Like A Bigfoot

This week we are welcoming director of Olympic strength and conditioning at the University of Iowa, Bill Maxwell. Bill is in charge of all programs at Iowa except Football and is specifically responsible for Men's Basketball and Women and Men's Golf. He is a super experienced strength and conditioning coach with a wealth of knowledge. These coaches have obviously have to be great at getting their athletes in the best physical shape possible so they must have a wealth of knowledge in physiology and how the body responds to specific workouts, but they also have to understand the best practices in motivating individuals to give it their all throughout their training. In this episode we focus more on the leadership qualities one must possess to run a successful program. How do you inspire a group of people with such diverse backgrounds, abilities, and intrinsic motivations in order for the team to be a success? How do you get people to bond together in a positive way in the formation of a team? What are va

We finally did it. We went out and ran the Booneville Backroads Ultra. I-O-W-A! IOWA! IOWA! It was a LOOOOOOOOONG time coming (months and months and numerous podcasts later), but we did the thing! Today Thad Burkamper joins me on the show to tell the tale of his first attempt at a 50k while I explain the story of my very first 100K (62 Miles). As in any good Ultra, there were super high highs and devastatingly low lows. The race itself though was AWESOME- the Iowa countryside is gorgeous, the course was diverse and kept you on your toes, the volunteers and other racers were wonderful, Brad Dains was an outstanding race director and it just felt good to be competing again! But that heat......oh.....the heat. That was rough. That was when the race really kicked you in the face, brought you to your knees (quite literally in some cases) forcing you to dig deep into the ole grit basket deep inside our souls. Huge thanks to everyone who helped me out at Booneville - The race volunteers, anyone and everyone

This week we are talking with an awesome Colorado ultrarunner Tim Barr!! Tim and I have been running trails together every Wednesday this summer and from personal experience of huffing and puffing to keep up I have to say that he is an absolute beast of a runner. He also had himself a wonderful summer of adventures, exploring some of the best trails Colorado has to offer while training for 62 stunning miles at the Never Summer 100k. In this episode we talk all sorts of ultrarunning!! Gut checks, sobbing uncontrollably, compression sock blackouts, mid-race SNLesque pep talks full of curse words, warm porch beers, the unwavering determination to finish no matter the obstacles, and more! Tim is really inspiring to me and it has been an honor to experience his training over the last few months. Hope you guys enjoy the episode and pickup all sorts of nuggets of endurance wisdom!! MORE FROM TIM BARR: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bstokd/?hl=en "Champion's Mind" Book: https://www.amazon.com/Champions-

This week I am very excited and honored to welcome back life long mountain athlete, endurance coach, adventure racer, ultrarunner, family man, and all around incredible human being Travis Macy!! He's on the show to share all sorts of stories, wisdom, and inspiration as part of Team Endure in the most recent Eco Challenge, the monumental multi-day adventure race across Fiji. Not only was this race epic in all sense of the word but it also holds a special place in his heart since he experienced it with his father Mark, a legendary veteran endurance racer who was recently diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. Watching Team Endure on Amazon's "World's Toughest Race" was emotional, touching, inspiring, and completely empowering. Travis and his dad have a special bond and it was really refreshing to these two and their team take on this adventure. They truly embrace the concept of endure, pushing forward with a positive attitude despite any obstacles thrown their way, both in racing and in life. Watching th

This week I am very excited and honored to bring back one of my favorite guests for the show, trail runner, skydiver and all around awesome dude Adam Casey! Over the last few months, Adam has been putting in some pretty awesome high altitude training in order to finish the difficult Never Summer 100k in Northern Colorado, a race featuring 14,250 ft of elevation gain. The race is through some of the most beautiful scenery in the state and is definitely on my bucket list!! In this episode Adam chats all about his training, the ups and downs of the race, and shares tales from the few months he spent trail running through the jungles of Peru! Adam is a great dude who truly represents resilience and grit and it shows in his dedication to his ultrarunning. I really enjoyed catching up with him and hope you guys appreciate this episode as much as I did!! MORE FROM ADAM: His nonprofit: http://www.idoitforher.com Like a Bigfoot #87: https://soundcloud.com/chris-ward-126531464/87-adam-casey-3 Like a Bigfoot #

This week's guest is the incredible ultra runner Coree Woltering!! Coree recently set the FKT on the 1,200 mile Ice Age Trail through Wisconsin, completing it in 21 days, 13 hours, and 35 minutes. He also is featured on the new Amazon Series "World's Toughest Race: Eco Challenge Fiji" as a member of Team Onyx, the first all-African American team in expedition racing. In this episode we chat all about these two huge events!! Coree shares his perspective as an elite ultra runner taking on his first adventure race and the challenges faced along the way. The race looks incredibly difficult and Team Onyx is one of the inspiring groups featured throughout the show. He also goes into the ups and downs of the Ice Age Trail FKT- a super secret trick to handle trails with crazy amount of ticks, his go-tos when fueling with gas station food, how to breakdown gigantic goals, why you should always listen to Pete Kostelnick's advice on ankle recovery, and how accepting pain and staying level headed through adversity h

Last time he was on the show, Cameron Dorn told us all about his experience setting the burpee 24 hour world record (yup..you read that right, nonstop burpees for 24 hours!!), this week he's back having just set a new world record of 10,920 step ups in 8 hours!!! In this episode we chat all about his experience stepping up and down in his apartment for 8 hours, what it was like for him to climb some of the most remote peaks in Africa, his passion for exploring, both the world and his personal limits, and one of our favorite documentaries of all time "King of Kong". Buckle up because this is a fantastic episode with one of the most extraordinary dudes I have ever met!! (Backstory- I raced with Cameron during a 50k in the Black Mountains of North Carolina and if you ever meet him you pretty quickly understand you are in the presence of a very unique and inspiring human being!) Hope you all enjoy the episode as much as I did! Be sure to check out his company MORE FROM CAMERON AND SUITCASE OF COURAGE: Blog a

"You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough." - Mae West This week we are chatting all about the adventure documentary "Once is Enough" with ultrarunner, filmmaker, comedian and super awesome dude Jeffrey James Binney!!! A few weeks ago I watched Jeffrey's film on Amazon Prime and was captivated by his ability to capture everything I love about endurance sports- from the often hilariously weird aspects to the heartbreaking, inspiring, uplifting reasons people push themselves to the limit. It is presented in a really unique format as it bounces back and forth from his hilarious one man show, standup routine pointing out the bizarreness of a 100 mile race to a more serious, emotional one on one interview digging into his why as you watch him transform from non-runner to ultra marathoner. The logline for the film perfectly sums it up: "After losing his mom to obesity-caused heart disease, a 32 year old husky ginger comedian and vegan son-of-a-pig-farmer sets out to lose 100lbs and run one of

A few months ago we chatted all about rugby with Angus Peacock, the Executive Director of Rugby Colorado. This week we are focusing on his emphasis on health and happiness as he approaches the big 5-0 in our strange times. Angus has taken on a One Million Step Challenge with his sister to support diabetes research. This is quite the challenge as it requires pretty much a half marathon every single day for weeks for 900 miles....also it's really 1.7 steps. In this episode we dive into his challenge along with many other topics. We chat about his approach to diet, which is based on his study of what British soldiers ate through desert missions in World War 2. We talk leadership principles and how we can apply them to our own lives, reframing "angst", the Siberian Dilemma, Comparing yourself with yourself in the moment versus yourself in the past, and how to reverse the erosion of our four pillars. This one is a good one full of plenty of knowledge and ideas we can apply to our own lives! Chatting with A

This week we are catching back up with Shep to hear all about his experience going after the Canadian six day ultra running record! In a continuation of Episode 205, we dig into the lessons learned and growth experienced during Shep's "6 Days in the North". A major theme is "expect the unexpected" as the project started with a massive torrential rainstorm. Enduring unknown challenges with adaptability and confidence is HUGE in life and Shep was a steward of this through this event. We also dive into the concept of learning from failures and the cycle of "attempt, learn, adjust, attempt" which is a powerful driving factor to anyone's success! Hope you guys enjoy the episode! I could seriously chat with him for days as he is incredibly knowledgeable, passionate, driven and shares a wonderful growth mindset! MORE FROM MATT ‘SHEP’ SHEPARD: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/go_shep/ OUTRUN Backyard Ultra: https://www.facebook.com/OutrunRare/ CBC Article about Quarantine Ultra: https://www.cbc.ca/news/

Imagine heading out your door pedaling west and returning, years later, from the east covering each and every mile around the entire planet under your own power. That is exactly what this week's guest is planning on doing through a life-defining, thought provoking, mindset expanding quest to "Pedal Round the World." Paul Spencer is in the midst of planning what has to be one of the biggest challenges a person could possibly take on- a self propelled circumnavigation of the globe using his bicycle and a beautifully designed pedal boat. Inspired by adventurers Jason Lewis and Erden Eruc and wanting to deeply explore the world and his own psyche through 50,000 miles in this honest-to-goodness adventure odyssey. Paul is a cyclist, endurance athlete and an adventurer who has taken on gigantic challenges in his career- cycled across Africa, finished the Leadman challenge, four crossings of the U.S. by bike, Tour Divide, Colorado Trail Race- just to include a few. In this episode we chat all about his plan to p

Adventure. I need this, you need this. It's a need that runs through our blood as humans. The need to explore and to experience the unknown in order to somehow, someway attempt to uncomplicated this complicated world. Adventure helps form purpose, it brings exhilaration, it opens our eyes to the world we inhabit. This week's guest is the embodiment of the modern day adventurer. Adam Shoalts is a Canadian explorer, a fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, a best selling author, a geographer and historian, and a dude who can put up with more horseflies and mosquitos than you or I could possibly imagine. In 2017 he completed a near solo 4,000 km journey across Canada's Arctic, a wilderness that my childhood self has found fastened tightly to my concept of true adventure. Throughout his documentary "Alone Across the Arctic", Adam captured all of his ups and downs, miles and miles of portages (pulling a canoe through thick woods and marshes) and allowed us to experience the adventure alongside of h

Kirstie Ennis is a complete badass. A marine sergeant injured in Afghanistan in a helicopter crash eventually resulting in an above the knee amputation, Kirstie is an absolute all-around mountain athlete who is seeking to climb the 7 summits- the tallest mountain on each continent. In a podcast focused on driven, inspiring people, Kirstie stands out. In 2019 she won an ESPY for the Pat Tillman Service Award, she's competed in the Paralympics for snowboarding, walked 1,000 miles across England (which we didn't even get into!), has been a stuntwoman in various Hollywood productions, and so much more. More importantly she uses her platform and story to inspire everyone, from fellow amputees to mountaineers to people seeking their best selves. In this episode we chat all about her journey and focus in on her attempts at the seven summits. How a trip up Kilimanjaro galvanized this project, the craziness involved in summiting Carstenzs (Oceana's highest point), and why calling it two hundred meters from the

Way back in November I successfully convinced (tricked) five of my closest friends to sign up for their first ultramarathon. Matt Rackers, Sean Furlong, Brady Manriquez and Thad Burkamper were going to take on the 50k at the Booneville Backroads Ultra while Travis Steffen and I were gonna slog our way through 100k. We had a few awesome months of building up training, holding everyone accountable through an oftentimes hilarious and inspiring group chat. I even designed weekly challenges and kept a running scoreboard which was ultimately going to lead up to a grand prize and, of course, all of us triumphantly finishing a brutal run down backcountry roads in Central Iowa. That was the plan....and you know what they say about plans.... COVID hit. The race got rescheduled. The wind got knocked out of our sails. All of a sudden a silly ultramarathon seemed pretty inconsequential and the training we were all slowly building up dropped off significantly. Flash forward to end of April and we all decided we neede

Matt Shepard is a on a quest to tackle some of the most challenging ultra running events around by taking on "Last Runner Standing" style Backyard Ultras and ridiculously long six day races. He's a big dreamer with some serious resilience and the ability to dig deep into the pain cave to withstand these brutally long events. He started off with a win at OUTRUN Backyard Ultra in Alberta receiving a golden ticket to Big's Backyard down in Tennessee where he learned a lot but didn't quite come away with the result he (and everyone else who was not named Maggie Guetrl) was eyeing. After that he got 2nd place at the Across the Years 6 day event running a stout 435.87 miles (yes, you read that correctly!) and has his sights set on the Canadian six day record of 870km (540.6 miles) which he will be taking on starting July 1st. Also he ran a significant portion of Personal Peak's Quarantine Backyard Ultra around and around and around a coffee shop! In this episode we chat all about Matt's journey, the lessons he

Today's guest is the eccentric adventurer, filmmaker and writer Beau Miles!! Beau has filmed some of the most inventive adventures out there including "The Human Bean", "A Mile an Hour", "Run the Line", "Africa by Kayak" and many more. His Youtube channel is full of entertaining, quirky, impressive filmmaking and I am so grateful I was able to sit down and chat with him for this episode! Throughout his many adventures (and misadventures), Beau comes across as a person who is passionate for new experiences, who seeks understandings of the world both the internal and external, and someone who expresses his artistic side through creating some major challenges. At their core these adventures demonstrate an honest-to-goodness curiosity for life. From running an abandoned railroad line in his hometown to kayaking 2,000kms along the Souther African Coast to commuting 60+ miles to work by highway and waterway, Beau shows all the ups and downs of forging new experiences. In this episode we chat all about the les

Three days ago 19 year old Darius Sam pushed through anguish, adversity and 100 plus miles of PURE GRIT. His story is quite remarkable. After years of struggle, one day Darius looked himself in the mirror and realized just how much potential he was wasting. He pulled himself together, started waking up at 3am to work and powerlift and decided to complete an ironman on minimal training. Once that was accomplished he was determined to really see how far he could push his limits so he set his sights on taking on 100 miles. Around the same time of his self betterment, Darius realized just how people in his community were struggling. Really wanting to prove to himself that "one person can make a huge difference" he decided that he would use the experience of suffering through an ultra marathon to raise money for the local food bank. So he set a goal of $1,000. Through the last week and through all the ups and downs of his run, that number has exploded!! We are releasing this episode early in the week i

This week we are chatting with ultrarunners and race directors Alyx Luck and Billy Barnett! In this episode we hear about their respective journeys and how they came to find each other on Hawaii. Alyx shares lessons she learned through competitive body building, racing around the world, and coaching others in health and fitness. Billy and I chat about his teaching career, awesome places to trail run in his home state of Virginia, and why you should use running to simply go out and explore. We also dive into the new races they are directing, including the Mauna Kea 50 Miler, the Time for Wine 6Hr race, and the Under the Moon Ultra which takes runners completely across the Big Island through the middle of the night. I really enjoyed chatting with Alyx and Billy and hope you guys love the episode as much as I do! MORE FROM ALYX AND BILLY: Time for Wine Ultra: https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=76130 Alyx Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralyxluck/ Alyx Coaching: https://firepowerbody.com/pag

Joyce Lee is on a run streak of epic proportions! Starting in January 2013 she has laced up her shoes EVERY SINGLE DAY to head out on a run. Despite bad weather, international travel, and the busyness of everyday life she has kept after it which is a phenomenal achievement!! She was named one of Strava's best runners by Red Bull distinguishing her as the "woman who can't stop running". 5ks all the way to ultramarathons, road races to beastly ironman triathlon, through her run streak Joyce has done it all and I'm super honored to be able to chat with someone who has taken on such a wide array of race formats. In this episode we talk about why your favorite type of race should be "the next one your signed up for", how she battled through hypothermia to finish an ironman, what keeps her enthusiastic, how she has kept the streak alive even in through travel and tough times, and the power found just by keeping at something. I hope you guys enjoy the episode and are inspired by Joyce to give your own challenge

This week we are chatting with Dion Leonard, ultrarunner and author of the New York Times bestseller "Finding Gobi". Dion has received a lot of press for his book which is " the heartwarming story of Gobi, a stray dog he found on a race across the eponymous desert" which is something you need to check out, but he is also an incredibly accomplished athlete who has taken on some of the hardest challenges in the sport of ultra running. He jumped all in on this sport by running a handful of Stage Races around the world including the Marathon Des Sables and the Gobi March. In 2018 he finished second place in the Triple Crown of 200s, all three of Candice Burt's remarkable two mile races. Then in 2019, after winning the Delirious 200 miler in Australia, he decided to up the ante by participating in the "Leadman" and the "Grand Slam of Ultrarunning in same summer. That means he raced every endurance event in Leadville (both running and mountain biking) plus four of the biggest 100 milers. That has to go down as