This week we are sitting down and chatting with Emily Wanless, an ultrarunner who has been putting up awesome times in races all over the midwest!

Emily lives in South Dakota and after discovering a passion for running ridiculously long distances, she dived head first into the ultrarunning scene.  From crewing, pacing and being an exemplar aid station worker to racing and winning races herself, she has fully gone “all in” on long distance running.

In this episode we chat about a smorgasbord of running and adventure topics: a recent adventure up a 14er, what led her into ultrarunning, her recent victory at the Kettle Moraine 100k, and her expectations for the upcoming CCC in France (one of the premiere ultra races in the world).

Besides her CCC training, the main topic of discussion this week is the Midwestern Ultrarunning scene.  As an Iowan born and raised, I am seriously getting interested in exploring the midwestern country on foot and wanted to get Emily’s recommendations on some awesome races out in the plains.  I truly think this sport is the best way to really connect with an area and to be able to connect in that way with the midwest would be really special.  Emily is such a wonderful ambassador for Midwestern ultrarunning and has some really awesome suggestions for races in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota.

Can’t wait to share this episode with you guys!! Thank you to Emily for sharing an hour with me and to you guys for listening and supporting the show!!

EMILY’S RACE RECOMMENDATIONS:

Black Hills 100 (Sturgis, South Dakota): https://blackhills100.com

Kettle Moraine (Elkhorn, Wisconsin): https://www.kettlemoraine100.com

Hitchcock Experience (Honey Creek, Iowa): http://www.irunwithgoats.org/hitchcock-hundred.html

Zumbro Endurance Run (Theilman, Minnesota): https://www.zumbroendurancerun.com

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This week we are chatting with someone who has used his discovery of passion in running and endurance sports to transform his life.

Gene Day was never an athlete growing up.  Years of alcoholism and a sedentary lifestyle left him in a spot of depression, anxiety and dissatisfaction.  But life isn’t defined by where you were.  It is not about being stuck in a moment in time, unable to break the chains of your present situation.  Life is an open book, the pages in front of you are blank, waiting for you to tell the story.

Gene picked up the pencil and started telling a different story.  Eleven and a half years of intentional action, consistency and celebrating gradual successes along the way and here he is prepping for his hardest race yet, the Volcanic 50k around Mt. St. Helens.

In this episode, Gene shares his story.  How he used consistent incremental gains to become first a runner and then a marathoner and now an ultrarunner and how he embraced the mindset of “to be good at something you have to be willing to be bad at it for awhile.”

This episode is fantastic.  The philosophies Gene has formed through endurance sports are absolutely wonderful!!  I truly related to his mindset and the joy he displays when chatting about the sport we love.

Our hope is that this conversation will light a fire under you so you will seek purpose and share your own inspiration as you chase your goals!

(Also he has a powerful reason for wanting to run around Mt. St. Helens originating from driving near it on a very significant day in the volcano’s history.  Don’t want to give anything away but this story was AWESOME!!)

MORE FROM GENE DAY:

Boundary Conditions His EXCELLENT blog: https://boundary-conditions.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RunningBoundary

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roccoandfettitraveltheworld/?hl=en

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This week I’m very excited to bring you a conversation with leadership coach and owner of Elev8 Educ8 Rejuven8 Tyler Johnson.

This year I get the opportunity to teach a 12 week leadership course to middle school students at my school.  I’m really excited for this opportunity because I feel like it plays right into my strengths and has the potential to be a really fun, effective class.  I wanted to sit down with Tyler because, after years and years of being a leader and absorbing lessons from some of the best pro athletes out there, he is now taking his wisdom and spreading it to the next generation.

Back in college Tyler grew into a leadership role as a defensive back for the University of Northern Iowa Panthers football team.  His passion for sports led him to work in the offices of pro baseball for the White Sox to the Positive Coaching Alliance and then to forming his own leadership program.

All that being said, Tyler is an outstanding person to nurture and grow young leaders.  He’s extremely positive, charismatic, intelligent and very well versed in leadership and the best practices for young people.

Wherever you are in life, you have the capability of leading.  You have people who look to you, see how you act and will follow your example.  This is power that each and every one of us have the capability to use.  How can we use this power to the best of all of our abilities?  How can we spread goodness to each other through our actions, our words, and our values?

I think you guys will love this episode and will take away some valuable insight.  I am extremely grateful for this conversation with Tyler! Big thanks to him for sharing his story and insights!

If you’re in Denver August 5th, be sure to check out his leadership summit:

MORE FROM ELEV8 EDUC8 REJUVEN8:

Blog: http://elevateeducaterejuvenate.blogspot.com

Leadership Summit (August 5th): https://www.eventbrite.com/e/elev8-leadership-summit-tickets-62503160636

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Elev8Educ8Rejuven8/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elev8educ8rejuven8/

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This week we are bringing you tales from my fellow Desert RATS racers and crew members for our final podcast about this year’s Kokopelli Stage Race!

I was lucky enough to share my time in the desert with these absolutely incredible people and I am honored to be able to share their experiences with all of you.  In this episode, runners Kayla Howell, Morgan Hall, Laurie Miller, and Theresa Zordan unfold all the highs and lows from their own desert journeys as we try to really pinpoint what the race so special.  Meanwhile, Gemini Adventures race director and race liaison Reid Delman and Kyla Claudell discuss what made this year’s event unique, what they get out of putting it on, and the adventures they have had through the 16 years of Desert RATS.

Hope you guys enjoy this episode as much as I did!!

To everyone involved in the race this year- thank you, thank you, thank you!! My time in the desert meant more than I can possibly express (even with nearly 4 hours of podcast about it ha ha ha!!)

Also if you’re interested in the event you can register at Ultrasignup (link below) and type in the code WARD for 25% off!! Get ’em!

MORE FROM DESERT RATS:

Gemini Adventures: http://www.geminiadventures.com

Desert RATS registration: https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=69039

Last year’s recap (episode 100): https://soundcloud.com/chris-ward-126531464/100-my-desert-rats-kokopelli-150-race-report

Last year’s recap (episode 101): https://soundcloud.com/chris-ward-126531464/101-desert-rats-4

Last year’s recap (episode 107): https://soundcloud.com/chris-ward-126531464/107-desert-rats-5

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Desert RATS.

It’s the race that I’ve completely been enamored by over the last two years.  The race that has taught me so much.

Why would any sane person want to run 140ish miles through the desert in June??

To push beyond self doubt to discover what your actually capable of?  To process life events, tragedies, joys?  To experience the solitary nature of the desert?  To explore areas unknown and discover “what’s around that corner?”  To enjoy a community of likeminded people and be reminded of the goodness of humanity?  To simply camp, get messy, bathe in rivers, smell of campfire smoke and body odor and avoid any semblance of the everyday?

For me, it is all of that and more.

Why we come to Desert RATS and what the experience teaches us is difficult to put down on words.  Only to say it’s special and you change.  It’s not just one factor that affects you.  It’s the people you experience it with, the places you see, the hardships you overcome and the moments in time when you are alone in the wilds, with no distractions, to hear and understand yourself at the most primal level.

Hope you guys enjoy today’s show! Phil Pinti and I sit down with my good friend Brady Manriquez to recount, recollect, and to unfold the saga that was this year’s Desert RATS.  It’s a long one, it’s a good one, and I really enjoyed recording this show!

Huge thanks to Gemini Adventures, our fellow nine runners who were all completely inspiring and wonderful, and to the crew who truly make this event exceptional.

If you’re interested in next year’s event, Gemini Adventures is giving 25% off (which would save you a significant amount of money) if you use the code: WARD.

https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=69039

(Usually I don’t advertise on the podcast but I think after listening you will understand that I’m all in on helping others discover this event and in turn an amazing adventure in the desert)

MORE FROM DESERT RATS:

Gemini Adventures: http://www.geminiadventures.com

Desert RATS registration: https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=69039

Last year’s recap (episode 100): https://soundcloud.com/chris-ward-126531464/100-my-desert-rats-kokopelli-150-race-report

Last year’s recap (episode 101): https://soundcloud.com/chris-ward-126531464/101-desert-rats-4

Last year’s recap (episode 107): https://soundcloud.com/chris-ward-126531464/107-desert-rats-5

MORE FROM PHIL PINTI:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/macho_man_runneth/

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This week we are welcoming back physical therapist, lifelong endurance athlete, and one of my personal endurance sport inspirations, my cousin Susan Nowell!

In this episode Susan shares how she has recovered from an injury to take on an Ironman.  We also explore the idea of having our best races when we are relaxed and have little expectations.  Susan has had quite the adventurous life and has lived in some amazing endurance places: Utah, San Francisco, Italy and Hawaii.  Throughout the show, we explore her experiences in endurance sports in all of those different cultures.

Hope you guys enjoy the show!! We’ll be back next week with our Desert RATS stage race report! Can’t wait!

More from Susan:

Stage race article she wrote for Trail Runner Magazine: http://trailrunnermag.com/destinations/international/9-destination-stage-races-to-add-to-your-bucket-list.html

Last time she was on the podcast: https://soundcloud.com/chris-ward-126531464/like-a-bigfoot-episode-7-susan-nowell

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We are a few days out from stepping up to the start line of round 2 of the Desert RATS Kokopelli 150 Stage Race, Phil Pinti is in town getting ready to go, so I wanted to sit down with him and give you guys a glimpse into our pre-race mindsets!!

In this episode, Phil and I chat about the idea of rituals and what going back to the desert means to us.  We also give you an idea of our expectations for this year’s quest, what we learned from last year, and what we did to train and prepare.  Along the way we touch on all sorts of random topics, including City Slickers (always a favorite talking point on this show), soundtracks that fit with the desert, best Macho Man promos, and more.

Hope you guys enjoy!

I’ll link the GPS tracker when it’s available at the Like a Bigfoot Facebook or Twitter Page so you can follow our journey over the next week.

We’ll be back in a few weeks with our race report!

FOLLOW ALONG WITH DESERT RATS:

Gemini Adventures Racer Updates: https://geminiadventures.com/desert-rats-2019-racer-updates/

MORE FROM PHIL PINTI:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/macho_man_runneth/

Previous Episode: https://soundcloud.com/chris-ward-126531464/98-desert-rats-3-one-week-out-with-phil-pinti

Phil’s Desert RATS report: https://soundcloud.com/chris-ward-126531464/101-desert-rats-4

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Subscribe and Review on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/like-a-bigfoot/id1160773293?mt=2

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Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/likeabigfoot/

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This week we are welcoming fellow podcast host, running enthusiast and all around awesome dude Denny Krahe to the show!

Denny is the host of the excellent running podcast “Diz Runs Radio” and through his journey has learned all sorts of lessons about the sport, both through being an athlete and talking to a wide range of runners.  At this point, his show has over 735 episodes which is incredible and also makes Denny an unbelievably well informed runner.  In fact, he may be the person who has spent the most time chatting about running I’ve ever met!  (Over 735 hours of recorded run chats is impressive!)

In this episode we get to flip the script on him and hear his story.  How he went from a non-runner athletic trainer for his college track team to a casual runner to a marathoner who said he would never do an ultra to his first three 50ks!  We also chat about his thoughts on Nike’s Breaking2 project, what he’s learned from the podcast, and how his journey using the Maffetone Method has made him a faster, stronger, injury free runner.

Hope you guys enjoy and I truly would urge you to check out “Diz Runs Radio”.  No matter what kind of runner you are, Denny interviews such a wide variety of people that you will be able to find a subject that suits you.

MORE FROM DIZ RUNS:

Diz Runs Radio Podcast: http://www.dizruns.com/podcast/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dizruns/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dizruns/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DizRuns

Website: http://www.dizruns.com

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