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. 13h ago

    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

    54 min

  2. 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

    44 min

  3. Jun 23

    Episode 47: Your body knows: The physiology behind why your numbers lie

    Your watch doesn't know you. It doesn't know you had a rough night of sleep, that you're in your luteal phase, that you've been stressed all week, or that you're climbing in 90-degree heat. It just spits out a number. And yet somehow, that number has the power to make or break a run. In this episode, I'm going deeper on one of my favorite coaching topics: why your body doesn't know your pace, but it absolutely knows your effort. We've talked about RPE before, but this time I'm getting under the hood on the actual physiology, what's happening in your body when conditions stack up and your pace drops, and why that's not a bad run. That's just your body doing its job. What heat, humidity, sleep, stress, terrain, altitude, hormones, and fueling actually do to your pace (and why none of it means you're falling apart)Why chasing pace in your training blocks is quietly undermining your fitnessHow VO2 max, lactate threshold, and endurance blocks each connect back to effort-based trainingWhat to do with all of this information when you're standing at the trailhead about to lace upEffort is the stimulus. Pace is the result. You control one of those. Let's talk about which one. Links & Resources for This Episode Episode 4: Your watch is lying to you: Ditch the data (RPE vs HR)Episode 19: Your Watch Is Being Dramatic: A Trail Runner’s Guide to ChillEpisode 31: Effort Over Pace: Their Effort is Not Your EffortFollow me on InstagramVisit my website: www.sunrisetrailscoaching.comWant to work together? Learn about 1:1 CoachingFree guide: What’s In My Pack? Download here

    37 min

  4. Jun 16

    Episode 46: Born to Climb: My Journey to Vert

    I didn't build a love for climbing. I just finally stopped being surprised that it was already there. In this episode, I'm answering a question from one of my athletes and friends — how did I actually build my capacity for vert? Were there numbers that scared me? How did I get here? How I fell in love with climbing before I even knew what vert wasRim to rim in the Grand Canyon three weeks into trail runningShowing up to races without looking at the elevation profile — and what that taught meWhen I actually started paying attention to vert and how it changed my trainingHow I structure long runs and training blocks around elevation profilesWhy poles took so long to enter my life and what changed when they didGetting faster near the top — not slower — and what that meansWhat climbing actually feels like and why it's always been fun, even when it's hardLinks & 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

    52 min

  5. Jun 9

    Episode 45: Cocodona 250: Your Questions Answered

    You asked, I answered. This episode is a full Cocodona 250 Q&A — your questions about training, gear, crew, the mental game, recovery, and everything in between. If you've been curious about what actually goes into running 253.4 miles, this one's for you. In this episode: How long my training block actually was and what peak weeks looked likeHeat prep, shoe swaps, and nutrition that held up (mostly)Crew and pacer logistics — and how half my pacers weren't even plannedThe mental side: mantras, doubts, and aid station to aid station thinkingRecovery timeline and what finishing this changed for meLinks & 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

    59 min

  6. Jun 2

    Episode 44: Cocodona Mile 176 to the Finish: Left on Birch

    Made it! The final stretch. Mile 176 to the finish line at Heritage Square in Flagstaff. This episode covers the solo section through the Foxboro habitat where I was navigating a tracker scare, chatting with a woman from the UK named Jen, and trying out AirPods for exactly 30 minutes before deciding music just isn't my thing out there. Then Amanda, my very first athlete and longest client, shows up at Munds Park to pace me through the coldest night of the entire race. We talk about who she was when she first came to me and who she was that night in the dark, and I will just say she crushed it. From there it's Cat coming back for a second leg, egg and bacon burritos at Walnut Canyon that I absolutely inhaled, Meg pacing me seven miles we both remember fondly, and Wayne, if you've watched the Golden Hour you know, who we passed about a mile from Wildcat Hill. Then it's the gear check, the buckle moment I didn't see coming, and 19 miles solo over Mount Elden in the dark with nothing but a headlamp and some hallucinations for company. In this episode: The solo Foxboro section, a tracker scare, and 30 minutes of AirPods before I gave up on music entirelyAmanda, my first athlete, pacing me through the coldest night and every dirt nap in betweenCrying on a hill because I was just tired and Amanda not saying a word, just keeping me movingRenee at Fort Tuthill, five minutes before her own race start, and why that hug hit so hardCat coming back a second time knowing she'd miss my finish for her son's piano recitalEgg and bacon burritos at Walnut Canyon and the moment I just completely lost all table mannersMeeting Meg for the first time at mile 227 and how easy it wasWayne and the ultra lean, if you know you knowThe gear check guy who told me to go get my buckle when I left the aid stationMount Elden in the dark, alone, hallucinating ships, legs shaking on the edgeLeft on Birch and everything that came after itWhat 253.4 miles actually taught me about time goals, gratitude, and showing up for peopleEnjoying the show? If this episode resonated, share it with a friend. Make sure you’re following or subscribed so you don’t miss future episodes. Ratings and reviews help more than you know. 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

    48 min

  7. May 26

    Episode 43: Cocodona Mile 75 to Mile 176: The Long Middle

    Mile 75 to mile 176 — and this stretch had everything. In this episode, I'm taking you from Whiskey Row through Watson Lake, across Fain Ranch, up and over Mingus Mountain in the dark, down into Jerome, across the Verde River, through red rock country, and up the Hangover Trail into Schnebly Hill. We cover 18 hours of puking, a sodium crisis caught mid-climb, dirt naps on cold ground, hallucinations that were equal parts terrifying and fascinating, and the moment my mind couldn't push my legs any faster and I had to accept that moving forward was enough. In this episode: Leaving Whiskey Row still sick and the GPX file that sent a small crowd of us the wrong directionThe low point at Fain Ranch and the one time I asked Greg out loud: can I do this?Courtney showing up early and hitting 100 miles for the first timeMingus Mountain in the dark, sodium awareness, and a descent that humbled meJerome, the Verde River crossing, and 26 miles with Kat through red rock countryHot dogs with extra mustard, hallucinations, and the longest dirt nap of the raceThe Hangover Trail at mile 160+ on no sleep and Kristen talking me through every single stepAnd the thing I keep coming back to: find your people. And when it's their turn, show up in the dark for them.Enjoying the show? If this episode resonated, share it with a friend. Make sure you’re following or subscribed so you don’t miss future episodes. Ratings and reviews help more than you know. 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

    1h 8m

  8. May 19

    Episode 42: Cocodona Day One: The Desert, the Dark, and Why It Still Feels Like a Different Race

    Day one of Cocodona 250 covered 75 miles — through the Sonoran desert, up into the Bradshaws, through the first night, and into Whiskey Row in Prescott. And honestly? It still feels like it happened in a completely different race. Maybe that's what 27 hours on your feet alone does to your brain. In this episode, I'm taking you from packet pickup and a pre-race cry-and-puke in the van all the way to Greg's face on Whiskey Row. We cover the Cottonwood Creek gauntlet, the Senator Highway ridgeline at night, the first sunset of the race, running through black bear country in the dark, puking somewhere after Arrastra Creek, a volunteer who tucked me in with three blankets, a dirt nap that ended when my brain said "bear," and finally — legs throbbing too much to sleep in a real bed but still moving forward. In this episode: Pre-race logistics, packet pickup, and the crew/pacer spreadsheet that was already doomedGreg as crew chief — what that actually looks like from mile zeroThe Cottonwood Creek mandatory water carry and why that first section is the hardest terrain on the courseEarly pacing discipline and why it matters more in a 250 than anywhere elsePoles, gels, chews, bananas, and the electrolyte mistake I didn't know I was making yetThe Senator Highway ridgeline...first sunset, first night, first solo dark milesMelissa...the training run stranger turned puking-and-rallying partner through the BradshawsCamp Wamatochick, the volunteer with three blankets, and 30 minutes in an anti-gravity chairHitting Prescott pavement, a stranger with Tums, and locals handing out candy bars and Hot Hands at sunriseChanging into the H1s and what shoe rotation actually looks like in a multi-day raceAnd the moment I realized: I'm still here. I'm still moving. That's enough.Enjoying the show? If this episode resonated, share it with a friend. Make sure you’re following or subscribed so you don’t miss future episodes. Ratings and reviews help more than you know. 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

    48 min
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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
    50
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Dirt Nap Diaries
  • Show Website
    Dirt Nap Diaries

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