The Steep Stuff Podcast
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The Steep Stuff Podcast
Sophie Wright Signs with La Sportiva
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Mount Marathon looks simple on paper, but Sophie Wright explains why it can leave your entire body trashed for days. We talk about that unique kind of post-race soreness, how falling and braking on steep terrain adds up fast, and why this year’s “no snow, straight to hard shale” descent made the race feel extra sketchy. If you’ve ever wondered why a short mountain running effort can hurt more than a long run, this conversation puts real words to it.
We also get into what it takes to actually improve on technical downhills. Sophie shares what she noticed from the best descenders in the field, how line choice can change everything, and what she wants to sharpen next. From there, we zoom out into training and coaching, including her work with David Norton, the value of time-based training in the mountains, and why variety like biking can make you stronger without just piling on miles.
On the career side, Sophie opens up about the mental shift from college running to competitive trail running: how pressure creeps in, how fun can disappear, and how she’s working to keep joy at the center while still chasing big goals. We cover her move to Colorado, altitude adjustment, and what the Front Range trail community adds to day-to-day motivation. Then we celebrate her signing with La Sportiva, talk shoes and gear, and look ahead to races like Cirque Series, Pikes Peak Ascent, The Rut, and Moab Half, plus why Mount Marathon will always pull her back. If you like the show, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a rating and review.
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Welcome And Subscribe Request
SPEAKER_01Hey now! This is the Steep Stuff Podcast! What's up, guys? Uh 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.
Post-Race Recovery After Mount Marathon
SPEAKER_01All right, Sophie Wright, welcome back to the Steep Stuff Podcast. How's it going? Good. How are you? Doing good. Living the dream. It's uh it's Friday, so planning planning tomorrow's long run and following hard rock a little bit today. It's a slow work day, which is good. So not no complaints.
SPEAKER_00Awesome. Amazing.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. How about you? I saw you getting up at in Mount Beardstadt yesterday, uh, getting getting some high altitude reps in.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it seemed like the most reasonable place to go with like the high temps here. I don't do good running in heat. And so I was, I don't know, been meaning to like get up high and just like face the fact of like, you know, a drive is a drive. I can, you know, drive a little bit to have some gorgeous views and a good run. So it was super nice. And it was nice to not like have to deal with all the crowds that you know beer staff or like other 14ers normally have.
SPEAKER_01Fair enough. How um how's the recovery coming post-mount marathon? Like, I had to ask you this because it's one up down, right? Do you get crazy sore, even though it's like a shortish effort?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I woke up for like a couple days. It was like not even like a leg sore, it was like a full body sore. And I don't know if it was from like how many times I fell on the downhill. Um, because my downhill was probably like one of the rest roughest I've ever had. Um, but it was, yeah, just full body sore. I feel way better now. But those first couple of days, I felt like I got hit by a truck.
SPEAKER_01Really? Oh man. It's crazy how like such a short effort can hurt so bad. Like I raced on the East Coast a few weeks ago, and it was a lot of up down, up down, up down, which I'm not used to. I'm more privy to just up, up, you know, run up a peak and then throw yourself off of it. And the I've never had such bad DOMs before in my life. I was like astonished by how sore I was after. Yeah, I felt like I was a car accident, basically.
SPEAKER_00Literally, and it's like the weirdest places of like my neck was sore, like my back was sore. And it's just like I feel like Mount Marathon felt like going back to like when I ran in college, it felt like an 800 effort almost where it's like you were hurting from the start and you have to keep going. And it is like because it feels like a sprint almost in like the trail world, but it was definitely like I don't know. I was just like talking to my coach about like how to work that downhill better and just like get better at it. Cause like I felt pretty strong on the climb, but definitely like I think there's still some pieces missing, and uh, I just gotta get up more in the high mountains here, I think. Um, because it's hard to find that like rough terrain, I guess, like down low in Colorado. So I think like just getting up high will be you know good for me.
SPEAKER_01Definitely, definitely. I mean, you had an amazing, amazing either way, like you had a great result, and just to be in the mix with all those strong women on a day like that, like what a dude, what what a what a way to throw down and have fun. You were, I mean, you had a great climb. It was fun, you had a great descent too. I just gotta ask you more about the descent.
Surviving The Shale Downhill
SPEAKER_01Like if for someone like you who grew up in Alaska and knows the terrain, it must have been so gnarly if you can't stay upright. Like that, that's that's really difficult. Like, that's kind of that gives me a little heebie jeebies going out. If I want to go race this next year, I'm gonna die. Like Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Well, and it was so weird because normally at the very top, there's at least a little bit of a snowshoe, which like and I was talking to I'm coached by David Norton. So we were like on the phone yesterday, and he's like, even he was like, that's so weird, there was like no snow. And so it's like right away you hit the shale, and it was super hard shale this year. Like, normally it's like I feel like normally it's like a little softer. You see, go so you can like almost glide a little bit better, but like from the get-go, my legs just like seized up, and I feel like I haven't ever experienced like leg cramping like that in a race almost. Um, but no, the terrain, I feel like no matter how many times I do Mount Marathon, I'm always like shocked and honestly like a little bit scared of like, oh my gosh, like this mountain can really like screw you up if you make a wrong step. So, and this year with it being just like a no snow year, I was even more thrown off of just like you don't have that soft snow to you know run down or slide down. It's just like hard from the get-go.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, I was very surprised because I was watching the live stream. You guys all looked so strong and amazing out there, and then all of a sudden I see like Kendall, I think it was Kendall, and I forgot the name of the other girl who was the second to the top, and Claire was like Rosie. Amazing, but like Claire just like beelined it and didn't even take that trail. She took like some other like trail, uh, or not even a trail. She just like kind of just jumped off the mountain. Uh oh, coming downhill? Yes, and cut both of them off. And I I know she's a great technical descender, but like that was like a it was a those power moves. Um so and I think Denali did something similar where she didn't take that like it almost kind of went like a round and down. She kind of just beelined it and took it down. Uh so just kind of like uh just this different line, which I thought was interesting. But yeah, it looked wild.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And it was just like Claire and Denali, their downhills are just like so impressive. I like I feel like every year I'm just like learning more and more from them and just like more and more impressed with their effort just to like throw themselves down the mountain and make it down fast in one piece. It's honestly amazing.
SPEAKER_01You know who I never want to be in a race with? Christy Marvin, dude. That yeah, she is terrifying. I never wouldn't be run down by her. Like her, that was that was this, especially for she's like what 45 years old to be able to like be that solid and continue to have performances like that. Yo, like that, yeah, that lady's terrifying.
SPEAKER_00She is amazing. It's just been so cool because like I grew up like before I was like barely even racing. I was like watching her and like so amazed by her, and now it's like wow, like I have grown up like by like a decade, and she is still in the mix and I'm still chasing her. It's so cool.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's it's so inspiring. Like the uh yeah, I gotta say, like the men's race, obviously, super exciting to watch the women's race. I think like took the took the cake for Mount Marathon, just because it was just like a like, you know, obviously Claire was coming back for her third win, but there's so many contenders, like so many strong women like yourself in the mix. And like Claire was challenged. I mean, it was clearly a different uh like you guys definitely put it on her a little bit. So it was it was uh she had to definitely earn that win. So whereas David, I feel like I even with a strong field of men, David just continues to just be so dominant, which is crazy.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, he's he's just so strong all around. It's so cool to watch him.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. What is
Coaching Changes Training Approach
SPEAKER_01it like being coached by him? Does he uh especially for races like this and other mountain classics and just goals in general? Uh, does that, you know, I don't know. Like you tell me how that kind of helps for you.
SPEAKER_00I so I started, I was coached by him starting like last June, I want to say. And it was, I like coming out of college, I was thinking like, oh, I can like do this on my own. And then I had like that, like my first DNF at Cenep last year, and I was like, okay, I can't do this on my own. I really need some guidance, and I really appreciated how he he's just like super well-rounded and doesn't, it's not like pounding the miles, and it's like only running it. There's really good variety with like biking in the summer, and like that's been super fun, and it's like more it's time-based, more than miles-based, which I really like, you know, given like the terrain I'm typically doing. It gives me more freedom for like just go out in the mountains for like X amount of hours, have a good time. Um, and so it's it's I really love it, and I definitely feel very strong. It's kind of like almost slowed me down in my training, like slow down, go longer. And I really like that mindset. And he's just, yeah, very like he knows that you know, stuff in life happens, like work happens, whatever. It's like having that balance is really important. So that was I love being coached by him. He's great.
SPEAKER_01How how has the transition been for you, especially from college and then coming, coming onto you know, trail running, which is just a completely kind of different obviously, yes, you ran Mount Marathon a bunch, you know, a bunch uh, you know, in your younger years and through now, and and you got to like grow up in the mountain running scene, but like traditionally, like you're you're a miler, correct? Like from in the collegiate scene. So how has that like transition been kind of coming from that and adjusting and train like changing on your training?
SPEAKER_00It's been like the adjustment training. I feel like I've definitely noticed like it's not like I feel like it my yeah, I feel like it is harder on my body, just like the more like hours spent out per week. But I feel like
Pressure, Fun, And The Mental Game
SPEAKER_00the biggest change has been like the mental change of like and I'm still working, I feel like that's like the biggest thing I'm working on right now, is like the mental side of trail running, where it's like when I was in college, my focus was that you know, cross country and indoor and outdoor track, and then the trail time was like the time to have fun, and I feel like I race the best when I'm having like oh you know, this is fun, this is all for fun, but now I'm like okay, I really want to take this serious, and with that, I'm like putting so much pressure on myself. I keep like feeling like I'm like crumbling almost. So I'm like really working on like having fun while also honing in on trail running.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, it's interesting because like, dude, I've gone through this before myself, and I think it's something everybody goes through. You put so much pressure on yourself to perform and you think people care, and then you realize like no one gives a shit. Like the only person that really cares is is yourself. Uh and like yeah, I and like I don't know, sponsors care, but they don't at the same time, like they care about the person more than they care about the performance. So it's like I I don't know. I find the trail world interesting because like we I think a lot of athletes, like that's a the once the unlock comes, once you start to like take that pressure off yourself and realize, like, all right, you know, short trail is an interesting game because you could have a shit race one week and go win a race the following week, and it's just being able to forget previous races and move on to the next one, you know.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, that's definitely something like still working on it, but it's like at the end of the day, trail running is like so fun, and I look forward to it like every single day. So it's like I just remind myself that like I'm doing what I love and that's what matters most, regardless of results. So it's still amazing.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. How are
Colorado Move And Altitude Adjustment
SPEAKER_01you liking living in Colorado now and like training out of out of your like Denver Boulder area, right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'm out in Golden right now, and then I'm moving to Fort Collins in about a month, which I think will be fun to be like closer to like Estes Park in those mountains. But it's been super fun, it was definitely an adjustment. I I don't know why it felt like it took forever for me to like adjust to altitude. Maybe that was just like me being dramatic, but like I swear, like every day I was like, I cannot breathe here, but now I'm like finally adjusted. I'm loving the trails here. Like I feel like I love how runnable they are. It's been like super fun and like almost like more accessible. Like get out and like do more miles out there. Um, I yeah, I absolutely love Colorado and I love the community here. It's insane, it's amazing. So I'm definitely so happy I moved here.
SPEAKER_01Very cool. No, I love it. It's uh yeah, it's a great place to live and train, and just you know what the the atmosphere I think like raises everybody a level because the outdoor athletes, especially like on the front range, are like really intense. Like the you know, the for instance, like Boulder, for instance, like they take it quite serious. Um, and and really, you know, Fort Collins has got a great contingent, and and so is Colorado Springs, so quite a few, which like Fort Collins is great because you'll have plenty of athletes to train with. I know Tyler McCannless is out there and uh um quite a few others, too. So you're in for a treat. Um all right, I don't want to bury the lead too much.
Signing With La Sportiva
SPEAKER_01This is something I probably should have brought up in the beginning of the show. This is like kind of the a lot of the reason we're having this conversation, other than kind of you know, chat about Mount Marathon. But you have signed uh with La Sportiva. Congratulations. Um gotta get the the first impression. Like how how excited are you? How does it feel? Give me, give me the kind of the rundown.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I am so excited. I've loved like working with them so far. Liam and Kelsey are just like so they're just so great and they're so supportive. And I love I I just feel like supported in any like race I want to do and any like projects to go forward. Like it doesn't seem you know too like performance-based, like too much pressure there. Um, and I'm just I'm so excited, and I feel like the brand is all about just like getting out and like doing cool stuff, and that's exactly like what I want to put my energy into. So I'm just I'm so excited.
SPEAKER_01I love it. Well, congratulations. Uh, let's get into the nuts and bolts. Like, what do you uh what do you run in with shoe-wise? I I I peeped Mount Marathon. You were running in uh the mutants, if I remember correctly. You gotta try the Levantes too, very similar, similar kind of shoe. You gotta change the outsoles if you want to like for something like Mount Marathon, but the ground contact of the shoe I think works really would well work well for a race like that.
SPEAKER_00I definitely, yeah, I'm gonna look into those because I like those weren't even on my radar like right away. I was like, okay, I'll race in the mutants, but I think like trying out different shoes will be fun. Like the Prodigia Pros are absolutely my favorite, just like my everyday trail run. I they're just great. Like I took them at beer style yesterday, they're like good for climbing, good for running. Um, yeah, and then like the I got like a I don't know exactly what Windbreaker was, but that's been like my favorite for just like high mountain runs, you know, for like the wind, the the storms that roll, and it's been great.
SPEAKER_01Very cool. Yeah, the Paris show pro like that's uh that's it's quite a show. Have you seen uh I don't know if I should even talk about this now, but the uh, because I know Kelsey they're probably gonna listen to this, but then I I can't remember the name of it. It's the new shoe that drops uh within the next like six months. Uh I know Meg has had a um, I know she's had like a test model of it and a few others have been you've been popping them on the or peeping them on the money on the internet. Um damn, that name Talento? I think it's a Talento Pro. There's like three versions of it. They're sick.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I think I definitely saw when Meg like, I don't know if she like posted if it was on her strawberry or what, but it was just like it looked like the Pardigio, right? But just like way lighter.
SPEAKER_01It's like the Paris Pro, but like toned down a little bit. It's like all of the best parts of the Partigio Pro, but for like something like a Cirque Series race, for instance, or maybe maybe like a Golden Trail series race. That's it's quite not as beefy, um, but still has quite a lot of pop to it. I have not worn them yet, so it's hard for me to kind of like I've kind of speak it out of my ass with that, but like that is my first impression. I saw them, I got to play with them a little bit at Circ Series Kellington, uh one of the reps had them, and I was like, yo, this is a shoe. Yeah, I I have a feeling like once that goes out, uh that's gonna be another best-selling shoe, like hands down.
SPEAKER_00That's what I was thinking, like when I saw it initially, I was like, okay, that's my future race shoe. You know, like that looks amazing. So I can't wait.
SPEAKER_01Very cool. Uh
Race Calendar And Season Goals
SPEAKER_01let's let's talk calendar. What are we gonna be seeing you at this year?
SPEAKER_00I'm still kind of like piecing it together, trying to decide. Um, just because I I feel like going into Mount Marathon, I was like putting so much pressure on like that specific race, but I kind of want to go out and like try different distances. Um, I mean, I think I'm gonna do the Cirque series Target, which will be just like super fun. I've never done that course. I heard it's a super fun, like interesting course. Um yeah, that's what I've heard. And so I'm like super excited. And then I think I might go back to Pike's Peak Ascent. We'll see. I just remember like doing it last year. I was like, this is the hardest thing ever, but I kind of want to do it again. It was so fun. Um, and then I'm thinking of doing the rut. Um, but I'm still yeah, I'm like done with work. I'll be like not working the whole month of August. So I kind of just want to use that time to like travel around, maybe go do what the circu series is Alta. Um do that, just like travel around and do get some good races in, but just kind of have that variety of like you know, six to twelve miles, and then I think I'll end the season with the Moab at half in November.
SPEAKER_01Sweet. Listen, I'm excited for you to do the rut because uh it seems like Alaskans have traditionally done very well there. Like something about the technical terrain. I don't know, maybe it's because it's just uh I don't know, like it seems like people struggle at altitude, but like not at that race because it's a little bit slower and more technical, whereas the Alaskans are used to that and can and can like Claris had great races, Denali's had great races there. So I would expect you to to have a great race there as well.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it'll be it'll be super fun. I'm really excited, and I'm excited just to have like a little bit in between races. Like, I don't think I'll be racing until yeah, Cirque series starts up um in Targi. I think that's the first one I'm gonna do. Um, I still like need to sit down and look at a calendar. But yeah, I'm so excited. It'll be super fun and just like get back. I like took a couple days to like recover after Mount Marathon. Now I'm just like, you know, re-energized to like put in some good hours. I'm really excited.
SPEAKER_01Very cool. And with
Mount Marathon Tradition And Alaska Plans
SPEAKER_01Mount Marathon, will you is this um I don't think I've ever talked to you about this. Is this like a every year kind of thing? Like, will you always kind of go back? Because you know, it's kind of important to a lot of Alaskans story.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I in my mind I kind of just want to be that person who does it until like I'm like physically unable to, like, you know, because it's Alaska, it's like my home, and I still have family there, and it's it's such a good tradition. And I know I don't see myself not going back, definitely. And plus, like it's always so cool to see just like the people in like their 60s and 70s doing that. I'm like, you know, if I can do that, I want to do that. I want to do it forever.
SPEAKER_01Very cool. Yeah. What about Alaska? Will you go? Uh, is that a possibility for this year, or is that because the way it fits in the calendar just too difficult?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it was too difficult to get up to Alaska twice, unfortunately, with like I don't know, flight expenses and stuff, but I really want to make that back. Hopefully next year I can make it back because that course is like my favorite course of all time.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. It's it I wish, and this is just like I'm I might have to talk to Julian about this because it's a bummer that Mount Marathon and then Cirque Series Alaska are a month apart because I'd love for it to be like back-to-back weeks or like at least two weeks apart. So you get like full recovery and you can kind of fit both in. Um because I want to do both next year, but it's like can't stay in Alaska. I mean, I could try, but I gotta responsibilities. I don't know.
SPEAKER_00I know if they were back to back, that would be like, okay, no-brainer doing both for sure.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Then two, I mean, and they're not that wouldn't be too far. I think Girdwood's pretty close to Seward, right? It's not that far.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's like two hours maybe. Okay, cool.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, would have been next year. Next year I'm gonna do my dardness to try to get into Mount Marathon. Because this year, I mean, I I literally had a watch party for I had friends come over and we watched the live stream this year. It was that's the best live stream I've ever watched in my life. They did such a good job.
SPEAKER_00It's so cool. Even with like the men's, because I was like live streaming the men's from like my the cabin I was at, and I, you know, it was like so rainy, but it's like the quality was still amazing, you know. It was like I couldn't see the mountain, but I could see like you know, those drones. It's so funny, like when you're racing, you just hear them everywhere. Like, it's like so cool.
SPEAKER_01The only thing that's bad is if you gotta like go to the bathroom and like like jump off the bushes or something, it's like you're on camera. That that makes it kind of awkward. But other than that, yeah, it's pretty dope for the camera. I I thought about that before. I was like, man, it would really suck to be like I'm not an ultra runner, obviously, but like if I was ever like running the long ultras and like you're on the live stream trying to like hide in the bushes to go to the bathroom, and like people are you know, you're like, hello to the drone. Um cool.
Wrap-Up And What’s Next
SPEAKER_01Well, I think it's a pretty good place to stop. Sophie, I I didn't want to take up all of your time. I just wanted to, you know, recap how exciting it is for you to join the Lost Sportiva team. Uh, get to hear about your some of your favorite gear and uh obviously recap Mount Marathon. And yeah, wishing you the best uh throughout the rest of the summer. I'll see you at Circ Series Grand Targy and uh maybe at Pike's Peak as well. Uh we gotta talk about that because we'll get you get you back in for the ascent.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that'd be awesome.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So uh thank you so much, wishing you the best of luck, and we'll be in touch.
SPEAKER_00Awesome, thank you so much.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, thank you. Guys,
Foot Care With Cetus
SPEAKER_01how'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 of 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 proneal 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 seed as feet. And um, for me personally, it's the run in atomic 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 CDS.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 in souls and socks, they've got the best in the game.
