Overcome and Run

OCR athlete Deanna Brasz joins me on the podcast this week to talk all about Toughest Mudder, endurance racing and mental strength!

Deanna starts by sharing her background and how she got into OCR, and tells me why she primarily sticks to Tough Mudder.

We then talk about the recent Toughest Mudder West where she finished in fifth place for the women, and the unexpected challenges of that race. She also tells me how this Toughest Mudder compares to the many other that she has run before.

Deanna then tells me about why she tends to lean towards endurance races, and the mental attitude behind it. We go over details like her pit strategy and nutrition, and she shares what it's like dealing with exercise-induced asthma during these races.

We also discuss mental strength, and Deanna tells me about her World's Toughest Mudder experience last year. She shares what she's been focusing on with training, and what specific techniques she's been using to improve her upper body strength.

Live from the Tough Mudder weekend in Sonoma, this week's episode is full of interviews from athletes at the Tougher Mudder wave, the Toughest Mudder West race, and race director Eli Hutchison.

I spoke with Lauren Taksa and Nick O'Sullivan on Saturday all about their respective wins at the Tougher Mudder race, and they give us some insight into the course and the competition.

Then I spoke with Trevor Cichosz, Rea Kolbl, Allison Tai, and Kris Mendoza after the Toughest Mudder race (shortly after I had finished my own) all about the competition, how the daytime Toughest Mudder compared to the races at night, what they thought of the course, and more.

Lastly, I spoke with Eli Hutchison from TMHQ all about Toughest and about the many changes Tough Mudder is making to their 2019 season.

This week's episode is full of live interviews from the Spartan World Championships at Lake Tahoe last weekend! We talk all about the championship race, the team race, and what's ahead with championship season.

I spoke with:

-Ian Hosek

-Robert Killian, John Yatsko and Mark Batres

-Guest interview by Margaret Schlacter with Alyssa Hawley, Kristin Saad and Nicole Mericle

-Ashley Heller, Emilee Smith and Kaci Monroe

-Ryan Kent, Veejay Jones and Mike Ferguson

-Yancy Culp

-Alyssa Hawley

-Nicole Mericle

-Kristin Saad

This week, I brought on Dustin Dorough for a Q&A session all about Terrain Race, from their past and current issues to the changes we can look forward to for 2019.

Dustin starts by explaining how and why he got started with Terrain Race, and tells me more about the development team that he's a part of and how hands on that team is with the race. He also talks about the changes that the team is planning on implementing in 2019.

We discuss the issues with the photographers and photos from the races they've had, and we discuss issues with customer service and how they plan on improving it in the future.

I also ask about their recent promotion where they offered free registration, and Dustin explains the thought process behind it.

Lastly, I ask about whether they'll be putting more emphasis on the competitive race in the future, and whether they'll add more distance options beyond the 5K.

This week's episode is full of live interviews from the Spartan Beast in Seattle! I spoke with the athletes about everything from the course, to the competition, to their methods of conquering the course and the obstacles.

I spoke with:

-Michelle Ford

-Ashley Heller

-John Howell

-Josh Fry

-Heather Gollnick

I spoke with strength and conditioning coach Chad Budyk all about why strength training is just as important as running, why lifting heavy enough is important, and about matching the demands of race day in your training.

Chad starts by introducing himself and his background, and explains to me why he specializes in OCR training. We discuss how athletes tend to stick to certain distances and races, and speculate on the possibility of having different championship races for different race distances.

He then explains how and why athletes should be focusing on strength and conditioning just as much as running, and why you should never, ever burpee out on a strength obstacle. He also explains how strength training helps you manage your heart rate on race day.

That leads us into a discussion about matching or exceeding the demands of race day in your training: what it looks like, why it's important, and why you need to go hard on those days. Chad tells me about using consequences to replicate race day pressure, and why they're effective.

Lastly, Chad talks about training on the trails like you would train for a track, and how it's beneficial to your performance.

This week, I talked to elite OCR athlete and ultra runner Trevor Cichosz all about his recent win at Ultra Great Britain, a 214-mile race across Scotland.

Trevor tells me how he heard about the race and why he decided to run it, and what he was most worried about going into the race. He also talks about how he trained for the longest race he's ran yet.

He walks me through his race experience, from the start line nerves, to the darkest part of his race and how he pushed past it, to some of the most interesting parts of the course (including hallucinating from the lack of sleep).

Trevor talks about what kind of gear and nutrition he relied on, and about the gear mistakes he made. He also shares some interesting stories about his encounters with animals and slightly aggressive cows.

We end by talking about his World's Toughest Mudder experience last year where he took third place with 95 miles, and what he's looking forward to at that event this year.

This week, I brought trainer, nutritionist and elite athlete Josh Stryde back on the show to talk all about racing in Canada, race week prep, overtraining and the importance of recovery, and nutrition.

We start with Josh telling me all about the Spartan Rocky Mountain Trifecta weekend in Canada, which leads us to a discussion about what it takes to prepare for a triple-race weekend, from nutrition prep to recovery. Josh talks about cramping in races and the big factors that lead up to it, and how to best avoid it with proper nutrition pre- and post-race.

We then talk about the elite competition in Canada and Josh tells me more about the elite field up there. We then talk about what big trail races athletes are focusing on in Canada, and Josh tells me about some of the best places for trail running.

Josh also talks about recognizing the symptoms of overtraining and how to avoid it. That brings us to a discussion about recovery, why hiring a coach is beneficial, and the importance of mental recovery.

We end with Josh sharing some nutrition tips when it comes to training in the heat, and why and how you should carbo-load before race day.

This week's episode is full of live interviews from the Spartan Championship Series Super in Utah! I spoke with:

-Garfield Griffiths

-Devon Yanko

-Robert Killian

-Mike Ferguson

-Lindsay Webster

-Ryan Woods

-Leigh Anne Wasteney

They talk about everything from the race, to the strategies they used to tackle the course, to the championship series and how this race compares with past championship races, and more.

I got plenty of time for some longer interviews, so there's a lot of great information and tips in this live episode!

I spoke with elite OCR athlete Alexandra Walker this week all about her experience at TMX, Toughest South, and how she trains to keep up with the elite field.

Alex tells me how she got started in OCR, how and when she started training competitively, and what it's like to have Yancy Culp as her personal coach. That leads us into a short discussion about the importance of coaching when it comes to training.

She shares with me her experience at TMX in Sacramento and what it was like being in the "pain cave", and she talks about the transition between TMX and then Toughest just a few weeks later. I ask her to compare the competition between short races and endurance races, and to compare an ultra marathon to an endurance OCR.

Alex tells me about what distance she considers her speciality and why, and shares some tips about how to prepare for wet obstacles.

Lastly, she tells me what some of her favorite races are, and we naturally talk about the epic Battlefrog rigs.