The Ultramarathon Mindset: Trail Talk

The best weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another. ~William James The Creator gave us the complete, unchallengeable right of prerogative over the one thing, and only thing we own, our mind. ~Napoleon Hill Your ability to choose what thoughts you think is a superpower. When you run an ultramarathon, managing your thoughts is as important as the condition of your body.

Competitive athletes often tie their identity to their ability to perform and to win. They have the drive and ability, but they may not realize they are limiting themselves.  My guest this week is Lauren Ammon. She was a competitive swimmer for 20 years. She swam in her first race when she was five years old. She had success as a swimmer. And she had success in the corporate world as well. But som...

Proverbs 18:21 ~ Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit. You may have heard the expression in English: you will eat your words. Meaning: You’re going to regret saying what you just said. Truth: What you say . . . the words you use, have power. According to Proverbs: Death or Life.

What do you do when you’re in a dark place and nothing is working and you’re at the end of your rope? If you’re like Alex Wisch, you shake off the cobwebs and do what it takes to get somewhere you can get the help you need. Alex went from severe depression to a leading mindset coach, helping athletes and professionals become their best. Alex teaches a technique that allows his clients to get into...

You form views about the world and your role in it based on the stories you tell yourself about what the people you live with say and do. You get a mixed bag.  You get skills that teach you how to survive in the world and society. You form opinions about yourself and your worth as a person. This is your first tier of LIMITING BELIEFS.

What do you do when you get involved in a sport and you see that there aren't many people from your culture represented there? If you are like Verna Volker, you jump in and create an organization to address the issue. Verna is Navajo. She didn't care much for running when she was in school. But later in life, after a good friend passed away, she got the idea to run in a short race in honor of thei...

When you decide you want more from your life, you will face resistance. Your mind and body both work hard to keep you in your comfort zone. Your Lizard Brain works with your subconscious mind to keep you doing the same thing over and over. Anything new or different = a possible threat that may kill you! Your subconscious uses an emotional kill switch to keep you from getting the things you want in...

Erica Terblanche is an adventurer, ultra runner, author, speaker, and coach. We connected for a conversation that is the essence of what trail runners experience when we run together. Yes, we talked about Erica's adventures and the races she's done and the challenges she's still going after. But we talked about mindset, managing pain, what to do when you encounter a lion, jackals in the dark, and...

Have you ever been around someone who always finds the bad in every situation? It’s exhausting to be around them. They suck all your positive energy into a black hole of negativity. You try to encourage them and build them up, but it’s like trying to teach a cat to play fetch. They can imagine all sorts of trouble you never would think of. I’ve said before that worry is a misuse of your imaginatio...

Studies show that most of your thoughts are negative. Can you believe it?  The better question may be how much can you trust any study.  But I'm sure you know how often your mind generates thoughts that aren't helpful and those that are outright toxic! It's time to "STOP IT!". (This is a random recording that came out of a microphone test.)

My guest this week is Cam F Awesome. Cam has won more boxing matches than anyone in the history of the sport. He’s the most decorated boxer in history. Now he’s a public speaker, traveling the country sharing the lessons he learned through boxing: mental toughness and a mindset for confidence. When I first met Cam, he told me that he figured out early on that boxing is more about mindset than it i...

As far as we know, we humans are the only creatures on this planet with the ability to think about and imagine the future. This gives us the ability to plan & set goals. It also gives us the ability to procrastinate. It’s also what makes us feel like the turning of a new year is a fresh start. For a majority of people, the start of a new year is the only time they think that they might be able to...

There are some people in the world who would refer to running 600 miles over multiple days as "fun." And there are some who would do it again if a friend convinced them that getting an FKT (Fastest Known Time) record was possible. Leah Atherton ran the Southwest Coast Trail, England's longest footpath, with the goal to set an FKT. An injury kept her from finishing, but she hasn't let that stop her...

When you “manage” something, it suggests that you have some amount of influence over it. When you manage other people - they are supposed to listen and do what you ask them to do. You don’t have complete control, but you make decisions that affect what they do. So how much influence do you have over time? Can you tell it to slow down or speed up? Can you get it to wait for you? “Time and tides wai...

Finishing the Leadville 100 is a challenge. Not only is there the physical effort of getting up and down the mountain trails, but the air is also thin above 10,000 feet.  Johnathan Prosser lives in the relatively low elevation of Kansas. And his first attempt at a mountain trail race ended with a DNF. He had a goal to run the Leadville 100 and he decided he needed a better strategy if he was going...

Most of us look at skydiving and bungee jumping as dangerous. Wouldn’t think of it! Stats show you are just as likely to die at a dance party as you are skydiving. You are 50x more likely to die in a canoe than bungee jumping. You are 35x more likely to die in a car than riding a bicycle. But most of us will still feel safer driving a car than skydiving. If you’re happy with your life the way it i...

When a rouge wave threw Vinny Crispino from his surfboard and crushed him against a rock, it took him a few seconds to realize he could no longer feel his leg. He made it to shore, but he discovered he had broken his back. He still had use of his legs, but the doctors said the only option was to fuse his spine and that he'd never surf or run again. They told him his only other option was to be con...

How are you doing with your work/life balance? 51% of workers say they have missed important life events because of work commitments. 40% of employees say they use their personal devices for work purposes after business hours.  70% of employees will read their emails while watching television at home. 60% of Americans say they have poor work-life balance mostly due to a lack of boundaries between...

There is a power in nature to heal us and restore our souls. Holly Worton has a life-long love of nature and its wild beauty and flow. Holly is an avid trail runner and hiker. She has skills in woodcraft and bushcraft. She has taken numerous long-distance hiking adventures. Her podcast, "Into the Woods" reflects her passion for nature and adventure. She interviews fellow adventurers about their tr...

In 2019, the “last man standing” at Big's Backyard Ultra was Maggie Guterl . She ran for 60 hours straight. She ran a total of 250 miles. Some so-called experts have asked how women seem able to compete head-to-head with men in ultra distances of 100 miles or more.  I suspect most of these conversations are by men.  And here I am, a man about to offer an opinion on this topic. I believe that women...

Shannon Mick is a Licensed Professional Counselor and has a private mental health practice in Pennsylvania. She is also an ultramarathon runner and mindset coach.  You don't have to be an athlete to be a mindset performance coach. But I do believe it is an advantage to work with someone who has run the distance and has experienced the mental challenges of an ultramarathon.  When you are sweating i...

Take a cold shower Run in the heat Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. This is the advice you can find when you want to develop mental toughness as a runner. Mental toughness is about driving yourself to do hard things. Doing hard things is the life of an ultramarathon runner. But "mental toughness" is not a good long-term plan for ultramarathon running nor as a way to live your life. An ult...

Viktoria Brown set the 72-hour world record this year, going farther than every runner, male and female. She also has an impressive list of other records and accomplishments as a runner and a triathlete. And she balances her racing schedule with being a mom of three girls and the CEO of Hold the Carbs, a supplier of keto foods.

"Just breathe" is the advice you get when you need to calm down. This is good advice, but it's the HOW to breathe that makes your breathing have the exact opposite effect on your body. You feel calmer because you believe what you've been told: that deep breaths--in through your nose and out through your mouth--will reduce your anxiety. But breathing too fast and too deep has the opposite of a calm...

Ryan Steiner isn't one to back away from a big challenge. Ryan told his story in Ep 52 about his decision to go from loving food and weighing over 700 pounds to running and loving ultramarathons. Ryan also has the challenge of interacting with the world through his autism. Social interactions do not come naturally. And new people, places, and routines are not easy for him to adapt to. But he has f...