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
Sub-4 Miler to Black Canyon 100K: The Zach Perrin Story
Zach Perrin has run 3:59 for the mile, then promptly got humbled by his first trail race in road shoes and swore he would never do it again. Now he is all-in…
- Free Outside
White Mountains Stories and a Retreat Invite
The White Mountains have a special talent for making strong hikers question their life choices, and their mileage math. In this episode, I’m joined by Eli…
- Free Outside
Black Canyon 100k Preview: Burritos, Banked Tracks, and Golden Tickets
Allison Mercer drops a one-month-in “ins and outs of 2026” list that should be printed and taped to every smartphone: ranting to your phone is out, solutions…
- Free Outside
Ben Dhiman: From Sleeping by the River to UTMB
Ben Dhiman has one of the best names in the sport, and he actually earned it. We talk nicknames, alter egos, and the wild cat energy he taps into when racing…
- Free Outside
Consistency Beats Intensity: Action over Noise
I’ve struggled to record this episode. Lately, it’s been harder to run, harder to feel motivated, and harder to know what to do in a world that feels…
- Free Outside
Triple Crown, Double Tahoe, One Jeffrey
In this episode, I sit down with Krista, winner of the Jeffrey Award for Most Tragic FKT, to talk about what might be the happiest tragic FKT of all time. We…
- Free Outside
My Mom Got Me a Coach (It Was Hayden Hawks)
Today on the Free Outside Podcast, I’m joined by Coleman Cragun, the winner of the Jeffrey Derrick Lytle Award, which is an honor with a proud tradition and a…
- Free Outside
Dylisms and being REALLY REALLY good at Exercising
Comedic impressionist Dylisms is here. He has LOUDLY become one of the funniest voices in trail running by doing spot-on (and occasionally unhinged)…
- Free Outside
Olympians Are Winning Trail Races Now, So What Happens Next?
I’m back with Allison Mercer, my correspondent on everything, and we start with the most important news of the week: I apparently lost another award, and I am…
- Free Outside
Do the Stupid Thing (Why Fun Matters More Than Optimization)
At some point, a lot of us stop doing things just because they’re fun.We start asking if it’s productive, if it makes sense, or if it leads somewhere. And if…
- Free Outside
Make It Make Sense: World Cross Country, Burrito League, and Running Media Losing the Plot
The Free Outside Show is back for the new year, and I’m joined by our correspondent on everything, Allison Mercer. We’re doing the exact opposite of the usual…
- Free Outside
Before You Set Your Next Big Goal
Endurance sports give me structure when life feels chaotic. Miles are measurable. Effort makes sense. Pain feels productive. For a while, that clarity can feel…
- Free Outside
FKT of the Year Acceptance Speech
I didn’t expect to win FKT of the Year for the Appalachian Trail, but here we are.This video is not about splits, miles per day, or how fast the record was…
- Free Outside
The Jeffrey Awards: FKTs, Controversy, and Absolute Chaos
The conversation revolves around the Jeffrey Awards, celebrating achievements in ultra running, including new race directors, controversies, tragic FKTs, and…
- Free Outside
Rebuilding the Jeff Brand: Tights, Treehouses, Technical Chaos, and The Mahoosuc Traverse
Jeff Colt is back, calling in from Carbondale with a mission to help rehabilitate the name “Jeff” one mountain town conversation at a time. We start with…
- Free Outside
Roadside America With Ordinary Jeff: Prairie Chickens, Hot Dogs, and Teddy Roosevelt
This week on the Free Outside Podcast, I am joined by Jeff Eklund, an “ordinary Jeff” calling in from North Carolina who quickly proves he is anything but…
- Free Outside
Ultra Running Then vs Now: Jeff Browning vs Jeff Garmire
Vote on the Jeffrey Awards: https://forms.gle/zC29GEAgUJBKNn8T6I brought the cowboy hat out for this one, because Month of Jeff needed full giddy up vibes…
- Free Outside
From “Someday” to “Now”: Jeffs of the Appalachian Trail
The Month of Jeff keeps rolling, and today we are giving the thru-hiking world some love. I tracked down a Jeff who just finished the Appalachian Trail in…
- Free Outside
Operation Hiking Home: 122 Laps on the Manitou Incline
I sit down with yet another Jeff, but this one took things to a different level. Over the course of October and November, he completed 122 laps of the Manitou…
- Free Outside
Filming While Racing, The Jeff Pelletier Method
It is Month of Jeff, so its time to talk to another Jeff, Jeff Pelletier.Jeff had a huge 2025. He paced and crewed at Cocodona, then took on Badwater 135 and…
- Free Outside
The Jeff Behind Your Running Shoe Reviews
Help us with our Jeffrey Award Winners by voting here: https://forms.gle/GAcHKf5QZrR7GAR79The Month of Jeff continues with another elite Jeff: Jeff Dengate…
- Free Outside
Barefoot Jeff, The Origin Story of Jeff Mogavero
Vote for the Jeffrey Awards: https://forms.gle/2JaYdBFdogo2hTXP8During the Month of Jeff I, sit down with a true Jeff of the Year contender, Jeff Mogavero. We…
- Free Outside
Olympics, Community, and Jeffing - The Jeff Galloway Way
I sit down with one of the true architects of modern running, Jeff Galloway. From making the 1972 Olympic team as an unexpected underdog to creating the…
- Free Outside
Hot Peppers, Fast Legs, and Crotch Pots
Get yourself a Crotch Pot: https://snp.link/cd93a18dIn this solo Month of Jeff episode, I go deep on one of the strangest and coolest studies I have read in a…
- Free Outside
The Gear That Actually Worked This Year
XO Toes Toe Socks by XO SkinLINK: https://snp.link/91093634Enlightened Equipment Revelation Apex Synthetic QuiltLINK: https://snp.link/dd815a33Light AF…
- Free Outside
The Adventure I Wish I Was Still On: The Great Western Loop
This is a Thanksgiving special episode of the Free Outside Podcast, a mix of long-run thoughts, unpopular opinions, and one of the most meaningful adventures…
- Free Outside
Above the Plateau
I get back into the rhythm after my little sabbatical and dive into a packed rundown across the endurance world. I start with the history and results of the…
- Free Outside
Purpose, Pardons, and Trail TMZ
The P word. Purpose. After putting out more than 170 episodes in the past two years, I finally needed a break. The fall has been a rocky road, one of my…
- Free Outside
The Ultra Wisdom Episode: Best of the Free Outside Show
This week on the Free Outside Show I pulled together a best of episode featuring some of the most memorable moments and conversations from the past year. These…
- Free Outside
When Everything Feels Loud and Messy
Do I fit in, in this industry? I have really started to question everything! I’m not doing great right now, and that’s what this episode is about. After…
- Free Outside
Do Simple Better: Will Murray on winning Javelina 100
Back on the Free Outside podcast, I’m catching up with Will Murray after a wild eight months. Since Black Canyon he’s gone all-in: new coach (CTS’s John…
- Free Outside
Adult Cross Country, Halloween Chaos, and Santa Sees Javelina 100
I thought I was done racing this year… but apparently Montana had other plans. Two weeks after Allison Mercer introduced me to cross country running, I found…
- Free Outside
Will Power: Javelina 100 Recap, Molly Seidel News and the rest of 2025
I was on the ground at Javelina while Allison rode shotgun in the live chat, and—wow—what a day. Will Murray put on the most nondescript masterclass you’ll…
- Free Outside
Tech on the Trail: The Good, the Bad, and the Data-Obsessed
Technology has crept into every corner of our sport—from GPS watches to real-time tracking to social media validation. In this episode of the Free Outside…
- Free Outside
When the Goal Is Over, but the Feelings Aren’t
One month after setting the Appalachian Trail self-supported FKT, I’m in a strange place—floating between accomplishment and uncertainty. This episode isn’t…
- Free Outside
Javelina Jundred Preview Show Chaos
It’s that magical time of year again — pumpkin spice, golden tickets, and glitter on the desert trails. In this episode, Me and Allison Mercer break down the…
- Free Outside
Love Letter to the Wasatch: Millwood 100
I’m joined by Katie “Wildy” Brown—former Arizona Trail self-supported record holder and fresh off the Millwood 100, a 102-mile Wasatch linkup with ~37,000 feet…
- Free Outside
Chicago marathon Meets Local News
After 45 days of hiking, hobbling, and setting a new Appalachian Trail self-supported record, I’m back—barely running, barely sleeping, and somehow still full…
- Free Outside
Exulansis: When No One Gets It But You
It’s a full plate this week on The Free Outside Show. I’m diving into Terminus Season—that bittersweet time when thru-hikers take the photo, post it, and…
- Free Outside
The SCAR Maker and the AT Record Breaker
Fresh off my self-supported AT record, I sit down with 2013 AT self-supported FKT holder Matt Kirk to talk about the weird gravity of post-trail depression…
- Free Outside
A+ Suffering, B+ Sanity: My Self-Graded Appalachian Trail FKT
Ten days off the Appalachian Trail and I’m deep in the post-trail fog—so I’m doing what any reasonable human would: grading my own record attempt. In this…
- Free Outside
The A-T(eam): How We Actually Pulled Off The Appalachian Trail Record
Eight days after setting the Appalachian Trail self-supported FKT, I sit down with my girlfriend, Allison Powell, for the most comprehensive post-mortem yet…
Free OutsideSouthbound and Stubborn: Unpacking the Appalachian Trail FKT
After 2,200 miles, 45 days, and more duct-taped shoes than I care to admit, I finally set the self-supported Appalachian Trail FKT. In this episode, Allison…
- Free Outside
[While I Suffer] My Top 5 Hallucinations Ranked
While I’m out chasing a self-supported FKT on the Appalachian Trail, we’re throwing it back to one of the weirdest solo episodes yet.This one’s all about…
- Free Outside
Homeless by Choice: Redefining My Why
In this soul-spilling solo episode, I get honest from a borrowed cabin (and even more borrowed fishing hat) about why I gave up my home, comforts, and…
- Free Outside
Inside the Appalachian Trail FKT: Tara Dower’s Record-Breaking Journey [Replay]
In this episode of the Free Outside Podcast, I replay one of my all-time favorite convos — a sit-down with Tara Dower, who absolutely crushed the supported…
- Free Outside
AT FKT Strategy: Why I’m Going Southbound
What does it take to go after one of the hardest endurance records in the world?In this episode of The Free Outside Show, I'm breaking down my entire strategy…
- Free Outside
The Bitter Truth: World Records, Super Shoes, and Science
Today on the Free Outside Podcast, I’m joined by world record-holding ultra legend and Wisconsin's third-best export (according to me), Zach Bitter. We dive…
- Free Outside
The Gear That Might Break Me Or Break The Appalachian Trail Record
In this gear-packed episode of The Free Outside Show, I break down everything I’m bringing to attempt the self-supported Appalachian Trail FKT. From a tarp…
- Free Outside
Vote Jeff Garmire: Against Botulism, For the People, and the Appalachian Trail
This episode is what happens when Jeff Garmire hands the mic (sort of) to actor and trail runner Allison Powell. What begins as an Appalachian Trail FKT…
- Free Outside
Obsess. Break Yourself. Repeat: Joey Camps on the Art of Suffering
This one was a long time coming. I finally got to sit down with Joey Campanelli — aka Joey Camps — who’s been quietly putting together one of the wildest, most…
- Free Outside
The Tempo of the Trail: Warren Doyle on History, Hiking, and Heart
What do a McDonald’s, a rusted van, and an Appalachian Trail record have in common? Warren Doyle. On this episode of the Free Outside Podcast I am joined by…
- Free Outside
The White Mountains Will Eat Your Shoes: Andrew Drummond on the Direttissima
On this episode of The Free Outside Podcast, I’m joined by White Mountains legend and community builder Andrew Drummond to dive deep into the Direttissima—an…
- Free Outside
The Wonderland Trail: A 90-Mile Crash Course in Backpacking
I finally got Allison Powell—producer, ultrarunner, and now bonafide backpacker—on the podcast to talk about her first solo thru-hike: the Wonderland Trail…
- Free Outside
Failure, Resilience, and a Record: Raven’s Oregon Coast Trail FKT
What do wildfires, the Arizona desert, and the Oregon Coast have in common? They’ve all tried—and failed—to stop Katie Gunvalson, aka Raven. In this episode, I…
- Free Outside
No Home, All Heart: The AT FKT Begins
When you hear this, I will have started the Appalachian Trail Self Supported FKT attempt. Track it here: https://corsa.run/live/freeoutside/Also, consider…
- Free Outside
John Kelly vs. the Appalachian Trail: Lessons from the Edge
I’m joined by the legend himself—John Kelly—just about a month after his Appalachian Trail FKT attempt. We go deep. Like "0.1 miles felt like a day" kind of…
- Free Outside
What Is an FKT? The Rules, Styles, and My Appalachian Trail Attempt Explained with Allison Mercer
What the Heck Is an FKT? (And Why I'm Living in the Woods for 45 Days)Live from a very cabin-y cabin in Montana, I bring you an episode for everyone wondering…
- Free Outside
Circle of Hell Champion: Bryce Brooks on Running Through Fire
Circle of Hell Run (COHR), Chef Boyardee, and Sweat Salt Wisdom with Bryce BrooksI’m joined by the undisputed king of dry-heat suffering, Bryce Brooks. He’s…
- Free Outside
Am I ready for an FKT yet? THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL FKT?
For this Appalachian Trail FKT, I realized I have to become one with the thru-hiker. That means mud baths, tarp life, eating with my hands, and yes—training…