The Adventure Jogger

Her Doctor told her that if she didn't make major changes in her life she probably wasn't going to live much longer. She took that to heart and started eating better, exercising, and eventually got up the courage to run. Dana's journey was not an easy one, and not everyone supported her major life changes.

The Desert Rats Stage Race brought Chris Ward, Phil Pinti and Paul Scheuring together and forged an incredible friendship. That friendship would lead to the new film about the race that shares the incredible stories of runners taking on the brutal race. Honestly, it's one of the best trail running films I have seen in years, and it will be available March 11th. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0ddwnZ5CEM&t=2192s

Celia Eicheldinger is one tough runner, who recently became the second woman to finish a brutal 200 mile race that most people have never heard of.

Ultra Runner, personal trainer, and now Trail Running Film Festival Host! Tera Pruett shares her incredible story. Get your tickets to the Asheville Trail Running Film Festival https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=101909 Sign up for the Grind on the Grid Backyard Ultra https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=97305

Ultra Runner and Coach Becca Jones noticed something unusual when she had a slower paced training block than usual, she was able to race faster. It sounds counterintuitive, but could the key to a faster, stronger ultra be slowing down, and running less?

Dustin Canestorp has had one hell of a life. From signing up for the Marines on a whim, to finding ultra running and using it to help him cope with Post Traumatic Stress, you are in for one heck of an episode.

He occasionally runs ultras in his Mailman uniform. Are long days on his feet delivering mail the key to his success? FYI: I consider this the first of the "lost episodes", recorded over the summer, I thought I had released this months ago. Only to find out I am an idiot. enjoy!

A brief run on American Ninja Warrior started Adam Ribeiro down a fitness path that lead him to trail and ultra running.

Tragedy made her a runner, and a pretty darn good one. Now Kelly Wei wants to bring more people to the trail and ultra community.

In our final episode of the year we team up with Henry Howard of runspirited.com to run through his list of the most inspiring runners of the year.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Adventure Jogger family. This episode features a lot of laughs and holiday cheer with AJW, Kelly O'Dell, Cole Crosby, Stafford and the whole Ploeckelman family. Enjoy!

The Tennessee Mile is a 1.1 mile loop with 340 feet of elevation gain each loop. This year Aaron Dana, Jill Dennes, and others took on a 40 hour event on this loop. Aaron and Jill would win and learn things about themselves along the way they never knew. This is a family podcast with young Koen Ploeckelman joining Stafford and I for hosting duties.

Hear all about Trail Running in the beautiful state of West Virginia and beyond with the amazing Aaron Watkins.

Past guest Vinnie Crispino from Pain Academy returns to talk about his epic first ultra. Vinnie took on a brutal 50 miler called the Old Cascadia and was in a little over his head.

North Carolina Ultra Runner Canyon Woodward is familiar with the trails of his home state, but he had to familiarize himself with the political landscape of Maine when his best friend from college asked him to be her campaign manager for a race that no one thought they could win.

Born and raised in Utah, Ultra-Runner Reid Woolsey recently moved to North Carolina. He would use the trails in his new home to set a new world record for vertical gain in a single month.

She loved long runs, he loved WODs, they found love in each other. Rachel Daw and Brian Papay share the story of finding each other and sharing miles together.

Rick Olderman has been a sports and orthopedic physical therapist for over 20 years and what he has discovered about the root cause of injuries and pain could change your running for the better. Check out Rick's website at www.rickolderman.com and enter promo code "FIXING YOU" at checkout for a discount.

Chris Fox is an Atlanta based trail and ultra runner who is also a lawyer and a musician. We explore the similarities between the flow of a great run, and a great jam. Plus we throw in some music for your run with some new tunes from his band Bellwether Station.

Trails have been a huge part of Jonathan Riley's life, he builds them, runs them, and hikes them. A recent cancer diagnosis changed his life in many ways, but it didn't take away his love for running on the dirt.

It was an idea that started on a run, an idea for a new race registration website that would give back to charity. Through various chance encounters the idea would grow to include a race tracking technology that could change the face of trail and ultra racing forever.

Anton Krupicka finally ran his first race on the Beast Coast, The Clawhammer Mountain 50k in North Carolina. He shares his thoughts on the race and we talk racing, running, life and more. A fun conversation for sure.

A health scare led Joe Jude down the path to Ultras and a training run led him to a park that would capture his imagination, and challenge his endurance in ways he never thought possible.

Becca Joyner started the summer off with a race at Bad Water that did not go her way, at all. But she was able to bounce back and get a win at the Yeti 100, under the brutal conditions brought to the area by what was left of Hurricane Ian.

Ron Dawson is not your typical Instagram influencer, but over twenty thousand people look to him for his no bullsh!t Texas wisdom about fitness and life. He joins us to talk about is journey from a doctors appointment that set him on the path to fitness, and what made him decide to share his thoughts on the gram.

Ryan Clifford is a rising star on the Beast Coast, and he had one hell of a summer. Snagging wins at both the Black Hills 100 and the Eastern States 100 he brought home arguably the two coolest race trophies outside the cougar.

You don't have to run the Appalachian Trail all at once, you can break it up just like Meg Landymore did and "Section Run" the AT. Meg shares the story of why she decided to see the AT one piece at a time.

Brandy Ray battled addiction for years, and during one miraculous day she found the strength she needed to get sober and stay clean. With her newfound sobriety she would find ultra running, and discover the incredible strength and will power she used to kick her addiction would make her a force to be reckoned with on the trail.

Ultra Runner and Race Director Brian Mister has brought some unique ideas, such as pay what you can entry fees, to his "Around the Crown 10k" in Charlotte North Carolina. With a passion to make his city a better place, and his running community reflect the diversity of his city he created a race like no other, with ideas that ultra running may want to adopt.

Scotty Walden is the Head Football Coach for Austin Peay State University, and the youngest Head Coach in Division 1 College Football. He is also a runner, husband, father, and one of the most motivating people you will ever meet. Get inspired for your running and your life, and get to know the incredible Scotty Walden on this episode.

While running in college, Joel Zeigler came upon a race that captured his imagination, a brutal Alaskan 5k that started off as a bet. This 5k has more climb than some 50ks and Joel made it his mission to run the race. After many failed lottery attempts he finally got in, and ran one hell of an adventure at the Mount Marathon Race.

Amy Tucker had a great job, and big house and a son with a problem she couldn't find a solution for, until she took it upon herself to develop a product that would find uses in everything from days at the beach to Special Operators on the job. It would even be discovered by a group of people she didn't even know existed, ultra runners. Hear her amazing story filled with laughs and insight into why your current anti-chaffing routine may need an upgrade. You can order Salty Britches products here: https://getsaltybritches.com And save 20% on your order when you enter the code JOGGER

Kelly ODell has spent a lot of time around the race billed as "The Toughest Footrace On Earth", she even got engaged at the race. This year she decided to lace up her shoes and toe the line, and found one heck of an adventure in the 135 miles through the desert.

Tim Spaulding is an avid ultra-runner, he is one of those lucky folks who got into Western States on one ticket. Now he is tackling a new adventure, Race Directing. His first race is no easy task, he is taking over RD duties for the Mountain Masochist 50 Miler and 50k, a race that was started 40 years ago by the legendary David Horton. Use Code MTTR40 to get a discount on entry into this years race. Register here https://eco-xsports.com/events/mountain-masochist/

Danna Baxley's imagination was captured by Western States from an early age, but it wouldn't be until many years later that she would try and make her dream of earning the most iconic buckle in the sport a reality. Armed with knowledge from her Coach Andy Jones-Wilkins she would toe the line this year and have to deal with a DNF just 1.5 miles from the finish. How she dealt with that disappointment will inspire you and change the way you look at the word "success".

At a young age Brian Carlisle discover Motocross, it would become his life and obsession, and he was pretty good at it, until an accident nearly took his life and took his sport away from him. How did he handle having what he loved taken away from him, and how did he find the new hobby of trail running to fill the void? All that and more on this brand new episode.

As Jeff gets ready to run the Vol State 500k we break down the race, go through his pack to see what he is carrying and talk about his goals for the race many call the toughest foot race in the World!

Running saved Nita Sweeney's life, and what started out with miles hidden from neighbors eyes in pink sweatpants with her dog turned into ultras. Hear about her journey, finding meditation, writing books, and even a story about Stafford's out of body trip on this episode. Pre-order Nita's new book now. https://www.amazon.com/How-Make-Every-More-Meditation/dp/1642509892/

Ana Robbins started a couch to 5k plan during the pandemic, and that 5k lead to a dream to run a 200 miler, before she even ran a 10k. Her dream started with a half marathon Coach and a plan that would lead her to register for the Tahoe 200, and with the help of a new friend get to the finish line.

If Western States was scored like a Cross Country Meet, we would have won the tertiary podcast division thanks to the likes of Peter Morgan, Eric Fritz and "Team Altra on his shirt, but Team AJ in his heart" Kyle Curtin. Hear all about their adventures and find out which one of them dropped their significant other as a pacer.

John Shep battled a devastating eating disorder and used that strength to conquer miles on the trail. His attitude and love for the sport and community will make him one of your favorite human beings, he sure is one of mine.

Jeff drags the camper down to Franklin Tennessee and we get a chance to hang out at the Mid-State Mile, a brutal last person standing race. We chat with RDs John Cox and Becca Jones, runners on the course and my son Koen, who with a long run of 8 miles 5 years ago decided to enter at the last minute.

There is only one Andrew Stackhouse, and his take on life and hisadventures that lead him to trail and ultra running will have you have laughing the miles away.

Harvey Lewis is living proof that some things get better with age. He recently returned to the Fans 24, one of the oldest 24 hour races in the country, to see how he stacked up against his 20 year old self, and with 26 more years on his legs and countless amazing performances, he set a new course record. ***Special Bonus for anyone who listens all the way to the end, you will learn things about Harvey that have never been shared on any podcast before.***

Atlanta runner Lauren Jones traveled West to run the Cocodona 250 and was the second Woman to cross the finish line. Hear her story from her first mile training for her first race, to her last mile in the desert.

Beast Coast runner Cole Crosby was gifted an entry into the brutal Cocodona 250. With some unorthodox training and big goals he headed out to the desert and had one heck of an adventure.

Fresh off her World Record, Jacky Hunt-Broersma joins us to talk about why she decided the take a crack at the marathons in consecutive days World Record and the ups and downs along the way.

Beast Coaster Taylor Verville found exactly what she needed in the trail and ultra community, and discovered that the miles on the dirt helped her overcome self doubt.

Amanda Iannello Collins is an ultra runner that made history this spring in the marathon world. She became one of only two women to run the Boston Marathon twice during the same pregnancy.

More stories, more data! Dr. Thomas Mueller of Appalachian State University is back to share more old school Ultra Stories, and break down the latest data in his research on how Ultra Runners think.

After breaking his back twice Vinny Crispino was ready to give up on everything, including life. A chance encounter at a grocery store led him on a path to discovering where pain comes from, and what he could do to help himself and others conquer it. After barely being able to walk he found the world of running, and is using what he learned to run pain and injury free as he gets ready for his first ultra race. Vinny put together a video just for Adventure Jogger listeners. Incorporate this into your rest and recovery routine. https://youtu.be/SQtxOv3hWLU You can also find Vinny online at painacademy.net