The Strength Running Podcast

Recovering from injuries is challenging when they keep you away from running for days or weeks. But injuries that linger for years require a special type of perspective and perseverance.

This week's podcast guest received the kind of news you hope never to receive from a doctor - that you might never run again.

Connor Meakin had been an elite athlete long before he took up ultrarunning. He was a member of the Canadian Men's National Field Hockey Team for four years before completing a road marathon. He quickly discovered his love for the mountains and trails and seemed to have found his calling, winning multiple races in 2014.

What began as a bad ankle sprain in 2014 quickly devolved into a much more serious injury. Connor tried to continue running and racing but the injury worsened and created new issues with his foot.

Soon, a radiologist told Connor he had one of the worst injuries he had ever seen. The doctor recommended he take up cycling and told him that he might never run again, especially in any sort of competitive fashion.

In the face of this grim news, most athletes would give up hope. But 5 years later, he's back to winning races!

Connor discusses a number of the strategies that did contribute to his recovery, including

• Facing the reality of the severity of his injury
• Finally resting
• Cross-training
• Gait retraining
• Digging into scientific research on rehabilitating injuries
• Physical therapy

Whether you're struggling physically or mentally with an injury, or just trying to avoid them altogether, you'll find something in Connor's journey that you can relate to.

Links & Resources from the Show:

• Connect with Connor on Linked In
• Visit Connor's business online
• Follow Connor on Instagram and on Facebook
• Prevent injuries that keep you sidelined from running
• Discover strategies for recovery and injury prevention from 9 elite athletes

Thank you to our newest sponsor, Athletic Greens! They are a health and wellness company that makes AG1. This is a category-leading greens mix that has 75 vitamins and minerals, prebiotics, probiotics, antioxidants, and adaptogens.

One scoop per day is what I've been doing to help me fill in any nutrition gaps in my diet. It also provide a nice boost of energy and focus throughout the day. With all 3 of my kids in school, I know I need to support my immune system or else I'm getting sick and can't train.

I also love that AG1 has changed over the last decade. Athletic Greens has made 53 improvements to the formula based on the latest research to make these nutrients more absorbable.

For our listeners, they are offering a year's worth of free Vitamin D and 5 free travel packs of AG1 with your first purchase. You can sign up for single shipment or for a monthly drop - the choice is yours. Check out Athletic Greens to redeem your offer today.

Geoff Burns, PhD helps us understand the changes in regulations in running footwear, as the industry figures out how to handle the performance impact of carbon-plated "super shoes." His understanding of the technology, from both a personal and professional perspective, is uniquely informative.

Geoff has competed at the highest levels of ultrarunning and was the 2016 US national champion at 100km, where he ran 6:30. He competed at the collegiate level for the University of Michigan, and went on to represent the USA over the 50km and 100km distances, and finished 5th at both the 2016 and 2018 IAU 100km World Championships.

Geoff also has degrees in biomedical engineering and kinesiology with a PhD from the University of Michigan. His research focuses on running, physiology, biomechanics, and sport performance.

This week's podcast delves into the science of super shoes, including what has made them such a useful tool for both elite and amateur runners and how you can use them to your own benefit. The episode is unique because all the questions that Geoff answers came directly from Jason's Twitter community.

We discuss:

• What types of runners will benefit most from these types of shoes?
• At what distances are super shoes most beneficial?
• Can (and should?) you still use an insert in shoes with carbon plates?
• Do shoes with carbon plates increase your injury risk?
• How should these types of shoes be used? Every day? For racing only? Or something in between?
• What is the longevity of these shoes?
• What is the future of this technology? How will these super shoes become even better?

Links & Resources from the Show:

• Follow Geoff on Twitter and Instagram
• Visit Geoff's website
• Read Geoff's discussion on the pros and cons of thicker shoes

Our show is supported by our longtime sponsor InsideTracker. Today, more than ever, it's essential that we're making the right decisions to keep our bodies healthy. To help us be resilient, prevent over-training, and optimize our running to get the most from it.

InsideTracker is the ultra-personalized nutrition platform that analyzes your blood and DNA biomarkers along with your lifestyle habits to help you optimize your body and reach your goals.

InsideTracker's patented system will transform your body's data into knowledge, insights, and a customized action plan of science-backed recommendations. The data can help you determine whether you're running too much, not enough, or have some other issues that could be affecting your recovery or performance.

I've had my own blood drawn with InsideTracker several times and have been amazed at the valuable information that they provide. Not only are the results very detailed, but they also share guidance for how to improve any markers that are out of range.

If you're ready to take control of your health and optimize your training, InsideTracker offers a selection of plans that best suit your needs with a limited time 25% discount.

A big thanks to Elemental Labs for their support of this episode! They make electrolyte drinks for athletes and low-carb folks with no sugar, artificial ingredients, or colors. And you can get a free sampler pack of 4 flavors and 8 individual packets when you pay $5 in shipping.

Elemental Labs' products have some of the highest sodium concentrations that you can find. Anybody who runs a lot knows that sodium, as well as other electrolytes like magnesium and potassium, are essential to our performance and how we feel throughout the day.

The citrus flavor has quickly become my favorite. I'm drinking one a day now to help me get enough fluids in our dry Colorado air. It's tasty and delicious and I find that I'm not peeing every 45 minutes throughout the day, which might be an indication I wasn't eating enough sodium.

There's now mounting evidence that higher sodium intake levels are not unhealthy – and athletes need substantially more than your typical sedentary person. Of course, ask your doctor if you're worried. But for those athletes running outside in the heat, an electrolyte replacement makes a lot of sense.

They just released their first new flavor of 2021, their most requested flavor, watermelon salt. So check out Elemental Labs to try their new flavor or get a free sampler pack.

Nick Willis exemplifies longevity not only in the competitive world of elite running, but even more so in an event that typically favors young, powerful runners.

He is the 2008 Olympic silver medalist and the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist in the 1500m. Nick's PR of 3:29 established him as one of the fastest 1500m runners in history.

Nick also holds a unique record of being the most consistent miler in history. For the past 19 consecutive years, he has run a sub-4 minute mile. On January 1st at midnight, he'll be attempting his 20th year of sub-4 miles at the Armory in New York City.

In the podcast, we discuss many of the factors that have contributed to Nick's success, including:

• The importance of who you surround yourself with
• Putting in the focused work when it counts
• How he focuses on injury prevention
• Using less conventional cross-training as an outlet
• Learning to respect your body and know what it can and cannot do, especially as you get older
• A willingness to be patient and show up when it matters
• Using strength as a primary resource when it comes to healing

Links & Resources from the Show:

• Follow Nick on Twitter and Instagram
• Watch Nick prepare for his 20th sub-4 miler
• Check out Nick on Facebook
• Get stronger and avoid injury
• Join a team to support your own running

Our show is supported by our longtime sponsor InsideTracker. Today, more than ever, it's essential that we're making the right decisions to keep our bodies healthy. To help us be resilient, prevent over-training, and optimize our running to get the most from it.

InsideTracker is the ultra-personalized nutrition platform that analyzes your blood and DNA biomarkers along with your lifestyle habits to help you optimize your body and reach your goals.

InsideTracker's patented system will transform your body's data into knowledge, insights, and a customized action plan of science-backed recommendations. The data can help you determine whether you're running too much, not enough, or have some other issues that could be affecting your recovery or performance.

I've had my own blood drawn with InsideTracker several times and have been amazed at the valuable information that they provide. Not only are the results very detailed, but they also share guidance for how to improve any markers that are out of range.

If you're ready to take control of your health and optimize your training, InsideTracker offers a selection of plans that best suit your needs with a limited time 25% discount.

This week's guest on the podcast has raced distances ranging from 5k to ultras. Although he's always been willing to put in the work, he has felt challenged by trying to create a successful training structure for himself.

Chris Robinson is a Team Strength Running member and the Cross Country Head Coach at Eureka College in Eureka, Illinois. While his work as a coach has sometimes made his training take a backseat to that of his athletes, he's setting some exciting new goals for 2022.

Chris is 49 and set some speedy PRs several years ago, including a 1:37 half marathon and a sub-20 5k. Looking ahead to 2022, he's setting the goal of running a 5k every month to rebuild training consistency and focus on getting faster.

On this week's podcast, we'll take a closer look at Chris' running background and talk about many aspects of his training:

• What was his running like when he set his PR's, and how has it changed?
• What does his current training look like? What are his recent race performances?
• How can Chris structure his training to accomplish his goals?
• What are the fundamental aspects of his training to help him stay healthy while getting faster?

If you'd like opportunities like this to come on the podcast, join our team!

Our show is supported by our longtime sponsor InsideTracker. Today, more than ever, it's essential that we're making the right decisions to keep our bodies healthy. To help us be resilient, prevent over-training, and optimize our running to get the most from it.

InsideTracker is the ultra-personalized nutrition platform that analyzes your blood and DNA biomarkers along with your lifestyle habits to help you optimize your body and reach your goals.

InsideTracker's patented system will transform your body's data into knowledge, insights, and a customized action plan of science-backed recommendations. The data can help you determine whether you're running too much, not enough, or have some other issues that could be affecting your recovery or performance.

I've had my own blood drawn with InsideTracker several times and have been amazed at the valuable information that they provide. Not only are the results very detailed, but they also share guidance for how to improve any markers that are out of range.

If you're ready to take control of your health and optimize your training, InsideTracker offers a selection of plans that best suit your needs with a limited time 25% discount.

A big thanks to Elemental Labs for their support of this episode! They make electrolyte drinks for athletes and low-carb folks with no sugar, artificial ingredients, or colors. And you can get a free sampler pack of 4 flavors and 8 individual packets when you pay $5 in shipping.

Elemental Labs' products have some of the highest sodium concentrations that you can find. Anybody who runs a lot knows that sodium, as well as other electrolytes like magnesium and potassium, are essential to our performance and how we feel throughout the day.

The citrus flavor has quickly become my favorite. I'm drinking one a day now to help me get enough fluids in our dry Colorado air. It's tasty and delicious and I find that I'm not peeing every 45 minutes throughout the day, which might be an indication I wasn't eating enough sodium.

There's now mounting evidence that higher sodium intake levels are not unhealthy – and athletes need substantially more than your typical sedentary person. Of course, ask your doctor if you're worried. But for those athletes running outside in the heat, an electrolyte replacement makes a lot of sense.

They just released their first new flavor of 2021, their most requested flavor, watermelon salt. So check out Elemental Labs to try their new flavor or get a free sampler pack.

Sam Burke is the founder of Runner's Tribe, one of Australia's largest running media sites. Recently he jumped into the competitive running shoe industry as the founder of Tarkine, a new startup shoe company for endurance runners.

Runner's Tribe began in 2008 and has grown into a home for an enormous array of running-related information, including news, product reviews, podcasts, articles, and training diaries from elite runners.

Sam's new company, Tarkine, is focused on making an environmentally responsible running shoe that reduces its ecological footprint in all stages of the shoemaking process.

Links & Resources from the Show:

• Check out the Tarkine website
• Tarkine on Facebook
• Visit the Runners Tribe website
• Contribute to the Tarkine Kickstarter

Our show is supported by our longtime sponsor InsideTracker. Today, more than ever, it's essential that we're making the right decisions to keep our bodies healthy. To help us be resilient, prevent over-training, and optimize our running to get the most from it.

InsideTracker is the ultra-personalized nutrition platform that analyzes your blood and DNA biomarkers along with your lifestyle habits to help you optimize your body and reach your goals.

InsideTracker's patented system will transform your body's data into knowledge, insights, and a customized action plan of science-backed recommendations. The data can help you determine whether you're running too much, not enough, or have some other issues that could be affecting your recovery or performance.

I've had my own blood drawn with InsideTracker several times and have been amazed at the valuable information that they provide. Not only are the results very detailed, but they also share guidance for how to improve any markers that are out of range.

If you're ready to take control of your health and optimize your training, InsideTracker offers a selection of plans that best suit your needs with a limited time 25% discount.

Thank you to our newest sponsor, Athletic Greens! They are a health and wellness company that makes AG1. This is a category-leading greens mix that has 75 vitamins and minerals, prebiotics, probiotics, antioxidants, and adaptogens.

One scoop per day is what I've been doing to help me fill in any nutrition gaps in my diet. It also provide a nice boost of energy and focus throughout the day. With all 3 of my kids in school, I know I need to support my immune system or else I'm getting sick and can't train.

I also love that AG1 has changed over the last decade. Athletic Greens has made 53 improvements to the formula based on the latest research to make these nutrients more absorbable.

For our listeners, they are offering a year's worth of free Vitamin D and 5 free travel packs of AG1 with your first purchase. You can sign up for single shipment or for a monthly drop - the choice is yours. Check out Athletic Greens to redeem your offer today.

Jimmy Picard is a doctor of physical therapy in Salt Lake City. He emphasizes the importance of taking an active role in the recovery process, rather than leaving your recovery in the hands of others.

With his physical therapy expertise working with endurance athletes, his history as a former cross-country runner at the College of William and Mary, and his experience as a Cat 2 cyclist, Jimmy has unique and valuable insights into effective injury rehab for runners.

When it comes to healing yourself, Jimmy believes in the science behind the active components of injury rehab - including physical therapy exercises and strength training - where you are the driving force behind the process.

In the podcast, Jimmy also discusses how your outlook and planning for recovery can make all the difference, including:

• Taking a holistic approach to recovery
• Avoiding catastrophic thinking
• How to manage the 2 buckets of recovery: calming down and building back up
• Avoiding extremes in the recovery process: why shutting it down and pushing through an injury are both ineffective

For more on staying healthy, get Strength Running's best advice here.

Whether you're injured or not, you're bound to learn a lot from this comprehensive discussion about injury rehabilitation!

Links & Resources from the Show:

• Follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram
• Connect with Jimmy on Linked In
• Visit Jimmy's website: Redefine Physical Therapy and Performance
• Want to prevent injuries from happening?

Our show is supported by our longtime sponsor InsideTracker. Today, more than ever, it's essential that we're making the right decisions to keep our bodies healthy. To help us be resilient, prevent over-training, and optimize our running to get the most from it.

InsideTracker is the ultra-personalized nutrition platform that analyzes your blood and DNA biomarkers along with your lifestyle habits to help you optimize your body and reach your goals.

InsideTracker's patented system will transform your body's data into knowledge, insights, and a customized action plan of science-backed recommendations. The data can help you determine whether you're running too much, not enough, or have some other issues that could be affecting your recovery or performance.

I've had my own blood drawn with InsideTracker several times and have been amazed at the valuable information that they provide. Not only are the results very detailed, but they also share guidance for how to improve any markers that are out of range.

If you're ready to take control of your health and optimize your training, InsideTracker offers a selection of plans that best suit your needs with a limited time 25% discount.

A big thanks to Elemental Labs for their support of this episode! They make electrolyte drinks for athletes and low-carb folks with no sugar, artificial ingredients, or colors. And you can get a free sampler pack of 4 flavors and 8 individual packets when you pay $5 in shipping.

Elemental Labs' products have some of the highest sodium concentrations that you can find. Anybody who runs a lot knows that sodium, as well as other electrolytes like magnesium and potassium, are essential to our performance and how we feel throughout the day.

The citrus flavor has quickly become my favorite. I'm drinking one a day now to help me get enough fluids in our dry Colorado air. It's tasty and delicious and I find that I'm not peeing every 45 minutes throughout the day, which might be an indication I wasn't eating enough sodium.

There's now mounting evidence that higher sodium intake levels are not unhealthy – and athletes need substantially more than your typical sedentary person. Of course, ask your doctor if you're worried. But for those athletes running outside in the heat, an electrolyte replacement makes a lot of sense.

They just released their first new flavor of 2021, their most requested flavor, watermelon salt. So check out Elemental Labs to try their new flavor or get a free sampler pack.

David Joyce is an expert on optimizing athletic performance in a variety of sports from soccer to football to rugby and more. David joined us last year on the podcast to discuss injury rehabilitation, and he is back this year to focus on prevention.

David is the co-editor of High-Performance Training for Sports: The Authoritative Guide for Ultimate Athletic Conditioning, the second edition. He holds master's degrees in both sports science and sports medicine, as well as an MBA, and has over 50 publications in the field of sports performance. David has worked in Olympic programs in the UK, China, and Australia and has trained and rehabilitated multiple world-class athletes.

David and Jason discuss facets of injury prevention you may not have considered, even though they are easy to implement:

• The impact of advancements in technology for runners
• Why a good coach will always be essential alongside technology
• How to find a rhythm to your training by polarizing your efforts - keep your easy runs easy and make the hard ones count
• Know the appropriate range of your running efforts and (mostly) train within them.
• The importance of developing consistency by eliminating friction in your schedule
• How "motion is lotion" and why you don't want to "allow the rust to settle"

Enjoy this discussion with one of the top performance experts in the world!

Sign up here for coach Jason's best injury prevention advice.

Our show is supported by our longtime sponsor InsideTracker. Today, more than ever, it's essential that we're making the right decisions to keep our bodies healthy. To help us be resilient, prevent over-training, and optimize our running to get the most from it.

InsideTracker is the ultra-personalized nutrition platform that analyzes your blood and DNA biomarkers along with your lifestyle habits. Their goal is to help you optimize your body and reach your goals.

InsideTracker's patented system will transform your body's data into knowledge, insights, and a customized action plan of science-backed recommendations. The data can help you determine whether you're running too much, not enough, or have some other issues that could be affecting your recovery or performance.

I've had my own blood drawn with InsideTracker several times and have been amazed at the valuable information that they provide. Not only are the results very detailed, but they also share guidance for how to improve any markers that are out of range.

If you're ready to take control of your health and optimize your training, InsideTracker offers a selection of plans that best suit your needs with a limited time 25% discount.

Thank you to our newest sponsor, Athletic Greens! They are a health and wellness company that makes AG1. This is a category-leading greens mix that has 75 vitamins and minerals, prebiotics, probiotics, antioxidants, and adaptogens.

One scoop per day is what I've been doing to help me fill in any nutrition gaps in my diet. It also provides a nice boost of energy and focus throughout the day. With all of my kids in school, I need to support my immune system or else I'm getting sick. Then, I can't train!

I also love that AG1 has changed over the last decade. Athletic Greens has made 53 improvements to the formula based on the latest research to make these nutrients more absorbable.

For our listeners, they are offering a year's worth of free Vitamin D and 5 free travel packs of AG1 with your first purchase. You can sign up for a single shipment or for a monthly drop - the choice is yours. Check out Athletic Greens to redeem your offer today.

Strength training is critical for runners who want to get the most out of their training. While it's easy to skimp on weights in favor of running more miles, weight training for runners has so many benefits:

• Increased speed and power
• Greater running economy that helps improve endurance
• The ability to handle a greater workload (i.e., you can run more!)
• Improved injury resistance

In short, there's no good reason NOT to strength train if you're a runner!

To help answer all of your questions about strength, Tony Gentilcore has joined us. He's a former collegiate baseball player who graduated Magna Cum Laude from SUNY-Cortland with a degree in Health Education with a concentration in Health and Wellness Promotion. After almost going pro in baseball, he worked as a personal trainer for several years in NY, CT, and MA.

Tony opened a sports performance gym with two other trainers that has grown into one of the premier baseball training facilities on the east coast. He has contributed his strength training expertise to numerous publications, including T-Nation, The Boston Herald, and BodyBuilding.com, amongst others.

In today's podcast, Tony addresses many common questions related to weight lifting. But this episode is unique because the questions come directly from members of our High Performance Lifting Program, including the following:

• How do runners find a great strength coach or gym? What are the top 1-3 things to look for?
• Should strength training routines be modified for older runners?
• If an athlete wants to avoid any Olympic lifts but still wants to develop power and explosivity, are there alternative exercises that would be helpful?
• How can runners tell if they are over or under training with regard to strength?

Check out the podcast to hear the answers to these questions and more. These questions are only a sample from the full 90min Q&A! Be sure to join HPL so you can get your hands on the full conversation!

Links & Resources from the Show:

• Follow Tony Gentilcore on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
• Visit Tony's website
• Join High Performance Lifting to get access to the entire Q&A!
• Not ready to join yet? Sign up for our free strength training series here

Our show is supported by our longtime sponsor InsideTracker. Today, more than ever, it's essential that we're making the right decisions to keep our bodies healthy. To help us be resilient, prevent over-training, and optimize our running to get the most from it.

InsideTracker is the ultra-personalized nutrition platform that analyzes your blood and DNA biomarkers along with your lifestyle habits to help you optimize your body and reach your goals.

InsideTracker's patented system will transform your body's data into knowledge, insights, and a customized action plan of science-backed recommendations. The data can help you determine whether you're running too much, not enough, or have some other issues that could be affecting your recovery or performance.

I've had my own blood drawn with InsideTracker several times and have been amazed at the valuable information that they provide. Not only are the results very detailed, but they also share guidance for how to improve any markers that are out of range.

If you're ready to take control of your health and optimize your training, InsideTracker offers a selection of plans that best suit your needs with a limited time 25% discount.

A big thanks to Elemental Labs for their support of this episode! They make electrolyte drinks for athletes and low-carb folks with no sugar, artificial ingredients, or colors. And you can get a free sampler pack of 4 flavors and 8 individual packets when you pay $5 in shipping.

Elemental Labs' products have some of the highest sodium concentrations that you can find. Anybody who runs a lot knows that sodium, as well as other electrolytes like magnesium and potassium, are essential to our performance and how we feel throughout the day.

The citrus flavor has quickly become my favorite. I'm drinking one a day now to help me get enough fluids in our dry Colorado air. It's tasty and delicious and I find that I'm not peeing every 45 minutes throughout the day, which might be an indication I wasn't eating enough sodium.

There's now mounting evidence that higher sodium intake levels are not unhealthy – and athletes need substantially more than your typical sedentary person. Of course, ask your doctor if you're worried. But for those athletes running outside in the heat, an electrolyte replacement makes a lot of sense.

They just released their first new flavor of 2021, their most requested flavor, watermelon salt. So check out Elemental Labs to try their new flavor or get a free sampler pack.

The New York City Marathon is the largest marathon in the world, and its unique course makes it a bucket-list event for many runners.

When it comes to navigating the logistics of the New York City marathon, there are few people who know it better than Richard White. Richard is a fixture of the NYC running scene and a 17-time finisher of the race. After more than 4 decades of racing, Richard will be going for his 18th NYC finish and his 60th marathon finish this weekend.

Richard is passionate about the race itself as well as its history, and he's an invaluable resource on all aspects of the NYC Marathon. In this episode he'll let you in on some of the useful tricks he's learned from his 17 NYC finishes, including:

• How to segment the course to make it more approachable.
• Making the most of the energy from other runners and spectators.
• COVID-related changes that make this year unique.
• Tips for tackling the most challenging parts of the race.
• The physical, mental and emotional aspects of the course.
• Suggestions for navigating the post-marathon crowds.

Richard's familiarity with the course provides so many useful ways to navigate the New York City marathon, whether you're a new or seasoned marathon runner. In our conversation we discuss:

• How knowledge of the course details will help you run a smarter race
• The importance of managing your effort in the early miles
• How to approach the 3 most notable hills on the course at miles 1, 14 and 23
• Digging deep and using mental strength to help you through the final hill on 5th Avenue
• Breaking up those last 10 miles into manageable chunks
• Why expecting the worst is sometimes the best strategy!

Whether you're running the New York City Marathon this year or plan to in the future, this episode is full of useful insider information you won't want to miss!

Our show is supported by our longtime sponsor InsideTracker. Today, more than ever, it's essential that we're making the right decisions to keep our bodies healthy. To help us be resilient, prevent over-training, and optimize our running to get the most from it.

InsideTracker is the ultra-personalized nutrition platform that analyzes your blood and DNA biomarkers along with your lifestyle habits to help you optimize your body and reach your goals.

InsideTracker's patented system will transform your body's data into knowledge, insights, and a customized action plan of science-backed recommendations. The data can help you determine whether you're running too much, not enough, or have some other issues that could be affecting your recovery or performance.

I've had my own blood drawn with InsideTracker several times and have been amazed at the valuable information that they provide. Not only are the results very detailed, but they also share guidance for how to improve any markers that are out of range.

If you're ready to take control of your health and optimize your training, InsideTracker offers a selection of plans that best suit your needs with a limited time 25% discount.

Thank you to our newest sponsor, Athletic Greens! They are a health and wellness company that makes AG1. This is a category-leading greens mix that has 75 vitamins and minerals, prebiotics, probiotics, antioxidants, and adaptogens.

One scoop per day is what I've been doing to help me fill in any nutrition gaps in my diet. It also provide a nice boost of energy and focus throughout the day. With all 3 of my kids in school, I know I need to support my immune system or else I'm getting sick and can't train.

I also love that AG1 has changed over the last decade. Athletic Greens has made 53 improvements to the formula based on the latest research to make these nutrients more absorbable.

For our listeners, they are offering a year's worth of free Vitamin D and 5 free travel packs of AG1 with your first purchase. You can sign up for single shipment or for a monthly drop - the choice is yours. Check out Athletic Greens to redeem your offer today.

Cat Bradley is an athlete that absolutely loves the sport. She's an ultra-endurance runner coached by Matt Fitzgerald who I had the pleasure of meeting this past August at the Endeavorun retreat in Boulder, CO.

Her resume is shocking, in the best of ways:

• Winner of the 2017 Western States 100 Miler
• Winner of the 2017 Canyons Endurance Run 100k
• Former Fastest Known Time record holder of the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim in 7:52 (first woman to break 8 hours)
• Winner of the 2016 Rio Del Lago 100 Miler
• Winner of the 2018 Moab Red Hot 50k
• Winner of the 2018 Quicksilver 100k
• Winner of the 2019 Castle Rock Trail Festival 50k
• Winner of the 2020 TransRockies Run stage race (team division)

I could go on, but I think you understand now that Cat Bradley is one of the best ultra runners in the United States.

Cat didn't start out as a distance runner. In fact, she was an 800m specialist at the University of California - Santa Barbara. At about a half-mile, the 800m distance might as well be a different sport than ultras!

Soon, Cat realized that she didn't love the track. She wanted some adventure and found herself taking time off from her college career to focus on through-hiking the Appalachian Trail.

That's where she fell in love with mountains, woods, and losing yourself in the visceral beauty of nature.

Within a few short years, Cat's passion for ultra distances bloomed and her competitive drive propelled her forward. Soon, she became one of the most dominant ultramarathon runners in the country.

In this conversation, we discuss:

• How she made the switch from 800m track athlete to Appalachian Trail through-hiker to ultra runner
• The training demands of a 120 mile, 6-day stage race vs. a 100-mile ultra
• How she mentally grappled with pivoting her running career almost 180 degrees
• What made her start to believe she could run professionally
• How she trains for the Grand Canyon R2R2R FKT

Whether you're about to run your first ultra or you're a seasoned veteran, you'll love this conversation with one of the sport's greats.

Links & Resources from the show:

• Follow Cat Bradley on Instagram or check out her website
• How to increase your endurance and run longer
• 5 tips on running your first ultra

Our show is supported by our longtime sponsor InsideTracker. Today, more than ever, it's essential that we're making the right decisions to keep our bodies healthy. To help us be resilient, prevent over-training, and optimize our running to get the most from it.

InsideTracker is the ultra-personalized nutrition platform that analyzes your blood and DNA biomarkers along with your lifestyle habits to help you optimize your body and reach your goals.

InsideTracker's patented system will transform your body's data into knowledge, insights, and a customized action plan of science-backed recommendations. The data can help you determine whether you're running too much, not enough, or have some other issues that could be affecting your recovery or performance.

I've had my own blood drawn with InsideTracker several times and have been amazed at the valuable information that they provide. Not only are the results very detailed, but they also share guidance for how to improve any markers that are out of range.

If you're ready to take control of your health and optimize your training, InsideTracker offers a selection of plans that best suit your needs with a limited time 25% discount.

A big thanks to Elemental Labs for their support of this episode! They make electrolyte drinks for athletes and low-carb folks with no sugar, artificial ingredients, or colors. And you can get a free sampler pack of 4 flavors and 8 individual packets when you pay $5 in shipping.

Elemental Labs' products have some of the highest sodium concentrations that you can find. Anybody who runs a lot knows that sodium, as well as other electrolytes like magnesium and potassium, are essential to our performance and how we feel throughout the day.

The citrus flavor has quickly become my favorite. I'm drinking one a day now to help me get enough fluids in our dry Colorado air. It's tasty and delicious and I find that I'm not peeing every 45 minutes throughout the day, which might be an indication I wasn't eating enough sodium.

There's now mounting evidence that higher sodium intake levels are not unhealthy – and athletes need substantially more than your typical sedentary person. Of course, ask your doctor if you're worried. But for those athletes running outside in the heat, an electrolyte replacement makes a lot of sense.

They just released their first new flavor of 2021, their most requested flavor, watermelon salt. So check out Elemental Labs to try their new flavor or get a free sampler pack.