Off Track | Episode 000 by The Run Down

Introducing Off Track — The Run Down's new trail-running spinoff, hosted by Andy and Logan Griffin. Making sure no trail goes unrun.

Episode zero starts with both hosts telling their own stories: Andy's path from a decade in the Army (with a Palmerston North trail network as an unlikely training ground) into coaching and multiple NZ Mountain Running titles, and Logan's from a decade of competitive road cycling into becoming the current NZ Short Trail Champion, via a 2020 bet with a mate that was supposed to be a marathon and turned into a running habit that stuck. Both are chasing the same goal: a spot on New Zealand's team for the 2027 Trail World Championships in South Africa, and this show will follow that journey alongside the athletes and races around them.

We get into local trail racing — a recap of the Muka Muka Munter in Wellington (Hannah Fletcher's dominant win, a genuine blanket finish in the men's race), previews of the Great Naseby Water Race and the Lake Dunstan Marathon, and news that the NZ Short Trail Championships have shifted dates and venue, now running alongside the Xterra Trail Festival in Wellington on 27 February. From there it's a full UTMB World Finals preview — the men's race, the women's race, CCC, and OCC — with a close eye on the Kiwis racing at the sport's biggest weekend. We close with a coaching Q&A on blending road running into trail training and training through illness, a quick take on what Garmin's purchase of TrainingPeaks might mean for AI coaching, and a genuinely ongoing gear debate about the best way to carry compulsory kit on trail.

This episode covers:

• Meet the hosts: Andy and Logan
• The shared goal — 2027 Trail World Champs, South Africa
• Training check-in: "Have you been off track this week?"
• NZ Short Trail Champs relocates to Xterra Trail Festival, Wellington
• Race recap: Muka Muka Munter
• Upcoming: Great Naseby Water Race, Lake Dunstan Marathon
• UTMB World Finals preview: men's, women's, CCC, OCC
• Coaching Q&A: road running for trail prep, training while sick
• Garmin's TrainingPeaks purchase and AI coaching
• Gear chat: the running belt hunt

Got a question for the show? Flick it through — coaching questions especially welcome.