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Melissa Strong moved to Estes Park, Colorado outside of Rocky Mountain National Park and found herself drawn to the hospitality industry so common in a tourist town. Working in restaurants is notorious for working long, hard hours, and sometimes partying just as hard. After spending much of her 20s immersed in that fast-paced, yet sedentary, lifestyle, someone introduced her to the world of rock climbing, for which she had an abundance of opportunities right out her front door. Gaining proficiency and solving climbing problems immediately resonated with Melissa, and soon rock climbing became her social circle and eventually her passion, leading her and her husband Adam to take frequent trips to climbing meccas in Texas and France, and becoming a guide herself. Parallel to this, she and Adam embarked on a dream to open their own restaurant in Estes Park. She overcame many obstacles to achieve this goal, including getting turned down for bank financing because she is a woman. The couple found and eventually purchased a historic restaurant in town and set about building it out into the dining establishment of their dreams. Melissa wanted to keep some of the building’s rustic character in their new restaurant, and learned about a technique using electricity to etch random lines in wood to make them look more “antique.” Adam built a machine to do this out of an old microwave oven transformer. While using this makeshift etcher, Melissa electrocuted herself. No matter how much she wanted to let go, the current forced her grip to get stronger. She should have died, but only a circuit breaker tripping saved her life. However, the damage was extensive. Melissa lost pretty much all of her fingers and thumbs, which is crushing for anyone, much less a rock climber. What followed were years of surgeries, pain and anguish, angels in the form of family, friends, and caregivers, and one daring surgeon who performed miracles to restore much of Melissa’s digits using techniques that no one outside of burn unit medicine would guess exist. She and Adam did open the acclaimed restaurants Bird & Jim and the Bird’s Nest in Estes Park, and she has improbably returned to rock climbing. Her story of fortitude has been chronicled in her riveting memoir “Climbing Through,” in which she describes all of the formidable challenges she encountered to realize her restaurant dream and her inspiring return to the rock climbing world she loves. I had a hard time putting the book down. You can find it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and on her web site, melissaistrong.com  I think you’ll be impressed and amazed by how this dynamic woman persevered through such an incredible near-tragedy.

Melissa Strong

melissaistrong.com

Instagram and TikTok @melissaistrong

Facebook Melissa Strong

Bill Stahl
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Instagram and Threads @stahlor and @coachstahl
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Subscribe to our Substack for my archive of articles of coaching tips developed from my more than three decades of experience, wild and funny stories from my long coaching career, the wit and wisdom of David, and highlights of some of the best WASP episodes from the past that I feel are worthwhile giving another listen.

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There are always numerous huge triumphs at the Leadville Trail 100.  Watch the last two hours before the 30-hour cutoff and you will see the bulk of finishers, and every one of them has a story and has made considerable sacrifices to be there. Whether they are a rookie or 31-time finisher Eric Pence. Some are rebounding from addiction, obesity, or serious illnesses or injuries, or running to remember someone they lost. Over the next two weeks I’ll be highlighting two of my favorite stories. First up is the remarkable Adam Popp, who had his first Leadville finish in a time of 28:31:50, while running on a prosthetic leg. Adam has distinguished himself as a runner after serving this country in Afghanistan, where he was an EOD, an Explosive Ordnance Disposal specialist. Adam suffered severe injuries when a roadside bomb exploded, which he described in WASP episode #209 in May, 2022. Adam appeared again in episode #314 in September, 2024, chatting about the slew of incredible Guinness world records he set on treadmills at distances up to ultramarathons. He has excelled on the roads and smoother trails, with impressive achievements like setting a 100-mile amputee world record of 16:13:43, and winning the T61/63 division of the Boston Marathon. He has also run the venerable JFK 50 Mile seven times and completed an Ironman triathlon in 11:03:06. However, mountain trails called to him, and he ran but did not finish the Western States 100 in 2025. Leadville was a different story, and Adam, who is 47, describes the challenges that he faced and overcame running Hope Pass and other tough terrain on a prosthetic blade that doesn’t have four-way mobility like our ankles do. We also discuss how the course change due to the Willow Fire impacted his race, and about other issues facing amputee athletes racing away from the track. I hope Adam’s tenacity opens you up to what possibilities exist when you put your mind to it.

Adam Popp

Instagram @eodpopp

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Bill Stahl
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Instagram and Threads @stahlor and @coachstahl
YouTube We Are Superman Podcast

Subscribe to our Substack for my archive of articles of coaching tips developed from my more than three decades of experience, wild and funny stories from my long coaching career, the wit and wisdom of David, and highlights of some of the best WASP episodes from the past that I feel are worthwhile giving another listen.

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If you run or follow the ultramarathon world, you know who Harvey Lewis is. For the uninitiated, Harvey is a 15-time Badwater 135 finisher, including winning it in 2014 in 23:52:55 and in 2021 in 25:50:23, a time he almost matched this year at age 50. He is a backyard ultra recordholder by running 108 yards, which is 450 miles over 4½ days, at Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra.  He is a worldwide running traveler adventurer, activist, vegan champion, and schoolteacher in Cincinnati who notably run-commutes to work. OK, that is the short list. And he is well-known as one of the truly nice guys in the sport. If you are watching this on the WASP YouTube channel, you can see Harvey in his other natural habitat, in his classroom wearing a shirt and tie. This wide-ranging episode follows a different format in that I gathered questions from runners that I posed to Harvey. Harvey had just returned from running the Last Soul Ultra in Germany, so many of the questions came from a run club over there that my good friend Artem Bituzki runs with. We cover everything from how he pulls off his run commuting, his sleep patterns during his backyard ultras, his recent 250 mile run from New York City to Washington, DC to highlight the civil rights in American history that was lost when the Treasury department changed the coin designs issued to commemorate the U.S.’s 250th anniversary, why he keeps going back to Badwater, and a lot more. If you wonder how Harvey has stayed ailment-free through all of these extreme competitions, he attributes much of it to his vegan diet. He gives the best explanation about why he is still a vegan, and all of the positives that diet has for animal welfare, the environment, and the planet in general. I loved that because he perfectly hit the nail on the head with his very logical and compassionate points, which are also the reasons I’ve embraced that diet, along with simply feeling great and more energetic. I greatly appreciate Harvey sharing so many tips with our listeners, and making this a really fun chat.

Harvey Lewis

Instagram @harveylewisultrarunner

Facebook Harvey Lewis - Ultra Runner

Bill Stahl
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Instagram and Threads @stahlor and @coachstahl
YouTube We Are Superman Podcast

Subscribe to our Substack for my archive of articles of coaching tips developed from my more than three decades of experience, wild and funny stories from my long coaching career, the wit and wisdom of David, and highlights of some of the best WASP episodes from the past that I feel are worthwhile giving another listen.

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Witness the birth of a new performance fuel called Raw Spark Energy. Through pure serendipity, I met Ryan Hanlon near the finish line of Boulderthon, where he was handing passing runners free samples of his Raw Spark Energy bar. Ryan is an entrepreneurial 21-year-old who has spent hours in the kitchen tinkering with ingredients to come up with an all-natural fuel made from actual whole food ingredients. It consists of honey, dates, oats, agave, chia seeds, lemon juice and zest, tapioca, and sea salt, and I can tell you that it tastes pretty darn great. Each package weighs in at 120 calories, including 28g of carbs. It’s rather fascinating listening to Ryan describe how he’s tweaked the recipe and his production techniques. Of course, his next steps lean heavily on getting these into athletes’ hands and stomachs through marketing. If you’re a local athlete, hit him up at [email protected] and perhaps you two can come up with a partnership. This is a young man’s cool startup story and it has me pulling to see him succeed in the fast-growing endurance sports marketplace.

Ryan Hanlon

rawspark.com

[email protected]

Instagram @rawspark.energy and ryanhanlon_2

Bill Stahl
[email protected]
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Instagram and Threads @stahlor and @coachstahl
YouTube We Are Superman Podcast

Subscribe to our Substack for my archive of articles of coaching tips developed from my more than three decades of experience, wild and funny stories from my long coaching career, the wit and wisdom of David, and highlights of some of the best WASP episodes from the past that I feel are worthwhile giving another listen.

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Colorado is known as a hotbed for running talent, and here’s an emerging star who accomplished something pretty extraordinary this summer. With cross country season upon us – my team’s first meet is this weekend – I want to introduce you to Golden High School’s Jackson Ferguson. Jackson had a very, very solid year as a sophomore, including finishing fourth at the State 5A Cross Country Championships, notching a 5K PR of 14:49.33 while finishing 12th at the Nike Southwest Regional cross country meet, and lowering his time in the 3200 meters by 30 seconds from his freshman year to 9:11.09 and placing second at the State track meet. Jackson parlayed all of that to be chosen for a spot on the USA team at the International U18 Mountain Racing Cup, a 4.6K competition in Gagliano del Capo in southern Italy on a rugged course with 191 meters of vertical gain that had many others at times hiking with their hands on their thighs. Competing against teams from 16 other countries, and despite getting knocked down in the first 100 meters, 16-year-old Jackson came away with the victory. Oh, did I mention that this was Jackson’s very first trail race? Jackson then parlayed that into another big win, notching the gold medal at the National High School Trail Championships in Salida, CO by 28 seconds in a very strong 31:39 for 5.4 miles. Jackson is a super nice guy who does a great job talking about this rather unique first international racing experience, as well as what it was like to duke it out this year with some of the big names in Colorado high school running, and what his hopes are for his next couple of years of high school and beyond.

 Jackson Ferguson

Instagram @jackson_fergy

Bill Stahl
[email protected]
Facebook and LinkedIn Bill Stahl
Instagram and Threads @stahlor and @coachstahl
YouTube We Are Superman Podcast

Subscribe to our Substack for my archive of articles of coaching tips developed from my more than three decades of experience, wild and funny stories from my long coaching career, the wit and wisdom of David, and highlights of some of the best WASP episodes from the past that I feel are worthwhile giving another listen.

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I have at times brought up adventures and screw-ups that have occurred during some of my overseas travels. The usual things all of us have experienced like delayed and canceled  flights and lost luggage. But I’ve never heard anyone have a series of travesties quite like Tina Weiss had on what should have been a dream trip of a lifetime to Italy that she had carefully planned. This was a trip that was badly needed to heal herself following a drawn-out ordeal with her dad’s gravely declining health, COVID, and then a botched dental surgery that left her in severe pain and unable to speak properly for three years. The trip from hell started from the time she first arrived at the airport to depart and found out she couldn’t leave. Then once in Italy, she got robbed not once, but twice, leaving her without money or her passport, and essentially stranded with very limited means to find her way out, much less get around or even feed herself. While trying to extricate herself from her predicament, it seemed like one catastrophe would pile on after another, often bringing back memories of past traumas in her life, including a sexual assault, and experiencing anti-semitism while growing up in Mississippi. Through each step of her surreal Italian ordeal, Tina learned profound lessons that she shares throughout her book, “Fear to Faith,” which is a riveting read not only because you want to keep turning the pages to see how she is going to escape her ongoing nightmare trip, but because of what knowledge she acquired about self-strength, problem-solving in the most challenging conditions, and human nature. Tina had already built several businesses and a great charity called the Hugs and Smiles Children’s Foundation, but this trip turned her into a puddle of frustration and emotions. Yet I found out while reading her book and in talking with her that she has developed a fierce strength, resilience, and determination to be able to battle anything that life will dish out. So it’s great that she is sharing these lessons in faith, survival, and self-discovery with others through her book and a workbook she has developed that will help anyone to keep moving forward.

Tina Weiss

tinaweiss.com

[email protected]

Facebook and LinkedIn Tina Weiss

Instagram @tinaweiss_author

YouTube @tinaweiss2744

Fear to Faith is available on Amazon

Bill Stahl
[email protected]
Facebook and LinkedIn Bill Stahl
Instagram and Threads @stahlor and @coachstahl
YouTube We Are Superman Podcast

Subscribe to our Substack for my archive of articles of coaching tips developed from my more than three decades of experience, wild and funny stories from my long coaching career, the wit and wisdom of David, and highlights of some of the best WASP episodes from the past that I feel are worthwhile giving another listen.

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I met Anastasia Rolek years ago in the most random way and we somehow discovered that we are each ultrarunners, although in Anastasia’s case, she is way more successful than I am. In addition, she is a lot more colorful, being well-known for running races dressed as Supergirl, Beast Mode Barbie, and as a unicorn. You might say that Anastasia is a flat land ultramarathon specialist, having placed second in the Prairie Spirit 100 in Kansas five times. But this year she got into Western States, the grandaddy of 100 mile races, which she finished in 28:32:06, although not without some anxious moments leading up to the run. Like many in the ultra world, Anastasia found a new community after battling addiction to alcohol, and she describes the setbacks she encountered during those turbulent times. Through the uplifting ultra community, she found her now-new husband, Aaron Lozier, who has supported this journey as well as crewed her, and he joins us on this episode to make it even more fun. Anastasia is following in Aaron’s steps into the rock climbing world, and has her sights set on taking on the Badwater 135, having crewed for another runner there last year. And you’ll learn how petrified Anastasia is of cockroaches!

My Running With Problems podcast episode with Miranda Williamson and Jon Eisen:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/running-with-problems/id1684062687?i=1000778933670

Anastasia Rolek

Instagram @anastasiasupergyrl

Facebook Anastasia Rolek

Aaron Lozier

Instagram @ajlozier

Bill Stahl
[email protected]
Facebook and LinkedIn Bill Stahl
Instagram and Threads @stahlor and @coachstahl
YouTube We Are Superman Podcast

Subscribe to our Substack for my archive of articles of coaching tips developed from my more than three decades of experience, wild and funny stories from my long coaching career, the wit and wisdom of David, and highlights of some of the best WASP episodes from the past that I feel are worthwhile giving another listen.

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With the Badwater 135 having just started on Monday evening, I thought it would be great to bring Bob Becker onto the WASP. For those of you who are unfamiliar, the Badwater 135 is nicknamed the World’s Toughest Footrace. It is, yes, 135 miles. In Death Valley. In the middle of the summer. All on roads. The temperature typically is in the 120s or more, and the pavement can get much, much hotter than that. It’s not flat by any means, either. Badwater begins at the lowest point in the U.S. - 282 feet below sea level – crosses three mountain ranges, and finishes at more than 9000 feet on the slopes of Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the continental U.S. You can see why it’s earned its moniker and legendary place in ultrarunning. In 2022, Bob attempted to become the oldest finisher in Badwater history at age 77. Videos of his finish went viral when he literally bear crawled to the line – but it was 17 minutes after the 48-hour cutoff, so it wasn’t an official finish. That would have been it for many, but not Bob. He returned to the starting line at Badwater Basin three years later at age 80 and with crew that included ultrarunning and Badwater legend Marshall Ulrich and wife Heather, Bob nabbed that oldest finisher record in the astounding time of 45:00:06 – three hours faster than when he was 77! That was one of Bob’s four Badwater finishes. He has also completed a Badwater double, which entails running from Badwater Basin to the top of 14,505-foot Mt. Whitney and returning to the start, a total of 292 oven-like miles. In this very entertaining chat, Bob explains the lure of running in Death Valley, and describes in detail what it is like to train for and to experience almost two days of running through that inferno. This is from someone who didn’t even begin running until a bit over 20 years ago and ran his first ultramarathon to celebrate his 60th birthday, and it was the Marathon des Sables, which entails 150 miles in the Sahara Desert. 

Bob is also one of the great evangelists for the sport. He founded and still directs the Keys 100, Florida’s first ultramarathon, which now includes more than 1000 runners, and has amazing logistical challenges that Bob describes here. His company Ultra Sports LLC also hosts the Daytona 100 and he consults to the Everglades Ultras. You’ll be amazed at the energy this 80-year-old has, which is part of why he is in demand as a public speaker. This episode was recorded not long after he ran the Denali 135 in Alaska. He shares how he keeps ultraracing, became a vegan, how he trains for hills in pancake-flat Florida, and inspiring others to do their own movement so they can live fuller, healthier lives.

Bob Becker

bob-becker.com

[email protected]

Instagram @bobruns150

Bill Stahl
[email protected]
Facebook and LinkedIn Bill Stahl
Instagram and Threads @stahlor and @coachstahl
YouTube We Are Superman Podcast

Subscribe to our Substack for my archive of articles of coaching tips developed from my more than three decades of experience, wild and funny stories from my long coaching career, the wit and wisdom of David, and highlights of some of the best WASP episodes from the past that I feel are worthwhile giving another listen.

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We’ve got something very special for you, the first We Are Superman Podcast live in front of an audience! The La Sportiva store in Boulder last week hosted a Q&A session with sponsored athlete Tyler Andrews, fresh off of his record-setting run, yes run, on Mt. Everest on May 28. This has been Tyler’s years-long quest, following his FKTs on dozens of routes, including ascending such very tall peaks as Aconcagua, Cotopaxi, Kilimanjaro, Manaslu, and Mt. Fuji. On his seventh Everest attempt he reached the summit from Everest Base Camp in 9:55, smashing by 61 minutes the previous record with supplemental oxygen held for 23 years by Lakpa Gelu Sherpa. He also set a roundtrip record of 16:32. His achievement made instant national headlines and also landed him an appearance on the Today Show. During this awesome live session, Tyler talks about how the successful record attempt unfolded, his gear, fueling, how it felt to finally summit Everest, what made this attempt different than his previous ones, and his future plans. And also about Quackers the Duck. I hope you enjoy this very fun chat with someone I’ve known for several years who I think is one of the most impressive, focused, and dedicated endurance athletes in the world.

Tyler Andrews

tylercandrews.com

Instagram @tylercandrews and @chaski.endurance

Check out his podcast, Ty's Training, Talking with my Dad on Spotify and other platforms

Support the Chaski Foundation to provide sports programs for deserving kids in Nepal and Ecuador: givebutter.com/chaskifoundation

Bill Stahl
[email protected]
Facebook and LinkedIn Bill Stahl
Instagram and Threads @stahlor and @coachstahl
YouTube We Are Superman Podcast

Subscribe to our Substack for my archive of articles of coaching tips developed from my more than three decades of experience, wild and funny stories from my long coaching career, the wit and wisdom of David, and highlights of some of the best WASP episodes from the past that I feel are worthwhile giving another listen.

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I think most of us who run dream of running forever. I sure do. And of course with no achy knees, no sore back, just keep moving. But how about staying on top of the game for decades, still running past retirement age, and still excelling? That would be Doug Bell of Greeley, Colo. Doug, a 2013 Colorado Running Hall of Fame inductee won the Denver Marathon three times in the 1980s and placed first among 75-year-olds at this year’s Bolder Boulder 10K. How’s that for a spread of years? For decades, when other runners saw that Doug was entered in a race, they knew that the competition in that age group was for second place, because Doug was already a cinch for the top spot. Along the way, he set masters’ national records in the 5K with a 14:36 up to the 25K. Just to throw out a few other notable times over his career, he ran a 15:53 5K at age 56, a 17:11 at 60, and an 18:47 at 65. In the mile, he zoomed to a 6:02 clocking at age 72, and last year ran a 6:25 mile at 74 in 92o heat. The Bolder Boulder with it’s nearly 50,000 runners does one-year age groups, and Doug has won his at least 15 times. These days, Doug has found new energy competing with the Boulder Road Runners racing teams, traveling all over the country to spar with other clubs. As you can hear in this episode, his spark for the sport has never waned and his roots in it run deep. He owned an independent running store in Greeley, Bell’s Running, for 30 years, and has coached at Greeley Central H.S. Doug has some terrific stories to tell about competing against some of the greats, as well as how to maintain high performance for literally decades, so if you want to keep running strong for the rest of your life, have a listen to Doug.

Bill Stahl
[email protected]
Facebook and LinkedIn Bill Stahl
Instagram and Threads @stahlor and @coachstahl
YouTube We Are Superman Podcast

Subscribe to our Substack for my archive of articles of coaching tips developed from my more than three decades of experience, wild and funny stories from my long coaching career, the wit and wisdom of David, and highlights of some of the best WASP episodes from the past that I feel are worthwhile giving another listen.

Search either We Are Superman Podcast or @billstahl8

Register for the American Heroes Run: https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=133138