Unable to process he and his wife suffering a miscarriage, Steve Claringbold literally stood on the precipice until an angel, in this case, a police officer, appeared out of nowhere and talked Steve down from leaping to his death.  After that, he finally started working on healing and finding better ways to grieve.  He took control of his mental health, lost a good deal of weight, and started running.  During his journey, he discovered David Clark and the We Are Superman Podcast.  Steve progressed from short runs to marathons and eventually ran Comrades, the oldest ultramarathon in the world, a roughly 55-mile race in South Africa that has been on my bucket list for years.  In 2018, he ran the so-called “down” course in less than 10 hours, which is an outstanding time, then returned in 2019 and earned the back-to-back medal on the “up” course.  I loved reading his blogposts on his Web page that gave me a great feel for what this iconic race is like.  Wait until you hear in this episode about the Hell on the Humber run that Steve does every year in which entrants run the same four-mile loop across a river bridge for hours and hours.  I’m sure David would have related to this.  Along the way, Steve co-founded a popular running club and hosts a run in his hometown in northern England near the Scottish border.  Playing off of the pivot Gary Stotler and I talked about in this week’s Power Play, Steve became a running coach, personal trainer, and massage therapist, eventually quitting his longtime job with the railroads to do these full-time.  Many of his clients are dealing with long-term chronic conditions.  All while devoting abundant time with his wife and two kids.  I think you’ll enjoy this chat as much as I relished getting to know this amazing man.

Steve Claringbold
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Bill Stahl
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