Joy Before Fear

Why not You?

Are there certain talents in you waiting to be discovered? Why not get curious and see what is there? Why not try?

We only get this one life.

In this episode guest Janelle Stark joins the Joy Before Fear podcast. Janelle shares with us her journey into qualifying for and running for the USA 24-hour team. She shares with us some of her experiences about racing on that team, and the fun challenges that are in looped timed ultra races.  We talk about running as a path to sobriety and the healing power of endurance sports.

We also talk about community health, affordable housing, the housing crisis, and the challenges of being unhoused. Janelle shares with us both her professional and personal insights and experiences on these topics. She shares what health resilience means to her, the current injuries she is navigating, how she is using Hyrox training to keep training as she heals so she can return to racing for the 24-hour team.

This is a conversation that you do not want to miss.

If you want to learn more about what Janelle is up to you can:

Follow her on Substack https://janellestark.substack.com/

Curious about coaching with Janelle? https://www.starkrunning.com

IG: @starkrunningpnw

Her looped time race: Never Ending Nolte

If you are curious about variety of coaching with Joy BeforeFear: health resilience, personal training, running, and coming soon in December is divorce coaching www.joybeforefear.com

Holiday Stress Management Sessions are now available

Schedule a free discovery call for all services: https://joybeforefear.coachvantage.com/all-events/

Wanna be a guest on the pod? https://www.joybeforefear.com/podcast

Be Bold. Put Your Health First. You Got This! Choose Joy Before Fear.TM

In this episode, Ashley Yates joins the Joy Before Fear podcast. Ashley is the owner of Rose City Barbell and author of the book of “Give it Purpose”. Her gym is a CrossFit gym where she has members of all ages youth, teens, all the way up to people in their 70s are all participating in the same classes.

We talk about the mind-body connection of Olympic lifting. As well as all the benefits and why you should consider giving it a go, that you can get those benefits even while practicing with something as simple as a PVC pipe. You don't need to necessarily have the super heavy weights in order to benefit from the mind-body connection.

We hear about how in the third grade Ashley won tickets in a reading contest to go watch a professional basketball game where the Blazers played the Bulls and how winning those tickets and watching that game planted a seed that has brought her to where she is today.

"Come As You Are" is written on the gym wall. Ashley has worked hard to create and environment that allows people to find community in fitness and also get fit while in community.

Wanna go workout at Rose City Barbell? https://www.rosecitybarbell.com

Ashley's book, "Give it Purpose", can be found on Amazon

Interested in being a guest Joy Before Fear?

Message me: ⁠⁠https://www.joybeforefear.com/contact⁠⁠

Curious about Coaching with Joy Before Fear?

Schedule a ⁠⁠free consultation call⁠⁠

Instagram: @joybeforefear

Be Bold. Put Your Health First. You Got This. ⁠⁠Choose Joy Before Fear.⁠

Are sober curious, on a sobriety journey, or have aloved one that is? Have you lived through trauma and are working through healing from those experiences or have a loved one that is?....THIS conversation is one to listen to. 

Rob Shares with us his journey to sobriety and the pivotalrole running played in that journey. To this date he has run 20 100 milers and recently just finished his first 200 miler.

We talk about how big an impact serious loss can have on ourlives, and the self-proof one can gain while running and training for ultras providing momentum for healing. We get to hear how a fortune cookie provided a powerful messagefor Rob just at the right moment.

We talk about the pain cave of life vs the pain cave ofultras and how chosen suffering in ultras can be a huge relief. The ultra event space providing respite from the pain cave of our personal lives.

We talk about healing, the power of embracing imperfection,and how being out on the trails can serve as a mirror for personal reflection. To paraphrase Rob, being shattered glass and slowing gluing the pieces back together.

It is my hope that this conversation allows you to have morecompassion with yourself and the notion that "good things are waiting for you".

Reach out to Rob for coaching: https://robclemens.com/

Interested in being a guest Joy Before Fear?

Message me: ⁠https://www.joybeforefear.com/contact⁠

Curious about Coaching with Joy Before Fear?

Schedule a⁠ free consultation call⁠

Instagram: @joybeforefear

Be Bold. Put Your Health First. You Got This. ⁠Choose Joy Before Fear.

In this episode, Mindy McEachran joins the Joy Before Fear podcast. Mindy is the person behind Crimson Rose Counseling, a trauma-informed art therapist based in Portland, Oregon. We talk about art therapy and why, if creating art isn't a part of your life, considering bringing it in can help you  build resilience and express yourself more fully.

Mindy is a lifelong athlete as well as a lifelong artist. As an athlete, she's played basketball, been an avid triathlete, and competed in bodybuilding. As an artist, it's been a form of self-expression and a career, she was a graphic designer for Pearl Izumi and other brands in the sports nutrition and bodybuilding industries while competing in triathlon, taught in the public school system. Now she is a trauma-informed art therapist. We talk about the difference between art and creativity, and we get into the term "resilience" and the phrase "health resilience", how our ego can get in the way of that relationship. How there's a point where the word "resilience" may be doing more harm than good.

Work with Mindy via Crimson Rose Counseling: https://www.crimsonrosecounseling.com

Instagram: @crimsonrosecnsl

Therapy Journal: search "Art Therapy Journal Mindy McEachran" on Amazon

Interested in coaching with Joy Before Fear?

Message me: https://www.joybeforefear.com/contact

Schedule a free consultation call

Instagram: @joybeforefear

Be Bold. Put Your Health First. You Got This. Choose Joy Before Fear.

Jenny Low joins me for another conversation after completing the Orcas 100.

If you've experienced DNFs, spend a lot of time working with race cutoffs, or find yourself toward the back of the pack, this is a conversation you won't want to miss.

We discuss how racing cutoffs requires a different race-day strategy than racing toward other time goals.

We discuss the importance of supportive and realistic self-talk, as well as shifting the DNF identity during training and on race day. We talk about Jenny's strategic decision to take a 45-minute stop at mile 50. Even though the math wasn't mathing, it ultimately became a critical decision that supported her in finishing the race. Jenny also shares the resilience and mindset growth she gained throughout race.

Check out Here to Finish (Orcas 100 Doc), the documentary created by Jenny's son documenting her Orcas 100 journey.

👉 Interested in coaching with Joy Before Fear?

Message me:
https://www.joybeforefear.com/contact

or Schedule:

Free consultation call

Instagram: @joybeforefear

Be Bold. Put Your Health First. You Got This. Choose Joy Before Fear

In this episode, Holly Grahn returns to the Joy Before Fear podcast to discuss imposter syndrome, the journey of becoming, and the role the subconscious mind plays in our lives. Holly is a hypnotherapist, life coach, mindset coach, and ultrarunner. Through stories from the trail and her work with clients, she shares her perspective on self-worth, vulnerability, and learning to work with ourselves rather than against ourselves.We discuss how physical activity can become a space where self-doubt, identity, and personal growth rise to the surface. We talk about the discomfort that often comes with beginning again, the tension between wanting immediate results and allowing growth to unfold over time, and why some of life's most meaningful lessons happen while we're still in the process of becoming.

Holly also shares her new hypnotherapy app, Hypno Gold, which was created to make hypnotherapy more accessible and affordable for people looking for additional support in their personal growth journey.

Work with Holly via Hypno Gold

🌐 Website: https://www.hypnogold.com/ 📱 Hypno Gold App: https://hypnogold.passion.io/ 

👉 Interested in coaching with Joy Before Fear?

Message me: https://www.joybeforefear.com/contact

Schedule a free consultation call

Instagram: @joybeforefear

Be Bold. Put Your Health First. You Got This. Choose Joy Before Fear.

In this episode, Stacey shares a conversation she had in November of 2025 with Annette Kennedy. Annette shares her “Fit for Life” approach to health, movement, and her athletic goals. In this conversation, we learn what it took to turn the dial from daily survival mode into thriving while living with ankylosing spondylitis.

Annette was generous in sharing her story and candid about the ups and downs of navigating a chronic health condition while holding down jobs, being a mom, being a wife, and being a community builder, all while continuing to fight for her athletic identity. She shares how becoming vegan helped turn the dial from survive to thrive, how her quality of life changed, and what it was like to participate in her first bodybuilding competition in 2025 at the age of 50. This is a grounded and honest conversation about health, resilience, and athletic identity.

🏃‍♀️💪 Curious about coaching with Joy Before Fear?
Schedule a free consultation call or send Stacey a note. [email protected]

🎙️ Have a story to share? Interested in being a guest on the Joy Before Fear podcast?
Send Stacey a note [email protected]

🌱 Curious about The Vegan Gym?
Learn more here:
https://www.thevegangym.com

Be Bold. Put Your Health First. You Got This. Choose Joy Before Fear.

https://www.joybeforefear.com⁠

Instagram: @joybeforefear

In this episode, Angel Mathis shares lessons from hiking the entire Pacific Crest Trail and her path from nursing burnout to financial freedom and resilience. She’s a powerful example of what happens when we step into our own power, build our resilience, and then turn around to help others do the same.

We talk about athletic identity as something rooted in choice, and how sport and time on trail can create both simplicity and agency. Angel reflects on how her experience in nursing shaped her approach to well-being and led her to become a nurse wealth coach.

If you’d like to connect with Angel or learn more about the work she’s doing with nurses, here’s where to find her:

Nurses Investing for Wealth
Teaching nurses to fund their future with small portions of their paycheck so they can work less (or retire early) if they want to.

🌐 Visit the Website: learn.nursesinvesting.com
📱 DM Angel on Instagram: @nursesinvestingforwealth

👉 Interested in Coaching with Joy Before Fear?
⁠Schedule a free discovery call

Be Bold. Put Your Health First. You Got This. Choose Joy Before Fear. ⁠www.joybeforefear.com⁠

🎧 Monday Mindset Snack: Rest. Recalibrate. Return.

This week’s Monday Mindset Snack is about rest— the reminder that every living thing needs recovery to adapt and grow, including you. Rest isn’t weakness — it’s biology. Every living thing needs recovery to grow, adapt, and thrive — and that includes you.

In this episode, Stacey shares three connected mindset snacks:

Rest — Needing rest is not a failure; it’s a necessity. Learn to recognize what kind of rest you need and catch it where you can.

Recalibrate — Being a leader of your own life requires being honest about what is sustainable for you. Slow down, zoom out, and make intentional adjustments in training and in life.

Return — Returning after rest, illness, or time away from training isn’t about quickly jumping back to 100%. It’s about rebuilding with alignment, support, and purpose so you can sustain longevity in sport and life.

✨ Rest. Recalibrate. Return. ✨

Be Bold. Put Your Health First. You Got This. Choose Joy Before Fear.

👉 Interested in Athlete Health Resilience Coaching?
Contact me directly or schedule a free consultation call.

Monday Mindset Snack Episode: the weekly mini-series from Joy Before Fear.
Stacey shares three quick mindset snacks to help you start your week in the Joy Before Fear way — grounded, intentional, and connected to what truly matters.

✨ Core Values — Your values are your foundation — the why behind your goals and choices. When your training and life goals reflect what truly matters to you, everything feels more purposeful and sustainable. Revisit them often. They evolve with you. Build a living, breathing relationship with them — not just a list on paper.

🌿 Seasons — We move through seasons in life, sport, and energy. Honoring the season you’re in helps you plan and train from where you are vs. where you wish you were.

🔥 Capacity — Your capacity is dynamic and shifts with your physical, emotional, relational, mental and other life loads. Be real about what’s sustainable right now. You can "Be the person who....", no matter what your capacity is.

👉 Interested in Athlete Health Resilience Coaching?
Contact me directly or schedule a consult call.

Be Bold. Put Your Health First. You Got This. Choose Joy Before Fear.