Some wise person said that necessity is the mother of invention. It’s also sometimes the mother of entrepreneurship. Meet Rice University runner Tyler Strothman. When he experienced years of frustrating foot pain, he tried many different brands of shoes, but nothing seemed to help solve his issues. So boldly, Tyler decided to start his own shoe brand, Veloci. The first models should arrive in January, but many runners who have tried his demo models have raved about them. The differentiators include a toebox that conforms to the natural shape of the foot AND they have a typical running shoe heel drop. Unlike some other brands on the market that have wider toeboxes, Velocis truly match the foot’s shape and they are not zero-drop shoes. In a crowded field, Tyler has been using his youthful enthusiasm and energy to crack into running shoe stores with his innovative brand. In this chat, it is interesting to hear the approach used by a 21-year-old to introduce Velocis to the running community, as well as learning how he has taken his shoes and the company from the drawing board, through financing and relationship-building, to actual production. After my bunion surgery last year, my foot still feels pretty beat up after runs, so I’m looking forward to receiving the pair of Velocis I’ve ordered myself.

Tyler Strothman
velocirunning.com
Instagram @velocirunning and @tylerstrothman
LinkedIn and TikTok Veloci Running

Bill Stahl
silly_billy@msn.com
Facebook Bill Stahl
Instagram and Threads @stahlor and @coachstahl
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It’s a shame that two of the nicest people you can meet at the Leadville Trail 100 also happen to be the ones you want the least to meet. You see, Sandy and Mike Monahan are the race’s cutoff queen and king. If you are pushing the time cutoffs at each aid station, they will do their best to move you through and on to the next one. But if you are too late getting there, they will kindly and gently deliver the news that your raceday has ended. You couldn’t ask for better people to handle this difficult job, and that is what makes them an integral part of the Leadville Family. I’ve been there several times on both sides of the cutoff ledger, which may be why in the years I have volunteered, Sandy has sometimes recruited me to assist her. I got to know them particularly well in 2015, when I was the so-called Last Ass Up the Pass, the DFL, or dead f*@king last finisher. Due to coming back from surgery for a ruptured quad that prior fall and some other unique circumstances, from the time I arrived at Twin Lakes inbound, I was within four minutes of the cutoff at every aid station the rest of the way. A very stressful position to be in, but the Monahans kept me moving along so that I did make it to the finish with only two minutes to spare, in 29:58! Once again this year, at Outward Bound and Half Pipe, there were Mike and Sandy pushing me along as I teetered ahead of those cutoffs. But the couple has meant a lot more to the race, going all the way back to the early days when Mike was a racer, and Sandy helped race co-founder Merilee computerize the records from the old handwritten ones prior to then. Cole Chlouber devoted an entire chapter to them in his new book, Grit, Guts, and Determination. Mike and Sandy share some great stories that I am sure you will enjoy in this episode, recorded on the eve of this year’s race, which they generously agreed to do, get this, on their 50th wedding anniversary!

Bill Stahl
silly_billy@msn.com
Facebook Bill Stahl
Instagram and Threads @stahlor and @coachstahl
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I recap the Leadville Trail 100, including my experiences, training, fueling, the race itself, the Leadville people and the race's highly-charged atmosphere, and what my takeaways from it are. The chief one of those is to continue to think big and take chances on epic challenges. In fact, I'm asking all of you listeners to suggest other ones I can undertake. I'm ready. Please contact me and let me know your ideas for me!

Bill Stahl
silly_billy@msn.com
Facebook Bill Stahl
Instagram and Threads @stahlor and @coachstahl
YouTube We Are Superman Podcast

With the Olympics having just ended, I’m presenting a chat I had with someone who might be a good bet to run in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Parker Wolfe had a terrific high school career at Cherry Creek H.S. in suburban Denver, where in his senior year he was the Gatorade Player of the Year after having an undefeated cross country season, and ran 4:06.17 in the 1600 to set the Colorado state record, which hadn’t been broken in 41 years. He also set the still-standing state record in the 3200, 8:55.94. From there, he has had a stellar career at the Univ. of North Carolina. He won the ACC cross country title this year, but things really began to accelerate after he was runner-up this winter at the NCAA indoor championships in both the 3000 and 5000 meters. The highlights of his spring track season included winning ACC titles in the 5K and 10K, and then winning the NCAA 5000-meter crown. Three weeks later, at only 20 years old, Parker ran in the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon. In an incredibly gutsy race, Parker crossed the line in 13:10.75 in third-place. Despite the top-three finish, Parker had not run the Olympic qualifying standard, and after computation of complex world rankings formulas, Parker was unfortunately the first guy out. It was a bit of a tough pill to swallow, but as you’ll hear, Parker has mentally moved on and is focused on his upcoming season at North Carolina. He’s a great example of resilience, overcoming setbacks, and continuing to follow the process. This conversation will also be enlightening if you are a high school or college runner as you hear about how he progressed through the stages of his recruitment, training, and competing.

Parker Wolfe
Instagram and Threads @parkerw19

Bill Stahl
silly_billy@msn.com
Facebook Bill Stahl
Instagram and Threads @stahlor and @coachstahl
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We often feature comebacks on the WASP. This is a comeback by one old guy, me. I'll be toeing the starting line at the Leadville Trail 100 this weekend for the 10th time, hoping to become the first runner to finish the race in four different 10-year age groups. Leadville has been a special place to me since I first ran there in 1992. I have had many memorable races there, including finishing as the Last Ass Up the Pass in 2015. Between finishes, I have had almost too many surgeries to count. My latest one a year ago kept me out of action most of 2023. However, I have made training for it this year almost a full-time job and have pulled out all the stops to get to the finish. Thank you for following along with my journey, and definitely reach out if you happen to be in Leadville this weekend!

Bill Stahl
silly_billy@msn.com
Facebook Bill Stahl
Instagram and Threads @stahlor and @coachstahl
YouTube We Are Superman Podcast

Anthony Lee is a young, rising star in the ultrarunning world who has a backstory that is as atypical you will hear for someone who has won very challenging major races like the Ouray 100 and Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountain Wild and Scenic 100. If you see him at a starting line, you’ll notice his long, brightly-dyed hair, tattoos, painted fingernails, and that he’s Asian, all telling you that he has a story. What a story it is. It includes being a difficult teenager who got into trouble with the law. After he moved to Colorado, he spent a couple of years couch surfing or living under a bridge, and working in the restaurant industry, obviously none of which is very conducive to ultramarathon training. On many days, he would stash his belongings under some bushes in the pre-dawn dark, go for a run, then shower at the rec center and show up for work. This is where Anthony learned a lot about self-reliance, toughness, and perseverance and began his rise in ultrarunning. Despite those hardships, he is one of the most positive and affable athletes in the sport. What’s super cool is Anthony wants to be an advocate for people to try to discover trail and ultrarunning who may look differently than the stereotypical old, white, male. You’ve heard athletes who were former addicts like David, Gary Stotler, and others who have been on the WASP who perhaps gained their amazing wisdom and worldly perspectives due to their struggles. You’ll quickly hear with Anthony the immense gratitude and generosity he radiates that perhaps were gleaned from his hardscabble times. I mean he is just one friendly, giving, upbeat guy and I hope you really enjoy our lively chat.

Anthony Lee
Instagram @anthonyclee
Strava and Facebook Anthony Lee

Bill Stahl
silly_billy@msn.com
Facebook Bill Stahl
Instagram and Threads @stahlor and @coachstahl
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We’ve featured a lot of people who have taken on epic challenges, but this guest, Ray Zahab of Quebec, Canada, has done dozens and dozens of them. When we recorded this, Ray had just completed a couple of weeks before a crossing of Death Valley from north to south. I’m very familiar with the Badwater 135, which just completed, but that is run on roads. I didn’t even know it was a thing there to run the shortest route between two points, completely off-road. The terrain is seriously rugged, and it’s pretty hot, and Ray ran it with limited re-supplies in 53:35:21. In case you’re wondering, he drank 75 liters of water. He’s also run across the widest park of Death Valley west to east, crossing two mountain ranges, in 35 hours. He’s run 7500 km across the Sahara Desert in 111 days, 1850 km across the Namib Desert in Africa, 1200 km across the Atacama Desert in Chile, and 2000 km across the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. That’s the hot, dry stuff. He’s crossed Baffin Island in northern Canada nine times in winter and trekked from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole on snowshoes pulling his supply sled. And I’m just scratching the surface. Here’s the WASP comeback story angle: Ray did this last Death Valley project a little more than a year after completing six months of debilitating chemotherapy for a rare form of lymphoma. What’s very cool about Ray is how he shares his projects with schoolchildren with live links, and he has been running his foundation, impossible2Possible, to introduce kids to the kind of adventuring he does and reach beyond their perceived limits. The foundation takes kids to wild places so they can challenge themselves, and it doesn’t even charge them to be there! Yes, they’re free! Ray and his wife have been raising two daughters who get to experience the outdoors unlike the way Ray was when he was younger and was an out-of-shape, pack-a-day smoker. So there’s another comeback. His brother inspired him to get outdoors and Ray now encourages everyone to also do so, including with his expedition company, KapiK1, which leads trips to remote and beautiful places like Baffin Island, the Atacama Desert, and the Gobi Desert. Even though we had a fairly short conversation, you might still find yourself listening in amazement to all that Ray does and get pumped up by his incredible level of energy and excitement.

Ray Zahab
rayzahab.com
impossible2possible.com
kapik1.com
rzahab@impossible2possible.com
Facebook and LinkedIn Ray Zahab
Instagram and X @rayzahab
YouTube @rayzahab1944

Bill Stahl
silly_billy@msn.com
Facebook Bill Stahl
Instagram and Threads @stahlor and @coachstahl
YouTube We Are Superman Podcast

During my recent long hours on trails training for the Leadville Trail 100, as well as in the Chase the Moon ultramarathon I just ran, I have been listening to several podcasts, and one I recently discovered and really enjoy is Buckle Up with Brian Passenti and Simon Guérard. Fellow New York area guy and Yankees fan Brian grew up running but had some significant detours along the way due to drinking and addiction. He basically missed high school after his mom recognized his issues and sent him to various institutions in what is actually known as the Troubled Teen Industry. His path led him to enlist in the Marines where he served almost his full hitch but got discharged for getting caught smoking weed. Following his return to civilian life, Brian continued to run pretty decently, although probably diminished because many of his runs were done in the morning to work off his hangover so he could show up at his job appearing to be sober. He finished Leadville in 2010 in less than 24 hours and was fourth-place in the challenging Silver Rush 50 while juggling running and drinking. A drunken bike wreck in December, 2016 that resulted in significant bodily injury led him to get sober. His running and his life have taken off since then. He has finished Leadville eight times, Leadman, the Moab 240 in 82 hours, and this year the Cocodona 250 in less than 105 hours. Brian, who has a wife and kids, now has the Buckle Up podcast and a thriving full-time coaching business called Altitude Endurance Coaching, and his clients include many training for Leadville and other ultramarathons. I hope you enjoy this lively chat between two ultrarunning, storytelling East Coast guys.

Brian Passenti
altitudeendurancecoaching.com
Facebook Brian Passenti and Altitude Endurance Coaching
Instagram @passentiontherun
LinkedIn Brian Passenti

Bill Stahl
silly_billy@msn.com
Facebook Bill Stahl
Instagram and Threads @stahlor and @coachstahl
YouTube We Are Superman Podcast