June 11, 2025
Pain Has No Finish Line: Alyssa McClellan on Running 120 Miles, Raising 4 Kids, and Choosing Suffering
THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCASTAbout this episode
What does it take to run for 28 hours straight? To go beyond exhaustion—when your body gives out and only your will is left? Alyssa McClellan knows. She’s a former elite CrossFit athlete, a mother of four, and an ultra-endurance machine. At the Go One More Last Man Standing Ultra , Alyssa ran nearly 120 miles in just under 28 hours , outlasting every other woman and placing fourth overall . No pacers. No excuses. Just pure grit. But her story doesn’t start there. Before ultra running, Alyssa competed at the highest levels of CrossFit , ranking 252nd in the world and 156th in the U.S. at the 2018 Open. Her numbers speak for themselves: 320-pound back squat; 236-pound clean and jerk; 340-pound deadlift and 196-pound snatch. Now, she’s bringing that same fire to the ultra scene—trading barbells for blisters and short bursts for soul-crushing distance. And she’s doing it all while raising four boys. This episode goes deep into the pain cave —the place where most people quit and Alyssa keeps going. We talk aboutmental toughness , comebacks , and what it really means to show up, suffer, and choose to keep moving . No fluff. No finish line. Just raw endurance. Let’s go. In today's conversation, Alyssa takes me through her 28 hours of pain, how she kept pushing when things got difficult, training for these endevours as a wife and mother, her ambtions for the future, and so much more. Tap into the Alyssa McClellan Special. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and giving us a five-star review! I would also appreciate it if you share it with your friend who you think will benefit from it. Comment the word “PODCAST” below and I’ll DM you a link to listen. If this episode blesses you, please share it with a friend! S H O W N O T E S -The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs -BUY MERCH BEFORE IT’S GONE: https://shop.therunningeffect.run -Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ -My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en -Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz