The Steep Stuff Podcast
All Things Trail, Mountain & Sky Running
Episodes
379 episodes
Most Replayed Episode: Grayson Murphy, 2X Mountain Running World Champion
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:...
BONUS Episode - UTMB Predictions with Nick Tusa
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 p...
UTMB OCC Race Companion with Nick Tusa
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 dow...
Noah Williams - Pre UTMB OCC Interview
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 i...
Christian "Slim" Allen - Pre UTMB OCC Interview
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 Europe...
UTMB ETC Race Companion with Rachel Tomajczyk
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 grou...
Taylor Stack - Pre UTMB ETC Interview
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 qu...
Finlay Grant - Pre UTMB ETC Interview
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 Finl...
Sydney Petersen - Pre UTMB ETC Interview
Chamonix has a way of making trail running feel like the center of the universe, and Sydney Peterson is soaking it up while she can. After stacking a string of brutally competitive European races, she joins me for a catch-up from the Alps where...
Sam Lewis - Pre UTMB ETC Interview
A hamstring injury doesn’t just take away fitness. It can mess with your confidence, your decision-making, and even your ability to trust basic sensations like a cramp. Sam Lewis joins us from the Chamonix area to talk about the messy middle of...
#192 - Kirsty Skye Dickson
A 3:05 at Sierre-Zinal and a Mont Blanc Marathon 23K podium is the kind of season that usually comes with “full-time pro” stamped on it. Kirsty Sky Dixon is doing it while working full-time as an orthodontist in Scotland, and the way she thinks...
Most Replayed Episode: Joseph Gray, Mountain Running’s Greatest of all Time
The mountain running GOAT label sounds shiny until you hear what it demands day after day. Joseph Gray joins us for a wide-ranging, no-fluff talk about winning at the highest level, staying motivated deep into a long career, and how he handles ...
#191 - Tyler Andrews, FKT Holder - Mount Everest
One decision on Everest can erase years of work, and Tyler Andrews knows that better than most. After six failed summit pushes and three straight Everest seasons, he finally threads the needle and sets a blistering speed record, then comes home...
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#190 - Abby Bennett, The Journey Back From Hip Labrum Surgery
A “clean” MRI can still leave you limping, doubting yourself, and stuck in the worst kind of uncertainty: pain without answers. James sits down with Abby Bennett for a candid, detailed update on her long road to a hip labral repair and what she...
Daniel Antonioli & Beñat Albisu, Pre Beast of Big Creek Interview
They just landed in Seattle, they’ve barely had time to shake out their legs, and they’re already thinking about one thing: how a U.S. sky race will feel compared to the European skyrunning circuit. We sit down with Daniel Daniel Antonioli &...
Jackson Cole, Pre Beast of Big Creek Interview
A mountain race where the “trail” turns into a real cliff scramble, a town that treats race weekend like a holiday, and a new skyrace in Washington that might finally feel like Europe without the altitude excuse. We sit down with Jackson Cole f...
Josh Potvin, Pre Beast of Big Creek Interview
A fast sky race can look simple on paper until you add singletrack bottlenecks, an out-and-back with traffic, and a technical finish that punishes sloppy footwork. We sit down with Canadian trail runner Josh Potvin for a quick, focused catch-up...
Kalie McCrystal, Pre Beast of Big Creek Interview
A technical FKT at home can be more than a big day out. For Kalie McCrystal, it’s a proving ground for the skills that matter when the terrain gets steep, exposed, and unforgiving, and a stepping stone toward bigger goals like the Matterhorn sp...
Carmen Pelar Graves, Pre Beast of Big Creek Interview
The fastest way to fall back in love with running might be to become a beginner again. Carmen Graves knows what it feels like to chase mastery: high school sprinter, college soccer and track standout, then a decade-long professional grind in th...
Mercedes Siegle-Gaither, Pre Beast of Big Creek Interview
A course can look “runnable” and still scare you a little. That’s exactly why Beast of Big Creek is so intriguing, and why I brought back Mercedes Siegle-Gaither for a tight, honest pre-race chat. She’d just been on the route previewing and tra...
#189 - Mathias Eichler, RD - Beast of Big Creek
Two weeks before a race, the glamor disappears and the real work shows up: shipping cutoffs, permit conversations, course marking decisions, and an inbox that never stops. We sit down with race director Mathias Eichler to talk about what it tak...
#188 - Bayden Menton Joins the Trail House
A 5K with nearly 3,000 feet of gain, a choose-your-own-line climb, and a descent that’s basically controlled chaos. Bayden Menton joins me right after a huge Mount Marathon performance to break down what it actually feels like to race one of th...
