This week we are sitting down to chat with two of my favorite guests from the last year of podcasting- Brittany Charboneau and Rob Steger.

We last talked with Brittany right after she finished 13th in the Olympic Trials and since then she has added “accomplished trail runner” to her resume by winning the Pikes Peak Marathon and setting some big time trail FKTs.

Rob Steger of Training For Ultra is an accomplished ultra runner, author, and podcaster who has recently began diving into adventure filmmaking.

Over the last six months, Rob created a short film about Brittany called “The Funny Runner” which explores the themes of running with a lighthearted joy and following your own path versus fitting inside someone else’s perception of a “professional athlete.” The film is an absolute delight to watch and inspires the viewer to pursue their own passions in their own unique way!

You can check out an early sneak peek of the film by supporting Rob on the Training for Ultra Patreon on April 10th or view it on Youtube starting April 16 (both links are in the show notes).

Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did!! Plus I got to nerd out about Hamilton in the outro!

MORE FROM BRITTANY AND ROB:

Training for Ultra Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TrainingForUltra

Training for Ultra Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoxBqa1BQr-3Bzb1QNB0_uQ

Funny Runner: https://www.thefunnyrunner.com

Training for Ultra Website: https://trainingforultra.com

Brittany’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyrunner26.2/

Rob’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trainingforultra/?hl=en

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This week we are welcoming Calvin Johannsen back to the show!!

This week we chat about a bunch of different topics. We start off hearing about his adventure hiking most of the way up Lone Eagle Peak, one of the most beautiful spots in Colorado. (Anytime Calvin’s on we have to geek out about mountains!)

Then we dive into his recent adventures into contracting and remodeling houses and the importance of completely embracing the “beginner’s mindset”. So many of us struggle to start anything new as an adult because it is uncomfortable and, since we look up to the experts, we feel like we should be flawless right from the get go. Once you learn to embrace your inner “beginner” than the world of possibility opens up before you.

Finally, we chat about our experiences running a marathon with the Iron Cowboy James Lawrence during his 50.50.50 challenge five years ago. Now the Cowboy is in the middle of ramping it up and taking on 100 ironman triathlons in 100 days!! Calvin and I chat about how inspired we are by the pure grit and resilience he has shown every single day of this challenge.

Calvin is a 5 time returning guest and as always he just drops knowledge bomb after knowledge bomb which is why I could talk with him for hours and hours!

MORE FROM CALVIN:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calvin.johannsen/

Calvin Johannsen 1st appearance on the Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/chris-ward-126531464/like-a-bigfoot-episode-2-calvin-johannsen-9516-1023-am

Calvin Johannsen 2nd appearance on the Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/chris-ward-126531464/like-a-bigfoot-calvin-18-johannsen-2

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When faced with a challenge you have three options: Persist, Pivot, or Concede.

This past year has presented a seemingly endless stream of challenges. With each one we are faced with this choice. Today’s guest, Kyla Claudell, exemplifies the mindset sharpened through adventure. Always persisting and pivoting and only conceding in extreme rare circumstances.

Kyla is one of the race directors organizing the variety of experiences offered by Gemini Adventures, a wonderful company based out of Boulder, Colorado with the goal of “holding adventures most competitors wouldn’t be able to do on their own.”

In essence, she’s in the business of inspiring and supporting other people’s adventures!

I’ve known Kyla for a few years now but realized I didn’t actually know a lot about her background. I was very excited to chat about her experiences and journey into becoming an outdoorsy person and to just generally pick her mind about everything she has learned over years and years of various adventures.

In this episode we talk about why the desert is AWESOME, her philosophy when organizing events, how her and fellow race director Reid Delman work so nicely together, and their recent obsession with packrafting (amongst much much more!)

Hope you all enjoy the episode!! Kyla is awesome and is the only person in the world who has literally got me to jump off a bridge….so she’s also really good at peer pressure!! Please check out their events and support the local businesses that they work with!

MORE FROM GEMINI ADVENTURES:

Find all of their events on their website: https://geminiadventures.com

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

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

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Scott Stark and Katherine Thomas are two of the most adventure seeking people I know! They have been taking on some of Colorado’s biggest hikes, skis, mountain bike rides, amongst the plethora of incredible outdoor experiences to be found out here in the West.

In this episode we talk all about building a relationship through adventures (and misadventures) in the outdoors, how seeking out times in the mountains and desert bond people and bring them closer together, and why they are so passionate about sharing these experiences together!

They also share some really incredible (and oftentimes hilarious) stories of misadventures, like the time Scott thought he was going to be attacked by alligators, a terrifying hut to hut ski, and an easy standup-paddle trip that turned into a 23 mile, sunburned, odyssey.

Hope you guys enjoy the episode and that inspires you to share some adventures in the wilderness with the ones you love!

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This week we are welcoming back my friend and running buddy Tim Barr!!

In this episode we chat about “All Things Trail Running”, which is his new Youtube channel in which engages the Trail Running community to create unique and creative videos about this lovely sport!

We also dig into a whole bunch of different topics and events including the virtual Continental Divide Challenge which kept us motivated through the fall, Golden Hell Week, Tim’s adventure linking 45 miles on the Colorado front range from his 45th birthday, and his recent focus training for the epic Desert RATS Stage Race this June!!

This is a really fun episode where we explored light hearted topics alongside heavier ones such as why we are passionate about this sport, the unexpected nature of “dad injuries”, how trail running helps us deal with anxiety and depression, and how you can use your ability to focus as a superpower.

Hope you all enjoy! If you have an idea for a creative video please send it Tim’s way by following his “All Things Trail Running” account on Instagram or checking out his Youtube Channel!

MORE FROM TIM BARR:

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

“All Things Trail Running” Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjnUcQ7TGNsk4hnLzgF1oOA

All Things Trail Running Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allthingstrailrunning/

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What is it like to run across the ENTIRETY of the Sahara Desert, the Atacama, the Gobi, to the South Pole, across frozen wastelands in the Yukon and Siberia?? What drives someone to take on major, life changing adventures and expeditions? And what would one discover about theirselves, their mind, and the vast world around them?

I am honored and excited to share this week’s episode with world traveler, ultrarunner, fellow father, and all around incredibly nice guy Ray Zahab!!

Ray has been on my “dream guest list” since the very beginning of this podcast. I am blown away by the expeditions he has taken on and, as a teacher, respect what he has created with his organization “Impossible2Possible” which brings young people all around the globe along for the expeditions both by sharing real life experience in classrooms and giving opportunities for kids to take on these expeditions alongside him.

This is a fantastic episode that reminds all of us to make our “impossibles” possible by following our passions and opening our eyes to the wider world around us!!

Please support Ray’s organizations and follow along for all of his future adventures. I cannot wait to chat with him again!!

MORE FROM RAY ZAHAB:

Website: https://www.rayzahab.com

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ray.zahab

Impossible2Possible: http://www.impossible2possible.com

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This week we are chatting with Matt Allred about his journey in taking control of his health, how he rediscovered fitness, how to maintain mental health, the importance of creativity in his life and the challenges of parenthood.

Matt is an OB-GYN based out of Idaho who balances his own personal fitness and health with a busy career life and life as a husband and father.

In this episode, Matt shares openly about his journey out of a TRENCH, a low point where a decline in physical health bled over into his mental well being and family life.  With consistent little changes towards fitness he was able to regain control of his mindset, lost 30 pounds, and saw the benefits in his emotional and mental health.

This episode is all about struggles in parenting and how being aware of moments of failure are motivational in our constant battle to be the best dads we can be. We also chat about the importance of creative projects in showing our kids that adults can still be passionate, active, motivated people enjoying this beautiful world!

Matt also talks about how to increase our capacity for Mental Health in this stressful year, why music and exercise is so important to his happiness, and how he discovered his happy place in Iceland.

This is a great conversation and I have discovered recently that I really enjoy talking openly with fellow parents about all the highs and lows of parenting. We all want to be excellent for our kids and I’m finding that these authentic and open conversations have helped me feel like “We’re all in this together” versus “I’m the only one going through this” mindset.

Hope you guys enjoy!!

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This week we are sitting down with writer and runner Dylan Roche to chat about how his journey through running has affected his journey as a writer!

Running has given Dylan the confidence to quit his job in pursuit of writing, something he has always been passionate about.  This journey has changed his life and has set him on a more passionate life.

In this episode we chat all about how he got into this sport, what lessons from writing have filtered into running and vice versa, what his experience was like taking on back to back marathons, what it was like running his very first ultramarathon (the Yeti 24 Hour Virtual Challenge), and how he plans to continue on this path in the future.

We also chat a bit about his upcoming book “Runner’s Warning” about his experiences, adventures and misadventures.

I really enjoyed chatting with Dylan and hope you enjoy his story!

MORE FROM DYLAN ROCHE: 

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

Website: http://www.dylanrochewriter.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DylanIsWriting

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This week we are bringing back John Petersen, rower, family man, principal, and one of my favorite guests from 2020!

At the end of 2019 John had a very unique adventure as he joined a team of five other guys to complete “The Impossible Row”.  The first completely manpowered row of the treacherous Drake Passage from Chile to Antarctica.

In the last episode we talked right after this event and I wanted to bring him back on to hear his reflections a year out. What lessons from the row has he continued to use in everyday life? What was it like to view the documentary of such a wild adventure? (“The Impossible Row” is now on Discovery+ and was excellent!) How has he been changed by his first expedition?

We also get a chance to dive deeper into the row itself as we talk the brutality of the storms in the Drake Passage, the formation of a brotherhood with his fellow rowers/adventurers, what it was like endure day after day of intense rowing for nearly 13 straight days.

This is a great conversation with an incredible human being and I am honored to be able to have John back on the show. Hope you guys enjoy!! John, thank you so much for sharing wisdom, stories and captivating my imagination!

MORE FROM THE IMPOSSIBLE ROW:

Impossible Row Documentary: https://www.discoveryplus.com/show/the-impossible-row-13008

Project Website: https://www.discovery.com/shows/the-impossible-row

Youtube Series: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqOoboPm3uhY_YXhvhmL-WA

John Petersen: https://www.instagram.com/john.r.petersen/

Colin O’Brady: https://www.instagram.com/colinobrady/

Fiann Paul: https://www.instagram.com/theimpossiblerowcaptain/

Jaime Douglas-Hamilton: https://www.instagram.com/jamiedougham/

Cameron Bellamy: https://www.instagram.com/cam_ubunye/

Andrew Towne: https://www.instagram.com/towne_andrew/

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This week we are chatting with someone new into the ultrarunning world Nic Chiri!!

Nic is from a small river town in southern Iowa and after years of searching for something to be really passionate about, he put on some running shoes and fell in love with the sport!

This episode is all about his journey from deciding to run a 10K, a seemingly impossible distance at the time, in 2018 to running his first 100 miler in 2020. Nic shares about how ultrarunning has changed his perspective on life, what he’s gained by stepping outside his comfort zone, and how he has benefitted in all walks of life from taking on big challenges!

He also shares the story of his first 100 miler at the Booneville Backroads Ultra in Des Moines, Iowa. It was a race in which he battled the urge to quit during every step of the last 25 miles and where he ultimately realized the power of “we” as his crew helped him push through the suffering.

I truly enjoyed this episode as I saw a lot of my own passion for ultrarunning and endurance reflected in Nic’s story! I hope you guys gain some wisdom and inspiration from listening and are captivated as I was! Enjoy!

MORE FROM NIC CHIRI:

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

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