This week, I spoke with Antonio Alletto, race director and founder of Grit OCR.

Antonio starts by telling me all about Grit OCR, from the format to the obstacles and everything in between. We talk about the two different race distances they offer, and how that poses a challenge as a race director.

I ask him about how he chooses which obstacles to include, which leads us to a discussion about what he loves about rucking and why it's an important part of his race. Antonio shares what factors go into making it different each year, and we have a discussion about obstacles.

He then tells me about the most difficult parts of putting on an OCR, and the most rewarding parts. We then talk about the new second location, and Antonio shares his goals for Grit OCR.

This week, I spoke with elite OCR athlete Ashley Heller! 

We start with talking about her most recent Spartan race in Montana, and about how much we both love that course.

Ashley tells me about her recent injury, her recovery process and how she dealt with it. We talk about her return to racing, and she shares advice for athletes dealing with injuries.

We then talk about Elevate OCR and its mission, which leads us to talk about what we love about the sport of obstacle course racing. Lastly, Ashley shares with me her plans for 2021 and what races she has her eye on.

Matt B. Davis of Obstacle Racing Media joins me on the podcast for a special bonus episode this week!

We start with talking about endurance running and training, and then discuss OCR podcasting through 2020, and how the OCR competition has changed over the past year.

Matt then asks me some questions about myself and what I've been up to the past year, and we talk about his live coverage over at ORM.

We discuss the championships later in the year and speculate on attendance, and Matt tells me about his upcoming "last man standing" race in July.

Lastly, we share what we love about ultras, and I get real with where I've been over the last year and my return to OCR and podcasting.

Oh hey we're back! This week I spoke with elite OCR athlete Alex Walker who took third place at Hildervat this past weekend. 

We start with talking about the race itself, and her likes and dislikes from the weekend, which leads us to a short discussion of men's weights versus women's weights.

Then we talk about her 2021 race season, and the state of OCR competition after the big 2020 break. Alex shares her goals and plans for 2021, which leads us to talk about her running preferences and the benefits of running trails over road running.

Lastly, we talk about her goals for her training, and the value of training itself. 

To check out race coverage from Hildervat, check out The OCR Report and The OCR Report YouTube channel.

Hey everyone, I'm back! I spoke with elite OCR athlete Javier Escobar this week all about his 100-mile outing at World's Toughest Mudder last fall, his training, and how he stays motivated.

We begin by talking about his 2019 WTM experience, and how it felt to reach 100 miles. He tells me about his progression from 35 miles at his first WTM to 100 miles at his latest.

He talks about how his training program has improved his performance, and the specific training and movements he's been working on.

Javier and I discuss how he stays motivated during this time, he tells me his least favorite thing to do during training, and we chat about our rivalry during Toughest Mudder West last year.

He then tells me about his experience running the UltraVirus 12 Hour Race, and he may or may not have convinced me to run the next one.

Back with a brand new episode all about the Spartan World Championships in Tahoe!

I start with giving my own race recap about the 10k Trail race on Saturday, then share my experience racing in Age Group at the World Championships on Sunday.

Then I talk with Kris Brown, winner of Saturday's Ultra race and an experienced ultra runner who is also a member of Spartan's Trail Race team.

Lastly, I have a great long interview with Spartan Pro Ashley Heller, all about her top 10 placing at the World Championship, how she handled the elements, how she's been performing all year, and much more.

Spartan start line emcee, motivational speaker and coach Mr. J'ean joins me on the podcast to talk all about his experiences at the start line, motivation, and transparency.

We begin with Mr. J'ean telling me about his background, and then all about how he got involved with Spartan. We talk about burnout, and how he gets through sending off thousands of racers every race day.

He shares the challenges of his job as the start line emcee, and also tells me about his favorite part about it. He also tells me some stories of some of the most memorable experiences he's had and what they meant to him.

We end with Mr. J'ean telling me all about his podcast Transparency: What's your Story?, and we discuss the idea of transparency and transparent moment.

You can find his podcast here: https://thealivexperienceonline.com/podcast-2/

And his motivational CD here: https://thealivexperienceonline.com/product-category/music/

This week's episode is full of live interviews from the Spartan weekend in Monterey, California last weekend!

I spoke with:

-Timmie Brann

-Nick O'Sullivan

-Natalie Miano

-Ian Deyerle

-Veejay Jones

-Mark Batres

-Annie Dube

-Zhanique Lovett

This week's episode is all about hiking! At the beginning of this month, I hiked the Cactus to Clouds trail up to San Jacinto Peak, where I met three hikers in the midst of hiking the entire Pacific Crest Trail. 

I start by sharing my experience with the grueling Cactus to Clouds hike, then dive into the interviews with Stripes, Mr. Snuggles and Dink (their PCT trail names).

I spoke with them all about what motivated them to start this long, arduous journey, and we talk a bit about Cactus to Clouds.

I ask them each what they're most looking forward to, how and what they decided to bring, and the logistics of their trip.

We talk about the terrain for a bit, then end with discussing their next big goals once they complete the PCT.

This week's episode is full of live interviews from the Spartan USNS Beast and Mountain Series Sprint in Big Bear, California! I spoke with athletes all about the crazy hills, the cold dunk wall on Sunday, and everything in between.

On Saturday at the Beast, I spoke with:

-Rea Kolbl

-Mark Batres

-Natalie Miano

-Ryan Kent

-Alyssa Hawley

-Mack Roesch

On Sunday at the Sprint, I spoke with:

-Matt B. Davis of Obstacle Racing Media

-Rea Kolbl

-Amanda Nadeau

-Veejay Jones

-Aaron Newell

-Nicole Mericle

Ultra marathon athlete and former World's Toughest Mudder champion Trevor Cichosz joins me this week to tell me all about his experience at Everest 135, an intense 135-mile ultra marathon where he took third place.

We begin with Trevor telling me all about how he heard of this race, all the race prep required and the training (and lack thereof) that led up to it.

He tells me about the race prep in the days leading up to the race, and walks me through his entire race experience, from the issues to the checkpoints, to the altitude and all that climbing. Trevor shares some wild stories, from hallucinating a village to holding onto donkeys so he wouldn't get kicked off the treacherous mountain trails.

We talk about how it compared to his race across Scotland last year, and Trevor talks about the lessons he learned and what he'll do to prepare next time.

We end by talking more about ultra marathons, what's next on his schedule, and his next crazy adventure.

Want more? Read about Trevor's experience in his own words, on his blog here: http://www.groundpounder.org/2019/05/13/everest-135/