Latest / The On Purpose Podcast / Ep. 342 - John Calabrese
Transcript
- speaker-0: You are listening to the On Purpose Podcast. There's a moment in every man's life, especially for veterans, first responders, and men called to lead when the uniform comes off, but the mission doesn't end. Too many try to navigate that transition alone without structure, accountability, or brotherhood. That's why I'm proud to partner with Mission's Purpose, a community built for men who refuse to drift. Inside the school platform, You get live calls, challenges, frameworks, and disciplined brotherhood that pushes you to rebuild purpose, direction, and daily structure. If you're ready for the next chapter of your mission, click the link in the show notes to join us inside the Missions Purpose Community on School. You were never meant to walk this road alone. What's up, everybody? Welcome back to the On Purpose Podcast, where you know it's our mission to put a smile on your face, get you thinking, maybe get you moving. or even get you challenged in a little bit of what you're telling yourself. And this week I'm super excited to bring on somebody that has built a unique space in the running world. On social media you may know him as Breezy Trailhead, but offline he's John Calabrese, ultra runner, dad, caregiver, Navy veteran, and what I love most, storytelling. You know I love good stories. And what I find with John that really intrigued me to bring him on here is his honesty. the funniness that he brings his humor and his willingness to share parts of the journey that sometimes we try to hide, right? Not always the wins, but some of the DNFs that did not finish is the life transitions that have made him a voice people trust. And he reminds us that movement, struggle and community are all universal. So John, my friend, welcome to the On Purpose Podcast. speaker-1: Good to be here. Thank you for that. Wow. Don't get my head that big, Keep it easy. speaker-0: No, come on Breezy Challenge. You know what you're doing out there. Dude, I researched you and one thing, here's what I wanted to just compliment you to start with. Thank you for sharing your story, dude. And thank you for not waiting till you had the perfect story to share it, right? Like, researching, was like, man, this dude's been telling his story for a while. This is super easy to find out. What I loved was it was always very authentic. And I didn't hear the same story from show to show or episode because you're growing and you're sharing your truth. which is what is so powerful and what we need more of. And I always stress that to my community to understand is you don't have to be perfect. You don't have to be undefeated to share a story that resonates with people. And John, I want to thank you so much for being, just being you dude and for doing what you're doing. speaker-1: I appreciate that, man. I'm yeah, I'm a mess. I'll tell you straight up, but you know what? It's a, process, you know, and you just keep growing. speaker-0: Dude, who isn't a mess? Like, which of us is not? Like, when we look at life, like, who's like, ⁓ dude, I got this whole game figured out. speaker-1: Well, yeah, I try to be upfront man because yeah, there's a lot of people out there struggling and you know if they can see me do stuff on the running community then there's hope for anybody. You got it. You got this. You all got this. speaker-0: Yeah, no, that's what I always tell people too. I'm not the brightest dude in the world. So if I can do anything, then you definitely could probably do it. speaker-1: Yeah, absolutely. speaker-0: All right, John, before we get into the long run here, before we hit that trail, because I'm out in Arizona right now, I got Mount Lemmon out my window. I'm chomping to bit to go run this trail, but I got to warm you up. We can't be blowing hammies and stuff going hard right off the bat. speaker-1: Yeah, let's do it. Yeah, yeah, let's go. speaker-0: You ready for your warm up? All here we go, John. What's something you've learned about yourself lately? speaker-1: Oof. ⁓ not to be cocky. You don't have this. You don't have life figured out once you, whenever, whenever I think that, yeah, there's something really bad about that. So just, ⁓ you know, be, humble, always stay humble. ⁓ I constantly have to remind myself that it things, but also, mean, it's, it life's crazy, man. Like sometimes I'll be like, I'll be questioning stuff. Like, is this getting too good? Is something bad about to happen? I mean, I think you have to like live the moment too, but it's, ⁓ you know, it's tough. It's a fine line. You can't be too cocky. can't be super humble. You know, I try to be simple as I can and you know, just, um, you know, just not, not be overly cocky, but it's a fine line with running. You get hyped up after doing like a hundred mile or, know, like, Oh, I can do anything that, ah, then like, you know, blow out your achilles or something. You know, I just, try to, you know, I just try to be cool, man. I try to, you know, treat everyone with, with like love and respect and, know, not getting my head too big. See you were pumping me up earlier. Don't do that. Don't you, can add that a little bit, but don't pump me up too much, man. Cause that's, gets me in the truck. It gets me into trouble, speaker-0: Yeah, we can give you some Kendrick Lamar, some stay humble and get you right back down where I need you, bro. Come on. speaker-1: Everyone needs that, everyone needs that man. You can't get too big. speaker-0: Dude, I resonate so much with that, because I can tell you through my life, when I've gotten too big for my shoes, I'm like, dude, I'm like on top of the world. It's usually the prelude to something dumb happening that I caused myself because I didn't stay grounded. speaker-1: I'm I'm amazing as many races I do. am like a master at shooting myself in the foot. like everyone out there. Yeah, it's not that bad. It's really not that bad. Whatever you're going through. I've probably done worse and I'm probably going to do worse throughout my life. there's that. speaker-0: Alright, what's a small habit or a ritual that you've been doing that's been giving you energy lately? speaker-1: ⁓ sleep. I'm trying to sleep. ⁓ so like, I went through a long period, like after COVID, I stopped going to the gym. stopped doing like anything like, you know, cross training, stretching any of that stuff. ⁓ I got hurt last year. So like now the gym's my ritual, basically like, you know, as much as I like to run, I know the gym takes up time and precious time that you don't want to be doing that stuff. It's the, you know, As repetitive and everything is running is the gym is way more repetitive, you know, doing the same stuff every day, you know, the same machine, stuff like that. But yeah, it's really helped me out. It's gotten me stronger. It's gotten me more durable, you know, stretching, ⁓ working out PT. I can't stand that stuff, but it's helped me out. So it's kind of like, you know, it's kind of like super power that I've been able to do that and stay healthy, ⁓ lately, but yeah, that's been my ritual trying to Sleep's a harder thing. I'm working on it, but, Yeah, mainly just the PT, the gym work. I like that stuff. And I mean, I'm not your typical gym guy, because like it's ultra running so funny. like what's like, you know, if you, if you take a shit from like a gym person, you guys, the runner, I feel like it logs, you tell them you run altars or something. They're just like, Oh, like Goggins. like, yeah, like that guy. And then they're like, Oh, okay. And then they're like, that's the crazy guy. Like then you'll be going to the gym. People like, that's that crazy guy that does the ultras. speaker-0: Yeah, you quickly get stereotyped. speaker-1: Oh, it's fine. mean, like, you know, I feel like when I was like, this goes back to ever since I was like a kid, I was like a really skinny scrawny kid. Just like, you know, I wanted to play football and stuff like that, but I was too little. So like, I was always scared to go to the gym because I get like beat up or whatever. And like, yeah, I've always had, I've always had that like in the back of my head, like, Oh, they're going to give me a wedgie. Here we go. Like ultra running has helped me overcome this because now there's like respect. like, yeah, they're like, Oh, he's a made man. speaker-0: That's funny. All right, John, who's someone in your life right now that's been influencing you or inspiring you? speaker-1: Oh, wow. So like, like the, the, the, the old heads in the ready community. I like, just, um, like people would generally just like with, um, you know, decades are running. I, you know, I just, I always look to them to see what they do to keep, keep staying running. Um, you know, guys like, you know, so I signed up for a race where that has a lot of veteran runners from like ball state and stuff like that. Tim Hardy, he was like, I think in like the original bad or not bad water, a Barkley documentary as a sacrifice guys like that. They have been around for decades. Um, Yeah, try. mean, also I try to replicate what they do because they, they're adventurers and they've got it. They've got it down, you know? So I try to look to them for, ⁓ guidance and, know, kind of like cool stuff to do for the race schedule. speaker-0: Yeah, that's awesome to hear because I think the ultra running world is moving so fast towards influencers and things popping up that sometimes we forget to slow down. What were these guys doing that didn't know about hydration and didn't carry water and were running in non-fancy shoes? speaker-1: That's my favorite. like, like, honestly, like running has gotten so like, how could, what's even the word? It's like fashion and stuff now. And like, I like the dudes that were at cotton shirts and like, have like the water bottles duct tape to their hands. And like, I'm, ⁓ so, think I'm so just like, I, I want running to go back to like, I think I'm just going to try to do stuff like that moving forward, like we're cotton shirts and stuff like that. Try to inspire people to go back. speaker-0: Yeah, that doesn't have to be an expensive hobby, right? That's why most of us started is you just grab a pair of shoes and go and you can go do it everywhere speaker-1: Well, I think for adults too, like for me, I've never been that coordinated. I'm not that good at team sports. You know, it's, hard to like, well, like I'm going to go play baseball today, blah, blah. And you can't do that. You know, it's to find people to go play baseball with their stuff like that. So, ⁓ running is easy for adults to do just to do whenever. And, ⁓ yeah, it's always worked for me. I know some people don't like running, but for me, it's so accessible and it, it, it's not an inexpensive sport anymore. You know, bibs are expensive. Shoes are expensive. Everything's expensive, but, for me it's still the easiest sport to do that I like the most. So I'm stuck. got nothing else man. can't play rugby. I'm too little. I've thought about playing these other sports man, but I just, don't qualify. It's just running only. I'm stuck with this shit. got it. speaker-0: What about pickleball, dude? consider that? Come on, bro. You're not gonna try pickleball? speaker-1: No. If I'm gonna play, okay, all right, not to talk trash or pick a ball, but if I was gonna play that, I would just play tennis. But again, I'm not coordinated. I stink at those quick movements and stuff. I'll probably blow out something like that in my legs. yeah, I don't know how to cut like that, move around side to side. I can't do that. speaker-0: except muscle movements for sure. speaker-1: Yeah, I'll die. So I have to keep running. speaker-0: I can't have you dying on me, John. We need you, All what about this? What's, when you think about the season you're in and life, what's a phrase or a word that you would use to describe it? speaker-1: ⁓ wow, ugh man. ⁓ Growing. mean, like I'm constantly growing, uh, even though I'm 46. I mean, I, know, I'm like, I'm probably one of the youngest 46 year olds out there because like I, right after high school, joined the Navy, which wasn't like, you know, it, um, it was a weird time. It was like right after it was so it was right before nine 11, you know, Navy, you know, military all across the board changed completely after that event. And, um, yeah, I mean, I don't think, uh, I think just if I would, I tried going to college before the Navy also. And I mean, like, it just didn't work. So then I went to the Navy. It was kind of, um, you know, it was a, it was a good experience. It was tough, but like, think like that traumatic event being in there during that time was just, you know, I never shook that. And there's probably all kinds of unchecked stuff that I should be talking to a therapist about. know, I think that we, we swipe a lot of stuff underneath the rug, like from, um, you know, that, that kind of, cause like, I mean, like, you know, we go through COVID, we go through all this stuff like that. I mean, like. That was so quick, you know, with 9 11, how that happened. then like, you know, um, you know, just having to go to see and like all the stuff that we had to do after that. I, I only there's times like just now I started thinking about that stuff now. So it's crazy. I think that I have a lot of, a lot more growth to do. Like I, I still have stuff from my past. need to think on talk to somebody about, but it's hard, man. think that we dig that stuff so deep while it's happening, especially like stuff in your twenties like that, you know, I mean like I was so young when that happened. that was like the Navy was like one of my first real jobs. And like for that to happen during that, that was like, like wild. But, um, I, you know, I feel like I'm just, you know, again, I I'm proud that I'm starting to talk about it more, but at the time I was just like, I'm going to do anything to address the situation happening right now. I'm just going to drink. I'm just going to do whatever. Um, I know I'm throwing a lot of stuff out there, but yeah, like my twenties were like a really crazy time. I think like now it was just kind of like, I'm actually growing now. It just kind of, you know, getting past a lot of the stuff from my past. speaker-0: No, I don't think it's thrown out too much at all. think your word is grow. And I think, you know, which is awesome because I think sometimes to grow, we got to look back and realize like, what are things that we're carrying with us that no longer serve us that are holding us back from actually being able to grow. So I don't think there's anything crazy about that. Oh, I think it's natural. But I also like ponder this a lot because, you I think almost everybody you talk to, if they're really reflective and self-aware would say the person they are in their twenties. is not who they are in their 40s or 50s. Right? And a lot of that is like we just don't have the experience to know what we don't know. And you're everybody's competing and jockeying for this position in life that you miss out on a lot of learning opportunities or you're like you're saying you have to suppress a lot of stuff because you're just you're just you don't even know what you don't know yet. So there's not like, you I think you almost have to go through it and then get to this stage of life where you can reflect back and go, man, what an idiot I was there. speaker-1: Yeah. mean, part of me thinks that's why I like writing how many like, ⁓ races I do and like the distances I do. Cause I, yeah, I think a lot about that stuff and it's taken me like a lot of races and this being by myself, just thinking a lot to even like, again, really like really get to the point where I want to like think about that and explore that stuff again, to like talk to other veterans about it. Cause like, I had such a crazy experience in the military. Like I didn't like bright when I got, I didn't talk to the VA, didn't talk to anybody. I was like, I'm done. I'm good. You know, like I was just, it was, it was just a wild time. And I mean, ⁓ Yeah. I like running with other veterans too. Like I think that's one of the things that's helped. But, um, I mean, I've ran with a lot of Marines, a lot of Navy people, army, all branches. And you know, after like what, seven, eight years of running, I'm just now like, start starting to want to talk about it. So it takes time, man. It takes a lot of growing in time and thinking about it. speaker-0: If you're a business owner who feels like you're doing everything yourself, this is for you. Our friend, Dr. Elise Rigney, who we trust and have learned from personally over the years, put together a free 25 minute training on how she runs multiple businesses with a virtual team that works even while she sleeps. It's the exact three step framework she's used to stop being the highest paid administrative assistant in her own company and actually step into the CEO role. If you're tired of juggling emails, scheduling customer service, and a little task that drain your energy, this training will show you how to build a team that handles it for you. It's free, it's practical, and it's waiting for you. Grab your spot through the link in the show notes and start getting your time back. So let's talk about that, John. You seem pretty warmed up to me, my man. You're ready to go, like you said. let's hop into that. When did running become from something that you just did to like, part of what you need to do and part of who you are. speaker-1: ⁓ basically I was going through a divorce and, was, it was pretty rough. And, I, in the back of my, my mind, wanted to run cause like the military makes you run and stuff like that. But, I liked running, I liked running in school and stuff, but it wasn't something I liked to do. How can I explain this? So it, you know, running you, it's like a punishment, but it's something you kind of like, but you don't want to admit you like it. And it takes a lot, you know, just like wanting to talk about the stuff in the military. It took a long time for me to actually admit to myself that I liked running. And I think just also once I became an adult, I w I just realized this is the only sport I can do left. You know, like everything else is hard to do as an adult. You can't just pick it up whenever. Again, you can't go outside and be like, I want to play baseball today. Oh wait, there's nobody around. can't play baseball. So like, yeah, I just, um, I just, you know, I'd been running like five Ks with family on like holidays and stuff and like local races, just not like, you know, just messing around and stuff like that. And, You know, during the, like the darkest days of my divorce, I, ⁓ signed up for a marathon with a couple months to train and it was awesome. But then when it was over, I got sad. I was like, ⁓ man. like, ⁓ start signing up for races and just doing them. Like, you know, I just kept up in the ante and then I found the greatest drug ultra running and I just got to jump into that full on and I haven't, I haven't left, man. I'm still there. speaker-0: And that's been eight years now. speaker-1: Uh, I started running, uh, was 20, 2017 really. Like that's when I started, that's what my first marathon. So I'm getting up there. speaker-0: And what was that like for you? What was that like? Hitting Sarah, you know signing up and being like man. actually committed to this and holding yourself accountable speaker-1: So I've talked about this before, Like I don't know. I wish I had, I mean, I'm motivated. I'm a highly motivated person now, but like the stuff, like just the stuff I was going through during the divorce, like I, um, that was, I was more motivated then than now. Like I just, like, it's a start training like that out of nowhere that like, I'm still impressed with myself. Like I'm really like proud of myself for being able to do that. And like, you know, I, I think with myself, I get lost and I don't admit that enough. should be like really a lot more proud of myself that I was able to do that than I am. Uh, like that's probably the biggest one ever. that, you know, races doesn't matter about podiums or like racing at all. Like how many races you've done, but just the fact that you can like, Go from like a sedentary lifestyle to being able to train for a marathon. That's awesome. Like when I see people do that, that, that, still fires me up. Like that fires me up more than like any influencer or like any, like, uh, You know, movie or like sports movie or doc or whatever, like just a regular person that has some shit going on. That's able to start training for a marathon. mean, yeah, that's probably as good as it gets in life. speaker-0: Yeah, I love that. I think that's so true. So share with us if you would. If you can remember back then, John, what were you afraid of and how did you overcome making that first step? Because I think so many times we know what we want to do. We know it's out there, but we just get so afraid of that first step. How did you get through yours? speaker-1: So mine was a process. think it started like, ⁓ I'd started to true. Like I would train just to like run like here and there. ⁓ but you know, was addicted to alcohol and cigarettes and stuff like that. And like, would just, ⁓ you know, I wasn't serious with it because of the, you know, that stuff just, ⁓ wanting to go out and party once I was able to stop doing those. It took, I mean, it took time and then it took an, it took, you know, a really depressing act to happen divorce, which, you know, nobody wants to go through that. And, know, just like, think. That was like the final straws. It's like, okay, I need to start taking care of myself. I need to, I need something for me that's going to make me happy. That's going to keep me in shape and, know, give me purpose. You know, speaker-0: And so what was the first thing you did? Like how far did you start running when you're like, okay, I'm going to do a marathon, but I got practice today. How far were you able to go that first run? speaker-1: So this is like the best training ever. I live in like a rural area and there's just long stretches of gravel road that go like forever. So like I just, yeah, I would do like, I think the way I had it, I'd had, I had days where I did like six miles, uh, 10 miles, 14 and just kind of like alternate stuff like that. And like, I was just running like that with like no real training or anything. It was awesome. I didn't have a watch that was that. And that's what makes me want to go back to like some of these old like When I see like the old schoolers and stuff like that with the cotton on stuff like that. mean, like, I wish I could get to a point where I could just do that again, like just run without a watch. It just like, you know, I kind of know the distances. Yeah. Who cares about pace? Just to be able to run and just like unpack stuff. ⁓ I don't listen to music a lot now, but back then I would listen to like a lot of heavy metal music and just like, would want to like, ⁓ just revisit a lot of different music that, know, either I hadn't listened to for a while or bands I haven't heard of. ⁓ so it was a cool thing to do that. I don't, again, I don't listen to music now. I, there's so much I think about now. I think, ⁓ music kind of. It's kind of like a distraction now for me, but, ⁓ I'd loved it at first. It was something that really helped get me started just listening to a bunch of music, like real intense, heavy metal music. And, ⁓ yeah, I just kind of got carried away with it and, ⁓ it was fun. It was awesome. Like I said, like. Once it, once the marathon was over, I just felt even during the marathon, I felt sad. was like, do I do another one now? Or like what happens? Cause like after all that work, you can't just stop. feel like you can't just stop. speaker-0: Right. Yeah. No, that's there's a letdown after a big event you train for, for sure. Let me ask you this. What do you what did you find out there running that gives you back what you can't find anywhere else in your life? speaker-1: So I've never like really gotten to like meditation and stuff like that. It's like, you know, I feel like I'm too stressed out during the day to want to be able to do that. Or people are like constantly like asking me stuff or whatever. ⁓ so like, it's hard for me to do that, but if I'm by myself, like in the middle of the woods or like on just like a road with nobody, you know, like, you know, just a long road or something. I just am able to just, ⁓ just find relaxation and I couldn't find that in other aspects of life. like, I think that's for me. That's the only thing I've ever been able to find that really makes me able to like focus and think things out and just, you know, just being away from everybody and just on my own, just relaxing out there doing a long. speaker-0: Man, that quiet time with yourself is so rejuvenating. speaker-1: Yeah. I mean, I feel like, I feel like there's a lot of adults that just don't have, they don't know that and they don't have that and they don't, they don't have like a way to be able to process that. And like for me, again, I meditation looks cool when I see people do it, like the breathing and everything. And I've gotten more into it, I guess, like just at least the concepts of it, but it's hard for me to fathom being able to do that before like I speak or something like that, you know, just, or any, any kind of like stressful situation, you know, I'd rather go for a run. I feel like that calms me down more than anything. speaker-0: So let me ask you this, John, when did you decide you were going to start sharing your running journey and some of the thoughts that you come up with when you were running? When did you say, OK, you know what? I'm going to share this and see what happens. speaker-1: So basically, during COVID, this guy, he asked me to share some stuff about myself. He wrote about me for Weeviews. basically, his name's Evan. He wrote about me for that during COVID, because I was doing crazy miles during COVID. I was so mad during COVID, because I was signed up for like, I was probably in one of the best, I was in like, I don't know. I'm probably in the best shape of my life right now, but at the time I was in the best shape of my life and I really wanted to like, you know, get a really fast marathon. And, ⁓ they canceled this race right before, like a few days before that I'd been training really hard for it. So I just kind of was like, you know, screw everybody. I'm just going to run. So I started doing all this virtual challenges during a COVID like the great virtual race across Tennessee. And, ⁓ I was just like doing random shit, like running like a marathon around a field. Yeah, it was, it was awesome. then it was, was COVID sucked, but at the same time, like I got to hang out with daughter, the most I ever have in my life. I ran the most I ever have in my life. think I got like five, like over 5,000 miles that year in 2020. And like Evan saw that he was just like, he wrote about me. And after that, a combination of me just reaching out to podcasts, but then like other podcasts, you know, well, actually, know, a couple reached out to me, I guess, either from seeing that or saw like what I did on Strava and stuff like that. ⁓ And then it just kind of went from there. I love talk. I love podcasts. love doing podcasts as much, almost as much as racing. It's just fun to talk to people and, know, just, ⁓ share my story and it helps me get some of this stuff out too. Cause I don't like, you know, it's hard to, for me, I feel like podcasts are almost, it's almost like a therapy session. It's hard for me to get some of this stuff out normally, but in this situation like this, I feel like I can talk and get, know, if my story helps others awesome, you know, like they can help, it might help somebody become a runner and be able to. You know, have a outlet to be able to relax and find peace like running did for me. speaker-0: Was there a moment when you're like, okay, people are actually listening to this and people are actually following what I'm doing? I don't want to say responsibility, I am making a difference if I keep sharing this. speaker-1: I mean, yeah. Uh, I think like, um, so I think a lot of, you know, being a caregiver with Donald, you know, I, so I, I'm not a caregiver with Donald right now, just cause you know, like I felt a lot of stuff going on with my daughter and things like that. Like being a caregiver is hard, like, especially if you have a young kid, but, I think a lot of, a lot of my motivation when, when I was a caregiver with Donald was just, um, trying to help people become caregivers and, know, just also talking about how important being a caregiver is, you know, at the time. then, you know, the running comes in with that, cause I met Donald at a race. like, you know, ⁓ basically, ⁓ I think a lot of my story, you know, revolved around at the time was just like, you know, promoting caregiving and I still do stuff with Ainsley's angels. You know, I still push, ⁓ them at a lot of races and stuff like that. And, I have a great time with Ainsley's angels, but yeah, I think, ⁓ think basically just like, uh, the most I've really, um, the I'm all over the place. Let me back check. like, um, yeah, I think the most important time, like just, you know, since I've been on like social media was just working with Ainsley's angels and, uh, being a caregiver and, yeah, I think that's more important to me than running. mean, right. Don't get me wrong. Running is very important also, but I think just running helped me find that whole community. which helps me feel really good about myself, helping others. it opened the door to something more important in life. Just, again, helping people that can't run and just being able to experience the stuff that's helped me out so much. Does that make sense? That was a lot of yeah, that was a lot of like. speaker-0: Share with us, do you mind sharing with us a story like briefly about your caregiving with Don so that the community understands the background there. speaker-1: Yeah. So I was doing a half marathon and I see this really happy guy in a racing wheelchair. I'm like, what's he doing? Like I saw his dad, Michael, they're, they're about to like, you he was about to push him on this run. And I, I'd never seen this before on a race. So I was just like, okay. So like, tried to keep up with them and they spoke the race. got, think under an hour and a half. So like, saw them do it. I was like, so moved. I was like, you guys are awesome. So like, I reached out to him on like social media and stuff. I was like, I don't know you guys, but I love you. You guys are great. And like, Yeah. Like that, they, ⁓ I, you know, like they, they, saw them in a magazine after that, like a, magazine, like where, they live in Manassas and I read it and it's, and, the magazine was talking about how they work with Ainsley's angels. So like I reached out to them and started, you know, pushing at events with Ainsley's angels. And, ⁓ yeah, I, I've done every distance with them. ⁓ you know, from like a mile to, just, I just did a 50 K, ⁓ last year I did the Taco Bell 50 K. with my friend Catherine and it was hilarious. I mean like we had, so the DC Taco bell, you go to nine different Taco bells from Alexandria, you know, all the way to DC and back down. It was, it was hilarious. We were just like dying laughing the whole time. Cause like you have to eat, you have to eat Taco bell. Like every stop you have to eat like your burritos and stuff. And like people were getting sick or like even funnier like, so I don't advocate drinking. I don't like drinking. I don't do it. quit, but like, I didn't know this, but like some of the Taco bell is like the canteen is they actually serve alcohol. So like, In the midst of a Taco Bell 50k, there's there's dudes drinking it. I just thought it was so funny like I all around it was if you ever have an opportunity to a Taco Bell 50k definitely do it. They're popping up all over the place. There's one I think next week in a Knoxville. They have one there's one there's they're popping up all over. They're hilarious. Definitely do it. speaker-0: John, I don't think I would follow your advice on that one, my friend. Like I'm trying to train my gut to take these gels and stuff for a hundred miles. I'm like, dude, Taco Bell reverse engineer all of it. speaker-1: It sounds horrible. It sounds terrible, but dude, it is so funny, especially if you go with like a group of friends. like with, with us, we had, ⁓ Catherine and we had Mikey are two, are two, ⁓ are two writers. So like we made, ⁓ basically duo teams around those two, you know, to help push them to the end. And we had like, I think five, a team, we had like five people in our group. And like, if you go with like a group of people like that, it's just so funny. ⁓ and we had a support person. Mikey's mom drove around with us to every Taco Bell. she helped us out, you know, make sure we can procure the food. was so funny. Like we just, we had an awesome time. mean, like, yeah, you die for your art, man. You, your guts going to pay the price, but dude, it is, it is so funny. You're to have some near poop experiences. It's going to happen. And that's part of the experience, man. And that's sometimes that's all yours anyway. So just embrace it, speaker-0: Yeah, what would you say, so your writers, what's what's something you learned from a writer or something they shared with you about that experience that you're like, this is why I do this stuff. speaker-1: Just the smiles and stuff like that. Like when I'm, ⁓ whenever I'm pushing somebody, I make it a point to like, get like the crowd involved, like if we're on a big race. So I just got into, ⁓ I'm going be doing the cherry blossom 10 miler in DC. ⁓ I pushed out before and there's so many people on that race. Like it's, ⁓ it's amazing. I mean, you get so much love from all the other people in the crowd. I mean, like, there's no way that's not going to pump up anybody. So like the writers, they, you they love that stuff. You know, they, they're like rock stars. It's amazing. I love seeing it. I love being a part of it. part of it and I love like, know, helping them experience that. It's like being a part of that magic. It's an amazing experience. speaker-0: Yeah, dude, thank you so much for doing that. It is a very, very honorable thing for sure to share that with people that don't have the ability, but they have different abilities, you know. speaker-1: And I mean, like I look at like this for me, like I'm a very flawed person and I think, uh, you know, running helps and, know, I think I, what I struggle with running is like, and we touched on this earlier, like self-promotion. We're at a weird place. I think with running where there's a lot of influencers, there's a lot of people self-promoting. There's a lot of like jealousy. There's a lot of comparison. You don't have to worry about that. If you're like doing something with the ins and outs, you're thinking about somebody else. And I think that, you know, a lot of people in the right community could definitely benefit by trying to do that for somebody else and not trying to. It's something selfless. And I think in the sport where you're constantly looking at yourself, that that's some balance that everyone could use in the sport. think. speaker-0: That's true. Yeah, that's that's true in life in general. That's a great point. We could all use a little balance and there was good saying go ahead speaker-1: ⁓ and going back to like how we were talking earlier about getting my head big and stuff like that. Like that's the, yeah, no, I'm serious. Like that's a good way to like tone it down. John, think about this other person. And I think, you know, again, we can all use that. We all have egos and like, I'm trying my best to be able to just keep the ego in check and not get too big. You know, that's all that's the game right there, speaker-0: So how did you balance that? So you're doing this good stuff and you're running during COVID crazy miles, you're getting featured and people are writing about you. When did you say like, I'm gonna be honest and share the stuff they don't see. And was there something that you first shared that you're like, I'm gonna throw this out. I don't know if they're ready for this or I'm super nervous to put this out. speaker-1: So I'm, mean, I'm, I'm always like, I I'll say like this. I'm like, I'm a single dad, man. I've got no shame. I've, I've changed diapers in like the women's bathroom because there's not a changing station in the men's bathroom. You're like, I've been through it all, man. And like, I, you know, that might be cringe, you know, but I'll say it. I mean, it helps people out, man. I, I've never felt uncomfortable as a runner, like telling my story. Cause I want to motivate others to be able to run and Find something that brings them happiness. Like I've never, I've never been ashamed of who I am when it comes to that stuff. mean, I grew up really shy and didn't want to talk about myself. Like when I was younger, you know, I was just, had a lot of anxiety and I think, you know, just be able to finally find, you know, something I like to do. like a lot of, you know, and people that, you know, share the same, uh, sport and everything like that. Like I found my tribe, man. So I don't feel, I don't feel embarrassed or anything about it. I, know, I think that there's a lot of people in the community that They come from an addiction background or, know, alcoholism and, uh, you know, or just other stories like me. Okay. So there's some, there's people that in the right community that have good lives and stuff like that. They never had to really handle adversity, but there's also a lot of people coming from like a really tough background that are, know, and that's what helps them be able to run the a hundred miles and stuff like that. So I think just my first experience around some of these people, I just was like, wait a minute. They're kind of like me. like, I've just never felt shy around like other ultra runners or just, know, even marathoners and runners in general, I just feel like really comfortable around other runners. don't, I'm not scared to talk about myself. speaker-0: Yeah, that's good. Because that next question I wanted to ask you, John, was talking about some of this stuff in research that you've talked about, your running community kind of became your people and you found your belonging there. if somebody in the community is out there looking to find their community, they're feeling alone or disconnected, what would you say is the first step in finding their tribe and the people they want to be around? speaker-1: So that's tough. mean, I've, I'm not going to lie. And this can be a cautionary tale, you know, just for anybody getting into the community. mean, like, don't think that the running community is like a perfect like type of place. It's there's real world issues within the community also. just, you know, be, be cautious of who you talk to. Like, I think I was really naive when I first started like, you running and getting into certain groups and stuff like that. I mean, like, you know, Protect your peace first and foremost and like try to stick with people that you know, are going to help you grow. I think that's the best way to do it. In any aspect of life, just stick with people that you know are going to help you grow and stay away from the ones that are just like, you know, seeking more negative stuff. speaker-0: Yeah, I found something that is a quote I heard that I find super interesting and that's there's a difference between belonging and fitting in. Right, belonging is when you're valued and there's mutual values and there's mutual growth. Fitting in is when I have to change who I am to get you to like me or be part of the group. speaker-1: I think that's a tough thing because like, I, that was me a lot in high school and like middle school and stuff like that. feel like. You know, it was a really tough transition like into adulthood. And I think, ⁓ basically I didn't have to try as hard in the right community because we all like running and stuff like that. So you're gonna, it's gonna be easier like to absorb yourself in that community. But at the same time, yeah, you just, ⁓ you just gotta, it's gotta watch yourself and just make sure that, you know, You have to ask yourself like, this really what I want to be doing with myself? Is this a productive usage of time? Is this going to help me achieve my dreams? And I think that that's where a lot of, as cool as the writing community is and the different groups and stuff like that, I think that we do get into a habit where we lose track of what our goals and dreams are. And we start doing stuff that, you know, helps others. And at the same time, you you want, if it's a certain, if it's a good thing that you're doing for somebody like Ainsley's, absolutely. But you know, If it's something that's going to be a detriment to what you're trying to do, like your values and your dreams, you you have to be able to be, you have to be able to tell yourself like, Hey, this isn't working for me. need to move on. speaker-0: Yeah, I think that's a double edged sword. think there's two things that everyone, John, is one, you got to know what the hell you want in life, right? Because if you don't know, then it's easy to fall into traps of doing things that don't fulfill you. And two is you got to be okay putting up boundaries and prioritizing yourself to say, okay, this no longer serves me. I'm going to move in a different direction. I think where we hesitate is when we don't know what direction we want to be. And we're kind like just on autopilot, just flowing with what's the easiest. And I think. That's one of the beauties of running is there's absolutely nothing easy about it. Right. And you're going to have time to really be like, wait a second, why am I doing this? What am I getting from this? And for me, and I think you mentioned this, like when you're out there running and you have a choice to quit and you don't, you keep going, you also get to start thinking about the other things that are going on that you've maybe quit on thinking about quit processing. And now you get to move on those as well. Right. speaker-1: Yeah. I mean, like for me, you know, there's races I want to do. I have dream races and stuff like that. And I think I've ran into situations before, like trying to appease others, like in the right community. I just, ⁓ I've lost track of that at times. And like, I'll be doing like an alternate, like, wow, I'm really out of shape. I've lost the beauty with running is that you are your training. If you lose track of like who you are and your core focus and stuff like that, you're going to know, like trying to do certain races and stuff like that. You're going to, you're going to. Easily know that you're off the run on the wrong track and you're off the rails with training. So, ⁓ I, yeah, I like Ryan cause it keeps me accountable. And, ⁓ you know, I don't want to, I don't want to switch up who I am. like what I'm doing with running. I want to do really hard races. And like, when I find myself veering off that path and I'm not, you know, as strong and, I'm starting to get weak. I'm like, all right, I got to read, I got to refocus. What am I doing? What am I even doing here right now? speaker-0: Yeah, so let's talk to me about that. Talk to me about that refocusing and that honest conversations. I think that's something that we all, it's easy not to have, right? It's easy to look in the mirror and lie to yourself and be like, ⁓ I'm not that, I'm not out of shape. I'll just buy an extra large shirt instead of a large and it hides it, right? You know I mean? Like we can hide from ourselves a lot. So talk me through that process that you use when you're like, okay, I need to reevaluate who John is right now. What is John doing? speaker-1: So like, two years ago, oh my gosh. Like, so I, I, I was like my, so like, kind of just how you mentioned, like, I just, like, uh, I wasn't running as much. come, I completely wasn't doing gym stuff. Wasn't sleeping well. I was eating like complete trash. I've not that eat the greatest anyway, but it was like way worse than normal. Uh, but, uh, yeah, I was like skinny. had a gut like when I look like that, I knew I'm about to get injured because that just means I'm not doing any core work at all. You know, like I'm not putting, you know, I'm I'm not doing the stuff that that's going to keep me healthy. ⁓ basically I completely stopped doing that. I wasn't running as much, but I was still running ultras. And I feel like for me, if I don't put any work behind the scenes, I'm just running races. I'm going to get hurt. Like I'm going to start having knee hip problems, all that stuff. So, ⁓ yeah, it might, I have to be honest with myself, like what my body looks like, how I'm feeling. Like if I, if I, if I feel completely bad, like after like, you know, a few races during the year, You have to be able to be like, Hey, I need to stop. I need to refocus. need to get myself healthy. Cause at the end of the day, it's this, you know, if, you keep pushing when you're already hurt and like out of shape, you're, you're not going you're going to get into a situation where you're not going to be to run for a long period of time. And that sucks. Like I don't want to get into that ever again. That's just the, know, I'd love to run. helps me feel it, feel happiness. And, uh, yeah. Why would you want to, why would you want to throw that away just because, uh, you want to keep it going? It's like, you have to make it, you have to make a tough call to put in the work. speaker-0: Dude, I love that. While you're saying it, I'm just picturing things. Here's what I pictured is that's an accountability that we all need to have more of. Like, okay, my knees hurt. Why is my knee hurt? Well, it's because I'm overweight and I haven't stretched and I haven't done the things versus this telling myself I'm just old, I'm not supposed to run anymore. speaker-1: I can't stand when people say that. can't stand it. It literally pissed me off. Like when I hear somebody in the run club or something, and that's part of why like I, I don't go to run clubs as much. I'll like currently I, if I am running with friends, it's like a small pot. It's like a smaller run group of like, you know, it's like 10 people and there there's none of that. There's no drama. There's none of like, ⁓ I can't do this. But yeah, whenever I hear people talking about knee pain stuff and they can't run, I'm like, so what PT are you doing? Like I'll ask them just basic questions. Nothing. speaker-0: What like? speaker-1: they are not doing anything and that's why they can't run. like you, mean like you have to be honest with yourself. If you want to run, you just have to put in the work. And if you're not gonna put in the work, then don't even act like you want to run. Cause you're not, you're not, you're not, you're not trying. speaker-0: Well, that's life, right? If you want the life you want, put in the work to get the life you want. But if you're just going to sit around and tell me or tell your friends, why you can't do the things you want to do and you're not even trying, then you're responsible for that. speaker-1: Yeah, it's, it's toxic. And I think one of the biggest things I've struggled with life is like, when you, when you have a good friend, like a good loyal friend that starts talking like that, and they're starting to bring you down with that kind of stuff. You have to cut them out and it sucks. mean, like it's easy for somebody to call you out and be like, you know, Oh, you know, I get it too. Like any kind of criticism by like, I'm not saying ditching a friend like that, but I mean, I'm going to be honest. I don't want to hang around people that are like that. They're going to bring me down. I just don't like in any, not just running, but just in life. I mean, like. I'm 46, I don't have enough time in life to hang out with people like that, I just don't. speaker-0: No, and why should you? Right? Like why? And that's such a tricky balance for people. And I'll be honest, I've never struggled with it. I'm pretty good at moving myself to where I want to be. But yeah, just having the confidence to like, need to make this change for me and understanding like what it does. If you and I are friends, John, and I start telling you that and you're like, all of a sudden I realize I'm not spending time with you and you're still out running and I've quit doing the thing that used to bring us together. I have a choice. I can either say like, John's an asshole and just cut me out, or I can go like, wait a second, I've let John down. Like, I'm not doing what I, what brought us together. speaker-1: You've you've yeah, that is such a that's a minefield man. mean like I've gotten this situation with like other writers where, ⁓ I'm just, I'm not going to be your bad guy. That's it's that simple. Like I'm not going to be your bad guy. I'm done with that. Like, and it took me a while to understand this because like I didn't fit in well in like high school and stuff like that. Like I, I feel like I did jump through hoops to be people's friends. I'm not doing that shit now. That's it. So that game's over. That ship has sailed. And you know, if I find myself, you know, you're going to make me feel bad about running or like, you know, I'm a bad guy in your saga because you're, because you're not running or putting in the work. I'm out. I'm not doing it. speaker-0: Yeah, I love that right now. It goes back to fitting in verse belonging for our community members. I think about the groups you're in belonging is when you John and I are in a group and we both give and we both receive and there's that feeling of mutual growth. Fitting in as if I'm hanging out with John and I can't be who I'm supposed to be. I'm doing all this other stuff just to get John to like me. Now I'm not I'm fitting in. I think too many times we get confused and we're like, ⁓ we have this group of friends. But if you can't be you in that group of friends. then you're fitting and you don't really belong there. Don't be afraid to make changes. Like John said, life's short, right? You waste a year trying to fit into a group where you know it doesn't jive. You don't get that year back. speaker-1: It's brutal. And like, I mean, I don't mean to throw too much out there, but I've had friends like, you know, I've had friends where like I've helped them be better runners and then just like to see them slip away. Like I, like, I kind of get offended by it. Like, know, like to see them slip away or disparage what I do after me helping them out, like, you know, like running with them constantly, like put investing time into helping them when I could be doing my own runs to help me out. I think like that was a big thing. Like once, you know, like I put a lot of work into a couple of people that, know, like I would run with them even knowing that, you know, you know, helping them out was going to hurt me. Like, I think like a lot of times, like I would just, you know, I, I would compromise my own runs and what I should be doing. And when I should have been looking out for myself or running with people that were actually motivated, like I was, you know, like, I feel like if you find yourself like constantly having to lower your standards, I know that this sounds rough. This is, it doesn't sound good, but Yeah, it doesn't say, it doesn't sound good to say though, but at the same time, if you're compromising your standards in any aspect, you got to get out of there. Like you're like, let, they have to figure it out. You cannot force them to, cause what's going to happen is this eventually you two aren't going to be able to be friends or whatever partners, whatever the case is, you just have to, you have to move on. It's not going to work. speaker-0: Yeah, dude, how can you grow? Right? How can you grow if you're doing that? speaker-1: You can't save, you can't save them. gotta cut them out. You can't, don't try to save them. Just let them go. speaker-0: Yeah, that's so interesting. Dude, one of the things I want to talk about, John, is the breezy trailhead persona and the amount of humor you use in that, right? And you deliver a lot of funny stuff. So talk to me about how you came up with breezy trailhead, because that's a super cool name. And then share with me like something where you're like, dude, that's the funniest thing that ever happened to me out on one of my. speaker-1: So when I was in the Navy, people would have like a field day with my name because I mean, like, you know, you could do a lot with it. Breezy, breezy, for cheesy, whatever. People do all kinds of stuff with the cool breeze, Calico breeze. Like I've heard it. I've heard them all. So, um, yeah, like, you know, I just, um, I just kind of just put it together. I was like, breezy trail. You know, like just get like the trail head on the trail and like, you know, with that, you can take a lot of humor in that too. There's a lot you can do with that. Also lots of unpack with that. Well, we're not, but, Yeah. So like a funny name. And then, ⁓ yeah, I just would on the trail. I don't like to talk about running. Like I just, I'll talk about anything, but running like other sports. ⁓ I love movies. So like a lot of the time when I'm out on the trail, I like the, have you ever seen the movie heat without Pacino and rapper? Yeah. speaker-0: Yeah, Robert De Niro. Yeah, so wait a second. Let me interrupt you John you rooting for the good guys or the bad guys in that one speaker-1: ⁓ you gotta go to DeNiro in that movie. speaker-0: Always right you're so freaking heartbroken at the end when he's got to walk away from the lady which I dude you can't get caught speaker-1: But he, problem with the neuro in that movie is that he breaks his own code. yes, he breaks, you break the, that's going back what we just talked about. I think that's like, he, I think speaks to me a lot of different levels because, ⁓ one Pacino is out of control of that movie. He's hilarious. But then also, if you like in heat, if you have, if you break your own code, you know, that's what happens. And I think that whenever we have a big downfall life, it's because we broke our code and you you, you, lowered your standards. Like the neuro does and Al Pacino doesn't crack his code in it. So he has to be the winner, you know? But anyway, Al Pacino delivers some hilarious code quotes in that movie, like some hilarious shit. like, I'll just start screaming out some of the stuff like in that movie that, know, I I'm not going to do it on the pod. You know what I'm talking about there? He throws out some hilarious shit. So yeah, like when I'm on the trial, like it'll be like four AM and I'll just start screaming that stuff out. And like people will be like, What's going on? So like, yeah, I love the movie. Again, it speaks to me on different aspects of life, comedy, actual, just real life stuff. It's a life changing film. speaker-0: What would you say was your toughest run and what'd take away from that? speaker-1: Oh, wow. Okay. So this is really tough. I, so I had a race cancel last week. Uh, the wild oak trail 100, uh, basically I did, I did the run a year ago. I was trying to attempt the 200. I had all kinds of issues. Um, you know, I had a friend pass away, pass away a few months before I was going through some like personal stuff and it beat the race beat me so bad. beat me. I only did one loop of a 200 mile race. That's not, that's the kind of state I was in. And, ⁓ I, after the fact, went to like a deep depression cycle or spiral. ⁓ you know, I, tried to like, you know, just a lot of just bad stuff. ⁓ I was injured also on top of that. So I wasn't able to run. So I had to really push myself to go to the gym and just, you know, embrace that lifestyle instead of running. and I was looking for any bulletin board material, basically to pull me back out of that hole and to be able to want to. do gym stuff that I don't want to do. And, ⁓ basically I got there and I'm feeling good and everything now only for the race to get canceled because of snow. ⁓ and for me, like, if I get my ass kicked on a race really bad like that, I want to go back and redeem myself for the most part. I mean, there's some races I'm just like, screw it. I'm not, I'm fine. I'll do a different race, but this one I really want to go back and do, and it got canceled. So now I've got another year Bolton board material. like I used to. I think like I'm getting into a turning point with that stuff though. I think that that stuff used to really get me down, but now I just look at it. Like it just gets me pissed off when I'm running. And I think about it it just makes me mad and I run harder. I mean, maybe that's a good healthy way to look at it, but like, I find it almost intoxicating. Like you just like get so pissed off. Like, you know, you know, just let that drive you to go fast and just say like, fuck it. I'm going all out. You know, like I'm not going to let this dictate my life. I'm going to, I'm going to take control and you know, like Even though the race couldn't happen, that this is another 12 months for me to be mad. And then when it does happen, I'm going to kick that race's ass. ⁓ I tried to incredible Hulk it. Like I use it just to get like when I'm on the run, like, ⁓ know, it helps me up. speaker-0: Yeah, and I think that's, we can all apply that to life, right? Like you think you're going to have an opportunity and it gets postponed, well that's an opportunity for you to get better when it does happen, right? speaker-1: You know what? used to like, how can I say? I don't know if it's like I'm getting more mature or like maybe I'm getting dumber. I have no idea. But like I used to get really mad when that yet when stuff out of outside of my control happened, you know, just it used to really get under my skin. It used to get me mad. Now. I mean, like, I feel like you're living life. If that's not happening, you need to see. You need to really question what's going on in your life. You need to have that stuff happening because it's not supposed to make you sad. It's not supposed to make you depressed. And it will in ways, but like I think it's the way you come back from it. And I think if that's not occurring in your life, you need to reevaluate things. You need to be pushing it. to me, that means that you're not pushing yourself hard enough for that stuff. If it's not happening, you're not pushing yourself hard enough. speaker-0: And if you control all the variables in your life, that means you're not growing. speaker-1: Yeah, it's a, that's a boring life. You're living like, like, what was the Jim Carrey movie? ⁓ where he's like, he's on a TV show. It's like that, man. It's boring. Yeah. It's true. Truman show. Yeah. Or like, you're, or, there's another movie like that too. But yeah, why would you want to live in something that's all pre controlled? Like just kind of like a, you know, like a set. Why would you want that? You want to, you want to live a wildlife, man? You're, you know, speaker-0: You're only going this way once. speaker-1: Yeah, when I'm on my deathbed, I want to be like, I, you know, I'm, I'm a fucking legend. I did everything I could and you know what? I have no regrets. That's, that's how I would, I'll have no regret. The only time I would, think the only reason I regret dying is if like, I didn't live up to what I wanted to do in life. That's me. I want to live every day. Like I'm a rock star. speaker-0: Yeah, no, get it. So let's let's talk about this for a second. I want something you're working on right now that feels important to you. speaker-1: So last year I got hurt. I got hurt and I couldn't do races for a good portion, not a good portion, but a few months out of the year. I'm doing a lot of races this year. I'm doing some hard ones. I'm signed up for Jigger Johnson, 100 in the white mountains. I'm doing a race that's underground and PA in the abandoned turnpike. 160 mile race underground. I've got like a bunch of hard races. Like if you look at my ultra signup, I mean, I've got like a bunch of a hundred milers. I'm really going for it this year. I want to try to get into bad water next year and. Who knows? Maybe try to get the Berkeley Baratheon. It's the big one. I'm doing the Berkeley fall classic this year. Also, I've done that race like I think five times. Yeah. I love really hard, crazy races. Not, not because like the whole like cliche, like, I want to push myself. I do that stuff is out valid for me, but I like the people I like seeing my, my, my tribe out there. I like seeing, I always like seeing the, um, I like, always like seeing the, uh, the group of people that assemble at these races. Like, yeah, I just, I, They're like, it's like an expendables movie. It's like all the nut jobs. I love it. They're, they're my people. I love them so much. There's like if there is a heaven, I hope it's those people, everyone else. Fuck off. I just want those people. don't care. But you know what? I don't mean to be mean, but I don't care. I just want my people up there. That's all. speaker-0: That's hilarious. Yeah, I was shocked the Barclays kind of snuck up on us this year. Like I was watching, I was watching Blacktail or Black Canyon 100 and all of a sudden I saw the Barclays kicked off doing it. I didn't know that was going. speaker-1: We alert you to this other race going on. No, I was on a, what's funny is I was on a race and I didn't even know. Like I was, um, so my race got canceled and I had the a hundred miler and I jumped into a 50, a 50 K, uh, Saturday instead, just cause it was the closest race to me. There was another hundred mile, my hundred mile in Delaware. I didn't want to drive that far. And I also did a race over there. I did the duck, uh, the week before that one. So I was like, I don't want to drive another four and a half hours for a race. So I did. Promise Land, which was an awesome race. had a great time. But yeah, like after Promise Land was over, I was like, ⁓ shit, they're doing. speaker-0: Nobody finished it. speaker-1: Yeah. Well, I heard like a bunch of different rumors. Like I guess they're doing something at frozen head state park and like, uh, like later on the year, like me, like park maintenance or something. So they couldn't have it at the normal time. I've heard like a bunch of rumors like that, but yeah. I mean, like I've always wanted to do that race as soon as I found about out about Barkley. I didn't even find out about from the doc initially. I got found about from like, After my first marathon, I started like Googling, like, what's the hardest races in the world? Like I was an idiot. was just looking up stuff like that on like Wikipedia. And I saw Barkley. I saw Laz on like Bart on the Wikipedia page. was like, ⁓ shit. He's smoking a cigarette. That's how the race starts. This is cool. And like, ⁓ the more I read about it, I wanted to do it. then like Bar Barclay fall classic was like my third race. Yeah. I did. I did a marathon, like a road marathon. And then I accidentally signed up for a trail marathon. I thought thinking it was like a road marathon. I had no. idea of the difference in like, the different, like anything. So I was, I just accidentally signed up and I fell in love with it. And I, ⁓ I signed up for, ⁓ I got into the wait list for the Berkeley fall classic. And, ⁓ there was like a hurricane. So much people dropped and they let me in and I was just like, I was shocked. I was like, is this a joke? I emailed Steve, Durbin. was like, is this for real? Did I get hacked? They're like, no, this is real. I was like, okay, I'll see you there. Like I had no idea that like, there was a difference between the fall classic and the Barkley Marathons. I thought that the fall classic was the Barkley Marathons. I had no idea. thought, I was like, how do we get the book pages? It was awesome. speaker-0: Yeah, different races. What would you say, John, you're wrapping up here, what would you say if listeners could take away one idea from your story and apply it to their life? What would you hope it would be? speaker-1: to be yourself and don't cater to others. mean, like, you know, choose the people in your life that are going to help you grow and, you know, accomplish your dreams. And, you know, if, somebody's bringing you down, you can't save them. They have to save themselves. You know, like you can, you can help them try to get to the point where they can save themselves, but like, you can't fix them like that. You have to you gotta cut them out and it sucks. I mean, that's like one of the, for me, that's one of the hardest things to do as an adult to people, but you have to, if you want to grow. speaker-0: John, thanks so much for being on our show, my friend. It was an honor to share your story and have some time with you. And we can't wait to see what you do next. Where can our audience be part of your community? speaker-1: just go to Breezy trailhead. I'm on Facebook too. I just kind of joke around on Facebook. Facebook's kind of weird. Uh, yeah. So mainly, I don't, I don't, uh, yeah. I, I, Facebook's guy for joking Instagram. put like your real stuff and, yeah, I I'm on Strava but I'm private. So, but if you want to follow me and you're not like a nut job, I'll, I'll vet you and you can come in. speaker-0: John, thanks so much for joining us. Keep doing the work you're doing. Keep pushing yourself and we're here cheering you on. speaker-1: Thanks for letting me spill my soul. is good. I need to get this stuff out, man. This stuff clouds me up and I gotta release it to the public. speaker-0: always here for you my friend. When you're training with purpose your fueling can't be an afterthought. That's why I use NeverSecond, the simplest most reliable system I have found for staying energized, hydrated, and steady through their long efforts. Their C-Series carbs take the guesswork out of performance. No stomach drama, no complicated mixing, just clean consistent fuel that actually works when the miles get long. If you want to train with more intention and recover without feeling wrecked, check out NeverSecond. Click the link in the show notes to get dialed in. And remember, team, life is far too short to live any other way than on purpose. We'll see you all again next week.