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On this episode of the Steep Stuff Podcast, we sit down with trail and mountain running legend Max King!

A force across multiple disciplines, Max has built an incredible career spanning trail running, mountain running, ultrarunning, and obstacle course racing. We dive into his journey through the sport, the experiences that have shaped him as an athlete, and the mindset required to compete at the highest level across so many different racing formats.

From training and racing to longevity in the sport and the evolution...

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On this episode of the Steep Stuff Podcast, we sit down with Mason Coppi, runner-up at the 2026 WMRA Défi des Couleurs Final!

We dive into Mason’s journey in the mountain running scene, his performance on the international stage, and what it takes to compete against some of the best mountain runners in the world. From training and race-day strategy to the mindset required to perform when it matters most, Mason shares insights into his approach to the sport and what’s next on his running journ...

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The Steep Stuff Podcast | Erin Moyer — WMRA World Cup Final Recap

On this episode of The Steep Stuff Podcast, James Lauriello sits down with Erin Moyer following an impressive performance at the Défi des Couleurs, the WMRA World Cup Final! Erin secured 3rd place in the Uphill and 5th place in the Classic, capping off a standout showing against an international field of mountain running talent.

We dive into her experience racing at the WMRA Final, the challenges of competing in both uphill and cla...

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🇨🇦 Remi Leroux | 2026 Canadian Mountain Running & Vertical Champion

On this episode of the Steep Stuff Podcast, we sit down with Remi Leroux, the 2026 Canadian Mountain Running Champion, Vertical Champion & Quebec Provincial Champion to talk all things mountain running, racing, and the journey to the top of the Canadian scene.

We dive into Remi’s path to becoming a national champion, the preparation and mindset required to compete at the highest level, and the challenges that come with racing on steep, technical mountain terrain. We also discuss his approach to train...

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Dylan Flewelling | 2026 USATF 50K Champion | Steep Stuff Podcast

On this episode of the Steep Stuff Podcast, we sit down with Dylan Flewelling, the 2026 USATF 50K Champion!

We dive into Dylan’s journey to the top of the American ultra running scene, breaking down his championship performance, the preparation behind racing 50 kilometers at an elite level, and the mindset required to compete against the best in the country. We also discuss his approach to training, racing strategy, and what it takes to find success as a competitive distance ru...

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The Défi des Couleurs is in the books! 🌈⛰️ On this episode of the Steep Stuff Podcast, we’re breaking down all the action with our post-race reactions, analysis, and takeaways from one of the most exciting challenges in mountain running.

We dive into the biggest storylines, standout performances, surprises, and defining moments from race day. Who delivered when it mattered most? Which results caught us off guard? And what can we take away from the racing and performances?

From the athletes who rose to the occasion to the mom...

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Alex King, Founder of Terignōta | The Business of Making Trail Running More Accessible

Alex King is back on the Steep Stuff Podcast! One year after our first conversation, Alex returns to share how life has changed as the founder of Terignōta, the trail running apparel brand challenging the industry’s traditional approach to pricing, marketing, and product development.

We catch up on Terignōta’s rapid growth, the realities of building a business from the ground up, and the rollercoaster of running an independent brand. Alex pu...

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Rick Webb — 2026 Pikes Peak Doubler Champion

What does it take to run up Pikes Peak, turn around the next day, and do it all over again?

Rick Webb just found out.

Fresh off winning the 2026 Pikes Peak Doubler, Rick joins The Steep Stuff Podcast to break down one of the most unique challenges in mountain running — completing both the Pikes Peak Ascent and Pikes Peak Marathon in the same weekend. Rick finished the two races in a combined 7:54:59, earning the overall Doubler title.

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A single gear text from a mountain guide sparked a bigger question: why do the most trusted people in the outdoors drive so many purchases and earn nothing from it? We sit down with Hunter Macy, founder and CEO of Rendezvous, to unpack how that moment turned into a platform built for trail running gear recommendations, athlete monetization, and brand partnership management all in one place.

We get specific about the athlete side: building a profile that reflects what you actually use, earning from authentic recommendations without living in your DMs...

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A last minute race entry. A season stitched together from recovery. A mindset that refuses to let results decide your worth. James L’Oriello sits down with mountain runner and endurance athlete Hillary Allen for a wide ranging conversation that starts with a literal tide mishap on a bike in California and quickly climbs into the real terrain: returning to hard efforts after injury, trusting your body again, and finding joy in the grind of uphill racing. 

We talk Vertical Kilometer racing, power hiking, and why stacking events like Run The Rut...

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Something wild happens when a runner stops chasing “perfect” and starts chasing what they actually love. Casey Campbell is living proof. Casey joins us to unpack his late-season shift toward uphill racing, including a breakout day at the Broken Arrow Ascent that surprised even him, and the training choices that helped it happen. We talk uphill specificity, winter Nordic skiing as strength-building cross training, and why Bend, Oregon is one of the best all-around places in the U.S. to train for mountain running thanks to its mix of Cascades climbs, high desert terr...

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A 47-mile pacing shift on a record attempt would be a season highlight for most runners, and Noah Disot treated it like another valuable day in the mountains. Fresh off crewing and pacing Joe McConaughy on a John Muir Trail (JMT) effort, Noah joins us ahead of North Bend Trailfest to talk about what he learned from nonstop movement, staying on top of nutrition, and keeping the vibe positive when the work gets long and messy. 

We also dig into the Pacific Northwest trail running scene and why the Seattle area d...

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Race week exposes everything: what you’ve built, what you’ve ignored, and what actually holds up when the course turns steep. We’re joined by Dustin Mullaney, defending North Bend Trail Fest champion, to talk through the reality of racing often, recovering from monster efforts like The Rut, and why a condensed stretch of competition can feel like a cross-country season with a “never-ending taper.” If you’re trying to balance fitness, fatigue, and injury history, this conversation gets honest fast.

We also go deep on why the Cascades and Western Wash...

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A hundred-mile podium doesn’t happen by accident, and Matt Zupan doesn’t chalk it up to luck. From a quiet start in Missouri to finding his stride in the Reno and Truckee trail running scene, Matt tells the full story of how community, mountain obsession, and steady habits shape the runner he is now, including a breakthrough day at the Leadville 100.

We talk through the Sierra Nevada pull that keeps bringing him back, from the John Muir Trail to big linkups and the kind of off-trail scrambling that tests more than...

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Something breaks in an athlete’s season, and the story usually gets edited into a neat comeback. We do the opposite here. Matt Daniels talks with us in real time about the messy middle: a divorce, an unexpected mold exposure that kept making him sick after travel, and the slow process of feeling like a normal human again. From there, we map how he’s rebuilding toward Run Rabbit Run, including what changed once he brought on CTS coach Cliff Pittman and started treating long-distance development as a craft, not a gamble.

...

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Winning Pikes Peak isn’t just about fitness, it’s about decisions you make when your lungs are burning, your stomach is turning, and the mountain keeps asking for more. I sit down with Chrissy fresh off her Pikes Peak Marathon win to replay the day from the first miles on Barr Trail to the long, lonely stretches above treeline where you don’t get feedback from the pack, you only get truth from your own pacing.

We talk about the tactical side of mountain racing: why the W’s can ruin you...

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Ten tries at Pikes Peak can either break you or build you. Our guest Darren Thomas shows exactly what it looks like when it builds you, turning a decade of near-misses into a 2026 Pikes Peak Marathon win that’s equal parts patience, craft, and pure downhill grit. We talk through the emotions of finally getting the hometown title, the weird whiplash of flying home and going straight back to work, and why “post-race depression” gets easier to manage when you return to real life quickly. 

Then we get into the race breakdo...

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A new 100-mile race is coming to the Catskill Mountains, and it’s not pulling any punches. Amy Kohler, race director at The Running Kind, joins us to reveal the Catskill 100, a technical Northeast ultra marathon that leans hard into steep climbs, rocky descents, and true backcountry vibes. Think Devil’s Path brutality up front, big mountain linkups across the range, and more than 27,000 feet of vert that won’t feel “easy” for a single step. If you’ve ever felt like the Catskills get overlooked in mountain running conversations, this one makes the argument...

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Pikes Peak week has a way of making every runner take stock: what am I chasing, and what’s actually worth it when the climb gets real? I sit down with Will, a full-time high school English teacher and developing mountain runner, to talk about the years-long build behind “overnight” progress and why the best performances usually come from a love of the work, not a fear of the result. We trace his path from the Pacific Northwest to Western Colorado University in Gunnison, where day-to-day trail miles with a stacked crew helped shape...

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One mountain, nearly a century of stories, and a finish line that keeps moving further into the clouds. We sit down to unpack the deep history of the Pikes Peak Marathon and Pikes Peak Ascent, from its early ascent roots to the moment it becomes one of the most competitive mountain running events in the United States.

We talk about how the race really starts taking shape, including the strange early “smokers vs non-smokers” era, the legends who helped define what was possible, and the athletes whose names deserve to be reme...

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She didn’t just beat a record on Mount Kilimanjaro, she rewrote what “supported speed” can look like at 19,000 feet. Aaron Ton joins us fresh off a massive double: new supported ascent and supported round-trip Fastest Known Times on Kilimanjaro, plus an honest look at the parts that felt smooth and the part that nearly derailed everything when altitude slammed her around 15,000 feet.

We get into the real build behind a big mountain FKT: stacking altitude in Colorado, grabbing a fast acclimation bump in Ecuador near Quito, then navigating Tanzania logistics where...

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She called it a “bonus race,” showed up with no pressure, and walked away with one of the biggest wins of her career. Marie Nive joins me right after UTMB week to unpack what it felt like to win ETC, why that result matters for mountain running, and how she reframes nerves when the stakes get loud. We talk about the specific thing she wanted to fix from last year, technical downhills, and why confidence comes from solving real race problems rather than trying to “feel ready.”

We also go behind the scen...

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A skimo World Cup podium is rare. Coming back after an ACL and meniscus tear, then surviving a major shoulder injury right after, is even rarer. We sit down with Cam Smith to talk about what it really takes to rebuild your body and your confidence when momentum gets ripped away and the biggest goal is still out there: qualifying for the 2026 Winter Olympics (Milano Cortina) in ski mountaineering. 

Cam walks us from Rockford, Illinois to Western Colorado University’s Mountain Sports program, then into the Crested Butte skimo scene that hel...

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A mountain town, a brutally steep VK, and a trail festival that’s trying to feel like a hometown party instead of a corporate expo. We’re joined by Joe McConaughey, ultrarunner, coach, and race director of North Bend Trailfest, to break down why Mount Si delivers one of the most compelling short-course mountain running tests in the Pacific Northwest and why that matters for the future of sub-ultra racing.

We talk course specifics and what you actually get when you show up: a Mount Si Vertical Kilometer that hits sustained stee...

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A lot of runners dream about a breakthrough season. Adam Joland is living one, and he’s honest about how messy it looks from the inside. Right after a standout run at Sierre-Zinal and a strong Golden Trail campaign, we sit down to dissect what actually went right: keeping the monster climb under control, staying mentally present for the whole race, and learning how to race with confidence instead of just hanging on and hoping. If you follow mountain running, Golden Trail World Series racing, or just love hearing how elite athletes problem-solve in...

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Mason Copi just came off a win at Cirque Series Alta, and what stood out to us wasn’t only the speed it was the optimism. We talk right after the race about the course, the steep Baldy descent, and why feeling “locked in” can look like smiling, waving, and actually enjoying the chaos.

From there we zoom out into Mason’s full arc: Southern California roots, a nationally competitive high school program, Division I running at Furman, and the moment the sport started to feel like self-worth instead of sport. Mason sh...

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He just set a Grand Teton FKT, but what grabbed me most wasn’t the time on the clock. It was the way Michelino “Mike” Sanseri thinks about mountains, suffering, joy, and what it actually takes to become dangerous on a start line without losing yourself along the way.

We talk about how a single run on the Teton Crest Trail and a moment on Hurricane Pass pushed him to leave Tahoe and move to Teton Valley, why trails always felt like home, and why college running on roads and flat paths...

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A hip that might not cooperate. A course that’s basically a slip-and-slide. A start line you’re not even sure you’ll stand on. Then somehow… you find yourself racing at the front anyway. That’s the headspace Allie Mack brings us into right after earning another Team USA spot with a hard-fought third place at a gnarly mountain running qualifier. It’s her eighth team since 2014, and she explains why it somehow feels more special now than it did early on, especially as the U.S. trail running and mountain running depth keeps...

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Winning world titles is hard. Getting told you are “fine” for 18 months while your body is clearly breaking down might be harder. We sit down with Grayson Murphy to talk through the parts of elite mountain running that rarely get said out loud: identity, sponsorship pressure, health uncertainty, and the behind-the-scenes work it takes to keep showing up.

Grayson opens up about her Crohn’s disease diagnosis and the long, frustrating path to getting answers, including how repeated dismissal can wreck an athlete’s ability to trust their own body signals. We also...

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UTMB week brings out the most honest kind of sports conversation: we have a stacked start list, a million storylines, and almost no certainty once the race hits the high climbs and the long night. Nick Tusa joins me for a focused UTMB and CCC preview where we argue through the men’s and women’s fields, call our shots, and explain what we think actually decides Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc when everyone is fit.

On the men’s side, we dig into the big questions around Jim Walmsley and Kilian Jornet lining...

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UTMB week has a way of making trail running feel bigger than sport. The streets of Chamonix fill up, legends stroll past like it’s normal, and suddenly a 60K like OCC feels like the center of the universe. We’re back with Nick Tusa to break down why this year’s OCC field looks so deep, how the course changes keep reshaping the short trail world, and why tactics matter as much as fitness when everyone’s fast.

We dig into the men’s side with a real focus on decision-m...

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Chamonix does something to your brain. You land, look up at the peaks, and suddenly every run feels like it should be longer, harder, and higher. We sit down with Noah Williams to talk through the reality of preparing for OCC when the terrain is unreal, the field is stacked, and the smartest move might be holding back even when your legs feel electric.

We get into the nuts and bolts of mountain running performance: adapting from Leadville altitude to lower-oxygen-cost running, why that “superhuman” feeling can still destroy your quads, and...

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Sierre Zinal doesn’t hand out gifts, and neither does a season that starts with a stress reaction, rolls into a posterior tib strain, and then keeps whispering from an irritated Achilles. We sit down with Christian Allen fresh off a huge European stretch to talk about what finally clicked, how he stayed consistent enough to stack results, and why his best racing shows up when he resists the urge to force the day early.

We get specific about the realities of pro trail running training: when to shut things down, wh...

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A 15K can feel longer than a 100K when the course is straight up, straight down, and the field is absolutely loaded. We’re fired up for ETC in Courmayeur during UTMB week, and we’re treating it like what it’s becoming: a legitimate proving ground for mountain running specialists who live for steep climbs, fast singletrack, and fearless descents.

We dig into what makes ETC unique, starting with the course math that matters: 15K with roughly 1200 meters of gain, a big first climb, a dip, a second push to the hi...

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Mont Blanc in the background has a way of rewriting your definition of “normal.” We’re checking in with Taylor Stack from Chamonix as UTMB week starts to buzz, and he shares what it feels like to train in a place where even the “easy” routes quietly stack thousands of feet of vertical gain.

We talk about the practical reality of Alpine trail running versus Colorado mountain running: bigger relief from a lower start, fewer truly flat miles, and terrain that can surprise you even when the map looks friendly. Taylor also gets...

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A race where the “course” is more like a suggestion sounds fun right up until you’re waist-deep in a peat bog, freezing, and trying to decide which ridge will get you to the next checkpoint fastest. That’s the world of UK fell running, and Finlay Grant joins us to explain why it creates a uniquely durable kind of mountain athlete. 

We talk about Finlay’s path from school cross-country into fell running, then onto the European skyrunning scene, including his build toward ETC and the longer skyraces on his calendar. H...