It's the dawn of a new era for Dirt Church Radio
Even more interesting conversations with interesting runners ...
The Trail Continues On … And It’s Only Getting Better …
“Why..don’t..we…start..a…podcast?” With those gasped words in the middle of a trail run, Dirt Church Radio was born. Eugene and I had been talking about our love of the podcast medium forever and I’d been speaking about wanting to start one, but it was Eugene who laid down the challenge to actually stop overthinking and start doing. Two weeks later, with one mic, and no idea, we’d wrangled a guest and recorded a (still unreleased) pilot. We were off.
Launching Dirt Church Radio on Wednesday July 18th, 2018, with Tarawera Ultra founder Paul Charteris, was a dream come true. We couldn’t believe anyone would actually want to talk to us. We named the podcast Dirt Church Radio for the dual reasons that there was no way to wrangle the words “trail” “ultra” and “podcast” into a sensible name — there was already a bunch of internationals with that combo on lock — but also that we thought we would be the soundtrack to our friend group messenger name “The Dirt Church”. We could not have anticipated the level of interest, engagement, and support. We still can’t.
Over the last five years Dirt Church Radio has given us the opportunity to do just what we set out to do — have Interesting Conversations with Interesting Runners. From the brightest stars of our sport to the local good sorts, every conversation that we’ve had has enhanced our knowledge or led to a greater understanding. It has been an emotional process, with us running the gamut of tears of laughter to tears of sadness and empathy. The Greatest Run Ever segment of the show has been a highlight for us. From the person who (literally) ran across someone attempting to take their own life, to the woman who told us that she refloated a dolphin on her run. We’ve thought we’ve heard it all. And yet, we are continually surprised each fortnight at the amazing experiences you share with us.
One of the best things about Dirt Church Radio is the loyal and diverse community that’s sprung up around us. And over those five years, this has continued to grow and change, because let’s face it, in today’s 30-second-attention-span world, five years might as well be an eternity. Just as Eugene and my lives have changed over the last half decade (yes, we still talk most days and yes, we still run together nearly every week) what Dirt Church Radio is, and was, has changed too.
Which brings us to our new weekly newsletter, and Substack. Just as with running, when we talk about audacious goals, so it is with Dirt Church Radio. We’ve got some things in the pipeline we are beyond stoked about, and we want to continue to foster and grow the amazing community that supports us. We want bigger reach, more features, and the chance to communicate with you all in different ways.
If you’d like to support us with a monthly (or yearly) subscription, you’ll receive full access to the newsletter, with new features including Greatest Trail Ever, the DCR Book Club (yup, we are those nerds), and The Stoke.
We are most excited about offering the new DCR AidStation podcast to our paid subscribers. The AidStation podcast will come out alternate weeks to the Dirt Church Radio podcast. The Aid Station will be Eugene and I, with the occasional guest, discussing the hot topics in the trail and ultra running world.
One thing we remain sure of is that the Dirt Church Radio podcast will always be free. So even if you sign up to our weekly newsletter as a free subscriber, you will receive the fortnightly podcast direct to your inbox, the show notes and links from the episode, and a bit of a ramble from us about what we’re thinking about.
And if you just want to keep listening to the podcast on your regular podcast platform like you always have — no worries! You can keep doing that too.
So here we are five years down the trail, laced up and ready to head into the hills and see what new adventures await. We’d love to have you all along for the run, because as we all know, the best days on the dirt are those that are shared with others, swapping stories, and having a grand old time. — Matt
Okay, on with the show …
Dirt Church Radio 260: David Haunschmidt - Life Is Short, So Live it.
When David Haunschmidt was racing his brothers over the beaches of Westray in the Orkney Islands, he never dreamed that his life would one day take him to New Zealand and near to the top of his sport. Starting trail running in 2018 as a means of expediency (I mean, hey you can still see all the things, but just in less time), David has proven himself to be one of the most consistently high-performing trail athletes we have, with a slew of wins and podiums to his name. Notably, he’s won the Tarawera Ultra Trail 50km in a course record time, and is the current European Full Distance Xterra champion. Most notably though, David is super nice, engaging, humble, and with a refreshingly simple (which, we note is different from easy) approach to training and wellbeing. David also serves his community as an emergency medicine specialist. Eugene and Matt speak to David about all this, how he manages to juggle a busy work and training life, and the little 1%ers on the latest episode of Dirt Church Radio. Best Enjoyed Running.
For January, all our content will be free, but after that you’ll need to be a paid subscriber to get the good sauce … like what you’ll see below, plus the DCR AidStation podcast which debuts next week!
Greatest Trail Ever
We’re nothing if not consistent. Greatest Run Ever is one of our best loved segments of the pod, so we thought we’d branch out and introduce GREATEST TRAIL EVER. You know the drill, it doesn’t have to be a mountain summit or the most epic single track ever, it’s a piece of nature that sings to you for some reason. Send us a picture, and directions (or not, if you don’t want to blow up your spot) with a couple of sentences on why you love it so much and what makes it your Greatest Trail Ever to dirtchurchradio@gmail.com and we’ll share it in the newsletter. Or drop it in the comments (subscribers only).
For the inaugural Greatest Trail Ever I’m nominating Gucci, the trail that enters Riverhead Forest from the village itself. I can’t remember how many times I’ve run this trail, but I’ve run this trail with friends, alone, in the best of spirits, and in the worst. This trail has lead me to having some of the best runs of my life, and the worst. It’s changed a tonne over the years, and is always a grunt, but it has been my gateway to freedom for the last 10 years and this is why it’s my Greatest Trail Ever. — Matt
Bucket List Races
What: I’m not saying this just because Queen Ruth Croft has bullied us relentlessly over the years about not having run this race … but for me, the first choice has to be Old Ghost Ultra. More than 2600m of vert as you make your way over the 85km Old Ghost Road, with magical views and history. Everyone who has run it raves about it. It's soon to come off our bucket list - we’re on the start list this year. — Eugene
Where: Westport, West Coast, South Island, NZ.
What’s your Bucket List Race? Tell us what, where and why and we’ll share it in the newsletter - dirtchurchradio@gmail.com or in the comments (subscribers only).
DCR Book Club
Gosh, where to begin? We’ve spoken about having a DCR Book Club/Recommended Reading list for so, so long that there’s a stack of books higher than Mont Blanc to choose from. So many classics come to mind! But at the risk of being accused of recency-bias, I’m going with “Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts”, by Josie Shapiro. The subtitle gives a clue: “How far would you go to achieve your dreams?” The story’s main character, Mickey Bloom, discovers the freedom and power that can come with running, which Shapiro describes deliciously. But then Mickey encounters confronting challenges and issues that really call into question her relationship with running. We follow our hero as she deals with this, then rediscovers her love for this sport. It’s sometimes not easy reading, and it’s both a love-story about running and a lament. But you’ll draw a lot from it, and enjoy the writing, I’m sure. — Eugene
Got a favourite running book? Tell us what it is, who it’s by and why you love it and we’ll share it in the newsletter - dirtchurchradio@gmail.com or in the comments.
And, finally … The Stoke
At DCR we do love a bit of gear, but hadn’t considered ever starting a fire with a flash light and a packet of chewing gum like Xander Budnick did. Check out Xander’s other videos, where he goes into the great lakes of Canada on multi-day adventures on foot or via canoe. Perfect for an unwind after a weekend long run. — Matt
We talked about this at the DCR Xmas live show special but in case you missed it, you really should sign up for Bradley Houghton’s Trail Running NZ weekly newsletter. I know from experience that extracting legible results from race websites can be a nightmare, so I’m astonished at the job he does to keep on top of the Kiwi trail scene. — Eugene
If nothing else I have my finger on the pulse circa two years ago but Rocky from Further Faster recommended these Mountain King Carbon Skyrunner poles to us at Kepler a while back and I finally got around to purchasing some myself a couple weeks ago. I was impressed by how light, strong, and (importantly) simple these poles are. They’ll be my go-to for some big adventures I’ve got planned in 2024. — Matt
(Second this - used them at Tarawera Miler in 2020 and they were saviours! — Eugene)
Pile started off as the solo project of Rick Macquire, then morphed into one of the most critically acclaimed bands in modern independent music. Beloved by many, including Anton Krupicka, Pile have just released their new Hot Air Balloon EP on Exploding in Sound. — Matt
Wanna catch the reo Māori waka (canoe)? A good place to start is with Stacey Morrison’s Up to Speed podcast where she teaches you simple phrases and pronunciation in short, easy-to-follow episodes. Will you be standing on the marae delivering a whaikōrero by the end? Kāo - no. But you’ll certainly be much-better equipped to feel confident giving this beautiful language of Aotearoa a go. Karawhiua! (Go for it!) — Eugene