078. Voices from the Vert.run community: Leo Pershall | Running and self identity, setbacks and growth, sailing across the world and finding the joy of running.

Leo Pershall is a Vert.run athlete and ambassador from California. Leo has an incredible story in endurance sports, and he went from being an ultra cyclist, to sailing around the world during the pandemic, to becoming a smoker and quitting any kind of physical activity, to finding the love for running again. This year, Leo was signed up to Black Canyon 100k and he felt very well prepared, but he ended up dropping out for injury and questioning his value as an athlete and his life choices. He took a few weeks to reset and get healthy again, and he managed to bounce back with a very strong finish at Lake Sonoma 50 miler. This is an inspiring story of setbacks and success, and a great example that progress is almost never linear. We are grateful to Leo for being so open about his struggles and what he went through, physically and mentally, over the past few months. Please rate, review and share our show on social media: it will help other trail runners discover this podcast! _____________________________ Follow @vert.run on IG Download our app and sign up to our training plans on vert.run You can send us a message with any questions for us or for our guests! https://anchor.fm/vertrun/message Francesco's links: Instagram | Twitter | Strava | Website