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Reimagine Running | Bear 100 Recap with Ryan Head S1E34 · Reimagine Running

• Ryan Head: you know, as I've always said, if I can do this, so can you. And I mean that. I say that because I'm not gifted. I'm not anything special. I just you know, I've I've tried to push myself, I've tried to be the best version of myself and see what what that turns out to be. And and I know that you can too. Whoever this is, whoever's listening to this, you can be your best version. You can accomplish great things, you can accomplish hard things, you can do things that you never even imagine. It's just a matter of strategizing, putting plans in place, finding those who've gone before you, listen to them, talk to them, ask questions. Do the hard work, be patient with yourself, be committed, be dedicated. nothing worthwhile in this life is easy. It it's gonna take work, it's gonna take time. So put that time in, make it happen. You do that, you're gonna see things happen that you never thought was possible. If you'd asked me 10 years ago that I'd ever run a hundred miler, let alone two of them back to back in two weeks or three of them in a year, I would have told you you're crazy. But that's what 2026 has been for me. Coach Ryan Head: Running is a strange thing. Some people find it on the sidewalk at sunrise. Some find it deep in the mountains chasing daylight. And some of us find it when life feels heavy and running is the only thing that makes sense. For some, starts with the 5k. For others, it's a marathon. And for a few, it's a hundred miles that changes everything. But somewhere between the first step and the finish line, something happens. Running stops being about pace or distance or medals. It becomes about purpose. I'm your host Ryan Head. And this is Reimagine Running, the podcast dedicated to talking about why we run. Each episode, we'll sit down with runners from every background, trail runners, road runners, beginners, veterans, and talk about their journey. Not just where they've run, but why they run. Because for many of us, running didn't just change our fitness. It helped us find clarity, healing, discipline, hope, and sometimes even ourselves. Whether your why was born on a short loop around the block or somewhere deep inside a long, lonely mile. This podcast is for you. Welcome to re-imagine running. Ryan Head: Alright everybody, welcome back to Reimagine Running the podcast talking about why we run. Alright, guys, we had so much fun recapping the Wasatch 100 that I thought, why not? Let's recap the Bear 100 in 2026. This is gonna be a fun episode because you know, as much fun as I had with Wasatch, I definitely had a little bit more fun with the Bear 100. the Bear 100 is located here in Utah. It is located in Logan, that's where the start line is, and it goes all the way up to Garden City, which is right by Bear Lake, which is kind of a big lake that's right on the border of Utah and Idaho. you traverse over 100 miles, obviously, with over right around 20 to 21,000 feet of vert. Many mountains, lots of beautiful landscape. It is a fun. But very difficult race. as I learned yet again, there had been some changes to the course this year, which made it very, very interesting. And I'm excited to go into details with all of you about that. So, without further ado, like we've been saying, let's go 100 miles this time on the Bear 100. All right, guys. So let's let's rewind the clocks back to the end of the Walsetch 100. So two weeks ago, right? because right now today is Monday, September 28th. So we are we are two days away from finishing the Bear 100. So it's kind of been fun for me. I wanted to hurry and do it while I still had a lot of the emotion and you know have a lot of the memories still, you know, I'm still remembering and and having that. For some reason, I don't know what happened. I just tend to forget stuff as time goes on and I'm like, what happened at this aid station? or What happened during these miles. So I was kind of excited to just get on and hurry and do. Not hurry and do, but do another episode of the podcast just detailing exactly what happened out there and you know the people I met and you know what my crew did and all that jazz. But again, before we can go into anything with the bear, let's rewind the clocks back two weeks to the Wasach 100. So as I mentioned before, I come across the finish line and on September twelfth of the Wasach 100. I was pretty excited. I was like, let's go. Got another finish. as I mentioned before, I did have a PR at the Wasuch 100 course. I was very excited about that. You know, new PR is always fun, right? it it's fun. I don't really care about it necessarily if you want to be honest. I'm I'm more just about having a good experience and making sure. Know I'm learning, I'm growing, I'm trying to be a better person. And so, you know, get through the finish line and you know, celebrating my crew, very excited to be there with, you know, the whole team. And as I'm sitting there thinking, I, you know, the one thought that kept coming to my head was, did I sacrifice the Bear 100 to go faster at Wasatch? because this is a unique year, a lot of people have been asking, because in previous years, Wasatch 100. would be on one weekend, usually right the weekend after Labor Day. And then three weeks later is when the Bear 100 would happen. However, this year in 2026, because of timing and the way the calendar functions, Labor Day, which is the precursor to when Wasich will be held, was later in the year. And so because of that, Wasach got moved to the second weekend in September. And so what happened is that took away a week of recovery for any of us who want to do the back to back, the double as it's called. so I only had two weeks instead of a three week recovery. As many of you know, this was my third time attempting and looking for a third time finish at the double. I've done it in 2024, last year in 2025, and so was hoping to get another finish in 2026 with both the Wall Setch and the Bear. but I knew walking into this many, many months ago that I'd only have two weeks to recover, not the standard three weeks that I've had the previous two years. So I knew that it was gonna be a challenge, right? And so finish the race, you know, drive home with my wife and the girls and get home and I immediately went to just recovery. I mean, everything I was doing was let's recover, let's get healthy, let's try to get back to somewhat running within a few days. see what happens. So I spent most days honestly just trying to stretch, most days just trying to get to a place where I felt better. and I'll be honest, fortunately, my legs and feet and knees came around really quickly to be honest with you. I felt good. I mean I went running Tuesday after Wasatch. so three days later. now was I fast no but I did go for a run with Fleet Feet. We did a we did a a group run there with the training program and so had a great time being there, supporting them and you know, just as I've said multiple times throughout the season, huge fan of Fleet Feet, grateful for them. they that Jamie and the team over there are doing just amazing stuff. And so truly if you have shoe needs, gear needs, nutrition needs, go over and see those guys. They're they'll get you taken care of. Again, they're located both in law. Lo Leighton and Ogden. So, you know, hit me up if you have questions. I'm happy to send send you guys their their way. You know, I'm I'm fortunate I get to be on their team and help them as one of their c coaches and it they're just a great, great people. And so, you know, I do that group run on that Tuesday night with Fleet Feet and I think, man, I'm I'm doing good. Like I feel pretty good. I think I'm gonna be okay with how this all plays out. So, you know, do that. wake up on Wednesday and you know, I go for a five mile like hike, little bit of a run, on the mountains with, you know, previous hosts of this of the podcast and been on multiple times, Eric Sutterfield and, you know, we're we're just talking about Wasatch and everything and, you know, he's asking how you feeling about Bear and I'm like, you know, I think it's gonna go good and anyway, so, you know, get get through that. you know, and I just spend the rest of the week doing, you know, kind of some group runs with like Zach Vigil and Eric again and you know, just the three of us are talking and what have you. And then you know, I get to that weekend and I had that wonderful opportunity to pace Angela Millette on the goat rattler. And so that was really fun for me because I got to pace her from mile forty to fifty of her race. And I told her, I was like, you know, I think I think a week after Wasatch I probably can do ten miles. So I was like, sign me up, let's go for it. So I did that and but I also had to lead a group run. the next morning and so I know you guys are probably like you're insane man like what are you doing but so I get done pacing her around one thirty in the morning on her race and so her husband awesome dude drives me back to my car I was able to drive home from Snow Basin here in Utah back to my house. get home about two thirty in the morning lay down fall asleep and at five To 5 30, I had to wake up so I could get over to lead the group run in Mueller, the Mueller Park area here in Bountiful. And so pretty tired. showed up. I was like, you what, this will be good training at a bare minimum. I'm gonna go do it. So lead that group run. I just go and do 10 miles. had some great people there, great friends. you know, Joe came out, who again paced me at both Wasich and as you'll find out here soon, I'm on bear. So, you know, me and her ran together. as well as a few other people. And we just had a good time. It was really good. didn't push too crazy hard, just try to keep the pace very, very easy. just so that I could be ready to go in a week from then. So get done doing that run, and I'm like, okay, that's the last big run, if you will. I mean, dang, it's only been a week, and in a week I'll be back to the bear. you know, this whole time I'm trying to eat really clean, right? I'm I'm putting in tons of protein, lots of very you know, good good amount of carbs, good amount of sugars, trying to reload back up on sugar. Again, like I said, proteins. I'm I'm just downing protein after protein shake. trying to eat lots of different different products that have you know a good amount of protein just because I I I need to heal up. and so get to Sunday and I'm thinking, okay, I got this. I think we're we're gonna be good. and so Start to kind strategize, do my my routinely my routine call with with the group with my my crew and pacers on Sunday night. We go through everything that we're you know, kind of what I'm expecting to do and how I kind of see things playing out. and they're excited, right? I had a wonderful crew. I I always have a wonderful crew. Every one of my crews are special in their own way, but had a wonderful crew between Zach Vigil, who'd be starting would be leading off from right hand fork. Tony Grove and then Cody Vable taking me from Tony to Beaver Mountain and then Joe Wynarski taking me from from Beaver Mountain to the finish line. So pretty excited. And then of course my my crew chief, who's just amazing. Jenny Small, she she was gonna be there to coordinate and make sure everything happened. And so, you know, I felt I felt like I was in good hands with those four. but truly, I mean, I spent that next week leading up to the race, getting lots of rest, taking as many naps as possible, getting a good amount of sleep every night, trying to get, you know, anywhere between eight to ten hours of sleep. I know it sounds like a lot, but I wanted to make sure my body was rested as much as possible. you know, as the race got closer, I kept thinking to myself, I'm not a hundred percent, I'm not ninety percent. My guess is I'm probably eighty. 80%, maybe 75% ready, I could still feel the deep fatigue in my muscles and I knew, okay, this is gonna be this is gonna be rough. Like it's gonna be it's get it's gonna be interesting to see what happens. We'll see how long the body holds up. And and truthfully, like you as I've said before in multiple other episodes, you g you have to believe in yourself, right? Like you can't walk into a race saying, well, I'm only gonna go 70 miles and then you know, I'm gonna DNF or I'm not gonna make it. you gotta you gotta go in believing you got this, right? Like you you have to tell yourself, like, I'm gonna do this. no matter what gets thrown my way, I'm gonna do this. And and I know, right? I I've always heard people say, Well that's kinda having a cocky attitude or overconfidence. And and and it maybe it is, but you gotta believe in yourself 'cause if you don't believe in yourself, nobody's going to, right? and so, you know, I'm like, I know I'm not a hundred percent. I know I'm not even eighty percent. I I but I gotta believe in myself that I can do this. And And obviously, I got an amazing crew, great pacers, who wanna wanna see me do well. And so, you know, get to the day before the race, drive up, meet with Cody Draper, talk to him for a few minutes, which was awesome. Just love that dude. He's such a good race director. one of my faves for sure. just down-to-earth dude, kind human being, and just very understanding. And so, you know, got to chat with him for a while, picked up my race bib. picked up some gear for for the the pacers and the crew and went home and I was like, Kate, it's game on, let's do this, let's let's go. And as always a little nervous, going to bed that night and I'm like, here we go, like another race. And as always kind of like I tossed and turned for maybe an hour, but I fell asleep probably around like 10 to 10:30 and I slept until like three in the morning, which was pretty good. at three had to get up, use the bathroom. And I was like, okay, it I I I'm done sleeping. I need to I need to get up and and just go and start getting ready. So went downstairs, started gearing up, getting everything ready. and then yeah, sure enough, Jenny shows up and she's like, You ready? Let's and I'm like, Yeah, let's go. So Jenny, my crew chief, she takes me from you know from my house up to the start line. in you know, right outside of Dry Canyon, there in Logan. So get up there. It it truly was like a perfect morning for running. it was like I I want to say it was like fifty-five degrees, no humidity, and just cool temps, a little breeze, and I was like, dude, this is this is a money, morning. Like I'm excited to see how this plays out. So we get there, you know, it is September twenty-fifth, if I remember correctly. Friday, September 25th. So I'm like, let's go. Like this is gonna be amazing. I'm excited to see how my body reacts. And truthfully, like I woke up that morning, no aches or pains, nothing worried with knees, legs. So I was like, maybe I'm above 80%. Maybe I'm like, maybe I'm like 85 to 90. I'm like, let's just go, let's just see what happens. It's gonna be exciting. And so, you know, I I start the race and you know, I'm I'm just super fortunate. I know so many wonderful people in this community and you know, just other runners who are out there. you know, I start off the race and, you know, as luck would have it, I kinda get right in front of Wanderley Reese, who's someone I've been able to run many races with and he's a a great human being. and then not too far in front of me was Michael Whiteside, who, you know, is another Davis County guy. We've done a lot of runs together, and just been at the same races many, many times. And so I'm kind of just next to these two guys who I'm very familiar with. And we just start going. We start going up Dry Canyon. And it's just beautiful, right? You're just climbing. It's it's a good climb. It's nothing like Bear Canyon here in Davis County. Dry Canyon is more gradual. There's a couple of steep ish, you know, parts, but it's nothing, nothing above like 20%. I bet it's like 10 to 15 max the whole time, right? percent in incline. So you're climbing up, and this year, because of some race changes with the course the course now ends in Utah. It used to end in Idaho. but because that the race course changed they needed to add a mile or so somewhere on the race. And so as you go up Dry Canyon instead of heading south as you're going to dry canyon you actually head north there's a turnoff and so we actually headed north and went around Logan Peak. So we did a kind of a big full loop. really cool and parts of that you can actually see down and see Logan Canyon where cars are driving and all that other jazz. So it was actually really cool. Like we're on this race and I'm like, dude, that's like you know, I'll be driving home on this tomorrow as, you know, after the race is over. So I was kind of excited about that. I was like, this is gonna be sweet man. Like this is gonna be cool. Like I'm gonna look up here when I'm getting when I finish the race. I remember telling myself, I'm like, I'm gonna look up there and and I did. I remember looking at it, where that was as we were coming through the canyon at the end of the race. And so after the race. And so we're coming around. I'm feeling good. Feeling good. No fatigue in the legs. Everything feels great. you know, I I come across just some really good, good really good friends. again, just talking to multiple different people. Met some new friends up there as well. some people that I might want to bring on the podcast. I think they're great people. It was fun to just chat chat with them. you know saw D Wolf out there, she she was doing great. She seemed like she was really, really strong when when, you know, me and her cross pass. obviously saw Ken Swalberg out there. Ken obviously been a guest on here, one of the first guests of the the podcast, and you know, just has done amazing things this year with all of his races and runs and, you know, all the challenges and things that he's faced. He's just done fantastic. And so, you know, climbing the canyon, get to that first aid station there at Logan Peak. It's basically they call the the aid station. And I get in and you know my strategy there is I don't ever I don't ever put water in my bladder for the f in that first climb. Usually most of the races it seems like I do. there's a big climb or a very hard effort to start off the race. And so I'm like, okay, I'm gonna leave my bladder empty in the back. Now I do still fill up my two flasks in the front, make sure I've got one of them just being plain water, the other one has electrolytes in it. so that's what carries me. You know, that's that's you know how many ounces? That's 500 milliliters in both. So, you know, I've got a liter, I believe it is, in in the you know, between the two. actually it is a it is one full liter between the two. And so you know, that carries me through to the first aid station there at mile 10. Get into mile 10, biggest thing I do, I'm just filling up both lasts again. As well as throwing water in in the bladder. And I'm like, okay, let's go. Let's go. We're ready to go. We're feeling good. Grab a few things, grab a few items, tell the aid station people, thank you, thank you, thank you. And away I go. as I leave that aid station, I look at my pace and I'm I'm definitely moving faster than I have in years past. And I'm like, you know, I'm feeling good. Like, let's do this, let's see what happens. And you know, the really cool thing about that section of the race is, you know, for about another mile or so you kind of climb, but then it's like, it's like seven, eight, nine miles of just bombing downhill where you can just fly. And so, you know, I it was really cool because previous to the race starting, a good friend of mine had reached out to me and unfortunately her her dad had passed away not too long ago, Chrissy Rundio and and, you know, she had said to me, She's like, my dad loved running. He was a marathon runner. you know, if you would be willing to you know, run some miles for him. I think he would appreciate that. And I was like, heck yeah, you know I will for sure. No questions asked. And so got to about mile twelve and I just shot a text message out to Christy and and my friends on the text thread and just said, Hey, we're we're opening up right now. Th these miles are for chip. Let's go. Like these next miles are for chip. And, you know, it was really it was really special because, you know, I know Christy and her family love him and He is a wonderful human being and and was loved and and did so many great things and was kind to so many people. And so it was an honor to run for him and spend those miles just just flying down the mountain to the next ace aid station there at Letham Hollow. And so, you know, I get to Leetham Hollow and I felt good. I I was feeling pretty good. didn't really feel like I was hot yet, didn't really feel like my body had been overworked or anything like that. I always know. Gonna leave them hollow the next nine miles is gonna be tough. They are tough in my opinion. but you know, I get in there, I see Jenny, my crew chief, she's like ready to go. We got everything going. Again, biggest thing that one of the big changes I've made this year with my gear, and again, I know not everybody can do something like this. I just want to share my trade secrets, if you will. I don't know if they're my secrets, they're just things that I picked up on. I've started now using two vests. So I have two vests per per race. And so what happens is I have my one vest I start with and then every aid station the gear that I have in that is for the vest on the very next aid station so right so my crew chief can get everything ready to go and the moment that I get to that aid station she's just handing me the vest and I'm gone out of there right so we can move pretty quick. The only thing she's usually doing is pulling my cell phone out and you know maybe some medication stuff that I need just in case medication stuff. as well as just filling up the the flasks making sure that those are filled but she usually will get the bladder filled up ready to go the moment I come in there I'm we're we're taking that stuff off and we're gone right so we're moving so I get into letham hollow I think I was there for maybe four, maybe five minutes max. in, out, we're gone, right? Picked up some food at the aid station. appreciate those guys at Leetham. They always have like a huge buffet of just breakfast items. I mean they're just amazing. So Appreciate you guys there at Leetham Hollowaid station. Just amazing, amazing food options. So you know, from there you leave and it's three miles basically on this dirt road. And it's beautiful. It's a beautiful place. Like you can see all the canyon all through that whole area. Almost, you know, up there by kind of Blacksmith Fort Canyon area in Logan. tree colors are changing. You're next to a river. It's just beautiful. but you know, once you get about three miles in you got a six mile climb that comes right after that. And honestly, it's not a bad six mile climb. It's just it feels like it lasts forever. So that nine miles just feels like it goes on forever 'cause you're climbing, you're exposed, you're hot, and you know, it's not cool anymore. It's usually, you know, like this year the high was eighty one, I think, on the race. And and and that doesn't sound hot, but you know, when you've been moving for you know, 19, 20 miles, and all of a sudden now you're like, okay, I gotta, you know, I gotta keep moving, but now it's starting the temps are rising. It it can it can mess with you a little bit. and you know, I I did want to say that coming down Letham, I was moving fast. I was doing at times about a nine to ten minute pace. so I got into Letham Hollow probably about thirty to forty-five minutes ahead of schedule. what I'd planned with my my crew and my pacers and so they're you Jenny's like, Wow, you're doing great, like keep moving, you're doing awesome. And so take off, start heading up to the upper Richard Aid station. And again, like I said, it's just tough. really cool thing as I'm going up that way. run into a good friend who I actually mentioned on my last podcast episode, Brian Cory. Brian was also doing the double this year and it was really cool to be there with Brian. We chatted for a few minutes. as we were going up and you know he just gave me some really inspirational quotes and just he's someone that you want to be like. He's a kid human. Like honestly, good guy, kind to everybody, treats people well. and he wants just everyone just win and s succeed out there. And that's what I loved. And you know, I was fortunate enough I got to I got to be with Brian multiple times during this race, like I did at Walsach as well. And just fun. Just fun to be near him. And feed off his positivity because he's definitely just one of those guys. but yeah, I mean I just start climbing and truthfully I just it was hot, it was unmotivating, kinda got down on myself multiple times through that section, just thinking, Man, I don't even know. I don't know, I don't know if I want to do this. Like, you know, my my body is starting to hurt a little bit. And I'm like, did I you know, i it's two weeks, right? I I'm Why? Why am I even doing this to myself? Like, you know, maybe this isn't my this maybe this isn't my day, right? Maybe I need to call it and come back another year when it's, you know, three weeks in between races and you know, because two weeks is just is just so short. And you know, the fatigue is starting to come back. You can feel, you know, that just that build up, that pain, that, you know, like what are you doing to me? And you know, I I I posted about this on Facebook recently, but it was like I remember my not only my legs just being like, Why? Why are you doing this again to me? But so was my stomach. They were both like, What are you doing? Like we just went through this. You just put us through eating sugary candy and gels and sugar water. And you're making us do this again for another thirty six hours. Like, why? And honestly, like it it's so true for me. Like it just messes with my stomach, mess with my gut. my legs are just like, Why? Like this kills and so you know Obviously I'm like, let's just keep moving. Let's just keep going. Cause you know, it's like life. Life has lots of ups and downs. You're gonna have hard times, you're gonna have times when you don't wanna be doing this. And I was like, listen, I know that if I can just get to this aid station, Upper Richard, at mile twenty nine, my guess is things are gonna start to flip. I don't know for sure, but let's just see. Let's just see what happens. And so, get to that aid station, get in there. The th that's they're that that aid station's awesome. They have brought worse for people and It's like a beer garden type thing. That's kind of what their theme is. And I'm like, these guys are cool and they're so nice. They're all dressed up like Germany or whatever. And I'm just like, This is cool. Like, they're awesome, man. And so, you know, get in there, thanking those guys, got tons of ice. They all have ice for you. You know, nobody skimped on the ice this year on this race. So I was like, Thank you, thank you, thank you. load up ice in my in my ice bandana, my hat, load up my my bladder and my my two flow skin and I just take off. And as I'm going down, the legs are just not happy. They are hurting. And I'm like, dude, I'm not even I'm only 30 miles into this race and I'm already hurting. I'm like, this is not good. Like this is gonna be rough. And and so I just kept pushing, get down to about mile 31. And as I'm just pushing you know, it's funny, we come across all these sheep. There's like a ton of them on the side of the mountain there. And right as I I look back, there's another runner that's coming. And I look at him, I'm like, wow, that's a lot of sheep. And he's like, Yeah, that is, isn't it? And I'm like, just crazy. Anyways, and so we just kind of me and him just start talking. We're just I'm just like, I'm like, what you know, I'm like, how you doing today? And he's I'm good, you know. I'm like, good, I'm like, I'm struggling. And he's Are you? And I'm like, Yeah. He's like, Well, I'm kind of struggling too. And Yeah, I don't want to speak for him, but it was really cool because I just me and this gentleman, David Fuller, we just we just started running together. And it was really like good. We both felt like we benefited from being with each other because I just started running we just started like hiking 'cause it's like two ish miles to climb up to about mile thirty three and then from there you're running down to right hand fork. And so me and David just sat and chatted. And we started talking about each other's whys, why this race was important to us. We talked about our running history. And I really want to bring David on to the pod, on you know, on this podcast, 'cause his story is very inspirational. I don't want to ruin any of it. I'm not gonna say a single word about what he says, but just a good dude. Like really, really good human and just super, like super, super cool. Anyway, so Me and David, we we chat, we get going, and we get down to the part where you start running down to right hand fork, and that's a really fun section where you can just send it, right? You can just start flying down the mountain. And so we both were just kind of feeling good and we just start running. And it was actually really fun because as we're going, the sun's starting to set right, and this whole section is kind of like shady because you're kind of going through these kind of deep canyons as you're heading down to right right-hand fork. aid station, and we're I keep looking at my watch and I'm holy cow, we're doing like nine minute pace. And I'm like, I'm 30, you know, 34, 35, 36 miles, and 37 miles in. And I'm like, dude, we are running like super fast. Kept looking at my heart rate. I'm like, dude, my heart rate's good. And I'm asking him, I'm like, how's your heart rate? And he's like, Heart rate's good. Like, let's just go. I'm like, dude, this is like this is amazing. Like, I don't think we can ask for anything better at this point. so We get down to right hand fork, me and him, and we're both just feeling good. And so, you know, he's like, Hey, can I stay with you and keep moving forward? I'm like, Yeah, you know, like totally. If you wanna we wanna stay together, like let's try to stay together as much as possible. And so I get into right hand fork and Jenny and Zach Vigil are both there waiting for me. And they're both just like, Ryan, what in the world? You are crushing it. Like, what are you doing? And I'm like, What do mean? And and they're just like, You're you On on the spreadsheet that I use, I create a spreadsheet, kind of gives what my estimated times are to each age station. And they're like, Not only are you ahead of schedule there, or not only are you ahead of schedule what you did the year previously, but you're an hour ahead of what you were predicting you would do this year. And they're like, You're crushing this race. Like you were doing amazing. And I'm like, Okay, like, well, let's just go. Like, I'm feeling good. I'm you know, I've had I'd had a low there going up to upper Richard, but I'm feeling great, so let's just go. And I mean that's kind of what the story of what me and Zach basically did from then on. Like me and Zack took off and we started heading towards Temple Fork and David was with us for a while. but me and Zach just moved. Like we were feeling so good heading Temple Fork. same thing, me and Zach started hitting like nine minute, ten minute paces, running down to Temple Fork aid station. And I just remember thinking, like, dude, we are having such a good day. And me and Zach were just laughing, we're freaking having a good time, just talking. just having just some great conversations. And I remember as we were getting to kind of Temple Fork, I was like, you know, we've been pushing kind of hard. Maybe I need to take a break for a second and you know, ease off the the gas pedal for a minute. And so about a mile before the aid station, you know, I kind of started walking. I was like, Hey, let's take a break. And Zach's like, dude, you're you've been crushing it. So yeah, take take a let's take a, you know, a minute or two break and not not stop, but like, you know, kind of walk for a few minutes and just kind of let the body calm down a little bit. because I was warm. I was kind of like, I'm kinda still feeling hot even though the sun's starting to set and and what have you. And so, you know, me and Zach get into Temple Fork and again just like we always, you know, like we've I've been preaching, I've been very I I try to be very efficient in the aid stations. I feel like in, you know, up to this point in my you know, my my career of running now, I spend way too much time in the aid stations and it doesn't really do any good, even if you want to set down. getting back up always hurts really bad. And so I'm like Why do I even sit down? Like I should just keep running and or at least keep standing and then move. You know, only if I'm like hurting really, really bad or I need to just like let my heart rate calm down. just just relax. And so, so yeah, so we get in there to Temple Fork, we get a couple supplies. I think we were in and out in like six minutes, maybe me and Zach. now this is part of the race that you get the second worst climb of the race. So once you leave Temple Fork, you're heading up to Tony Grove. And it's like seven miles of just uphill climbing. You're you're not gonna be, you know, doing a whole lot of running unless you're elite, which again I'm not. and so, you know, me and Zach leave and we just have so much fun. Me and Zach talked. We, you know, we talked about our races, the future of what we wanna do with running. we talked about just how grateful we are to be both friends and I've been fortunate to just get to know him and you know for for better or worse, you know, I'm just so appreciative of Zach. I want to bring him on the pod and have him on do a recording with him. But, you know, he he just has one of those great stories about how running has really kind of changed his life and and been, you know, made him a better person. And I'm grateful for him. I'm grateful for his wife Mari. I think they're both just wonderful human beings. And so you know, think I I'll I'll give I'll give Zach is, you know, as we were going, that was still the sun was still up, but it was starting to set. And, you know, as we were about halfway up Tony, that's when it got dark, and so then we pulled out our headlamps and we're, you know, using our headlamps going up and and I kinda slowed down just because I was like, you know, I'm about fifty miles in, like, it's fair. It's fair to be like, This is kinda hurting a little bit. So we get up there, we keep going, we just keep pushing. and I just remember saying to Zach, I'm like, When will this hill ever end? It like just won't freaking end no matter what we do. And he was saying super positive, which was awesome. But it was funny because he keep asking, he'd be like, Ryan, how you doing? And I'm like and I'd always say, I'm doing good, I'm doing good, but in reality I'm like, what do you think, dude? Like I'm not doing good. I'm I'm freaking tired of climbing this mountain. We've been climbing for like five miles. We still have like two more to go. Like, I'm not happy. Like, come on, like, why do you keep asking? Like, I'm not I'm not happy, but I'm grateful because he was just checking in to make sure I was doing okay and you know, not not like losing my absolute crap out there on on the race and so it was really cool. It was cool to be with him as we get into Tony Gro Tony Grove Aid station. That lasts mile before you get into Tony. it's like all downhill. And so, you know, we start to kind of fly down that. come across a another runner who I've done, you know, a couple of ultras with Sean Dunn, and we start chatting and he was there with his pacer and Sean's a good dude. We had some good conversations as as we're you know, as we're going along. And you know, I forgot to mention you know, David. we we I last saw him at at Temple Fork aid station there at mile forty four or sorry, forty-five. And you know, he's a good dude. Really good dude. I'm grateful I got to spend miles with him. He's just a down to earth dude. And I even told him I said, dude, when I get when we get done with this race when we recover, let's run some extra let's we'll run some miles on on fresh legs 'cause he's a good guy. And again, I don't want to spoil his story because he's got some real he's he's a very accomplished runner. So but yeah, so Last saw him there, I didn't see him the rest of the race. but then, you know, me, Sean, his pacer and and Zach, we get into Tony Grove. And again, I a big just shout out. I know I gave a big shout out to Trevor Fuchs, with the Gold Foundation. previously, Trevor's a great runner, ultra runner. He's won many races and just a good good, good human. he's leading that eight station there at Tony Grove and They got a whole pizza party parlor going on. I mean, we're in them freaking mountains, people. And Trevor's got like pizza and arcade stuff, and it looks like it's a freaking party. And it is a party. Like, I mean, I'm always like, God, one of these years I don't need to run this race. I want to just come up and hang out and have a good time with Trevor and the team. But you know, I get in there, you know, I get in and I automatically see my crew high-fiving them. So Jenny's there, Cody's there, Cody's now gonna be my next pacer. while I'm there, I run a Jesse Howard. She's there. I five her. She gets some pictures of me. She's just a sweetheart. And then also Mark Callister, who is you know, Melody's father, who I just had on the podcast, and and Jacob Bateman's father in law. Mark's there, we're chatting, he's there to crew or to crew and pace Ken Swalberg through the night. And so we all kind of chat. And and I did take a few minutes there. I know just previously I'm like, you gotta be you gotta be efficient in every aid station. Well, of course, I on the very next one I'm not. but it was kind of my big if you know it was kind of one of the big eight stations. I didn't have any pizza. I've never tried pizza on a long run. Don't know if I ever want to try that. I it gets me nervous about what what might happen. so I always do my my typical chicken noodle soup and and sourdough bread. And so I eat that at that aid station and you kinda take a few minutes to kinda collect myself, change my clothes, get into something that's dry so I'm not, you know, in clothes that are still wet from from my race. And So yeah, so we get in there and you know, we we we get changed, we get all the food in me, and Jenny's like, You ready to go? And I'm like, let's go, let's let's get out of here. And so give Zach a big hug, tell him thank you, appreciate him being willing to come up there and get me, you know, to mile fifty, you know, fifty-two of the race. take off of Cody and so so grateful for Cody because Cody was so instrumental. in getting me through the night. man, where do I begin with Cody? You know, he he helped me at Wasich. He was my night pacer at Wasich as well. And it kind of funny, you know, he's always been really nervous about running through the night. And so of course what do I do to him? I'm I have him pace me twice now through the night on races. so that he can get experience doing that because I think he'll he's gonna be a good hundred hundred mile runner one day. you know he just needs to yeah he he could do it. I all I and there's no He needs to do this or that. He could do it. I just know he could do it right now if he if he wanted to. But he's doing his first 50 miler here shortly at the DC Peaks. But I'm just grateful for Cody because he was there. you know, it it's nighttime. You know, we leave about nine something, nine fifteen, nine thirty at night from Tony Grove. Earliest I've ever been to Tony Grove. like an hour ahead of schedule. And so we get going and You know, it's just it's what happens when you're this late in a race and you don't have more than two, you know, two weeks to recover. the pain level starts skyrocketing. you know, I've always said that usually on a hundred pain threshold for me is usually like a four out of ten. You know, if you do a rating of a one to a ten scale, it's usually a four. It hurts, but it's manageable, right? You can just get through it. on this one it just kept skyrocketing. I kept going up to like six or seven out of ten. just started feeling really just sick, right? Kind of all over. Not just sick's not probably the right word, it's just high pain. Like just legs hurt, knees hurt, quads hurt, calves hurt, you know, still kinda hot. body's just not happy. it's like, no, dude, we did this two weeks ago and you pushed me to get a PR at Wasich, like, why are you pushing again? 'Cause you're hoping to get a PR again at you know, at a at another race, but You know, why can't we just take this easy? And I remember I think in my body it wants to just take it really, really simple. And I'm like, no, we're we're pushing. Because I kinda have this mindset. You know, you you never know what's around the corner when I and then when I mean by corners like in the next six months, next three months, year, whatever, you never know. And and I I hope I'm running hundreds for many, many years to come, but you never know. You never know. you'd love to believe that you'll be good to run for for all these years, but may not happen. And so For me, I'm always like, you know, I have to I gotta play I gotta see what happens. I gotta, you know, I gotta push myself. I gotta see what what I'm capable of. And if this is the last race I ever do, I wanna make sure I left it in, you know, good memory. And so, you know, I'm trying to push. It's what I've been doing this whole race. Well, me and Cody are going, we start heading towards Franklin Basin and we kinda have a a first little big climb out of Tony Grove and then we get then we start flying down to Franklin Basin. And and we were moving pretty good on some of those flat sections, you know, hitting some you know 15-14 minute pace. some of them were a little bit slower when I got technical. but we get into Franklin Basin and we get there and walk in, and of course we run into our good friend Lindsay Nelson, who she is just a sweetheart. I saw her at Wallsett, she was at Bountiful Bee. She's there, she gives me big hugs, she's just happy to see me. And and I'll continue the story about Lindsay as we get to the end of the end of the podcast episode here. But see Lindsay, we're talking, and she's like, Yeah, I'm here with my my you know, my runner and he's struggling right now. And and anyways, I went over and tried to give him some encouragement. I don't think he he appreciated that, Dave. He he did not look at me with a very happy face and that's okay. I know he was try he was struggling. I was struggling, so everyone's struggling, so here we are. but y you get into Franklin Basin, that's mile sixty two, sixty-one, something like that. And it's cold. It's cold, man. You're up there in those mountains and you know, above Logan and Coast of Bear Lake, and you're like, it's chilly up here. so I got in, was able to get some ramen, eat some food really quickly, and Cody went looking for Jenny. Kind of a funny story, no shame on Jenny, but she had actually fell asleep and didn't make it out. on that aid station and I don't blame her at all. She is a sweetheart. She's so amazing as a crew chief. And I had enough supplies. I didn't, you know, I didn't necessarily need her there to to you know hold our hand or hold my hand and get me through that. So I was like, I'm glad she's sleeping. You know, let her sleep and we're getting out of here. So me and Cody immediately, you know, we spent maybe ten, eleven minutes there because I was eating some food. get up, get out of there, take off. And go back into the night, right? It is dark and it is a big climb out of that aid station. and as we head over to Logan River and the Logan River aid station. And you know, the one thing I'll say again through this is you know, as me and Cody are going, my headlamp dies. And I'm like, you gotta be kidding me. And I just I was so mad at myself because I'm like, this is a rookie mistake, this is something you don't do or you don't let happen while you're out there. And so I'm using my backup headlamp and it is the dimmest light ever. And you know, I'm fortunate my eyes are still pretty good. And so my eyes are trying to adjust to, you know, the limited amount of light. And, you know, I'm hurting. Pain threshold keeps kind of climbing. And you know, now my headlamp's not working. And I know what's coming. Once I get past Logan River, I'm gonna have a climb up and over into Beaver Mountain, and I'm just like, I know what's coming. This is gonna be really, really tough on the body and it's just gonna it's not gonna be fun. But, you know, me and Cody get going and you know, Cody's talking about all the fun places that he used to snowmobile up there in that area, Franklin Basin area and Logan River and I think it was called Steep Hollow. That's what we went down and I think and that leads down to the road that leads you right into you know, the L Logan River aid station. And I remember just being like, This this steep hollow can s yeah, I not enjoying this in the slightest. It's rough, it's hard, technical, steep, and I'm just like, my knees are killing, my legs are killing, my feet are killing. And while I'm doing this, all of a sudden, I kid you not, all of a sudden I just feel this like pop in my foot. And I'm like, yep, that was a blister on the front of one of my toes. It just blew up. And probably TMI, probably gross. good news is it didn't hurt that bad, but I still remember when it popped and I remember feeling that and was like all this downhill just made it not happy and it just had enough and so I usually don't get too many blisters and but it was it was mean it was really mean and the whole wild too because of you know how how much how hot it was and how sweaty I chafed a little bit as well you know I'm just like okay now I'm chafing I've been chafing for a while Blister just pop, pain threshold is just keep skyrocketing. you know, good things I got working for me is I got a great pacer that's that's here for me. He's keeping me company. we're getting through this, as well as, you know, my hydration and nutrition have been spot on. I have been eating, I, you know, my energy levels have been there. also been getting enough caffeine in me. so I think I'm good. I think I'm good. Let's just keep pushing, let's keep going. Get to Logan River. it is cold. really, really cold in the middle of the night. So we're it's mile seventy, seventy and a half. I think it is seventy point five. get in there and write your like, K, it's thirty miles, like less than thirty miles. It's less than a fifty K. And I remember me and Cody kept saying that. We're like, it's a fifty K dude. Like it's all you got. Like you can do that in your sleep. you know, at this time it's like four o'clock in the morning. I'm like, I got all the time in the world to do this. Like let's just keep going. Again, I'm ahead of schedule, way ahead of schedule than I have been in previous years. So I'm like, I think we're setting pretty. So me and Cody leave that. Again, we got one big climb and we are trying to get up that thing. We're getting up and over. as we get over, you can see Beaver Mountain aid station down there at mile 76. so we start coming down this mountain and my legs are just torched. We're with, you know, this this father and son who was just so impressive. I forget their names now offhand, but the father was running the bear again for in you know, he's run a couple of hundreds and his son was there with him and he was just his pacer. but his son was running it, he's not getting any medal. He just was there to be with his dad, which was so impressive. And I I gotta find out their names 'cause I should bring really bring that those two on because that was such a cool experience to be there as a father and a son. We're doing a hundred miler together. so so impressive. And and I don't think the son really I think the son lived in like Mississippi or some, you know, Midwest state and he didn't really do much training on on mountains. So I could only imagine how that dude was feeling like, but he's a fantastic athlete. So anyways, me and Cody get going. And you know, as I as I've mentioned, I posted about this on Facebook. This was a this has been a hard story to kind of share. And I don't think I'm gonna get emotional here on it. I hope I don't, but as I'm coming into Beaver Mountain, A station, right? That's mile seventy six. I just start to break down. the pain, the the darkness, the you know The I don't want to do this anymore. really it started to build. And I was struggling. I came into that eight station and I just started sobbing. Like I'm full on just crying. And Cody, again, all the stuff he just been there for me through the whole night. He puts his arm around me and he's Ryan, you got this. Come on, bud, you're okay. And he's just holding me, right? And he just got his arm around, you know, my my shoulder. And I'm just like, I just I'm sobbing. And I keep looking up and I just keep like, I don't want to do this anymore. Like it hurts too much. Like this was too ambitious. I'm not what people think I am. I'm not that good of a runner. I I I bit off way too much more I bit off way too much to to do this. And so I sit down in the chair and Joe and Jenny are there and Cody and I just start sobbing. I put my head down and I just start crying. And I just am like, I don't think I can do this. And one of the most craziest things I don't even I don't know I don't know how to explain it outside of what just happened, but I'm sitting there crying and every one of them grabs on hold of me. Every one of them grabbed a shoulder, grabbed one of my legs, grabbed the other shoulder, and they're like, You've got this, man. You've got this. And I don't know what happened. All I'm gonna say is all of a sudden the that feeling of like defeat and darkness went away. And I just thought to myself, like, we're gonna do this. We're gonna do this. And I remember I pulled out my cell phone and you know, I I have a a text through with family and friends that I heavily rely on and I just start reading all the messages of, you know, family and friends who are cheering me on and and wanting to see me be successful. And I'm just like, I am so blessed. I'm so blessed to have so many great people in my life that want to see me be successful. And there's no animosity, there's no like, you know, judging, there's no like, you know, whatever. They they just want to see me be successful and and and try to find what I'm looking for. And so between reading these text messages of inspiration from, you know, everybody and anybody, whether it's you know, Tim Cotterall to Jamie McDonald to my parents, to, you know, my brothers, Michael, Blake, my sister in law, Ashley, Heather, Ann, my brother Kyle. you know, Micah, Shaw, Christy Rundio, you name it, like everybody, you know, a good friend of mine, Elias Adams, Brandon Lomax, all these people are sending me text messages, and there's so many more people. Sorry, I can't name you all, but all these people are sending text messages, like you've got this dude, we're you're you're impressive, like you always have a smile on your face, like you inspire so many people. And I'm just like, how can how can this broken person inspire anybody? I am completely defeated. And I just told myself, I'm like, the person who walked in here is not going to be the same person that walks out of here. That person is gone. I'm getting up and I'm going to finish this. And we're going to do this because I know I am good enough. I know I'm capable. I may not look it right now and I may not feel it, but I need to take that first step. I've got to have that first step of faith to just go. And so as I start walking, I just say a prayer to my Heavenly Father. And I'm like, I, you know, in scripture, you know, you've always said, you know, Jesus Christ has always said he'll be there for me if I ask. And I'm like, I need him right now. Like, I I'm asking that he walks with me as I go do this. And I'll be honest with you guys, did did it get easier? no. The pain was still there. But was I able to endure it more? Yes. as able to endure, as able to push through and keep going out of Beaver Mountain. And that is something I'll never forget as long as I live. That feeling of being completely defeated and in darkness. And and this is where maybe I understand a little bit more about people who deal with, you know, struggles and depression and other things. You know, I've said this before in another podcast, when I talked about, you know, DNFing at Antelope Island in twenty twenty three, but that darkness was real. And I did not want to move anymore. But seeing these messages and the love and you know, people wanting to see me, you know, do well. And then seeing the picture of my daughters on my on my cell phone, I was like, I'm not letting these people down. It's time to go. Let's go. You're not, like I said earlier, you're not that same person who walked in here broken. It is time to go. So between the consoling of of my crew and pacers and getting me up. We went and I just remember Cody Vable being like, Let's go, dude. You got this. Like, I believe in you. And Jenny just getting everything ready and getting me out of there. And then Joe's like, Let's fake it till we make it. And I'm like, Yeah, let's go. And so I yeah, I'm just so grateful for Joe. she was there as I struggled. I gave ever I was giving her everything I had. I know my pace wasn't that fast. the legs didn't want to work. They were done running. They did not want to run for the majority of our time together. And so I did my slight jog if that's what you want to call it through a lot of that whole section but it was really cool because we got to see parts of Utah that me and her have never seen before. We got to go up to see Peter Sinks. we went through that whole section which was really pretty quite frankly and just cool to be where it's been coldest place in the continental United States coldest recorded place. and we were there we were there right as the sun was coming up and so I don't know if it was still they said it was like twenty six degrees that morning. I don't think it was that cold when we came through, but it was still pretty chilly. We could see our breath and and I was like, ooh, it is it's it's cold. It's cold in this area. And so yeah, we we we get through there, me and her, and we you know, we're coming around and it's it's just one little climb after another after another. And then there was a steep decline that me and her had to do after you left the Peter Singh Sage station. And I remember just like just wanting to just be done. I was like, this hurts so bad. And it was really cool because Joe, she had developed a song and Zach Vigil's gonna kill me. But Zach kind of set what we call the Zack Pace on on Wasatch. And so Joe just kept talking about we gotta stick to the Zack pace, Zack Pace, and and then all of a sudden she like turned it into this heavy metal song, and she's like talking you know, she's like singing the the Zach, the Zack Pace song and I'm sitting here just laughing my head off. I'm like, what is she doing? Like what it what are we doing here? Anyways, it was just really cool. so that kind of became our th our our theme song for the last of the race was just the Zach pace. Like we want to keep to the Zach pace. And so Z Joe had set a pace that she was like, Hey I want you to stick to about sixteen to seventeen minute pace. try to stay with me. And even on these, you know, technical downhills. And so that's what I was doing and just trying to stay with her. as as we went down these technical and then we had to do some more climbs and we had to climb quite a bit. I you know I thought I thought Cody Draper said the end of the race was gonna be easier. I don't think it was any easier. I think it was harder. definitely definitely tough as you came into you know you're climbing some of these last peaks and I was like holy cow Cody and and I know on fresh legs, probably wouldn't be too rough, but jeez man, you know when you're you're almost ninety miles into a race and you gotta be climbing up some of these mountains and they're like two thousand feet, you're like, my word, like dang it, Cody Draper, what were you thinking, man? but it it's all awesome, you know, it it was a fun race. It was challenging. And so you know, I remember when me and Joe got to that last you know last little bit of elevation and you come over and you can you can see just forever 'cause you're at this, you know, kind of tall peak. And We get up there and I'm and I'm like, Joe, that's it. That's the end of the elevation. It's all downhill from here. And so we're both celebrating. We're like, let's go, let's go. We got this. And so we start going downhill again. you know, kind of trying to keep a good pace. And you know, we head into the last eight station, Burnt Fork. And I get into Burnt Fork and I remember I just started breaking down again, and not in a bad way, but as a happy celebration that I was like, We got this, we got this. we get into Burnt Fork and I'm doing really good on time. Like we're that's eight miles from the finish line and it's like we're barely into th hour thirty of this race, right? And I'm like, holy cow, like I've got some serious time. I might be able to get you know, I was thinking I was barely gonna get like a thirty-three hour finish. I'm like, I think we're gonna be able to do thirty two, like it's gonna happen. Which would be a massive PR for me. That'd be, you know, an hour plus PR. And so I take we just like let's just go so me and her take off we see jenny there she's encouraging us cody vable stuck around and and was there too to cheer us on get in get out cody is just such an in inspiring guy he's like dude you you're inspiring me like go go finish this go get it so me and joe take off and of course as i was saying all of a sudden out of nowhere boom my legs are back and we are able to run and so we are running From Burnt Fork, going over to Highway 89 or Logan Canyon Road and we're running. And I'm like, Where have these legs been? Where have you been all where have you been for the last like twelve hours? Like you guys have been dis you guys have been gone. Thanks, guys. Thanks for being back. And anyways, I was just super grateful my legs were there. And and I just have to, you know, thank my Heavenly Father and and Jesus Christ, 'cause I really do feel like they were there for me. They were there. they they helped me. and and you know help me get my legs back. This happened before. I remember when it happened and I just believe it was divine intervention. and so we get moving and me and Joe are like I remember we were just counting down the miles. It was like six miles left, five miles left, four miles left and we're just coming down this this dirt road and there's multiple ATVs going past us, bikers and all this other jazz. And you know, we're just like, you know, nothing's gonna ruin ruin our fun. We're gonna have fun. You know, the cool thing about me and Joe is we start playing a game where we'd we'd ask each other questions. And as silly as it is, that game became like something that I want to do from now on in every one of my races. We would just ask questions like, okay, what is the most overrated band in history? And I personally think it's the Rolling Stones. I might get some hate for that one. I don't care. We can discuss. I'll be happy to go over it with you. Tell me what they ever did that wasn't already done before. The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, did everything before the Rolling Stones came along. So You tell me something that they did that's different, and I'll try to believe what you're saying. But I think they're the most overrated band in history, just my humble opinion. Heck, I'll even go with the Beach Boys ahead of them. So I might get some hate for that one. We talked about like our the most underrated band. one of mine is the Eels. I don't know if many people know who they are. I think they're a fantastic band, not very popular, but they put out some serious great music. So me and Joe are just doing this, right? We're like, what what is your greatest fear in life? What is what is your What are you excited about in life? And it was just fun. We were just like pinging these questions off of each other this whole time. And it just kind of became like the staple of the Bear 100 for me. I was like, this was so fun to get like her asking me all of these questions. And I was asking her questions back. And even though I'm tired, even though I'm just like burnt out, like it was just a captivating fun game. So, anyways, we get down and all of a sudden we look and we're like, we're we can see the sign that says one mile left, two aid, which meant to the end of the race and I was like, We did it, Joe, we did it and you know, I'm I'm over there. I keep, you know, getting kind of emotional because of just, you know, of gratitude and and being there. And I keep telling her, Thank you so much for doing this. And, you know, she's obviously just so gracious and kind and like, you don't even worry about it, Ryan. I'm so glad I was able to do this with you. And so we get down on the on the paved path and she's like, It's time to run. Gotta run this in, and I'm like, we gotta run this in. And so I'm running my hardest to or trying to. And as we're coming through and we're getting close to the finish line, I get there and right as we come around the corner, Lindsay Nielsen, of course, is there and she gets some videos and she's like, Ryan, let's go! And so it was really kind of cool because she's in her sandals and she's running into the finish line with me and Joe. And I was like, This is kinda cool, kinda fun. So Lindsay, you're the best, you're just so fun. And so Joe got some video of me. and you know, my whole family my family's there, my wife, my daughters, so many friends, crew, pacers, Zach Vigil came back with Mari. you know, so did you know, Cody obviously was there, and just so many other friends, right? Jenny's there. Come through the finish line. you know, and of course Cody Draper, the race director, is there, you know, I tell him thank you so much for for this race. It's it's it's important to me. It's It's it's a life changer. It's been something that has impacted me for the better. It's made me a better human being, this race. And yes, it's not Wasatch, it's not the iconic Wasatch. It's been around for forty seven years or whatever it's been. But the Bear one hundred is a beautiful, cool race, cooler race that that so many people I know do. And I've been so blessed to have this part of my life and to go push myself again for a hundred miles and see what I'm capable of doing in those Logan Mountains and you know right and then next to Bear Lake. It's just beautiful. So I thank Cody and again got a little emotional with him but just thanked him so much for all he did. And anyways it was just cool. It was cool to be there to celebrate and and kind of hang out for for an hour or so and you know be with my friends and be there to celebrate as other people came through and cheer them on. you know, one cool thing that I was able to experience and you know, I know I already talked about Ken Swalberg previously, but Ken was able to get a finish here on this race and he he came in, you know, under that 36 hours. But, you know, as he came in, we you know, me and Jenny were there celebrating him as he came through. And as he came through, he tells me that his father passed away the day before on Friday. And man, what a what a punch to the stomach for me. And you know, I all I could say was I'm sure this is where your dad wanted you to be. And he's like, He did. He wanted me to be here. He he wanted me to go do this race and and to get the finish. And so, Ken amongst all the things that he's done this year, you know, chasing the Rocky Mountain Slam, barely missing, finishing the Wall Street one hundred in time and you know, a couple of these others, he gets, you know, this finish at the Bear One Hundred amongst so much. And just proud of that dude. Proud of him for being so strong, being so determined, just being a good human and and leading by example. that's the thing I love about Ken is that you know, he he is a humble dude, and he tries his best and he gives everything he has and you know, you don't need to be, you know, whatever. you lead by actions, you lead by doing stuff and and that's all I've seen Ken do. He leads by his by example and by being a good person. So I was grateful to see him come through and you know, to do this and and get that. So, you know, what an amazing weekend. What an amazing weekend for me and so many others. you know, I'm again, I go back to I'm just so grateful. You you can't do these races without a crew. I'm so grateful for, you know, Jenny, my crew chief, who's been so fantastic and I can't wait to see her crush her race. this weekend at the DC Peaks one hundred. it was so fun to be there with Zach Vigil and me and him just to fly. We flew, we ran hard, we ran free. We had so much fun me and him through the you know, through the evening on Friday and just crushed it. And I needed him right there to just be that person that would just fly with me. Cody, you were you were awesome, man. You saw me in some dark spots and you were the person I needed to lift me up when I felt like I couldn't any longer. And then Joe, just to be the best friend, be that best friend that I've always wanted, that I've always needed. As I always say, she's kinda like my sister and we can be mean to each other. Like I remember I got after her one time when she was like, Well, we're gonna try to do a fifteen minute pace and said, We will see and she was like, Okay, okay. and there's some other times we kinda gripe at each other and we give each other grief, but it's good because that's just when people care about each other and people wanna see the best in each other, like that's what's gonna happen sometime and we gotta sometimes we gotta have a little confrontation and to push each other, but What what a beautiful, beautiful day with my pacers, with my crew, and and just to so many wonderful friends out there who would send messages who were supporting me the whole way. I'm just grateful. I'm grateful for all of you. I'm I'm truly blessed. Like, like I said in my my Facebook post, you know, I am very rich, and I'm very wealthy. I'm rich with friends. I am very rich with experiences and I'm wealthy. because I get to live this life with so many good people and that that is what brings me happiness. and I can't wait to see other people accomplish just hard things and do hard things and and be examples to others. And you know, as I've always said, you know, and I I say it again, I echo it, if I can do this, so can you. And I mean that. I say that because I'm not gifted. I'm not anything special. I just you know, I've I've tried to push myself, I've tried to be the best version of myself and see what what that turns out to be. And and I know that you can too. Whoever this is, whoever's listening to this, you can be your best version. You can accomplish great things, you can accomplish hard things, you can do things that you never even imagine. It's just a matter of strategizing, putting plans in place, finding those who've gone before you, listen to them, talk to them, ask questions. Do the hard work, be patient with yourself, be committed, be dedicated. nothing worthwhile in this life is easy. It it's gonna take work, it's gonna take time. So put that time in, make it happen. You do that, you're gonna see things happen that you never thought was possible. If you'd asked me 10 years ago that I'd ever run a hundred miler, let alone two of them back to back in two weeks or three of them in a year, I would have told you you're crazy. But that's what 2026 has been for me. You know, I did the Scout Mountain in June, Scout Mountain 100 in June. ran multiple marathons, Ogden Marathon, the Salt Lake City Marathon this year, and then end it, you know, ended it with the Wasich one hundred and then two weeks later the Bear One Hundred. Fantastic year. I can't ask for more than that. And obviously sprinkled throughout that a bunch of other little races that I'm grateful for. But what a just a fantastic year. and it's all because, you know, I've had other people that inspired me to be the best version of myself and and that's what I've tried to do. So so You know, if you're if you're wondering, am I good enough? Yes, you are. And if you need someone to be there, I'm here for you. I will, I will make sure you get across that finish line. that's what this life should be all about. We will need to help each other. We need to be able to pick each other up when we're struggling, because I'll tell you what, I can't do it with my without my crew, without my my pacers, without my team, and and I'm grateful for them. So, you know, the million dollar question that I keep getting asked, what's next? What's gonna happen in twenty twenty seven? And I will say confidently, I do not know. we will find out. I have an idea I don't want to share yet, but we will see. We'll see what happens. There's there's a couple pieces that have to fall into place to see what happens. you can definitely expect me for like the Salt Lake City Marathon. you can definitely expect me for the Ogden Marathon, and you can definitely expect me for the Wasach 100 if they let me in the lottery and the Bear 100. I think you can expect that, but there'll be a little bit more. So I'll leave you guys with that teaser. Anyways. As always, guys, much love. Thank you for listening to this podcast. if you are looking for some help, if you're looking to find the better version of yourself, I'd love to help you. I, you know, I'm a running coach, but I also like to help motivate people to do find the best in themselves. If you need someone in your corner, I'm here for you. I'd love to be that person that helps helps you be the best version of yourself. So as always, don't be afraid to do something hard. Go chase big dreams, do things that are crazy. And at the end, even if you aren't able to accomplish what you set out to do, at least you dreamed big. You did crazy things and you made some great adventures. and you made some great memories. And I think that's what it's all about. So much love, guys, and we'll be back next week. Okay, thank you. Coach Ryan Head: Hey runner, thanks for hanging out with me today on Reimagine Running. I'm grateful you're here and a part of this great podcast. I just want to remind you, if you ever feel stuck and unsure or just want someone in your corner, I do offer coaching for runners at any distance, whether you're starting out with the 5K or you're chasing some crazy big goals and dreams like the marathon or the 100 miler, I'd love to help you. Please reach out and I'd be happy to set up a time to go over options and plans and goals with you. Well, until next time. Take care of yourself, trust the process, stay disciplined and keep chasing that Y.