One more in our series of standout performers at the Colorado High School State Championship meet, we are heading out to the farm, literally. I happened to be hanging around the finish line there talking to Matt Kleve, whose son Max was competing in sprint events for Holyoke High School, a school of about 250 students way out on the Eastern Plains of Colorado not far from the Nebraska line. Generations of Kleves have lived in Holyoke, a town of around 2500 residents, and Max’s family grows wheat and raises cattle, so like I did, you will learn a little about farm life and FFA, formerly Future Farmers of America. Matt told me some of his son’s story of suffering a disastrous ACL tear in a high school football game his junior year, enduring a long, arduous rehab process, and coming back to compete at the state track meet. Max is a very bright and perceptive young man, and what is cool, too, is that Max candidly discusses his battle with anxiety, going to therapy, and how through discovering there is something bigger than himself, and finding his faith in God, he could overcome his struggles and realize success, even in the rough-and-tumble, testosterone-filled world out in the country. This helped fuel his determination through nine months of difficult rehab to get back on the track. All of this work on himself physically and mentally led to him setting personal records at the state meet in the 100 in 11.22 seconds, good for 4th, the 200 in 22.53, also netting him 4th, and a huge PR of 49.03 in the 400, which earned him the gold medal. Max poignantly describes here his feelings upon ascending to the top of the awards stand. And how’s this for a cool story? Max anchored Holyoke’s 4x400 relay to the Class 2A title by almost two seconds after a couple of their runners flew in just in time on a small plane from Holyoke, where they had been playing in a state baseball playoff game. This impressive young man will continue his track and academic career at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo.

Max Kleve
Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok @klevemax
Facebook Max Kleve

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

Continuing with our series of standout performers at the Colorado High School State Championship meet, our state has been known for many years as a mecca for distance running, and it seems like the pace of records falling the past few years has accelerated. In fact, despite our elevation, some of the fastest times in the country this year have been run right here at mile-high.  One of those is the Colorado all-time girls’ 1600-meter record that was reset by Emma Stutzman from Pomona High School in Arvada, who ran 4:39.94 to become the first girl in state history to break the 4:40 mark in a breathtaking romp to the state Class 5A crown. The Northern Arizona University commit also won the 3200-meter title in 10:12.68, and on the heels of that max effort placed second in the 800 meters in 2:11.32, which was still a two-second personal record.  Her 3200 time was an 18-second PR at elevation after she ran 9:56.34 at the Arcadia Invitational in Calif. in April.

I got to enjoy, as a track coach and meet official, watching Emma dominate numerous meets the past few years and what has always stood out is her persistent smile, joy, and sportsmanship. After every win, Emma could be seen waiting for every other finisher, no matter how far back, to congratulate them on their efforts. I could always tell that Emma was having a blast at track meets, sometimes gleefully running the maximum four events in league meets. I got a kick seeing in some of her online race photos that she was wearing one of the Be Positive bracelets that I frequently give at meets to kids and others who have a great attitude, like Emma does – or maybe experienced disappointment and could use a pick-me-up. In this episode, we chat about what has driven her rise from a youth runner to a fourth-place finisher at last year’s state meet, to a record-setting champion. She is a terrific role model for high school cross country and track athletes, and someone I look forward to following in her college career.

Please consider supporting Warriors' Ascent for which 27 men and women ran the Leadville Heavy Half and Marathon on June 17.  Warriors' Ascent provides a holistic program to help veterans and first responders who are enduring PTS, post-traumatic stress.  We have all heard the staggering number of veterans we tragically lose every single day to suicide.  Warriors' Ascent is saving lives!  Through the deadline on June 23, all donations will be matched by an anonymous donor up to $2000.  Donate at (tax-deductible):
https://give.classy.org/WeAreSuperman
Thank you!

Emma Stutzman
Instagram @emmamarie051 and @bigcatdistance
Twitter @EmmaStutzman7

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

The Leadville Marathon and Heavy Half had rain, wind, mud, and even on June 17, snow!  The race organizers had to modify the course because the top of 13,185' Mosquito Pass was unattainable, but many runners thought this made the race even tougher.  It was a mudfest extraordinaire!  Kudos to the men and women of Team Leadville whose runners not only successfully completed the races, but raised more than $80,000 to support Warriors' Ascent help prevent veteran suicide.  I got to admire them as well as all of the runners who took on this colossal challenge while doing recycling duty as a race volunteer, and have recorded this race recap.

Please consider supporting Warriors' Ascent for which 27 men and women ran the Leadville Heavy Half and Marathon on June 17.  Warriors' Ascent provides a holistic program to help veterans and first responders who are enduring PTS, post-traumatic stress.  We have all heard the staggering number of veterans we tragically lose every single day to suicide.  Warriors' Ascent is saving lives!  Donate at (tax-deductible):
https://give.classy.org/WeAreSuperman through June 23.
Thank you!

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

This is the first of a series episodes chatting with some athletes with notable performances at the recent 2023 Colorado State High School Track Championships. We love to find inspiring comebacks on the WASP, and this young man is right there. Brandon Hills of Vista Ridge H.S. in Colorado Springs was already a dedicated track and football athlete when he found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. He got caught in the crossfire between two feuding knuckleheads at a party in December, 2021 and was struck by a stray bullet that embedded itself in his chest. A few centimeters over, and the outcome might have been drastically worse. After a surprisingly quick recovery, Brandon returned to training and a fresh outlook on life, which included being grateful for the opportunity to resume doing what he loves, and appreciating every day of his life. His subsequent junior year track season resulted in getting onto the podium in the 100 and 200 meter dashes at the state meet, but with the lost training time he did not succeed in defending the long jump title he’d won as a sophomore, placing second. He then produced a very special football season his senior year, leading the state of Colorado with 1548 receiving yards for an average of 129 yards per game, and scoring 20 TDs as his Vista Ridge Wolves made it to the state playoffs quarterfinals. Even though he's only 5’9” and 160 pounds, his prodigious talent has earned him a football scholarship to Washington State. All that was left after that was to crush the state track meet. He won the 100 in 10.52 seconds, narrowly took second in the 200 in 21.12 seconds, and anchored Vista Ridge’s 4x100 meter relay to a gold medal. It’s fun at the state meet to take it all in and find where there’s extra energy being generated.  That was the case before Brandon’s last high school long jump when he leapt 24’8” to break the state record that had stood for 33 years. It will be exciting to see what this humble young man accomplishes in his career at Washington State, where he plans to study kinesiology.

Brandon Hills
Instagram @bebe.hills
Twitter @BebeHills5

Please consider supporting Warriors' Ascent for which 37 men and women will run the Leadville Heavy Half and Marathon on June 21.  Warriors' Ascent provides a holistic program to help veterans and first responders who are enduring PTS, post-traumatic stress.  We have all heard the staggering number of veterans we tragically lose every single day to suicide.  Warriors' Ascent is saving lives!  Donate at (tax-deductible):
https://give.classy.org/WeAreSuperman
Thank you!

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

In this episode we re-visit with my favorite running nomad, Tyler Andrews, who is rarely stationary, infrequently in the same locale for any length of time. We last chatted on the WASP in episode 129 in May, 2021. I caught up with Tyler in a rare settled-down moment in Albuquerque. Tyler has a penchant for attempting and setting FKTs, fastest-known times, on both well-known and less-popular routes. Some of these include his recent FKT of Kilimanjaro, which most travelers take many days to hike up and down, but which he ran roundtrip in 6:37; Mt. Fuji, which we talk about here; the Everest Base Camp trail on which he became the first to traverse up and down in less than 24 hours; Aconcagua, the tallest peak in South America, on which he covered the 40 miles roundtrip from 14,435 feet to 22,842 feet in 11:24; Cotopaxi and Ojos del Salado, two of the other tallest peaks in South America, as well as several other routes down there; and Peru’s 40-mile long, high-altitude Salkantay Inca Trail in 6:13. I met Tyler in during a running/tourist adventure I joined that he led in Peru, where he has done extensive work helping kids. I also got hop into another trip with him in Ecuador where among other challenges I got to run up past 15,000 feet on Cotopaxi and with Ecuadorian national hero Karl Egloff, with whom Tyler regularly trades FKT records, and is also a past WASP alum on episode 193 in March, 2022. Tyler spends a lot of time training at altitude, but he’s not a one-trick pony. He attempted an FKT running across Hong Kong, ran the Olympic Trials Marathon in 2020, and set American records for the treadmill half-marathon and 50K. Last year, he obliterated the Leadville Marathon record up and down 13,185’ Mosquito Pass by eight minutes in 3:23. And you heard it here first, Tyler will return to the LT100 in August, where last year he placed fourth. Tyler is a founder of the Chaski Endurance Collective, which brings together some of the best ultradistance coaches in the world to help other ultramarathoners design and tailor their training programs to achieve maximum results. I hope you enjoy this chat with one of the really fun and well-traveled ambassadors of the sport, and for those who follow his social media, you’ll learn here the origin of Steve the Andes bird.

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

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

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

David used to give out rubber bracelets, one of which I still wear, that say “Happiness Warrior.”  This episode’s guest, Rob Dubin, should probably also be called a happiness warrior. Rob had already chosen a career that made him happy making outdoors-themed films, getting to kayak, heli-ski, and climb mountains for work. Long before he started a business teaching people how to be happy, Rob, his wife, and a party of skiers became lost in the Colorado backcountry during one of the worst blizzards in the state’s history. That led to a massive search that made international headlines and a pronouncement from the local sheriff that they had only a 10% chance for survival. To Rob and his wife, they had a 90% chance, and that sense of optimism was instrumental in their return to civilization, where they were greeted by a phone call from President Bill Clinton. It also re-framed their outlook on life, which then included spending 17 years sailing around the world learning about other cultures and studying human happiness and fulfillment while visiting 100 countries. Following retirement and seeing the effects of the pandemic, Rob decided to start his company to train others to achieve the kind of happiness he and his wife have experienced. He works with many companies that are battling employee retention in this post-pandemic world in which workers are seeking more fulfillment in their jobs and thinking less about longevity. During a conversation he had many years ago with motivational superstar Tony Robbins, Robbins expressed to Rob that we can all be the stone that hits the water and creates outward ripples that influence others, a concept that resonates strongly to me. That sparked Rob to now do public speaking and he recently completed a TED talk. Rob shares on this episode a lot of terrific actionable advice to help you be happier, be present, and live with gratitude. He also shares with WASP listeners his first lesson that you can receive by simply texting “Happier” to 33777 on your phone. My goal in listening to a lot of speakers is to find that one gold nugget that makes my time worthwhile. With Rob, I found quite a few, and I hope you do, too.

Rob Dubin
robdubin.com
[email protected]
Instagram @dubinrob and @robdubinspeaks
text "happier" to 33777 for his first lesson on finding happiness

Please consider supporting Warriors' Ascent for which 37 men and women will run the Leadville Heavy Half and Marathon on June 21.  Warriors' Ascent provides a holistic program to help veterans and first responders who are enduring PTS, post-traumatic stress.  We have all heard the staggering number of veterans we tragically lose every single day to suicide.  Warriors' Ascent is saving lives!  Donate at (tax-deductible):
https://give.classy.org/WeAreSuperman
Thank you!

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

Imagine crashing into a wall in your car while traveling at 30 mph. That could certainly leave some ugly marks. Let’s take away the seat belts and airbags and imagine careening down a hill on a bike or on skis and hitting an object at that same speed. That will probably hurt quite a bit, perhaps a trip to the hospital. Now imagine skydiving and smacking into the side of an immovable building. Jason Dennen of Boulder, Colo. experienced that extremely tragic scenario, and the results were predictably catastrophic. For starters, Jason broke 10 of 12 ribs on one side, his pelvis, his arm, his leg, and suffered damage to multiple organs. Most significantly, his heart was ripped from one side of his chest to the other. The doctor who performed the surgery to move it back into its proper place later told Jason that no one at the trauma hospital had done it before; he had studied the procedure in med school, but no one there had ever seen a patient survive such an injury, so this was a first-time type of surgery. Jason spent eight days in an induced coma, hence the name of his new book, 8 Days Till Sunrise. I think you’ll be riveted listening to Jason’s amazing journey of awakening to that doctor in awe that Jason had even survived, his family and friends getting the shocking news of his accident, his numerous months of mind-challenging healing and determined rehabbing, his many highs and lows in hospitals, and how his deep faith in God and desire to see the Colorado mountains again carried him through that emotional rollercoaster. Of course, it wouldn’t be quite right on the WASP if this saga doesn’t end with Jason completing an astonishing athletic achievement, a triathlon less than a year after his near-death accident. This is also a compelling story of someone who felt that he had lost his way in life while working impossibly long hours in his career, and then trying to understand why his life had been spared and discovering a new purpose for himself on this Earth. His mission now is to inspire and empower people to get through their toughest hardships by using their own life’s lessons and inner strength. His book is a fantastic read and is available on jasondennen.com and on Amazon.

Jason Dennen
[email protected]
JasonDennen.com
Facebook Jason Dennen
Instagram @jwdboulder
linktr.ee/dennenj

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

It's the height of track season and we are starting to see the action heating up even if the temperatures outside aren’t quite there yet here in Colorado. I’m actually pretty jealous of the following guest, Andrew Simmons, the owner and founder of Peak Performance Running in Golden CO. It is a club for high school and middle school runners, and is probably similar in many respects to others around the country. The reason the club exists in the first place is that many kids get substandard coaching in their own school programs, so they turn to Peak Performance Running and its team of coaches, athletic trainers, and physical therapists to try to achieve the results they hope to achieve. I’m certainly not knocking all school coaches, one of whom I have been. I know many, many great coaches who truly care about the kids they coach and have developed the knowledge and techniques to deliver superb experiences to them. I’ve also observed schools that don’t put any effort at hiring a coach with any relevant track experience. The school at which I recently coached is one of two in the league that simply gave the head track coach job to the football coach; ours admitted he knew nothing about track, but he was learning about it by watching YouTube videos! What are we doing here? Unfortunately, that is way too common in our schools, especially in sports outside of football, basketball, volleyball, and baseball. So that’s where clubs like Andrew’s come in. I’m jealous as I said because he can run the Peak Performance the way he likes and doesn’t have to deal with bureaucratic school administrators. What he has built is truly extraordinary. It’s a club that not only coaches, but also emphasizes character development. It hosts meets and camps, too, that showcase the fun these young runners have whether they are just starting out or have moved to more competitive levels. If you are a taxpayer with kids in school or not, this is an interesting discussion about how someone like Andrew has a vision to serve others and fill a gaping need. I think the lesson here also is that there is a strong argument for these clubs that operate outside of the school coaching realm, just like there are similar youth clubs in sports like soccer, volleyball, and more.

GoFundMe to buy a new racing chair for Julia Beckley.  Thank you!
http://bit.ly/3ZGigAb

Andrew Simmons
[email protected]
peakperformrun.com
Facebook Peak Performance Running
Instagram @peakperfomancerunning

Bill Stahl
[email protected]
Facebook Bill Stahl
Instagram @stahlor

This is a very cool Power Play. I’ve been telling you since the fall about my work with Ixcela to use their nutritional testing and counseling to counter the breathing and energy issues I had been experiencing right from the beginning of my runs. I started with them with a simple at-home blood test that I mailed back. They analyzed 11 metabolites, and my awesome Ixcela certified nutritionist Shelby Burns then recommended supplements and foods I should eat. One of their goals for most clients is to battle bloating and cramping during runs, which were not big issues for me, but I definitely never had any GI issues on my runs or otherwise after starting my program. I have always been a poor sleeper, infrequently getting more than 6½ hours a night, and one very pleasant added benefit was that I was suddenly sleeping better and for up to eight hours. I also had a spike in my energy levels all day long. I normally spring out of bed because I can’t wait to get the day started, but now I am feeling fired up all day and evening, and with much better focus I was also getting lots more done. Shelby recommended among other things that I add more Omega-3 and fermented foods to my diet. There are Omega-3s in many foods that I didn’t realize. For instance, I began adding walnuts to my smoothies, a simple and inexpensive way to boost my Omega-3 intake. I’d also never emphasized fermented foods, so I started topping vegan sausages and some other foods with sauerkraut, and experienced kimchi for the first time, including making a kimchi soup that was really delicious. The Ixcela website was chock full of advice for more of these foods, plus lots of terrific recipes that were well-indexed so I could find ones that would address my needs. Shelby was great and always available for chats and e-mails and ready to provide me articles and more suggestions. I then took another easy at-home blood test, and in my analysis of this you’ll hear about areas in which I had metabolite improvements and Shelby’s recommendations for what I should do to continue the gains that I made while working with Ixcela. If after listening to this you are interested in exploring whether this kind of personalized nutritional expertise might be desirable for you, Ixcela is offering a complimentary 15-minute consultation with one of their expert nutritionists. Schedule that appointment at ixcela.com/Superman. This is a great opportunity if you have ever wondered whether nutrition counseling would benefit your training or how you feel every day. If you decide you’d like to use their products or services they have also provided the order code Superman10 to give you 10 percent off.

GoFundMe to buy a new racing chair for Julia Beckley.  Thank you!
http://bit.ly/3ZGigAb

Ixcela.com/Superman - use discount code Superman10
[email protected]
Facebook and LinkedIn Ixcela: The Internal Fitness Company
Instagram @ixcelaperformance and @ixcelawellness
YouTube @Ixcela
Twitter @ixcelawellness

Bill Stahl
[email protected]
Facebook Bill Stahl
Instagram @stahlor