Daniel Jones: Reflections On The Journey of a Professional Athlete. Western States, CCC, and Beyond - Dirt Church Radio 295.
Kia Ora e te whānau! Simply put, Daniel Jones is heaps good at running, so good that at the start of the year he transitioned from being an elite runner supported by a brand to being a professional athlete on an international team. Matt spoke to Dan from his home in Lower Hutt, off the back of his first USA and European season as part of the Adidas Terrex team. We discuss Western States, CCC, just how fast the OCC is, the surprises and challenges of being a professional runner, and his deep and abiding relationship with Hayden Hawks. We also discuss Dan’s newsletter, and the arc of the professional career. Dan Jones rules! And so does this conversation. Best Enjoyed Running.
Enjoy!
Music by Andrew McDowall, Digicake
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Merch alert!
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!
$NZ59.99 plus postage and packaging with a discount for DCR AidStation paid subscribers (who can scroll down for the code).
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:
29 October: DCR Live Show and Q&A ft Inia Raumati talking all about his quest to run 8 Races on 8 Continents this year, Small Goods Taproom, Mt Eden, or livestreamed on YouTube (thanks to Runners with Beards). Kick off 7 pm. All proceeds go to Kia Mau, Kia Ora. Tickets here.
December: Matt’s heading back to the mighty Kepler Challenge in Te Anau. Entries open July 6. Don’t miss out!
The Chemistry Of Common Life - The (Un)balance Of The Citizen Athlete
- Matt
The Recent Past
I remember way back in the beginnings of Dirt Church Radio we had the fortune to speak to Ultramarathon Man himself, Dean Karnazes (It was episode 7 if you are keen for a trip down memory lane). Eugene and I were huddled around a single Yeti microphone in Eugene’s kitchen at four in the morning, pinching ourselves at such a huge get so early in our podcast’s life.
-Serious and Balanced Citizen Podcast Athletes-
I’d had the good fortune to interview Dean for print media in the past, so was a little bit familiar with the charismatic, driven, and earnest way that Karnazes spoke. He was, as anyone who has spoken with him, giving us the good stuff, when I asked him a question about balance in his life, and how he maintained that. For a second, the veil slipped, he laughed, and said simply “forget balance, there is no such thing”. Eugene and I looked at each other with wide eyes. The master had spoken. To be it, you have to eat, sleep, and breathe it. Righto.
The Future
Fast-forward six years, 288 more episodes, and a much nicer microphone I found myself infront of another world class runner, like, properly world class. In the form of Dan Jones.
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