Ultra Balance Podcast

E43: Bart Lee: Bear Lee Running

Join me for a great conversation with Bart Lee, who also goes by Bare Lee Running on Socials. Bare and I met while running the epic Zion 100 Endurance Run. Bare is a father, husband, ultra coach, and mental health advocate. Bare and I talk about what brought us to full distance triathlons and how we ultimately found our community with the ultra runners. Bare shares his WHY with doing hard adventures and discusses some of his most grueling endurance challenges, including 18 full distance triathlons with the Iron Cowboy. In the spirit of May being a time for running the Cocodona, Bare reflects on his own race in 2024 and discusses what he calls the “stay in this mile” philosophy. Bare is very active on social media and can be found @bare_lee_running

E42: Meg Eckart: 6 Day World Champion

We have an awesome guest today, Meg Eckart. Meg is a teacher from Santa Fe, NM who recently set the world record at the Mount To Coast 6-Day World Championship. Meg surpassed the previous WR by 42 miles with a whopping distance of 603 miles, which was the longest performance ever by a female. Prior to this 6 Day race Meg represented Team USA in the World Backyard Team Championships and ran 362.5 miles in 88 hours. With this effort she earned second overall and was the last female. We had a great conversation about her how she applies Grace to herself on this journey and learns from mistakes. She has an amazing perspective and this is a podcast you do not want to miss.

E41: Blake Wilson: A Second Wind on a 200

Blake Wilson joined the Ultra Balance Podcast to discuss his film, Second Wind, which you can access at his site (barefootfilmhouse.com). Blake lives in San Diego and ran 200 miles with his friends. This adventure was a personal journey inside his mind and body and included some epic stories. The route was created by Blake and he was joined by two other runners and had a total crew of 8 friends. Blake ran from San Diego, California to Yuma, Arizona. One of his goals on the run was to work through some emotions and the trauma of losing his brother to an unexpected loss from drug addiction. Blake is raw in this pod and challenged himself to the limit. Blake is someone who takes his mental health very serious and chose to do this adventure with close friends who also tested themselves in the journey. If possible, consider watching his film prior to listening to this podcast for a more rich understanding of his adventure.

E40: The Brothers Reed: Music & Trails

Aaron Reed joins me on the podcast today to talk about all things ultra, music, and facing hardship. Along with his brother, Phil, Aaron is a folk singer / songwriter writer and is part of the Oregon based band, The Brothers Reed. https://www.thebrothersreed.com/. Aaron offers insight on how he manages adversity in life and discusses his mindset in relationship to ultras and a recent brain tumor diagnosis. With finishes at Cocodona 250 and Pine to Palm 100, Aaron has great resilience and talks about how ultra has informed his life. Aaron is managing the challenges of a medically expensive treatment and I’d like to encourage listeners to consider making a donation to his go fund me site: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-aaron-and-becca-fight-this-tumor?qid=cce2401ae38d5027a942c7ae42f79be0

E39: ZION 100 Adventure

Join me for a 2 segment series on my adventure on the Zion 100. I take time breaking down my pre-race mindset and preparedness and then provide a post-race report. This is a style I have not utilized in the past but I thought it was a great way to express my accountability to my race goals and intentions. I will share my ups and downs of the day and night. Learn whether I was able to accomplish my goals for Zion 100.