Ultrarunning
The Endurance Planet Hour
The theme of this week’s show is simply “influence.” Since I’ve been greatly influenced by endurance sports, I’ll tell you a bit about that influence and its relation to Endurance Planet. Then we’ll hear about an elementary school teacher in Minnesota who is influencing students by putting his body to the test later this week as part of Mr. Parry’s Endurance Challenge. Then we round out the hour by hearing from an elite endurance athlete who has influenced an entire community.
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The Road to Western States 2010: Nikki Kimball
In the sport of ultra marathoning there are few bigger names than Nikki Kimball. Among numerous accomplishments, she’s won the Western States 100 Endurance Run three times. In a matter of weeks she’ll also be competing in the Comrades Marathon and raising money for Starfish—an international organization focused on assisting children orphaned by AIDS. Today on Endurance Planet we hear from the Bozeman, Montana physical therapist who is making an impact both on and off the trail. Today’s podcast is brought to you by Adventure Running Company.
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The Road to Western States 2010: Hal Koerner
He’s the two-time defending champion and he’ll be looking for the three-peat at this year’s Western States 100 Endurance Run. He’s Hal Koerner of Ashland, Oregon. Today on Endurance Planet—a Road to Western States 2010 edition—Koerner talks about the mindset he takes into races and the kind of training he’s doing in the weeks leading up to the huge event.
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The Endurance Planet Hour
This week’s Endurance Planet Hour focuses on 3 unsung heroes of the endurance sports world. Who are these heroes? Well, there’s “Dexter the Punisher” aka Ryan Dexter. There’s “Sam the Unseen” aka Sam Thompson. And there’s “The Amazing Lisa” aka Lisa Smith-Batchen. Superheroes? I’ll leave that up to you to decide. But, without question, they are people who are quietly achieving great things.
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Marathon & Beyond Monday: 51 the Hard Way
It’s not a widely known fact, but the first effort to run 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days was a low-key effort, done on the cheap. This Marathon & Beyond Monday—our weekly opportunity to hear an editor’s choice from the popular running magazine—was written by Duncan Larkin and is entitled: “51 the Hard Way.” It chronicles Sam Thompson’s amazing effort in 2006 which raised money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
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Racing at High Altitude
Earlier this week, Endurance Planet hosted a live, interactive webinar on Racing at High Altitude with Dr. Scott Drum. Drum is the Director of the High Altitude Performance Lab at Western State College in Colorado. He’s also the founder of the Gunnison Endurance Project. Today on Endurance Planet, we’re making the audio portion of that webinar available to all our listeners. Special thanks to our webinar sponsor: AltoLab Altitude Training Simulator. Look for more Endurance Planet webinars in the weeks to come!
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The Endurance Planet Hour
In the days since our interview with Barkley Marathon’s finisher Jonathan Basham, Endurance Planet has heard from some individuals who have wondered, “What is the big deal about Barkley?” Others who know what the big deal is, have requested that we “re-air” our podcast from several years ago we called The Marathon No One Could Finish. It’s actually a race report from ultrarunner Blake Wood who knows the course quite well. Wood’s race report/story first appeared in author Neal Jamison’s book Running Through the Wall. So this week’s Endurance Planet Hour is devoted to The Marathon No One Could Finish, followed by the interview with the man—Basham—who did finish it. It’ll give you an appreciation for Barkley and it will give you some great company on your next long training run.
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My Story: Excelling in Spite of it All
It’s hard to believe that the 22-year-old who recently blazed to a 1.14.39 win at the Bearathon Half-Marathon at Baylor University was—not so long ago—recovering from major abdominal surgery. Now Matt Ison, a cancer survivor from Waco, Texas, is set to compete in the USA Triathlon Collegiate Nationals. Today on Endurance Planet—a My Story edition done in conjunction with USAT—we hear from the tough and determined athlete.
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Completing the Barkley
Each year for a quarter of a century, a race has been held in Frozen Head State Park, Tennessee that most of the world has never heard of. The Barkley. The Barkley Marathons 100-mile Run puts the toughest ultramarathons to shame. In some ways the word “race” doesn’t quite fit with Barkley. Because—leading up to this past weekend—this “race” had only been completed 8 times. But Jonathan Basham of Allentown, Pennsylvania emerged from the woods after 59 hours and 18 minutes, alone and victorious. JB, the 9th official finisher of the grueling challenge, joins us today on Endurance Planet.
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The Road to Western States 2010: Dr. Marty Hoffman
The Western States Endurance Run is one of the oldest ultra trail events in the world and certainly one of the most challenging. But the 100-miler scheduled for June 26th is also, essentially, a research lab. Dr. Marty Hoffman is the medical director for Western States. He’s a multiple-time finisher who has completed studies on endurance sports and its effects on the human body. Today on Endurance Planet, Marty tackles questions such as: “Aren’t you doing permanent damage to your body running 100 miles?”
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