The Ultramarathon Mindset: Trail Talk

Cath Wallis is living life BIG. She takes on multi-day ultra adventures all over the world. From running on a frozen lake in Mongolia to running in the dessert of Oman or running the "Race to the Wreck" in Namibia. What leads a professional, working mom to decide to run ultramarathons. In this episode, we talk about Cath's passion for adventure as well as her hope to inspire others who don't look...

Running teaches you a lot about yourself. And the strength you get applies to all of life, no just running. My guest this week is Geena Silvia. She is a running coach, a runner with over 70 races to her credit. She also has stepped into racing triathalons. She understands the importance of mindset for success in running and life. And she offers information and inspiration to her clients as well as...

Lifelong runner, Dr. Mark Cuczzella, had his share of running injuries. And that led him to find solutions to be able to run with fewer injuries. He is the creator of the Air Force's Efficient Running Program and the author of Run for Your LIfe: How to Run, Walk, and Move Without Pain Or Injury and Achieve a Sense of Well-Being and Joy. In this episode, he shares his story and his  knowledge about...

Leon Gray wears a tee-shirt that says, "Hit by a bus. What's your excuse?" Some runners wonder if they will still be able to run when they are 65 years old. Leon was still running at that age, when a bus flattened him! He face multiple surgeries and a two-month coma, but he recovered and came back to running again. That was 10 years ago! He is still running, but he says he's slower now than he was...

When you say you live and run in Georgia, most in America think of the state in the US.  My guest this week is Sarah Griffith and she lives and runs in Georgia--the country. And she has a goal to run 1825 miles in 2021.  In this episode we talk about running in Germany and Georgia as well as nutrition and the difference between dogs in Georgia vs. the US. You can find Sarah on Instagram at https:/...

Runners talk a lot about shoes. We spend a lot of money on shoes. And we spend time trying to find the right shoe. My guest this week was frustrated with his choices and decided to take matters into his own hands. Thus, the Hann shoe was born. Lenn Hann is an engineer by profession, and likes to understand how things work. He was cutting apart running shoes long before he got the idea to design on...

Ruthie Loffi describes herself as "a Brit living the life in Oklahoma" who loves to run.  Ruthie is a veteran ultra runner and running coach.  She has lived and run in about eight different countries. She started running for fun with the Hash House Harriers while she was in India. This was a fun virtual trail run. The stories Ruthie shares are fun ones. https://www.facebook.com/ruthie.loffi  

How fast can you run across the Grand Caynyon?  How fast could you do  going across 4 times without stopping? My guest this week is Crystal McGee. In October, Crystal set the FKT (Fastest Known Time) for running from the North Rim to the South Rim and back, and then doing it all over again. In all, she ran 95 miles with 21,000 feet of descent and ascent. She finished in a time of 28:11:26 - the wo...

Taking Life as it Comes

Eugene Bingham loves to run trails. As a journalist and podcaster, he loves to write and talk about trail and ultra running too. Eugene's almost 30 year journalism career has earned him multiple awards. And he shares his stories about running in "Stuff," an online news site covering New Zealand and world news. He also co-hosts "Dirt Church Radio Podcast" with Matt Rayment, talking to runners from...

Theresa Reyes-Cummings has the kind of determination to keep going after the goals she sets. I had the privilege to crew for her as she ran a 100K "rails to trails" course this summer. She then went on to finish her first 100 mile trail race, this fall, on a challenging course: The Mines of Spain in Davenport, IA. She always has an encouraging word and a smile for everyone she meets or runs with o...

Back again after kayaking the entire Mississippi River, Brian Hoover!

This week my guest is Randy Kreill. His most recent race finish is the Cloudsplitter 100.  The website says about this race: "This is one of the more physically demanding trails in the East, and it remains a significant unprotected wilderness area. On a clear day, four other states can be seen from the High Knob summit: West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina." Randy is a fellow bare...

Lindsey McDonald is part of the Trail Nerds running group in Kansas City.  In this episode we talk about nutrition, hills, and training at altitude, and the difference between running up and down mountains vs. up and down hills. Lindsey trains hard, and is a strong competitor on even the gnarliest trails. And she has her sights set on some big goals for her running career.

For those of us who look at running 100 miles as a challenging goal, the idea of going 200 miles or more seems incredible. My guest this week is David Theriot. He's placed among the top finishers in several 100 mile races, run the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim-to-rim, ran in Western States 100, and the Tahoe 200. Now he has his sights set on the Triple Crown of 200s – running the Tahoe 200, the Bigfoot...

I met Jo Hearlson in person for just a few seconds when she came through an aid station I was helping with. But even then, I didn't know her name. I only knew her through Instagram where she goes by "adventuresofarunner."  She has a goal to run at least a mile in every county in Kansas and she had her sights set on a 24 hour race and 100K. The adventures she shares on Instagram are always interest...

My guest this week is Pauline Christie. She is a runner, a mother, and a psychiatric nurse who lives in Australia. Pauline is a runner who posts regular motivation and encouragement on her Instagram account, @Fat_to_5km. Runners come in all shapes and sizes. But most of us still think that “real” runners look like a gazelle . . . lean and light. For those of us who are bigger, just putting on runn...

If you're a runner, especially an ultra runner, you love to run. Each of us have our own reason for WHY. And for most of us, that is more complicated than we can explain in only a few words. But there are other endurance challenges out there other than running. My guest this week, Jordan Zimmerman, is an ultra runner who also enjoys kayaking. He's done the MR350, a race from Kansas City to St. Lou...

Misty Wright is one of the first runners I got to know when I started running trails a few years ago.  I've had the privilege of running with her in training and in our first 100 mile finish.  She's a relentless ultra runner because she has pushed through the normal challenges all of us face with the added challenge of some health issues. In fact, doctors told her she wouldn't be able to run. But...

You can't outrun a poor diet! Dave Basile shares his story of how he came to the low-carb lifestyle for fitness and endurance.

We ultramarathon runners love to push and test our limits.  The challenge is what draws us. And it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of doing more and longer races.  But there's a downside too. Sometimes we forget that rest and recovery are just as important as training and racing. We're in an extreme sport, and we can take our drive to do more to the extreme and find ourselves in BURNOUT...

If you're not having fun, you might be doing it wrong! Todd Chandler always adds a dash of fun to almost everything he does. Sure, he's a strong runner with a bag full of race medals. And whether you talk to him in person, or see something he's posted on social media, his sense of humor comes through. This summer he had to pause his training to recover from an injury. So he made a video and infogr...

For trail runners, a bad idea usually sounds like something we should try anyway, just to be sure. Cindy Rieckhoff shares survival stories of a few of her bad ideas.

Ila Allen is a trail runner who has an unstoppable mindset. She keeps training and pushing to conquer big challenges.

Jason Silvers has an unconventional approach to training for all the races he enters. And he tries to run ALL the races - almost every weekend.