The Ultramarathon Mindset: Trail Talk

Poor decisions make for the best stories! This is a quote from Sarah Snyder's website. She says she's gotten into adventures because she's willing to join her friends when they suggest even the craziest things. She became an ultramarathon runner. Then she became an assistant Race Director. And now she is Race Director for several challenging races including the Cruel Jewel. She has the mindset for...

Once upon a time . . . You know a story is coming next when you hear this introduction. And you know the story will require you to suspend your disbelief in what is possible. In the story of the Three Little Pigs you have to accept that pigs have money, build houses, and negotiate business deals with strangers on the road. You also have to believe that wolves are polite enough to knock on your doo...

There are a lot of reasons to run ultramarathons. For most of us, it's a personal challenge, a way to test our limits and see what we're made of. But none of us live in a vacuum. The people who matter to us need to see that we are doing the work to become the best version of ourselves we can be. My guest this week is Shaun Bemis. He returns for a second episode. He is balancing his training with t...

Training for an ultramarathon requires a lot of hours out on the trail. It also requires time in the gym. But when you are an ultramarathon runner and an obstacle course runner, it requires a lot of time both running and in strength training. Devin Nelson is both an obstacle course runner and an ultramarathon runner. And he says that his training plan is the Dad Training Plan. He squeezes in his w...

But don’t let the idea of “Achievable” be an excuse to set goals that are “Safe.” Here’s a clue that you’re setting your goals too small. If you feel stuck, you might be playing it too safe. If you feel like your’re in Groundhog Day, you might be playing it too safe. If you feel tired and sluggish, you might be playing it too safe. If you have brain fog and get distracted, you might be playing it...

Ray Zahab has run in some of the most extreme places and conditions in the world. From the Sahara Desert to Death Valley and most of the major deserts in the world, he's crossed them on foot in the hottest parts of the year. On the other extreme, he's done multiple Arctic treks, including a world record to the South Pole. He uses running and adventure as a way to instruct and inspire students arou...

Follow the Pirate Code! The only thing I remember from Pirates of the Caribbean. But when the Code isn’t working out so well for you: Well, it’s not a Code. It’s more like guidelines we try to follow. This is the start of a New Year. A lot of us are setting goals for what we want to achieve this year. Some of you are setting SMART goals.

Going off into the bush by herself is Jaqui O'Donohoe's idea of a great way to spend the day . . . or several days. Jaqui is an ultramarathon runner and adventurer. She enjoys trail running and racing. And she also likes to put her necessities in a backpack and head out by herself on the trail. Jaqui also enjoys playing Cricket on a women's Cricket team.

New Year Resolutions don’t last much longer than fresh fish in the fridge. Then why do we keep making them? Here’s a radical idea. DON’T make Resolutions this year. Instead, set goals that matter to you and do what it takes to crush them. Here is a free offer! My video course called “How to Crush Your Goals.”

Walking a mail route every day would be enough of a workout for most people. But Ryan Petty is both a mail carrier and an ultramarathon runner. He says running saved his life. He decided to lose weight and get his life straight, and running seemed to him like a good way to do that. He progressed by trial and error and gathered injuries and lessons along the way. Now he is a seasoned ultramarathon...

Imagine yourself sitting in the scene from Anger Management. Who are you? Not your job. Not your personality. Not your roles and responsibilities: Mother, Father, Husband, Wife Most of the time none of us stop to think about this. Why does it matter? Carl Jung: The world will ask who you are, and if you don’t know, the world will tell you. What does this mean? The world will tell you that who you...

You’ve probably heard the story of how to boil a frog. If you put the frog in a pot of boiling water, he will jump out. But if you put a frog in a pot of cool water and gradually turn up the heat, the frog will stay in until he boils to death. My experience with frogs: They wouldn’t stay in the pot no matter what. But the conventional wisdom from this story is: You will adapt to gradual “crap” pil...

Brian Hoover is a man who loves adventure. And I can't think of a better person to feature on a best-of episode. This conversation comes from way back in Episode 28.  Brian decided to kayak the Mississippi River from the headwaters to the Gulf of Mexico. My first conversation with him had been about his trek, hiking from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail.  If you love stories that inspir...

Carol Dweck is a psychologist who wrote a book talking about the differences between people with fixed mindsets vs those with growth mindsets. Someone with a growth mindset views intelligence, abilities, and talents as learnable and capable of improvement through effort. On the other hand, someone with a fixed mindset views those same traits as inherently stable and unchangeable over time.

Nita Sweeney is the award-winning wellness author of Depression Hates a Moving Target , You Should Be Writing , and Make Every Move a Meditation . UltraMarathoner. Meditator. Writing practice zealot. Mental health advocate. Dog mom. Publisher of Write Now Columbus . Nita joined me for a great conversation about the power of running and it's relationship to meditation. It's good to be a moving targ...

Your default response to anything unpleasant or painful is to get away from it. You learned this early in life when you first touched a hot stove. In my case, it was a hairpin in an electrical outlet at 18 months. But you will put up with pain and suffering If you think the reward is big enough. If you think change will be too hard. Ultramarathon runners. Most people in the US are stuck in jobs, o...

The stories that Sally McRae shared with me stuck in my memory. When I thought of what conversations I could share as a “best of the show” episode, this conversation was the first one I thought of. Sally is a tough competitor and trains her mind as well as her body. In this episode she shares stories of how she developed the drive to succeed and to keep moving forward.

Your body is designed to heal itself. There is a natural force within us to fix and repair injuries and fight illness. What isn't discussed very often is that your soul/mind also influences what happens in your body. You have probably experienced the principle that whatever you focus your attention on grows bigger. This same principle applies to those aches and pains or injuries you might have. Yo...

Ciara Carter is a mindset coach, a marathon runner, and she isn't afraid to do things that scare her. This year she decided to pack up her stuff and move from Florida to Utah.  In this episode, we talk about how easy it is for us to get stuck in our comfort zone and settle into a rut. Ciara knew it would be a challenge to leave her friends in Florida and move to a place where she knew absolutely n...

There was a psychological study done where people were asked to watch a video and tell how many times basketballs were passed by a group of people.  About half of the people watching were so focused on counting the passes that they did not see a “gorilla” walk through the middle of the group and beat his chest. You can see an example of the video HERE You and I are wired to filter out a good deal...

Ben Reale went into the Marine Corps as a licensed attorney and an officer. He found that the life of a JAG officer was not as glamorous as the hit TV series made it appear. And after his service, he decided to take a very different career path. He became certified as a personal trainer and then went on to become certified as a nutrition coach. He demonstrates the “ultramarathon mindset” approach...

Most people like to know what to expect. They don’t like change. They don’t like surprises. The appeal of fast food franchises is they are all the same. McDonalds in Tucumcari, NM has the same food as New York City. How would you feel if you woke up one day and discovered that every McDonalds in the world was now vegan? And every one has a different menu. Vegans: every option you had in your city...

Andy Moskal is willing to push hard to find his limits. But he's also willing to pull the plug when things aren't going right in a race. His hundred-mile attempt at the Yeti 100 had him looking at a sub eighteen-hour time and in 5th place overall. sub-eighteen-hour. But around 50 miles in he was facing the symptoms of  rhabdomyolysis. He decided to pull the plug and survive to race another day.