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In previous episodes, we’ve chatted with some young runners who have taken on ultramarathons like the Leadville Trail 100, something that was unheard of in the ancient days when I began in the sport. While it’s become less rare to see this, it’s now been taken up a notch. Meet the Chisholm family of Salem, NH. Brothers Ben, Brody, Elliott, and Asher all play hockey, with the three eldest at one time playing on the same line together on their high school team. Led by their parents, the boys started off climbing in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, eventually summitting all of its 48 4000-foot peaks, which is no joke in difficulty. This evolved to the family next through-hiking the entire Appalachian Trail, then the Pacific Crest Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail, each of which are thousands of miles long and take months to complete, and definitely at times challenged the limits of family togetherness. While later hiking the Arizona Trail, they learned about this thing called ultramarathoning and on a whim entered the Elden Crest 38-miler, in which second-oldest son Brody led the family to the finish line in fifth-place overall. So the next logical step of course was to return to Arizona to run the 2024 Cocodona 250. Of course. Since races like this include large swaths of hiking, the family leaned heavily on their strong through-hiking skills, a theory that bore fruit. Brody, 17 at the time, boldly had his sights on setting a course record despite having had no prior ultra experience longer than 38 miles, but has 4:30 mile speed on the track, so he could add that running ability to the mix. He learned a lot of ultramarathoning lessons, especially regarding fueling, but still astoundingly finished 12th in 75:42:42, a pace of 18:11 per mile for more than 250 miles. Meanwhile, 18-year-old brother Ben finished 34th in 87:01:50 despite battling lack of sleep and hallucinations, and mom Jennie finished as well in 103:58:03 while overcoming tibial stress fractures. Round two for the family was this year as 16-year-old Elliott attempted to usurp Brody’s record as the youngest-ever Cocodona finisher, but a sickness felled his chance, and Brody also DNF’d. However, Jennie chopped more than 14 hours off of her previous time and placed as the 7th female finisher. So Elliott took on a new challenge the day before we recorded this and ran the Back Cove Backyard Ultra in Portland, ME, where he impressively ran 121 miles, running another 4.16-mile loop at the start of every hour for 29 hours, the third-most in the last-man-standing event. With Jennie and the three oldest boys of this super nice family all crammed onto a couch together for this really fun chat, we cover how they logistically pull all of this off with schoolwork and teen life in general, as well as dealing with those who have this idea that teenage boys shouldn’t take on epic challenges like they have. I think anyone who has doubts will walk away with other ideas after listening to them.

The family

Instagram @thefieldtrip_5

Jennie Chisholm

Instagram @_jenniechisholm

Ben Chisholm

Instagram @benchisholm_7

Brody Chisholm

Instagram @brody.chisholm

Elliott Chisholm

Instagram @elliott.chisholm

Bill Stahl
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All was good in the life of Kijuan Amey of Durham, NC. He had an exciting job as an Air Force in-flight refueling specialist, advancing to the rank of Staff Sergeant. He was finishing his bachelor’s degree with a 3.87 GPA, played semipro football, had a girlfriend, played the drums, had started a company doing website design and social media marketing for businesses, owned a sweet 2014 Dodge Charger with a Hemi V8, and was active in his church. All at the age of 25. He also enjoyed relaxing takes drives on his Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle. On the fateful day on May 5, 2017, a Honda Accord, in broad daylight, inexplicably pulled out in front of Kijuan and his motorcycle, striking and almost killing him. The long list of injuries included shattering bones in his lower right leg, left hip and femur, and lower vertebrae, a fractured skull, a broken jaw, and a torn lower eyelid that caused his eye to pop out. Kijuan was in a coma for a month, and when he awoke in the hospital, he had no idea that he’d even been in an accident, only that he couldn’t see, and with his jaw wired shut, couldn’t ask anyone, either. He thought he was in some sort of a nightmare, not reality. Can you imagine trying to process that in your mind? Kijuan faced arduous months of physical and mental rehab, including dealing with the permanent loss of his sight. He’ll probably never know why the driver pulled out like that. However, Kijuan is too young and ambitious to be held down, so what you are going to hear in this episode is Kijaun’s inspiring battle back and determination to make a difference. His motto is that he may have lost his sight, but not his vision. He is a motivating force and is empowering others to success. He has been called the “Excuse Destroyer,” because he hasn’t let this rough incident hold him back and wants to make sure others don’t hold themselves back, either. He’s out there motivational speaking, and you can book him at ameymotivation.com, where you can also hear him playing the drums to what I think are awesomely soulful tunes. After listening to this incredible story, I highly recommend reading his soon-to-be-bestseller, “Don’t Focus on Why Me: From Motorcycle Accident to Miracle,” which is a quick, yet uplifting read that you can find both on his website and on Amazon.

Kijuan Amey

ameymotivation.com

[email protected]

Facebook Amey Motivation

Instagram @kijuanamey

LinkedIn Kijuan Amey

YouTube @Story_OfSuccess

Bill Stahl
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At a high school track meet I was working as an official this spring, a young man came up to me and commented about my ever-present Yankees cap and mentioned that his uncle had once played for the Bronx Bombers. I figured it would be some nobody, but it turned out to be Hall of Famer and Yankees legend Goose Gossage. As Avi Rahmani of Ralston Valley H.S. in Arvada, Colo., and I got to know each other, I learned about his amazing story of contracting a rare form of cancer, leading to having a kidney removed, and eight agonizing months of chemotherapy and isolation in the hospital. He came out of that ordeal healthy and with a new attitude toward life and a renewed enthusiasm for running. Any recovery has its share of road bumps, and Avi’s took a different turn. He developed the same uncommon vocal cord dysfunction that you heard about in our episode a few weeks ago with high school runners Benji Anderson and Peak Performance teammate Bobby Kieswetter, who got him directed to their doctor at Denver’s National Jewish hospital. This brave young man discusses the challenges that he and his family stood up to during his serious illness, and Avi’s life is definitely on the upswing now as he prepares for his senior year. You’ll come away with a renewed sense of optimism when you hear this exceptionally nice guy’s upbeat attitude and about how he looks forward to being a leader on his high school cross country team and having a long, healthy life that will make a difference in the world.

Avi Rahmani

Instagram and Threads @avi.rahmani

Bill Stahl
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We all know veterans who have battled the transition from military service to civilian life. Nick Koumalatsos was a Marine raider who can certainly speak to that. After discharging from the military after 12 years of service, he battled that adjustment, going through divorce, bankruptcy, and even serious thoughts of suicide. It took him many years to figure out a formula that would work for him to pull himself out of these abysses. But throughout his life, Nick had always been seeking an angle to move up in the world. This led him to start his first business, and he’s now run multiple businesses. The one that gets him most fired up is Johnny Slicks, which makes organic personal grooming products right here in the USA. Nick describes how they have created a strong family-like company atmosphere as they do all production and distribution in-house instead of farming these aspects out. He has also founded Core Medical Group, whose differentiator is providing personal care and service for men who need to determine whether they should explore testosterone replacement therapy. He’s also created a transformative coaching group called Agoge that currently includes men from ages 17 to 74. It’s a very hands-on community to help men overcome challenges. The lessons include Mastering Yourself, Leading Your Family, Mastering Your Finances where Nick shares what the wealthy don’t tell the rest of us about, and Leaders Creating More Leaders – creating your own legacy. He has put a tremendous number of resources and lessons on his website, nickkoumalatsos.com including a free course well worth checking out. Related to this, Nick is leading a retreat in Kona in October for those who feel stuck in life or having a lot of stops and starts that prevent them from making progress. If that’s all not enough, he’s helping add his Marine experience to the production of the upcoming Punisher movie. You’ll be able to feel Nick’s abundant energy in this chat and learn a lot about how you can take control of your own inaction and/or overcome serious challenges like Nick did to create a fulfilling life helping others in myriad ways.

Nick Koumalatsos

nickkoumalatsos.com

[email protected]

Instagram and Threads @nickkoumalatsos

Facebook Nick Koumalatsos

Bill Stahl
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Tyler Andrews is a good friend with whom I’ve done trips with to Peru, Ecuador, and most recently, the Atacama Desert of Chile where we climbed up to almost 20,000 feet.  Ty was a self-described high school nerd musician who went on to be an average D3 cross country runner. After battling depression, Ty dedicated himself to becoming a pro mountain runner, which has seen him set numerous FKTs on some of the most iconic tall peaks in the world, including Aconcagua, Kilimanjaro, and Cotopaxi. One recent FKT in the Himalayas has been commemorated in the very cool short film “9 Hours on Manaslu” that you can watch on YouTube and is definitely worth 27 minutes of your time. To show his breadth, Ty also holds the record for the Leadville Marathon and has run in the U.S. Olympic marathon trials. He is a La Sportiva-sponsored athlete and is founder of the Chaski Endurance Collective, which coaches ultramarathoners. Which all leads us to this riveting WASP appearance, on which we chat about his recent attempts to set the FKT for running up Mt. Everest, both with and without supplemental oxygen. How incredible does that sound? I won’t ruin the story for you, but Ty will talk about the what, when, how, and why for this audacious project and all of the logistics and challenges involved. For some really great content that gets very granular about how Ty did this, I highly recommend you go listen to his 21-part podcast series called Ty’s Training: Talking with my Dad.  It’s fascinating hearing some of the innovative methods Ty used to train for this quest that pushed him harder than he’s ever been challenged before. I’m sure you’ll love this story.

Tyler Andrews:
Facebook Tyler Andres Andrews
Instagram and Twitter: @tylercandrews

Chaski Endurance Collective:
www.chaski.run/linktree
Instagram: @chaski.endurance

Bill Stahl
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One of the most badass racers I know is Kat Edwards Anderson. She has been on the WASP twice before, most recently on episode #327 in January, chatting about her runs at the Sedona Canyons 125 and the Moab 240. I first met her in Chile in March, 2024, where she impressively conquered many new challenges for her in the high Atacama Desert. She built on these experiences by overcoming blisters on her feet, menstrual cycle irregularities, heat, and mental hurdles to get on the podium at Moab. In this episode, Kat shares some great insights on her run in May at the Cocodona 250, where she finished as the 6th female. Kat took many of the lessons from Moab, along with input from her coach, Tyler Andrews, to dial in the minutiae that is required to have success at such a grueling race. Kat shares much about the custom-designed gear she used to suit her needs, and the many very sound practices that she employed for Cocodona. Naturally, there were uncontrollables like the weather, and once again, her cycle. Most notably, she generously shares her mental battles through the race, and how her crew and her faith both came through for her to get to a finish line that at times seemed improbable. This is a great chat inside the mind of a tough, focused endurance beast of a runner. Next up for Kat is some “speedwork” as she comes out here to Colorado to slay the Leadville Trail 100.

Kat Edwards
katedwardspt.com
Instagram @kat.elizabeth_
For coaching inquiries: www.chaski.run

Bill Stahl
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This is a classic WASP comeback story in a different kind of direction. Alex Neist is a former college and pro quarterback who seemingly had it all post-football – a thriving business career and great family – and then had it all fall apart because of his snoring. It’s true, snoring. Alex found an unlikely answer with mouth taping, which he had to find on his own because he realized our healthcare system didn’t espouse it because there isn’t nearly the profit with it available to providers as, say, recommending meds or a CPAP machine. This kicked in his entrepreneurial spirit. Alex’s philosophy toward starting a business is to identify a problem you’re having and then provide a solution that others can also use to solve that issue. That led him to found Hostage Tape. He will explain to you why the provocative name. Alex says the change in one’s sleep quality, and indeed in the quality of their life, is almost immediate when someone starts mouth taping. He also explains here why there is no reason to be concerned about not being able to breathe while using the product, and about a lot of other unexpected benefits that have made improvements in users’ oral health, workouts, and yes, relationships. Hostage Tape now has hundreds of thousands of customers, some as well-known as Joe Rogan, and Alex’s goal is to help one million people sleep better using Hostage Tape’s products, which include nasal strips that have become all the rage these days for athletes, include many in the track world. Before you dismiss this as woo-woo stuff, definitely give this episode with Alex a listen – it will awaken you – or just the opposite of that – to a very simple, possibly life-changing, solution.

Alex Neist

hostagetape.com

Facebook Hostage Tape

Instagram @alexneist and @hostagetape

YouTube and X @hostagetape

TikTok @hostagemouthtape

Bill Stahl
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Colorado has always been known as a distance running hotbed, and some amazing runners have come out of our high school ranks. This episode’s guests are no exception – with an added twist. Bobby Kiesewetter, from Golden View Academy, a Class 2A school in Golden understandably was very concerned when his airway would shut down while he was running, making it impossible to breathe. Perplexed doctors suspected asthma and prescribed inhalers, but to no avail. Bobby happened to see a social media post from another local runner, Benji Anderson, who had experienced the same thing and had been diagnosed with Exercise-Induced Laryngeal Obstruction, also commonly called vocal cord dysfunction. Benji connected Bobby with the doctor right here in Denver who had treated him at National Jewish Hospital, which specializes in lung and breathing research. Through extensive treatment and exercises, both young men have learned to control their breathing issue and achieved great results in their high school careers. Bobby swept the Colorado Class 2A 800, 1600, and 3200 meter titles, each by wide margins, including setting a state meet record in the 1600 of 4:17.84. He will continue his running career at Division 2 Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. Benji, who ran for Mountain Vista High School in Highlands Ranch, has a long list of accolades, including winning the 2024 Class 5A cross country title, is a two-time champion of the prestigious Liberty Bell Invitational, both times running the 5K course in a blazing 14:48, and has been top five in the state multiple times in the 800, 1600, and 3200. His best times include an 8:46.15 in the 3200 at Arcadia, and a 4:08.03 1600 at the New Balance indoors in Boston. He has a couple of big upcoming races before he heads off to Notre Dame this fall. Among these is the Festival of Miles this week in which a star-studded high school field will be going after sub-4:00 times. This is a great chat with a couple of very nice young men who have overcome some concerning challenges, have learned about the considerable power of the running community, and who will have many more successes in the future.

Benji Anderson

Instagram @benji.andersonn

Bobby Kiesewetter

Instagram @bobby_kiess

Bill Stahl
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David always had a deep appreciation for alternative and regenerative medicine. He and I have both had guests here who understand how broken our “sick care” system is and have created new pathways for those who want to take control of their health in ways the American system won’t allow. One such pioneer is Jay Campbell, co-founder of BioLongevity Labs. Jay’s lifelong mission is to inspire and empower others to optimize their health, reverse aging, and unlock their true human potential – physically, mentally, and emotionally. In this dynamic chat, he and I talk about what’s going on in the U.S. state of health, and Jay gives great insights into the benefits of balancing hormones, most notably testosterone, for both men, and in underrated ways, for women, too. Once that balance is achieved, then one can potentially take the next steps into administering therapeutic peptides that can transform health, from cellular regeneration, to anti-aging, losing fat, hormonal balance, and beyond. Really intriguing topics on which Jay certainly raised my understanding. You’ll gain a lot in this episode from Jay’s immense store of knowledge.

Jay Campbell

www.jaycampbell.com

www.biolongevitylabs.com

Instagram, X, and YouTube @jaycampbell333

Bill Stahl
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I have been amused that 200-mile races have become a thing, and some now even call 100-milers a “speed event.” But now Destination Races, which hosts a series of 200-mile races has created the Arizona Monster 300 with a cutoff of 170 hours, or just more than 7 days. Good friend of the WASP Kelly Thrush ran its inaugural edition a few weeks ago. You might remember Kelly from WASP episodes #231 and 232 in November, 2022 after he completed 85 miles at the AHR following receiving a liver transplant. That two-part episode is definitely worth a re-listen as he described years of alcohol abuse that led to not only the deterioration of his liver, but alienating most of his family and friends, and put him on the doorstep of death. He awoke from surgery feeling immense gratitude, which has driven his life since then, including the founding of the Gratitude and Grace Foundation, which helps other transplant candidates and recipients navigate the financial hurdles they face. Kelly has created events to support this important mission, including an event that involves climbing laps up and down Mount Tumamoc in Tucson. In this fascinating chat, Kelly describes all aspects of taking on the enormous challenge of the Arizona Monster 300 and what it’s like to be out there on the trail day and night for 7 days, how his wife and crew contributed to his finish, his fueling, sleeping, mental approach, hallucinating, and what it did to his feet. Get ready for a fun adventure!

Kelly Thrush

Gratitude and Grace Foundation

Facebook Kelly Thrush

Instagram and Threads @just__keep__going_

Bill Stahl
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