Latest / The On Purpose Podcast / Ep. 361 – Wes Martin: Relentless Forward Progression
Transcript
- speaker-0: You are listening to the On Purpose Podcast. What's up, everybody? Welcome to this week's edition of the On Purpose Podcast. And I'm pumped to have you here with my newest friend, Wes Martin. You should have listened last week. If you didn't stop, go back, listen to last week's episode about the recap of the Copper Kings 100. You're gonna see why this dude. was sent to me at the time of need. How our paths cross. And and you know, I'm a big believer that you don't cross paths with people in life that you're not supposed to either help or be helped by to teach, to learn from. And Wes is a perfect example of that. He's a husband, a father, an ultra runner, and somebody that I would say is a leader whose actions speak louder than any title I can give him. We met for the first time ever. At the Copper Kings 100 at the Homestake Aid Station. And to be honest, I was emotionally exhausted, alone, and unsure if I could finish something I had spent six months sacrificing for. And I'll never forget when Wes stepped forward and offered to spend the night with me running thirty miles and what that meant to me. And I'm gonna get emotional in this conversation because it did mean so much. So Wes, my newest friend, I wanna talk about who you are, why you run, and what it really means to help someone when the stakes are high and the miles are long. So Wes, welcome to the show, my man. speaker-1: Thanks, Jared. It's great to be here. Appreciate you having me. ⁓ and yeah, it was ⁓ it was an honor to spend 30 miles through the night with you. speaker-0: Yeah, dude, I can't even get it like we can't just jump right into that. I gotta warm you up a little bit 'cause otherwise I'll just be an emotional wreck the whole damn show. speaker-1: I get it. That's fair. speaker-0: All right. What here's your first warm-up question, Wes. If your life has a theme song, what is it? speaker-1: ⁓ man. Theme song is hard. ⁓ that's a great question. ⁓ I would say one of my favorite songs is ⁓ Away from the Mire by Billy Strings. ⁓ I don't know if you've heard it or not. It's a longer forum song. ⁓ longer, like a couple like seven minutes or something, but it's about just staying present, staying in the moment, ⁓ kind of shedding away all all the the the muck, the mire. ⁓ those things will happen, but staying present and Moving forward. So speaker-0: What about a favorite quote that you comes up to you in throughout life? speaker-1: ⁓ favorite quote. Well, you know, it it goes with it goes along with running and ultra running in that matter. And I I feel like we probably said it multiple times overnight, and I know we'll get there, but I think it extrapolates to more than just ultralunning, and that is relentless forward progression. ⁓ and that came from a book ⁓ we've read too, my wife and I. But ⁓ I just like that quote. I think whether you're in ultra running or in life at work, just relentless forward progression. progression showing up and moving forward. ⁓ that's a motto that keeps me keeps me going. speaker-0: Yeah, dude, that's awesome. What would you say is something you learned about yourself lately? speaker-1: Something I learned about myself lately. ⁓ you know, I think that we can like for myself, ⁓ I think that I I can help people. ⁓ you know, like I I I work in a job where we do help folks, ⁓ but I work like within the tech industry for Onyx Maps. ⁓ they're a great company. They've treated me well. ⁓ but a lot of time you you hear about how people you've helped people. ⁓ and then like doing what I was able to do with you and actually be present for you and help you. outside of just your everyday, like there's always a time or a moment that you could help people and ⁓ just jump into it. speaker-0: Yeah, that's that's amazing. What about a favorite book? speaker-1: Favorite book. That's one I've been stewing on. I knew that would be a question. And I know that I was joking with you that I am not the best reader. I should be more of a reader. I have a bad habit of watching any sport that's on at the moment at the night. ⁓ but you know, we talked a lot about ⁓ during our run of Young Men in Fire. I think that's been a great book. That's a all time classic book. ⁓ I got to go see the man gulch area ⁓ with my fire crew at one point. It was very moving. ⁓ and then another book I think when I was young, you know, an old classic was Gary Paulson's The Hatchet. I think that was one about adventure that really just got my brain moving as a young kid. ⁓ I think a lot of people that's probably a lot of people's favorite book. Yeah. But ⁓ It moved me at the time when I needed it as a young kid to to go be adventurous. So those two. speaker-0: Yeah, those are good. What's one word to describe the season of life you're in now? speaker-1: Season of life. I'm gonna ⁓ if people watched my wife Jamie's podcast, I'm gonna use what she said and I'm gonna go with chaos. I think she described that pretty well. ⁓ We have what almost two year olds, we have one on the way. life just seems to be moving very fast at the current moment and we're just holding on tight and enjoying it. speaker-0: Yeah, that's awesome. You feeling warmed up there with my friend? Yes sir. You don't even need a warm up, dude. I saw you at Copper Cane. You just threw your shoes on and jumped in and we took off. I didn't even see any warm ups. speaker-1: Actually, and now that you say that, that's something my ⁓ Jamie and I say often and maybe that's the quote I should have gone with, which is if you stay ready, you don't have to get ready. speaker-0: That's good one. speaker-1: Which is like kind of like the motto we like to try to live by. speaker-0: Yeah, and that can apply to so many aspects of life. speaker-1: Exactly. Exactly. speaker-0: All right, Wes, talk to me about your story with running and when did ultras become part of your life? speaker-1: Sure, yeah. Ultra running. Well, running in general, I have to give all the credit to Jamie, my wife. She got me into it a hundred percent. She was the runner. ⁓ and I was just trying to keep up. She was a lovely young lady who I liked hanging out with, and that meant running in the mountains. So that's really what got me started. and then, you know, we started with like marathons, half marathons. ⁓ we lived down in Boise after college for a while and like the meridian. speaker-0: Ha ha ha. speaker-1: area. ⁓ and the foothills there are great, some great trails. That really introduced us to it. There's a race there called Race to Roby Creek, which is like a half marathon. ⁓ And we did that. And I think that kind of flipped the switch once we got on like a trail, if you will. We were like, ⁓ this is a little, you know, not as fast, not as much pounding. ⁓ The vibes were great. Everybody was kind. And then that kind of transpired. We moved back to Montana. I went to school in Bozeman at Montana State. ⁓ I've long been like a skier and at Bridger Bowl. ⁓ in Bozeman, when you get off the top lift, you look over and you can see the entire crazies, which are actually right here. You can see the whole ⁓ range. And I had been long looking at them, thinking, how do I get in there? ⁓ I was explaining to you during the race. They're checkerboarded with private land. So it's like private, public, private, public. It makes it hard to access through the whole thing. Long story short, Crazy Mountain 100 was Montana's first ⁓ one hundred mile distance race. It popped up and I saw it and kind of thought, This is my way into the crazies. So ⁓ Jamie and I both took that one on and it was a hoot. And that really like the Crazy Mountain Ultra the first year, that was the one that got us hooked and We haven't looked back since. speaker-0: So how many like hundreds have you guys done? speaker-1: I have done three and two thirds. I was telling you the Oregon Cascades last year we were cut off at about mile seventy ⁓ due to a wildfire that was encroaching in on the course. ⁓ that was a tough that was a mental hurdle to have to get, you know, they were like get in the car and get out of here. And that was that. There's no if, ands, or buts. So ⁓ that was tough. But yeah, ⁓ Jamie's done Copper Kings and Crazy and she'd done the O Oregon Cascades the year before me. And then I've done Yeah, Crazy and Oregon. ⁓ and I did run Rabbit and Steamboat Spring. speaker-0: Yeah. That's a good one, right? speaker-1: Yeah, that was a great one. That was really fun. High up elevation. ⁓ but again, they do they do a fantastic job. The ⁓ race directors organizing the race. The course is beautiful. saw a bunch of moose. ⁓ just crazy. Yeah, very Colorado. Yeah. speaker-0: Yeah. What w what would you say the the sport means to you right now? What does ultra running mean to you in in your life now? speaker-1: Yeah, that's another good question. ultra running is very important. I think ⁓ for myself it's such a it's so therapeutic, it's such a release day to day. ⁓ obviously you're not running like ultras every day, but as you know, you're training for them, you're thinking about them. Everything is culminating into until that day, ⁓ which is such a a beautiful thing in some ways because Know how it goes. Everybody has their day. And if it doesn't land on that day, it can be frustrating. ⁓ especially when you put all that time into it. But so what it means to me is ⁓ it means a lot. I mean, I I think when you break it down, it's not just about race day, but it's about every day leading up to race day. And ⁓ that's what it means to me. It's just like stacking those brick by brick so that when you get to race day. You the hay is in the barn for lack of a better term and ⁓ you're not as nervous because you know you've prepared, so speaker-0: Yeah I don't know. speaker-1: That's hard. speaker-0: No, let me ask you this, Wes. Is it a sport? speaker-1: Is it a sport? Absolutely. I do think it's a sport. Yeah. Do you? speaker-0: Think it is. Don't know, I've been pondering, right? Because like I wouldn't tell you I play running. Right. Like I and and what happened at Copper Kings for me, like I focused on the sport aspect, and that was running, checking my times, making sure I was getting the right miles. But like what ended up happening for me was what I'd call like a journey. Like it was more spiritual and emotional. speaker-1: Yeah, that's fair. Absolutely. speaker-0: And it was f I mean it's still physical, right? Which I think is great because you push physically to that exhaustion, which then exposes all the other stuff that you don't normally get to in your regular life. That I would never get to playing anything, but I would get to on like a journey. speaker-1: Yeah, I think that's a really good way to put it. speaker-0: I was pondering like for the athletes it's a sport. speaker-1: I was gonna say I think it's different for everybody, right? Like there is like you and you watched Western, like some of those people finishing in fourteen hours, like incredible. And it's such a sport for them. ⁓ but I do think it's it's a journey as well for them too, just in a different amount of time. speaker-0: I th I think that is to me why it's so captivating is you don't have to have any prerequisites. You don't have to have been just genetically gifted. Like no matter how much you and I watch the NBA, Wes I hate to break this to you. We're not going there. We're never gonna make speaker-1: Every year the draft keeps passing me by. speaker-0: But we can both throw on our shoes and take off and run the exact same trail at the same time and have completely different moments with it. speaker-1: Yeah, absolutely. That's the beauty of running, right? Everybody in a way has access to it. ⁓ the amount of access you have to it might be different, whether you live in the inner city, have shoes, yada yada. But you can still go physically run. Anybody can. And I think that's really cool that we all are on the same baseline there. And it's what you do with it. speaker-0: Yeah, and you you control the inputs. Exactly. Like you can choose if you're gonna run up the hill or hike the hill. You can choose right, how fast you wanna go or do you wanna stop and take pictures. speaker-1: Yep. Yeah. Yeah. And it's all about your journey. I like the way you put that. And I think we had a lot of moments talking about that, right? It's such a what was the word I was using? Like it's like a vision quest almost. You go through so many ups and downs emotions. One minute you think you're crushing it. The next you're like, I can't take three more steps. ⁓ We've all been there. It's hard. speaker-0: Yeah. Yeah. So speaker-1: All of it goes out the window, right? Like your nutrition and you're like, I'm gonna eat this here and this now, and then you know, you're at mile seventy. And I think that's where the sport leaves the window. And it's like you're doing whatever we can to finish it, this journey, right? speaker-0: Really? Yeah. And it's so it's so interesting. I can't remember if I told you this or not, but before the race started, we we gave all of our team like a card saying thanks for coming out and supporting us and in it we hand wrote that it's not about the time on the clock, it's about our time together. speaker-1: Yeah, a hundred percent. speaker-0: And I couldn't tell you like how profound that became when Trey got injured and we were so far behind and our our time goals that we had set for ourselves were out the window. Yep. And it literally just became like you said, just can I finish this thing? speaker-1: Yeah, exactly. speaker-0: And yeah, so so let me talk so coming into home stake. was like one of I wouldn't say one of the lowest points of my life 'cause I've had, you know, life is life, but the whole build up for this thing was me and Trey having thirty, thirty five hours together in the woods, pushing ourselves. When one of us is low, the other pick up and then for him to get hurt and drop, like took all the wind out of my cell. I'm like, man, what am I doing out here? And I gotta be honest with you, Wes, I almost as a dad started feeling selfish. speaker-1: Sure. I can absolutely understand that. Like taking all this time. speaker-0: Yeah. Yeah. Taking all the time and then knowing like, dude, I thought I was gonna be at home stake at like I don't know, two in the afternoon and now I'm rolling in at like I don't even know what time it was, six, seven, it was starting to get dark already. speaker-1: Five, yeah. Five, six. Yeah. speaker-0: And just having a realization, like, damn, I gotta, I'm gonna be all alone. The one dude, like I did all my training runs mostly by myself, but like the strength I had knows was like, okay, on race day, I have Trey. Like we're be talking the whole time. Like there's two of us. Yeah. So I'm not gonna lie, I came into home stake ready to just call it, right? Like I had justified in my head, I ran further than I ever have. I'd never run 44 miles. So I did that. speaker-1: Yeah. Got an outlet. speaker-0: So I can leave with a little success. speaker-1: Certainly. speaker-0: I could go play games, sit in the house, and not have Trey feel like he let anybody down. speaker-1: Absolutely. speaker-0: But we had also before the race met as a team and said if either of us wanna quit in an aid station, we cannot quit there. We gotta make it to the next one. I forget which ultra run I heard that from, but was fantastic advice. speaker-1: Yeah. speaker-0: So Andrea like, No, you're not quitting, you gotta go to the next one and I knew what that meant because I knew you couldn't drop it Lady the Rocky, so now I'm committing to thirty. speaker-1: Right. And all night. speaker-0: And all night and like all the stuff I thought I would need for the night was at the Lady of the Rockies because I thought I'd be up there before dark. So I'm now my cold weather gear is late. So I was a mess, dude. I was a mess. What was it that made you and Jamie decide you would come with? speaker-1: Yeah. Well, Jamie had so we were volunteering ⁓ at ⁓ Home Stake with some of our friends. ⁓ Danita and Justin are great. They volunteered last year. we've known them for a while and they were the they were the head of this aid station. So we decided to jump in and help. ⁓ Jamie had been chatting with your family when they got there and she had heard through the grapevine that Trey ⁓ kinda blew his knee up or his ankle and had to drop. ⁓ and that you were bumming about that as one could anybody could have gathered, right? Like that's a bummer. So ⁓ while they sat there and we were waiting for you to come in, Jamie and I were still meandering, kind of talking and, you know, I w I kept throwing in like, well, if he needs a buddy, I'm ready. And then ⁓ at some point she was like, I'm sure he would appreciate that, you know, if if you want to. And so speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-1: We had a little moment where I was like, Would would that be okay? Do you think, you know, we have like I said, we have a two year old, she's with us. ⁓ she was napping in the in our little camper at the time. ⁓ and she was like, Yeah, I got it, no big deal. Like, let's let's help him out. So that's really where it came from. So shout out to Jamie. She's really the real ⁓ D P here because she had to deal with, you know, toddler who didn't want to go to bed that night and ⁓ all the fun there. So But that's really where it came from was just, you know, we saw that and we had heard that things weren't really panning out the way you had envisioned them, your whole crew. they were feeling a little bummed. They knew you were feeling a little bummed. ⁓ and quite frankly, I mean, I knew that I could get you through to the other side and that ⁓ I mean, there was a point where we were looking at you with your crew and we looked at each other and we were like, Yeah, we we should step in and see if we could help. ⁓ and we wanted to tow the line there a little bit. Like I didn't want to insert myself. I knew this was like a moment for you and your son. ⁓ but I could tell on your face that a friend might go a long way. So just offered that up and ⁓ as soon as I did, I think everybody sitting around you could see on your face that that was kind of what you needed and ⁓ That was all I needed to see that that was the right decision. speaker-0: Yeah, dude, that was amazing. And like, so let's go back to the question. Like that moment right there is why to me this is so much more than a sport. speaker-1: Sure. Yeah, yeah. speaker-0: Right, 'cause you're not worried about, man, if I help him, is he gonna beat somebody else? Is his time gonna be faster? You're literally like, Let me just get this dude through the what's gonna be the hardest part, which is the night now. Yep. And then he can take it over in the morning. Cause you know like if we do thirty more miles, these emotions he has here are gonna change drastically by the time he gets to the next place. speaker-1: Exactly. Exactly. speaker-0: And and that's I think West, that is just what I saw throughout the whole process is people just caring about each other and being nice to each other. And yeah, you're racing, but when somebody's on the side of the trail you're asking if they need something, are they okay? speaker-1: Yeah, a hundred percent. It's a community, right? Yeah. Yeah, we're racing, but ⁓ it's such a I mean the reality is it's such a gnarly race, like it's a hundred miles. You have to check on your people out there. Yeah. We're all in this journey together, right? And ⁓ I I think that's really cool and beautiful. I know speaker-0: It is. speaker-1: The thing about Ultra that keeps us coming back is it seems like it's humanity in its best. ⁓ everybody helping everybody, nobody knows anybody for the most part. Everybody's a a tinge nasty and nobody cares. You know, hugs are being given, water being poured, ⁓ food being handed out, shared, shirts off back, literally. ⁓ and that's the beauty in ultra running. speaker-0: We're all in a different place in the journey, even though we might be at the exact same place physically. speaker-1: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. I I I'm sorry to interrupt you. Physically too, like I knew you were ⁓ able to do those other 30 miles too, right? Like ⁓ to your point, we're all in different places but all at the same place. Like I knew you physically were capable of it. You were just having a bad day, and so you mentally just needed a spark. And so I thought I could provide that. speaker-0: Yeah, Wes, I got sh Yeah, and I think that's important too, right? Like all the prep work that went in. Like I wasn't physically hurt. I wasn't physically I just I was heartbroken, right? Like my emotions were like, Is this even worth it no more anymore? But I gotta tell you, Wes, I didn't even realize this. So that moment when you asked if you could help and I said yes was my youngest daughter's favorite moment of the whole race. speaker-1: Really. speaker-0: Yeah, and she shared this with me after the race. She's like, Dad, you realize you've always been my hero and you've always been the strongest person I know. And I never saw you take help from anybody. I was like, gosh, man. As a parent, I'm like, man, I know I talked to you about it's okay to ask for help and true strength is asking for help. But in that moment I realized like I must not have modeled it. speaker-1: Sure. speaker-0: Yeah, a or or I never was in a position where she was old enough to know that dad just asked for help. So that was literally her favorite moment of the whole race. Not the finish line, not the morning when I was smiling again, but literally that at my lowest when I thought about quitting and just being done and you offered help, I took it. Put ego aside, like I don't I can't do it on my own. Like I literally was like, I probably can't do this on my own. Like speaker-1: Yeah. speaker-0: I needed that. So I wanted to thank you for it even that moment. Like that's something that lived with my daughter that she's like, Okay, seeing you do that made me realize it is still okay to ask for help. I'm never too old to accept help. speaker-1: That's really cool. I love that moment and I love hearing that. And as a a new dad of two daughters, ⁓ that's something I will carry on too and remember that ⁓ you know, oftentimes like you you didn't see the impact that had on her at that moment, but what a teaching moment that was for her and for me going on and my daughters. So that's really cool. That's really cool. And as I said, ⁓ I it was a cool moment for me too, 'cause you could see it in your eyes when I asked. You lit up and it was the most you had lit up since being in home stake. And I think it was really cool for myself and your family to see like, ⁓ here's the glimpse of Jared we know. He can do this. speaker-0: Yeah, dude, we just put so much time and effort into it to not finish. You know what I mean? Like Yeah. speaker-1: I get it and you're there, you're halfway. Yeah. It's a mental bur burden to to get over. Well that's really cool. Thank you for sharing that. I love to hear that. speaker-0: Man, what good is it to hold those stories to myself? Like you are a huge part of it, right? And and yeah, and I I think one of the things that I comes to mind from this whole ordeal is too many times we think we can impact the world through something great, right? Like this big event's gonna happen and I'm gonna run over, you know, like like we were talking about a lot of fires and stuff. Okay, maybe I go fight this fire and I save this house. That's my big contribution to society. And yeah, that's important. Or this other big event and I I do this and I I save something. But a lot of times, man, the things that are gonna make the biggest difference in people's lives are so small that we're easy to overlook. speaker-1: Yeah, very true. Very true. Very speaker-0: It when when Taya told me that, I was like, Wow. Like that's powerful that like in her whole mind, her view of me, she'd never see me take help. speaker-1: Yeah. And in that moment. speaker-0: That's exactly what I needed. speaker-1: Yep. What? That's really cool. That's powerful. speaker-0: What ⁓ it's amazing, right? But I don't get that if I don't compete. I don't get that if I don't push myself and and them see ⁓ right, like see you doing those things. What speaker-1: Yeah. You have to get vulnerable. speaker-0: Well, and the best way to get vulnerable is to do hard shit. And do shit that makes you tired. speaker-1: Yep. Yeah, 'cause that'll get you vulnerable quick. speaker-0: Yeah. Well, yeah. What stood out most for you for the the thirty miles we did overnight? speaker-1: What stood out most? ⁓ well, it was a gorgeous night, wasn't it? We had a full moon. ⁓ being up at the lady, that was the first time I've ever been to the lady of the Rockies. ⁓ so there was certainly some selfishness in this. I was stoked to travel that 30 miles of the CDT. ⁓ but the people we came across, everybody was still moving and ⁓ still, you know. Everybody was excited for everybody, giving each other like high praise. Good job. Keep it up. ⁓ that'd probably be my biggest takeaway. It just keeps coming back to the community, you know. Like ⁓ there's the shoe the lady from Alabama who we kept kind of ⁓ Mary Dean. Mary Dean, thank you. I was gonna say she had a double name, ⁓ very southern. ⁓ she was great. She was just chugging along, giving us ⁓ you know. speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-1: Good encouragement and then we'd pass her and then she'd pass us back. So ⁓ I don't know. I just really enjoy all that. ⁓ 'cause you think you're alone out there and then you realize how many people are out doing the same thing you're doing. And it it can be motivating. It was for me. speaker-0: Yeah. Ye yeah, no, I think they're like we were talking I think we talked about this. I is that shared suffering. Yeah. And the bond that comes from it. speaker-1: Exactly. speaker-0: Was there anything you learned about yourself, me, or or just the process out there overnight that that you took away? speaker-1: ⁓ yeah, I I learned we can walk pr a long way. We did we did good. And we can eat a lot too. And ⁓ shout out to you because leaving home steak, you were not things were not selling well. And then when we got to the lady, you were eating every pierogi in sight and you kept asking me, Am I eating enough? And I was like blown away like I can't believe you're eating anything. So yeah, you're crushing it. ⁓ speaker-0: That was an interesting thing. I think Jamie said something to my s my family at home steak that maybe I shouldn't be sitting down when I eat. speaker-1: ⁓ sure. speaker-0: I honestly all the training I had done, like I I'd done all the long runs. I never had stomach issues. And then as soon as I hit Copper Kings, like I think the aid station with you at the lady was one of the only ones that I didn't throw everything back up. speaker-1: Really? Yeah, yeah. And you ate like quesadilla, pierogi, had some coffee at that one. So and yeah, we didn't sit, did we? speaker-0: No, you know what I remember? And I don't know what your take with Lady the Rockies was. I just remember that guy sleeping in the warming room. And nothing against him. Like I don't know what his story was or where he was at in the journey, but I was like, I do not want to be that. No. I do not want to be comfortable and taking a break while everybody else is out here suffering. We gotta go. speaker-1: Exactly. And if I mean, no shade to that guy, but if you're gonna sleep anywhere, y it might as well be at your Airbnb. Not at the Lady of the Rockies. Great view, but that's a l you know, as they were telling us, you gotta stay up here till the morning and then they'll drive you off. So either keep moving forward or ⁓ and I'm glad we did. speaker-0: Dude, I was so proud of that. And that's when we like speaker-1: Should be. You should be very proud of the whole thing. It was amazing. speaker-0: I felt like our mind shifts mindset shifted and we're like, okay, let's move our dot as far as we can before the family wakes up and sees that we're still going. I I will I do gotta remind you, one of my favorite memories, and and I think this is true, but I I was pretty tired, is you always being like, ⁓ I think we're almost to the top. We're about to hit a downhill. Yeah. And then I would look and you were still higher than me on the trail. And I'd be like, What? Bro, you're still higher than me. speaker-1: Still up there. But then remember when it flipped and you were up higher than me and I said, Look, look who's up higher. speaker-0: I do, I do remember that distinctly 'cause we were doing our shuffle by then and you turned the corner like, Look, I'm below you and I was like, ⁓ now we're finally going downhill. speaker-1: Here we go. Yeah. It was a lot of up. It was a lot of up. speaker-0: Yeah, that was ⁓ Yeah, I I don't wanna say I underestimate 'cause I climbed a lot of mountains and I did a shit ton of elevation training for it, but I think the combination of not having much nutrition and the emotions of losing trade just changed like how everything impacted me physically. speaker-1: Yeah, that's totally understandable. Zapped your energy just mentally, emotionally. ⁓ combine that with the not keeping things down at home stake and then having to go twelve miles thirty five hundred feet up. ⁓ that's not easy. So good on you for well, it's hard to you know, something we always talk about is like getting behind the ball in an ultra. Like that's not where you want to be. ⁓ and getting back. speaker-0: ⁓ now yeah speaker-1: in front of it is really hard and you did a really good job of like keeping your mind sharp and staying stubborn quite frankly and saying, I'm not giving up. I'm gonna try to eat. ⁓ they're gonna have to drag me out of here. And you showed that. So good job. You should speaker-0: Thanks, dude. I appreciate that. It was ⁓ there's something else I was gonna say that you that you did that I I thought was just super awesome and ⁓ it'll come back to me. But I was speaker-1: Was it Monday? Was it your mom's birthday? speaker-0: ⁓ maybe. Yeah, that's what it was. When you're like, what is the story gonna be on Monday? And I was like, Man, it's gonna be like we did this thing that we said we were gonna do. Yeah, no, that was a great one to keep us in the moment. speaker-1: Exactly. Yeah. And that was when my buddy Mitch, I have to give my buddy Mitch Collier. He was my crew during crazy, ⁓ my first year. And I got into a little bit of a hole at about mile seventy. And he was like, How do you want to talk about this Monday? Like, stay in the moment now so that you can talk about it the way you would want to on Monday. And that's what we were talking about. ⁓ 'cause you can make your decision now, you can go sit on the couch and as soon as you're sitting there, you're gonna be mad. Yeah, you're like, I know. It's like, all right, so you you said you had your mom's birthday coming up Monday the dinner. And so we used that as motivation of how do you wanna be you wanna be sitting at that dinner sore, right? Going, I gave it everything. And yeah. That seemed to flip your mindset towards towards Nez Pierce. speaker-0: Yeah, no, and that was that was a a pretty cool moment too when they saw us come out of the mountains back to Naz Pierce and like, okay, he's back. Like he's smiling, they're moving, like we can finish this thing. And ⁓ Yeah, dude, like I I don't even know how to explain that. I've played a lot of sports in my life and competing in a lot of different things, but what I love about ultra running is at least my one event, like I'm definitely not an expert, so take it for what it's worth. But my family got to experience all of the things I experienced. They just got to feel ⁓ differently. speaker-1: Totally. Yeah. Absolutely. It was really cool to see your family there and how excited they were for you. And as you said, coming out of like down the road in Nez Pierce and ⁓ I had just been saying to you that I'm the anxious person at aid stations and I tend to run up the road to find my runner and run ⁓ down. And no more than ten seconds after I said that, there's your crew about halfway up the road. coming to run us into the aid station, all cheering and smiling and excited and I think somewhat probably a little maybe not surprised to see us, but equal parts stoked and ⁓ just relieved to see us too, right? It'd been a long speaker-0: Yeah, real long for them. And like they you know, talking to them afterwards, like they were waking up every two hours to check my dot to see where I was and speaker-1: Yeah, that's exhausting too. speaker-0: Well for them like they're like, ⁓ my god, he moved like point two miles. And in their mind, like, did he quit? Is he sleeping? And and like for me, I'm like, dude, this is as fast as I can go right now. Like this is this is max speed. speaker-1: Sure. Yeah. Yeah, we were. And they're like he's out there with some random guy, like hopefully. speaker-0: ⁓ dude, they loved you. Like as soon they were like as soon as Wes offered, we knew you guys were good. speaker-1: Well that's good. I'm I'm glad to to hear that. speaker-0: Yeah. So let me ask you this. What do you I guess what do I want? What habits like I wanna I wanna spin this back to you because I think there were like your character, your calmness, your ability to say the right things and then not to say something. That's a huge leadership characteristic, right? Like sometimes as leaders, we want to say things all the time. Mm-hmm. It's and and what I remember about you at one point is We had a really good talk. I think we're talking leadership and and different things. And then I don't know if you were a shift and be like, We just gotta make some ground right now, but you went further out in front of me so we really couldn't talk. Mm-hmm. And then I was like, Okay, I just gotta keep up with them. Like now's not story time, it's like get our asses moving. And I think that's such a good leadership principle. Is that sometimes as a leader, you need to give the people space. speaker-1: Certainly. speaker-0: Was that co did you consciously do that? speaker-1: ⁓ I think I subconsciously did that. You know, I I think that we had had a lot of good conversations. ⁓ if I remember correctly, that was kind of like in the gray light, like early morning light when the sun was coming back up. And from my experiences, and I'm definitely no expert at ultras either, for what it's worth. I've only done a handful, but my from remembering my experiences, the s the sun coming up kinda gave me another jolt and I was trying to utilize that as ⁓ trying to capitalize on that, if you will. ⁓ but to your point, I do think consciously I knew To some effect. I had crewed my little sister like two weeks before, and I had used the same tactic. And now I will say and admit it's a lot easier to use that tactic on someone you know. Yeah. Because I know my little sister is just gonna be like, ⁓ okay, trying to keep up with big brother, you know. Someone like you, I was like, I hope I'm not being rude, but I could see it was working. And so you just kept adding to it. And ⁓ yeah, I don't think I like. speaker-0: Right. speaker-1: Consciously was like, we're not gonna talk in this point, but it was like, let's put the nose to the grindstone and ⁓ get some of this done. And we just ebb and flow, right? Like put our nose down and then we'd both kind of be ⁓ we're going back up and uphill. Let's chat it out a little bit. And then downhill, let's get some space going, you know? So I think it's all rolled coaster. ⁓ speaker-0: was so fun though. Like honestly when I look back now I have the first two sections with Trey were super memorable because we were doing exactly what we thought we'd do. And then that time with you being like, that's some of the hardest stuff ever. And we did it and we did it like gracefully and courageously and compassionately. speaker-1: Mm-hmm. speaker-0: Which I think is such a good microcosm for life is like when life throws things at you and you get to choose how you respond, you can respond just like we did. speaker-1: Mm-hmm. Yeah. speaker-0: especially in a world that wants to be so divided and we have all this negativity coming at us, we can still stop and go, Wait, I can show up for a perfectly good stranger And it might change their life. speaker-1: Totally. And mine and your you know, like and yours. I think that's the cool part. ⁓ made a friend for life now and with your family, you know, like ⁓ but yeah, I I love that point. And and from our aspect to it was, you know, I know how much time and effort you've put into this. We're not gonna, you know, ⁓ I will say and I'll speak for our aid station captains. We don't want people quitting at our aid stations. And if that means I take off with you through the night to get you to where you need to be, then that's just part of being at the aid station and part of like what I had signed up for. And ⁓ you know, having a little bit of rapport with you certainly helped, but ⁓ I I would say that most any volunteer at any aid station would go to those lengths too if need be. So That's just the beautiful part of it. speaker-0: And you you were at the one where I don't know what the statistics were, but I'm assuming that's the place most people would drop if they're gonna drop. speaker-1: Yeah, exactly. And so we had that on my in mind because it's forty six miles. It's right before halfway. A lot of people are leaving right before the night. You can't drop at the lady. You gotta make it 30 miles. But if you do, you're gonna finish, more than likely. And so we're really trying to get that into people's heads. And ⁓ I yeah, I was ⁓ you know, selfishly I was stoked to join you on your adventure and your journey and be able to be a a small microcosm in that. was really cool and ⁓ help you get to the finish line was, you know, equal parts ⁓ fulfilling for myself as it was for you, I'm sure. speaker-0: Yeah, dude, it was ⁓ yeah, it w it was a thing for sure, man. And like I think like you had said something before too, is like you knew I had pacers for the last three sections. And they had all trained to run those sections with me and and I remember somewhere along the night you're like, Hey, let's get there. You got more people running with you and they sacrificed to run with you. speaker-1: Yeah. Exactly. We were talking about sister put a lot of training into, which is awesome and like speaker-0: Yeah. So like I can't quit then she never even gets to try. speaker-1: Right, right. And so to bring it back, that's where I would call it a sport. Like almost team sport, right? Like it took a team of people to get you to through the hundred miles. And I think that's the cool part, is that in that moment you were thinking beyond yourself and like I gotta get me to my sister so we do this together. And that was big for you, big for her. And I know it was big for Jamie and I to see. wa watching driving home. Yeah. Jill and Jared, they're together and they're running and let's go. Like we did we did our part and that thrilled us. And I know it I'm sure it thrilled your sister to see you coming around the corner and it was her turn. speaker-0: What I mean, we just don't get moments like that in life in w wes, you know what I mean? And I think that's the thing I love about running that I've found is it requires you to be present in the moment. Right, like I when I get up, if I have to do a a a 30 mile training run, it's a long day. Well, I can't just start at mile thirty. I have to enjoy the first few steps and mile one and then mile two, right? And eventually I get there, but if I don't enjoying it speaker-1: Mm-hmm. speaker-0: And I'm not present. It's a disservice, right? Like I I'm just not it's the odds of me finishing and aren't very good. speaker-1: Totally. You have to mentally be able to wrap your mind around pretty much every mile in there. speaker-0: And what I love is it's the same for life. Right? If I get to talk to you and I'm having a conversation with you, but my mind's head, I'm just wanting to get this conversation done so I can go check two more emails, take the trash out. Well, I'm not going to make the most of our time together. speaker-1: Mm-hmm. speaker-0: But if I'm intentional and I realize all that other shit's gonna still be there. But this is the only time this version of Wes and I get to interact today, I want all my attention here. speaker-1: Yeah. Yeah. It's very similar in that aspect. I do like that. speaker-0: And we get out there, dude, and I never I so for that hundred miles I never listened to music. I never turned my phone on. And I think that's maybe why for me it was such an intense spiritual journey is because I never distracted from any like the physical pain, the emotional pain, the the climbing, the de like all of it was right there. speaker-1: Yeah. Yeah, you're feeling all of it. speaker-0: Yeah. Sometimes I'm like maybe I should have turned on some music. speaker-1: Very fair. Or a podcast or something just to make the time go by. speaker-0: Yeah. Let me ask you this, Wes. What do you hope people understand, trail running or not, because we have a big community? What do you hope people understand about just making the decision to help someone through a hard moment? speaker-1: Yeah, I think I I think just ⁓ like trying like staying in the moment but also trying to look ahead of like what that decision could lead to for all those affected. I I'm trying to relate it to like our experience. Like ⁓ it would have been a lot easier for me to to not offer and help my wife do those things, but you know That's what what we were talking about in that decision was like, well, what if we do make this decision and like downstream, how will this affect Jared and our s like, will this actually affect us or Jared? ⁓ and we decided that this is something that in the moment won't really affect us. Jamie can handle CC. ⁓ she was confident in that, but this will greatly affect Jared and his family going forward. ⁓ and so that was the decision we made. ⁓ and I think Like for myself, it was a great learning of like that's what I need to do more in life, right? Like the hard decision oftentimes is the right decision. but we still had to talk it through, ⁓ kind of lay everything out and ensure that that was the right decision to do. So I don't know if I said that really elegantly, but just trying to look around the corner, right? Of like what what your decision making could or could not impact and how ⁓ you go along with that. speaker-0: Yeah, I think that's important. I think you said it very well. And I think it's sometimes when people are at that low point and they're in the midst, they can't see the sunrise is coming. Exactly. So by offering you have a different perspective because you know, okay, we this is dark here, but we can get through it. When we do, what is the likely outcome? speaker-1: Exactly. And to like I think you said that really well 'cause quite literally we were like, Jared is in the dark, he's going into the dark and we just need to pull him out to the daylight and we know he can do this. ⁓ And I think for Jamie and I, like we are not ex you know, super experienced by any means, but we've been there before and we knew what you needed. And so we just both knew in the moment like we could step up and help where We're in the situation where we could, right? Yeah. ⁓ and so because we can, we should. And that was the decision basically. So again, she's the MVP because I was selfishly like, I'll go around with them, hell yeah. But I know what that means too. And she was like, ⁓ go for it. Get ⁓ get ⁓ over there. Get ⁓ to Nes Pierce. ⁓ and yeah. So speaker-0: No, dude, Wes, I can't thank you enough for your time out there and your conversations and your energy and I feel like I'm forever grateful to you, my friend. speaker-1: No need, man. I the feeling is mutual. So it was ⁓ just as moving for me as it it was for you. I appreciate you letting me join in on it because I know it was a day for you and your son. so just being able to step in and ⁓ try to help get you through. ⁓ I appreciate you like like your daughter said, Thanks for letting me help because it would be easy. Would have been a lot easier for you to say, No, I think I'm good. speaker-0: Dude, I I'm not I'm not gonna Yeah. I'm not gonna lie, I probably lived a lot of my life saying I was good when I should have took help. speaker-1: Haven't we all? And that's something I'm gonna keep trying to remember. speaker-0: Yeah, well without you I wouldn't have had this fancy thing, I'll tell you that. Sure. Yeah. So my wife's like, What are you gonna do with belt buckles? I'm like, Fuck, I don't know. I don't know, dude. I feel like if I wear it, people are gonna look at it and they're gonna think I'm some kind of rodeo cowboy, that might be in a bunch of fist fights. speaker-1: Look at that. Yeah. Yeah, well you don't want to be in those, but you can just say, see, hundred miles, I ran that. speaker-0: Yeah. Well, I gotta be honest with you, Wes, I think I can run it way faster. I think I mentally broke losing Trey and allowed myself to h not run places I should have been running. speaker-1: Yeah, I think that's very fair. And I like that. Sure. But again, man, I think like it's so heavy in the moment. Forty six miles. Your buddy's gone down. You don't know the state of which he's in either. I'm sure you were like semi worried about your son. so there's a lot of mental burden there. You're trying to like pallet going into the night alone, another thirty miles. I get it. It's a lot stacking up on you. And so, ⁓ again, I I speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-1: We s I saw myself as a pressure relief valve, if you will, and just wanted to insert it. So ⁓ speaker-0: Yeah, you did great. speaker-1: Hard part. We just I just gotta talk and walk, so speaker-0: And lie to me and lie to me. We were almost done with the uphills. speaker-1: Done. Almost done. And then I'd like look at my onyx and be like. ⁓ speaker-0: I think there was one moment where you're like, Do you want me to keep telling you what's coming? I was like, No, dude, we just gotta do it anyhow. speaker-1: I was like, Do you want the stats? And you're like, No. And I was like, Good call. speaker-0: Wes, thanks so much again for your time at Copper Kings. Thanks for following up and coming on the show and sharing your story. I can't wait to see when we cross paths again and and maybe I can repay you somehow. speaker-1: ⁓ never need to. It was a pleasure. We were so honored to be a part of your journey. ⁓ it was so cool. It was a pleasure meeting your family and getting to hang out with them. They were wonderful. ⁓ so cool to see the support you do have too from them. ⁓ that's unbelievably awesome. Love that they all traveled up there for it. ⁓ that was motivation for my wife and I too. Just like we love the family aspect, so Yeah, thank you so much for letting us be a part of your journey and congratulations. Way to persevere. Wasn't easy. So speaker-0: Yeah, thanks Wes. It's been an honor having you on the show, my friend. speaker-1: Yeah, thank you for letting me chat with you a little bit on here. speaker-0: Hey everybody, it's Jared Hardy here. If the On-Purpose podcast has sparked something in you, maybe a shift, a question, or a deeper dive, my excellence and leadership course is built to help you act upon it. This isn't just about leading others. It's about leading yourself with intention, resilience, and clarity. Whether you're an individual chasing growth or a team ready to level up, I offer custom coaching and speaking engagements to meet you where you are. Visit teamhardy.net and let's grow with purpose. And remember team, life is far too short to live any other way than on purpose. We'll see you all again next week.