Welcome Back to Trail Talk

During these interview podcast posts, I share stories from other members of the outdoor community. Range from wild adventures, to survival skills, conservation, and current events.

Look for episodes in your mailbox Sunday mornings at 9 a.m., MST. The stories you’re used to seeing will still arrive at the usual time, Thursday mornings.

EP 03: Ethan McNaghten, Ultra-Marathon Runner

In this installment, I’m bringing you to the shores of a remote alpine lake at the end of a long mountain valley. I wrote about the trek in, and shared more pictures during my previous post — Hiking Through the Seasons — if you want to read about that trip in greater detail.

To get a better feel: I also put together this gorgeous time-lapse

Ethan McNaghten has been living in Colorado for a few short months; about the same amount of time he’s been seriously running.

In that period, he managed to acclimate to the high altitude, build up endurance, and — perhaps most importantly — hone the mental fortitude needed to stay focused on the task.

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Our discussion about his 60k race covered quite a bit of ground. These are some of the moments that stood out to me:

Show notes

1:00 — Eagle vs. fish2:00 — Why?2:45 — The training process4:45 — Weather dangers while training for long races6:50 — The energy at the starting line9:00 — Occupying your mind, raging against boredom10:30 — Hiking through the seasons13:45 — “All of a sudden” running 16 miles16:00 — Setting your own goals, not someone else’s18:10 — Race day: the highs and lows21:30 — Pushing through the brutal moments22:20 — Why you don’t run the race, before you run the race22:45 — Pickle Juice?!?25:45 — Keeping your focus through boredom27:00 — The weather politely asks us to leave27:30 — Try it, you might like it28:30 — Picking your first race

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Enjoying the Journey

If you only get one takeaway from this interview, it’s that the destination can’t be the only pleasure you derive from an experience, for a couple reasons.

* Important goals take time to accomplish

* You’ll burn out if you’re not enjoying yourself along the way.

* Focusing solely on the destination puts too much pressure on that final step you take to get there.

Ethan shared this with me: one of the most beautiful views of the race.

It’s a good reminder to look for enjoyment along the way; you might be surprised by what you find.

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Here’s a license to humble-brag: tell me about something cool you’re really proud of!

Next Time on Cole’s Climb

An unknown creature — we assumed it was one — moved gracefully with quiet padding paces. But the occasional twig, leaf or rustle in the foliage gave it away in the still night air.

During my first backpacking trip in Colorado, something stalked my hiking party to our campsite. What followed remains one of my most terrifying moments in the outdoors: trekking at dusk through mountain lion territory.

The same kind of thinking that got us into that mess, pervades our day-to-day lives. That’s what I aim to address in next week’s edition, “Picking off the Stragglers.”

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.quandarymagazine.com