As we reflect on this past year we should all be immensely proud at the sheer humanity discovered in digging deep and pushing through. 2020 really tested our fortitude and patience as we, in the wise words of my buddy Paul Scheuring, “perpetually soldiered on despite the unknown.”

Here’s to you for enduring 2020 and all its ups and downs, twists and turns, good times and bad. You were strong, resilient, adaptable, worthwhile, all the while withstanding incredible stress, boredom, anxiety, frustration, and exhaustion of this tumultuous year.

I want to express my extreme gratitude for each and every one of you who has supported the show this year. I have truly been honored by each and everyone who has been involved in this show either as a listener or a guest. The kind words, the stories of adventure, the motivation, and the wisdom shared with me through this year are things I will never forget and I hope by listening you have been entertained, enlightened, and motivated to live to an ambitious and contented life.

To wrap up the year I’m talking to one of the kindest, wisest people I know. Lindsey Ward is a family medicine doctor and has spent the year not only battling her own stresses but helping others with their anxiety as well. She is also my lovely wife!

In this episode Linz shares the advice she has given many patients this year about cultivating happiness and managing anxiety. We have a real open and honest (and hopefully weird and funny) conversation about our own strategies in dealing with anxiousness, stress, and anxiety.

I hope you guys enjoy the episode! Thanks again for everything you have done for this project through the year. I am truly in awe of the support and appreciate all of you!

Happy Holidays!

LINKS TO SOME HAPPINESS AND ANXIETY RESOURCES:

The Happiness Lab Podcast: https://www.happinesslab.fm

The Happiness Project Book: https://www.amazon.com/Happiness-Project-Revised-Aristotle-Generally/dp/0062414852

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Adapt. That’s what we as athletes and humans do.

When life throws us obstacles we transform to meet them head on.

Today’s guest exemplifies this. In 2014, Sherown Campbell, a lifelong athlete, father, and all around incredible human being, was paralyzed from the shoulders down. The injury classified him as a quadriplegic.

The years following have seen Sherown persistently and patiently taking on his recovery one day at a time. Where he is now is an absolute inspiration- consistently working out to regain as much mobility and movement as possible.  His persistence and positive mindset has helped him reach huge goals such as climbing the iconic Manitou Incline in Colorado Springs (2,000 feet of elevation in 1 mile).

In this episode we chat about the athletic mindset and how Sherown has applied that throughout his recovery, the power his kids brings to his life, what it was like to take on the Manitou Incline and he teaches us an majorly important lesson about the “gift of presence.”

I was absolutely blown away by this conversation and am very excited to share it and Sherown’s wisdom to all of you! Hope you all enjoy!

Also a huge thanks to Tim Barr, my cohost for this podcast.  Tim is an absolute beast of an ultra runner and it was really fun to chat with Sherown with him to see the parallels between athletes, fathers, and good humans!

MORE FROM SHEROWN CAMPBELL:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sherown.campbell/

Craig Hospital Article: https://craighospital.org/stories/sherown-campbell

Manitou Incline Article: https://kdvr.com/news/paralyzed-arvada-man-makes-it-up-manitou-incline-with-arm-supports/

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This week I am very excited to bring you an episode with Emma Kittle and her dad Bruce Kittle!!

In this episode we chat all about athletic performance, the power of using alter egos, why we need to shoot for the sun and melt our wings of wax, how to combat our own limiting beliefs, and we share some stories from hiking the Colorado 14ers!

Emma and Bruce are the founders of Thunderbird Performance which is a high level training approach “to mental, physical and spiritual coaching, using yoga, movement, and mindfulness, to help athletes become the very best version of themselves they can be;  freeing them to compete at the highest levels.” Their approach is focused on helping athletes grow into the best versions of themselves by letting go of their limiting beliefs!

As a family they have also started hosting a podcast called “Hidden Pearls Podcast” with George Kittle (who has become one of the most dominating, hardworking and charismatic players in the NFL). This podcast is a wonderful show each week highlighting a different Nonprofit with the goal of “sharing the untold stories of the people and communities impacted by social and environmental injustice.”

Personally, I just love listening to these two geek out about the mindset of high performance (in both life and athletics).  Bruce and Emma can drop so many knowledge bombs on you for an entirety of a conversation that you are just scrambling to write it all down!

Hope you guys enjoy and learn as much from the episode as I did!!

MORE FROM EMMA AND BRUCE:

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

Emma’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ekittle/

Bruce’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachkittle61/

Thunderbird Performance: https://www.thunderbirdperformance.com

Hidden Pearls Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-pearls-podcast/id1531252205

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCevHgve_Kq_nbVg0Pv7QS-Q

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(Photo Credit: Rugile Kaladyte)

About a month ago, Kait Boyle and her teammate Kurt Refsnider individually set a women’s and men’s Fastest Known Time on the iconic 137 mile Kokopelli Trail.  Biking faster than anybody they climbed nearly 15,000 feet, traversed the La Sal Mountains and endured the deep canyons of the desert completely self supported.

This was another huge accomplishment for Kait in a career of elite ultra mountain biking that includes 24 hour world championships, major bikepacking journeys, Arizona Trail records, amongst many more.

Her journey over the last two years to the Kokopelli has been beyond inspiring.  After a car crash shattered her pelvis, she persevered, working slowly to build her endurance back to an elite level.  The Kokopelli was a culmination of those years of work.

Kait is also a huge proponent for preservation of wild places, environmental education, outdoor leadership and was the co-creator with Kurt of bikepackingroots.org, a website dedicated to growing the bikepacking community.

I was super excited about this episode! This beautiful desert trail has meant so much to my life through my two years taking on the Desert RATS stage race and my mind was blown talking to someone who was able to traverse the whole thing in 13 hours and 7 minutes!!

Hope you guys enjoy listening to Kait’s adventures as much as I did!! Please support Kait and bikepackingroots.org!

MORE FROM KAIT BOYLE:

Website: https://www.imkait.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kait.boyle/

Bikepacking Roots: https://www.bikepackingroots.org

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Oh boy…this is a good one!

Let’s be honest, 2020 has been super stressful lately and for my own happiness I needed an hour or two of laughing with two of my best friends about some pointless stuff that we are way too knowledgeable about!

So this week we are sitting down with Travis Steffen and Brandon Swett, two bonafide sports movie geniuses to dive deep into all things SPORTS MOVIES!!!

Speeches, montages, underdogs, cheesy bad guys, Kevin Costners, sports movies that aren’t sports movies, this episode has it all.

In this episode Travis Steffen is taken through a gauntlet, sharing his opinions on TEN SPORTS MOVIE CATEGORIES along with a lightning round of ridiculous questions (which if you have heard Travis on the show before you can expect the slowest lightning round ever).  Though we neglect to mention a few movies (how in the world did we forget Slapshot!!!) Travis and Brandon lead us through a discussion of a bunch of the movies we love.

Hope you guys have a wonderful Thanksgiving and that this episode brings you as much joy as it brought me!!

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Rue Mckenrick is a backpacker with a long list of accomplishments, “Triple Crowner, Long Trailer, JMTer”, and thousands upon thousands of miles hiked.

Inspired by all of these hikes, he is now stepping up to his biggest challenge, creating and hiking the approximately 12,000 mile American Perimeter Trail, a loop that will circumnavigate the continental United States.

In this episode we talk about what is inspiring him to endure the miles and years to achieve such a tremendous goal.  He also shares adventures and misadventures from his last 15 months of continuous backpacking and exploring, including how he hiked through the initial COVID lockdown with near complete isolation by combining social isolating skills with traditional backpacking skills.

I hope you guys enjoy listening to Rue’s tails and help contribute to his creation of the American Perimeter Trail (links on how to help below)!!! Keep exploring!

MORE FROM RUE AND THE AMERICAN PERIMETER TRAIL:

Website: https://americanperimetertrailproject.weebly.com

How to Support: https://americanperimetertrailproject.weebly.com/support-the-trail.html

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

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

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The best way to truly embrace and experience a place on earth is to travel it by foot.  By slowly wandering through an area rather than speeding by you get to see it and appreciate it for what it is.

This week’s guest wanted to immerse himself into his home state of Iowa.  So he decided to run across it.

As someone who grew up in Des Moines who “avoided running a full mile until three years ago” Taylor Ross stepped up to the challenge, ran down country roads, past cornfields and mooing cows from one end of Iowa to the other.  Along the way he experienced community, extreme resilience in the face of pain, the natural beauty of the midwest, and the creativity of such a personal accomplishment.

In this episode we hear all about his FKT and what it takes to run for 4 days 15 hours and 32 minutes.  This story rocks!!

Was it Heaven? Maybe…I mean, it was Iowa.

Hope you guys enjoy the episode!! Huge congrats to Taylor for an INCREDIBLE accomplishment!! We are so inspired by you!

MORE FROM TAYLOR ROSS:

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

FKT: https://fastestknowntime.com/fkt/taylor-ross-run-across-iowa-ia-2020-10-23

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This week we are welcoming Angus Peacock back to the show for a third time!

Angus is an executive coach and Director, a creative thought pioneer, and a performance specialist.  He’s also just a wonderfully introspective dude and one of my favorite people to feature on the podcast!

For years, in both the rugby world and the corporate world, Angus has had the opportunity to study notions of leadership (one of the topics I’m truly passionate about) Through his experiences he has seen a variety of viewpoints on leadership and has seen strategies both work and  struggle. He has observed the essential qualities of a good leadership and has become passionate about leading people in the most efficient way possible.

In this episode we chat about the traits we look for in successful leaders. Angus also catches us up on the final days of his One Million Step Challenge and we chat about how having a major project to work on motivates us and gifts us a purpose in our day to day.

This is an awesome episode that I cannot wait to share with you!!

I’ve really enjoyed chatting with Angus as he has the wonderful ability to shift my perspective and always leaves me with new thoughts and ideas to consider. I hope you have as many takeaways from this conversation as I did!

MORE FROM ANGUS PEACOCK:

Linkedin Blog: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachangus

One Million Steps Fundraiser: https://step.diabetes.org.uk/pages/hannah-78

Black Dragon Podcasts “Conquering Leadership”: https://theblackdragon.podbean.com

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Today I am honored to welcome rower, award winning author, motivational speaker and activist Arshay Cooper to the show!!

From his website: “Arshay grew up on the West Side of Chicago, witnessing family and friends become products of their environment. But a chance encounter changed Arshay’s life. In 1997, he joined (and later became captain of) the first African-American high school rowing team at Manley High School, an experience that changed Arshay life.”

His memoir of this experience, “A Most Beautiful Thing”, is an absolute gem of a book- highlighting his experience joining the crew team, discovering a purpose, forming a brotherhood, and finding peace and safety on the water. It really encapsulates the power of sport can have in a young person’s life.  His story has received major praise and highlights the need for opportunities in impoverished areas.

“A Most Beautiful Thing” is now a documentary film from award winning director Mary Mazzio, narrated by Common produced by Dwayne Wade, Grant Hill and 9th Wonder. The film tells the story of the team’s intro to rowing and then reunites them as grown men to compete again. It is ABSOLUTELY fantastic and will bring you to tears.

I was completely honored and inspired by Arshay (especially because he’s been doing nonstop interviews for the past five months) and cannot wait for you to listen to our conversation.  I highly recommend both his book and his movie and respect Arshay spreading his positive message of love, inclusion, community and the power of opportunities!

Along with watching the film, please support and donate to the George Pocock Rowing Foundation to promote opportunities in the sport of rowing to more diverse and underserved communities – https://www.pocockfoundation.org/copy-of-a-most-beautiful-thing

MORE FROM ARSHAY COOPER AND “A MOST BEAUTIFUL THING”

Website: https://www.arshaycooper.com

Movie: https://www.amostbeautifulthing.com

Book: https://www.amazon.com/Most-Beautiful-Thing-Americas-All-Black/dp/1250754763

Donate to George Pocock Rowing Foundation: https://www.pocockfoundation.org/copy-of-a-most-beautiful-thing

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This week we are chatting with ultrarunner, school librarian, and awesome all around person Lindsey Weaver!!

Lindsey just completed her quest to set the Fastest Known Time on the C & O canal, a 184.5 mile trail along the Potomac river from Cumberland, Maryland to Washington D.C.  With summer races cancelled, she wanted to put all her training to good use and stepped far outside of her comfort zone and took this challenge head on!  What she found along the way was an unwillingness to quit, a determination to keep battling, and the beautiful encouragement of her running community.

I was absolutely inspired by the story of this FKT and really admire Lindsey’s refusal to let negative emotions dictate her resolve when things got difficult (Like….any step over 100 miles kind of difficult).  To me, this adventure represents the spirit of ultra running during this wild and exhausting COVID summer we have all been asked to endure- running and pushing limits as a form of stress management, self discovery, and community building amongst a time where individuals have been forced into relative isolation.  At the end of the day it really is our contribution to our community and our community’s contribution to use, in the form of positive uplift, that will really help us through the bumpy parts of life and out the other side.

Hope you all enjoy the episode!! Huge thanks to Lindsey and best of luck in whatever she sets her mind to next!!

MORE FROM LINDSEY WEAVER:

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

Frederick Article: https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/education/schools/public_k-12/high_school/middletown/middletown-high-librarian-becomes-first-woman-to-run-length-of-c-o-canal/article_0b26909d-f3a6-5da8-84a9-d1f213387fd4.html

Canada Trail Running Magazine: https://runningmagazine.ca/trail-running/american-ultrarunner-sets-300k-fkt-from-northwestern-maryland-to-d-c/

NBC Sports: https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/maryland-ultrarunner-completes-record-breaking-189-mile-trek-down-co-canal-towpath

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