Dirt Nap Diaries

Brittany Olson
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Fitness

A trail running podcast for everyday trail runners juggling training with real life. Hosted by women’s trail running coach Brittany Olson, it’s where the messy, funny, and real parts of running meet strength, joy, and the reminder that you’re more than “just” a runner.

  1. 1d ago

    Episode 55: The Seasoned Runner: The dark side and a little about the brightside

    It's still my birthday month! In case you were wondering. This episode gets into something I've been chewing on: seasoned runners and the trap experience can turn into. We start with the good stuff, reading an elevation profile, understanding how your body handles heat and altitude, knowing your warning signs before they become a real problem. Then we flip it, because experience isn't always a win. Sometimes it turns into six pairs of shoes you didn't need, overanalyzing a race course until the fun's gone, giving advice nobody asked for, or telling people to rest and fuel right while you're out here ignoring your own rules. If you've been at this a while, some of this might sting a little. If you're newer, consider it your permission slip to stop assuming the loudest voice on the trail knows best. Key takeaways: Experience gets you real skills: reading elevation profiles, understanding heat and altitude, pacing by feel, and knowing your body's warning signs before they escalateA closet full of gear you don't use isn't experience, it's overbuying, know what you actually need before you swipeOveranalyzing a race course can steal the fun right out of it, and so can refusing to look at the map at allUnsolicited advice, especially the kind nobody asked for, pushes new runners away instead of pulling them inIf you're telling people to rest, fuel, and train a certain way but not doing it yourself, that's the real problem, not your years on the trailLinks & Resources for This Episode Follow me on InstagramVisit my website: www.sunrisetrailscoaching.comWant to work together? Learn about 1:1 CoachingFree guide: What’s In My Pack? Download here

  2. Aug 11

    Episode 54: Alone on the Trail: Why Solo Miles Matter

    A text from one of my athletes got me thinking about solo running, and it turns out I have a LOT of feelings about it. Some of you won't run alone, ever. Some of you love it but won't admit it to your run crew. And some of you are the friend who keeps saying "come with us!" until it stops feeling like an invitation. In this episode I'm making the case for why solo miles matter, for your training and for your life, and I'm not doing it with a "just get over it"...fear of running alone is real, especially for women, and we're talking about how to work with it, not around it. In this episode: The 4 types of runners when it comes to solo miles... and which one you areWhat always running with others actually costs your trainingThe voices in your head, and why race day is a terrible time to meet them for the first timeHow solo runs build boundaries and confidence that carry into the rest of your lifePractical steps to start running solo if fear or nerves are holding you backYour homework (yes, there's homework this week)Links & Resources for This Episode Stability in Motion (SiM) - SiM is all about reminding people how to be playful, creative, and enjoy lifeFollow me on InstagramVisit my website: www.sunrisetrailscoaching.comWant to work together? Learn about 1:1 CoachingFree guide: What’s In My Pack? Download here

  3. Aug 4

    Episode 53: The Hill Is Not the Problem: A Tactical Guide to Uphill Running

    A bunch of you have been asking me about running uphill, so this is the tactical episode I promised. I'm getting into what those grade percentages actually mean (so you know if a hill is legit steep or you're just making shit up in your head), why "runnable" is about you and that hill on that day and not the hill itself, and why your lungs staging a protest doesn't mean you're not an uphill runner. It just means you're not there yet. Plus actual workouts you can take with you, including treadmill versions, because it is HOT out there. In this episode: The grade cheat sheet, from sneaky 2% grinders to hands-on-thighs steepMy five rules for running uphill at easy effort, starting with don't auto-hike just because the trail tiltedWhy runnable vs. non-runnable can change between people, and even within the same runSample VO2 max, tempo, and power hike workouts with treadmill optionsThe "yet" mechanism and why easy hilly runs are your weaponLinks & Resources for This Episode Episode 17: The Ups and Downs of Trail Running: How to Move Efficiently on Every HillFollow me on InstagramVisit my website: www.sunrisetrailscoaching.comWant to work together? Learn about 1:1 CoachingFree guide: What’s In My Pack? Download here

  4. Jul 28

    Episode 52: I Cried, Then I Climbed: The Tour du Mont Blanc

    I'm back from Europe and I finally get to tell you all about the Tour du Mont Blanc... 10 days circling Mont Blanc (around it, not up it), about 105 miles and 33,000 feet of climbing through France, Italy, and Switzerland. This one has everything: the logistics of booking through a company, huts with beer and Coke in the middle of nowhere, the wonderful humans I met from all over the world, and the day 9 ladders that had me crying for 30 minutes before I climbed them anyway. Booking through a company vs. DIY, and why we chose Adventure BaseWhat to actually pack (yes, you need poles... and how to fly with them)Hut life: refuge dinners, hiking beers, and half board explainedThe exposed ladders, my fear of heights, and the advice from a stranger I needed to hearA trail etiquette rant... please step aside, peopleHow to train for 10 back-to-back mountain days (you don't have to be an ultrarunner)The real lesson: take your days, unplug, and find the thing that's for YOULinks & Resources for This Episode Several pics of the ladders can be found in this blog or this YouTube.Follow me on InstagramVisit my website: www.sunrisetrailscoaching.comWant to work together? Learn about 1:1 CoachingFree guide: What’s In My Pack? Download here

  5. Jul 21

    Episode 51: Post-Race Blues: When the Finish Line is Behind You and You Still Feel Off

    The race is over, the crowd is gone, and everything is quiet again... and that quiet can feel really loud. It's been about eight weeks since Cocodona, and I finally named what I've been feeling: post-race blues. Except mine don't look like what everybody talks about. No restless "what's next" searching, no beating myself up over my time goal... just fog, fatigue that doesn't add up, and a flatness I didn't see coming. So I'm sharing all of it, because if coaches expect honesty from their athletes, we've got to show up the same way. In this episode: Why my post-race blues looked nothing like the version I'd always heard aboutThe sneaky symptoms... brain fog, weird fatigue, emotional flatness, and the good cry that finally named itThe physiology behind it: stress hormones, the dopamine drop, and why recovery takes months, not weeksHow I'm actually recovering... doing the minimum, protecting my promises, and letting the rest waitWhy this isn't just about 200-milers... it can follow any big thing, running or notYou're not broken, you're not failing at recovery. You did something really hard, and now your body wants rest. Links & Resources for This Episode Follow me on InstagramVisit my website: www.sunrisetrailscoaching.comWant to work together? Learn about 1:1 CoachingFree guide: What’s In My Pack? Download here

  6. Jul 14

    Episode 50: Too Much, Too Little: Finding Your Training Sweet Spot

    I'm off hiking around Mont Blanc while you're listening to this, but I couldn't leave y'all hanging...so today we're talking about the two extremes I see all the time as a coach: doing too much and doing too little. Sometimes in the same athlete, in the same training block. We're human, life happens, and both extremes usually come from the same place...not trusting the plan, or not trusting yourself. In this episode: Why training guidelines (yes, even the Koop book) are guidelines, not gospelThe sneaky ways we overdo it...feeling good and adding more, chasing elite workouts, following a friend's planWhat athletes won't always tell their coach, or themselvesThe skip-and-shame spiral, and why double stacking runs is never the answerBuilding a plan for your real life, not your aspirational oneThe plan done mostly right, most of the time...that's what gets you to the start line ready. Links & Resources for This Episode Follow me on InstagramVisit my website: www.sunrisetrailscoaching.comWant to work together? Learn about 1:1 CoachingFree guide: What’s In My Pack? Download here

  7. Jul 7

    Episode 49: The Door Has Conditions: Racism, the WNBA, and Who Feels Safe on Our Trails

    This one's a deeper episode, and I'm not dancing around it. A few seconds of a basketball play turned into a suspension, death threats, and racial slurs aimed at Alyssa Thomas... and it says everything about how black women get treated in the spaces they built. I'm connecting what just happened in the WNBA to what I see at every trail race start line, because representation isn't a feel-good word. It's about who feels safe showing up at all. And white women, I'm talking to us... we have a job to do. What actually happened between Alyssa Thomas and Caitlin Clark (the real play, not the screenshots)Why the league punished the noise instead of the play, and what message that sendsThe "angry black woman" label, and who gets called an enforcer insteadWhat a young black girl learns when nobody on the course looks like herReal actions to take... starting small, speaking up, and getting uncomfortableThe trail community brags about doing hard things. This is one of them. Links & Resources for This Episode Follow me on InstagramVisit my website: www.sunrisetrailscoaching.comWant to work together? Learn about 1:1 CoachingFree guide: What’s In My Pack? Download hereVideo of AT/CC incidentAT speaks about threatsRunning While Black by Alison Mariella DésirSay More About That And Other Ways to Speak Up, Push Back, and Advocate for Yourself and Others by Amber CabralBlack runners to follow:Mirna ValerioLatoya SnellKathrin Baeza

  8. Jun 30

    Episode 48: What coaching is all about: We're all adults here

    Nobody signs up for coaching to get judged. But a lot of us show up bracing for it anyway. In this episode, I'm breaking down what coaching actually is, what people get wrong about it, and what your job is as an athlete versus what mine is as your coach. Why so many women brace for judgment before a coaching relationship even startsThe difference between sugarcoating a hard week and being honest about itWhat "showing up honest" actually looks like, even when the run was just shittyWhy context matters more than perfection when life blows up your trainingMy job as your coach, and the things it's not my job to tell youHow I ask the questions you don't know you need to answer yetWhy a plan built around who you wish you were never actually worksThe new "how we work together" agreement, and why I finally wrote it downLinks & Resources for This Episode Follow me on InstagramVisit my website: www.sunrisetrailscoaching.comWant to work together? Learn about 1:1 CoachingFree guide: What’s In My Pack? Download hereEdit This Episode Episode is Live Published: Jun. 23, 2026 @10AM Edit Transcript is Ready Auto Generated • Edit or Add Custom Add Chapter Markers Create a Visual Soundbite Mid-Roll Placements Share Link to Episode Episode Share URLCopy View in website Direct Link to Audio Copy Download MP3 Embed Audio Player What's New Platform Stats Refer a Friend About

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About

A trail running podcast for everyday trail runners juggling training with real life. Hosted by women’s trail running coach Brittany Olson, it’s where the messy, funny, and real parts of running meet strength, joy, and the reminder that you’re more than “just” a runner.

Information

  • Creator
    Brittany Olson
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    56
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Dirt Nap Diaries
  • Show Website
    Dirt Nap Diaries