Like a Bigfoot

In 2017, John Kelly became only the 15th finisher of the Barkley Marathon, an epic race through the rugged mountains of Tennessee. He battled through pain, exhaustion, sleep deprivation and three years of preparation in order to achieve one of the biggest accomplishments in ultra running. It was an incredible accomplishment that only someone with a solid physical foundation and mental stoicism can...

For the past 26 years, legendary race director Rick Nealis has put all he has into the iconic Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C, a race that is widely known as one of the absolute best marathons in the United States. One that is an unforgettable experience as it guides the runner on a tour past the monuments and history of the Capitol, ending at a finish line full of Marines. This year Rick...

Our last mountain biking podcast took us to the South Pole. This time we're heading up North to one of the most iconic races on the planet, the Iditarod! 1,000 miles through some of the most pristine, awe-inducing wilderness in the whole entire world, the Iditarod takes competitors, be it dogsled teams, runners, or bikers, across Alaska from Anchorage all the way to Nome. Through this journey, com...

This week we are chatting with one of my favorite people in the whole entire world, Adam Crews! Adam became one of my closest friends in high school. Many days were spent playing football and getting into shenanigans together. Recently, he began working out and running, focusing on reclaiming his health. In this episode he talks about the why and the how of his fitness journey. He also happens to...

Andrew Zeck lives in California and is the CTO and Founder of the delivery app Saucey. He's also an old high school football teammate of mine who is has discovered of a love of endurance racing. And he's pretty damn fast too!! In this episode we discuss his recent preparation for his first Ironman Triathlon and all the peaks and valleys along the way. We also delve into his endurance racing journe...

Miriam Gilbert is an ultra runner, writer, and adjunct professor from New Jersey. She describes herself as an "ordinary runner" but, in my opinion, is anything but. Having ran eight 50 milers, three 100 milers, and a handful of 24 hour timed events, Miriam is an experienced ultra runner who has a lot of insights and wisdom to share. On top of all that, ultra running quite literally saved her life....

George Black is an entrepreneur, a father, a traveler, and a business strategist. He's the author of "The Next Level Entrepreneur" which is focused on finding that passion in life and using it to sustain a business. George is also a guy who loves a good adventure- whether that is backpacking through some of the more remote wilderness in the U.S., traveling the world, or constructing his own busine...

This week we are reconnecting with our friend and one of my absolute favorite people in the whole entire world, Calvin Johannsen. Calvin always brings his A game for the podcast and this week is no different. He is a lifelong learner seeking to discover the most about himself, the world, and his many passions. Recently, he completed a 200 hour yoga teacher training and now instructs his own yoga c...

Endure. Sometimes that's all you can do. Keep putting one foot in front of the other as you battle your way through. No matter how hard, how terrible you feel. Just keep moving. Our ability to endure at times is a means to make it through an ultra run, bike ride, test of will. While other times this is what we fall back on when life sends us down unexpected devastating paths. That's the most impor...

This week we welcome back ultra runner and author of "Bigfoot 200: Because, You Know, Why the #@&% Not?" Ryan Chukuske. Two years ago Ryan trained incredibly hard for the Bigfoot 200- sleep deprivation training, exhaustion training, spending hours and hours on his feet- only to be forced to DNF due to his foot being absolutely demolished by gangrene. Instead of giving up on his dream, Ryan has bec...

Josh Milich and Brian Tjersland are ultrarunners who want to run for more than a belt buckle, a medal, or an ice cold finish line beer. Next November they are planning on running the 500 miles from Massachusetts National Cemetery to Arlington National Cemetery to bring awareness to Mission 22, a foundation established in support of all veterans after their service to our country. 500 miles is a lo...

A few weeks ago, during the Polar Vortex, Ryan Wanless was the baddest man in North America. Or, at least he was the coldest. Ryan endured what most people would deem impossible, surviving 56 hours in brutally cold -30 degree temperatures while running 135 miles from the border of Canada deep into the Northern Minnesotan woods. In ultra running, last place is its own special honor. DFL is not cons...

Over the last few years Courtney Dauwalter has exploded onto the ultrarunning scene with legendary performance after legendary performance. She won the Moab 240 outright by over 10 hours, she set the second fastest time in women's history while winning Western States 100, she endured a 4 mile loop over and over again for 67 hours chalking up 279.2 miles in the insanity that is Big's Backyard Ultra...

Can you imagine what it would be like to ride a bike to the South Pole? Traversing one of the harshest landscapes on the planet, battling wind, cold, altitude, snowdrifts, isolation, and crevasses for over 50 straight days? That's exactly the adventure this week's guest took on. Back in December 2013 Daniel Burton set out to become the first person to bike to the southernmost point on the Earth. A...

This week we welcome back professor Jake Reed to chat all things Sports Science, Endurance Racing, and Optimum Performance! Jake has a Ph D. in Sport Performance and is a professor of Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Northern Iowa. He just recently finished training for and running his very first 50k ultra marathon and is also one of my absolute favorite people on the planet...

This week we are chatting with Rebecca Walker all about her recent adventure in Antarctica! Rebecca guided blind runner Vladmi Virgilio Dos Santos through the last of his 4 Deserts stage race series which also consisted of the Sahara, Atacama, and Gobi deserts. She first started working for the Racing the Planet company as their expedition emergency physician where she assisted runners by using he...

This week’s show is with the awesome Greg McHale! Greg is an adventure athlete, endurance racer and hosts a phenomenal hunting show on Sportsman Channel called “Greg McHale’s Wild Yukon. His goal is that by being a conduit between outdoor adventure athletes and the hunting world, he can inspire the love of the outdoors and conservation. In this episode we talk about numerous adventures he has had...

I am so honored to bring you this week's episode with USA Gold Medal Olympic Hockey player Amanda Pelkey. Amanda shares all sorts of incredible stories from the USA's journey to gold medal glory. In this episode we talk about the hard work, sacrifice and dedication that is involved in making the team, moments from the Olympic experience that she will always remember, and how her team's attitude, t...

This week features some of my favorite moments from episodes #40-80 of the Like a Bigfoot Podcast. Hope you guys enjoy!! Featuring adventure stories, life lessons and plenty of inspiration from: Josh Lajaunie, Miguel Medina, "Antarctic Gurka" Scott Sears, "Iowans for Everest" Andy Anderson, Kuntal Joisher, Candice Burt, Natalie Larson, Scott Morris, "Running the Parks" Bill Sycalik, "Feral Mountai...

This week Travis Steffen is back on the show for a unprecedented 5th time! As always our conversation hits on a variety of topics; serious, goofy, bizarre and everything in between. On this week's show we explore our relationship with self doubt, imposter syndrome and the power of authenticity. We also discuss Travis's current athletic goals and some of his plans for 2019. Hope you guys enjoy the...

This week we are welcoming my amazing coworker, lifelong runner, and all around awesome dude Chris Cornejo! Chris chats all about his life as an athlete, from high school cross country runner to someone who became a road marathoner, Running has always been a part of his life and recently he stepped up to his very first trail ultra marathon when he took on the Bear Chase 50k in Lakewood, Colorado....

This week I'm very excited to bring Paul Scheuring back on the show! Paul was originally on episode 101 sharing some awesome stories from our time at the Desert RATS Stage Race this summer. This time he's talking about his recent adventure running the Quad Dipsea, a race that has 9,200 feet of climbing in 28 miles....which sounds like a BEAST! Then we chat a bit about 10 day meditation retreats, t...

This week we are welcoming ultra runner and podcast host Rob Steger to the show! Rob recently completed the EPIC Moab 240 which is a two hundred and forty mile race traversing all around Moab, UT. The race is put on by Candice Burt, race director of Destination Trails, and from all reports is an extremely high quality and AWESOME event! Over his 4 days of running Moab, Rob had an adventure of a li...

This week we are welcoming the super energetic and awesome Tony Nguyen to the show! Tony has an incredible story of transforming himself from a non-athlete, self professed "last in gym class" to a man who has gone all in on the running community. After a heart attack scare, he started walking. Walking turned into running. Running turned into becoming a Marathon Maniac. That became transforming int...

This week we are chatting with Katie and Jason Parker about what it takes to remodel a van, quit your jobs, and hit the road in search of adventure! Three years ago they bought an old Ford van, gutted it, and spent their time together remodeling it into a living space. Currently, they are about four months into a year long road trip that will take them completely around the country. In those short...