Shows / Free Outside
Free Outside
Free Outside is a trail running, ultrarunning, thru-hiking, backpacking, and outdoor adventure podcast hosted by Jeff Garmire. Jeff is an Appalachian Trail record holder, professional endurance athlete, coach, author, and someone who has spent an unreasonable amount of his life running through forests and living out of a backpack. The show features honest and entertaining conversations with elite ultrarunners, record-setting thru-hikers, FKT athletes, coaches, race directors, adventurers, and…
Episodes
- Free Outside
Six Hours in the Hot Seat and a Huge Week in Ultrarunning
My Appalachian Trail record film, Rewritten, is finally out in the world. In this episode, I take you behind the scenes of the documentary and share part of…
- Free Outside
The Goal I Was Afraid to Say Out Loud + The Story Behind Rewritten
For years, there was one goal I wasn't sure I was good enough to accomplish: breaking the self-supported Appalachian Trail record.I planned to try in 2020. It…
- Free Outside
Appalachian Trail Record Untold Stories (and a Costco Pizza)
What does an Appalachian Trail record attempt look like from the perspective of the person watching from home?Check out the substack on eating an entire Costco…
- Free Outside
You Can’t Buy Your Way to the Top of Running?
Derrick Lytle has spent the year filming some of the best ultrarunners in the world at Western States, Hardrock, Speedgoat, Black Canyon, and beyond. After…
- Free Outside
Doping, Money and the Future of Ultrarunning with Zach Bitter
Running culture is changing fast. Athletes now share every workout, fans follow races year-round, money and attention are concentrated around a handful of…
- Free Outside
What Have Adventures Lost? | Halfway Anywhere
Mac, the creator of Halfway Anywhere and the annual PCT Thru-Hiker Survey, joins the show to talk about hiking Corsica’s GR20, how the Pacific Crest Trail has…
- Free Outside
How I Trained for the Appalachian Trail Record (+ Our New Podcast)
One year after standing on Katahdin wondering if I even had a chance, I finally sat down to break down exactly how I trained for the Appalachian Trail…
- Free Outside
You Don't Have to Live the Life Everyone Expects | Mike Kratzer
I met Mike Kratzer at the Zugspitze 100 after organizers turned our 100-mile race into a 100K just hours before the start. Somewhere between sharing a helmet…
- Free Outside
Records are falling everywhere (Badwater, PCT, mile world record)
Every weekend it feels like another record falls.This week we're diving into one of the biggest stretches of performances trail running has seen in years. We…
- Free Outside
Beyond Western States with Canyon Woodward
Western States made Canyon Woodward one of the top ultrarunners in America—but that's only part of his story.Before earning a top-10 finish at Western States…
- Free Outside
My Wildest Hitchhiking Stories From Europe
This week is a little different.We catch up on everything happening in the trail running world, from Greybeard's incredible Appalachian Trail attempt and the…
- Free Outside
Your Free Diet Outside Sucks? The Truth About Fueling for Endurance Athletes
Sports nutrition has never been more confusing.One day carbs are the enemy. The next day protein is the answer to everything. Every week there's a new…
- Free Outside
Wildfires, Hitchhiking & The Future of Outdoor Gear
After wrapping up my month in Europe, I thought the adventure was over. Instead, it ended with a wildfire blocking my route through the Pyrenees, hitchhiking…
- Free Outside
Same Cost, New Location
Welcome to the very first episode of **Free Inside**.This is our new weekly show where we sit down with no guests, no script, and no real agenda—just whatever…
- Free Outside
Hardest Trail in Europe? The GR 20
After hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc and racing the Zugspitz 100K, I flew to Corsica for one final adventure: the GR20, often called the hardest long-distance…
- Free Outside
Care More: Why Fandom Connects Us
Why do we care so much about sports, adventures, and the stories we choose to follow?We record right after the Egypt and Argentina world cup game. In this…
- Free Outside
Last Skier Standing and the Art of Suffering
Most runners think a backyard ultra is crazy.Lukas Janulitis looked at that format and decided it wasn't hard enough.Try a Last Skier Standing, an event where…
- Free Outside
Western States Awards: Course Records, DNFs, and the Biggest Storylines
Western States 2026 delivered one of the most memorable races we've ever seen.Instead of doing a mile-by-mile recap, Allison and I hand out our completely…
- Free Outside
Ann Trason on Western States, Aging, and What Endurance Means After the Records
Ann Trason won Western States 100 fourteen times. Fourteen. 14 time western states winner!Long before live streams, social media, sponsorships, and modern…
- Free Outside
The Race Changed 3 Hours Before the Start: My first European Ultra
I came to Europe planning to run the Zugspitz 100, a mountain 100-miler around Germany's highest peak.Three hours before the start, the race directors…
- Free Outside
The Walkman, The Startup, and Cocodona 250
Zach Hauer went from collegiate track athlete to entrepreneur, Open Fuel co-founder, Javelina 100 runner, and now Cocodona 250 finisher.In this conversation…
- Free Outside
Tour du Mont Blanc Recap: Three Countries, One Fox Bite
I finally made it to Europe. And I did the Tour Du Mont Blanc!After spending years building it up in my head as complicated, intimidating, and full of…
- Free Outside
An Unsolved Outdoor Mystery
What happens when nine experienced hikers flee their tent in the middle of a Siberian winter, leaving behind their boots, gear, and any chance of a normal…
- Free Outside
From Barkley Crew to Professional Trail Runner: Jade Belzberg
Before Jade Bellsberg was winning races and competing against some of the best trail runners in the world, she was a writer filling notebook after notebook…
- Free Outside
The FKT That Took Bob Stewart 3 Tries to Finish
Bob Stewart joins the Free Outside Podcast fresh off finally setting the Benton MacKaye Trail FKT after two previous failed attempts.What started as a…
- Free Outside
Rory Linkletter on the Olympics, Social Media, and the Future of Running
Rory Linkletter is one of the best marathon runners in North America, an Olympian for Canada, and one of the most thoughtful voices in professional…
- Free Outside
Sage Canaday on Competition, Content, and the Future of Running
Sage Canaday has done a lot in running.A 2:16 marathoner, mountain running champion, Western States golden ticket winner, coach, YouTuber, and one of the few…
- Free Outside
The Mental Side of Ultrarunning | Lauren Jones on Failure, Hallucinations, and Hard Things
Lauren Jones.Lauren balances a demanding career as a pediatric nurse anesthetist, family life, and somehow still finds time to chase some of the hardest…
- Free Outside
Why Trail Running Can't Stop Fighting Itself: TLDR Dumpster Fire Observations
Trail TMZ is back.Host and award-winning correspondent Allison Mercer dive into one of the strangest weeks of trail running that we have seen in a while. From…
- Free Outside
40TH PLACE IN THE WORLD, The Midwest McGrady of Running
Patrick “Bubba The Midwest McGrady" Kavanagh joins the Free Outside Podcast after surviving Cocodona 250 with less than two hours of sleep, a lot of…
- Free Outside
The Good Wolf with Yassine Diboun
Yassine Diboun comes on to talk about imposter syndrome, ultra running, positivity, sobriety, community, and why none of us actually feel as confident as we…
- Free Outside
Cocodona 250 Was Pure Chaos
Allison Mercer and I recap the chaos of Cocodona 250. From a tracker glitch that placed Jeff in Africa in 1969, to GI issues, hallucinations, Mingus…
- Free Outside
Before Cocodona 250: Nerves, Training, and the PCT Mindset
Cocodona 250 starts in two days, so I’m talking through the plan, the nerves, the training block, and why this race still matters so much to me. This episode…
- Free Outside
Who Wins, Who Falls, and Who Knows: Cocodona 250 Preview Show Ft. Tara and Allison
Cocodona 250 is here, and right after recording this, I’m heading out the door to go run it.So naturally, the best thing to do before a 250-mile race is sit…
- Free Outside
Walker of the Year: The Secret to Having the Most Fun
What if ultrarunning wasn’t about suffering… but about having more fun?Andrea Moore has run 200s, 300s, and more races than most people would ever consider—and…
- Free Outside
Sally McRae on Cocodona, Mindset, and What Actually Matters in Ultras
I sit down with Sally McRae to talk about Cocodona 250, 200-mile racing, her career, and what actually matters in running.We get into why Sally is coming back…
- Free Outside
Cocodona 250 History: The Stories Beneath the Miles
We spend a lot of time talking about how hard Cocodona 250 is. The miles, the climbing, the heat, the sleep deprivation.But this course didn’t start as a race…
- Free Outside
What You Become Before the Finish Line
Most people think the finish line is the point.That’s where the photo happens, where the time gets recorded, where you finally get to stop. But after enough…
- Free Outside
Go Two More
Ultra running gets talked about like it has to be miserable. Stay hard. Go one more. Keep hammering. Suffer better. In this episode, I unpack why I think that…
- Free Outside
Vibe. Grind. Shine. (And Don’t Fall). Carb Maxing to run for Team USA
Allison Mercer just finished second at the USA 100K Championships… and is officially headed to Spain to represent Team USA.In this episode, we break down…
- Free Outside
Heritage Square Bound: Cocodona 250 Strategy
In this episode, I’m talking Cocodona 250 with Allison Powell, where things go from “best half marathon ever” to “walking a corpse to the finish line” in about…
- Free Outside
Salty Boy Training Camp
This one is part training update, part origin story, and part figuring things out in real time.I’m down in Arizona right now, overheating on purpose, trying to…
- Free Outside
He Trained 9 Miles a Week… Then Became an NCAA Champion. The Eric Jenkins Story
Eric Jenkins joins the podcast to talk about one of the weirdest things in sports, retiring in your early 30s… and then figuring out what comes next.Follow…
- Free Outside
What Happens When the Record Slips Away, with Liz Derstine
Liz Derstine is back on the podcast to talk about her self supported Pacific Crest Trail effort, the highs and lows of going after a huge goal, and the film…
- Free Outside
Appalachian Trail FKT Talk, Cocodona Tactics, and the Year of the Fall
Allison is back and we cover a ton in this one. Will Peterson is officially going after the Appalachian Trail self-supported FKT, so we talk about what it is…
- Free Outside
Brackets Are Cooked. Cocodona Prep Is Heating Up
March Madness is here… but make it outdoors.We just wrapped round one of Outdoor March Madness and chaos has already taken over. No perfect brackets remain…
- Free Outside
Mike McKnight Is Directing a 200 While Racing Five More
Mike McKnight is on the Free Outside Podcast, and this one goes all over the place in the best way. We talk about his jump into Hyrox, why it might be more of…
- Free Outside
Two Guys, One Bracket: Bracketology for Outdoor March Madness
Today I’m introducing something I’ve been putting way too much work into: Outdoor March Madness.Luke Pearsall of Trail Goods Co joins for a Bracketology…
- Free Outside
Two Larabars, Pepperoni, and 900 Kilometers Unsupported
I have a huge announcement. The Free Outside Outdoor March Madness Bracket is live.https://www.freeoutside.com/outdoor-march-madnessGo to freeoutside.com and…
- Free Outside
10,000 Miles on Foot, Madison Blagden’s Biggest Year Yet
Madison Blagden joins me to break down one of the wildest hiking years I have ever heard of. In 2025, she completed a border-to-border Calendar Year Triple…
- Free Outside
The Wrong Turn That Shook Running
This week on the Free Outside Podcast, I’m joined by Allison Mercer to talk about one of the strangest weekends the running world has seen in a while.Allison…
- Free Outside
From Probation to Podiums - Overcoming
Anthony Lee joins the Free Outside Podcast for a deep, honest conversation that starts in Vancouver, Washington (not Canada) and runs all the way to Boulder…
- Free Outside
High Performance Exerciser Jacob Banta
Jacob Banta has spent years photographing the fastest runners in the sport.Now he’s racing them.After grinding as a privateer photographer, ski instructor, and…
- Free Outside
Jeff Galloway’s Legacy: Olympics, Run Walk Run, Meaning, and “Fill Your Dash”
Jeff Galloway passed away on February 25, 2026 at age 80. He was a 1972 U.S. Olympian and the creator of the Run Walk Run method, the simple idea that made…
- Free Outside
Barkley Marathons for Valentines Day
The conch shell blew at 5 a.m. and the 2026 Barkley Marathons began, this time in the anti clockwise direction and on Valentine’s Day.In this episode, I break…
- Free Outside
Barkley Marathons: A Recap with Allison, Map, Compass, Vert, Repeat
We recorded this one on the drive home from Frozen Head State Park to Bozeman, while the mud is still on the shoes and the bruises are still fresh. Allison…
- Free Outside
Three Minutes of Chaos: Ski Mountaineering’s Olympic Debut, Explained
Ski mountaineering is officially coming to the Olympics, and if you’ve never watched skimo before, this episode is your crash course.I’m joined by Max…
- Free Outside
Barkley Marathons Before They Were Famous: With the First Finisher, Frozen Ed Furtaw
In 1988, before the 100-mile version existed, before the conch shell start became legend, before the documentaries and global fame, one man proved the Barkley…
- Free Outside
Barkley Marathons 2026: The race explained, and I’m Running It
The Barkley Marathons is designed to sit right on the edge of possible. Sixty hours. Five loops. Nearly all off trail. No GPS. No course markings. Books hidden…
- Free Outside
From Turkey Trot to Black Canyon: The Madison Liechty Story
Madison Liechty joins the Free Outside Podcast and we keep the promise of no hard questions for about five seconds. We talk about her very normal Montana…