Seasoned Athlete

This week, we talk to 47-year old Kim Cole. Kim is a wife, mother of two, veterinary tech and competitive Spartan Racer out of Boise, Idaho. In 2018, Spartan introduced a competitive age group category and Kim made a huge mark over the course of the year, landing on the 40-49 women’s age group podium for every single race she ran. Kim earned thirteen first place finishes, three second place finishes and one third place finish. She finished the season winning the Spartan US Championship Race series in the 40 to 49 women’s age group and she placed Second at the Spartan World Championships. All of these impressive stats sealed Kim’s status as the Spartan 2018 Age Group World Series Champion. In addition to obstacle racing, Kim has also been a Crossfit athlete for the last ten years and in 2018 she placed second in the world in the 45-49 age group at the Crossfit Open.

Kim shares her story about how she got involved in Spartan Race and her quick rise to success as a 40-49 age group athlete, as well as filling us in on how she is able to compete at a high level and travel to as many races as she can while not living a traditional “pro athlete” life.

SEASONED ATHLETE STATS - KIM COLE
Age: 47

Sport: Crossfit, Spartan Race

Quote: “Planning is crucial.”

Learn more:

https://www.facebook.com/kim.cole.716970

https://www.facebook.com/CrossfitMeridian.net/

We are back with a brand new season and an incredible story of overcoming obstacles in life and eventually in sport. We kick off our new season with 66-year old Bob Ashcraft of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Over the last 40 years of his life, he has faced a number of trials – from major accidents to devastating illness. And yet, thanks to a commitment to physical activity, Bob has stayed resilient, become stronger, and improved his stamina to the point that he is now running Spartan Races. Bob’s is a story of survival, healing, and overcoming.

In our conversation, Bob goes in depth about the multiple traumas he endured over the course of his life (showing his wicked sense of humor along the way) and talks about how his life has completely changed in recent years thanks to a determined focus on health, nutrition and fitness.

SEASONED ATHLETE STATS - BOB ASHCRAFT

Age: 66

Sport: Spartan Race

Quote: “Don’t listen to other people.”

Contact:

Facebook.com/robertashcraft.16

 In this episode, we talk to Ginny Maccoll – dancer, actor, swimmer and American Ninja Warrior. Ginny is the mother of stuntwoman and American Ninja Warrior Jessie Graff. At age 63 she took up strength training and it changed her life. In the last couple years Ginny has become a notable ninja competitor in her own right – appearing on American Ninja Warrior Seasons 9 & 10 and competing in regional ninja meets across the country. Ginny is living proof that it is never too late to get started!

SEASONED ATHLETE STATS - GINNY MACCOLL
Age: 67

Sport: competitive ninja athlete

Quote: “Strength is Ageless!”

Contact: Instagram.com/ginnymaccoll

For our 50th episode, we’re going BEAST MODE! This episode features an interview with Sue Spencer of Vancouver, British Columbia…also known as Beast Mode Grandma! Sue is a late in life athlete who has found mental and physical wellness, health and strength through competitive Olympic weightlifting. Since she began competing at age 61, Sue has earned multiple age group and provincial records and has had the opportunity to compete in her home country as well as internationally. Sue now seeks to inspire others through her business Lift You Up Coaching where she works with people to make positive life changes both emotionally and physically.

SEASONED ATHLETE STATS - SUE SPENCER

Age: 64

Sport: Olympic weightlifting

Quote: “Don’t be afraid to step up and try.”

Contact:

liftyouupcoaching.com

Instagram.com/liftyouupcoaching

Instagram.com/beastmodegrandma

Twitter.com/liftuupcoaching

Facebook.com/liftyouupcoaching

Facebook.com/Beast-Mode-Grandma-900360386739564/

This episode includes the final interview from the 2018 Spartan Podfest that took place at the 2018 Spartan World Championships at the Squaw Valley Resort in Lake Tahoe. This interview features world-renowned endurance athlete and current World OCR President Ian Adamson. A little background on Ian - he started his athletic career as a young age group cyclist in 1973. From 1996 to 2006 he accumulated 10 world championship wins, 22 world championship podium finishes and Gold, Silver and Bronze medals at the ESPN X-Games. He is a three-time Guinness world record holder for endurance kayaking and has competed internationally in adventure racing, triathlon, canoeing, kayaking, orienteering and sailing. He was also a founder of Team Nike, the world's most successful adventure racing team, and was featured on the Eco-Challenge and other television shows from 1995 through 2007. And Ian continues to participate in obstacle course racing and endurance sports as an age group athlete – something we talk about in our interview.

The primary focus of our conversation is his work with World OCR and how this and other sport federations benefit athletes of all levels – from the weekend warrior to the elite competitor. Plus, Ian drops some tidbits on the benefits of keeping an active lifestyle as you age – something he knows a bit about as a former competitor and lifetime athlete. Without further ado, here’s Ian Adamson.

SEASONED ATHLETE STATS - IAN ADAMSON

Age: 54

Sports: cycling, kayaking, adventure racing, triathlon, orienteering, sailing, OCR, etc.

Quote: “If you don’t let it go, it’s always there.”

Contact:

World OCR.org

IanAdamson.com

Instagram: @ian.a.adamson

This episode features a Seasoned Athlete first: this is the first time a guest is featured on this show for the second time! This week we talk to 73-year old Spartan Racer Marla Sweeney. We first featured Marla in a short Everyday Seasoned Athlete segment in 2017. This time around, she sat down with us for a full interview. Marla ran her first Spartan Race at age 70, and from then on she was hooked on racing. In 2018 alone, Marla completed 19 races, including 11 Spartan Races. She earned the coveted Spartan Trifecta – which is the completion of their three different race lengths in the same calendar year. Scratch that, she earned THREE Trifectas in 2018. Marla was recently featured in Runners World, she’s become known as an inspirational figure within the Spartan Race community, and is a fixture at West Coast races.

In this interview, Marla catches us up on what she’s been up to, goes in depth and gets a bit emotional about what living an active life has done for her, and talks about a big step she was taking to “spread her wings” as an obstacle racer.

SEASONED ATHLETE STATS - MARLA SWEENEY

Age: 73

Sports: Spartan Race, OCR, trail racing, road racing

Quote: “It doesn’t matter how old you are. It matters that you’re getting out there.”

Marla Sweeney Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marla.sweeney.73

In this episode, we bring you a new interview from last September’s Spartan Podfest at the Squaw Valley Resort in Lake Tahoe - featuring 68-year old Olympian Rod Dixon. Rod Dixon is a legend in the running community. He’s an Olympic Bronze medalists and won the 1983 NYC Marathon in one of the most dramatic finishes the race has ever seen. Rod’s additional triumphs include: winning the national 1500m titles of New Zealand, France, U.S.A, and Great Britain; running the fifth fastest 1500m of all time 1974 at the Christchurch Commonwealth Games;  a fourth-place finish in the 5000m at the 1976 Montreal Olympics; victories at the Philadelphia Distance Classic in 1980 and 1981 in course record times; victories at the Examiner Bay to Breakers Road Race in San Francisco in 1982 and 1983 in course record time; and a 10th place finish in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics marathon.

What’s interesting and different about this interview is that Rod doesn’t talk much about himself at all. Instead, he shines the light on his current passion - helping kids get up and running through Rod Dixon’s KiDSMARATHON Foundation. We discuss why it’s so important to start kids running early, and the benefits that can come with parents running with their kids.

Learn more about Rod Dixon’s KiDSMARATHON Foundation and how to bring it to a school near you at KidsMarathonFoundation.org.

This week we offer another interview recorded at the Spartan Podfest last September in Lake Tahoe. And this time we’ve got double trouble for you. Our latest guests are race directors, ultra runners and adventurers Johnny Waite and Luis Escobar. Johnny Waite is a race director for Spartan Race Canada, and a man of many great soundbytes, including the motto he lives by, which is “a lifetime of adventures of a lifetime.” Luis Escobar is a long-time runner, photographer, experienced race director possibly best known for the Born to Run Ultra Marathon Extravaganza near Santa Barbara, California and now co-director for the new Spartan Trail series launching this year. These guys took opposite paths to eventually find each other and build an enduring friendship over common threads. And they both have an amazing perspective on how to live your best Seasoned Athlete life.

SEASONED ATHLETE STATS - JOHNNY WAITE
Age: 50

Sports: ultra-running, Spartan Race, Death Race, just living adventurously

Quote: “Always have something to look forward to.”

Contact: Facebook.com/johndavidwaite

SEASONED ATHLETE STATS - LUIS ESCOBAR
Age: 55

Sports: running, running, more and longer running

Quote: “Run simply, run gently and run free.”

Contact: AllWeDoIsRun.com

Audition Template: 1 Mono Host track (with Speech Volume Leveler), 1

In this episode, we get to know Steve Mittleman of Long Beach, CA. Steve is a husband, father, weightlifting coach at Mo-Mentum Fitness in Huntington Beach AND he’s a competitive Highland Games athlete. Steve is a member of the Orange County Highlanders, a group that practices in Orange County and competes at Scottish Festivals throughout Southern California, and he recently earned first place as a Masters 50+ athlete at a tournament at the Ventura Highland Games last October. Additionally, Steve has competed as a powerlifter, winning a California championship, two state records in the squat and the deadlift and a national championship.

SEASONED ATHLETE STATS - STEVE MITTLEMAN
Age: 50

Sports: Highland Games, powerlifting

Quote: “Find something you love that’s hard…do something hard almost every day.”

Contact:

Email: [email protected]

Gym: Mo-Mentum Fitness.com

This episode comes to you from the Spartan Podfest at last September’s Spartan World Championships, and features Willie Banks. Willie is a former World Record Holder and Olympian, President and CEO of the ANOC World Beach Games and President of the US Olympians. Much of Willie’s fame comes from his innovative approach to sports and his exuberant personality that he brought to track and field competitions.  He is the originator of the now common hand clapping that takes place during many track and field events, which he talks about in true Willie style during our conversation. In 1999, Willie was inducted into the USA National Track and Field Hall of Fame and he still continues to compete to this day.

WILLIE BANKS SEASONED ATHLETE STATS

Age: 62

Sport: Track and Field - Triple Jump

Quote: “Go out and try something unique. If you’ve never danced dance. If you’ve never run…run. You never know…you’ll surprise yourself.”

Website: hsj-j.jp

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/willie.banks2

Instagram: @williebanks