Episode 95 – Troy Meadows

Suffering is a gift.  Suffering changed every part of Troy's life.  The gift is how you work through the change to mold and change who you are.  Ultras push Troy up against a limit and nothing is a given.  It's important that everyone experiences something really difficult and doing hard things is where real growth happens.   Proud farther, husband, ultra endurance runner and commentator's motto is "I don't know a stranger."  - Troy Meadows   Troy was blessed to travel the world before he was 18 years old and a self-proclaimed vagabond in his 20s. Ultralight backpacking was where Troy picked back up his love for the remote outdoors.  Troy would pull out a map, would circle an area to let his girlfriend, now wife, know a radius of where he'd be and let her know the time frame.   Troy ran cross country in high school, gave up running for a bit and then picked it back up in his 30s after a couple of traumatic events.  Since Troy had experience in backpacking coupled with his love for nature, ultra endurance events were the next step.   Natalie, Troy's wife, has been very supportive for the past 25 years.  She understands Troy's need to push his boundaries.  Natalie's influence has spanned being vegan to Troy completing a 1,000 day 11-minute meditation practice.   Troy explains that his upcoming event, Laurel Highlands 70.5 miles, will be an event where he'll suffer mightily in the woods.  Suffering is a gift.  Having these suffering experiences in a controlled environment makes you a better person.  What helps Troy is his 'Why' for the race and he likes to do hard things.  So much of trail running and ultra running is problem solving.  How you take your experiences and use it to your advantage at the next race is the beauty of this sport.  You don't have to be fast to finish an ultra, you just have to be determined.  Troy calls it failing forward.  In Troy's commentor life, Troy shows up with something to say due to his experience.  Also, on a live stream recently, Troy suggested to a listener that he needed to build his trade.   Troy brings value to us, the listeners.  Troy and I do share the gift of gab.   Troy is a marketer by trade, so it's no wonder that Troy has a successful weekly podcast, The Midpacker Pod.  On Troy's podcast, he talks to everyday runners doing extraordinary things on and off the trails.  Troy's perfect guest is an entrepreneur, has a family and it running ultras.  Troy coaches out of the Run Trail Life website.  Troy's experience in ultra marathons and a UESCA coaching certification will help the beginner to the advanced veteran.  The original concept of Run Trail Life was started as an apparel business.  Midpacker Pod merch can be purchased on this website.  Troy would love to see one of his shirts at an aid station or on a crew member at a race.  The shirts aren't made to run in, they're meant to be causal.    You can follow Troy at: Instagram – @troyontherun as well as @midpackerpod Website – runtraillife.com Spotify – The Midpacker Podcast LinkedIn – Troy Meadows   You can follow the I Can Do Anything Podcast at: Email me at – [email protected] Watch on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeI1EHGodsDgwYbvHuOxLQQ And then there is always my website - www.icandoanythingpod.com Like and subscribe on Facebook - https://bit.ly/3bG0Efk Follow on X (Twitter) - https://bit.ly/2yqZczb Find me on Instagram - https://bit.ly/2xDFIa4 Get your merch here - https://bit.ly/teespringicdapod You can listen anywhere you get your podcasts, such as Spotify     I Can Do Anything Podcast https://www.icandoanythingpod.com/ https://icandoanything.libsyn.com Or you can listen anywhere you get your podcasts, such as Spotify.