May 24, 2024 • 44 mins
When Tera Pruett took her first strides on a winding trail, little did she know that each step was a journey away from the shadows of depression and toward a life of empowerment and community. On our latest episode, this trailblazing founder of Unstoppable recounts the transformative power of trail running, not just for her but for countless women seeking rejuvenation and connection in the great outdoors. Through her compelling narrative, Tera illuminates the symbiotic relationship between physical endurance and mental fortitude, and how the simple act of running can cultivate a sanctuary for healing and strength.
Weaving through the trails of personal transformation, Tera and I revel in the shared triumphs and communal bonds formed at events like the Trail Running Film Festival and the much-anticipated Unstoppable Women's Mountaintop Retreat. The episode resonates with hopes of newfound confidence and lasting friendships forged under the open sky, a testament to the event's mission to unite and uplift through a shared passion for adventure.
Tera's journey and our heart-to-heart are a clarion call to all who seek the vitality of nature and the camaraderie of fellow adventurers – an invitation to stride into the wild, unstoppable in the pursuit of dreams and connection.
Unstoppable Women's Mountaintop Retreat
Weaving through the trails of personal transformation, Tera and I revel in the shared triumphs and communal bonds formed at events like the Trail Running Film Festival and the much-anticipated Unstoppable Women's Mountaintop Retreat. The episode resonates with hopes of newfound confidence and lasting friendships forged under the open sky, a testament to the event's mission to unite and uplift through a shared passion for adventure.
Tera's journey and our heart-to-heart are a clarion call to all who seek the vitality of nature and the camaraderie of fellow adventurers – an invitation to stride into the wild, unstoppable in the pursuit of dreams and connection.
Unstoppable Women's Mountaintop Retreat
Mike Andress
Host, Exploration Local
828-551-9065
mike@explorationlocal.com
Podcast Website
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Instagram: explorationlocal
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Have you ever laced up your running shoes and felt
an instant surge of freedom withevery step you took?
If so, you're in good company.
In this episode, tara Pruitt,owner of Unstoppable, joins me
to share how her love for trailrunning evolved into a journey
of community and empowerment.
From the joy of running throughnature, organizing a trail
running film festival andcreating adventurous retreats,
(00:23):
tara's story highlights thetransformative power of
embracing your passions andconnecting with others.
From channeling running as ameans to combat depression to
celebrating it as a catalyst forempowerment, tara's journey is
a testament to the enduringpower of perseverance and
discovering one's passion.
We'll dive into thetransformative effects of
physical activity on mentalhealth and explore how it
(00:45):
fosters positivity in everyaspect of life.
But that's not all.
We'll also scale the heights ofthe Unstoppable Women's
Mountaintop Retreat, a visionaryendeavor designed to provide
women with thrilling adventuresin a supportive environment.
Tara's efforts in creatingspaces where barriers are
stripped away reveal the powerof connection and the magic that
(01:05):
unfolds when we immerseourselves in nature and reclaim
our joy.
Tara's journey into personaltraining, the establishment of
her own studio and herdedication to cultivating
personal connections withclients affirm the philosophy
that physical strength andoutdoor adventures are indeed
pathways to a more fulfillinglife.
Tune in as we celebrate Tara'sjourney, the strength of the
(01:27):
trail running community and thetransformative impact of
embracing the great outdoors.
I'll see you on the other side.
You're listening to ExplorationLocal, a podcast designed to
explore and celebrate the peopleand places that make the Blue
Ridge and Southern AppalachianMountains special and unique.
(01:49):
My name is Mike Andrus, thehost of Exploration Local.
Join us on our journey toexplore these mountains and
discover how they fuel thespirit of adventure.
We encourage you to wander far,but explore local.
Let's go.
I am with Tara Pruitt.
Her company name is Unstoppable.
That's the name of her business, and you're going to know in
(02:11):
the next few minutes why thathas become such a powerful name.
Business name for Tara Alsokind of a really important sort
of moniker in your life too,tara, I think.
But thanks for taking the drivedown.
I'm glad we could finally putthis together.
This is going to be a greatshow, tara.
Welcome.
Glad to have you.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Absolutely.
What I'd like to do is spend alittle bit of time just kind of
talking about your journey, alittle bit your story.
We're going to talk about howyou got into running, what
running means to you, and thenwhat you're looking to do to
bring this running not just towomen but just to anybody who
would love the idea of trailrunning.
The beautiful part of this tome, too, is that we did talk
(02:51):
about this as Mental HealthAwareness Month and we're not
going to go really deep intothat part of your story, but it
really, I think, creates theframework behind Unstoppable,
behind how you got into running.
So let's start there a littlebit about who you are, love for
listeners to know who you are,what makes you tick and how we
got to the word Unstoppable.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
My business name Unstoppable is about strength,
endurance and adventuring, andthose three pieces have played a
major role in my life and Ifound that we all have this
journey of learning aboutourselves and trail running and
exploring and hiking andbackpacking has been a major
(03:33):
piece of creating who I am todayand who I choose I want to
evolve into as I grow and the Ithink to tie it into the mental
(03:55):
health aspect, it really I'vealways used running as a piece
of handling depression, as sincea kid I may not have known it
as a kid Nobody.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
You don't put those pieces together all the time.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
But I do remember as a as a young child, even as
early as 10 years old, thatrunning helped me feel free and
it helped me feel empowered andmotivated and positive.
And I would recognize thatafter I'd come back from a run
or some form of exercise that Ifelt this rejuvenation and
(04:20):
excitement and positivity thatwould just exude into other
areas of my life.
And I started putting thepieces of the puzzle together
like, oh, when I'm not active orwhen I'm not using this as a
part of my day-to-day kind ofsurvival skills, I can tell a
difference in my mood, or mydepression would get worse, or I
(04:40):
would feel less motivated to doother things get worse, or I
would feel less motivated to doother things.
And so I think that it was anearly trigger for me that, okay,
this needs, I need this as apart of who I am, and this has
got to be implemented on aregular basis.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Wow.
And so when you first startedgetting to the running piece you
were sharing earlier, that itwas about more of an escape from
something, and then it reallyhas become something that you're
sort of leaning into and isbecoming a part of you and I
wonder if you can just kind ofunpack that just a little bit
for us.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Yeah, I think we moved around a lot as a kid and
it was hard to make friends, itwas hard to fit in, it was hard
to find different areas where Ifelt like I couldn't connect
with other kids my age and Iimagined running away a few
times and even attempted it andthen got scared, went back home.
(05:33):
I was like that's not going towork.
And that's when I realized likeokay, running feels pretty good
.
I've never been good at it.
I'm still a very much back ofthe packer.
I just realized that at firstrunning was an escape and it was
like okay, this, this gives mea chance to check out and I can
push myself and challenge myselfand push a little more.
And then I started doing otherthings in life, like I taught
(05:54):
group fitness for many years, Idabbled a teeny bit in
bodybuilding, then I got, Ifound my way back to running.
I hope listeners don't get madat me, but I started road
running and I did a few years ofa stint of trying all the half
marathons and then I did amarathon here locally and hated
(06:18):
it and swore I was done withrunning.
And then a friend of mineinvited me to train for a trail
race here in the area and I waslike, oh you know, maybe I'll
try that instead of road running, because I, after the marathon
I was just determined to be done.
It's like it just about crushedme one and done.
(06:39):
It was crushed my soul.
So then I was like, well, let'sgive this a try, I'll see how I
like this before I sign up.
And then I ended up getting.
At the time the entry was kindof a lottery you mail your check
in and your letter andregistration, and if your check
was cashed, then you knew yougot in the race.
And so I was like, okay, well,we'll just see, I'll just test
(07:02):
this out.
And I kind of had thislove-hate relationship with it
at first, because when youtransition from being on the
road to keeping a certain paceand running certain splits to,
you've got to finish in thisamount of time.
And trail running was like justcome out and have fun, who
cares what your pace is?
And yeah, if you do races someraces you have cut off times,
(07:26):
but you're it's a much morerelaxed and chill environment.
We're just here to have a goodtime, kind of a thing.
So I was like, wow, this is awhole nother world.
How did I miss this?
And the more I learned abouttrail running, I was like these
people are crazy and yet they'reout here having the time of
(07:46):
their life, like I need more ofthis in my life.
So I got hooked on the trailrunning piece.
But running was always thisintro into all my other health
and wellness avenues to.
At first they became survivalskills, in a manner of speaking,
and then they turned into thispassion of figuring out who I
(08:09):
was and meeting these amazingpeople that you would have never
met in any other path of life.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Wow, wow, that's so good.
And so you were a physicaleducation major.
I think you said you did thatfor about six or seven years,
and it's very clear thatcoaching, working with people,
seeing people kind of perform attheir optimal and again, you're
not trying to train an Olympicathlete, but it's more it's more
like enjoy what you're doing,get better at what you're doing,
(08:36):
find the releases and thebenefits that come from all this
, and and so you actually have apersonal training studio as
well.
So so there's a lot of thingsthat you do.
So the word is unstoppable, andit just sort of occurred to me
that that really kind of has setyou in motion, because you have
a personal training business,you do a trail running film
festival that we'll talk about,you have a retreat that we're
(08:57):
really going to dive into alittle bit, and then you have
the running piece.
So, yeah, there's a lot of you.
That's about pouring into otherpeople, helping them to come
along, it seems.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
Yeah, and to be honest, if you knew me in my
teenage years, or even in myearly twenties, you would have
never, ever thought that this iswhere I'd be.
I would have never thought Iknew this is what I wanted.
I envisioned where I am todayas probably a late teen.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
But I was severely introverted.
People are always surprised tohear that I am actually an
introvert and they're like noway.
No, you taught you know six to12 group fitness classes a week
and then personal train theother part of the day Like
there's no way you're anintrovert.
Personal train the other partof the day Like there's no way
(09:45):
you're an introvert.
But it's honestly that that'sprobably another piece of why I
love trail running, because itgives me a chance to like
rejuvenate my soul and who I amas a person, so that I can give
back well in the community andto those around me and and to my
spouse my husband and my andour son.
I think that if you'd asked myparents or my sister or anybody
that knew me in my teens, they'dhave been like uh-uh, there's
(10:07):
no way.
She does all of that becauseshe's an introvert and she's
quiet and she's the.
She's the one that kind of sitson the sidelines and doesn't
have anything to say until Ihave something to say.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
And then listen up yes, yeah, oh, that's great.
Let's talk a little bit aboutthe Trail Running Film Festival.
Let's start there, becausethat's in the past.
You've already had it, but it'sa really cool concept, and then
people are going to have theopportunity to attend that, if
they want to next year.
So let's talk a little bitabout the Trail Running Film
Festival, and it's interestinghow you just kind of found your
(10:39):
way into this and it was wildlysuccessful for a couple of years
running now.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
So the Trail running film festivals originated in
Bellingham, washington, and theyused to travel around the
states and host these indifferent cities, and, of course
, we're a major outdoorcommunity here, so they would
come to Asheville.
And, of course, after when 2020hit, everything quit.
And so, in 2021, december of 21, they sent an email out to
(11:07):
their entire email subscriberlist and they were like, hey, we
want to bring this back, we'rethinking of doing it this way.
If we do this in this specificmanner, would any of our email
subscribers want to be a host?
And so I was.
I and I know many people in ourcommunity were just ready for
(11:28):
something to bring us backtogether and inspire us, and
nothing does that more thandocumentaries of, of people's
stories.
We all have a story and we allhave a story to share that could
inspire someone else, andthat's what these films do.
And it's pretty incredible tome that when I applied for this,
(11:49):
I was like they'll never pickme.
There's just no way.
I'm just a normal runner in thecommunity, Not really anybody
that they should be like.
Oh, she's the one she knowseverybody because I don't.
But they picked me.
And when I told my husband, hewas like you did what?
And I said well, this isprobably going to be a team
effort, so get ready.
(12:10):
Yeah, get ready.
And so in 2022, I had eightweeks to plan the trail running
film festival and I was sograteful that our community came
together and were so supportiveand between sponsors and people
at the Orange Peel you knowthey're a very popular local
music venue.
This was not on their radar atall and they stepped it up and
(12:33):
they enjoyed having us there.
Something different and uniqueand special to our community and
it sold out and we had.
It was unique to look out onthis stage as an introvert,
trying to make myself talk andsee everyone in the community
(12:53):
connect in a way that we all hadmissed for a couple of years.
To see them be like, oh, Ihaven't seen you in so long.
We should run together.
Or how's your kids doing?
You know they're in differentschools now.
Or seeing even people that hostdifferent trail running
(13:14):
activities around town connectand be like I didn't know you
did that, and it was just reallyspecial to me to look out and
just see that happening versusthe cherry on the top with their
films themselves.
So it was so cool and so I gota chance to bring it back again
this year and again was a hugesuccess.
Again at the Orange Peel.
They were, they've been, theywere just been truly amazing to
(13:37):
have something different there,and we'll see what next year
brings.
I hope that we can make thathappen again.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
So let's stay with the theme of you making big
impacts and inviting people into be a part of things.
You have a really special andthis is, I think, is going to be
, the inaugural right.
It's going to be the very first, ever, Unstoppable Women's
Mountaintop Retreat and it's around running trail getting
people connected all differentlevels.
(14:06):
This is amazing and I can'twait for this part.
Let's really kind of dive intothis, because I'd love to know
where your heart was for this.
Where did this come from?
Because I can already tell likeyou're a connector, you love
people, you love seeing peoplebeing connected to one another.
And then you're doing it aroundthis, the outdoors and trails
and this is really, really cool.
(14:27):
So let's just dive right in.
What is this event?
Where did it come from?
Speaker 2 (14:31):
This has been on my mind for a few years, and I've
been too chicken to do it.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
All right.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
So the film festival kind of ties into this a little
bit, because it was something Ifelt drawn to and needed, and I
had heard other people talkabout needing something like
that.
Same thing with this women'smountaintop adventure.
I've heard other women say, man, I wish that there was a
(14:57):
retreat for women to connect andbe able to have a place to
escape, but I don't have a tentor I don't have all the
backpacking gear, I don't haveall the setup to be able to have
a place to escape, but I don'thave a tent or I don't have all
the backpacking gear.
I don't have, you know, all thesetup to be able to be out
there.
Um, or I'm afraid to be bymyself or I'm afraid of
exploring beyond my comfort zone, which generally is someone's
local area around their homethat they've just repeatedly
(15:19):
used.
So this, this, this has been onmy mind for a while and just
listening to what others arelooking for from a connection
standpoint.
But what really made me like gofor it was I'd been stalking
the cabins at Sandy Mush Baldfor a while and I didn't get a
chance to get up there lastseason when I saw all these
(15:43):
other adventure women postingtheir retreats around the globe.
And I saw someone from Ibelieve she's from Arizona.
She posted that she was goingto host an event here in Western
North Carolina and I was likehold on a second.
This is my turf and so I told myhusband I was like I pulled the
(16:03):
plug, I'm doing it and Icommitted to the cabins at Sandy
mush and I'm going to make thishappen because I didn't want to
sit back one more year andwatch someone that doesn't even
appreciate our mountains.
Now that's probably a littleharsh, but, like, this is my
hometown and I want to share itfrom the perspective of what
(16:24):
these other amazing, beautifulbusinesses are doing for our
community, like Lisa's story,and highlight that and showcase
that, without it seemingtouristy, without it seeming
like a salesy thing, really ismeaningful to me to pull people
together to enjoy thishistorical piece of land that
(16:47):
sits on this epic mountaintop,that you have these breathtaking
views, that you will, you, youjust have to sit up there and
enjoy them.
Like you, you cannot.
They look fake.
You cannot, you cannot likejust go up for one day.
You have to be up there and letit rain on you, or let the
(17:07):
sunset, you know, soak in belowthe clouds, or let the sunrise
come up above, you know, the fogin the.
A taste of what that trulyfeels like and experience it
firsthand.
I'm going to want to do thisagain, oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Well, it's so cool that you it's not just like a
two-day thing.
I mean it's Thursday to Sunday,it's the June 20th, to, excuse
me, june 23rd.
So in that, even in the hike upand all the things that you
will do, there's an element ofdecompressing and unplugging
entirely.
And I love the fact that youhave it over a few days, because
(17:53):
sometimes it takes people alittle bit of time just to
decompress and just say, okay,I'm good, now I can be present
here.
This isn't just something I'mdoing on the weekend.
So the fact that you're doingit for so many, you know, days
in a row, I think is a testimonyto you kind of understanding a
little bit about getting peopleout in nature, getting them to
the point where they're ready toto just be, to be present, to
(18:16):
receive whatever it is that youguys are going to have for them.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
So so you're right, we we are such a busy, busy
society culture of if you're notbusy or you're not tackling
things or you're not exhaustedat the end of the day, that
we're not succeeding in life.
And I think that's anotherattraction to me about not only
(18:38):
the places like cabins at SandyMush, but getting out in our
mountains is it really bringsyou back to the realities of
what's truly important in yourlife, and I hope that the women
walk away from this retreatreally uh and questioning what
their focuses should be on, andultimately, I hope it's they
(18:59):
realize themselves first,because when we take care of
ourselves, that spills over intoevery other aspect of our life.
First of all, our close, closeones are loved ones.
But you're right, it takes a fewdays to kind of like let that
go and be like everything willsurvive without me, like
everything will survive withoutme.
But the start of the retreatwill be Thursday evening, so
(19:25):
that people don't have tonecessarily miss work Thursday
and Friday, so if they aresomewhat local, we won't start
until Thursday evening and we'regoing to start the weekend off
at my studio space, because it'snear and dear to my heart that
women learn to strength trainspace, because it's near and
dear to my heart that womenlearn to strength train, and so
(19:46):
we'll go through a very beginnerapproachable strength training
class that will be body weightfocused but have the option to
down the road if they haveaccess to a facility, a gym or
anything at home that they canincorporate this so that they
feel empowered and strong, tonot only tackle the do's, the
don'ts and the how of strengthtraining and why it's so
important to incorporate this intheir day-to-day life, but how
(20:08):
it will trickle over into theiradventures.
You know, to feel strong on thetrail, to feel like you can
catch yourself if you fall or ifyou're carrying a loaded pack
or if you're newly getting intoit, that you can feel solid
being out there.
So it's very important to methat we talk about the whys and
make sure that we're doing thisin a well-approachable manner.
(20:28):
But so then we'll have dinnerand hopefully by a workout,
which is the most unfriendly wayto break the ice but hopefully
after the workout and we havedinner, we'll have a chance to
kind of let the guard down andreally show up and be present
for the next two to three days,that's great.
And so Friday we'll wake upearly and we'll head to Hot
(20:48):
Springs and we'll have someadventures in Hot Springs.
We'll have lunch in Hot Springsand then on Friday afternoon
we'll head over to the cabins atSandy Mushbald.
I'm excited because Nataliefrom Food for Adventures is
going to be cooking for us.
I keep nudging him and bugginghim because I think I'm more
excited about food.
(21:09):
We'll do anything for food.
So I've already nudged him withsome of my ideas for recipes or
things.
I mean, he's so good at what hedoes anyway so.
I know he's totally going towalk our worlds with his food.
So Friday, well, he'll have ussome dinner ready so we can, and
so we'll smell all his fabulousfood while we're settling in
(21:32):
and kind of getting our sortsabout us up at the cabins.
And then Saturday we'll havebreakfast there at the cabins
and we will head out.
Natalie's going to help do ashort, brief class on foraging,
because that's his specialty aswell.
And then I'm going to lead aclass on a wilderness awareness.
(21:54):
So I call it wildernessawareness 101, because there's
an element of safety.
I don't like the element ofsurvival.
I like the awareness of knowingwhat the possibilities are and
how can you be most prepared forthose possibilities.
And a lot of the fears that wehold on going out solo or what
(22:16):
do I need to pack, what do I notneed to pack, what are the
potentials of happening and howcan I be prepared.
But so often we let those fearstake over that we don't even
take action.
So being able to utilize whatyou carry and then just being
able to take those steps andfeeling empowered.
So it's not going to be acertification.
You won't walk away with anykind of promise, know, promise
(22:39):
of anything.
This is for educational purposesonly oh, that's huge and then
saturday night, we're all goingto cook together as a crew oh
yeah, which I think the bestconversations happen on in two
places in our world.
Well, three I lied in the car,because you're not confronting
with someone in the car on thetrail because, again, you're not
face to face, and the car onthe trail because again you're
not face to face, and there'ssomething about like opening
(23:01):
your heart.
When you're on the trail, whatsays is set on the trail stays
on the trail.
And then when you're cooking,there's something special about
those moments shared around thetable when you're cooking with
someone else and you're tellingstories and you're sharing life
experiences and you'reconnecting in a way that again
that could happen on the trailwith someone that you're like
(23:22):
wow, I just learned thisvaluable life lesson from
someone.
So it's important to me that wecook together up there and then
, of course, enjoy the fire.
That's the best part of thewhole event.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
That's right.
So was it your idea to cooktogether.
That's right.
So was it your idea to cooktogether.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Actually I gained.
So I did a poll recently andsome of my followers responded.
I would say, out of the dozenthat responded, half of them
were like cook together and Iwas like okay.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Smart smart.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
I was like that's the best feedback ever.
It's so good.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Yeah, it's so good.
I mean, I'm thinking of thetimes that I've just been out
and the beauty of this thing,too, is that you already have
several hours underneath yourbelt, so to speak.
You guys were together for afew hours and now you get to
come and there's stories of justreconnecting what you just
experienced together, the ahamoments, the connections, all
this kind of stuff is just sokindred about people coming
(24:20):
together and fixing andpreparing, and everything in the
outdoors tastes good.
It's going to taste even betterbecause you're going to have a
great cabin to stay in and yougot Natty that's leading the way
there.
But yeah, there is somethingthat's very, very, very smart
about preparing together,breaking bread together, being
together.
Yeah, and it's hard to put intowords or why, but it's true,
like you said, when we'reoutside something drives up the
(24:41):
appetite.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
But then when you've made it yourself and then you
sit down with the people youjust made it with and it tastes
better, it has more flavor, ithas more meaning and there's
studies that show that all ofthat is connected and it will
imprint a memory for eternity,that that you will never forget.
(25:03):
And if you think about back backto our childhood, that's where
a lot of our memories would comefrom is something around.
You know cooking together ordoing events together, or you
know family stuff together.
That's where you're going tosee conversations really
flourish or not flourish in somecases, but there's something
about that.
Like you said, the breaking thebread together but when you've
(25:25):
made it and you've enjoyed beingoutside.
It's pretty special.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
Oh, it's really special, yeah, yeah.
So the expectation is not thesemountaineer, 25 years
experience.
I mean, you're talking to me,you're really open to a lot of
different.
This could be somebody who isin their 20s to somebody that's
in their 60s and-.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
And beyond, and beyond.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
So there's no caps or limits on any of this stuff,
and it sounds to me like this isa retreat that people could
come to, that they don't have tohave it all figured out.
This, this is about helpingthem figure this out.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
Find your inner wild.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
Find your inner wild.
I like that.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
And you know you could be a hiker, a backpacker,
a trail runner.
You'll have options.
As we play in hot springs, youknow to explore whatever,
whatever avenue you are at inthis point of life, you know.
Explore whatever, whateveravenue you are at in this point
of life, you know.
And then up on the, on theproperty, at the cabins, you
know if you're ready to andyou're in training mode for a
(26:27):
race and you're trail runningand you want to go up and down
the two and a half mile and thenthe mile loop around and then
there's a half a mile to eachbald, go for it like more power
to you.
But if you're just wanting totake a leisurely stroll and have
some quiet time and that's morewhere you're at in your journey
, then then this is also theplace for you.
So, yes, all different aspects.
I think that was my.
The other thing that was reallyimportant to me was I love
(26:51):
attending multi day events.
Sometimes in the trail runningworld we call it stage, stage,
day stage events where you runan X amount of mileage, make it
to the next point, run X amountof mileage, you know, point to
point or back to base camp,whatever that may be, but I also
like the option like what ifI'm just not feeling it today?
Speaker 1 (27:11):
and.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
I just want to chill and hang out, and if you want to
sit on the front porch that dayand have your downtime with a
quiet cup of coffee, by allmeans this is your trip too, and
so there's plenty of avenues tomake this what you want it to
be, but enough of activitiesthat you feel like you've gotten
other avenues to be able tolearn from and connect with
(27:34):
people in a different way.
Speaker 1 (27:35):
Oh, that's good when you think about coming out of
this weekend, when you thinkabout the people who are going
to reflect back, because we gothrough these experiences and
then they impact us, but then itcould be a day, a week, a month
down the road that when peoplereflect back on it, that those
benefits come out even more.
You're a very purposeful person, so when you think about this
(27:59):
and you think about somebodycoming out of this, what are a
couple of top, couple of thingsthat you hope and not that
you're like stressing on it andif they don't have this, they
don't express it to me it's nota success, but what are the
things you really hope in thatpeople get out of this for them?
And that also love to hear yourperspective of what you hope to
get out of this too.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
I'd also love to hear your perspective of what you
hope to get out of this too.
That's a great question.
Ultimately, I want to give thefreedom for people to come and
check out and just maybe they'remissing that in their life,
Maybe they're missing just somequietness, Maybe they're missing
connection with someone andthat it was just odds or fate,
(28:39):
whatever you may want to call itthat they met this person,
someone other in the group,someone else in the group, and
they become friends for life.
So I think if I could encourageanyone attending to just come
with an open heart and awillingness to just be, because
a lot of these types of eventsare so overly planned, Like I've
(29:01):
got it planned.
But I also want you to havefreedom to make it yours and I
think, if anything, if you walkaway making one friend for life,
then it's a win to me and maybeeven learning one thing you
know and I hope to learn fromother people.
I think that's what's importantto me is, had I not taken the
(29:21):
chance or the leap of faith anddone this, I would have not met
these other women, from whereverthey're coming from, and that's
another chance for me to likehey, I'm going to come stay at
your house next year andvacation in your town, so you
know.
And vacation in your town, soyou know.
It could be anything.
The possibilities are endless,but just being open to what it
(29:44):
all could turn out to be.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
Cool.
Will you have any part of thiswhere the last night or you
mentioned the fire and gosh somany good things come from
campfires?
Will there be an element of yousort of being able to kind of
unpack this or just let it kindof happen organically?
I know you don't want to beoverplanned with it, but is
there an opportunity for peopleto just kind of reflect on that,
or are you just kind of hopingthat it just comes up
(30:09):
organically?
Speaker 2 (30:10):
I would like everyone to come together for breakfast
on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
Nice.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
And maybe at a specific time, that they maybe
did get some quiet time thatmorning before and had a chance
to kind of, you know, regroup,or even if they took the morning
, and then we met up togetherand did like a little hash out,
you know feedback session orwhat, what did you take away
from the weekend kind of momentbefore we hike back down on
(30:35):
Sunday morning or Sundayafternoon?
Um and you know, the weatheraround here could be a very big
role in some of this.
I'm a little mentally preparedfor that, but, um, you know,
being on the edge of the Smokiesyou never know what could
happen.
So, yeah, I think thatultimately, to me it would be
you know, what could you takeaway from the weekend or what
(30:55):
could you give to somebody?
You know what can you take,what can you give?
Speaker 1 (30:58):
Well, I like that, I like that.
Yeah, and then what about foryourself?
Speaker 2 (31:09):
Same, so I'm.
So I'm one of those types ofpeople that I can be in charge
and I don't mind being in charge.
I don't have to rule everythingand I don't want to.
I want to create the groundworkand put it out there, and then
you and I do this with mycoaching.
A lot Like this is the.
This is what I was taught to do, but I also know that I need to
listen to the.
I need to have.
I coach people a lot Listen toyour body, listen to your heart,
(31:31):
what's your gut saying, andthen we meld the two together.
So the same.
With this experience, it'simportant to me that here's the
groundwork, but nothing says wehave to go by the rules and obey
every single thing that's putout there.
What if we get the grouptogether and 24 hours in, we're
like, oh, we need to pivot.
Ok, we're going to pivot and wemake that happen.
And I feel like that's what myspecialty is is being able to
(31:54):
pivot and not let it destroy thewhole weekend.
If something needs to changelike it's, it's okay.
Yeah, and that's just beinghuman like we did, we need to be
okay with that, like the.
Even in my training plan, youknow the these are, this is the
way it should look, but then inthe real world, 80 of the time,
I actually abide by it, becauselife happens.
(32:14):
So that's kind of how I'mapproaching the weekend is I got
all these cool things that Iwant to do, but if we, if
there's a moment that we're justlike in it and we're just going
to be there and we're going tolet it happen, and that's the
way it should be.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
I love that.
All right, so details on this.
It's limited to 10 people andspace will be limited because we
know this will be a popularthing.
The cost and how can we findout details?
Speaker 2 (32:40):
Yes, so on, TaraPruittcom is my website and
I have it set to.
If you want more details, youemail me, Because if that I'm
old school, let's just say I'mvery old school.
I'm a single person running allthe things and I actually, if I
would prefer to do a phone callif somebody really has concerns
(33:02):
or questions.
The biggest concern I getpeople asking is I'm afraid I'll
be slow, Aren't we all?
We're all afraid of being slow.
So no, you're not going to bethe slowest one in the group, Um
, or?
I don't have all the gear,no-transcript afternoon, so
(33:48):
we'll be.
We'll be back to Asheville orto where your car is parked Um
Sunday afternoon.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
That's so great.
Yeah, oh, good for you.
All right.
So a few times in here beforewe let you go, I have to talk
about your coaching business,your personal training business.
That's a huge part of whatyou're doing.
You're starting this wholeretreat at your facility.
Let's talk about that a littlebit.
What got you into it?
And tell me a little bit aboutyour clientele and what you are
doing there I had.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
Obviously we talked about this earlier.
I'd always been into exerciseand at the time I didn't know it
was such a beneficial piece forme, for my mental health, and
I've always struggled withdepression and had on took some
time to kind of realize howexercise was going to be a major
role in helping combat mydepression, and it still does.
I still hit pretty heavymoments in the wintertime, the
(34:37):
seasonal, darker, gloomy days.
Speaker 1 (34:39):
It's real.
Speaker 2 (34:40):
Yeah, it's very real.
There's some weeks my husband's, like you, got to go outside.
Speaker 1 (34:45):
Same with Teresa, yeah.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
Yeah, and so I made that connection and I didn't get
to play a lot of sports.
I dabbled in gymnastics as ateenager and was never really
good at it, and started after myson was born.
I taught group fitness, wasobsessed with the gym
environment and teeny dabbled inbodybuilding.
And then I became a personaltrainer and I knew that was what
I always wanted to do.
I mean, probably since the ageof like 12, I knew I wanted to
(35:16):
be in the health and wellnessrealm.
I just didn't know what thatlooked like, and when I got
certified as a trainer I waslike I don't want to work in a
gym.
My dream is to one day own myown space.
I don't want to work forsomebody.
I don't want to manage peopleand I really just want to serve
my client and who they are whenthey come to me.
And that sometimes can bechallenging in a corporate
(35:37):
environment, and rightly so.
You know you have to follow allthe guidelines, but I knew that
having my own space was myultimate end goal and in the
middle of all of that, I didroad running and then trail
running and hiking, and nowbackpacking.
And in 2018, I finally openedmy own space and my husband was
(35:58):
so excited.
All the gym equipment wascoming out of his garage.
He was like, thank goodness, Ican have my garage back.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
I've known a few people like that, and that was
their story too, so I love it.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
Yeah, and I trained people at the park a lot for a
couple of years, I trainedpeople at the park, in their
homes or in their garage or inmy driveway, and I was just
determined to make it happen.
So, little by little, I hadaccrued all that equipment and
put it in the garage and wascarrying it out in my car, and
then I rented some spaces fromsome other women business owners
(36:30):
in the community that wereextremely supportive and a huge
role in my making this happen.
And then, in 2018, I openedthis space and it's evolved into
now I rent the space out tothree other trainers who run
their own businesses and aretheir own brand, because,
ultimately, as we all know, weare our brand and I want to
(36:52):
connect with my people.
I want them to connect withtheir people and attract their
clients, so they run each ofthem run their own business and
we share the space now and it'swonderful.
I love it.
Speaker 1 (37:03):
Good, good, good, and tell me about your clientele,
the people that come to workwith you, to train with you.
Speaker 2 (37:08):
Yeah, so most of my clientele it comes in for
strength training.
Speaker 1 (37:11):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
And I have a variety from 20 somethings that are, you
know, wanting to learn to liftweights to my oldest client is
83.
So you know he'd never he'dwalked his most of his life and,
and you know they he and hiswife lived on a boat for 12
years, so they'd been alwaysbeen active but he never
strength trained really.
So he came to me and wanted tolearn to strength train.
(37:33):
So that just goes to showyou're never too old and he's
rocking it, he's totally rockingthem.
So a wide variety of clientele.
And then I coach runningathletes online.
So I have a handful of clientsthat I coach online to, to, from
road runners to trail runners,to, you know, people tackling
their first 5k to someonerunning their first hundred
(37:55):
miler.
Then the adventure piece, thisnew endeavor for the retreat,
and I'm excited to add this tothe list of of cool things I get
to do for my amazing job.
Speaker 1 (38:04):
Oh, that's so good.
Well, you're such aninspiration.
From the very first time thatwe talked, I've been inspired
and I've really been thinking onand chewing on just your desire
to see people living life well.
I think it's an outflow, it'san overflow of kind of who you
are too, it's definitely evident.
But I think this is going to bea smashing success.
(38:25):
I think you actually, at thispoint when this airs, you
probably will be about 50%capacity for people to sign up,
but we want people to definitelysign up for this event.
I'm going to be talking to mydaughter as soon as we're done,
recording because she's just nowgetting into running and she's
going to sign up for her firstevent and she's going to do it
with a friend.
Yes, and she actually had one ofher customers gifted her some
(38:47):
running shoes.
So she's going out to get theshoes and she's doing all the
things and and it just one ofthe other things just to kind of
tie in there too you mentionedthe strength training and just
how the strength training piececan help all the other aspects
of life, and not not just inlife, but I mean if, if it's
trail running, if you feelstronger, if you feel like you
have more endurance, the waythat you perform and your
(39:10):
confidence level being out onthe trail just goes up
exponentially.
And I'm here to tell you thatis so true.
Just watching my 20-year-olddaughter go from being in the
gym, strength training and whatthat's doing for her climbing,
what it's doing for her justhiking in the outdoors, it
really does boost thatconfidence level a lot.
So I'm going to be talking toher about this event too.
Speaker 2 (39:37):
I't know if she's gonna be able to pull off this
one this year, but definitely inthe future years I know that
there'll be more Well and just alittle add on to the strength
training piece.
One thing we need to remember,and this is the coach going to
come out and meet for a minute.
One thing we need to remember is, at any age, muscle is is the
key to longevity, and I'm nottalking about just living long.
I'm talking about living aquality life as we age to,
(40:00):
whenever that time comes.
But we are starting to switchour mindset to it just being
exercise Right now.
It's a necessity to live a highquality life as we get older,
from a day-to-day functioning todoing the things that we love,
to being able to just go to thestore.
(40:26):
We've gone from the 80s and the90s of obsessing about being
cardio junkies to gym junkies toreally demonizing exercise as
an obsession or a bad thing or achore or a if I have time kind
of thing too.
We really we've got toincorporate a more healthy
mindset around it being a normalpiece of our day-to-day life,
(40:50):
and I strength train in the gym.
I do what I have to in the gym.
I love strength training, bythe way, it's my passion, other
than trail running.
But I do what I do in the gymso that I can do everything
outside the gym better and morepresent and more alive, and so
the more we can wrap our headaround this, this piece of it
(41:11):
being, I'm going to embrace this.
I'm going to make the best ofit.
I'm going to be my best, thebetter we're going to live a
quality life outside the gym.
So we just got to switch ourmindset around it a little bit.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
Yeah, it's so well said.
It's not for a competition oranything else, it's just for
quality of life and and and justbeing able to live life well
with the people around us andcare for them and care for
ourselves.
Yeah, absolutely.
And those?
Speaker 2 (41:34):
that want to compete or those that want to, you know,
take it to that level.
That's great, but the generalpopulation most of us are going
to be in the realm of this isgoing to help me live a quality,
more sustainable life.
Speaker 1 (41:48):
Yeah, completely relatable Great message, yeah
Well, yeah, completely relatableGreat message.
Yeah Well, I have thoroughlyenjoyed sitting down talking to
you, hearing your heart a littlebit more.
Again, I wish I would have hitrecord, but as a podcast host,
those are the things that I havethe privilege of just kind of
hearing off the mic too.
So thank you for everythingthat you've shared, thank you
for the work that you're doing,and I hope that this is going to
be an absolute smashing successfor you.
Speaker 2 (42:09):
Thank you very much for having me and giving me a
chance to share.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (42:15):
From the joy of running through nature to
organizing a trail running filmfestival and creating the
Unstoppable Women's MountaintopRetreat.
Tara's story highlights theprofound impact of embracing
your passions and connectingwith others.
Her journey is a testament tothe enduring power of
(42:39):
perseverance and the discoveryof one's true passion.
We've discussed thetransformative effects of
physical activity on mentalhealth and how it fosters
positivity in every singleaspect of our lives.
I hope the Tarot story hasinspired you to lace up your
running shoes, embrace the greatoutdoors and connect with your
community.
Remember, the journey towellness and empowerment can
start with a single step andit's never too late to discover
your passion and transform yourlife.
That's going to do it for thisepisode.
(43:00):
I hope you enjoyed it.
If you did, please subscribe,rate and leave us a review.
Your feedback helps us continueto bring you stories of how
these mountains and the outdoorsinfluence and shape our lives.
Join me on Instagram andFacebook and drop me a note at
mike at explorationlocalcom ifyou ever have a suggestion for a
future episode.
As always, I encourage you towander far but explore local and
(43:25):
until we meet again, keeprunning towards your dreams.
Embrace the adventure and never, ever stop being unstoppable.
Speaker 2 (43:52):
Thank you.
Have you ever laced up your running shoes and felt
an instant surge of freedom withevery step you took?
If so, you're in good company.
In this episode, tara Pruitt,owner of Unstoppable, joins me
to share how her love for trailrunning evolved into a journey
of community and empowerment.
From the joy of running throughnature, organizing a trail
running film festival andcreating adventurous retreats,
(00:23):
tara's story highlights thetransformative power of
embracing your passions andconnecting with others.
From channeling running as ameans to combat depression to
celebrating it as a catalyst forempowerment, tara's journey is
a testament to the enduringpower of perseverance and
discovering one's passion.
We'll dive into thetransformative effects of
physical activity on mentalhealth and explore how it
(00:45):
fosters positivity in everyaspect of life.
But that's not all.
We'll also scale the heights ofthe Unstoppable Women's
Mountaintop Retreat, a visionaryendeavor designed to provide
women with thrilling adventuresin a supportive environment.
Tara's efforts in creatingspaces where barriers are
stripped away reveal the powerof connection and the magic that
(01:05):
unfolds when we immerseourselves in nature and reclaim
our joy.
Tara's journey into personaltraining, the establishment of
her own studio and herdedication to cultivating
personal connections withclients affirm the philosophy
that physical strength andoutdoor adventures are indeed
pathways to a more fulfillinglife.
Tune in as we celebrate Tara'sjourney, the strength of the
(01:27):
trail running community and thetransformative impact of
embracing the great outdoors.
I'll see you on the other side.
You're listening to ExplorationLocal, a podcast designed to
explore and celebrate the peopleand places that make the Blue
Ridge and Southern AppalachianMountains special and unique.
(01:49):
My name is Mike Andrus, thehost of Exploration Local.
Join us on our journey toexplore these mountains and
discover how they fuel thespirit of adventure.
We encourage you to wander far,but explore local.
Let's go.
I am with Tara Pruitt.
Her company name is Unstoppable.
That's the name of her business, and you're going to know in
(02:11):
the next few minutes why thathas become such a powerful name.
Business name for Tara Alsokind of a really important sort
of moniker in your life too,tara, I think.
But thanks for taking the drivedown.
I'm glad we could finally putthis together.
This is going to be a greatshow, tara.
Welcome.
Glad to have you.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Absolutely.
What I'd like to do is spend alittle bit of time just kind of
talking about your journey, alittle bit your story.
We're going to talk about howyou got into running, what
running means to you, and thenwhat you're looking to do to
bring this running not just towomen but just to anybody who
would love the idea of trailrunning.
The beautiful part of this tome, too, is that we did talk
(02:51):
about this as Mental HealthAwareness Month and we're not
going to go really deep intothat part of your story, but it
really, I think, creates theframework behind Unstoppable,
behind how you got into running.
So let's start there a littlebit about who you are, love for
listeners to know who you are,what makes you tick and how we
got to the word Unstoppable.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
My business name Unstoppable is about strength,
endurance and adventuring, andthose three pieces have played a
major role in my life and Ifound that we all have this
journey of learning aboutourselves and trail running and
exploring and hiking andbackpacking has been a major
(03:33):
piece of creating who I am todayand who I choose I want to
evolve into as I grow and the Ithink to tie it into the mental
(03:55):
health aspect, it really I'vealways used running as a piece
of handling depression, as sincea kid I may not have known it
as a kid Nobody.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
You don't put those pieces together all the time.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
But I do remember as a as a young child, even as
early as 10 years old, thatrunning helped me feel free and
it helped me feel empowered andmotivated and positive.
And I would recognize thatafter I'd come back from a run
or some form of exercise that Ifelt this rejuvenation and
(04:20):
excitement and positivity thatwould just exude into other
areas of my life.
And I started putting thepieces of the puzzle together
like, oh, when I'm not active orwhen I'm not using this as a
part of my day-to-day kind ofsurvival skills, I can tell a
difference in my mood, or mydepression would get worse, or I
(04:40):
would feel less motivated to doother things get worse, or I
would feel less motivated to doother things.
And so I think that it was anearly trigger for me that, okay,
this needs, I need this as apart of who I am, and this has
got to be implemented on aregular basis.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Wow.
And so when you first startedgetting to the running piece you
were sharing earlier, that itwas about more of an escape from
something, and then it reallyhas become something that you're
sort of leaning into and isbecoming a part of you and I
wonder if you can just kind ofunpack that just a little bit
for us.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Yeah, I think we moved around a lot as a kid and
it was hard to make friends, itwas hard to fit in, it was hard
to find different areas where Ifelt like I couldn't connect
with other kids my age and Iimagined running away a few
times and even attempted it andthen got scared, went back home.
(05:33):
I was like that's not going towork.
And that's when I realized likeokay, running feels pretty good
.
I've never been good at it.
I'm still a very much back ofthe packer.
I just realized that at firstrunning was an escape and it was
like okay, this, this gives mea chance to check out and I can
push myself and challenge myselfand push a little more.
And then I started doing otherthings in life, like I taught
(05:54):
group fitness for many years, Idabbled a teeny bit in
bodybuilding, then I got, Ifound my way back to running.
I hope listeners don't get madat me, but I started road
running and I did a few years ofa stint of trying all the half
marathons and then I did amarathon here locally and hated
(06:18):
it and swore I was done withrunning.
And then a friend of mineinvited me to train for a trail
race here in the area and I waslike, oh you know, maybe I'll
try that instead of road running, because I, after the marathon
I was just determined to be done.
It's like it just about crushedme one and done.
(06:39):
It was crushed my soul.
So then I was like, well, let'sgive this a try, I'll see how I
like this before I sign up.
And then I ended up getting.
At the time the entry was kindof a lottery you mail your check
in and your letter andregistration, and if your check
was cashed, then you knew yougot in the race.
And so I was like, okay, well,we'll just see, I'll just test
(07:02):
this out.
And I kind of had thislove-hate relationship with it
at first, because when youtransition from being on the
road to keeping a certain paceand running certain splits to,
you've got to finish in thisamount of time.
And trail running was like justcome out and have fun, who
cares what your pace is?
And yeah, if you do races someraces you have cut off times,
(07:26):
but you're it's a much morerelaxed and chill environment.
We're just here to have a goodtime, kind of a thing.
So I was like, wow, this is awhole nother world.
How did I miss this?
And the more I learned abouttrail running, I was like these
people are crazy and yet they'reout here having the time of
(07:46):
their life, like I need more ofthis in my life.
So I got hooked on the trailrunning piece.
But running was always thisintro into all my other health
and wellness avenues to.
At first they became survivalskills, in a manner of speaking,
and then they turned into thispassion of figuring out who I
(08:09):
was and meeting these amazingpeople that you would have never
met in any other path of life.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Wow, wow, that's so good.
And so you were a physicaleducation major.
I think you said you did thatfor about six or seven years,
and it's very clear thatcoaching, working with people,
seeing people kind of perform attheir optimal and again, you're
not trying to train an Olympicathlete, but it's more it's more
like enjoy what you're doing,get better at what you're doing,
(08:36):
find the releases and thebenefits that come from all this
, and and so you actually have apersonal training studio as
well.
So so there's a lot of thingsthat you do.
So the word is unstoppable, andit just sort of occurred to me
that that really kind of has setyou in motion, because you have
a personal training business,you do a trail running film
festival that we'll talk about,you have a retreat that we're
(08:57):
really going to dive into alittle bit, and then you have
the running piece.
So, yeah, there's a lot of you.
That's about pouring into otherpeople, helping them to come
along, it seems.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
Yeah, and to be honest, if you knew me in my
teenage years, or even in myearly twenties, you would have
never, ever thought that this iswhere I'd be.
I would have never thought Iknew this is what I wanted.
I envisioned where I am todayas probably a late teen.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
But I was severely introverted.
People are always surprised tohear that I am actually an
introvert and they're like noway.
No, you taught you know six to12 group fitness classes a week
and then personal train theother part of the day Like
there's no way you're anintrovert.
Personal train the other partof the day Like there's no way
(09:45):
you're an introvert.
But it's honestly that that'sprobably another piece of why I
love trail running, because itgives me a chance to like
rejuvenate my soul and who I amas a person, so that I can give
back well in the community andto those around me and and to my
spouse my husband and my andour son.
I think that if you'd asked myparents or my sister or anybody
that knew me in my teens, they'dhave been like uh-uh, there's
(10:07):
no way.
She does all of that becauseshe's an introvert and she's
quiet and she's the.
She's the one that kind of sitson the sidelines and doesn't
have anything to say until Ihave something to say.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
And then listen up yes, yeah, oh, that's great.
Let's talk a little bit aboutthe Trail Running Film Festival.
Let's start there, becausethat's in the past.
You've already had it, but it'sa really cool concept, and then
people are going to have theopportunity to attend that, if
they want to next year.
So let's talk a little bitabout the Trail Running Film
Festival, and it's interestinghow you just kind of found your
(10:39):
way into this and it was wildlysuccessful for a couple of years
running now.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
So the Trail running film festivals originated in
Bellingham, washington, and theyused to travel around the
states and host these indifferent cities, and, of course
, we're a major outdoorcommunity here, so they would
come to Asheville.
And, of course, after when 2020hit, everything quit.
And so, in 2021, december of 21, they sent an email out to
(11:07):
their entire email subscriberlist and they were like, hey, we
want to bring this back, we'rethinking of doing it this way.
If we do this in this specificmanner, would any of our email
subscribers want to be a host?
And so I was.
I and I know many people in ourcommunity were just ready for
(11:28):
something to bring us backtogether and inspire us, and
nothing does that more thandocumentaries of, of people's
stories.
We all have a story and we allhave a story to share that could
inspire someone else, andthat's what these films do.
And it's pretty incredible tome that when I applied for this,
(11:49):
I was like they'll never pickme.
There's just no way.
I'm just a normal runner in thecommunity, Not really anybody
that they should be like.
Oh, she's the one she knowseverybody because I don't.
But they picked me.
And when I told my husband, hewas like you did what?
And I said well, this isprobably going to be a team
effort, so get ready.
(12:10):
Yeah, get ready.
And so in 2022, I had eightweeks to plan the trail running
film festival and I was sograteful that our community came
together and were so supportiveand between sponsors and people
at the Orange Peel you knowthey're a very popular local
music venue.
This was not on their radar atall and they stepped it up and
(12:33):
they enjoyed having us there.
Something different and uniqueand special to our community and
it sold out and we had.
It was unique to look out onthis stage as an introvert,
trying to make myself talk andsee everyone in the community
(12:53):
connect in a way that we all hadmissed for a couple of years.
To see them be like, oh, Ihaven't seen you in so long.
We should run together.
Or how's your kids doing?
You know they're in differentschools now.
Or seeing even people that hostdifferent trail running
(13:14):
activities around town connectand be like I didn't know you
did that, and it was just reallyspecial to me to look out and
just see that happening versusthe cherry on the top with their
films themselves.
So it was so cool and so I gota chance to bring it back again
this year and again was a hugesuccess.
Again at the Orange Peel.
They were, they've been, theywere just been truly amazing to
(13:37):
have something different there,and we'll see what next year
brings.
I hope that we can make thathappen again.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
So let's stay with the theme of you making big
impacts and inviting people into be a part of things.
You have a really special andthis is, I think, is going to be
, the inaugural right.
It's going to be the very first, ever, Unstoppable Women's
Mountaintop Retreat and it's around running trail getting
people connected all differentlevels.
(14:06):
This is amazing and I can'twait for this part.
Let's really kind of dive intothis, because I'd love to know
where your heart was for this.
Where did this come from?
Because I can already tell likeyou're a connector, you love
people, you love seeing peoplebeing connected to one another.
And then you're doing it aroundthis, the outdoors and trails
and this is really, really cool.
(14:27):
So let's just dive right in.
What is this event?
Where did it come from?
Speaker 2 (14:31):
This has been on my mind for a few years, and I've
been too chicken to do it.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
All right.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
So the film festival kind of ties into this a little
bit, because it was something Ifelt drawn to and needed, and I
had heard other people talkabout needing something like
that.
Same thing with this women'smountaintop adventure.
I've heard other women say, man, I wish that there was a
(14:57):
retreat for women to connect andbe able to have a place to
escape, but I don't have a tentor I don't have all the
backpacking gear, I don't haveall the setup to be able to have
a place to escape, but I don'thave a tent or I don't have all
the backpacking gear.
I don't have, you know, all thesetup to be able to be out
there.
Um, or I'm afraid to be bymyself or I'm afraid of
exploring beyond my comfort zone, which generally is someone's
local area around their homethat they've just repeatedly
(15:19):
used.
So this, this, this has been onmy mind for a while and just
listening to what others arelooking for from a connection
standpoint.
But what really made me like gofor it was I'd been stalking
the cabins at Sandy Mush Baldfor a while and I didn't get a
chance to get up there lastseason when I saw all these
(15:43):
other adventure women postingtheir retreats around the globe.
And I saw someone from Ibelieve she's from Arizona.
She posted that she was goingto host an event here in Western
North Carolina and I was likehold on a second.
This is my turf and so I told myhusband I was like I pulled the
(16:03):
plug, I'm doing it and Icommitted to the cabins at Sandy
mush and I'm going to make thishappen because I didn't want to
sit back one more year andwatch someone that doesn't even
appreciate our mountains.
Now that's probably a littleharsh, but, like, this is my
hometown and I want to share itfrom the perspective of what
(16:24):
these other amazing, beautifulbusinesses are doing for our
community, like Lisa's story,and highlight that and showcase
that, without it seemingtouristy, without it seeming
like a salesy thing, really ismeaningful to me to pull people
together to enjoy thishistorical piece of land that
(16:47):
sits on this epic mountaintop,that you have these breathtaking
views, that you will, you, youjust have to sit up there and
enjoy them.
Like you, you cannot.
They look fake.
You cannot, you cannot likejust go up for one day.
You have to be up there and letit rain on you, or let the
(17:07):
sunset, you know, soak in belowthe clouds, or let the sunrise
come up above, you know, the fogin the.
A taste of what that trulyfeels like and experience it
firsthand.
I'm going to want to do thisagain, oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Well, it's so cool that you it's not just like a
two-day thing.
I mean it's Thursday to Sunday,it's the June 20th, to, excuse
me, june 23rd.
So in that, even in the hike upand all the things that you
will do, there's an element ofdecompressing and unplugging
entirely.
And I love the fact that youhave it over a few days, because
(17:53):
sometimes it takes people alittle bit of time just to
decompress and just say, okay,I'm good, now I can be present
here.
This isn't just something I'mdoing on the weekend.
So the fact that you're doingit for so many, you know, days
in a row, I think is a testimonyto you kind of understanding a
little bit about getting peopleout in nature, getting them to
the point where they're ready toto just be, to be present, to
(18:16):
receive whatever it is that youguys are going to have for them.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
So so you're right, we we are such a busy, busy
society culture of if you're notbusy or you're not tackling
things or you're not exhaustedat the end of the day, that
we're not succeeding in life.
And I think that's anotherattraction to me about not only
(18:38):
the places like cabins at SandyMush, but getting out in our
mountains is it really bringsyou back to the realities of
what's truly important in yourlife, and I hope that the women
walk away from this retreatreally uh and questioning what
their focuses should be on, andultimately, I hope it's they
(18:59):
realize themselves first,because when we take care of
ourselves, that spills over intoevery other aspect of our life.
First of all, our close, closeones are loved ones.
But you're right, it takes a fewdays to kind of like let that
go and be like everything willsurvive without me, like
everything will survive withoutme.
But the start of the retreatwill be Thursday evening, so
(19:25):
that people don't have tonecessarily miss work Thursday
and Friday, so if they aresomewhat local, we won't start
until Thursday evening and we'regoing to start the weekend off
at my studio space, because it'snear and dear to my heart that
women learn to strength trainspace, because it's near and
dear to my heart that womenlearn to strength train, and so
(19:46):
we'll go through a very beginnerapproachable strength training
class that will be body weightfocused but have the option to
down the road if they haveaccess to a facility, a gym or
anything at home that they canincorporate this so that they
feel empowered and strong, tonot only tackle the do's, the
don'ts and the how of strengthtraining and why it's so
important to incorporate this intheir day-to-day life, but how
(20:08):
it will trickle over into theiradventures.
You know, to feel strong on thetrail, to feel like you can
catch yourself if you fall or ifyou're carrying a loaded pack
or if you're newly getting intoit, that you can feel solid
being out there.
So it's very important to methat we talk about the whys and
make sure that we're doing thisin a well-approachable manner.
(20:28):
But so then we'll have dinnerand hopefully by a workout,
which is the most unfriendly wayto break the ice but hopefully
after the workout and we havedinner, we'll have a chance to
kind of let the guard down andreally show up and be present
for the next two to three days,that's great.
And so Friday we'll wake upearly and we'll head to Hot
(20:48):
Springs and we'll have someadventures in Hot Springs.
We'll have lunch in Hot Springsand then on Friday afternoon
we'll head over to the cabins atSandy Mushbald.
I'm excited because Nataliefrom Food for Adventures is
going to be cooking for us.
I keep nudging him and bugginghim because I think I'm more
excited about food.
(21:09):
We'll do anything for food.
So I've already nudged him withsome of my ideas for recipes or
things.
I mean, he's so good at what hedoes anyway so.
I know he's totally going towalk our worlds with his food.
So Friday, well, he'll have ussome dinner ready so we can, and
so we'll smell all his fabulousfood while we're settling in
(21:32):
and kind of getting our sortsabout us up at the cabins.
And then Saturday we'll havebreakfast there at the cabins
and we will head out.
Natalie's going to help do ashort, brief class on foraging,
because that's his specialty aswell.
And then I'm going to lead aclass on a wilderness awareness.
(21:54):
So I call it wildernessawareness 101, because there's
an element of safety.
I don't like the element ofsurvival.
I like the awareness of knowingwhat the possibilities are and
how can you be most prepared forthose possibilities.
And a lot of the fears that wehold on going out solo or what
(22:16):
do I need to pack, what do I notneed to pack, what are the
potentials of happening and howcan I be prepared.
But so often we let those fearstake over that we don't even
take action.
So being able to utilize whatyou carry and then just being
able to take those steps andfeeling empowered.
So it's not going to be acertification.
You won't walk away with anykind of promise, know, promise
(22:39):
of anything.
This is for educational purposesonly oh, that's huge and then
saturday night, we're all goingto cook together as a crew oh
yeah, which I think the bestconversations happen on in two
places in our world.
Well, three I lied in the car,because you're not confronting
with someone in the car on thetrail because, again, you're not
face to face, and the car onthe trail because again you're
not face to face, and there'ssomething about like opening
(23:01):
your heart.
When you're on the trail, whatsays is set on the trail stays
on the trail.
And then when you're cooking,there's something special about
those moments shared around thetable when you're cooking with
someone else and you're tellingstories and you're sharing life
experiences and you'reconnecting in a way that again
that could happen on the trailwith someone that you're like
(23:22):
wow, I just learned thisvaluable life lesson from
someone.
So it's important to me that wecook together up there and then
, of course, enjoy the fire.
That's the best part of thewhole event.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
That's right.
So was it your idea to cooktogether.
That's right.
So was it your idea to cooktogether.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Actually I gained.
So I did a poll recently andsome of my followers responded.
I would say, out of the dozenthat responded, half of them
were like cook together and Iwas like okay.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Smart smart.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
I was like that's the best feedback ever.
It's so good.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Yeah, it's so good.
I mean, I'm thinking of thetimes that I've just been out
and the beauty of this thing,too, is that you already have
several hours underneath yourbelt, so to speak.
You guys were together for afew hours and now you get to
come and there's stories of justreconnecting what you just
experienced together, the ahamoments, the connections, all
this kind of stuff is just sokindred about people coming
(24:20):
together and fixing andpreparing, and everything in the
outdoors tastes good.
It's going to taste even betterbecause you're going to have a
great cabin to stay in and yougot Natty that's leading the way
there.
But yeah, there is somethingthat's very, very, very smart
about preparing together,breaking bread together, being
together.
Yeah, and it's hard to put intowords or why, but it's true,
like you said, when we'reoutside something drives up the
(24:41):
appetite.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
But then when you've made it yourself and then you
sit down with the people youjust made it with and it tastes
better, it has more flavor, ithas more meaning and there's
studies that show that all ofthat is connected and it will
imprint a memory for eternity,that that you will never forget.
(25:03):
And if you think about back backto our childhood, that's where
a lot of our memories would comefrom is something around.
You know cooking together ordoing events together, or you
know family stuff together.
That's where you're going tosee conversations really
flourish or not flourish in somecases, but there's something
about that.
Like you said, the breaking thebread together but when you've
(25:25):
made it and you've enjoyed beingoutside.
It's pretty special.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
Oh, it's really special, yeah, yeah.
So the expectation is not thesemountaineer, 25 years
experience.
I mean, you're talking to me,you're really open to a lot of
different.
This could be somebody who isin their 20s to somebody that's
in their 60s and-.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
And beyond, and beyond.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
So there's no caps or limits on any of this stuff,
and it sounds to me like this isa retreat that people could
come to, that they don't have tohave it all figured out.
This, this is about helpingthem figure this out.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
Find your inner wild.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
Find your inner wild.
I like that.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
And you know you could be a hiker, a backpacker,
a trail runner.
You'll have options.
As we play in hot springs, youknow to explore whatever,
whatever avenue you are at inthis point of life, you know.
Explore whatever, whateveravenue you are at in this point
of life, you know.
And then up on the, on theproperty, at the cabins, you
know if you're ready to andyou're in training mode for a
(26:27):
race and you're trail runningand you want to go up and down
the two and a half mile and thenthe mile loop around and then
there's a half a mile to eachbald, go for it like more power
to you.
But if you're just wanting totake a leisurely stroll and have
some quiet time and that's morewhere you're at in your journey
, then then this is also theplace for you.
So, yes, all different aspects.
I think that was my.
The other thing that was reallyimportant to me was I love
(26:51):
attending multi day events.
Sometimes in the trail runningworld we call it stage, stage,
day stage events where you runan X amount of mileage, make it
to the next point, run X amountof mileage, you know, point to
point or back to base camp,whatever that may be, but I also
like the option like what ifI'm just not feeling it today?
Speaker 1 (27:11):
and.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
I just want to chill and hang out, and if you want to
sit on the front porch that dayand have your downtime with a
quiet cup of coffee, by allmeans this is your trip too, and
so there's plenty of avenues tomake this what you want it to
be, but enough of activitiesthat you feel like you've gotten
other avenues to be able tolearn from and connect with
(27:34):
people in a different way.
Speaker 1 (27:35):
Oh, that's good when you think about coming out of
this weekend, when you thinkabout the people who are going
to reflect back, because we gothrough these experiences and
then they impact us, but then itcould be a day, a week, a month
down the road that when peoplereflect back on it, that those
benefits come out even more.
You're a very purposeful person, so when you think about this
(27:59):
and you think about somebodycoming out of this, what are a
couple of top, couple of thingsthat you hope and not that
you're like stressing on it andif they don't have this, they
don't express it to me it's nota success, but what are the
things you really hope in thatpeople get out of this for them?
And that also love to hear yourperspective of what you hope to
get out of this too.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
I'd also love to hear your perspective of what you
hope to get out of this too.
That's a great question.
Ultimately, I want to give thefreedom for people to come and
check out and just maybe they'remissing that in their life,
Maybe they're missing just somequietness, Maybe they're missing
connection with someone andthat it was just odds or fate,
(28:39):
whatever you may want to call itthat they met this person,
someone other in the group,someone else in the group, and
they become friends for life.
So I think if I could encourageanyone attending to just come
with an open heart and awillingness to just be, because
a lot of these types of eventsare so overly planned, Like I've
(29:01):
got it planned.
But I also want you to havefreedom to make it yours and I
think, if anything, if you walkaway making one friend for life,
then it's a win to me and maybeeven learning one thing you
know and I hope to learn fromother people.
I think that's what's importantto me is, had I not taken the
(29:21):
chance or the leap of faith anddone this, I would have not met
these other women, from whereverthey're coming from, and that's
another chance for me to likehey, I'm going to come stay at
your house next year andvacation in your town, so you
know.
And vacation in your town, soyou know.
It could be anything.
The possibilities are endless,but just being open to what it
(29:44):
all could turn out to be.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
Cool.
Will you have any part of thiswhere the last night or you
mentioned the fire and gosh somany good things come from
campfires?
Will there be an element of yousort of being able to kind of
unpack this or just let it kindof happen organically?
I know you don't want to beoverplanned with it, but is
there an opportunity for peopleto just kind of reflect on that,
or are you just kind of hopingthat it just comes up
(30:09):
organically?
Speaker 2 (30:10):
I would like everyone to come together for breakfast
on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
Nice.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
And maybe at a specific time, that they maybe
did get some quiet time thatmorning before and had a chance
to kind of, you know, regroup,or even if they took the morning
, and then we met up togetherand did like a little hash out,
you know feedback session orwhat, what did you take away
from the weekend kind of momentbefore we hike back down on
(30:35):
Sunday morning or Sundayafternoon?
Um and you know, the weatheraround here could be a very big
role in some of this.
I'm a little mentally preparedfor that, but, um, you know,
being on the edge of the Smokiesyou never know what could
happen.
So, yeah, I think thatultimately, to me it would be
you know, what could you takeaway from the weekend or what
(30:55):
could you give to somebody?
You know what can you take,what can you give?
Speaker 1 (30:58):
Well, I like that, I like that.
Yeah, and then what about foryourself?
Speaker 2 (31:09):
Same, so I'm.
So I'm one of those types ofpeople that I can be in charge
and I don't mind being in charge.
I don't have to rule everythingand I don't want to.
I want to create the groundworkand put it out there, and then
you and I do this with mycoaching.
A lot Like this is the.
This is what I was taught to do, but I also know that I need to
listen to the.
I need to have.
I coach people a lot Listen toyour body, listen to your heart,
(31:31):
what's your gut saying, andthen we meld the two together.
So the same.
With this experience, it'simportant to me that here's the
groundwork, but nothing says wehave to go by the rules and obey
every single thing that's putout there.
What if we get the grouptogether and 24 hours in, we're
like, oh, we need to pivot.
Ok, we're going to pivot and wemake that happen.
And I feel like that's what myspecialty is is being able to
(31:54):
pivot and not let it destroy thewhole weekend.
If something needs to changelike it's, it's okay.
Yeah, and that's just beinghuman like we did, we need to be
okay with that, like the.
Even in my training plan, youknow the these are, this is the
way it should look, but then inthe real world, 80 of the time,
I actually abide by it, becauselife happens.
(32:14):
So that's kind of how I'mapproaching the weekend is I got
all these cool things that Iwant to do, but if we, if
there's a moment that we're justlike in it and we're just going
to be there and we're going tolet it happen, and that's the
way it should be.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
I love that.
All right, so details on this.
It's limited to 10 people andspace will be limited because we
know this will be a popularthing.
The cost and how can we findout details?
Speaker 2 (32:40):
Yes, so on, TaraPruittcom is my website and
I have it set to.
If you want more details, youemail me, Because if that I'm
old school, let's just say I'mvery old school.
I'm a single person running allthe things and I actually, if I
would prefer to do a phone callif somebody really has concerns
(33:02):
or questions.
The biggest concern I getpeople asking is I'm afraid I'll
be slow, Aren't we all?
We're all afraid of being slow.
So no, you're not going to bethe slowest one in the group, Um
, or?
I don't have all the gear,no-transcript afternoon, so
(33:48):
we'll be.
We'll be back to Asheville orto where your car is parked Um
Sunday afternoon.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
That's so great.
Yeah, oh, good for you.
All right.
So a few times in here beforewe let you go, I have to talk
about your coaching business,your personal training business.
That's a huge part of whatyou're doing.
You're starting this wholeretreat at your facility.
Let's talk about that a littlebit.
What got you into it?
And tell me a little bit aboutyour clientele and what you are
doing there I had.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
Obviously we talked about this earlier.
I'd always been into exerciseand at the time I didn't know it
was such a beneficial piece forme, for my mental health, and
I've always struggled withdepression and had on took some
time to kind of realize howexercise was going to be a major
role in helping combat mydepression, and it still does.
I still hit pretty heavymoments in the wintertime, the
(34:37):
seasonal, darker, gloomy days.
Speaker 1 (34:39):
It's real.
Speaker 2 (34:40):
Yeah, it's very real.
There's some weeks my husband's, like you, got to go outside.
Speaker 1 (34:45):
Same with Teresa, yeah.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
Yeah, and so I made that connection and I didn't get
to play a lot of sports.
I dabbled in gymnastics as ateenager and was never really
good at it, and started after myson was born.
I taught group fitness, wasobsessed with the gym
environment and teeny dabbled inbodybuilding.
And then I became a personaltrainer and I knew that was what
I always wanted to do.
I mean, probably since the ageof like 12, I knew I wanted to
(35:16):
be in the health and wellnessrealm.
I just didn't know what thatlooked like, and when I got
certified as a trainer I waslike I don't want to work in a
gym.
My dream is to one day own myown space.
I don't want to work forsomebody.
I don't want to manage peopleand I really just want to serve
my client and who they are whenthey come to me.
And that sometimes can bechallenging in a corporate
(35:37):
environment, and rightly so.
You know you have to follow allthe guidelines, but I knew that
having my own space was myultimate end goal and in the
middle of all of that, I didroad running and then trail
running and hiking, and nowbackpacking.
And in 2018, I finally openedmy own space and my husband was
(35:58):
so excited.
All the gym equipment wascoming out of his garage.
He was like, thank goodness, Ican have my garage back.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
I've known a few people like that, and that was
their story too, so I love it.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
Yeah, and I trained people at the park a lot for a
couple of years, I trainedpeople at the park, in their
homes or in their garage or inmy driveway, and I was just
determined to make it happen.
So, little by little, I hadaccrued all that equipment and
put it in the garage and wascarrying it out in my car, and
then I rented some spaces fromsome other women business owners
(36:30):
in the community that wereextremely supportive and a huge
role in my making this happen.
And then, in 2018, I openedthis space and it's evolved into
now I rent the space out tothree other trainers who run
their own businesses and aretheir own brand, because,
ultimately, as we all know, weare our brand and I want to
(36:52):
connect with my people.
I want them to connect withtheir people and attract their
clients, so they run each ofthem run their own business and
we share the space now and it'swonderful.
I love it.
Speaker 1 (37:03):
Good, good, good, and tell me about your clientele,
the people that come to workwith you, to train with you.
Speaker 2 (37:08):
Yeah, so most of my clientele it comes in for
strength training.
Speaker 1 (37:11):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
And I have a variety from 20 somethings that are, you
know, wanting to learn to liftweights to my oldest client is
83.
So you know he'd never he'dwalked his most of his life and,
and you know they he and hiswife lived on a boat for 12
years, so they'd been alwaysbeen active but he never
strength trained really.
So he came to me and wanted tolearn to strength train.
(37:33):
So that just goes to showyou're never too old and he's
rocking it, he's totally rockingthem.
So a wide variety of clientele.
And then I coach runningathletes online.
So I have a handful of clientsthat I coach online to, to, from
road runners to trail runners,to, you know, people tackling
their first 5k to someonerunning their first hundred
(37:55):
miler.
Then the adventure piece, thisnew endeavor for the retreat,
and I'm excited to add this tothe list of of cool things I get
to do for my amazing job.
Speaker 1 (38:04):
Oh, that's so good.
Well, you're such aninspiration.
From the very first time thatwe talked, I've been inspired
and I've really been thinking onand chewing on just your desire
to see people living life well.
I think it's an outflow, it'san overflow of kind of who you
are too, it's definitely evident.
But I think this is going to bea smashing success.
(38:25):
I think you actually, at thispoint when this airs, you
probably will be about 50%capacity for people to sign up,
but we want people to definitelysign up for this event.
I'm going to be talking to mydaughter as soon as we're done,
recording because she's just nowgetting into running and she's
going to sign up for her firstevent and she's going to do it
with a friend.
Yes, and she actually had one ofher customers gifted her some
(38:47):
running shoes.
So she's going out to get theshoes and she's doing all the
things and and it just one ofthe other things just to kind of
tie in there too you mentionedthe strength training and just
how the strength training piececan help all the other aspects
of life, and not not just inlife, but I mean if, if it's
trail running, if you feelstronger, if you feel like you
have more endurance, the waythat you perform and your
(39:10):
confidence level being out onthe trail just goes up
exponentially.
And I'm here to tell you thatis so true.
Just watching my 20-year-olddaughter go from being in the
gym, strength training and whatthat's doing for her climbing,
what it's doing for her justhiking in the outdoors, it
really does boost thatconfidence level a lot.
So I'm going to be talking toher about this event too.
Speaker 2 (39:37):
I't know if she's gonna be able to pull off this
one this year, but definitely inthe future years I know that
there'll be more Well and just alittle add on to the strength
training piece.
One thing we need to remember,and this is the coach going to
come out and meet for a minute.
One thing we need to remember is, at any age, muscle is is the
key to longevity, and I'm nottalking about just living long.
I'm talking about living aquality life as we age to,
(40:00):
whenever that time comes.
But we are starting to switchour mindset to it just being
exercise Right now.
It's a necessity to live a highquality life as we get older,
from a day-to-day functioning todoing the things that we love,
to being able to just go to thestore.
(40:26):
We've gone from the 80s and the90s of obsessing about being
cardio junkies to gym junkies toreally demonizing exercise as
an obsession or a bad thing or achore or a if I have time kind
of thing too.
We really we've got toincorporate a more healthy
mindset around it being a normalpiece of our day-to-day life,
(40:50):
and I strength train in the gym.
I do what I have to in the gym.
I love strength training, bythe way, it's my passion, other
than trail running.
But I do what I do in the gymso that I can do everything
outside the gym better and morepresent and more alive, and so
the more we can wrap our headaround this, this piece of it
(41:11):
being, I'm going to embrace this.
I'm going to make the best ofit.
I'm going to be my best, thebetter we're going to live a
quality life outside the gym.
So we just got to switch ourmindset around it a little bit.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
Yeah, it's so well said.
It's not for a competition oranything else, it's just for
quality of life and and and justbeing able to live life well
with the people around us andcare for them and care for
ourselves.
Yeah, absolutely.
And those?
Speaker 2 (41:34):
that want to compete or those that want to, you know,
take it to that level.
That's great, but the generalpopulation most of us are going
to be in the realm of this isgoing to help me live a quality,
more sustainable life.
Speaker 1 (41:48):
Yeah, completely relatable Great message, yeah
Well, yeah, completely relatableGreat message.
Yeah Well, I have thoroughlyenjoyed sitting down talking to
you, hearing your heart a littlebit more.
Again, I wish I would have hitrecord, but as a podcast host,
those are the things that I havethe privilege of just kind of
hearing off the mic too.
So thank you for everythingthat you've shared, thank you
for the work that you're doing,and I hope that this is going to
be an absolute smashing successfor you.
Speaker 2 (42:09):
Thank you very much for having me and giving me a
chance to share.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (42:15):
From the joy of running through nature to
organizing a trail running filmfestival and creating the
Unstoppable Women's MountaintopRetreat.
Tara's story highlights theprofound impact of embracing
your passions and connectingwith others.
Her journey is a testament tothe enduring power of
(42:39):
perseverance and the discoveryof one's true passion.
We've discussed thetransformative effects of
physical activity on mentalhealth and how it fosters
positivity in every singleaspect of our lives.
I hope the Tarot story hasinspired you to lace up your
running shoes, embrace the greatoutdoors and connect with your
community.
Remember, the journey towellness and empowerment can
start with a single step andit's never too late to discover
your passion and transform yourlife.
That's going to do it for thisepisode.
(43:00):
I hope you enjoyed it.
If you did, please subscribe,rate and leave us a review.
Your feedback helps us continueto bring you stories of how
these mountains and the outdoorsinfluence and shape our lives.
Join me on Instagram andFacebook and drop me a note at
mike at explorationlocalcom ifyou ever have a suggestion for a
future episode.
As always, I encourage you towander far but explore local and
(43:25):
until we meet again, keeprunning towards your dreams.
Embrace the adventure and never, ever stop being unstoppable.
Speaker 2 (43:52):
Thank you.
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