We Are Superman

This is the first of two parts of a very fun conversation with one of the really impressive relatively-new stars of the ultraendurance world, Don Reichelt. After pretty much his debut doing Leadman in 2015, Don has plunged headlong into running long distances and doing everything he can to embrace finding out how far he can go in the sport. He has moved to a house at 9600-feet elevation near Fairp...

You've heard me before lauding the benefits of hip and glute strengthening to ensure your health and longevity in running.  I discuss here a large set of exercises you can easily do with minimal equipment once or twice a week that will help you immensely.  I also have a printed handout and a video I can share with you, just drop me a note at one of the addresses below. Bill Stahl silly_billy@...

Time to take a deep dive into the world of trail race directing and the state of ultrarunning. This is a really entertaining chat with John Lacroix, owner of Human Potential Race Series, based here in Colorado. I got to visit with John in his business’ very impressive HQ/studio. John first got into ultrarunning himself before later having friends twist his arm into becoming a race director. Less t...

Here's a bit of fun recounting my recent three-week trip to South Africa and Namibia, a fancy cruise with my family to celebrate my dad's 90th birthday.  I describe the thrilling animals, impressive sights, crazy runs, and the history and culture, including the tragic legacy of apartheid, and the good and the bad of current life there.  I discovered there is a ton more to know about this...

Here's a quick Power Play episode referencing a recent real-life coaching scenario, discussing ensuring both your body and brain are totally engaged in your training program.   Ixcela is offering the WASP family a free 15-minute consultation with one of their nutritionists, and a 10% discount if you decide you’d like to use their services to try to improve your performance and overall health....

When I heard Glenn Livingston’s story, I was immediately struck by the similarities to those of David and so many others I know from the Warriors group and elsewhere. This native of the same area of Long Island that I grew up in, like so many young people I coach, felt that as an athlete he could eat anything he wanted to because he would burn it off at the next workout. What occurred next was the...

Happy New Year, everyone! Returning to the Hive is the always fun breakout star of ultrarunning, Annie Hughes.  We spoke with her in 2021 after she became, at age 23, the youngest-ever winner of the Leadville Trail 100. And she was a local resident to boot!  Annie ramped up her racing and success even more in 2022, capturing four more titles and many course records, all with the guidance of her tr...

Following my running the LT100 in August, I went through two weeks of extreme fatigue, I was exhausted at times following doing only household chores.  I had an ok week after that, and then I was set back for another two weeks after receiving shots I needed for my trip to Africa.  Even after that, I have often struggled to feel energy on runs, frequently feeling out of breath either at the very st...

It’s our annual holiday tradition: Gary Stotler and I presenting Sober F*cking Christmas. Gary has had quite a journey in 2022, so we chat about both of our career’s twisting roads and what’s coming up for the holidays, including Gary’s own food struggles during the holidays and how he solves them. Of course, we pay tribute to David Clark, who recorded the first Sober F*cking Christmas, with some...

We often talk about rebounding on the WASP. It may not be much harder than this since we spoke earlier in 2022 about Holocaust survivor Lili Berliner. Today we talk with Rick Townsend, whose lovely daughter Lauren was one of 12 students murdered at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. Rick is the president of the Columbine Memorial Foundation, which maintains the beautiful memorial in Clement...

I’m excited to present the second WASP appearance by Dan Herman, who trains and counsels athletes out of Dan Herman Performance in New Jersey. Like we did a year ago, Dan and I have a fun and timely chat to keep you focused on your training and nutrition goals through the holidays and into next year. Dan is an amazingly insightful guy who’s had his own amazing journey. He was 375 pounds with an un...

As most of you know, the typical response in our medical system to your injury is first medication, sometimes physical therapy, then maybe injections, and finally surgery. In the previous episode, Sammie Lewis and I touched on some of the more advanced modalities available should you get injured. The problem can often be that if you need one of these, good luck getting our health insurance system...

As I’ve mentioned, I’m a huge believer that if you want to keep working out without interruption, you must address your muscle imbalances and your overall balance, and in many instances work on your mobility, flexibility, and overall strength. These efforts should be happening year-round, but in particular we often have more opportunity to do so in the winter. So I thought it would be most appropr...

With Thanksgiving around the corner, our focus is on family, so who better to bring onto the WASP than the creator of the Leadville family herself, Merilee Maupin? While Ken Chlouber and his rugged miner face and dressed in classic Western attire appears on the Leadville Race Series Web site and posters, Merilee, as co-founder with Ken, was the force behind creating the Leadville Family that gets...

I hope you caught last week Kelly Thrush’s jaw-dropping story of nearly drinking himself to death, how a liver transplant saved his life despite that he hadn’t yet gotten sober, and waking up from that surgery feeling gratitude for the efforts of so many to give him another shot at life. Kelly has grabbed that opportunity by the proverbial horns. He describes in this second part getting sober and...

At this year’s American Heroes Run, Kelly Thrush of Arizona by far had the best cheering section, including a couple of adorable tikes, his niece and nephew, holding up a posterboard sign with the message, “From liver transplant to 100 miles, look at what you can do Kelly.” I had the fantastic opportunity to cover a few laps with Kelly and got to hear his remarkable story. An aspiring professional...

I’ve brought back Kathy Davis from VegInspired, who was on episode #217 on July 21, to expand on the benefits of plant-based eating, and more importantly, how to make it easy to do. Specifically, she recommends meal planning so as to avoid, when life gets chaotic, reverting to eating out of a box, i.e., reaching for the nearest junk food. Most importantly, she offers tips about making meal plannin...

Training most of your life to make the Olympic team and then actually achieving that goal has got to be the crowning achievement of your life, right? For Hannah Halvorsen, it certainly was. It looks so glamorous to march in the Opening Ceremony, competing against the best in the world at the most awesome venues money can build, enjoying an unparalleled experience in the Olympic Village and seeing...

First I had a two-week malaise after running the Leadville Trail 100.  Then after receiving yellow fever, typhoid, and polio vaccinations for my upcoming trip to Africa, I went through a host of medical problems including debilitating cramps in my upper trapezius muscle, more fatigue, numbness in my fingers, and double vision.  So now I'm pretty much starting over, as I did after each of my s...

There were stories galore at the 2022 American Heroes Run, David's tribute to first responders, military service people and veterans, and the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001. We also had a lot of record performances, perhaps due to a sudden 40-degree drop in temperature plus a steady dose of rain. Please listen to hear some of these impressive and inspirational tales of endurance and perseveranc...

I hope you enjoyed part one of the great storytelling with one of running’s legends, Roy Pirrung. Last episode I detailed some of Roy’s many incredible running achievements at a wide array of distances, and he and I talked about some of his many-varied experiences. In part two of this conversation we talk more about how the Italians tried to stop him from finishing a race, getting married in the V...

When I first began running long distances, I subscribed to this obscure black-and-white magazine called Ultrarunning. It was nothing but race results and a few articles and letters to the editor. The community of ultrarunners was very small in those days, and there were a couple of names I’d always see standing out in the results. One of them was Roy Pirrung, a legend of the sport, now 74 years yo...

It’s taken a bit to process everything from my Leadville Trail 100. The race for me ended at Twin Lakes, mile 40. My plan to fuel and hydrate better by going out at a conservative pace was obviously too slow and might have worked better had I not expended so much mental and physical energy dealing with a lighting system that wasn’t bright enough and my dicey depth perception and balance that led m...

It's here!  Time to run the fabled Leadville Trail 100 for 700-800 intrepid runners and for me for the ninth time.  Here's a quick preview before heading to beautiful, magical Leadville.  Bill Stahl silly_billy@msn.com Facebook Bill Stahl Instagram @stahlor This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit billstahl8...

Get ready for a super-exciting and motivational episode with legends of ultraendurance racing, Mark Macy, known to many as Mace, and his son Travis. Mace is an adventure athlete extraordinaire, including competing in every one of the Eco-Challenges during its original iteration from 1995 to 2002. I would take up an entire podcast if I were to read off all of Travis’ racing honors. He set the recor...