#15 THE TRAIL TO UTMB
WITH BROOK MARTIN
I've had the pleasure of knowing our next podcast guest, Brook Martin, for a number of years now.
A couple of months ago, Brook ran the Ultra Trail Mont Blanc. A 171km race with 10,000m+ elevation gain - basically the Olympics of the trail running and ultra running world. We discuss her experiences at this mammoth race in detail and her recount of the event is both insightful and laugh-out-loud funny - "in the middle of it all... at one point I just thought…you had no idea at all!"
If you've never dabbled in the trail running world then this podcast may have you considering it! Brook describes in a beautiful way her take on why she runs these distances, "the unknown, that’s the aspect of ultra-running that I love. Nobody, I don’t think the best guy or girl in the world or the last back-of-the-packer... nobody ever knows how it’s going to unfold. And that’s the really exciting, and also very scary thing, of standing on a start line…I love the opportunity and the potential of that moment."
Brook is a bubbly and bright person and anyone that has met her will describe her as an infectiously happy person. We talk in depth about the mental side of UTMB and running in general and I feel everyone will take something away from this part of the discussion. What I really enjoyed was when she said, "I don’t think that you can do an ultra and not have some points where you’re going to struggle mentally. If you never struggle mentally then potentially you’re not running fast enough because you should be feeling bad at some point. That is how it is. It’s a race! I think what the good guys have learned is how to shorten the period of how bad it goes, control the losses at that point."
This podcast delves into:
A couple of months ago, Brook ran the Ultra Trail Mont Blanc. A 171km race with 10,000m+ elevation gain - basically the Olympics of the trail running and ultra running world. We discuss her experiences at this mammoth race in detail and her recount of the event is both insightful and laugh-out-loud funny - "in the middle of it all... at one point I just thought…you had no idea at all!"
If you've never dabbled in the trail running world then this podcast may have you considering it! Brook describes in a beautiful way her take on why she runs these distances, "the unknown, that’s the aspect of ultra-running that I love. Nobody, I don’t think the best guy or girl in the world or the last back-of-the-packer... nobody ever knows how it’s going to unfold. And that’s the really exciting, and also very scary thing, of standing on a start line…I love the opportunity and the potential of that moment."
Brook is a bubbly and bright person and anyone that has met her will describe her as an infectiously happy person. We talk in depth about the mental side of UTMB and running in general and I feel everyone will take something away from this part of the discussion. What I really enjoyed was when she said, "I don’t think that you can do an ultra and not have some points where you’re going to struggle mentally. If you never struggle mentally then potentially you’re not running fast enough because you should be feeling bad at some point. That is how it is. It’s a race! I think what the good guys have learned is how to shorten the period of how bad it goes, control the losses at that point."
This podcast delves into:
- Pressure, both internal and external
- Finding something you’re passionate about
- Preparation and training details
- UTMB: nutrition & hydration, mental strength, reflections
- Diet and managing injuries
- Brook’s view on the purpose of running
- The importance of constantly learning, reflecting and adapting
"You can’t love the glory moment without loving all the other bits in between. Which is really the vast majority of it! Everyone only sees the tiny tip of the iceberg, they don’t see the whole bit under the water."
Spoiler alert - the advice at the very end is something I think we can all take away from this podcast.
We hope you enjoy this conversation!
We hope you enjoy this conversation!
"It’s not very hard to make something a priority when you find something that you’re really passionate about. It’s not a sacrifice if you’re passionate about it"