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Episode Title: Episode 200 with Dean Karnazes

Bio: Dean Karnazes is one of those guests that needs no introduction. His first book Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner, was a bestseller and served as many people’s first glimpse into the mysterious world of ultrarunning. Since then, Dean has written four more books and run hundreds of more races. Some of Dean’s accomplishments include running the Western States 100 13 times, running 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days, winning the Badwater 135, swimming across the San Francisco Bay, running 350 miles without sleep, and running a marathon in the South Pole. Dean is a great runner and a great storyteller - he is famous for pushing his own mental and physical limits and inspiring others to do the same. He believes in embracing adversity, developing one’s relationship with nature, cultivating good habits, setting a good example, never limiting yourself, and finding fulfillment in experiences. Although Dean was an outdoorsy kid (hiking across the Grand Canyon at just 12 years old) and running cross country in high school, he took a break from sports starting in college to pursue a corporate career. On his 31st birthday, though, everything changed, and he realized affluence was not making him happy, so he ran 30 miles, and that marked the beginning of his new life as a “guy who loves to run.” Recently Dean ran ten marathons in ten days in Greece, and in 2023 he hopes to run from the Dead Sea to the top of Mount Everest! 

Bio: Nick Coury is an ultrarunner, entrepreneur, and software developer from Arizona. He started running in high school and ran his first ultramarathon when he was 17. Nick is well-known in the ultrarunning world for cofounding the Arivaipa running company along with his brother Jamil Coury. Aravaipa efficiently organizes over 40 prevalent races every year and Nick even met his wife, Lauren, at one of their races. After his first ultramarathon in 2005 he applied his innovative mind to his ultrarunning training and is seeing some amazing results. He has finished Hardrock five times and has twice been a member of the U.S. 24-hour team, and placed first in this year’s 6 Days in the Dome 100 Mile. Nick’s training philosophy is eclectic and embraces aspects of sports psychology, nutrition, negative splitting, and more detailed in his blog (linked below). Nick’s approach to the infamous “pain cave” is fascinating as he focuses on how to stay in his happy place and not necessarily on how to get out of the pain cave. As they say, prevention is the best cure, and Nick’s strategy has worked for him - his most recent ultrarunning victory happened last Saturday at Desert Solstice when he broke the American men’s record for most miles run in 24-hours. Nick ran 173.05 miles in 24-hours! Nick is a great interviewee as he provides a unique perspective on both the business and the racing sides of ultrarunning. He has achieved great success in both and genuinely wants to help his fellow runners have an incredible race. A fun fact about Nick he once hosted Yiannis Kouros!

Bio: Kaitlyn Yonke is an ultrarunner, music therapist, and running coach in Denver, Colorado. She currently runs with The Adrenalin Project. She is also the head coach at Run Infinite. Kaitlyn found running to keep herself grounded while pursuing her degree and subsequent music career. Although her running origins were more functionary, she eventually fell in love with the sport itself in addition to its many benefits. She met her husband while running across the United States with MS run the US. Couples who run 3,260-mile relays together stay together! Kaitlyn is quite the ultrarunner, has finished the Leadville 100 twice, holds the White Rim Road FKT, the High Line Canal FKT, and placed 4th at Swatch Accent 2021. In the new year, Kaitlyn will be racing in the Arches Ultra in Moab, UT. In her spare time, Kaitlyn paints, makes jewelry, and hikes the 14er with her parents (her dad has a super cool adaptive trike)! Part of Kaitlyn’s success as an ultrarunner is due to her unrelenting belief in herself - she will complete anything she sets her mind to.

Bio: Aaron is a 27-year-old ultrarunner currently based in Austin, Texas. Aaron’s ultrarunning journey originally began seven years ago when he moved from San Antonio, Texas, to Denver, Colorado. Aaron first heard of ultrarunning via a magazine article and decided to do some research and then try it. At the time, Aaron felt like something was missing in his life, and no matter what he did, he could not get out of the slump, amazingly it was through ultrarunning that he was able to discover a new passion and vigor for life. His first ever ultramarathon was in Texas, and although he is the first to admit he was incredibly unprepared, he was hooked and has not looked back since. Aaron loves to get into a flow state during long runs. He finds the connection running creates between mind, body, and nature especially important and meaningful in the ever-increasing digital age of abstraction and distraction. Two of Aaron’s favorite races are UTMB and Big Bend 50. In 2017, Aaron placed second in the Silver Heels 100-mile race, and in 2019 he was second in his age group at the Brazos Bend 100 Miler. Aaron has quite the ultra resume and has run some infamous races, including the Ouray 100 Mile Endurance Run, UTMB, Pikes Peak Ultra, and The Northface Endurance Challenge New York. Aaron’s goal races include Western States, Hardrock 100, Zion 100, and the Tahoe 200. In addition to running, Aaron enjoys reading, hanging out with friends, and traveling. Aaron’s primary focus is pursuing his graduate degree in public affairs, which he has running to thank! 

Sara is an ultrarunner, wife, mother, and avid outdoorswoman. She is currently based in Kentucky, where she works as a Public Affairs Specialist for the Army Clinic at Fort Knox. Sara started running in high school but took a break during college, although her involvement in the ROTC and rugby meant that she maintained much of her running fitness during this “break.” However, the birth of her daughter in 2011 genuinely ignited Sara’s passion for running. Shortly after she gave birth, Sara joined a running club and fell in love with the community, the endorphins, and the person she was becoming. Although she lives in Kentucky right now, Sara has lived all over the world, from Effie, Minnesota, to Okinawa, Japan, and her favorite state is Washington. Sara has run quite a few marathons and ultramarathons, including the JFK50, Ragnar Trail Rainier Ultra, Run Across Georgia Relay, Bigfoot 20, Yeti 24-hour challenge twice, Defiance 50k, Cowtown 50k, and as a birthday present to herself, a Virtual Bigfoot 100k! In addition to running, Sara loves to spend time outdoors with her family and friends hiking, paddleboarding, and camping. In this episode of T4U Rob, Sara, and Neil will discuss the Tahoe 200, a race Sara will run with her “mental sponsor,” Rosa! As a Minnesotan, Sara’s favorite ultrarunner is Courtney Dauwalter, and her favorite T4U episodes are all the ones with Courtney.

Big thank you to the podcast supporters! John Wayne Cancer Foundation - Run the GRIT Series https://johnwayne.org/ Tanri Outdoors - All Natural Sun Protection for Runners (use “ULTRA10” for 10% off) https://tanri.com/ XoSkin (use “T4U20”...

Big thank you to the podcast supporters! John Wayne Cancer Foundation - Run the GRIT Series https://johnwayne.org/ Tanri Outdoors - All Natural Sun Protection for Runners (use “ULTRA10” for 10% off) https://tanri.com/ XoSkin (use “T4U20”...

Below are the winners of my thank you giveaway. Since starting The Training For Ultra Podcast, we have had well over 1 million downloads and I was blown away when...