Episode 74 is an interview with John Kelly.  John made trail running history on April 3, 2017 by becoming the 15th person to ever complete the Barkley Marathons. The Barkley Marathons in Frozen Head State Park, Tennessee is known to the toughest endurance challenge ever with over 160 kilometres of tough terrain, sheer drops and thick forest.  He grew up exploring the dense mountains and forests around his family’s rural home in Morgan County, TN, constantly trying to keep up with his older brother and cousins. John ran during high school where he describes himself as a good, not great runner. During college and grad school he took a full decade off from the sport. After grad school he rediscovered his love of the mountains hiking the John Muir Trail with his wife Jessi. john ended up running the 2013 Marine Corps Marathon, calling it an absolute disaster. He decided he could do better, so he got himself a Boston qualifier. As it was some time before he could actually run Boston, he decided to give ultras a go, and then also tried triathlons because he loved cycling too. It was this background in a variety of disciplines that led to John creating the Grand round, which involved running the three most difficult rounds in the UK (The Bob Graham, Paddy Buckley and Charlie Ramsay) and cycling between them.

Can I ask you a favour; would you be able to go on over to Apple podcasts to rate, review and subscribe to the podcast?  Doing this helps the podcast grow, which is greatly appreciated. Jen1977 gave five stars and said, "I love listening to Isobel whilst out running my local trails, her podcasts have taught me so much. Keep up the great work chick!” Thanks so much Jen, that is really lovely.

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I don’t know about you, but I’m really looking forward to getting back to racing. To be ready for when this happens, you need to be working on getting stronger, fitter and faster now. You can do this with a structured and well-planned training program with Peak Endurance Coaching. Email me [email protected] and let’s get your training moving in the right direction.

Enjoy the interview with John!