Coach Scott meets his runner for Season 16 of the Becoming Ultra project, Deidra. Deidra resides in Round Rock, Texas, just outside of Austin. She is currently a stat at home mom who is coming off of a disc replacement surgery that got her back to running. We get to know about her life and who she is before diving into the training on this first episode. She is training for her first ultra for the Mendocino Coast 50k. Enjoy.

Hurricane Helene ravaged many of the communities in the mountains of North Carolina. Scott brings Mariah from Season 10 of the Becoming Ultra project on to talk about her small town of Spruce Pine and the effect of the damage. We came up with a challenge to use as a fundraiser to help the rebuild. You can join the challenge here.

The Indiana Trail 100 took place at Chain O' Lakes State Park in Albion, Indiana on October 12-13. The course consists of four 25-mile loops with about 1,500 feet of gain per loop. This was Eric's first 100-mile ultra marathon, and he came in with a 3rd place finish.

Eric ran his first ultra distance of 50k in October of 2023. In one year, he accomplished the 100-mile distance. He is showing us that with hard work and consistency anything is possible. On this podcast Eric shares a recap of his recent race. We discuss what went wrong, what went right and how he maintained a positive attitude throughout his race.

Today Ian, Addie, and Scott come on to choose the runners of Season 16 who will run their first ultra at the Mendocino Coast 50k in April! Enjoy the show!

What a fun conversation this was with Missy! We know Missy through BU and she was one of our biggest supporters when we launched the podcast. Just a joy to talk with, Missy shares with us how she became the adventurer she is today!

Women Who Explore is the company we discuss throughout this conversation. https://www.womenwhoexplore.com/

Some of our most inspiring guests come from referrals. Our friend Rebecca messaged us about Heather. They met during Vol State and Rebecca knew we had to chat with her. Heather is a mom, nurse, veteran and all-around bad ass. She has tackled some of the toughest races including the Leadville 100 and Barkley Fall Classic.

What else can I do? That is the question Heather always asks herself after accomplishing big goals. On this podcast we talk to Heather about her trail running journey that started in 2020; how it evolved to 100-mile races and beyond. We also talk about how she trains, balances life, self-care and showing up for herself daily. Heather is full of inspiration and encouragement!

Coach Addie Bracey joins the show again to share her recent adventures which include an epic race that took 30 hours and finishing a retreat center near Leadville! We talk about runners and why this Mendocino Coast 50k is such a good race for first timers. Enjoy the show. Season 16 is now taking applications!

We catch up with Lucja after her latest adventure, and wow was it a big one! The Divide 200 is Canada's only 200-mile ultra marathon. It takes place in the Castle/Crowsnest/Flathead region of the southern Rockies and highlights portions of The Great Divide Trail. Lucja takes us through the race, including a near death experience and, you guessed it, a bear encounter. Lucja is one of a kind!

IG - @runningdutchie

As Season 16 kicks off we are talking to the coaches of the project about all things ultra running. On this episode Ian Sharman and Scott talk about the most common reasons or excuses people make to not take the first step to training for an ultra. We hope you enjoy and if you are on the fence about running your first ultra, now is a good time to apply for Season 16.

Erin trained for over 4 months for her first ultra with Coach Lindsay and nailed it on the Grindstone 50k course! We talk about things she learned on race day and what is next. She also gives one of the best answers ever as to why you should try for your first ultra! Enjoy the show and check out the launch of Season 16.