Faster Forward with Troy Busot

Born in Canada, Today's guest - Juan Carlos Obando moved with his family to Ecuador as a youngster where he learned to play soccer - a game that gave him a love of running that would stick with him throughout his life. After moving back to Toronto, soccer eventually turned to wrestling and weight lifting and a friendly invitation to a Spartan Race allowed Juan to combine these passions in his first Obstacle Course Race. Once hooked, he made the commitment to compete for an OCR Age Group World Championship in his 40s. He reshaped his body and mind, adapted his training and came out of 2020 leaner faster and ready for the racing season of his life. We get into all this an more on today's podcast.

Juan Carlos Obando @ Athlinks

OCR Unedited Podcast

Juan Carlos Obando @ Instagram

That's the show, folks, Hope you enjoyed it - more people racing more often having more fun in the process is our mission at Athlinks. 

Thanks again to Juan Carlos Obando.

We do a special post for each episode on Instagram, so look for the post for episode 39 with a picture of Juan Carlos if you have comments or questions - we are @athlinks or shoot us an email to [email protected]. 

* The best way to support this podcast is to click subscribe on iTunes or follow on Spotify to be notified of new shows. Share it far and wide with anyone you think would enjoy it and please take a second to give us a rating and a quick review on iTunes.

And, until next time, happy racing everybody.

Today's guest is an ultra runner, a podcaster, and the author of The Way of the Runner, Running with the Kenyans, and my favorite running book of all, The Rise of the Ultra Runners. Adharanand Finn joins us to talk about his journey from middle school athletics to a sub-three hour New York City marathon and then a fateful assignment that placed him in the Oman Desert Marathon - a grueling 6 stage race that nearly defeated him, but ultimately lit his fire for ultra-distance running.

We cover a ton of ground in this conversation. If you love running or books about running or listening to men with exotic accents - lace em up, throw in the headphones and give this one a listen.

Adharanand Finn on Athlinks

Official Website

Adharanand's Books

The Way of the Runner Podcast

Brands:

Inov8 Shoes

Salomon

ENDURE by Alex Hutchinson

FEET IN THE CLOUDS by Richard Askwith

That's the show, folks, Hope you enjoyed it - more people racing more often having more fun in the process is our mission at Athlinks. 

Thanks again to Adharanand Finn for his time and check out his books ^^^ if you want to immerse yourself in some great storytelling about running and perseverance.

We do a special post for each episode on Instagram, so look for the post for episode 37 with a picture of Adharanand if you have comments or questions - we are @athlinks or shoot us an email to [email protected]. 

* The best way to support this podcast is to click subscribe on iTunes or follow on Spotify to be notified of new shows. Share it far and wide with anyone you think would enjoy it and please take a second to give us a rating and a quick review on iTunes.

And, until next time, happy racing everybody.

Our guest on the podcast today is Sika Henry - a 2x Marathon champion who turned her talents to the world of triathlon. 

A serious bike crash in 2019 slowed her quest to become the first African American Woman to hold a Pro Triathlon Card, but she still managed to qualify for the Ironman World Championships in Kona later that year. 

She focused heavily on her run training through the pandemic and her tri season kicked off this past weekend at Challenge Miami Half Ironman. We recorded this show just before she left, but I'm happy to report that she finished safely and with a P.R. of 4 hours, 38 minutes in her first effort of the season. 

Sika Henry @ Athlinks

Sika Henry Blog

Sika Henry Web Site

Sika Henry Instagram

That's the show, folks, Hope you enjoyed it - more people racing more often having more fun in the process is our mission at Athlinks. 

Thanks again to Sika Henry and wish her the best of luck on her 2021 season and getting her pro card

We do a special post for each episode on Instagram, so look for the post for episode 35 with a picture of Adharanand if you have comments or questions - we are @athlinks or shoot us an email to [email protected]. 

* The best way to support this podcast is to click subscribe on iTunes or follow on Spotify to be notified of new shows. Share it far and wide with anyone you think would enjoy it and please take a second to give us a rating and a quick review on iTunes.

And, until next time, happy racing everybody.

Instead of asking yourself "how long do I want to live", you should really start asking yourself, "how do I want to live". We all want to live forever, but if you're listening to this show, chances are, you've got some minimum standards that you'd like to set as the years pass by - especially of the athletic variety.

On the podcast today, we welcome Selene Yeager - host of the Hit Play, Not Pause podcast - a show for performance-minded women who aren't willing to put their best years behind them.

We discuss the affects of aging on the body  - especially in your 40s, 50s, and beyond, and how to optimize your physiology, maintain your fitness, and harness your power. It's not just for ladies, or even us older athletes - if you or someone you know is planning on getting older now or sometime in the future - even if you don't accept it - you need to give this a listen.

Selene Yeager Official Web Site

Selene Yeager on Athlinks

Selene Yeager on Instagram

Hit Play Not Pause Podcast

That's the show, folks, Hope you enjoyed it - more people racing more often having more fun in the process is our mission at Athlinks. 

Thanks again to Selene Yeager, aka FitChick3. 

We do a special post for each episode on Instagram, so look for the post for episode 34 with a picture of Selene if you have comments or questions - we are @athlinks or shoot us an email to [email protected]. 

* The best way to support this podcast is to click subscribe on iTunes or follow on Spotify to be notified of new shows. Share it far and wide with anyone you think would enjoy it and please take a second to give us a rating and a quick review on iTunes.

And, until next time, happy racing everybody.

Our guest today is multi-sport athlete, Ultra Runner, Professional Chef, self-described advocate and activist for body politics, and 5' 3" Brooklynite force of nature, Latoya Shauntay Snell - also known as the Running Fat Chef.

A quick glance at her Athlinks profile shows 112 races completed, over twelve hundred miles finished and in a span of just 28 days, she crossed finish lines at the Chicago Marathon, Javelina Jundred 60K, and the TCS New York City Marathon. She's a brand ambassador for Trek Bikes, a sponsored HOKA ONE ONE Athlete, and yet, she spends at least part of her time answering critics who say she doesn't "look like a runner".

She talks openly about her DNFs, her detractors, and the additional struggles that have strengthened her as an athlete, woman, wife and mother. She's on a mission to emancipate herself in order to help others see the power in themselves and judging by her successes both in and outside of racing - it's working.

Links

Latoya Shauntay Snell on Athlinks

Latoya Shauntay Snell on Instagram

Running Fat Chef on Instagram

Running Fat Chef - Blog

Squirrels Nut Butter

Chasing Your Impossible on HOKA

Brand Ambassador Trek Bikes

A Beautiful Work in Progress - Mirna Valerio

That's the show, folks, Hope you enjoyed it - more people racing more often having more fun in the process is our mission at Athlinks. 

Thanks again to Latoya Shauntay Snell, aka RunFatChef. 

We do a special post for each episode on Instagram, so look for the post for episode 33 with a picture of Latoya if you have comments or questions - we are @athlinks or shoot us an email to [email protected]. 

The best way to support this podcast is to click subscribe on iTunes or follow on Spotify to be notified of new shows. Share it far and wide with anyone you think would enjoy it and please take a second to give us a rating and a quick review on iTunes.

And, until next time, happy racing everybody.

A post high school canoe expedition in the heart of the Amazon Basin reconnected Ellen Falterman with her adventurer brother who was five years her senior. The harrowing trip lit a fire for expeditions that would lay dormant until his  tragic death just a short time later. 

On the one-year anniversary of his passing, our guest put her life on pause in order to experience an adventure and grieve the loss of her hero by paddling solo down the Missouri River. The answers that she received on that trip, however, were to questions that she had not yet asked.

Her pause turned to play and became her new normal as Ellen built her new life around expeditions. She tells these stories and more on this episode of the Athlinks Podcast - paddling the Amazon, Missouri, and Mississippi Rivers and up next - a 6 plus year challenge to circumnavigate the globe in a sea-ready rowboat starting at the Gulf of Mexico and heading West.

Happy doesn't begin to describe how I feel to have stumbled upon her story and I am honored to bring a version of it to you today. I hope you enjoy meeting one of the most savage and admirable people I've met and maybe her words will inspire your support in her journey to become the first person to circumnavigate the earth in a row boat.

Links:

Ellen Falterman on Instagram

Official Blog & Web Site

Thanks again to Ellen Falterman, aka Ellen Magellan. 

We do a special post for each episode on Instagram, so look for the post for episode 32 with a pic of Ellen if you have comments or questions - we are @athlinks or shoot us an email to [email protected]. 

The best way to support this podcast is to click subscribe on iTunes or follow on Spotify to be notified of new shows. Share it far and wide with anyone you think would enjoy it and please take a second to give us a rating and a quick review on iTunes.

And, until next time, happy racing everybody.

031 - Roderick Sewell

Where does character come from? Is it born or bread? Inherited or built? Perhaps for today's guest, it was nurtured through the selfless and courageous actions of his mother.

You can't tell the story of Roderick Sewell without starting with his mother, Marian Jackson. 

When her son was born missing both tibias, she had to make the decision to keep his legs and confine him to a wheel-chair, or amputate and reach for a chance at a more normal life with prosthetics. 

Faced with the insurmountable cost, however, she braved a second decision to quit her modest but stable job so that California Children's services would pay for the prosthetics and give Roderick a chance at walking, and who knows, maybe even more.

The sacrifice that she made had the inseperable pair dipping in and out of homeless shelters in San Diego.

Spotted at a train stop by a representative from Challenged Athletes Foundation, Roderick was introduced to a new world of athletics which would later land him on the U.S. Para-Swimming team at the 2014 Pan Pacific Para-swimming Championships, winning Gold and bronze, as well as carry him across the finish line as the first bilateral above the knee amputee to finish Kona - the Ironman World Championships.

Roderick and Marian are an incredibly inspiring, amazing mother-son duo and he wouldn't mind me telling you that he owes her everything and wants the world to know it.

Roderick Sewell at Athlinks

Roderick Sewell at Challenged Athletes Foundation

Roderick Sewell at Instagram

That's the show, folks. Hope you enjoyed it - more people racing more often having more fun in the process is our mission. 

Thanks again to Roderick Sewell and Challenged Athletes Foundation for setting up this chat. 

We do a special post for each episode on Instagram, so look for the post for episode 31 with a bad-ass pic of Roderick if you have comments or questions we are @athlinks or shoot us an email to [email protected] if you have comments, questions, and future guest suggestions. 

The best way to support this podcast is to click subscribe on iTunes or follow on Spotify to be notified of new shows and take a sec to give us a rating and a quick review on iTunes.

As always, share it with friends far and wide to help spread the word and grow the show and help more people find finish lines around the world, until next time, happy racing everybody.

Just one day after finishing her first 50 miler, the Camp Fire began its path of destruction in Northern California, ultimately claiming 153,000 acres, 85 human, and an untold number of animal lives - a horror that Ashly Winchester came face to face with as a vertinary Nurse in the area. Wave-after-wave of life and death emergencies flooded the clinic where she worked and when it was all over, the toll on her own soul proved to be a heavy catalyst behind her full-time journey into FKTs, freelance writing, and Podcasting as the host of Womxn of the Wild - a community of adventure-women who support and help each other grow.

A quick look at today's guest's Athlete profile on FastestKnownTime.com shows Ashly as the current Queen of FKTs as she lays claim to 39 of the fastest known time efforts in the world. Coincidentally - or not - this Queen shares her realm with her boyfriend, the current King of FKT, Episode 28's very own Jason Hardrath. 

Stick around after the closing credits for a bonus conversation about how Ashly sees the two measuring up on different courses and what, if anything, it would take for her to overtake Jason on an FTK course in the wild. 

Links

Womxn of the Wild Website & Podcast

Ashley Winchester on FastestKnownTime.com

HOKA Blog Article

Ashly Winchester on Instagram

Northwest Alpine Gear

Athletic Brewing

Leki Trail Running Poles

Kogalla Ultra Trail Light

Hope you enjoyed it - more people racing more often having more fun in the process is our mission. 

Thanks again to Ashly Winchester. 

We do a special post for each episode on Instagram, so look for the post for episode 30 with a pic of Ashly if you have comments or questions - we are @athlinks or shoot us an email to [email protected]. 

The best way to support this podcast is to click subscribe on iTunes or follow on Spotify to be notified of new shows. Share it far and wide with anyone you think would enjoy it and please take a second to give us a rating and a quick review on iTunes.

And, until next time, happy racing everybody.

A childhood framed by his family's love for running leads a young man on adventures across several continents, stoking his love and optimism for humanity.

Years later, a post-run tea is interrupted by a radio report of the fatal bombing of the Boston Marathon. Our guest, clear on the other side of the Atlantic and armed with not much more than social media and a simple idea, sets out to lend a humble hand.

11 weeks later the final baton of the One Run for Boston was handed to a survivor across the finish line, celebrating and honoring those who were injured and lost their lives, having raised $600,000 for those affected.

Our guest today is Danny Bent, founder of @onerun_global. A self-described happiness guru and runner, he's quick to point out that he's just a human who loves other humans and sees the best in all of us.

As an example, a call out to his social media had him leading a 9 day running expedition bisecting Iceland from North to South with 20 fellow travelers - many of whom had never completed a single marathon, much less the 9-straight marathons and ultras that were required for this effort. But they all finished - in no small part I'm sure to the exuberance of Danny Bent.

You will be grinning ear to ear as I was interviewing him. Be sure to listen to the end to find out how to enter the Danny Bent Adventure Grant for $3000 to fund the adventure of your choosing.

So if you're ready for the show, crank it up and let's go!

Danny Bent's Web Site

Instagram

Instagram - One Run Global

Viga Shorts

HOKA One One

Jaws

Hope you enjoyed it - more people racing more often having more fun in the process is our mission.

Thanks again to the bloody legend Danny Bent. Check him out at DannyBent.com and submit your application for the $3K pound Adventure Grant.

We do a special post for each episode on Instagram, so look for the post for episode 29 with a colorful pic of Danny if you have comments or questions - we are @athlinks or shoot us an email to [email protected].

The best way to support this podcast is to click subscribe on iTunes or follow on Spotify to be notified of new shows. Share it anyone you think would enjoy it and take a sec to give us a rating and a quick review on iTunes.

Again, share it with friends far and wide to help spread the word, until next time, happy racing everybody.