The Steep Stuff Podcast
Most Replayed Episode: Matt Daniels
Send us Fan Mail 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. We also get into the side of trail running most people only whisper about, the business. Matt shares how working with an agent takes the stress out of negotiations, why brand alignment matters more as you get older, and how athlete media is becoming a real second lane. That naturally leads to the Boulder Boys Show: how it started as friends talking on long runs, why honesty resonates, and what joining Jonathan Levitt’s collective could mean for exposure and sponsorship opportunities. Fueling is the performance thread that ties it together. Matt explains why nutrition has been his limiter in ultras and how Hyperlight’s simple, high-carb approach helps him train his gut for 100 miles. We trade stories on Sierre-Zinal and Zegama, then zoom out to the future of professional trail running: UTMB’s gravity, why the Olympics might be the wrong fit, how prize money and media rights could shape athlete pay, and why anti-doping conversations are only getting louder. If you care about ultramarathon training, sponsorship reality, and where trail running is headed next, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a running friend, and leave a rating and review so more people can find the show. Use code SteepStuff for 20% your cart on Sidas.us Follow James on IG - @jameslauriello Follow the Steep Stuff Podcast on IG - @steepstuff_pod Follow Sidas USA on IG - @sidas_usa
