Joy is...What Lies Ahead.
The one where I ask one of the greatest endurance athletes of our time his thoughts on white spandex; get into an existential debate on Gandalf vs Gimli, and try to convince him to set up a side hustle in American snack cakes.
John Kelly is a US based husband, father and data scientist who has run the Boston marathon dressed as the Zelda character Link. He also happens to be only the 15th person to finish the formidable Barkley Marathons since its creation 24 years ago. Having moved his family to the UK in 2019, he quickly set about tackling the longest and toughest trails in Europe and is the record holder for 'The Grand Round', a challenge devised by John and involving consecutively running the three best-known fell running rounds (the Paddy Buckley in Wales, the Bob Graham in England and the Ramsay in Scotland) and getting between them by cycling. In total, that's a running distance of about 185 miles (298 km), 25,440 metres of elevation gain, as well as over 400 miles of cycling. He has broken the Fastest Known Time on the 268-mile Pennine Way, not once but twice (having passed it back and forth with Damian Hall) and was the 2020 winner of the Spine Race, which follows the same route. Before departing the UK earlier this year, John cemented his place in the record books by taking on the Lake District’s 320 mile, 214 peak Wainwrights Round. To put this in perspective, most walkers would hope to 'bag' the 214 peaks in their lifetime; John did it in 5 days, 10 hours, supported by the British trail running community that he had grown to love and be loved by, including the previous record-holder Sabrina Verjee.
John is a huge advocate of the benefits of exploring our limits in order to apply what we learn in, what he describes as, the 'Goldilocks Zone', to other areas of our lives and our relationship with the world around us. The mountains are in his blood but John still manages to balance his love for exploration and challenge with his dedication to his family and work. John is a deep thinker who apportions equal consideration to questions both profound and benile. Together we reflect on topics from what gives meaning to his efforts; the beauty of collaboration; the nature of competition; the satisfaction of the unexpected; why 'hard things need to be hard', and, of course, serious thoughts on tea.
John epitomises the notion of 'polymath', and I wanted this to come through in our interview. He is generous with his time and there are a myriad of podcasts on the specifics of his achievements. I therefore took a slightly different tact and, pre-interview, delved into John's own writing on his incredibly detailed and insightful blog. I collated a selection of quotes for us to reflect on together and presented them, throughout our conversation, as a jumping off point for John to revisit and reflect on anew.
Post-Script: John was recovering from a nasty stomach bug but was adamant that we continue with our conversation. He did, however, in retrospect, protest that this was why he mixed up Moria and Helms Deep in our Lord of the Rings discussion. Perhaps we finally discovered John Kelly's achilles heel...
Follow: @randomforestrunner
Read: www.randomforestrunner.com
Watch: John's Hardrock Experience by Adam Weitzel for Ultimate Direction
Image Credit: Steve Ashworth
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