Kia ora e te whanāu. Please join Matt in welcoming the new co-hosts of Dirt Church Radio, Ali Pottinger and Andrew McDowall. Both have been regulars on DCR for some time now, so it should be little surprise that Matt would reach out to them to join him in the next chapter of Aotearoa’s third favourite forest-based running podcast. Both bring a wealth of experience to the table, are community-minded, and love a good yarn. This is going to be sweet-as. This week we learn a bit about Ali and Andrew’s backstory, what they are excited about, the races they’ve run, and their upcoming jaunts to the Snowy Mountains. Ali and Matt are heartened that Andrew may just be human after all, how much it sucks to run a marathon, and why Andrew would even need microspikes to run Coast to Kosci, he’s an Aucklander. Dirt Church Radio - Best Enjoyed Running
Enjoy!
Music by Andrew McDowall, Digicake
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Rep your 3rd favourite trail and ultra marathon podcast whilst keeping cool and breezy in this technical trucker hat. Pleasing woodland vista, and one size fits most. Out now!
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Available from the DCR website
Our mates at Squadrun have come up with a special four week training trial for listeners of DCR. Now as you’ll know from listening to DCR over the years, Squadrun is the baby of Kerry Suter and Ali Pottinger, and they have coached thousands of runners to success at a bunch of events we love and cherish and if you’ve been to any trail races on either side of the Tasman you’ll have seen the squadrun colours being represented strongly. So, if you want to give it a crack, here’s the link.
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Where we’re headed:
22nd November: Ali and Andrew will be respectively crewing and running the mighty Coast To Kosci 240km ultra
27-30th November: Matt and Ali will be part of the commentary team at Ultra Trail Kosciuszko
December: Matt’s heading back to the mighty Kepler Challenge in Te Anau. Entries open July 6. Don’t miss out!
Essay
They Say The Classics Never Go Out Of Style, But They Do. Somehow Baby, I Never Thought That We’d Do Too.
Matt
40,000- odd words ago in the first essay of the DCR Substack I said the following -
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.
Although I didn’t know it at the time I believe in the literary business this is known as “foreshadowing” - a device used to hint or allude to future plot developments.
Six years is a long time to do anything. Especially live in each other’s back pockets putting on a weekly podcast, excluding the global spiciness of the early 20’s and the impact this had on almost everything.
Annoyingly enough it wasn’t a pandemic, global strife, or anything grand that precipitated the biggest change in the six years of Dirt Church Radio. It was the simple rubbing of a tendon on bone.
That isn’t my story to tell. That’s Eugene’s. And if you missed it, the announcement he wrote about it is here.
For my part, I’ll say this. You can support someone’s decision, understand why they are making it, and rationally see the many benefits of that decision, but you don’t have to like it. And I don’t.
But what I do like is Eugene, and putting myself in his shoes I would have made the same choice.
In June, when he sat me down to talk about “succession planning” it felt surreal. Initially, the choice was very clear. Dirt Church Radio was done. I couldn’t imagine doing this with anyone else but Eugene, and frankly, the nature of what the change to DCR and my life would bring terrified me.
Like with almost everything in life two things can be true at the same time, and writing this seems ridiculous, but it was like being broken up with. And the major thought was “I’m too old to start again”.
Three things changed my mind about continuing with DCR.
ONE
I hit my head in July 10km into the 46km WUU2K. It’s been a nearly four-month recovery from that. Now the only lingering after-effect is holes in my short-term memory you could drive a truck through, it certainly put things into perspective: Nothing is permanent, and you should take every opportunity to do the things you love.
TWO
The other thing that affected my desire to finish the race, which I did, was that for the last six years, I’ve been “One of those Dirt Church Radio guys” and I didn’t want to be “The guy from Dirt Church Radio That DNF’ed WUU2k”.
I’m still “The guy from Dirt Church Radio that had to take a helicopter that one time”. Being “one of the guys from Dirt Church Radio” is an important and useful part of my identity that I’m not done with yet.
THREE
Going to Australia for the Firies Climb For MND in September holding on to the thought that we were finishing up and then experiencing the enthusiasm and support that Dirt Church Radio has gained over the six years was a turning point. I would be lying if I said we were “Doing it for the kids” but seeing that DCR has a place in the trail and ultrarunning community certainly made me re-think my decision. The privilege to advocate issues, such as research into Motor Neuron Disease is also something that DCR has held very close.
So I’m excited. You are going to see some changes, and lots will stay the same (like wholesale stealing punk rock lyrics for essay titles). One thing is clear though, I can’t do this by myself. And so I’m bringing some friends along for the ride, and I’m so stoked that Ali Pottinger and Andrew McDowall have jumped on.
I’m very clear that the main thing that I want to achieve is not to sully what Eugene and I have built, I mean, he’s not DEAD, he’s just down the road, but you get what I mean. And, I mean he’s still my best mate, I hope that in the future he will play a part in what DCR is going forward.
As always. Thank you for being involved in the Dirt Church Radio story. We couldn’t and wouldn’t do this without your support and engagement. We appreciate it, and like any ultra, although we’ve encountered something unexpected, there is no way we are dropping out, see you at the finish.
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