Overcome And Run

This week, I spoke with Antonio Alletto, race director and founder of Grit OCR. Antonio starts by telling me all about Grit OCR, from the format to the obstacles and everything in between. We talk about the two different race distances they offer, and how that poses a challenge as a race director. I ask him about how he chooses which obstacles to include, which leads us to a discussion about what he loves about rucking and why it's an important part of his race. Antonio shares what factors go into making it different each year, and we have a discussion about obstacles. He then tells me about the most difficult parts of putting on an OCR, and the most rewarding parts. We then talk about the new second location, and Antonio shares his goals for Grit OCR.

This week, I spoke with elite OCR athlete Ashley Heller!  We start with talking about her most recent Spartan race in Montana, and about how much we both love that course. Ashley tells me about her recent injury, her recovery process and how she dealt with it. We talk about her return to racing, and she shares advice for athletes dealing with injuries. We then talk about Elevate OCR and its mission, which leads us to talk about what we love about the sport of obstacle course racing. Lastly, Ashley shares with me her plans for 2021 and what races she has her eye on.

Matt B. Davis of Obstacle Racing Media joins me on the podcast for a special bonus episode this week! We start with talking about endurance running and training, and then discuss OCR podcasting through 2020, and how the OCR competition has changed over the past year. Matt then asks me some questions about myself and what I've been up to the past year, and we talk about his live coverage over at ORM. We discuss the championships later in the year and speculate on attendance, and Matt tells me about his upcoming "last man standing" race in July. Lastly, we share what we love about ultras, and I get real with where I've been over the last year and my return to OCR and podcasting.

Oh hey we're back! This week I spoke with elite OCR athlete Alex Walker who took third place at Hildervat this past weekend.  We start with talking about the race itself, and her likes and dislikes from the weekend, which leads us to a short discussion of men's weights versus women's weights. Then we talk about her 2021 race season, and the state of OCR competition after the big 2020 break. Alex shares her goals and plans for 2021, which leads us to talk about her running preferences and the benefits of running trails over road running. Lastly, we talk about her goals for her training, and the value of training itself.    To check out race coverage from Hildervat, check out The OCR Report and The OCR Report YouTube channel.

Hey everyone, I'm back! I spoke with elite OCR athlete Javier Escobar this week all about his 100-mile outing at World's Toughest Mudder last fall, his training, and how he stays motivated. We begin by talking about his 2019 WTM experience, and how it felt to reach 100 miles. He tells me about his progression from 35 miles at his first WTM to 100 miles at his latest. He talks about how his training program has improved his performance, and the specific training and movements he's been working on. Javier and I discuss how he stays motivated during this time, he tells me his least favorite thing to do during training, and we chat about our rivalry during Toughest Mudder West last year. He then tells me about his experience running the UltraVirus 12 Hour Race, and he may or may not have convinced me to run the next one.

Back with a brand new episode all about the Spartan World Championships in Tahoe! I start with giving my own race recap about the 10k Trail race on Saturday, then share my experience racing in Age Group at the World Championships on Sunday. Then I talk with Kris Brown, winner of Saturday's Ultra race and an experienced ultra runner who is also a member of Spartan's Trail Race team. Lastly, I have a great long interview with Spartan Pro Ashley Heller, all about her top 10 placing at the World Championship, how she handled the elements, how she's been performing all year, and much more.

Spartan start line emcee, motivational speaker and coach Mr. J'ean joins me on the podcast to talk all about his experiences at the start line, motivation, and transparency. We begin with Mr. J'ean telling me about his background, and then all about how he got involved with Spartan. We talk about burnout, and how he gets through sending off thousands of racers every race day. He shares the challenges of his job as the start line emcee, and also tells me about his favorite part about it. He also tells me some stories of some of the most memorable experiences he's had and what they meant to him. We end with Mr. J'ean telling me all about his podcast Transparency: What's your Story?, and we discuss the idea of transparency and transparent moment. You can find his podcast here: https://thealivexperienceonline.com/podcast-2/ And his motivational CD here: https://thealivexperienceonline.com/product-category/music/

This week's episode is full of live interviews from the Spartan weekend in Monterey, California last weekend! I spoke with: -Timmie Brann -Nick O'Sullivan -Natalie Miano -Ian Deyerle -Veejay Jones -Mark Batres -Annie Dube -Zhanique Lovett

This week's episode is all about hiking! At the beginning of this month, I hiked the Cactus to Clouds trail up to San Jacinto Peak, where I met three hikers in the midst of hiking the entire Pacific Crest Trail.  I start by sharing my experience with the grueling Cactus to Clouds hike, then dive into the interviews with Stripes, Mr. Snuggles and Dink (their PCT trail names). I spoke with them all about what motivated them to start this long, arduous journey, and we talk a bit about Cactus to Clouds. I ask them each what they're most looking forward to, how and what they decided to bring, and the logistics of their trip. We talk about the terrain for a bit, then end with discussing their next big goals once they complete the PCT.

This week's episode is full of live interviews from the Spartan USNS Beast and Mountain Series Sprint in Big Bear, California! I spoke with athletes all about the crazy hills, the cold dunk wall on Sunday, and everything in between. On Saturday at the Beast, I spoke with: -Rea Kolbl -Mark Batres -Natalie Miano -Ryan Kent -Alyssa Hawley -Mack Roesch On Sunday at the Sprint, I spoke with: -Matt B. Davis of Obstacle Racing Media -Rea Kolbl -Amanda Nadeau -Veejay Jones -Aaron Newell -Nicole Mericle

Ultra marathon athlete and former World's Toughest Mudder champion Trevor Cichosz joins me this week to tell me all about his experience at Everest 135, an intense 135-mile ultra marathon where he took third place. We begin with Trevor telling me all about how he heard of this race, all the race prep required and the training (and lack thereof) that led up to it. He tells me about the race prep in the days leading up to the race, and walks me through his entire race experience, from the issues to the checkpoints, to the altitude and all that climbing. Trevor shares some wild stories, from hallucinating a village to holding onto donkeys so he wouldn't get kicked off the treacherous mountain trails. We talk about how it compared to his race across Scotland last year, and Trevor talks about the lessons he learned and what he'll do to prepare next time. We end by talking more about ultra marathons, what's next on his schedule, and his next crazy adventure. Want more? Read about Trevor's experience in his own word

Live from Snohomish, Washington, I grabbed a ton of interviews with some of the top athletes who ran the Seattle Spartan Championship Super. We spoke about the challenges of the course, the weather, the competition, and more! I spoke with: -Faye Morgan -Aaron Newell -Nicole Mericle -Ryan Atkins -Rea Kolbl -Ryan Kent -Veejay Jones

This week is full of live interviews and my own review from Tough Mudder's opening weekend in California! I was there Sunday to run the course, and I got interviews from some key members of the TM community, including: -Tough Mudder CEO Kyle McLaughlin -Two of the three founders of Assist 100 Mudders, Joey Ta and Ed Groleau -Tough Mudder emcee and community favorite Sean Corvelle

Jack Bauer, the mind behind the massive Spartan ranking system, joins me on the podcast to talk all about the top women in the elite field. We begin with talking about the "Fab 5" elite women and who it has consisted of, and how it might be changing. We have a long discussion full of stats about most all of the top women currently in the field, and where we think they'll end up by championship season. This leads me to ask for Jack's opinion on whether the wide variety of course types in the Spartan USNS will affect the top placing. Jack then gives me plenty of head-to-head stats from the women's field, and I ask him if he thinks that some of the slower starts this year are due to the fact that the series started so early.  We get briefly sidetracked by some of the men's competition, and we then discuss the women that dominated the field years ago, and how they would stack up against the top women's field today. Jack goes one to tell me which women had the most podiums each year. We then get into the topic of

Elite OCR athlete and Spartan Pro Team member Veejay Jones joins me on the podcast to talk about his win at the Spartan U.S. National Series race, how he trains and what he focuses on in his training, and about the upcoming show he's on, Million Dollar Mile. We start with Veejay telling me about his win in Alabama, and I ask him about his proficiency with obstacles. He then explains to me why the Spartan U.S. National Series isn't on his radar, and I ask him when he'll start to focus on winning Beasts. I also ask him whether or not he feels as though he's underestimated by the elite field. Veejay also tells me about his training with Richard Diaz, and how that's affected his performance at races. We then talk about the upcoming show Million Dollar Mile, and Veejay explains the premise of the show and the layout of the course. He tells me about what is like to work the other pros on the show, and I ask him how it compares to some of the other OCR-related shows we've seen. Lastly, Veejay tells me about what he

Kressa Peterson joined me for a bonus episode this week to talk all about her product Shower Toga, appearing on Shark Tank, and how the values of OCR got her to where she is today. We begin with Kressa introducing herself and telling me about when and how the idea for the Shower Toga was born. She then tells me about the process of getting on Shark Tank, and we compare it to an endurance OCR. That leads us to a discussion about the lessons and confidence OCR has given us, and how it affects every aspect of our lives. Kressa tells me more about future plans for the Shower Toga, including working with disaster relief and finding ways to make it more biodegradable. She then talks about what it was like being on the show and being her authentic self on the show, which leads us to another discussion about discovering who we are and the strength we have. We also talk about the teamwork and camaraderie of OCR, and how it instills empathy. Lastly, we circle back to Shark Tank and talk more about the her investors. Yo

We've got more live interviews for you this week from the Spartan San Jose Sprint! I spoke with athletes all about the course, the competition, how it compares to previous years, and what's ahead for them. I start by giving my own recap of the Sprint race, and then speak with: -Kyle Elliot -Josh Fry -Seth Buchwalter -Ian Deyerle -Erin Wachter -Emilee Smith

This week's episode is full of live interviews from the Spartan Sprint and Super weekend outside Las Vegas (technically in Arizona), and my own recap from the race. I spoke with Veejay Jones all about his race, racing against Cody Moat and Hobie Call, and a little bit about the upcoming show Million Dollar Mile. I also spoke with Hobie Call about his return to racing this year, and Cody Moat about racing neck-and-neck with Veejay, and I ask them both about their Sprint race and what races they'll be at this year. I wasn't able to grab an interview with Cera Edgley at the venue, so I gave her a quick call on the road and Cera told me about her podium finish at the Sprint on Saturday, and more about the disqualification she and Timmie Brann received on Sunday.

Elite OCR athlete Ryan Kempson joins me this week to talk all about his win at the Spartan US National Series Super in Jacksonville last weekend, the series as a whole, the sport of OCR, and how he trains for such a long season. We start with Ryan giving me his background and how he got into OCR. We then dive into Jacksonville and Ryan break down how his race went and the competition. We discuss the new obstacles, and then dive into the topic of officiating at races, and how Ryan feels Spartan is doing in that respect. We talk about penalties, and the degree to which they should or perhaps shouldn't be penalized, especially when compared to other sports. Ryan then tells me about how he trains for such a long OCR season without burning out, and we talk about the diversity of the courses in Spartan's US National Series and how it may affect the competition. I ask Ryan about his race preferences, and he tells me more about other OCRs he has run and how they differ from Spartan. We end with Ryan sharing his goals

This week's episode is full of live interviews from the Spartan Sprint/Super weekend in Arizona! I spoke with some of the elite athletes there all about the terrain, the cold, and the competition. I spoke with: -Emilee Smith -Nick O'Sullivan -Beni Gifford -Amanda Nadeau -Daniel Sorenson -Heather Gollnick -Timmie Brann -Nikolaj Dam -Leon Kofoed