 Hello my friends and welcome to another running with Ryan. I have escaped the safe confines of Boulder, Colorado I am now in Denver. Why am I in Denver? Well, there's an event called Outdoor Retailer And Outdoor Retailer is a place where all their outdoor brands come and show off their newest stuff The reason why I'm here is because my next guest is at the conference and I'm running up there right now She is an OG in the world of ultra running. She has one UTMB She was top five at Western States She has won hard rock She wrote a book called how to run your first ultra ladies and gentlemen You're gonna love this lady make some noise out there for Chrissy Mel Check out that giant bear. Isn't that cool? We're at the Colorado Convention Center now This is where Chrissy is hiding. She said she's gonna be at the ultimate direction booth. So let's go find her There are so many people and brands here. It's quite overwhelming This is my buddy, he's on there. This is my buddy, he's the man. He's a fan of TV apparently Where's Chrissy? She said she's gonna be here. Oh really? Yeah, she's gonna meet me here Here's a quick plug for ultimate direction. They are a Boulder brand They are one of the original makers of hydration vests and I love them because they're from Boulder And they're just really good people and Chrissy is one of their athletes. Check it out. We got Jason Schlauber right here What's up buddy? It's good to see you. You're really bright today. I am very bright We're gonna get him on this show another time. He's busy right now. I promise. But this guy's another amazing runner Go check him out. I'll put his little what's Instagram handle right here. Oh, yeah, look at that Okay coming up soon Jason Schlauber, but now we are gonna run with Chrissy and she's cooler than I am so have fun Oh my god, there's another legend here. We got Buzz Burrell. What's up? Oh me? What's going on my man? Well, we had a good outdoor retailer show good to see you here Yeah, I'm looking forward to getting out together. Yeah, we're gonna do an adventure together Stay tuned for that one. It's gonna be on the bike and the foot I think she's been both we can put you on a surf ski if you want to get wet. I like it Let's do it. Let's do all the above. All right. The star of the show is here. Here we go What's up, Chrissy? How you doing? I am ready to go for a run. You're ready to go for a run You've been stuck in this building for three days pretty much. Let's go outside. We're gonna run over to the cliff Bar booth. We're gonna get a quick bite of energy These are the new cliff bar cubes, they're so good We got a mouthful of food. We are almost out of the convention center Fresh air First of all, I would like to show you how awesomely coordinated Chrissy socks and shoes are. Look at that That looks good. And then look at me It's so clashing So Chrissy, this is the first-ever urban running with Ryan. Not psyched about that She's not psyched about that. I would much rather show you the trails of the check-in-ats up in Bellingham Yes, well, maybe that'll be episode two We'll go up to Washington. But the good thing about running is that you can do it anywhere You just put on a pair of shoes Don't forget your sports bra. I never do. I'm strapped in today What does that guy do it on the bike path? Yeah, you don't see cops on motorcycles on the trails of Boulder. All right, we are officially starting this thing We are going now Chrissy, welcome back to Colorado. Thank you. You lived in Boulder for how long? Three and a half years. That's pretty cool. Yes, but now you're back in Bellingham where you came from, right? I grew up in Boat Washington, okay, and then so Bellingham's just 20 minutes north of there. Okay suits me after having lived in Boulder Yeah, so you know how you can live close to trails? Pretty sweet. Yeah, absolutely. And really quickly when I go under bridges, I do this Oh lay, oh lay, oh lay, oh lay, join along, it's fun, oh lay Okay, next bridge Laying under bridges is like it just gives me energy. Yeah, it's just fun And I I like to have fun when I run. How did you get into running? What was your first race? My first ultra was chucking up 50k, chucking that in 2000 But I got into it because of the guys I was hanging around with. Okay, Scott Jurek, Scott McCubrie, William Emerson She's just dropping names, no big deal Hey guys, Scott Jurek just won his first Western state. Wow. Can't plan that stuff. Yeah, that's pretty cool And you've Scott and have been friends for a long time and Jenny, his wife. Yeah, I need them before they were Oh, that's cool. Yeah, and what is it about running that you love? Let's just go down to the core of this stuff. It doesn't even have to be like the long stuff You ran when you were like in high school, right? High school, college, yep. Yeah, I just love the movement I don't we all kind of relate back to that But then it's also like where my legs can take me. I think that's where ultra's kept taking it to another level of that Oh, we're getting lost. The audio is going to be very difficult. It is so loud in this town So you're kind of like an og ultra running woman at a time when Original original original gangster. What does og mean? You're original And at a time when it was like there weren't many women and it was a lot of older men running these long races What was it like back then? um Not that it was hello Not that it was like that long ago. We're talking like 10 ish years ago 15 20 years ago 2000 was my first 2000. Okay, fine. What are we in 2019? Yeah, I guess that was a long time ago I was only 22 when it started. Wow. Yeah, um I just actually was talking to this to buzz about this on the fkt podcast is that It wasn't it wasn't a thing We're all just runners. Yeah, and this whole like me too movement and You know gender specific and blah blah blah like It just blurred that line real easy. Yeah, maybe with it was because there wasn't a lot of other women To like to like make it a thing. I don't know. Yeah, but it wasn't a thing. Yeah, I just got to run with a bunch of really cool people and share time on trails and process life and Cool way to grow up when you're running with a bunch of dudes and you're the only woman Is it embarrassing to be like I have to pee. Where do I go pee now? I got over that real fast You got over that okay. I'm a pretty modest person but that one I got over Look what we have here. We have a we have a tunnel. We have a bridge. Here we go. Oh I watched your TED talk about like the dark dark moments What do you do in a race or even in life if you want to go there when things get hard How do you get over that my viewers out there? Not all of them are You know ultra elite runners, but they just want to they want to everybody deals with How do you do that? Oh, man I think the lessons change all throughout life, right? Yeah, and I would say my most current lesson is to live in it Yeah, like move through it be in it Don't run from it. And I've always said Oh anybody anybody that runs long distance races or runs gets asked. What are you running from and I've always Protested that thinking like I always feel like I'm running towards something. So that's kind of been the underlying And now I feel like next level is Just really acknowledging what it is And being in it to be able to move through it because if you For me if I like shove it and like put it in the drawer and let it be over here It'll come back and knit me at some point when I really don't Want it to and it's way worse. Yeah, that that is so true Dealing in the moment has been my most recent I'm gonna move through this now I like to ask the best sometimes, you know, the best way is right through it Yeah, then just be real comfortable. I don't know if comfortable is the right word, but If you can the more awareness you can have in that You also get to have that when you're in the good stuff too. Yeah, so if you can be aware in the hard You can be that aware in the good. Yes, but if you shove stuff aside, you might not understand how good the goodness That's good. I like that. That was well said because it's kind of a teeter totter, right? If you only let the teeter totter go like this You don't really get it if you let the teeter totter go you really get to understand all of it. Yeah And you got to have that was really good. That was like dolly llama level wisdom Oh, it's windy now. You wrote a book About how to run your first ultra How do you run your first ultra in a very summarized fashion because a lot of people They want to push their limits It may be for some people an ultra is just going from a 10k to a half marathon What are some of your core principles? I'd say my first one is like The first time you decide to race or do a distance the goal should be to finish the distance Because if you try and like set a PR Meet that anything beyond just the goal of finishing you won't do the little things it takes to finish it So in long long races If you don't get that rock out of your shoe That could take you out of the race. If you say, oh, I'm just not gonna eat a gel I'm going to wait till I get to the next aid station That might take you out of the race. So if you do the little things to actually make sure you finish it You'll learn so much That way to talk with the hands a lot You'll learn so much that you Then can figure out the steps you want to do to actually race or set a personal best or So that's where I would start you finish that question just in time for Oh, the sun just came out. It's one of those days in colorado where it's like it's windy. It's cloudy. It's gonna rain. Nope It's a little bit of everything right now Yeah Um utmb, which is one of the most well known races in the world You went there and you won that thing There aren't many american women who have done that How was that experience? I got to run the very first edition in 2003. Yeah, so before it was even a thing um But it was a thing. There was like 600 runners and they ran it differently like When you started everybody started together and then you could decide where to stop Okay, you could stop in Cormier and get the 55k you could stop in Champailoc and get the 110k Gotcha make her full round So I say I won by attrition because people That's good. I'm good. I'm good. I'm just so freaking stubborn that yeah I had to go all the way around. Well, sometimes it's good to be stubborn as a runner because it just keeps you moving And then 2009 I That was definitely a different and that's over the Ted talk. Yeah, that was a different experience and Definitely had learned some lessons from western seats found a lot of joy in that event and then like another level of competition at the At Champailoc to bring it in and go for that one. Yeah And that race is so fun because the europeans go crazy They're like it's like a tunnel of fans. It's like you're in the tour to france I haven't been there, but I've watched it on the youtube. Look at that cool mural There's one the other way with these hummingbirds. I like that mural. See this that's something that doesn't happen on a trail They're usually not murals, so we got to think of the positives I like that one too in your Ted talk There was one line that wasn't like one of your main statements, but it really stuck with me and you were talking about how Sometimes our day-to-day life can get tough But you're like if you can just get out and go for a run no matter what the distance That's like an accomplishment and that's like a good place to just start to feel good about yourself and And moving forward in some way, right? Yeah, you nailed it, right? Yeah, no, I just I guess like Sometimes when life is rough, you're I feel like I'm kind of struggling to feel like I'm even Even accomplishing or doing or whatever maybe that's part of that being able to just be yeah, but I'm working on but A run gives you that sense of I got something done. I got something done today And it does feel good like you can be having like a horrible day or even a good day Maybe you're just working really hard You've been staring at a computer all day you go for a run. Maybe it's only a half an hour But it changes everything. Yeah changes your whole outlook Makes you feel good to come back and you're like. Yes. I am super charged Olay Talk about that more talk about replacing running with passion because some people don't they're not runners Maybe they're bikers or maybe they're chefs whatever you're passionate about parenting So many things talk about that that was really interesting I just appreciate what I guess what inspires me to get out of bed every day is to find somebody in their passion So like if it's a grocery store clerk that's psyched to bag your groceries or Somebody that opens the door for you and finds joy in that like that's what I thrive in yeah, so As an ultra runner running is mine. So if I can show that share that So that somebody else sees passion so that they can pursue whatever they're Else goes wherever they're running is That's what it's about That's totally what it's about Well, let's let's stop talking about running right now because running really is so boring You were for the conservation alliance You're all about saving our world's natural places And that's really cool. Talk to us about that work you've done I mean i'm coming up in the world of alternating at that time Falling in love with these wild places and then realizing that they're threatened and that people are trying to take them away and drill them or dam them or build more condos or something or or just whatever I'm extracting the natural resources. So I just Came in as a trail runner and then had my mind open to what's possible And how do we save this planet? What are some things that we can do because obviously as trail runners as outdoor lovers We want to preserve our natural spaces With population growth, you know, there's going to be more stress on these places. What can we do? Oh, I mean, I'm not I'm not making up anything new like I'm taking Words from a lot of wise people before me, but you're allowed to do that. It's okay And it was spoken at the conservation alliance breakfast yesterday is find your project like it starts in your own backyard and find something whether it's a waterway or We have a mountain that gets logged pretty regularly Like figuring out what is your project and like learn about it because then that will Blossom and inspire other people to do the same in their own backyard and that could be as little as refusing plastic single-use cups when you go To a restaurant bring your own water bottle bring your own straws Ride your bike more instead of driving your car. You can speak. Yeah I don't like bikes a little bit. I learned a little bit more about you in the last day His driver's license tell you it was 32. That's right And the only don't tell everybody the only reason he got is he was forced to I was forced to get a driver's license Yes, I think that's pretty cool. Thank you. Well You know I watched an earth day special when I was a little kid Okay, and I wanted to do whatever I could to save the world and I was I was like, I'm never going to drive a car That was my little thing. That was my little thing Let's talk about the fact that you are not only an ultra runner You're a race director Talk about the joys. Yeah, talk about the joys of being a race director That one is it was my first ultra The guys that started it are chucking that 50. Thank you are still The guy that's main one the main guys that started it's still very much involved. He marks the course for me every year It's such a community-based event um I think it being my first ultra and then Watching other people have it being theirs. Yeah, like I'm creating this Space or platform for other people to have a similar experience. Yeah, and it's not just me like it's such a community-driven thing and this year was such a big example of it. We had that craziest winner um in the northwest and I had like compact snow and ice on my course. I didn't have ways of getting my eight stations up and my two co-ordies Kevin and Tyler The three of us were just such a team figuring that out and then not expanded out to the group of volunteers and like we had to move two eight sessions and people hauled Everything they had to hike a mile like literally uphill in the snow and I said just take the basics like water gels Good, and I gave them one of those big like Costco tubs full of chips and gummy bears and all the typical ultra stuff some guy like Figured out how to strap it on his back They had all sorts of extra amenities set up on the snow. I think they even had tablecloths That's awesome So just that full community ownership of an event. There's a cool bird down there. There's a cool bird. Where right there Oh, yeah, look at this cool bird. Look at that See there's a little bit of nature here in the city. All right, let's have a check-in. How far have we run so far? Oh, I got two miles two miles. Stop it. Just sit. Okay. Stop beside that. Oh, let's see her dog Look at your cute doggie What's your dog's name? P.D. It stands for piedradura which translates to hard rock. Yeah, that's right piedradura Oh hard rock good good little segue there Do you still have the woman's record for hard rock? Oh, no, no, um, diana thinkle I believe has it now. Okay. Well, you had the record for hard rock at one point, which is an extremely hard race It's not happening this year. Unfortunately What uh, what about hard rock? You know, it's really special to you because in the ultra running world. It's like There's something Unique about it that everybody's like, oh hard rock. You have to go do this once in your life. Yeah, uh the people Yeah, and anybody that's I'm not I'm repeating that because there's so many people that come like for two weeks prior and there's Like family reunion vibe. Yeah, and that's that's a pretty cool thing and I went for Five years as the Montreal girl That was my first job in the outdoor industry. Um I'm not it took that long like pacing different people and everything to finally feel comfortable putting my name in The hat to even register or like I was scared by ice. I got dropped Twice by Lee and Parker. Oh, wow. They called him crazy legs Twice on the downhill on the down. I'm not a good downhill runner I take it pretty gingerly I crash a lot That happens. All right. We've gone far enough. Let's go back. Should we take an uber? No, we're gonna keep running. So I've read the book north was Chronicles Scott and Jenny's incredible Adventure on the Appalachian Trail and you were there at the very end During his darkest moments. I think you got some dark moments What was it like to be there for your close friend and get him over the hump? You're doing something so so difficult. Um, I would I'm gonna correct you on it. It was them. That's true Okay, fair enough. Yeah, it was a team. Yeah And to be honest with you Like I was so concerned about Jenny Yeah, there had been a lot of stuff for them the book talks about their efforts to try and start a family And they were still dealing with that when they went out on the trail and I just I know what it is to crew a hundred miler. She was doing that every day. So when I got there I honestly was all about Jenny and like just checking in making sure she was doing okay taking care of herself I think it was the first night and like A couple weeks she'd actually like slept in a hotel bed and got a shower and because the skies had um Put together a crew to take scott overnight that night. So I didn't see scott right away Remember the next morning. I was gonna take over from the guys that were on the night shift and pace them over this next section of trail He came in and I I didn't recognize him and the thing I noticed this is really gross, but his spandex were baggy It was so gross. It was so gross. It was sooo gone Topher and I ended up taking the night shift. So Scott was basically running 20 Plus hours a day at that point. So we always had somebody with him And topher and I would go into the night and sometimes we would Set him up to sleep on the trail for like an hour. Wow And so it was one night where it was really buggy So we took like a little one-man tent for scott I think this is in the book, I can't remember one-man tent and topher and I slept side by side In these like bivvies And we talked a bug net under each of our shoulder We just like fell asleep laughing at the irony of what you would do For your dear friends. Yeah, that's true in these dire situations Sounds of nature sounds of nature Little siren action What does the future hold for you? What do you want to do in the next let's say five years? Oh, man, I keep doing what I'm doing. I really love it I see it as buckets instead of a career And do they give him point a different bucket? kind of supports the lifestyle and I don't know. I have this attitude of I'm in I'll try Yeah, and So I honestly don't know that's good. Yeah. I love what I'm doing My coaching right now is probably my highlight and I get to do this Coaches corner podcast once a month cool. So collaborating with Ian Charmin and David Roche and Sean Bearden So there's like other things that come out of each of these buckets and that's been a really positive one The clients I get to work with it. Like I said the impossible to possible idea There's a lot of inspiration that comes from that work. So let's talk about coaching a little bit. I'm sure it's So highly rewarding to be working with people of all ability levels and getting them to reach their goals Yeah Yes, that's correct Yes, it is Talk more about that I was just agreeing with your statement um, I I think the part that surprises me most is how much It's not about running like working with these people and Because I feel like I mean, I've even written a book like there's books. There's online resources There's all sorts of calendars and schedules that anybody could pick up and work with but to have like a coach's accountability or Someone that's going to factor in what's going on in real life to the training plan And so I get to be that mind With those people. So I get it a little bit more of an insight Than just go run five miles. Yeah. Yeah, and that people trust me with that is Pretty amazing. It's really special. Yeah, do wheelie wheelie Yeah Whoo, you did it So Chrissy, I can't thank you enough for joining me today in a little run. Thanks for getting me out of the show Totally sharing your story with people. I know they're gonna find it inspiring for all of you out there Who want to know more about here? I'll make some some hyperlinks In the description of the video to some of her media and her ted talk and her book And her coaching all sorts of things. Yeah, we're gonna pimp you out Anyway, so thank you for joining another running with ryan. I think do we need to go that way? Okay, we gotta go up here. Thank you for joining another running with ryan. We will see you next time Chrissy