Episode 63: We Went Live 5K PR, Rocket City Announcements, and Zion 100 with Rhonda Hayden, Ben Green, Chris Lott & Brian Murphy
Anthony and Zach recap their first ever live podcast recorded on location at Southern Prohibition's Big Run 5K in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. They break down race day performances including Anthony's 5K PR, reflect on what made the live format so electric, and share what's coming next for the show including bringing on a dedicated videographer named Jeremiah who was weaving through the race course all night capturing content, and their plans to do more live events moving forward. The energy at a live race is just different and after this one, there is no going back. Then stick around for four back to back guest interviews recorded straight from the event. Rhonda Hayden of Kinda Gritty joins to officially announce Endurance State of Mind's Podcast Alley partnership with the Rocket City Marathon, giving listeners a preview of what the 50th anniversary race weekend will look like for runners and fans alike. She breaks down the full podcast alley concept, the six podcasters coming in from across the southeast, and her vision for transforming both the pre race and post race experience for every runner who toes the line in Huntsville this December. Southern Prohibition owner Ben Green talks about catching the running bug at 39, what the mental side of running has meant to him in recent years, building one of the most welcoming run communities in South Mississippi through Wednesday run clubs and Fleet Feet pub runs, his Big Butts 25K goals, his obsession with finding rare sneakers nobody else has on the rack, and what's on tap literally at one of Hattiesburg's best kept secrets. Ultra endurance athlete and certified Sherpa Chris Lott stops by fresh off the 5K to talk about watching Unbound Gravel, heat training for Big Butts, the exploding ultra running scene across Mississippi, and how races like Mississippi 50 are selling out faster every single year. He also reflects on the influence of storytelling and podcasting on the growth of the sport and what it means to have a community of people pushing each other to do hard things. And finally in his third appearance on the pod, Brian Murphy makes it official. He's signing up for the Zion 100, a hundred mile race in Utah next April alongside Zach, Anthony, and what's shaping up to be the largest group of Mississippians ever assembled in the state of Utah at one time. Brian talks through the mental process of leaping from a 50 mile to a 100 mile, why the training is not as different as you might think, what it means to do a destination race with your people, and how a 5K bib number with the digits 1 0 0 on it was the final sign he needed to stop overthinking and just say yes.
https://www.instagram.com/endurance_stateofmind?igsh=cjBnanNobHhhYXNu
1 SPEAKER_00: Early morning, play night, mass on the play made up
fixed lay night mix with the fast in the legs, but it's all
in the mind with a wheel last week for the fast five days to
hunt it, scrap dust in our lungs.
Every story earned, every finish hard won, no hype, just the
truth, no filters, no cap.
Hosted by the miles, not the flame or the shine.
If you know, then you know.
Endurance state of mind.
SPEAKER_02: Welcome to Endurance State of Mind.
Zach and I are about five days off of the big run where we
hosted a live podcast.
We're about to do 20 minutes of recapping that, and then y'all
are gonna hear a bunch of live podcasts.
I will say, sound quality of myself, Zach, and our host sound
phenomenal.
There will be some background noise, however.
So sorry about that.
But honestly, Zach, I'm gonna say one thing and then I'm gonna
let you talk.
Listening to those podcasts today, we got to do more live
podcasts because that was so much better than I enjoy
obviously these because we get to do it every week and we keep
ourselves accountable, but the live sounded so good.
SPEAKER_05: I haven't listened to it and I've already come to
that conclusion.
I had an absolute blast doing that, man.
I don't know if it was the environment or just being in
person or a combination of it all, probably, but that was a
lot of fun, man.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it was.
It was.
We had a great time.
I think it was also it was super fun because um we almost look
like social media influencers out there for a few minutes.
Tell the people why.
Well, we uh I had the bright idea to let's start trying to
get some ad revenue into this into this um endurance state of
mind, and we need some content.
We need to show that we can produce content.
So I essentially said, I'm taking one for the team, I'm
gonna hire us a videographer, because Zach and I,
unfortunately, the two of us would love to do this kind of
stuff.
Neither one of us have the time to do it.
So I was like, I'm gonna bite the bullet, see if we can pay
for somebody.
We've always said we don't really want to make money doing
this.
So I was like, honestly, if we get somebody to pay for like
just somebody creating that content for us, that would be
like all we would want in life, you know?
So I bet the bullet we've got we had a guy videoing us.
It was kind of weird, kind of exciting.
Um his name is Jeremiah, so you may see him around, you may see
him around more.
Zach, what'd you think about it?
SPEAKER_05: To your point.
Um I don't know what to say.
It was uh you felt like uh, I don't know, somebody following
you around like that.
It was kind of cool.
You felt important.
You know what one of the cooler parts was the before where he's
catching us stretch and just catching up.
That's one thing.
During the race, that's another thing.
What was cool was I found it the coolest is like as part of the
live podcast, what he was capturing throughout that, and
we had a camera on us the whole time.
That was that was cool.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know, honestly, I could kind of forgot
that by that point I had forgot the camera was on us, you know.
And I think you had better line of sight to him than I did.
But I kind of forgot that the that the actual that he was
still filming.
It was funny to watch him in and out through the streets, like
capturing us where we were at.
So he did a he did a phenomenal job.
I I think the video quality is gonna turn out really well, so
we're excited about that.
Um we had we obviously big butts 5k.
Zach and I get there, we're hanging out for a little bit,
get set up for the podcast, for the live podcast.
SPEAKER_05: Big run.
We said big butts just because we're so got big butts on our
head.
SPEAKER_02: We were talking about that earlier.
Big run, 5k.
Um Zach and I were setting up for the podcast, then we end up
going and you know doing a little warm-up, talk a little
bit, and then it's time to roll.
And uh essentially I think Zach had his ideas and I had my
ideas, and they're two different, completely different
ideas.
Ended up not being bad for either one of us, though.
SPEAKER_05: They weren't two completely different ideas.
I think you specifically said I've I'm gonna do one of two
things, and uh what were those two things you were considering,
and which one did you choose, Anthony?
SPEAKER_02: I don't I don't remember what the second one
was, but I know one of them was like, I am gonna run so fast and
blow my heart rate up so quick that I'm gonna have to run
straight to the bathroom because I'm gonna have to use the
bathroom as soon as I get done with this run.
And I think the other one was I'm gonna blow my heart rate up
and not make it a mile and have to slow way, way down.
And that was not I I said that out loud, but I really meant
that that was not happening.
It was gonna be the other.
And Brian was trying to, I finished.
I I had a very good 5k, in my opinion, especially for not
doing a lot of speed work and PR in a 5K, but I Brian literally,
I come through the finish line, Brian's like trying to talk to
me, like, I gotta go to the bathroom.
Ran straight to the fortified.
SPEAKER_05: Dude, I like it straight off the back of an
episode that's talked about choosing violence.
Yeah, I think you said something like I'm either gonna go out and
socialize and my heart rate's gonna fly up, or I'm gonna
hammer.
And um, dude, what a what a run.
734 pace.
I was proud to see like you stay in it.
Like, you don't you like you kind of see a dip in pace, but
you didn't just like let it go from there.
Like you stuck in and fought and clawed back, and I loved that
stuff, man.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I wasn't I wasn't giving that one up.
I think that was actually a very good just you and I talking
here.
I think that was a very good starting point for what we have
for the next like 20 weeks of training because we've got
something to work with.
Like, if I go back and think about it, and I'd love I wish I
would have done this before the podcast.
I would love to see you and I did a 30-minute time trial
basically.
Whenever we first started, this is like the first time we ever
ran together.
We did a 30-minute trime trial.
I would love to see what that pace is and this pace is.
SPEAKER_03: Ooh, yeah.
SPEAKER_02: Because that was basically the start of a
workload to now and see where we're at.
SPEAKER_05: See, see, that's why baselining is so important,
people.
Like, you know, there's a lot of people we talk to and they just
don't even want to know what they're at.
But it is so it's such a good anchor point because you can
track your development.
Like now you're sitting here wanting to know what that was
because I wanted to know what this is, and this you can build
off of it.
But nah, that uh I won't say you surprise me, but it reaffirmed
you got the dog in you, man.
Like, like seriously.
Always at it.
You might surprise I think you surprise, I don't know if you
surprise other people, but I think people like watching you
because they know you work hard and they get to hear you on the
podcast.
So it is cool getting to see other people like dang, all
right, Anthony.
That's gonna be fun.
SPEAKER_02: I think I think it's a mixture of like this is gonna
sound bad because Chris mentioned Chris Light mentioned
it one time.
He was whenever we went out and whenever I did the 50 mile, he
was like, You really hadn't been training that much.
Like, I had not been doing 50 mile training, and he was like,
You just go out and crush this 50 mile.
And I'm like, dude, dog.
Yep, don't worry about me.
I'm a dog.
Oh, anyway, what about you?
You you had a you had a very good 5k?
SPEAKER_05: Yep, I was ending up running faster than I wanted to
run that night.
I've got three girls.
I came home with this wild metal last year.
It looks like a UFC belt put on a wrapper's three-inch chain
that weighs about eight pounds.
I brought that home last year.
The girls were like loving playing dress up with it, but
they're like, dude, dad, we're a couple short.
So I was on a mission this year to come back with that thing,
and I wasn't quite sure what what kind of shape I was in,
hadn't been doing any like speed-specific stuff, and um it
ended up being a fun race.
It was a lot of fun.
Our uh camera crew, it's funny saying that that man was all
over that course.
He had a guy driving him and he was hanging out the window.
He's gotta have some epic footage, but um, it was a lot of
fun.
It was a fun race.
Yeah, a lot of fun.
SPEAKER_02: I I thought it was I thought it was a great job.
You're you're also two for two um on holding down the down the
trophy, which was great, but and it makes it even better that the
girls wanted one another one to play with.
SPEAKER_05: Um I told him, and I think this is true.
That's the last time I could show up to that race, not
specifically training speed for it, because there's some I'll
just leave it at that, you know.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you gotta you you may be in trouble next year,
is what you're telling me.
Yep, yes, sir.
Yeah, I I heard you on that.
Um, I thought it was a it was a great time.
Lot of lot of people there.
Um they had cold plunges, they had a DJ, they had food.
Um, obviously Ben's Ben's obvious always got food.
They had some beers.
I think they were doing free beer if you had a uh medal.
Um it was just a ton of people there.
It was it was super cool.
We got to hang out and talk to just a whole bunch of folks that
we uh obviously y'all will see that are on the podcast, that
have been on the podcast before.
We have a third timer, a second timer, a first timer.
Um but fantastic.
SPEAKER_05: I mean, I thought it was great.
Golly, dude.
So we've talked about it a little bit.
We mentioned it here, but that just finish line adrenaline and
energy, and we gotta do more of yeah.
SPEAKER_02: I think, dude, I really think it's gonna be
harder to do post a marathon.
Don't get me wrong, but I do think we gotta do more like
maybe even pre and post, because like there's a different energy
around those type of events, you know what I mean?
So I think we gotta I think we gotta try something else there.
I I totally agree with you.
I was thinking that about that for big butts, like potentially
while we're up in Jackson finding a few people we know we
need to interview and interviewing them around that
time.
Um we also which we announced it last week, we didn't announce we
officially announced it with our partnership with Rhonda kind of
gritty and um Rocket City Marathon.
So Rhonda's on the podcast talking about that.
Um we will have podcast Alley at Rocket City.
Um we'll be there all weekend.
I think we're gonna record some people, we're gonna talk to a
bunch of folks, have some have some episodes hopefully
recorded.
Try not to kill ourselves before we go race or before we go run a
marathon the following day, but we'll be there probably Thursday
night till Sunday.
SPEAKER_05: You know what I think we're gonna do?
We're gonna lean into covering our builds toward.
We're not I'm not thinking about we're gonna do that.
We're gonna lean into our builds towards Rocket City, I think.
That'd be a lot of fun.
Like baselining it, documenting yours will be unique because
you're gonna have Berlin kind of in the middle, which will make
this even more fun.
But um, that's something I want to do.
And you and I can talk more about it offline, but I want to
be more transparent of what that kind of looks like, where we're
coming from, where we're going, where do we think we're gonna
land, the good, the bad, the ugly.
That'll be fun.
SPEAKER_02: Perfect.
Uh we also announced something on the podcast that we were not
expecting to announce last week.
SPEAKER_05: Very true.
SPEAKER_02: But we we did announce it.
Zach and I are both doing Zion 100 with a few other folks,
potentially even more other folks.
Um currently we have four people from Mississippi going.
I believe there's upwards of somewhere between six and twelve
at this point, potential to go.
Um, so the most people from Mississippi ever will be in Utah
in uh what is that, April of next year?
SPEAKER_05: April 10th.
You said that on the pod, I think, and that struck me so
funny.
Is this the most time anybody from Mississippi's been in Utah
at once?
SPEAKER_02: Like, that's hilarious, maybe.
I would have to say so.
This is gonna bring up some unfortunate news that you and I
have not talked about.
We're gonna be struggling for Fondrin.
SPEAKER_05: I thought about that.
By saying yes to Zion, we're effectively saying no to Big B
or a Fondrin.
I did think about that.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we're effectively saying no to Big B
or Fondrin.
Um yeah, so I That's interesting.
I felt bad for doing that, but I I'm I mean we'll we'll still
probably show up.
Yeah, we'll maybe we'll show up in a supportive role instead of
a racing role.
SPEAKER_05: That's what I was thinking too.
That's kind of like the silver line.
We'll show up in a different capacity.
SPEAKER_02: Yep, 100%.
Um, what else you got, dude?
I don't know that I have too much too much else.
SPEAKER_05: I'm gonna save all the excitement I've got building
around the tour for a dedicated tour catch up, but as the we get
closer and closer, I got more questions to ask you.
More and more developments coming.
SPEAKER_02: Dude, I want to get a few people on the tour.
Uh I want to get a few people, different people on during tour.
Maybe we'll we'll figure that.
We'll talk about it later.
Anyway, all right.
Well, for everybody listening, you're gonna have um Rhonda
Hayden on.
She's gonna talk a little bit about um Rocket City, kind of
gritty, what she has going on.
Ben Green then follows that up and jumps on for a minute.
If if you don't know Ben Green, he has an awesome story.
He is the owner of Sopro, he does a lot of running events
around, like just he is a genuine person who wants to
bring the running community up.
And whenever somebody says, Hey, can we do a group run?
Hey, can we do anything?
He is 100% on board, so I think that's awesome.
Um, owner of Sopro, I don't we we asked him about his favorite
beer brew he has going on right now.
Ask him about some of the best food.
Zach and I are even talking about where what we eat there.
Um and then after that, we're gonna have Chris Lott, who is
one of the potential six to twelve that I was that I was
just talking about, the easily influenced, as as I will say.
Um I I didn't I haven't texted him.
I was gonna text him today and say like just put some eyes up
before we actually post this podcast to see if you see if
he's interested, but we'll see.
Um then Brian jumps on, and that'll be the end of the
podcast.
So everybody's about 10-15 minutes, something like that.
Um we appreciate all your guys' support.
Please like, follow, share, subscribe, do all the great
things, and uh we will see you next week with our regularly
scheduled program.
I kind of like it, but it it's completely go one in, one out.
SPEAKER_08: Yeah, I don't like to hear myself.
SPEAKER_02: Let's see, make sure the volume's right.
SPEAKER_08: I can hear you.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, can you hear yourself?
Yeah, yeah, it's it works.
Yeah, it's not crazy.
It's not bad.
I do one in, one out that way, because I'm not sure.
Yeah.
If you if you hate it, don't wear it.
SPEAKER_03: Take it off.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
It's it's whatever you want to do, it's totally fine.
Um, you gonna do the intro, Zach?
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, we are, we are intro rhonda.
SPEAKER_08: What are you doing?
Playing the Rocky music?
SPEAKER_05: No, no.
I'm ready whenever.
SPEAKER_08: I'm just taking.
SPEAKER_02: It's all you, boss.
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
SPEAKER_02: Well, we're recording.
SPEAKER_05: Welcome everybody.
We are live podcast recording on this Wednesday, June 3rd from
Southern Prohibition in Hattiesburg.
We are at the big run.
I think it's the 50th annual for Fleet Feet.
It's the second local for Hattersburg.
Yep.
What the turnout we have, Anthony.
We have a very special guest to kick this thing off.
I don't there couldn't be somebody better to start this
with.
Who do we have on right now?
SPEAKER_02: We have the one and only Rhonda Hayden from Kind of
Gritty.
She is with, she's actually about to announce something
pretty big, but she is with us because we are doing a
sponsorship with Rocket City Marathon.
And Rhonda, I'm gonna let you to kind of take it away with the
podcast.
SPEAKER_08: Okay, so um Anthony, uh, y'all are going and Zach are
gonna be a part of our first ever podcast alley for the
Rocket City Marathon.
So we have um gathered six different podcasters from around
the Southeast that all touch on different aspects of running and
training in the running world, and we're bringing them to
Rocket City and gonna do about 12 podcasts with everybody
before the race weekend.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so we will be at Rocket City Marathon all
weekend doing podcasts, having just having a blast.
Zach and I kind of mentioned it last week where we were like, I
told I actually mentioned to our audience that Zach was gonna run
a 230 marathon.
SPEAKER_05: Ooh.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
SPEAKER_05: And what did I mention?
SPEAKER_02: That you were gonna that you were not gonna do that.
That's what you mentioned.
No, no, no.
You said that I was gonna Boston qualify there.
And I said, Yeah, we'll see.
SPEAKER_08: Y'all are challenging each other.
SPEAKER_02: That's exactly right.
We're what, six how how many months?
How far are we away?
SPEAKER_05: Uh six months, eight days, and 12 hours.
SPEAKER_02: Almost right on, six months away.
Yeah, easy.
So it's gonna be here before you know it.
SPEAKER_08: Y'all just scared me.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
Oh no.
SPEAKER_05: You think that all just sunk in?
We're on the website, we've got a countdown clock.
Oh boy.
SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah, we're super close.
So, podcast alley.
There's gonna be right now, you've got how many podcast
boots in the city?
SPEAKER_08: There's six podcasters.
And the cool thing about it is everybody takes on a different
aspect of the running world.
Um, out of all these six individuals or group podcasters,
y'all are kind of the leaders of the pack, is where we positioned
you to kind of um talk to people about what Rocket City's history
is and some of the bigger names of runners that used to come in
the 70s, 80s, early 90s, and what those leaders look like now
on the race course.
And I think y'all are gonna be perfect for it because last year
you came out there with the video camera and the drum and
Zach and um uh Josh Rand, front of the pack, leading um a lot of
people that were a part of y'all were pacers for a group.
So I just think y'all have a great aspect uh to be able to
tell that story.
And then we have a nutritionist out of UAB, we've got a girl out
of Tuscaloosa that's gonna talk about um mental stability and
mental games when you're running and training.
So I think that's pretty cool.
We've got a back-of-the-pack podcaster.
We've got one podcaster that's really gonna focus on um first
time marathon, half marathon, and then she'll also do 5K, 10K
training.
And then our last one is gonna tell some stories about some of
the runners that we have coming this year.
SPEAKER_02: Perfect, perfect.
So it's like fits right in line, especially with last year,
because you and Josh, Zach and Josh were pacing people that are
trying to qualify for Boston, which I think the Arctic blast.
Yep, in the Arctic blast, we're where infamously Josh told us
that there was no way it could drop 40 degrees, and it sure
enough did, real quick.
Um so we're excited because it was such a fun race.
It was I if if people are listening to this podcast,
they've never done a Rhonda Hayden kind of gritty event.
They once they go to one, they'll never miss another one.
SPEAKER_05: I couldn't agree more.
I'm so glad we had last year's experience under our belt that
we can build on because we we kind of know what we're getting
into, and I would show up without this affiliation.
That's how good of a race it is.
And Rhonda, you're not the one that just rests on your laurels.
You're always kind of showing us something.
I'm thinking about this.
You're always constantly tweaking and looking to add
value to races.
So the runner experience it gets better every year at one of your
races.
SPEAKER_08: Well, we appreciate that with the Huntsville Track
Club being the main organizers of the race and stuff, and I
work side by side with them, and they are such a gracious group
to work with, and they just give us all the opportunities to
bring in new aspects and stuff in this podcast alley.
I think we're all super excited about it.
One of my main focuses for the race this year and the 50th
anniversary is I think a lot of times in the bigger races like
this, we miss the pre race experience and the post race
experience.
So those are two aspects that I really want to build on with the
Rocket City Marathon.
I feel like the podcast alley is gonna be the pre race
experience.
It's gonna educate people about training, nutrition, what the
race course looks like.
What they can expect on that weekend, so they come in fully
prepared, and then we've got some really cool stuff that
we're bringing on board um with race results and technology
incorporating AI into it to give you a post-race experience after
the weekend, too.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we're super excited.
It's funny, it's a 50th year for this run that we just did today,
and then also 50th year for Rocket City.
That's pretty awesome.
SPEAKER_05: You planned it right, Anthony?
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02: I'm PR in this race and I'm PR in Rocket City.
You heard of your first.
I've not done a marathon yet, so it doesn't matter what I do,
it's a PR.
unknown: There you go.
SPEAKER_03: You're gonna be right.
SPEAKER_02: That's awesome.
What um what other events you got going on?
SPEAKER_08: Um salute red, white, and blue out of Camp
Shelby where uh, you know, I just absolutely love this race.
Last year was the first year that we got to do it um raising
money for the youth challenge.
But registration opens on July 7th, and then the race is on
November 7th.
So we'll be kicking that off in a couple of weeks and doing lots
of uh advertising for it and stuff.
And of course, we'll like we do with all our events, we will
open up with a 24-hour introductory price where you
just won't be able to beat that price, especially in this day
and age.
SPEAKER_02: Awesome.
Well, if Zach and I are in town, we are gonna do a live podcast.
I hadn't even told that Rhonda that yet, but we're gonna do a
live podcasting.
What do you think?
I love it.
Awesome.
Well, Rhonda, thank you so much for coming on.
Um we appreciate it, and we look we are looking forward to Rocket
City Marathon coming out.
SPEAKER_08: And hey, anybody out there that wants to come run the
race, not only will uh Zach and Anthony be at the expo all
weekend long, they will be doing a live podcast from the Rocket
City Marathon Expo either on Friday or Saturday, and we'll be
pushing that calendar out there.
We also, um by the end of this weekend, we will have a page on
the Rocket City Marathon dedicated to all our podcasters
so you can hop on that page and see when uh Zach and Anthony are
scheduled to air their podcast and what those podcasts will be
about.
So we're excited and we hope you follow along on this journey.
SPEAKER_02: That's awesome.
Thank you so much, Rhonda.
We appreciate you for being on.
Thanks, Ronda.
He just uh I just like bumped knuckles with him.
I was like, how did you get so cold?
SPEAKER_05: Doesn't Kevin Hart do like a what does he do, ice
cold with somebody?
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, he does like a plunge bath where he like
interviews people and they're like trying to talk in the ice
bath or whatever.
SPEAKER_05: That's pretty cool.
Our next guest, Ben Green, owner of Southern Prohibition.
I think Ben said instead of having to choose between two of
my favorite passions with like beer and running, let's just
combine both.
Yeah, and it's just merged two beautifully.
So we're sitting here as kind of like some of Ben's brainchild, I
imagine, being a key part of like this global running day
event.
So, Ben, long time coming, man.
This is the first time we've done a live pod.
So tell the people about yourself.
SPEAKER_07: Thank you, thank you.
Yeah, I um I'm a Hattiesburg native.
Um, I was born here, my you know, kids were born here, and
I'm not gonna say I'm gonna die here, but you know, there's that
possibility.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
Um, so you obviously start Sopro.
Did were you into the running well before that?
Like what kind of give us a little bit of background into
your running history?
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, yeah.
So Sopro opened up in 2013, and I uh I was still playing adult
league soccer at that point uh several times a week.
So I was still in pretty decent shape to run, you know, I could
get up and just kind of run a 5K whenever.
Um but really though I didn't catch the running bug probably
until my uh my wife was pregnant with our first uh child.
Um I'm a little bit older, I'm um I was 39 at the time, and I'm
kind of looking around and I'm like, man, I've got to uh I've
got to work on my my fitness and my body if I'm gonna be here and
try to keep up with these you know kids.
SPEAKER_03: Yep.
SPEAKER_07: Um because it's a lot, it's physically and
mentally uh demanding.
So it was like, hey, I I gotta start running.
And I never I never realized how much I was gonna enjoy it.
Because I I enjoyed it in the past.
Um I've always been you know pretty lean and you know uh
running just kind of came easy, but I really kind of started
enjoying the mental benefits of it, I guess, most recently in
the last couple years.
So nice, very nice.
SPEAKER_02: So you we actually have been trying to get you on
since Rocket City last year, I believe, and we just keep we
keep not doing it.
We actually wanted to all we've always I think they're probably
announcing Zach as the winner of this race right now as I hear
those cheers.
We'll get that big big chain for you later, buddy.
Um anyway, so we've been trying to get you on since then.
However, we've also said this whole time then we're gonna do a
live podcast at Sopro.
So we're glad we're finally here.
I hate that it didn't happen because you do y'all do Thursday
run with Pine Belt Pacers, isn't that correct?
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, so we have a Wednesday uh our Wednesday run
club, and then once a month we do the fleet feet pub run.
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
SPEAKER_07: Um, and you know, he has different uh Chris will have
different reps come out and uh you know demo shoes and you know
just different things like that.
SPEAKER_05: So it's cool how this ended up kind of like that
was the intent back in December.
Yeah, worked out perfectly here.
Yeah, yeah, it's just perfect.
SPEAKER_02: It really has.
It's it's unfortunate we're just now getting here, though, is the
problem.
But yes, it has worked out perfectly.
I wish we could have done this on a Wednesday and had everybody
like from the run club like sitting here listening to us,
but still it's working out phenomenally.
Yeah, you dude, you're doing awesome things for the running
community, and we're so proud to have you here.
Absolutely.
And do these things.
You got any uh you got any races coming up?
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, so I've got uh I've got big butts uh coming up.
Let's go basketball.
Let's go.
SPEAKER_02: What uh distance?
SPEAKER_07: I'm calling it little butts.
I'm doing the 25k.
I uh I haven't I haven't done a ton of uh trail running, um,
especially like in the heat and the stagnant heat.
But you know, I did the the Mississippi 50 and I did the the
little one, I did the 25k, and I just like loved it.
I just feel like my my body and mind is built for the trails
because I'm like a little squirrel.
I'm just like constantly you know adjusting my feet and
shuffling along and it's uh I I had a lot of fun.
So I was like, hey, you know, I did I did well at that race, and
I was like, I'm going to try to, you know, do something at Big
Butts.
And then at that point, then I'll feel like okay, I need to I
need to do actual Big Butts next year and bump out the uh bump up
the distance a little bit.
SPEAKER_02: There we go.
You you say that now until you get to Big Butts, and then
you're gonna be like, maybe I'll just do 50 miles at the
Mississippi 50 because that's better than it's gonna be well I
you know I've been trying to run uh in the middle of the day the
last uh couple weeks, and I mean it's hot, but yeah, I mean it's
just gonna get hotter and hotter.
SPEAKER_07: This is this is nothing.
SPEAKER_02: I've been doing the same thing trying to heat
acclimate for that.
It's it's gonna be I think it's gonna be brutal.
It's you people should listen to Zach's podcast whenever or
whenever we talked about it last time, but it's like you dip down
and it's like the air does not leave.
It's like just suffocation on you.
SPEAKER_05: I think y'all's joke is it felt cooler in the direct
sunlight.
SPEAKER_02: Yes, than it did in the woods, and that's like that
does not make sense whatsoever.
So I'm excited to hear what your thoughts are after the race.
Yes, yes, dude.
You'll have a great time.
25k is gonna be so much fun.
I wish I was doing that with you.
Um unfortunately, we've got a bone scan in the Ultra.
Yeah, we've got a bone scan a few days after, so we've got the
50K, but you know, well, whatever.
It is what it is.
SPEAKER_05: Ben, before we let you go, everybody's favorite
subject.
I've really appreciated you being a sneaker head and you
always got some cool content.
I saw you walking around in a pair of camo Nike Vomero
premiums.
There they are, like or something to that effect.
Yep.
What's like your kind of like favorite go-to shoes?
What's in your rotation these days?
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So I uh I'm very much a uh a shoe junkie.
Let's go.
Um as I've gotten into running, obviously that's gone from like
sneakers to more like running shoes.
Um man, I was uh they don't have slackers in the ball.
I I don't know.
I rock a lot of different things.
I guess the Mega Blast is my like go-to right now.
Um just loving that shoe.
Um I'm trying to put as many miles on that as possible, so
then I can go buy the Super Blast 3 because I am I used to
be a Super Blast 2 fanboy.
Uh so you know, I don't know.
I'm I love basics.
Uh and uh these Nikes are actually you know surprisingly
good too.
I have a pretty thin foot and uh I've kind of always liked uh
liked how they feel on my foot.
But yeah, I I tend to try to find the sneaker head in me
wants to find something that I can't find on the rack.
Even though it's if it's like a color that's you know, it's
like, oh I had to I found that online and then I had to go
enter a raffle.
That that's the kind of sneakers I'm like, oh yeah.
I'm trying to pull up and have everybody like, what is those?
SPEAKER_02: I like it.
He's going for that niche effect.
Yeah, seek these out.
Yes, yeah, yes.
I like that.
That's I was not expecting that out of you.
SPEAKER_07: There's some like uh the minted uh endorphin 5
chromes.
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
We're Instagram friends.
Oh I saw that and I saw you like that.
I think that's probably what made me think.
Those are sick, by the way.
They're crazy.
SPEAKER_07: They look like they're from the 80s but from
the future.
Wow.
That's the best way to describe it.
I'm gonna have to look these up.
SPEAKER_05: Let's go rapid fire.
If you've tried it, yes or no if you like it.
Yep.
Um Nova Blast, yes or no?
Uh no.
No, no, hadn't tried it or don't like it.
Haven't tried it.
Okay, you probably like it.
It's not as good as a super blast or the mega blast.
I'm jealous I have a wider foot.
Mega Blast isn't gonna work for me.
Evo SL.
No Adidas.
Okay, fair enough.
That might be the one that changes.
That is, that might be the one that changes your mind because I
wasn't either previously.
Um loves them.
Saucune, any is on the Socene platform.
SPEAKER_07: Love them.
Speed, Endorping Pro.
Um, I've gone through a couple pairs of endorphin pros, I think
twos and threes, and then uh yeah, speed's always a go-to.
I had Azuras arrived to my house today.
Have you tried the Azura yet?
SPEAKER_05: I haven't, but uh once again, kind of waiting for
these mega blasts to wear out.
I feel you, yeah, those mega blasts come with a price to you.
You kind of have to justify them loss to your wife.
You got to.
Yeah.
I saw what he was doing earlier with that comment.
Yeah, it was.
I I heard it.
He was justifying it.
It's it's good.
Got anything else for my man, Ben?
SPEAKER_02: No, we're good.
I appreciate you, Ben.
We both appreciate you for coming on, doing what you're
doing for the running community.
We we're proud to be a part of it with you.
SPEAKER_07: No, no, thank y'all, and thanks for uh thanks for
doing a live show with us and coming out and sharing the love.
I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
So if you're looking to come to a bar in Hattiesburg, Southern
Prohibition.
SPEAKER_05: More than a bar, ladies and gentlemen.
This menu is fantastic.
I think it's underrated and people don't talk about it.
We're sitting in this cool, like ambiance room.
What do you got?
Do you have an official name for this room?
Is it a cigar?
Just the lounge, yeah.
The lounge, awesome.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, so we do like, you know, uh trivia in here.
You can rent this space out.
And I think uh, you know, not to get all doom and gloom, but
during COVID, it was like, hey, we've got to, you know, really
kind of expand some things, and that's when we kind of decide to
put in the full kitchen and and anything that we've always done,
we've kind of gone in passionate with both feet.
So it's like, hey, if we're gonna do food, like it's gonna
be good food, and you know, the menu's gonna be top notch, and
we're gonna change it when we need to and keep it fresh, and
you know, that's just kind of our motto here.
SPEAKER_02: So now I got more questions.
Favorite, favorite uh menu item, favorite menu item.
SPEAKER_07: Uh Brussels sprouts are just like phenomenal.
Top notch.
Anthony's like, say less.
Top notch.
SPEAKER_02: That's my favorite thing.
SPEAKER_07: Which is crazy.
We're in South Mississippi, and people are like, I love the
Brussels sprouts.
I'm like, okay, well, we're doing something right.
Um, double Royale with cheese, uh the butt the burger, chicken
sandwich is good.
I think red beans and rice is my like go-to though, but that's
just like a personal thing.
SPEAKER_05: I like that arugula bowl thing that you go.
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I'm a big dude.
I normally go Brussels sprouts and then fries.
SPEAKER_07: Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_02: It's a weird combo, but yeah, I love it.
Fries are phenomenal here too.
SPEAKER_07: Girl dinner.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
Any um anything on the tap that you're super proud of right now?
SPEAKER_07: Even though they were yeah, I think that, you
know, we've got we've got all the mainstays that we kind of
always have, you know, just kind of keep the lights on.
But that that's what's cool about the tap room is we're
constantly doing new and and interesting things.
There's a Vienna lager called the Sun is Yum on that's
delicious right now.
Um, and then, you know, I'm really excited about some of the
gluten-free, like hard lemonades and stuff like that we've got.
Um, so yeah.
SPEAKER_02: Awesome, man.
Well, we appreciate you so much for coming on, dude.
We'll uh we'll catch you next time.
We're gonna have a longer podcast with you soon.
Yeah, for sure.
Yeah, good to see y'all.
Yeah, absolutely.
Thank you.
Well, good.
It's getting numbers.
Yeah, the numbers.
SPEAKER_05: It is getting the numbies, as they say.
So I saw I'm I'm catching on.
Anthony's already pushed record, right, Anthony?
Yep.
So here we go.
We're just getting right into this.
Um, you use this word all the time.
Uh, you gotta be this area's favorite Sherpa.
SPEAKER_02: Oh, we hadn't even announced who's on yet, Ped.
That's the thing.
SPEAKER_05: You know what?
Let's see if they can guess from these 10 seconds I'm stalling.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
The area's favorite Sherpa.
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
SPEAKER_02: Give us some more.
SPEAKER_05: Uh, man's been on an ultra-running heater, uh, one of
the most active ultra-cycling endurance families in southern
Mississippi, Hattiesburg's feed.
SPEAKER_02: Some people know them for the largest nutrition
pantry in the South.
Yep.
SPEAKER_05: If you're ever out of gels, this is the place you
want to raise.
SPEAKER_02: I actually think the feed distributes out of their
Oak Grove address, is what I've been told.
SPEAKER_05: This is what we need to do when we make our pitch to
feed, is act like our buy is part of the lots buy.
Yeah.
Oh, you guys have been supporting us at large farms for
a while.
SPEAKER_02: We're actually gonna put Chris's email as ours and be
like, hey, we need a discount code.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_05: Exactly.
All right, so that was your uh guesses, ladies and gentlemen.
If you hadn't guessed yet, we've got Chris Lott joining us here
live from Southern Prohibition.
SPEAKER_04: What's up, guys?
We appreciate you for coming on, buddy.
Yeah, man.
Just down here having a good time, watching the kids.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
How did uh how'd the little one do?
Uh he ran out about a 26, 24, somewhere around in there.
Did really well, you know.
Get a little bit of speed work in the legs.
He's been working this summer and getting his volume up.
So doing a little heat training as well.
Oh yeah, oh yeah.
SPEAKER_02: What have you been up to?
SPEAKER_04: A lot of work, man.
Just been doing a lot of a lot of running.
Yep.
Been in the gym, trying to get about two or three days in a
week and checking boxes and letting Ethan talk me into
things I probably shouldn't be doing.
SPEAKER_02: What's he talking you into?
SPEAKER_04: Because I got I think we all look on runner sign
up days on beware.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
So word on the street is Zach and I may talk you into
something here soon.
SPEAKER_04: Yep, yep.
SPEAKER_02: It's not hard at all.
Watch out.
For sure.
We got uh we got a special guest over here.
Yeah, she's coming to walk in.
SPEAKER_05: We have line of sight to multiple lots.
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, line of sight, many more microphones.
And we talk about defeat.
I was thinking Zach just goes on these random 50k runs.
I don't know why he don't run through Lake Serene because I
can't, he don't even have to carry anything.
I have to load him down.
Oh, look at that, you know.
Drop bag, a built-in drop bag.
And it's like, what do you want?
What do you like?
I have it.
SPEAKER_02: That is funny.
Oh, so you're running, training, what you training for right now?
Doing big butts.
SPEAKER_04: Yep.
Um I've kind of had to slow things down for me uh as far as
the heat training goes.
Um so I've kind of changed it up, doing like a minute 30 on,
30 seconds off, just controlling the heart rate, trying to get
the volume in.
Um not planning on you know a blistering pace by no means, and
wouldn't be anyway.
Uh just going over there to get time on feet.
Ethan wants me to do a 50 mile or the end of the year up at
Cloudland Canyon in Trenton, Georgia.
So that's in the plan.
Hadn't signed up yet.
Uh we signed up for the that backyard that Jackson's putting
on if it happens.
Yeah.
Um, I think you had signed up for it as well.
SPEAKER_05: Or mine did.
I'm waiting to see.
You confirm a few things and then I'm along.
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, um, and that's one of those things it's like
see what I can can't do.
And uh that's really it from here on out.
Uh probably start fishing to cycle a little bit, get that
back under my belt.
With the lane, she's fishing to kick off Iron Man training for
Chattanooga.
Uh just having fun with it, yeah.
Just like you guys.
Yeah.
What do you think about um Unbound that just happened this
past weekend?
I woke up at 5 15.
I was I didn't set my alarm, but I was like, I know I'm gonna
wake up, you know, and had to watch.
I knew the rain was coming just to watch that.
And the it's a completely different scenario than when I
was there and did that.
Yeah, I mean, we had a picture perfect day, light wind, which
is always windy in Kansas, but for comparable to their dry day,
um, and it was very hard.
Very, very hard.
One of the hardest things I've ever done.
But for to have to go through that mentally, the craziness
side of me is like, kind of wish I was there.
And then the other side of me is like, glad I wasn't there.
But uh it's fun to watch for sure.
Oh, yeah.
You know, when you're sitting at the TV, like, come on, y'all
gotta let's go.
But to watch like Keegan Swenson give his will up, uh definitely
wasn't expecting that.
And but then come back and finish fifth.
It just shows these guys how strong they are.
You know, and I think we all have that inclination of like,
man, I wish I could be there, just fill it for like an hour
one day.
Um but then the age groupers, when you look at that, I think
uh Lindsay Ostermiller from here, she she finished.
Um I haven't talked to her, but I I sent her a message on
Strava.
You know, a great job thing that I had to be just grueling.
Uh you talk about tear a bike up.
Oh yeah.
So but it's fun to watch.
I I always love watching those.
SPEAKER_02: Whenever y'all went, whenever you went out there, did
you have to um did you have to do any walking because of the
like peanut butter mut that they talk about?
SPEAKER_04: Or no, the only time that I walked, we went on a
descent of roads.
I was it's lucky you didn't die.
You know, I mean you hit these uh MMR roads, and when I tell
you they're just washed out and rocks, and you're I don't bunny
hop, but you're having to bunny hop, and you get to the bottom
and you're like, oh god, here's a creek.
You cross a creek and then it just kicks up, and then there's
like a 90-degree turn at the left, and you're like in
complete, you're in big ring, wrong gear.
And so yeah, you're like just hammering that gear, and it's
just not going anywhere.
And so, yeah, we walked up that hill.
Um, but I think maybe that was only one time we walked, you
know.
Uh you know, nobody flatted that day.
Um, so that was good.
So we I would like to possibly go back one day and I you know
you guys talked about the um Delta Epic coming.
That was something I always wanted to do.
Um, so those are goals out there, you know, something to
have fun with.
But yeah, I always enjoy watching Unbound.
So now I can't, I'll watch Sea Otter, uh Unbound, and then
they'll they'll have a break.
I love watching that Lifetime Grand Prix.
They really, it's kind of like Iron Man, man.
They lay the red carpet out.
And you want to talk about vendors, they really don't have
the vendors show up at Iron Man anymore.
But when you go there, it was three blocks, it was everything
you could think of.
SPEAKER_02: They do a fantastic job also with like post
recording for like the um YouTube channel and stuff like
that.
They do a phenomenal job.
I don't know if you've ever actually watched any of that,
but they're like people on a helicopter talking about like
all these leader lead group guys and stuff like that, they do a
phenomenal job.
SPEAKER_04: They really do.
I mean, they're they're putting their money out there, yeah.
And you can tell.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
SPEAKER_04: I mean, it's the largest gravel race in the
world.
Absolutely.
And people, I mean, that's why it's a lottery to get in, and uh
it's a long way.
I couldn't believe it.
When we got in and signed up, it was kind of like you wanted to
go, but then we found out we got in.
I was kind of like, oh God, I don't know if I want to go now.
SPEAKER_05: You know, that storytelling piece I think is
partly responsible for why we see such a growth in Ultra,
right?
These influencers that are telling stories that have their
own guys follow them on their channels and stuff.
So I love getting a little snippet of stuff like that after
a race.
If they're doing that, that's awesome.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_04: You know, you look at that, like you said, Zach,
and then the podcast, how it's grown.
There we go.
SPEAKER_02: Look at the man for the people that are can hear a
little bit of a uh dingle dangle.
There's uh Zach is getting his first place chain right now.
SPEAKER_05: Golly, this thing's like eight pounds.
SPEAKER_02: And it is a medal for sure.
SPEAKER_05: It's a big medal, yeah.
It is.
The girls are gonna love that one.
So, Ben, we just had Ben on the podcast.
He said, Do you have your old medal from last year with you?
I said, Yeah.
He said, You gotta put that on to go get this one.
I'm like, I can't do that.
I'm telling you to do this.
SPEAKER_04: Hey, that kid Gage that was right behind you from
Summerall, that kid could fly.
Yep.
Yeah, you can't just finish his sophomore year at Summerall.
SPEAKER_05: That's always humbling for me about to be 40
and a 15-year-old.
I'm still competing with a 15-year-old.
That guy is, I don't have many more years where I can compete
with kids like that as a gentleman.
I'm saying we're on different trajectories.
SPEAKER_02: That's what I was after that race, I told Zach, I
said, Father Tom is on his side, I assure you.
SPEAKER_04: Oh, but don't we all feel it?
Oh, sure.
Yes, we do.
But to talk about the YouTube videos and then you think about
the podcast world, I have a lot of windshield time, so I listen
to a lot of that, and you talk about the influencers as far as
ultra running goes, gravel racing alone, um, and how it's
grown the community.
Because you start going to these ultras, I mean they're just
loaded down with people.
I mean, you look at Mississippi 50, it's sold out.
Yep.
Um, if you don't sign up early, you may not get a chance to get
in.
I know there's a waiting list.
I think Jared had to wait to get in.
You had to wait to get in.
SPEAKER_02: I had to wait to I mean, I I pulled some strings,
but I was on the wait list for.
SPEAKER_04: But you look at the local uh communities, how you
know with Zach McCraney, what he does for the community and puts
on races and Rhonda does and what they're doing at Fleet
Feet, and then you broaden everything else, uh, like Rum
Bum Racing, the like Georgia Death Race Ethan did in the
Cloudland Canyon, those guys sell out.
And it's it's great for the community, I think, and it's
great for ultra running as well.
SPEAKER_02: 100%.
I think it's I think it's honestly doing a phenomenal job.
So it's growing.
It I mean, seems to me like it's growing.
I hopefully we can make it grow a little bit as well.
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and I get to brush up on all my Sherpa
skills.
I come down here to brush up on my Sherpa skills.
I was just coming down here to cheer and like stand around here
and wait on Eli and Bethany to get done, and I get suckered
into going down to the corner.
Actually, I was just going down there to take pictures, and
Angie was down there.
She was like, Will you stand here?
I was like, Of course I will.
SPEAKER_05: So I love seeing on your course, but I can see
everywhere.
SPEAKER_04: But I have a good time, man, even from the first
place guys to the last place guys.
So it's fun to cheer everybody.
And it's good to have people out here.
You're on Hump Day Wednesday, coming out here just out of 5K.
So, you know, um doing a lot more than a lot of people are in
this world.
So everybody wins today.
SPEAKER_02: Hey man, absolutely.
You got anything else for it?
SPEAKER_05: No, I'm just happy as a fan of the sport.
You know, as it's growing, we have more storytellers, whether
it's cycling, whether it's the tour, whether it's ultra
running.
You know, I love it all.
I'm here for it, all of it.
SPEAKER_04: Like yeah, and things are fishing to kick off.
We got the tour coming around in July.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02: Who do you think is gonna win the tour?
SPEAKER_04: I mean Holly Market, but what's the house right
there?
SPEAKER_02: I mean, uh it's gonna I don't know, it's gonna
be high for him.
SPEAKER_04: I mean, there's I mean, you look at like you talk
about unbound, some of those tour guys come over, yeah, and
they're so strong.
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
SPEAKER_04: I mean, it it's really amazing when you look at
their numbers, what they can hold.
I can't remember what the guy that won, I think his power was
like average 280 over nine hours.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, something like that.
I don't actually remember what it was, but it was something
impressive.
It was yeah, and he soloed for the last hundred almost.
SPEAKER_04: I mean, it's insane.
Yeah, it is.
But people can do it, man.
Yep.
A different breed, but yeah, I appreciate you guys.
Appreciate everything y'all do.
SPEAKER_02: We appreciate you for coming on.
And Zach and I have not mentioned this to anybody.
We're about to mention it, I'm about to mention it live for us
so that we can kind of influence you to come on.
Zach and I are doing Zion 100.
It's a hundred-mile race next April.
SPEAKER_05: Yep.
I see thinking.
SPEAKER_02: Go ahead.
Do you know what I'm about to ask you?
SPEAKER_04: It depends.
SPEAKER_02: It's not Sherpa Duty, I can assure you of that.
SPEAKER_04: What day in April?
April 10th.
SPEAKER_02: The 10th.
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
SPEAKER_02: You got plenty of time.
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
Where is this at?
SPEAKER_02: Zion National Forest.
April Valley, Utah.
Right outside of St.
George.
Yep.
30 minutes east.
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
What do we do there when we go?
SPEAKER_02: We're gonna run a hundred miles.
Together?
You and I can run that thing together, absolutely.
SPEAKER_04: Okay, well I can't answer it on here.
No.
But we'll talk about it offline.
My plan is right now, is I was gonna get through this 50, I was
gonna do the backyard, see where, see how it is, see if I
can my body can handle it.
I don't know.
I never ran that far.
Um, I think probably when you get past 50, it's all mental
anyway.
Yep.
Um, but I was planning on do it doing the 100 at the Mississippi
50 next year.
And but that's what I have planned right now.
So I'm not gonna say yes, and I'm not gonna say no.
SPEAKER_02: Dude, all you gotta do is drop that back four weeks
here in Zion.
SPEAKER_04: It's just a warm-up race.
SPEAKER_02: Hey, do you do the 50, do the 50 mile next year at
Mississippi 50 as a warm-up race or but the thing is I haven't
signed up yet for nothing.
Unfortunately, I have.
SPEAKER_04: Oh, you have?
You're kind of sucking me into it.
Unfortunately, we have.
Well, look, we run together great.
SPEAKER_02: We do run together for the week.
We really do.
SPEAKER_04: So we make a good team to go back and forth.
I'm just saying.
And look, I have the salt tabs.
I don't know if you'd have made it without them.
SPEAKER_02: I wish I could find those salt tabs.
You ain't.
They don't make them anymore.
I know.
I bought everything they had.
You know, talking about feed sponsorship.
Y'all gotta figure it out.
For sure.
SPEAKER_04: You gotta figure it out.
We all gotta do that feed sponsorship.
Yeah.
We gotta throw that 10% off from endurance state of mind.
We're trying.
SPEAKER_05: I love the influence on you you have on him, both for
his pacing, but he's used some of what he's learned through you
to help others, like with Hezekiah and others.
Like, so you are good for each other.
And just speak to Hezekiah.
I've got to meet the guy.
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, you know, I have never met him.
Fist bump for that coverage you got to us.
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, we got it.
SPEAKER_04: I've watched him the whole time.
Don't know the guy, but I know y'all and know how much y'all
think of him.
I know Ethan knows him.
It meant a lot to him.
Um I know the dark places, and I'm, you know, not I don't know
exactly what you need, but any encouraging word helps when
you're out there in a dark, dark place.
SPEAKER_05: I was getting to reference my phone and give him
what you were saying.
Yeah, it is that's that's the cool thing about our sport too,
right?
You don't know the guy, but you know exactly what he's going
through.
Yeah, and that's something.
Absolutely something.
SPEAKER_04: You look at some of these people at the end of this
race, you know.
I'm telling all that, look, your slowest run is faster than your
fastest walk.
Just know that.
Yeah, and they kind of look at me and they think for a minute,
and they start just barely moving, you know.
You can do anything, you can do a little bit more than you
think.
100% everybody can.
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely, totally right.
All right, we're gonna let you get out of here.
Yeah, man, appreciate you guys.
Your wife's got a birthday today.
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, today's Delane's birthday.
Happy birthday to the wife.
You want to come say something?
You want to come get on, babe?
unknown: I wish you did.
SPEAKER_04: All right.
Come on.
I mean, she's used to talking to third graders.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
So it's just like taste actually.
This podcast is basically a bunch of third graders.
SPEAKER_04: Come on.
Just come in and let them talk to you, man.
Just say hello.
It's your birthday.
SPEAKER_05: We want to get the wife's perspective of the feed
pit the lot feed page.
SPEAKER_04: Right.
She can go to a dark place and live there.
SPEAKER_02: We'll we'll make it very quick.
Thank you guys.
And if you hate everything we're saying, we can edit it out, I
promise.
SPEAKER_03: That's okay.
SPEAKER_02: Totally fine.
SPEAKER_05: You're gonna be able to hear so well with those
headphones on.
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
SPEAKER_05: So we want to know more about the lots uh gel feed
pantry here.
SPEAKER_01: We hear it from yeah, we just organized it.
It was pretty cleaned up today.
SPEAKER_02: And tomorrow?
That's a different story.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe.
SPEAKER_02: Well, happy birthday.
Yes, baby.
Thank you for coming on for a few seconds.
We appreciate it.
Um, you got any what's your favorite pantry item?
Yes.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, I use the scratch.
Okay.
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
SPEAKER_01: And then uh we've been using the I think there are
carbs, gel.
But like Chris said earlier, I usually just get the leftovers,
so I'm not too picky.
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
You just whatever's whatever's left in there, you're that's
what you're taking.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_05: You've got Chattanooga Iron Man coming up,
is that true?
SPEAKER_01: That's coming up.
SPEAKER_02: Okay, so that's the full, right?
Yeah.
70.3 just happened, didn't it?
SPEAKER_01: It did.
Usually that's in May.
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
So Chattanooga, anything else in between now and Chattanooga?
SPEAKER_01: No, not in between now and then.
Uh I may do the 20K at the Big Butts.
Okay.
Lacey Saul mentioned something about.
Yeah.
And I said, if you do it, I'll do it kind of thing.
I'm sure I'll have a run that weekend.
So uh we'll be up there anyway.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02: So this is doing it.
SPEAKER_01: He and our I may do that as a training run, and then
uh Chattanooga number eight, and then I'll be back at Cloud Lane
Canyon in December.
SPEAKER_02: There we go.
SPEAKER_01: Um, if you do five, Ethan said you get a cute puffy
jacket, so I have to do the five, right?
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
Where you at now?
This is this will be two.
SPEAKER_01: This will be number two.
But it's just a beautiful to meet hike, run.
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: They feed you really good breakfast.
So I'm not like Ethan racing it.
Like they have bacon at every aid station.
Oh, wow.
Yeah.
You should go up and do it.
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, we may join that.
unknown: Yeah.
SPEAKER_05: I just flashed back to Sedona.
They made me a bacon lettuce tomato sandwich.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, solid food.
SPEAKER_02: Zach was like, I'm gonna wait and eat this on the
course and didn't make it out of the parking lot.
That was a good one.
SPEAKER_01: I'm just gonna go to eat and see the views.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, perfect.
All right, well, we'll let you get out of here.
Happy birthday.
Happy birthday.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
Thank you so much.
All one off or take them off altogether.
Yeah, we do one on one off.
It doesn't look like it, but I've got one on, one off.
SPEAKER_06: My head's too little for that.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02: What happens?
I um I keep signing myself up.
I keep signing us up for stuff.
And then like it gets time to when we're supposed to do it,
and I'm like, shit.
SPEAKER_05: This off nicely.
Slow clap to you.
I can't believe how quick you got him to commit to that.
That's amazing.
I know that's dozen.
He likes that music.
SPEAKER_06: He's so recording.
Are we recording?
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we're currently recording.
SPEAKER_06: I think it like there's a whole lot of
Mississippi people that have this kind of idea of like
wanting to do a destination ultra.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02: Well, and I think we did a good job of saying like
destination ultras are a great idea because it it just brings a
different element to the race.
Like it brings a new excitement to the race.
Mississippi 50 is super easy to do and super fun because
location.
However, you and I going out to Sedona, we're like, I can't
believe we're here.
Oh yeah.
Wanting to like we're itching to run the race.
We don't we don't really want to run the race, but we're itching
to run the race with Hezekiah.
You know what I mean?
Because we want to be out on the trail with him.
So I think that um I think it's kind of getting easy to just
that's the first person I've tried to actually Ethan was the
first person I tried to get on, and then I was like, Ethan was
like, I'm not gonna be able to do it.
I got finals.
I was like, all right, I'll get Chris, and then Ethan will come
on.
SPEAKER_05: One out of two, not bad, man.
SPEAKER_02: So I think I may got I think I may have went two for
two.
SPEAKER_05: You know what?
I I don't think we're done yet.
It's just about how quickly this race fills up before we can talk
to people, yeah, because I don't think we're done.
SPEAKER_06: Well, by the end of the month, it'll be full of
Mississippi people.
It's 50% gone.
SPEAKER_02: This will be the most Mississippi people ever in
Utah at one time.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_05: That's hilarious.
That's funny.
SPEAKER_02: You know, it's it's funny about that is um this
weekend we were at a wedding, I was at a buddy's wedding in
Oxford, and whenever I went to college there, there was nobody
from there, there were three people from Jones County in
college at Ole Miss.
And I was like, this is we're at this bar for like post the
wedding festivities on Friday night.
And I was like, this is the most Jones County people that have
ever been in Oxford, Mississippi, and I hate it.
SPEAKER_06: It was your place, yeah.
And now it's not.
SPEAKER_02: Now it's not.
Now it's like, uh, what what are we doing?
Anyway.
SPEAKER_06: So who are we officially talking to?
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I know.
We're we're just letting the folks guess who is on, right?
SPEAKER_05: You know what?
I think we've had a bunch of a couple first tonight.
We had a first person on the podcast that it was their
birthday.
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
SPEAKER_05: Brian, I think, might be our first person to be
on three times.
Yeah.
Random passerby.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_06: At least is it more than three?
It's three.
It's three.
Okay, yeah, definitely.
Okay, cool.
Well, cheers, Brian.
This is the first time I'm seeing the setup, though.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02: Well, this is a normal setup.
This is a remote setup.
SPEAKER_06: Shout out to Anthony.
SPEAKER_02: Shout out to hopefully this is recorded.
SPEAKER_06: The red button is illuminated, so it's good.
SPEAKER_02: It's just Brian, thank you for coming on for a
third time.
SPEAKER_06: Happy Global Running Day, everybody.
SPEAKER_02: We hadn't actually even, I don't even know we said
happy global running day.
SPEAKER_06: Snuck that in to those who celebrate.
Everyone listening to this is celebrating.
SPEAKER_05: I've got an aw a fat a fact for our audience.
Did you guys know my third child was born on Global Running Day?
Yes.
Did you know that?
Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_06: I I know that because that was right around
the time we became friends.
And I remember that you were like, Yeah, I'm having a baby.
My wife's and I was like, that's great.
And then I I'm like looking open Strava, maybe to see pictures of
the baby, and I see Zach going for a run.
I'm like, how did he what time of day was that?
SPEAKER_05: I remember specifically.
It was three o'clock before Carrie went to the hospital.
Like, I've got to get a run in on Global Running Day when I'm
about to have a child.
How appropriate.
SPEAKER_02: It was 3 a.m.
Oh, no doubt.
Oh, Zach.
Listen, this man, he does not miss a run, does he, bro?
SPEAKER_06: No.
Oh, he's gonna get it in.
SPEAKER_02: I've never seen it.
Never seen something so dedicated.
SPEAKER_06: But in a few years, the uh your girls are gonna give
you a run for the for your money.
SPEAKER_05: Honestly, that's kind of like the long approach
that I have at this point, right?
Got to race a 15-year-old today.
We were joking about how many more races can I compete.
Gather ye rose buds while you can, you know.
My curve's coming down, that kid's is coming up.
Long term, that's how I look at it.
Like, I want to stay healthy enough to where if Zoe or Isla
or Frankie come to me one day and like, hey dad, I want to run
a marathon.
I want to be still able to run a marathon with them, you know.
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, I was just talking about this with my son
Patrick yesterday, and just now when you guys were off for a
minute, I was talking with Chris about how what we're doing is
paying dividends for our family, for our kids.
And there have been two or three days recently that Patrick
wanted to get up in the summer and run with me first.
I was like, all right.
And two days ago, I kind of didn't want to, but I'd already
committed.
And so on the run, we were talking about that, and he said,
Yeah, he said, I want to get faster, and I but I you know, I
want to be faster than you.
I was like, dude, you're going to be faster than me at some
point.
You know, there I'm hoping that I can keep getting there.
Like, but there's gonna be a point where maybe we're about
the same, and then you're gonna eclipse me as you get older.
Absolutely.
Um but I don't know, putting that into our kids and watching
that fire grow at a young age and whatever you did for Frankie
on her literal birthday.
SPEAKER_05: Well, it's I mean future Olympian, maybe I can't
wait till she's old enough to tell her that story and how she
laughs at it, you know.
But she's the sweetest thing now.
She sees me coming back in the morning.
Daddy, did you go for your run?
And you know the funny thing?
SPEAKER_06: Anybody Percept she just says it louder.
Oh, absolutely.
SPEAKER_05: I don't wanna I don't want to offend our
audience who has some earbuds in right now.
Listen to this.
But anybody she sees on TV, or if she she sees you or she sees
Anthony, she says, Is that your brother, your running brother?
And I'm like, you know what, Frankie, those are my running
brothers.
Yep, absolutely.
It's like the sweetest little voice.
SPEAKER_06: Perfect.
Yeah, it's funny.
Well, I don't know if y'all noticed this, but you should see
what my bib number is.
SPEAKER_02: Oh, look at that.
This is some for the people for the people listening, Ryan has a
go ahead, tell us 100.
And why does that have some significance?
Please tell me.
SPEAKER_06: Oh my goodness.
Some positive peer fresher, I think.
So I they you guys have already unearthed your your news, right?
So we're we're part of this growing community of
Mississippians headed out west in April.
And um, so I guess yeah, I'm I'm going to first 100 mile race.
I wasn't planning to do that, but I started to get FOMO a
little earlier.
I'm like, man, everybody's going for 100.
And so I let it simmer for a few days.
I talked to Zach about it a little bit, and then I go pick
up my race bib for this 5K tonight, and they give me my
bib, and it's bib 100.
I'm like, okay, that's that's the last, the last tip of the
scale.
SPEAKER_05: Yep.
I love some of our conversations.
You know, I think you have similar with Anthony and David.
We process things, right?
We don't have to go deep into processing, but do you want to
offer up some of your reflections?
I think you were considering maybe a 100k versus 100 mile.
What are some that kind of maybe put it over the line outside of
the clear 100 bib?
You know, was there anything what relevant to the audience?
I think because I I I don't think it's unique in thinking
your thoughts like that.
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, I I guess I've always had kind of a linear
progression.
And I'm I mean, I'm barely an ultra runner.
I've done two ultras, right?
50K and a 50 mile.
And my focus still right now is on the 5K and the marathon.
I want to improve those those times.
And I tell myself I'll do you know one ultra a year and that's
just a fun day out in the woods with friends.
But I would think that okay, the next step would be the 100K.
And you know, even in my mind, the distance between 100K and
100 miles is unfathomable.
It's like trying to picture what a billion dollars looks like.
I don't I don't know what that looks like.
I I can't comprehend that.
But um you and and David both said, look, the training for a
100 is no different than really the training for the 50.
You know, you if you can do that, you can do the 100.
And you guys just, you know, subtly encouraged me to to maybe
not think that it has to be a linear progression.
And I think also like realizing, okay, we've got 10 months.
Like there's enough time to put in the work.
And uh I would rather I'd rather get out there and suffer and you
know go down that you know, sorry, mom, go down that line,
go down that crevice in the mountains in the dark of night
in the 100-mile course than than say, man, I wish I would have
signed up for that.
I missed out.
Everybody else did it.
Yeah.
So it it it was a little bit of depth, but I let's go with peer
pressure.
There you go.
Perfect.
And when are we gonna do this again?
Exactly.
I mean, when are we gonna be out in Utah again with with you know
half of the Mississippi as it's turning out?
SPEAKER_05: I get dark sometimes about this.
It maybe dark might not be the right word, but I also think you
mentioned earlier, Anthony, Mississippi 50.
We don't take it for granted, but it's something we're gonna
show up for multiple years.
It's in our backyard, it's local, it's easy to get to.
Yeah, and an amazing event.
Amazing event, gotta say that.
But these destination races, I think about it like this.
It helps me mid-race too.
I might not ever run Zion, ever again.
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
SPEAKER_05: The the probability is actually that I won't.
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's that's right.
SPEAKER_05: That I anchor myself in that mentality when I'm out
there and things suck.
Yeah I'm not I'm not gonna have a good chance, or I'm gonna have
to make this case again, or I'm gonna have to make sacrifices
with my family and money to make this happen again.
Nah.
Yep.
I I don't know.
I that's how I think about it.
But I think about a lot of different things in that way,
and that we're gonna all be out there together.
I'm looking at it as an adventure.
I've got at minimum three other brothers.
Anthony's gonna sell five more people by the time it fills up.
SPEAKER_06: And guys, let's I mean, let's be real, there will
never be another time that all of our spouses at the same time
say yes, let's do this.
Yeah, that's not gonna happen.
SPEAKER_02: To be fair, Michaela has not said yes.
SPEAKER_05: Oh boy.
To be fair, Carrie kind of said you're gonna do what you're
gonna do, but I told her about it.
SPEAKER_02: I I told my wife about it.
I actually told my wife, I said, hey, Zach's already booked an
Airbnb for everybody, we're going.
I did not tell her specifically that I'm running.
She was like, I was like, yeah, I got into this race 100 miles.
She was like, You're doing 100 miles?
I was like, Yeah, she said, I thought we were just going out
there.
It's like, no, no.
SPEAKER_06: In this moment, I'm I'm glad that this is not video
because when I was talking to Leanne about it, and she was
like, Okay, well, that's our summer's already expensive.
We now we gotta pay a race entry fee.
She's like, What is that gonna be?
Like$150?
I'm like, uh, it's a little more than that.
And uh I the that face.
Yeah, yeah.
We'll we'll just leave it there.
Okay.
SPEAKER_05: Our traveling musician, talented friend, might
pick up a couple extra gigs and just offset this.
That's right.
Yeah, that's right.
SPEAKER_06: So you're gonna take take one more one more wedding
and it's it's paid for.
SPEAKER_02: We can find that for you.
Anyone that needs a game.
SPEAKER_06: Please don't.
I'm retired.
No.
Anybody that needs a wedding?
Oh no.
You're back in the gig.
SPEAKER_02: We gotta pay for that Airbnb.
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
Yeah.
Our man Brian has standards too.
People don't ask him to play silly things at your wedding too
soon.
SPEAKER_02: Perfect.
Well, Brian, we appreciate you for coming on.
SPEAKER_06: Thanks, guys.
I'm gonna go grab some dinner.
SPEAKER_02: It's funny because we're gonna have you on for a
fourth time, I think, pretty soon as well.
Whenever we talk, we're we're gonna recap uh Rocket City
pretty soon.
So Brian have you on again.
SPEAKER_06: Awesome.
Can't wait.
Great race.
I think you guys talked with Rhonda earlier.
If you haven't done it before, this is the year.
Sign up.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02: You're gonna go back to it this year?
SPEAKER_06: I am.
I'm looking at my calendar.
I think I'm committed to something else that weekend.
Okay.
So this may not be the year, but I will be back definitely.
SPEAKER_02: What um what other races?
Before we get you off, real quick, what other um what other
races you got in the on the books this year?
SPEAKER_06: Right now, nothing.
The next thing that is officially on the calendar is
Zion.
There we go.
Um I am planning to do, I got a shout out to running brother
Peter.
Um, we're planning to take a trip with our wives to
Jacksonville, which happens to be the same weekend as Rocket
City.
So we're gonna go to Jacksonville that weekend and
and do the Jacksonville Marathon.
And so that's the next big thing, but I haven't signed up
yet.
Okay, awesome.
For right now, just suffering with everybody else in the
Mississippi heat and loving it.
Love it.
We eat that up here.
SPEAKER_02: There we go.
Love that.
Appreciate it.
SPEAKER_06: Thanks, guys.
Yep.
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
SPEAKER_00: Turn it up.
Yeah.
From back rows to start lines, early mornings, late nights,
miles on the pavement, head down, chasing daylight.
Mississippi heartbeat, sweat mixed with the grind.
Pain in the legs, but it's dull in the mind, endurance state of
mind where the weeds don't last.
Over miles long rides, we're built for the past and the
future.
No shortcuts, no skipping the test.
When you spoiled it, your punishment and give it your
best.
From 5K's to hundreds, trail dust in our lungs.
Every story yearned, every finish hard won, no hype, just
proof, no filters, no cap.
If you suffer for growth, yeah, this podcast is that posted by
the miles, not the flame or the shine.
If you know, then you know.
State of mind.