We Are Superman

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, wat

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.  Warri

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 d

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 i

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 hap

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. Jas

This episode is a departure from the athletic world, but I think it is nonetheless a great comeback story worthy of sharing. I met Tomas Marin at several Wheat Ridge CO Chamber of Commerce leads group meetings, and while chatting with him over coffee I learned about his remarkable story. Tomas fell into gang life on the streets of Denver in his early teens, and not long after participated in his first car theft. The gang became another family that dominated his life throughout his teens. As many of you may know, it’s very hard to leave gang life, and as Tomas describes, many of the members he ran with are still gangsters even into their 30s and 40s, O.G.’s as they like to call themselves; Tomas terms them losers. Others are in prison. Tomas, though, pulled himself away after learning about Jesus, and becoming a follower has given him a more positive path to be a family man, engaged business owner, and strong contributor to the community. In this episode, Tomas shares his remarkable journey and many sound tips

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 trac

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 a

Today I bring back into the Hive one of my favorite people from the Leadville 10 Warriors group, Ed Barnette.  Ed’s backstory is that he was once a rather hefty guy, a smoker and drinker, too.  He probably consumed more Buffalo Wild Wings than any person on the planet. Ed had a random meeting with David and felt compelled to tell him that David would never see him that large again, and David told Ed that he believed him. That conviction led Ed to quit smoking and drinking, go vegan, and become a runner, too. He posts every week about his runs along the Gulf Coast beaches, and has worked his way up to races like the Leadville Heavy Half and other long-distance challenges. Ed also crewed for David during his epic fat tire bike ride from Chicago to New York in January, 2020 through six NHL cities to support the NHL Fights Cancer campaign. Ed appeared previously on WASP episode #108 in Dec., 2020, one of the most popular ones I’ve ever recorded, and it would be worthwhile to go back and hear his stories about ref

Here we have part two of our lively conversation with Creigh Kelley, someone who is synonymous with running in Denver and well beyond. Starting a few years before I arrived in the Mile High City more than 40 years ago, this graduate of Virginia Military Institute, Vietnam War Army veteran (where he was awarded two Bronze Stars), Colorado Running Hall of Famer, and Road Race Management Lifetime Achievement Award recipient has directed more than 1000 races through his company BKB Ltd. Creigh has been the start/finish line voice of hundreds of races, including the Walt Disney World Marathon races, the Chicago Marathon, four Olympic Trials Marathons, the Cherry Blossom 10-miler in DC, which he just got back from, the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, the Hospital Hill Run in KC, and been a TV analyst for track and field and the triathlon at the Sydney Olympic Games. Let’s add a little more. He’s also been an agent to elite runners, helped found Running USA, and is currently the race director for the Colfax Marathon

Creigh Kelley is synonymous with running in Denver and well beyond. Starting a few years before I arrived in the Mile High City more than 40 years ago, this graduate of Virginia Military Institute, Vietnam War Army veteran (where he was awarded two Bronze Stars), Colorado Running Hall of Famer, and Road Race Management Lifetime Achievement Award recipient has directed more than 1000 races through his company BKB Ltd. Creigh has been the start/finish line voice of hundreds of races, including the Walt Disney World Marathon races, the Chicago Marathon, four Olympic Trials Marathons, the Cherry Blossom 10-miler in DC, the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, the Hospital Hill Run in KC, and been a TV analyst for track and field and the triathlon at the Sydney Olympic Games. Catch your breath now, he’s also been an agent to elite runners, helped found Running USA, and is currently the race director for the Colfax Marathon, which is Denver’s only marathon, and also includes two days of races and relays of varying dista

We have presented WASP episodes recorded from places like Nepal, Australia, and the U.K., now we’ll add a new one, Israel. This is a very uplifting episode with author Bracha Goetz. Bracha overcame disordered eating as a young woman and used that victorious experience to discover meaning in life. This led her to learn from a rabbi about the Pleasure Ladder, which focuses more on the spiritual pleasures in life where we can find happiness in ways that feeding short-term addictions like through eating foods laden with sugar and other unhealthy ingredients cannot. Bracha and I exuberantly chat about simple steps you can take to eat better, find greater long-term fulfillment in life, experience joy, and more. Her study of spirituality has led her to be able to provide very insightful guidance for overcoming the negative voices in your head that lead to addictive behavior and instead live with gratitude. Bracha is the author of more than 40 books, most focusing on how to keep your family safe, healthy, and joyful.

Jason Bahamundi is a New York-born marketing professor and business owner who is not afraid to tackle audacious challenges. Whether it was moving west to Arizona, getting sober, changing over to eating vegetarian, starting a new business, or diving into the endurance world. A mentor gave him a philosophy to “fail fast.” In other words, trying really hard things and risk falling on your face. He’s learned a lot from those flops, leading to his motto of, “Failure is not terminal, it’s the building block to success.” He first got into competing in Ironmans before taking on ultramarathons. Jason is a five-time finisher of the Rocky Raccoon 100-miler, including an age group win, has finished the Western States 100, the Cocodona 250, and took second-place overall in the Crazy Desert 50K. Part of the fun in this episode is hearing Jason’s stories about running for more than four days at Cocodona through the Arizona desert, an event you heard Annie Hughes talking about a few episodes ago. But more importantly you’ll

We have a new visit with a longtime friend of the WASP, Simone Brick. Listeners might recall Simone appearing with David and telling her powerful story of remarkably changing from a teenager with disordered eating, weight issues, and being institutionalized with severe depression, to becoming one of the most dynamic trail runners in Australia with one of the sunniest dispositions you’ll ever encounter. Simone spent much of 2022 competing in the Salomon Golden Trail Series, a traveling road show of the world’s top mountain runners with races spanning Europe and in the U.S. Simone shares what it’s like living “on tour,” so to speak. After talking with Simone on numerous occasions via video calls, it was a treat to finally get to hang out with her this summer when she came to Colorado, where she spent a month training in Leadville to prepare for the race tour stop at the Pikes Peak Ascent. This type of racing series has increased the popularity of the sport as well as the prize purses, and inevitably the ugly sp

I hope you enjoyed last week’s chat with Don Reichelt, who has been crushing it in the ultramarathon world. Please go back and check it out if you haven’t caught it yet. We talked about Don’s ups and downs running at the Leadville Trail 100, about his relationship to David and David’s continued influence on him to this day, about learning the process to taking big jumps in his running abilities, the benefits he’s noticed from his vegetarian diet, and challenging himself to run some really hard races. In part two, we talk about living and training in the boonies at 9600-feet elevation near Fairplay, Colo., how to start running on a non-motorized assault treadmill, which is a lot harder than you’d think, and then his Guinness World record attempt at 12 hours, 24 hours, and 100 miles on that kind of treadmill at a Life Time Fitness in midtown Manhattan. Being in NYC, it was a lot more chaotic than Don had expected, so it took some problem-solving to stay focused. Focus was especially essential throughout the nig

This is the first of two parts of a very fun conversation with one of the really impressive relatively-new stars of the ultraendurance world, Don Reichelt. After pretty much his debut doing Leadman in 2015, Don has plunged headlong into running long distances and doing everything he can to embrace finding out how far he can go in the sport. He has moved to a house at 9600-feet elevation near Fairplay, Colo., and has outfitted his place with a workout space, ice plunge barrel, sauna, and more. When he first broke out, he won the Lean Horse 100-miler and ran a blazing 13:16 at Tunnel Hill. He has won the 52-mile Coldwater Rumble in Ariz. the past two years. His most recent achievement was breaking the Guinness World record for running 12 hours, 24 hours, and for 100 miles on a manual treadmill, which is quite a bit more challenging than a motorized one. In this first part, we talk about Don’s ups and downs running at the Leadville Trail 100, about his relationship to David and David’s continued influence on him

You've heard me before lauding the benefits of hip and glute strengthening to ensure your health and longevity in running.  I discuss here a large set of exercises you can easily do with minimal equipment once or twice a week that will help you immensely.  I also have a printed handout and a video I can share with you, just drop me a note at one of the addresses below.Bill Stahlsilly_billy@msn.comFacebook Bill StahlInstagram @stahlor

Time to take a deep dive into the world of trail race directing and the state of ultrarunning. This is a really entertaining chat with John Lacroix, owner of Human Potential Race Series, based here in Colorado. I got to visit with John in his business’ very impressive HQ/studio. John first got into ultrarunning himself before later having friends twist his arm into becoming a race director. Less than 10 years after starting HPRS, he is directing one of the largest schedules of trail events in the country, and become one of the most prominent directors as well. He has also become one of the great analysts of the trail racing world, so his foresights into where the sport is headed are well-worth paying attention to. I would highly recommend reading his detailed and insightful blogs on the HPRS web site and listening to his HPRS podcast to stay abreast of current developments. Included among these is the often-controversial topic of diversity in the sport. I highly respect and support John’s stand on inclusivene

Here's a bit of fun recounting my recent three-week trip to South Africa and Namibia, a fancy cruise with my family to celebrate my dad's 90th birthday.  I describe the thrilling animals, impressive sights, crazy runs, and the history and culture, including the tragic legacy of apartheid, and the good and the bad of current life there.  I discovered there is a ton more to know about this conflicted part of the world, full of beauty, wild nature, poverty, and Third World problems.  Please check out my Instagram account for many scenic photos.Bill Stahlsilly_billy@msn.comFacebook Bill StahlInstagram @stahlor