Mike Spiller joins host Scott to answer the audio questions of the eight runners of Season 10 a week before race day.  If you are racing in Virginia this might be a good listen for you too!

Becoming Ultra

Season 10: Bryce Conquer the Mountain 50k RD Q and A!

We had the pleasure of chatting with the RD's of the partner race for Season 11. If you have not explored the western slope of Colorado you are in for a treat.  They share everything you need to know before coming out.  The course, pre race, the festival, and lots more!  Enjoy!  

Season 11 Race Preview: RD's from Desert RATS talk about their desert race!

FORMAT Jason Fitzgerald is the host of the Strength Running Podcast (one of the top 3 running podcasts in the US of all time) and the founder of Strength Running, an award-winning running blog with hundreds of thousands of monthly readers. A 2:39 marathoner and USATF-certified coach, he’s coached thousands of endurance athletes to faster finishing times and fewer injuries with his results-oriented coaching philosophy. He’s the winner of the 2011 Morraine Hills Half Marathon, 2012 Maryland Warrior Dash, and the 2013 Potomac River Run Marathon. During his collegiate career, he was a member of the 2002 National Championship-qualifying cross-country team and a top ten finisher in the steeplechase at the 2006 New England Championships. Jason speaks at industry conferences and for major brands like Anheuser-Busch and the Inter-American Development Bank. He also frequently delivers presentations and coaches at fitness retreats and running camps throughout the United States. His work has been featured in the Washington Post, Runner’s World, Health Magazine, Lifehacker, The Huffington Post, and other major media.  He lives in Denver, Colorado where you can find him trail running in the nearby Flatirons, cheating on running with his road bike, or at the playground with his wife and three children.   “Have fun with the process of training”. Wise words from Jason Fitzgerald.  This is one of our most informative and fun podcasts.  Jason shares some key training tips and so much more, you may be surprised by some of them.  Jason also shares his running history and how his coaching career started.  Sometimes one comment can change the trajectory of your life. This is a good one to have in your training toolbelt. We know you will enjoy it as much as we did.

My First Ultra: Jason Fitzgerald

Join Coach Scott Jones, Ellie Greenwood, and Hillary Allen as they talk about the new season for Becoming Ultra!  New and aspiring ultra runners can apply to be coached for their first ultra in Fruita, Colorado for the Desert RATS Race and Festival. It's going to be an epic season so get ready to sign up here!

Season 11 Launch Show: Planning for the Desert RATS Race and Festival

Miranda has had a setback and has some decisions to make regarding her race and Melissa has set some new volume records for herself. Their energy was great and coach Ellie shares a crazy story about racing and bees!  Enjoy.

Season 10:28 Miranda's post Covid recovery and Melissa's 26.2!

We could not be more pumped to see all of the runners from this season pushing so strong so late in the training.  Dave's knee is still giving him issues but seem to be on the mend.  Mariah has been putting in some big efforts and feeling great.  Listen to see how they got here!

Season 10:27 Dave's knee and big efforts from Mariah!

With less than 3 weeks to their first ultra Jenn and Randi have taken every opportunity to make sure their training is on point, and it's paying off!

Season 10:26 Randi and Jenn staying strong late in the training!

Katie and Bailey are both plugging away and keeping healthy.  Unfortunately, Katie's area is on fire and it's been a tough go emotionally lately.  We hope you enjoy the show and give some love to the people losing so much. 

Season 10:25 The pain of loss from fire and adjusting to changes.

Scott Jones is a husband, father of two boys, 10 & 7, and adventurer.  Scott is the founder and coach of Athlete on Fire.  He has a master’s degree in exercise science and a coaching style as described by a current client that supports you being your best, helps you believe, and holds you accountable in ways that are fun, relaxed, and down to earth.  Scott and his wife Lauren bring runners together twice a year for incredible Trail Camp experiences.  Scott is also the host and producer of The Becoming Ultra Podcast, currently in season 10 and started the ever-growing Becoming Ultra Community.  Scott believes the biggest challenges and most epic adventures are not reserved for a special class of human.  He believes every person is special and can go for it when they truly believe they can. On today’s podcast we chatted it up with everyone’s friend, Scott Jones.  Scott shares his most special ultra experience, 62 miles to honor his late Father on his 62nd birthday.  Scott also goes way back to how Becoming Ultra started and the turning point in his career.  Talking to Scott is like talking to an old friend and there is always laughter.  We think you will enjoy getting to know him a little better. www.athleteonfire.com https://www.facebook.com/becomingultraproject/ https://becomingultra.com/  

My First Ultra: 14 Scott Jones

Whitney grew up in Anchorage Alaska and then moved to Texas in middle school. She was always very athletic but never pursued sports in school. After getting pregnant her senior year of high school and having her daughter, Reese the Summer after she graduated she went on to start college that same month, when Reese was just 3 weeks old. Whitney credits that event for changing her life for the better and lighting a fire under her butt. Suddenly she was motivated and took life by the horns. After graduating with honors she started to jog as a hobby and then on to races.  After struggling with infertility and miscarriages Whitney decided she need a distraction and began to train for a marathon.  A goal that had always scared her.  Ironically, about 4 weeks before her first marathon she was pregnant.  She was set to run the marathon but ended up with a stress fracture in her foot.  After a few more setbacks Whitney was carrying a healthy baby girl, gave birth to Lucy and within a year was pregnant again.  After delivering a healthy baby boy she discovered the running community of Instagram and set her sights on qualifying for the Boston Marathon, which she did qualify for.  In 2019 she and her family moved to Boulder, CO and her love of trail running began.  As one of the season 8.5 participants she began training for her first ultra marathon.  Now back in Texas Whitney is working on getting faster and qualifying for Boston again. We loved catching up with Whitney from Becoming Ultra Season 8.5 and hearing her account of that epic 50k in a snow and ice storm.  Whitney has a don’t overthink it just do it attitude when it comes to hard things.  On this episode she shares the events that helped shape her and make her the determined, focused person she is today.  Whitney is back at it and reaching for some big goals (no doubt she will crush them).  She has an incredible work ethic, we loved hearing how she manages her family, work and running.  Listening to Whitney will leave you feeling like you can manage anything and go for those goals.

My First Ultra: 13 Whitney Wilberts

Melissa is plugging right along with her training and even got to run with a previous season local in Rhode Island.  The ramp up to Virginia is looking promising.  Miranda hit a health scare and is figuring out where she is to be on the safe side of things.  We preview the Season 11 race in a short bit!  Enjoy the show.

Season 10:24 Melissa runs long and Miranda hits a legit snag.

Katie and Bailey try their hand at some different types of running in the last couple weeks.  Running the beach for long miles verse her usual mountains was tougher than expected for Bailey and running 21 miles on pavement beat up Katie a bit.  We talk through all of this and what to expect in the coming weeks as well! Enjoy the show.

Season 10:23 Different surfaces for big miles.

Randi and Jenn find a way to fit in a beer mile with their hectic life and training schedules and it sounds like they got all they could handle!  Randi had never had a full beer before!  Their training is coming right along and with only 5 weeks left they are gearing up nicely for their first 50k in Virginia.

Season 10:22 Two beer miles, the first and last ever?

Lucja Leonard loves running, but hasn't always!  A Dutch-born, Aussie raised, British woman living in the USA with her husband & fellow ultra runner, Dion Leonard, and their 2 fur-kids Gobi & Lara life is anything but straight forward.  Overweight, unfit and unhappy Lucja turned her well-being and overall happiness around when she took up running in 2004 to try and lose some weight off her 216 pound, and growing, body.  Never much for sports growing up she was surprised to discover that she enjoyed the thrill of running and after running her first marathon in 2010 she started to wonder what more her body was capable of. In 2013 she ran her first ultra marathon as part of the Kalahari Extreme Marathon, a 250km race over 6 stages/7days through the Kalahari desert in South Africa where you have to carry all your kit and food to survive the entire week!  From here she was unstoppable having run a multitude of ultras around the world, the tougher and higher the DNF rate the more excited she gets about giving it a go.  Lucja's experience now includes epic races such as Leadville 100, Ultra Trail Mont Blanc 106 miles, Oman by UTMB, Marathon Des Sables and Transgrancanaria 125km to name just a few.  This year she takes on her biggest challenge to date by attempting to run the Triple Crown of 200 milers, Bigfoot 200, Tahoe 200 & Moab 240 over only a 9 week period in total! Ultra running has not just shaped Lucja's mind and body but it has changed both her and Dion's lives.  Dion was running a 250k/155mile multi stage race across the Gobi desert in China in 2016 when a stray dog started following him.  She would run nearly 80 miles with him and Dion and Lucja turned their lives upside down in the process of adopting her from China to the UK where they were living at the time.  You can read more about their true & inspiring story in the NY Times bestselling book 'Finding Gobi' which is also being made into a Hollywood film. Lucja lives her life fearless!  The bigger the challenge the better.  She went from overweight and unhappy to fit and having incredible adventures.  On this podcast Lucja talks about her very first epic ultra and subsequent struggles.  She also opens up about insecurities and how she has overcome them through positive self-talk.  Lucja tells us about her biggest challenge to date, the Triple Crown of 200 milers and raising money for the Pink Ribbon Foundation that supports breast cancer patients, which is a charity close to her heart.  We know you will walk away from this one as inspired as we were.  “Believe in yourself as others believe in you”. You can find out more about Lucja and follow her journey @runningdutchie on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Breast Cancer Fundraiser  'Finding Gobi' available at www.findinggobi.com or your favorite spots to buy books, and this amazing book is being made into a Hollywood film.

My First Ultra: 12 Lucja Leonard

Dave and Mariah are still plugging along even through the hazyness of a couple tough beer miles. Dave deals with a slight knee set back and Mariah keeps pluggin away.  The next few weeks should be challenging but the set up for a great race day is worth the work.  Enjoy.

Season 10:21 Two beer miles, one knee issue.

Becoming Ultra is following the journey's of two runners who are being coached by two of the best ultra runners in the world to finish a 50k in Aspen Colorado. The catch is that neither runner has ever run more than a half marathon. Along the way will be coaching tips, race directors perspective, and the stories of elite and everyday runners on their first Ultra run!

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Becoming Ultra

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