Run The Riot Podcast

What happens when the toughest decision you've ever made isn't to keep going, but to stop? Croix Sather has spent much of his life doing things most people wouldn't even consider attempting. After surviving a devastating accident at 14 years old that left him in a coma for four days, Croix eventually went from working construction to becoming a motivational speaker and endurance athlete. And he wasn't even a runner when he decided to run across America! In 2011, Croix completed 100 marathons in 100 days, speaking to audiences along the way about overcoming adversity and creating a life worth living. A year later, he set a record for a solo, self-contained crossing of Death Valley, pushing his own supplies through extreme desert heat. That record lasted just four days. Fourteen years later, at age 55, Croix returned to Death Valley to reclaim the record. But this time, the story took a very different turn. In this episode of Run the Riot, Croix shares the frightening moments when extreme heat began taking its toll, how his friends helped him recognize the danger, and why walking away ultimately changed the direction of his life. We also talk about my recent experience at Bigfoot 200, where knee problems forced me to make a similar decision about continuing. Sometimes the discipline that makes us successful in ultrarunning can also make it difficult to recognize when enough is enough. In this episode, we discuss: - Growing up in a blue-collar family and surviving a life-changing accident at 14. - Going from a non-runner to running 100 marathons in 100 days. - How legendary endurance athlete Stu Mittleman helped Croix prepare. - The physical and mental struggle of running across America. - Why the people Croix met along the way became his greatest motivation. - His original Death Valley crossing, including an unsuccessful first attempt. - Breaking a long-standing endurance record, only to lose it four days later. - Returning to Death Valley at 55 and facing potentially life-threatening heat illness. - The difficult relationship between perseverance, identity, and knowing when to stop. - Finding meaning in disappointment and changing your dreams without abandoning your purpose. One of the biggest lessons from this conversation is that success doesn't always look like crossing the finish line. Sometimes it's making a difficult decision that allows you to keep pursuing meaningful things in the future. Croix's message is simple: Don't Let Your Dream Die. And as you'll hear in this conversation, sometimes that means being willing to change what the dream looks like. Connect with Croix Sather - Website: https://www.croixsather.com/ - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CROIXsather - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/croixsather/ - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/croix Learn more about his *Do Impossible Things Journal* through his website. Connect with Run the Riot If you're working toward your first ultramarathon or your farthest distance yet, I'd love to help you get there. Run the Riot Coaching: https://runtheriot.com/ Keep showing up, keep doing the work, and keep mining your potential! Sponsored by Mount to Coast Thanks to Mount to Coast for supporting the Run the Riot Podcast! I've been putting plenty of miles into their R1 road shoe and T1 trail shoe, and I've been genuinely impressed with their comfort and durability. These shoes are built specifically for endurance runners and designed to hold up over the long haul. If you're looking for a great pair of road or trail running shoes, check out Mount to Coast! Use code RIOT10 to save 10% on your order. https://mounttocoast.com

What if one of the most important parts of your ultramarathon training isn't another long run, hill workout, or strength session? What if it's training your mind? In this episode of Run the Riot, I sit down with ultrarunner, clinical hypnotherapist, mindset coach, and NLP practitioner Holly Grahn, founder of Hypno Gold. Holly recently completed her first 200-mile race at the Divide 200, and we dig into what it took to prepare for that kind of challenge—not only physically, but mentally. Holly shares how she used visualization, mental rehearsal, positive reframing, gratitude, and self-hypnosis before the race so that when things got difficult, her mind was already trained to look for a way forward. And things definitely got difficult. We talk about sore feet, massive climbs, long stretches between aid stations, pouring rain, hallucinating a monkey wearing sunglasses, catching her boyfriend Rob around mile 100, and ultimately finishing their first 200 miler together. But this conversation goes much deeper than racing. Holly explains how the beliefs we carry about ourselves can affect the way we train, race, work, and live. We talk about self-doubt, fear, anxiety, feeling like we're "not good enough," and why simply telling yourself to be positive isn't always enough. Holly also explains what hypnotherapy actually is—and what it isn't—and how she works with athletes and other high performers to identify thought patterns that may be holding them back. We talk about: • Holly's journey from a shy kid who struggled with self-esteem to ultrarunner and hypnotherapist • Her early ultramarathons and the lessons she learned the hard way • Preparing physically and mentally for the Divide 200 • Why mental training should happen before race day • Visualization and mental rehearsal for difficult race situations • Turning negative thoughts into useful beliefs • Looking for evidence that supports the person you want to become • Talking to yourself like you would talk to a friend • Gratitude as a tool when an ultra gets difficult • Breaking huge challenges into the next aid station—or even the next step • Learning from DNFs rather than allowing them to define you • Why identity affects behavior • What hypnotherapy actually feels like • The difference between stage hypnosis and clinical hypnotherapy • Self-doubt, anxiety, fear, sleep, procrastination, and self-sabotage • The Hypno Gold app Holly created for athletes and high performers • Why there may be much more inside you than you've discovered yet One practical takeaway from Holly that I really liked: write down a negative belief you're carrying, rewrite it into something that moves you toward your goal, and then start looking for actual evidence that supports the new belief. Training the body matters. But when you've been moving for days, you're exhausted, your feet hurt, and everything inside you is telling you to stop, your mind becomes part of the equipment you're carrying. ### Connect with Holly Grahn **Hypno Gold:** https://www.hypnogold.com/ **Hypno Gold App:** https://hypnogold.passion.io/ **Instagram:** @hypno_gold_app **Facebook:** Hypno Gold **Schedule a session with Holly:** https://schedulewithhypnoholly.as.me/ **Email:** [email protected] Holly's Hypno Gold app includes sessions covering areas such as performance, mindset, sleep, anxiety, procrastination, self-sabotage, emotional healing, and personal growth. She created it to make hypnotherapy more accessible for athletes and high performers. ### Run the Riot If you're working toward your first or furthest ultramarathon and want someone in your corner helping you build the training, strategy, and confidence to get there, learn more about Run the Riot Coaching: https://runtheriot.run/ Mine Your Potential.

Patrick Yalon’s story is one of the wildest comeback stories we’ve had on Run the Riot. In July 2024, Patrick went surfing at Ocean Beach in San Francisco. A freak accident drove his head into a sandbar, leaving him face-down in the water and completely unable to move. His friend John eventually found him, pulled him from the water, and began CPR. Patrick survived, but the road ahead looked completely different. His legs weren’t moving. He underwent a major spinal fusion surgery, spent weeks in rehabilitation, and was told that walking again would take a tremendous amount of work. But Patrick had something sitting in the back of his mind: The Moab 240. It became what he calls his “North Star.” His mantra became: “If I can stand, I can start.” Incredibly, just months after the accident, Patrick showed up at the starting line of Moab 240. Still recovering, still dealing with pain, and nowhere near fully rebuilt physically, he made it 144 miles before finally deciding that continuing could cause serious damage. For most people, that would have been more than enough. For Patrick, there was still unfinished business. He returned the following year—15 months to the day after his accident—and faced brutal rain, mud, lightning, damaged feet, exhaustion, and everything else a 240-mile race can throw at you. This time, he finished. And there was an incredible full-circle moment waiting for him: John—the same friend who had pulled Patrick from the water and helped save his life—joined him for the final 40 miles to the finish. In this conversation, Patrick and I talk about much more than ultrarunning. We talk about gratitude, faith, resilience, recovery, purpose, suffering, and what happens when life forces you to discover what you're actually made of. Patrick also shares the book he has written about his experience, his continued recovery, and why he now thinks of the years since his accident as his “second life.” In this episode: How Patrick went from rugby and surfing to ultrarunning Why he jumped from shorter ultras straight toward Moab 240 The surfing accident that nearly took his life Realizing he was paralyzed while face-down in the ocean The friend who found him and performed CPR Spinal fusion surgery and learning to move again The tiny movement of his big toe that changed his mindset Why “If I can stand, I can start” became his mantra Showing up for Moab only months after his accident Making it 144 miles during that first attempt Why he knew he needed to go back Rebuilding himself physically and mentally in Thailand Returning to Moab 15 months after the accident Surviving brutal storms, rain, mud, and lightning The emotional moment when he yelled, “I’m still here” Finishing the final 40 miles with the man who saved his life Gratitude as a tool for getting through suffering His upcoming Tahoe 200 The book he has written about his story What it means to make the most of a “second life” Follow Patrick Instagram: @bodiezepha415 You can also find Patrick Yalon on Facebook and LinkedIn. Run the Riot If you're working toward your first ultramarathon—or your farthest one yet—make sure you're subscribed to Run the Riot for more conversations about ultrarunning, mindset, training, and doing hard things. Episode Sponsor — Mount to Coast I’ve been putting miles into the Mount to Coast R1 road shoe and T1 trail shoe and have been impressed with their comfort and durability for endurance training. Use code RIOT10 to save 10% on your order.

What happens when you stop chasing finish lines and start chasing experiences? In this episode of Run the Riot, I sit down with Josh Sprague, founder of Orange Mud, for a conversation about ultrarunning, adventure racing, hydration, fueling, gear, strength, and why our relationship with endurance sports can change over time. Josh started Orange Mud after getting frustrated with the hydration options available to endurance athletes. His philosophy was simple: innovation from frustration. If he couldn't find the gear he wanted to use, he'd build it himself. That same willingness to experiment has followed Josh through hundreds of endurance events, including ultramarathons, adventure races, triathlons, mountain bike races, gravel events, and multi-day adventures. We get into some practical stuff every ultrarunner can use. Josh shares why he developed a habit of drinking every 15 minutes, how he measures exactly how much fluid he's getting from a hydration bladder, why he tests different flavors of the same nutrition product, and why he'll intentionally train with warm fluids before a hot race. We also talk about training your gut for ultra racing. Josh has learned the hard way that race day isn't the time to suddenly start eating everything that looks good at an aid station. If you plan to eat quesadillas, pizza, pickles, or other real food during your ultramarathon, you'd better find out during training how your stomach handles it. Of course, Josh also tells one of my favorite fueling stories I've heard in a while: carrying a Meat Lovers pizza around during an adventure race and eventually using it to fuel a charge up and over a mountain. But my favorite part of our conversation may be what happens when we move beyond training and racing. After years of chasing bigger distances and checking races off his list, Josh has found himself wanting something different. He wants to experience the adventure. We talk about the pressure of Strava, skipping time with friends because the training plan says you need to do intervals, stopping to look for arrowheads, and learning that not every run needs to produce an impressive number. Josh even tells the story of running right beside the Queen Mary during a race without ever noticing the enormous ship. There's probably a lesson in there for all of us. Don't get so focused on the finish line that you miss where you are. We also talk about Josh's simple challenge of completing at least 500 push-ups every week. What started as a small goal has now lasted more than a year, and Josh believes the added strength has made a noticeable difference in his running, cycling, paddling, and overall health. And somewhere along the way, we manage to talk about copperheads, Taco Bell, gas-station food, pickles, a 100-mile bike ride that was supposed to be 30 miles, and an incredible experience Josh had with his late golden retriever, Lady, during a 720-mile bike race. It's a fun conversation with a guy who understands that sometimes the best adventures are the ones that don't go according to plan. In This Episode How Josh started Orange Mud Innovation from frustration Adventure racing and ultrarunning Drinking every 15 minutes during endurance events Measuring your hydration rate Sodium and electrolytes for long races Training your gut for race-day nutrition Liquid calories versus real food Pizza as adventure-race fuel Why pickles can be so good during an ultra Josh's favorite trail race His incredible experience with Lady during a 720-mile bike race Competing versus experiencing The Strava trap Staying adventurous as we get older Josh's 500-pushup-per-week streak Why ultrarunners need strength training Connect with Josh Orange Mud:https://www.orangemud.com/ Run the Riot Coaching Have a big ultrarunning goal but aren't sure how to put all the pieces together? I coach runners preparing for their first or furthest ultramarathon with individualized training, accountability, race strategy, and guidance along the way. Learn more:http://www.theriot.run/coaching Thanks to Mount to Coast for supporting the Run the Riot Podcast. I've been training in the R1 road shoe and T1 trail shoe and have been impressed with their comfort and durability over the miles. Use code RIOT10 to save 10% on your order. If you enjoyed the conversation, follow the podcast and share this episode with another runner who needs to hear it. #runtheriot #ultrarunning #ultrarunner #trailrunning #trailrunner

What does it take to keep moving when everything inside you wants to quit? This week I sit down with Jon Sheldon, Marine Corps veteran, leadership coach, and founder of BelleauWood Coaching. Although Jon doesn't coach ultrarunners, the principles he teaches apply directly to running, business, leadership, and life. We dive into the mental side of performance: Why you have to count the cost before chasing big goals. How to build resilience before adversity arrives. The difference between motivation and discipline. Creating decision filters for high-pressure situations. Why elite performers simplify their thinking when things get hard. Lessons from military leadership that translate directly to ultrarunning. Whether you're training for your first marathon, your first 100 miler, or simply trying to become more disciplined in everyday life, this conversation is packed with practical wisdom. Episode Highlights The hidden cost behind every meaningful goal Why mindset matters more than motivation Building discipline that lasts How Marines prepare for difficult situations The "Intent • Inspect • Initiate" framework Decision filters for difficult moments Why gratitude can become a performance tool Training your mind before race day Presented by Mount to Coast This episode is brought to you by Mount to Coast. I've been putting their shoes through hundreds of training miles and have been genuinely impressed with both the R1 Road Shoe and the T1 Trail Shoe. They're comfortable right out of the box, incredibly durable, and built specifically for endurance runners. Save 10% with code: RIOT10 Check them out: https://mounttocoast.com Discount Code: RIOT10 Connect with Jon Sheldon Website: https://belleauwood.coach Instagram: @belleauwood_coaching Connect with Run the Riot Website: https://www.theriot.run Coaching: https://www.theriot.run/coaching-services YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@runtheriot Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runtheriot Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/runtheriot