called Skipper or Queenie (both names he went in hard for). Trying to decipher the lore behind a trail name is hard enough, right? This week on the AidStation, Matt and Ali talk about everything. From monetizing gravel  *spoiler alert* Don’t do it! Salomon, we’re looking at you, to the end of the world, headlamps, hot bois, hot girls, trail crushes, and when is it too soon (or too late) to call a course change?? The Ai...

Kia ora e te whānau. In our sport, we often hear stories of when people found trail running. Seldom do we hear of moments where trail running found us. Jack Harris was, as he tells it, going through a bit of a hard time, and one day decided to go for a hike along the Routeburn Track. By happy circumstance, that hike coincided with the running of the annual Routeburn trail run.  It would be neater, if not less fulfilling, to fall back on some trope like “the rest is history”. And whilst it’s true that history is happe...

On this week’s AidStation, we have a most excellent conversation about the LoopHer relay in Riverhead, a 3, 6, or 12-hour female-only relay. We talk about the upcoming Tussock Traverse and Ring of Fire, and our unreasonable excitement to be involved. We discuss the chase for the Western States Endurance Run and whether the field should be deeper. Is there a place for a Sportiv-style event? Or should we leave it exactly how it is? We talk about how much is too much to tell your coach, and Matt shares an epic tale of woe that spanned 32 hours, time in th...

Kia ora e te whānau. This episode has been a long time coming. DCR has been wanting to get down to the mighty Old Ghost Ultra for years, and this year, Ali P made it happen. The stoke is evident in her retelling of the event. If that isn’t enough, we’ve got interviews with Race Founder and 2026 participant Phil Rossiter, Mr. Original Ben Kepes, Third-place runner Sarah Kearns, and iRunFar founder Mr. Bryon Powell. Brilliant Stuff.   Dirt Church Radio—Best Enjoyed Running.

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