Alexa Aragon Signs with Mammut & La Sportiva

A sponsorship announcement is only interesting if it changes something real, and that’s why we wanted to hit record with Alexa Aragon. Alexa is now officially part of Mammut and La Sportiva’s athlete teams, and she’s clear about what matters most: using brand support to expand outdoor access for her students through her adventure club. We talk about the early, tangible wins already showing up, from donated harnesses and gear to climbing shoes that help more kids try the sport without the usual cost barriers. 

We also get specific on the gear side for trail runners who love the details. Alexa shares what she’s racing in, why the La Sportiva Prodigio Pro became her go-to, and what she actually carries on race day, including a belt setup for bottles, gels, keys, and quick stash space. If you’re dialing your own trail running kit, this is the kind of practical breakdown that helps you streamline comfort, fueling, and efficiency. 

Then we zoom out to the season itself. Alexa has been racing a lot, learning fast, and feeling the reality of a “recover, race, recover, race” cycle that can crowd out real training. She tells a wild story about lining up at Quebec Mega Trail on three hours of sleep, and we use that as a springboard into smarter load management, recovery, and choosing when to skip an event to get ready for a true target race like Sierra Zinal. We also share a quick foot care segment on injury prevention, insoles, socks, and why your feet deserve as much strategy as your workouts. 

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Transcript

Quick Welcome And Support The Show

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey now. This is the SteamStuff podcast. What's up, guys? Hey, before we get started, if you haven't already, whatever platform you're listening to this on, please hit that subscribe or follow button, whether that's Apple, Spotify, or YouTube. Those subscriptions go a super long way in being able to keep the podcast going and allowing me to continue to tell the stories of these amazing athletes and also do some of the race coverage and all the good stuff that we've been doing over the last few years. And also, if you haven't already, please give us a rating and a review if you haven't. Yeah, let us know what you guys think about the podcast and hope you enjoy this episode. Thanks so much for tuning in.

Alexa Announces New Sponsorships

SPEAKER_00 0:48

All right, Alexa Aragon. Welcome back to the Steep Stuff Podcast. How's it going?

SPEAKER_01 0:52

Good. Thanks. I'm happy to be here.

SPEAKER_00 0:54

Yeah, we're gonna. So this is a just a quick one to make the announcement that you have joined Mamut and La Sportiva as an athlete. You joined the athlete team. Initial thoughts. I mean, I know you've been on the athlete team for a couple months now, so this is the uh the official uh I guess announcement, if you will. But how does it feel?

SPEAKER_01 1:12

Yeah, I mean, I'm really excited about both of these brands. I think specifically because they're also supporting my students. Um, I've talked with you before about my adventure club, and both of these brands are like so great about supporting what I'm doing with them. They've donated already harnesses um and grease from Mammoo and chalk bags, and Lasportiva gave me some climbing shoes for the kids. So um I've just that was like my whole goal with getting a sponsorship. I mean, it's yeah, of course, I like want to pursue my own goals, but it's even more about my students, so and to see that they're already like putting actions behind their words of wanting to increase accessibility for my at-risk youth um in the outdoors, so yeah, really happy with both of them.

SPEAKER_00 1:57

So cool.

Race Day Gear And Shoe Picks

SPEAKER_00 1:58

Uh not to go too far into gear, but what's your what's your favorite gear? What's the gear lineup? What are you racing in shoe-wise? And what are you rocking on race day from Mammo?

SPEAKER_01 2:07

Yeah, so shoe-wise, Parigi Pros have been my go-to race show shoe. I actually tried them on um at a circ race last year before I was signed with them and like a demo shoe, racing it, loved it, and then I've been racing in those since. Um and then gear-wise, the mason, I think that's how you say it, Mason bra top is what I've been racing in. Um I also climb in it. Like it's it's a great like kind of tank to race or really to do anything in. Um, I also love this quarter zip that they've given me. It's really lightweight, so it's nice for like almost like a sun hoodie for those like longer days out in the sun.

SPEAKER_00 2:47

I see you racing in that A-energy belt as well. How do you like the belt? The belt looks dope.

SPEAKER_01 2:51

Yeah, yeah, I do like the belt. It's been um it's been good. So I can fit like a bottle in it. It has a few like zip pockets um and like a like a secure key pocket. Um, so that's been nice. And then there's like a front pouch so you can like slip something through if it's like a bottle or like I've put like a shirt in but there before, like mid-run, um, some side gel pockets. So yeah, that's been nice as well. I like that. And then I've been using the vest as well.

SPEAKER_00 3:18

Very cool, very cool. Yo, you've been on a quest this season. Like you've already raced, you've raced a lot of races. I mean, you've been all over the place. How how's uh how's recovery going and and what's next?

SPEAKER_01 3:29

Yeah,

Foot Care And Injury Prevention Sponsor Spot

SPEAKER_01 3:30

so it might have been a bit aggressive, which I know. I knew that going into it, but I was like, you know what, these sound exciting.

SPEAKER_00 3:36

Guys, how's your feet? Like, seriously, uh how's uh how are your feet doing? Um I'm sure if you're listening to this, you're a runner or an athlete of some kind, uh in one way or another. And as most athletes do, everybody struggles with injury one way or another. And foot care is like one of the most important things when it comes to injury mitigation or just dealing with injuries in general. Um, everything from plantar fasciitis, peroneal issues, uh, a lot of people deal with blisters in the sport. Uh kind of the list goes on. It's a great opportunity for me to talk about our partner, Cetus US. Um, I've been partnering with them for a couple years now, and man, the products have just gone such a long way for me as an athlete personally. Um couple months back, I'd been dealing with some peroneal issues and some planter issues on my left foot, and uh got hooked up with some of the Cetus insoles. Um the trail three feet, and man, it went such a long way in helping me rehab that foot and just helped a ton. Um, on top of that, big fan of the socks and big believer in the socks as well. I use them all the time because they're amazing. Uh, but in all seriousness, I'm sure you've seen like Jim Walmsley, Hidden Hawks, and then you know, some of the best women in the sport, like Robin Lesh, um, or even on the ski side, uh Jesse Diggins rocking uh the Cetus feet. And um, for me personally, it's the run anatomic comfort. I absolutely love those socks. Um, it's got reinforced protection, it's got a great grip strip to keep the sock from kind of moving within uh the shoe. It's breathable and it's got great protection, especially for technical trails for your heels and your toes. And uh above all else, it's breathable, so it's not gonna stink too bad. Uh, my wife definitely gives uh thumbs up when it comes to that. So I don't have two stinky feet or stinky socks. So if you haven't already, go online, check out CDUS.us, and if you find something you like, use code SteepStuff. It's good for one use only. It's gonna get you 20% off your car and uh giving you guys the hookup. So hope you enjoy it. Check it out, CDUS.us insoles and socks, they've got the best in the game.

Busy Race Stretch And Next Big Goal

SPEAKER_01 5:38

A few of them, I was just like gonna be and I was at a batch rep party in Quebec City, so I was like, okay, I'm gonna do Quebec Mega Trail. Like, why not? On three hours sleep post-bacharette.

SPEAKER_00 5:48

Oh, you're a wild. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 5:49

Yeah, it was a little crazy. Um, but yeah, I mean, it's been fun. I think I've been learning a lot. Um, it's been kind of like recover, race, recover, race. I haven't been able to get much solid training in. Um, so Snowbird was my last of the five races in four weeks. And um, so since then I'm now gonna be like training for a few weeks and then Sierra Z and All is the next one. I decided that I'm gonna skip um Aliaska Cerg um and then focus on the rest of the Circs later on, but just wanna be able to train a bit and feel ready to perform the best I can at CRs and all.

SPEAKER_00 6:28

So cool. You are gonna like that's that's our Super Bowl. Like that's that's the race.

SPEAKER_01 6:32

I'm so excited. I'm excited just for the experience. I know like it's gonna be so competitive, and I think that this whole summer is just like me getting experience and figuring out where I want to take this.

SPEAKER_00 6:43

So cool. Well, Alexa, thank you so much for coming on. I know, like I said, this was gonna be a quick one just to announce everything, talk about the rest of the season and some A goals as well as gear. Um, yeah, congratulations and thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01 6:55

Yeah, of course. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 6:57

Yep.