I’m sure that I’ve mentioned Podrunner here before. It’s one of the few internet trends that I can comfortably say I joined in the early going, only a few months into its run. A friend from work introduced me when he knew that my workouts were turning into long ones, and aside from Tiki Bar TV, it’s the only podcast I still subscribe to.

Disclosure: Yeah, it is electronic-trance-tribal-funk-house-whatever, but I like it. I’ve always had a hard time understanding how people can cue up Coldplay or something and then try to work out to it. I need to steal energy from my music, and when I’m humping my sorry butt for an hour on the treadmill, delicate melodies and heartfelt lyrics aren’t going to do it. Thump-thump-thump and ludicrous lyrics about ass-bumping will do me just fine, and thank-you-very-much.

I can’t say that every single Podrunner is a knockout, but I’m amazed at how many I really enjoyed. It consistently hit the right mix of rhythm and cheese, sampling in neat stuff ranging from Marine Corps cadences to a saw cutting a two-by-four. DJ Steveboy himself is hard to listen to — his introductions to each week have, unlike the rest of the broadcast, remained truly awkward and uneven — but the music is always varied, as it runs up and down the scales from 130-or-so BPM all the way up into the 180s. I’ve recommended it to any number of people, and while not everyone has stuck with it the way I have, it’s been gratifying to hear the show go from just another podcast to one of Apple’s weekly top 10.

I don’t know why it’s so validating. It’s not like I ever donated to the guy, or bought one of his tee shirts — and yet it’s still fun to know that at least one internet bandwagon I’ve jumped on didn’t have the friggin’ wheels fall off of it.

This past week, Podrunner announced that it was bringing on board its first sponsor, which is a major move towards legitimacy for anyone self-publishing on the internet. The upside to the DJ is obvious, and ideally it will cement the future of the show; the downside is that with sponsorship comes a different licensing agreement, and the full archives of the show will be going offline tomorrow.

Being the compulsive pack-rat that I am, I’ve kept every download on my hard drive; however, if you’re a past fan or someone who’s listened casually to it once or twice, today is your last chance to go click “Get” in iTunes before they’re gone forever. It’s not often you’ll find ninety hours of free workout music, after all.