From War Zones to Ultra Podiums: How Running Makes Joshua Stevens Thrive - RTTT 2020-02-12

From War Zones to Ultra Podiums: How Running Makes Joshua Stevens Thrive In this episode, Coach Claire digs in to find out how Joshua went from that shocking diagnosis to running his first ultra at age 44, and eventually becoming the Badwater Ultra Cup Champion. We also learn how he approaches training and injury prevention, his plant-based nutrition, and how he could run for 24 hours on a treadmill. Joshua has incredible insight and is an inspiration, even if you don't plan on running any farther than a local 5K. His experiences overcoming his injury, racing for 24 hours, and helping to pace and crew for friends are enlightening and huge confidence builders. Questions Joshua is asked: 4:42 How do you look at aging and running performance? 6:27 What percentage of your training goes to all the 'extra' things beyond actually running? 7:17 How can people learn to stop worrying and love the treadmill? 9:38 What was it like to go through your spinal injury, receive a diagnosis that you'd never run again, and then actually start running again from scratch? 11:41 What were the steps you took to start running all over again? 12:52 What is the experience of pacing, and being paced, like? 14:49 How do you talk to somebody you're pacing through the Dark Times of a race? 15:55 What is it like to be running an ultra really hard in the middle of the night and being sleep deprived? 18:25 What other learnings from your military experience carry over into your running? 19:36 How did you develop your running form and what tips would you share with us? 21:18 Is it easier to have better form in the gym than on the road? 22:47 What do you normally eat before and during a run? 26:14 Do you have any mantras that help you get through races? 27:59 Can you develop a positive voice when you're not racing? 30:11 What advice would you give yourself back when you started running? 31:27 What is the best gift running has given you? 33:03 How can people connect with you? 33:35 What's on your horizon? Quotes by Joshua: "It's what you do with the other 20 hours. At least two-thirds to three-quarters of everything that I do is in support of the actual running." "If you have a negative mindset from the moment you step on the (treadmill) belt, it's never going to be a good experience." "I'm just exceedingly stubborn. If you want me to do something, tell me not to do it, and I will make it my life's mission; it will become my purpose to do it." "I didn't know what I'd been missing until I got to pace and crew for some of my friends." "Where sleep is absolutely imperative is in the training and recovery cycles. I typically get between 8 and 10 hours of sleep a night. I try to be routine in that sometime between 9:00 and 10:00 is when I'm going down and getting up organically between 6:00 and 7:00." Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel Mentioned in this podcast: Run To The Top Winners Circle Facebook Community RunnersConnect Facebook page Art Loeb Trail Run Rabbit 50 and 100 miler Spring Energy Products Wolf Pack - vegan-endurance-meal-for-athletes SPEEDNUT WITH CAFFEINE (Vegan) - Extreme Efforts Canaberry (Vegan)- Any Distance Fuel Kodiak100 Antelope Island 50-Miler Badwater 135 The Javelina Jundred Follow Joshua on: Instagram Facebook We really hope you've enjoyed this episode of Run to the Top. The best way you can show your support of the show is to share this podcast with your family and friends and share it on your Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media channel you use. The more people who know about the podcast and download the episodes, the more I can reach out to and get top running influencers, to bring them on and share their advice, which hopefully makes the show even more enjoyable for you!