James Varner: RD of Rainshadow Running, Hardrock Vet, and a life of adventures!

James Varner grew up near the Appalachian mountains on the East Coast. His love of mountains eventually brought him out to the West Coast where he started Rainshadow Running - A series of over 12 ultra running races in Washington and Oregon. His races are hard, scenic, fun, and sell out very fast! James has been running ultras for over 18 years and is a 5 time (maybe more) Hardrock finisher.

In this podcast he talks about life growing up on the east coast, hiking the Appalachian trail, what made him move to the West Coast and the exciting way he got there. How he got into ultra marathon running and starting Rainshadow Running. We also talk about what's up next for James and what's exciting him these days! 

Follow James:

Instagram: @jamesvarner77 and @rainshadowrunning

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@journeytoultrapodcast

@nicola.gildersleeve

If you have any feedback for the show or have a guest you'd like to have on the show, email me at Nicola.gildersleeve@gmail.com

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Kerry Ward: Living life at full tilt

Kerry Ward is an ultra adventurer who lives his life at "Full Tilt". He's been running ultras since 2008 and has completed distances upwards of 240 miles. Kerry has a famous YouTube channel called FullTiltWard where he films and documents many of his travel adventures and running races. Go on a journey with him through the Tahoe 200, Moab 240, Everest base camp, Burning Man ultra, Climbing Cotopaxi and much more. 

 

In this episode we dive into his Kerry's childhood growing up in Michigan, living in LA, the dance and acro scene, clubbing with Hugh Hefner and dancing with Bette Midler, how to make the most of your airport layovers, living life to the fullest, why he films/documents his adventures and of course --> ultra running. 

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Shanda Hill: The first Canadian to finish the Double Deca Triathlon

Shanda Hill is an endurance athlete who lives in Vernon, British Columbia. She recently became the first Canadian and 3rd female ever to complete a Double Deca Triathlon. This involves a 76k pool swim, 3600k bike, 844k run. In this episode I interview Shanda about her training and lead up to the race and how each stage of the race played out. We talk about some of the adversity she faced and what kept her going mentally. 

To learn more about Shanda, including her traumatic brain injury and journey to becoming an ultra endurance athlete check out Episode #2 of the Journey to Ultra Podcast

Follow Shanda on IG: @shandahillultraathlete

Shanda's FB page: Shanda Hill Ultra Athlete

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Claire Johnstone: It's the shit we Under Go that helps us grow

Claire is an actor and voice over artist who also happens to enjoy spending all of her spare time outside. Her favourite hobby is to run silly distances in incredibly scenic locations with her two dogs and a handful of crazy friends. When she’s not running, you can find her on a mountain bike, rock, skis, kiteboard, paraglider or stuffing her face with plants. She is also the host of the UnderGo Podcast.

In this episode we dive into being raised by a single mom and growing up with 3 sisters in Northern Quebec, how she got into acting and sports at a young age, how she initially used running to combat insomnia and anxiety, overcoming an eating disorder, getting into triathlon and Ironmans, ultras, her first 100 miler, all the crazy activities she enjoys (paragliding, kite boarding, mountain biking, skiing), and love! 

Follow Claire on IG @runlikethewild or @undergopodcast

Follow Claire's Podcast Under Go

Follow the show on IG: @Journeytoultrapodcast

Follow me on IG: @nicola.gildersleeve

Have any feedback for the show? Have a guest you'd like to see on the show? email me at Nicola.gildersleeve@gmail.com or slide into my DMs on IG. 

Enjoy the show, an easy way to let us know is to leave a rating and review on iTunes! 

 

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Jennifer Pharr Davis: The Pursuit of Endurance

Jennifer Pharr Davis is a hiker, author, speaker and National Geographic Adventurer of the year who has covered over 14,000 miles of long distance hiking on 6 different continents. 

In 2011, Jennifer covered the 2185 mile Appalachian Trail (AT) in 46 days, 11 hrs and 20 minutes and she became the first women to set an overall record. She received the ultra runner performance of the year award for this feat. 

In this interview we talk about growing up on the AT, playing sports, and transitioning into the world of endurance sports (running, ironman, ultras). At the age of 21, Jen had a feeling that she just couldn't shake and knew she had to go hike the AT...solo...without any backpacking experience. Little did she know this experience would change her life and set her life on an entirely new trajectory. We discuss hiking while pregnant and with small children, working through adversity on the trail, how she got her trail name and so much more! 

 

Check out Jen's website

Check out the Blue Ridge Hiking Company 

Follow Jen on IG: @jenpharrdavis

Follow Blue Ridge Hiking Co on IG: @blueridgehikingco

 

If you have any feedback for the show or have a guest suggestion, please email: Nicola.gildersleeve@gmail.com

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Nicola Gildersleeve (your host!): My interview on the Trail Running Women Podcast

This is an interview I did with Hilary Spires, the host of The Trail Running Women Podcast. She recorded me about my journey in life and in running. In this episode we talk about my early days growing up as an athlete, how my parents influenced/help to develop my skills, playing varsity basketball at Cap U, walking onto the UBC track and field/Cross country team, a subclinical eating disorder I developed while in college, becoming an ultra runner, my 13 years of running and racing and life beyond running. 

Follow Hilary @Hilsport55

Follow me @nicola.gildersleeve

Follow the podcast @journeytoultrapodcast

Check out my blog! 

If you have a guest you'd like to see on the show email me at Nicola.gildersleeve@gmail.com

 

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Hailey Van Dyk: life transitions, big dreams, what defines you

Hailey Van Dyk is an ultra runner, wife, dog mom and ER Nurse living in beautiful Squamish, BC. In this episode we talk about her early days growing up with 2 brothers, becoming a nurse, the organic creation of the popular Facebook page "Run like a girl" (RLAG), the behind the scenes/realities of someone who travels the world, the ups and downs in deciding to part ways with RLAG, what types of adventures are firing her up right now, dreaming big and making those dreams a reality. 

Follow Hailey on IG: @haileyvandyk

Check out her blog: haileyvandyk.com

 

Follow the Journey to Ultra podcast on IG: @journeytoultrapodcast

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Have a guest you would like to see on the show or feedback about the episodes, email me at Nicola.gildersleeve@gmail.com

 

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Knee Knacker 2019 Race Report

Knee Knacker finish line 2019

Every year the Knee Knacker is my big goal for the year. It’s a race where I can test myself and I get a good gauge of my fitness level. Having done it 7 times now, every year has been different and it’s become a yearly pilgrimage.

After being sidelined in the fall with ITB syndrome, I really took my time building back up towards this event. I have planned nothing after it race wise so I could just focus on building back up healthy towards Knee Knacker.

I chose to do 3 x 25k races this year in my build up: Nimble Bear (Kelowna), The Cumby (Cumberland), and The Kusam Klimb (Sayward, Van Isle). Those were success’s in their own right having placed 3rd, 1st and 2nd in that order. Knee Knacker was going to be a celebration for all the training and I think I did a good job getting to the start line healthy and in good enough shape to try hard.

Nimble Bear podium

The Cumby finish line

Kusam Klima finish line

My goal for this race is to always go out and do my best. My second goal which was time based was to go sub-6 hrs. I’ve gone sub 6 in three of my now seven finishes so it’s always something fun to shoot for.

I met my friends Alexa and Matt at our friend Dennis’s house at 5am. We were then all going to carpool together. At 5am, I get there, then Matt and lex get there but Dennis is no where to be found. I go and knock on the door and no one answers. Alexa calls Dennis (10x) and he doesn’t answer. I knock again and lex knocks and no one answers. At 5:15 we had to leave without Dennis.

We didn’t have too much time before the start, just enough to check in, stand in the porta potty line and go for a quick 2 minute warm up. There were some fast looking people at the start doing strides! With about 5 minutes before 6am, DENNIS shows up!! He made it. Turns out he woke up at 5:35 and somehow got all his shit together and got there before 6.

I decided not to wear a watch for the race. I haven't been training with or done any of my 3 races using a watch and I feel like I've been very intuitive with my eating and pacing. I was confident that it wasn't necessary for me to have on race day. It's been quite liberating I must say.

I always break this race up into sections: (1) Start to Cypress (2) Cypress to Cleveland dam (3) Grouse to LSCR (4) LSCR to the finish. I have different strategies for all sections. I felt like dorking out here so I have recorded all my splits for all the 4 sections through the years.

Climb up to Black Mountain: This is one of my trickiest sections because climbing/hills are my biggest weakness. I tend to be a bit conservative so that I don’t blow up later. I find the splits interesting because the year I came 2nd and 14th overall (2007) I was the 54th person to Cypress. So for me, starting off “slow” pays off later. To be honest, I don’t really feel like I am going slow, I am pretty much trying to go a pace that feels manageable. In the end, because I am not a strong hill climber I don’t get up there at the front of the field - but I make up for it later.

This year I felt good going up the climb, other than a wasp sting in the first 30 minutes of the race. I settled into a nice pace and tried to stay consistent.

Start to Cypress Aid:

2006: 1:50 (54th place)
2007: 1:47 (54th place)
2008: 1:42 (29th place) (year I won)
2012: 1:45 (44th place)
2015: 1:37 (32nd place) (Year I PB’d)

2018: 1:41 (41st place)

2019: 1:44 (55th place)

Cypress to Cleveland Dam: This section is all about fun for me and not blowing up the quads. There’s 2 parts to this section: (1) the trail right after the cypress aid station that takes you over to Hollyburn (2) the descent to the hollyburn shoot to Cleveland dam. For the first section it’s all about staying consistent. It’s really hard to find a good flow through here. I really love this section cause there’s been very little work done to the trail. The bridges haven’t been maintained and its really rooty and muddy. It’s what trail running used to be before they started smoothing everything out and putting in boardwalks and stairs. When you get to the top of that section and take that right turn and its all whoops and smiles from me because it’s officially all downhill (except for those stairs near brothers creek). When I was in my early 20’s I would just fucking hammer this descent. I can’t quite describe it - I used to just bomb downhill. I’ve since suffered a couple bad ankle sprains and I don’t quite hammer like than anymore. I’m excited to be back living on the Shore and can work on gaining back that gusto and building up my quads to be able to hammer once again.

This year I ran efficiently. I remember thinking "man, I used to just bomb down here" fully knowing that I wasn't running like I used to. However, I think I was doing the best I could with the fitness I had and knew my pacing was good and I was leaving a bit in the tank for Grouse. 

Cypress to Cleveland Dam:

2006: 1:19 (44th place)
2007: 1:11 (32nd place)
2008: 1:14 (but I got lost, 19th place)
2012: 1:18 (36th place)
2015: 1:08 (year I PB’d, 15th place)

2018: 1:16 (34th place)

2019: 1:18 (44th place)

The next section is Grouse to LSCR. This is probably the most underrated section but it really requires the most attention. If you were to go for a run on this section of the Baden Powell after you climb the initial 10-15 min it’s pretty runnable. There are also a lot of roots and eroded parts and it's helpful to know whether to go low or stay high. If you haven’t left anything in the tank this section will eat you alive. I found this out the first year I did this race and as you can see, came back in 2007 and 2008 and improved greatly. I spent a lot of my training trying to master this section.

I'm a bit shocked that this year was my 2nd slowest grouse split cause I felt like I ran pretty good through here, sigh. I managed to pass 14 people so that is positive. I started cramping in this section last year so maybe I was taking it easier subconsciously or I'm just slower now ha. I can't remember what year it was but I BL quad cramped at the top of Varley trail so this year I purposely walked slowly up that mini climb and even for 30 seconds after it and began running again once I was in the clear ha. 

2006: 1:37 (39th place)

2007: 1:21 (7th fastest split of the day, 19th place)

2008: 1:20 (6th fastest split, 12th place)

2012: 1:29 (22nd place)

2015: 1:24 (15th place)

2018: 1:25 (25th place)

2019: 1:31 (30th place)

LSCR to the finish: This section isn't always my best. I have cramped a lot here and haven't been able to truly run my best to the finish. More often than not I am just hanging on. Looks like I didn't move too badly through this section. I even had a great chit chat with Ben Jenkins - catching up on life. There were 3-4 of us climbing the Seymour grind pretty strong and upon reaching the top and transitioning into downhill running I had my first calf/adductor twinge. I was surprised I hadn't started cramping yet but maybe it was my conservative pacing that helped. I shortened my stride, fired up my glutes and core and did the best I could to the finish. This adjustment in running form seemed to keep the cramps at bay.

2006: 1:52 (57th place)
2007: 1:28 (7th fastest split, 14th place)
2008: 1:33 (7th fastest split. 9th place)
2012: 1:38 (21st place)
2015: 1:33 (14th place)
2018: 1:52 (34th place)
2019: 1:35 (29th place)

Finish times:

2006: 6:40
2007: 5:48
2008: 5:50
2012: 6:11
2015: 5:43
2018: 6:20
2019: 6:06

I'd like to think I still have a PB in me but it's hard to say. I'd love to really nail the training and get back to KK specific workouts and see what this body is capable of. It's been years since I really "trained" for the Knee Knacker. I've definitely run in preparation but training for it is a different thing. I genuinely enjoy every section of this course. I get excited to run it because the trails are just so damn fun. The community surrounding this event is just so magical and it's such a joy to come back and race year after year.

What's up next: I'd like to spend a chunk of time exploring the rockies! I'm eyeing a race at the end of September in Golden and then I have put my name in for the HURT 100 lottery!

Happy adventures!!!

Nicola

Tara Holland: A passionate teacher, runner and cancer survivor

Tara Holland grew up in the Eastern townships in Quebec. After completing 2 University degrees, she got her masters and later PHD in Environmental Geography. Her work took her out West where she got a job at Quest University in Squamish and began trail running. On her first training run in her new town, Tara found herself in the middle of the Squamish 50. Tara's interest was piqued and she decided to sign up for her first ultra (Squamish 50k) the following year. Training was going great until she was diagnosed with breast cancer in May of that year. Running has helped Tara overcome many of life's challenges. It has been her constant and although she has had to take forced breaks from running, it's something she knows she will always go back to. Tune in to find out about Tara's childhood growing up in Quebec, how she got into running, how running has helped Tara get through life's biggest challenges, and what is up next for Tara!

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Follow Tara on IG @tara.trails

Tara's Blog: In the long run 

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Send all feedback, comments, or guest suggestions to Nicola.gildersleeve@gmail.com

My blog: ngildersleeve.blogspot.com

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Kat Drew: Consistency and the Western States 100

Kathryn Drew was born and raised in Sidney, BC. She grew up on 7 acres and spent a lot of time playing in the forest with her brother. Although she ran cross country in elementary school, she spent most of her high school years as a dancer. After moving to Vancouver she picked up running again and joined a road 1/2 marathon clinic.  While working at a restaurant she met her friend Michelle who took her on her first trail run and together (with a couple others) they co-founded the Fraser Street Run Club. A bunch of them decided to sign up for the Squamish 50k and the rest is history! Kat's success didn't happen overnight. It has taken her years of consistent focused training (now with the help of a coach) to get where she is today. In 2019 she placed first at the very competitive Chuckanut 50k and Canyons 100k where she got a golden ticket into the Western States 100. In her debut Western States she placed 8th and came in under 19 hrs. I am really excited to share her journey to ultra with you. 

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Nick Elson: The Silent Mountain Crusher

Nick Elson is an all around mountain athlete and he's inspired by adventures that blur the lines between different mountain disciplines that require a combination of physical fitness, technical skill, and mental toughness. He holds many FKT's including the Grand Teton Traverse and the Stein Valley traverse. On ski's he holds the FKT's on the Spearhead, Mcbride and Tantalus Traverse, Garibaldi Neve, Mt. Baker and Mt. Rainier ascents. He has the course record for the Knee Knacker 50k, has twice won the Squamish 50 miler, and is a 2 times Canadian mountain running and skimo champion. 

In this podcast we get into his early childhood experiences growing up in Campbell River (British Columbia), getting into climbing, running on the varsity track and xc team at UBC, getting into ultras, FKT's, the accident with Adam Campbell, competing against Kilian Jornet and so much more. 

If you enjoy the episode, subscribe to the podcast and consider leaving a rating and review on iTunes. 

Follow Nick on IG @nicksethelson

Nick's blog: nickelson.ca

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If you have any feedback for the show or want a particular guest on the show you can email me at Nicola.gildersleeve@gmail.com

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Joanna Ford: The Vert Queen

On this episode of the Journey to Ultra Podcast, I interview the incredible Joanna Ford. Joanna is an ultra runner based in Calgary, BC and does most of her training in the Rocky Mountains. Joanna may have gotten her start in road running but she loves to climb mountains. In fact she has a goal of climbing (on foot) 25 new summits and completing 1 million vertical feet. In this episode we talk about what it was like growing up with 5 other siblings, her mothers influence on getting her into the mountains, being competitive, setting big goals, how she got into ultra running, her near epic miss at this years Bighorn 100, and everything in between! Tune in to hear her story. I promise you'll be inspired. 

Follow Joanna on Instagram: @jford.welsh

Check out Joanna's Blog: Joanna Runs

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If you have any feedback for the show or have a guest you'd like to see on the show email Nicola.gildersleeve@gmail.com

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Hilary Spires: The Scientific Athlete

In this episode I chat with ultra marathon runner and Trail Running Women Podcast host, Hilary Spires. In this episode we talk about her life growing up as a competitive hockey player, the struggles she faced when her career in hockey ended, becoming an MMA fighter, her love of the science behind peak performance, getting into triathlons and trail running, her experience running through her pregnancy and the recent public backlash she faced as she gets ready to tackle the Grouse Grind challenge at 7.5 months pregnant. Hilary truly does put the "Spire" in "Inspire" and I am excited to share her journey with you. 

Hilary is an endurance coach and personal trainer - check out her services at Rugged Conditioning

Hilary is the host of the Trail Running Women Podcast

Follow Hilary on Instagram: @hilsport55

Follow this podcast on Instagram: @journeytoultrapodcast

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Daniel Goddard: The bet that changed his life!

Daniel Goddard wasn't always a crazy ultra runner.  In fact, he wasn't really active at all. After spending his 20's overworked, poorly nourished, and abusing drugs and alcohol, Daniel made a bet with himself that would change his life forever. Tune in to find out how he went from a hardcore partier and fast food eater to a vegan ultra runner and 100 mile finisher! 

When Daniel isn't trail running or listening to rad music, you can find him sharing his expertise on all things running at the local North Vancouver specialty store Distance Runwear. 

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Nicki Rehn: The Canadian Australian

Nicki Rehn may have been born and raised in Australia but she very much feels like a Canadian. She loves her big mountain adventures and the hairier the better. Her early introduction to the sport of orienteering has given her the tools to feel unintimidated in the mountains...solo. A map and compass is all this girl needs. Nicki is a 5 time Barkley starter, 3 time Tour de Geants finisher (4 starts), and just recently completed the Dragon's Back 315km 5 day stage race in Whales. It's impossible to spend time with Nicki and not be inspired by her amazing attitude and zest for life. 

In this episode we talk about her early childhood memories growing up in Australia, what brought her to Canada, the epic races and adventures she's done, her relationship with pain and suffering and so much more. 

Follow Nicki:

Instagram @Nicki.Rehn

Facebook: Nicki Rehn

Blog: Nickirehn.blogspot.com

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Sarah Seads: Power of the Mind

Sarah Seads is a Kinesiologist, Endurance Coach, ultra runner, Yoga instructor and hypnotist living in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island. Sarah believes we are capable of unimaginable human potential when we learn to harness the power of the mind. She is passionate about both the mental and physical realms of healing, training, and exploring the boundaries of self perceived limitations. In this episode we talk about her unique upbringing, working in the trenches as a tree planter and forest firefighter. what led her to become a runner/ultra runner, 3 steps to getting what you want, her debilitating phobias, and how she conquered her fears using the power of the mind!

Dr. Joe Dispenza Ted Talk 

Eoin Finn: Blissology yoga teacher 

Sarah Seads Blog

ELM website training and coaching

Follow Sarah on IG @wildseads

If you have any questions or comments for the show please hit me up on IG @journeytoultrapodcast or @Nicola.gildersleeve or email Nicola.gildersleeve@gmail.com

 

 

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Kim Magnus: The Golden Goat - canyons 100k recap

Kim "Goat Runner" Magnus recently went down to California to race the Canyons 100k in the hopes of snagging a coveted "Golden Ticket" into the Western States 100. The week of the event Kim was plagued with sickness (later diagnosed with Bronchitis) and was unsure if she would even be able to get to the finish. With a motto of "forward motion and one foot in front of the other", Kim ran her way into second place and held her giant golden ticket high in the sky!

In this bonus episode we chat about other golden ticket attempts, her sickness leading up to the event, how the race went down, and the benefits of sandbagging ;)

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Alicia Woodside: Ultrapreneur

Alicia Woodside is an ultra runner and entrepreneur living in Squamish, BC. She seeks and sometimes struggles to find a balance between kicking ass in races and keeping it fun. She is one of the founders of the non-profit organization Girls Gone Wilderness which is a program for girls who are currently intimidated by or not connected to the outdoor world. When not adventuring in the mountains, you can typically find Alicia working on her new business Teffles Waffles and she sells them at the Squamish farmers market every other weekend. Alicia has raced distances from 10k to 100 miles and her journey to ultra is very inspiring. 

Instagram:

@funtimes.Woodside

@teffles_waffles

Do you know someone you think would make a great guest on the show? Email me at Nicola.gildersleeve@gmail.com 

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Rory Bosio: The Colourful Mountain Runner

Rory Bosio is a talented ultra marathon runner who some might say is best known for her course record setting win at the UTMB in 2013 - placing 7th overall! Others might say she is best known for her sick dance moves, blinged out hand painted race kits, and goofy personality. In this episode we chat with Rory about her recent win at the Ushuaia 130k by UTMB race in Argentina, family life and growing up in Tahoe, her incredible launch into the world of ultra marathon running, her life changing trip to Ethiopia (with Girls Gotta Run), speed flying, and so much more. 

Girls Gotta Run - Is a non-profit organization that invests in girls who use running and education to empower themselves and their communities. Please consider donating :)

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Shanda Hill: Redefining Limits

in 2003 Shanda Hill was riding her bike home when was struck by a truck, flew 30 feet in the air, and suffered a traumatic brain injury. After clawing her way back from the depths of hell she started putting one foot in front of the other and the rest is history. Tune in to find out how she became an ultra marathon runner and a Deca Ironman World Champion (that's the same as 10 Ironmans!!!).

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Finding Inspiration and starting a new project!!!

Inspiration - what has been inspiring you lately? Does anyone else constantly delete and re-download Instagram from their phones? Over the last several months I was having a love hate relationship with social media. I was wasting so much time just scrolling and watching story after story. So I took a break. I deleted IG and FB off my iPhone. I kept FB on my iPad and would check in from time to time but getting it off my phone significantly reduced the amount of time I spent on it. I'd find myself reaching for my phone to check IG, out of habit, only to realize that I had deleted it and then id put the phone down and figure out another way to fill the time/silence.

It's interesting nowadays how tied we are to our devices. Why sit there and do nothing when we could be scrolling IG. We live in a day where we can be stimulated and entertained at all times - while we cook, in grocery line-ups, going to the bathroom, elevator, waiting rooms etc etc etc. 

I decided to delete the apps because I was having a hard time coming up with my own inspiration. It's interesting you know, I didn't miss it. Not one bit. It was actually really fun not knowing what everyone was up to all the time. It was nice going out for runs or skiing and not bringing my phone with me. If I did, I wasn't with the sole purpose of posting it to IG. 

In this time I discovered podcasts. I became obsessed with podcasts. I love listening to interviews. I find people so incredibly fascinating. The journeys that people take to becoming who they are is such a fun tangled web of experience. Every experience breaths life into the next one - paths take twists and turns on the journey to becoming who we are today. The cool thing is that the journey isn't over and where we are today may be very different from where we are tomorrow.

A few of my favs: Arm chair expert, Rich Roll, any of the ultra running ones, and girls gotta eat (thanks Tory). 

At some point I got this idea that it might be fun to start a podcast. I used to interview people for a newsletter I used to write for North Shore Athletics and some for my blog. The last one was an interview I did with Pam Smith - before she won the 2013 western states 100. I had a feeling she would win and because iRunFar hadn't interview her, I figured I would! This one with Ellie Greenwood is entertaining too (pre-100 milers)! Of course, I am notorious for coming up with ideas and never implementing them. Usually I go out for a run, get so amped on an idea, and come back and tell Peter about another thing I'd like to do. Then the high fades and it gets added to the imaginary list of things I don't actually do. Anyone else get grandiose ideas while running? 

Six weeks ago I was sitting in the waiting room of my Chiro appointment. I had my phone but I had deleted the social media apps so I had nothing to keep me distracted while I sat there patiently. I looked over to the magazine rack and noticed a program calendar for courses at the local College. I opened it up and was so surprised at all the continuing education courses they offered. You could literally learn about anything...EVEN PODCASTING! I couldn't believe it. Needless to say I sneakily ripped the page out of the magazine and signed up for the 2 night course. I felt a lot of excitement being in school again, especially because I was learning something totally unrelated to my work - a passion project if you will. The course gave a very basic intro into how to start a low cost podcast. I really enjoyed it but I soon realized there was a lot still to learn. 

Never in my life (outside of actual school) have I spent so much time researching how to do something. I literally started from scratch. I have no tech background, so I had to teach it all to myself. I wanted to throw in the towel at one point because it seemed silly to invest a lot of money into something I didn't even know if I would enjoy and something I wasn't deriving any revenue from. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that I didn't want this to be another idea that just gets washed down the cascading waterfall of forgotten one's. So I went out and invested in some gear.

My podcast is called Journey to Ultra. It's about people's journeys to becoming the incredible humans they are today and what led them to ultra running. As my interest is running, the podcast will be mainly about ultra runners, however really it can be anyone doing ultra incredible things. I'm inspired by all kinds of people these days and I'm excited to connect and share stories.

I chose Peter Watson (my partner) to be my first guest. Firstly, because I had easy access to him (no pun intended) and it was fun to test out my gear and fail a few times before getting it right.

Click here to check out the podcast 

Follow @journeytoultrapodcast on Instagram!

If you know of anyone you think would make a great guest or any topics you think would be interesting for the show please email nicola.gildersleeve@gmail.com.

I hope you enjoy it!

Nicola

Peter Watson: turning loss into a life of adventure

Peter grew up living on the North Shore and has been adventuring/mis-adventuring in the mountains from a very young age. After losing his best friend in an avalanche at 18 years old, Peter finds himself a little lost. In 2002 he finds himself working at the local running shop and gains an entry into his first ultra marathon with only 2.5 weeks notice. Catching the bug, Peter sets his sights on the Western States 100. Tune in to find out how it all played out.

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Happy trails,

Nicola Gildersleeve