February 3, 2024 • 53 mins
Tania shares a fascinating chronicle of her journey into ultra running, from her initial days of being a non-runner to resolutely training and completing ultra-marathons, over 20 to date.
She details her latest adventure, to race across five deserts (Namibia, Gobi, Jordan, Antarctica, Chile) in 12 months with the aim of raising funds for Indigenous children in Mexico.
Find out why she chose this challenge in particular and what race she ultimately has set her sights on for 2025.
We plan to check back in with Tania after each desert race to find out how it went!
All this and more so stick around
Here is Tania...
You can follow Tania on Instagram here : https://www.instagram.com/taniaruns_theworld/
Tania's Coaching/Pod/Charity here : https://www.runstrongcoaching.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hi everyone, this is Michele Graglia. This is Marianne Hogan.
Hi, I'm Adrian McDonald.
I'm Katie Asmund. Hi, this is Anthony Gasols. Hi, my name is Meg Morgan.
This is Ryan Van Duser, and you are listening to the Gotta Run Racing Podcast.
Music.
(00:24):
Hello, hello. Hey everyone, we are back with another Gotta Run Podcast. podcast.
What's happening in the world of ultra running? This past weekend,
we had two Canadians on top of the podium at Hurt 100 in Hawaii.
That's right. Ihor Veras won the men's and Andrea Tarras won the women's. Wow.
With incredible times too. Andrea broke the record, I believe,
(00:48):
and she came in the top 10. That's incredible. Hurt is not an easy course.
Damn right it's not. We have chatted with several runners who've done Hurt and they're still hurting.
Ha ha, you got it. Well, congrats to those two. Greg, congrats to Canadian ultra running.
Woo, I love it. And what's happened with our events?
Well, registration's now open for the Island Lake Classic on Labor Day Monday
(01:11):
and the Lost Treasure Trail Race in Mansfield in May.
And Rainbow Trail Race is soon to follow. I'm working on that this weekend.
Well, things are open, so come on over and register. We'd love to have you there. Absolutely.
And who's on the podcast today? Today we have Tanya Carmona.
She's 37. She was born and raised in Mexico, now living in Glasgow.
(01:35):
She's a self-proclaimed non-runner, but has completed over 20 ultra marathons,
from 50k to 100 miles, stage races, etc.
And this year she's set to take on one of the most extreme feats in ultra running
by racing across five deserts in 12 months while raising money for children in Mexico.
Mexico the company that puts on this event is called racing the planet and she's
(01:59):
aiming to be the first Mexican female to complete it first Mexican I believe
and those five races are in Namibia Gobi Jordan Antarctica and Chile and each
one is 250 kilometers and they're all self-supported,
So she wants to complete these five deserts within a year span.
Right. Including Antarctica.
(02:21):
Yes. Which is not easy to get to. Not at all.
On top of that, she's an endurance coach and her company's called Run Strong Coaching.
She and her husband just started a brand new podcast called The Ultra Happy
Podcast, which is documenting her adventure. So be sure to check that out.
Well, that's going to definitely be in our show notes. But without further ado, here is Tanya coming up.
(02:45):
Music.
Welcome to the podcast tanya i understand i
understand you were born
in mexico you went to high school in canada university in the u.s and now you
live in glasgow what a whirlwind oh my goodness i started i started my globetrotting
(03:09):
life pretty early now where in canada,
I studied high school in British Columbia in Victoria.
Oh, beautiful. You picked a nice spot.
It was really quiet and it was not a lot going on. It's beautiful,
but it's very calm, very safe.
(03:30):
And when I picked, I wanted to live somewhere else. My parents were like,
okay, let's just go and pick a place that is not too wild.
Because I was still like 15, like 13, 12 years old. So my parents were like,
yeah, let's pick somewhere that is not, you know, not a big city or anything.
Even though on the weekend, we'll take the wee ferry across to Vancouver.
(03:52):
But, you know, you still live in Victoria, which is a super, super nice, quiet town.
So what were your options? Pretty much that.
Oh, no, hold on. Quebec and Montreal, like the other side. Okay.
But that was in French. French.
And I don't know if I loved the idea of a totally different language.
And I just thought, I just want something in English, I think.
(04:16):
And it was the option of Vancouver or Victoria.
And then my parents just pretty much decided there. I think Victoria for now,
like I said, it was so small.
I'm sure you figured out that most Canadians go there to retire.
Yeah. It was lovely because I had really nice homes.
Homes because there's people that obviously host students
(04:38):
and there was usually elderly people elderly
and then were like really nice they were treating me obviously that
you know her daughter or you know really really big
homes because that used to be the family home
or whatever and now they were just by themselves I
had to I stayed in two homes that they were just grandmas that
they were just there by themselves so they really appreciated the
(05:01):
company and it was good for me as well to
just see that and your accent freaks
me out because i watched your first podcast
and at first okay i can hear the
spanish then all of a sudden i think you said we
or or something and i'm like oh my
gosh we shouldn't come in now it's wild
(05:23):
i love it like there's some mexican or they would have traveled now around obviously
we love traveling and stuff and people can put the finger on where are you guys
from like what is what is this so it has also an accent a little bit so it's
just like when people see us around it's trying to,
(05:43):
trying to figure it out yeah where are you guys from so yeah it's always fun
take your best guess we heard it all no one would ever get it no one no one so far no.
Well, before we attack this incredible journey you're going to have this year,
let's go back and tell us, were you always an active child growing up in Mexico?
(06:10):
Yeah, yeah. Actually, I said that in my first podcast that I was not an athlete.
Well, maybe I was, but...
Back then, I just thought I was a kid, you know, I was swimming and I was just
having fun with my friends.
Like I never thought anything of it, obviously.
And then I think at age 12, 13, I just went to the Nationals.
(06:33):
I really wanted to go to the Nationals because I thought, you know, but I wanted to retire.
Like I was 12 and retired, but I was so tired because I started swimming since I was four.
So I lived very very active
lifestyle I think from 4 to 12 ish 13
and it was swimming a lot I
never thought oh I'm training hard or
(06:55):
like I said I always thought like oh I was having fun with my friends
and I would used to when it was
like double sessions a day you know morning and afternoon for
me it was even more fun it was like oh I can see my friends twice a
day and you know never thought anything of it but
after that time after when I stopped with
age I guess at 12 13 there is a
(07:16):
plant like a massive gap until pretty much now
so there is yeah 10
plus years of pretty much nothing and running
was never an option really when did
it become an option tell us that story I became
an option when I'm I
finished my high school and then I finished my I went back
(07:38):
to Mexico I went back to study my master's in Chicago and then I go back Mexico
when I finished my studies and everything and I find myself you know alone because
it's been a while since I lived home so you know I didn't have any like friends
or anything you kind of like lost touch such people living so long abroad.
And I seen this like group of runners running around the block and I was like, I hate running.
(08:04):
Like, you know what, if that's going to put me, you know, to meet people and
just get out the door, I'm just going to do it.
So that's how I started.
I couldn't even do the whole loop. It was a 3K loop just around the block.
I couldn't even. That's really, really, really bad.
But it was more social, you know, like we used to go for wings on Friday and the fun stuff.
(08:31):
And I don't know why one of the
coaches or something, they invited us to a demo class in one of the gyms.
And I really, really, really liked the way he
was teaching the session it was a little bit more strengthening which
I've never had been in touch with
that in my life so I really really enjoyed the
(08:52):
session like oh it's weights and heavy heavy lifting and
so I really enjoyed it and I decided to sign
up with with this coach to work
out and you know to do the workouts and I think after that
and then running it started becoming easier year I
was going to strength training and aerobic and just and from
there I think that was it you know when you're
(09:14):
strong physically obviously your confidence mentally also gets better and I
thought you know what I think I seen on Facebook there was a 50k and I thought
you know what I'm gonna sign up and that's pretty much it how it starts that
from there everything escalated quickly.
(09:36):
Wow so how long do you heard about ultra running did you actually tow the line
at an ultra race six months i had six months,
and no no of my other running friends
knew the word of ultra runner nothing we
had no idea i just seen it on facebook and i thought that's
(09:56):
a little bit just a tiny bit longer than a marathon I've
done a marathon before the Chicago marathon when I
was in Chicago I didn't run I pretty much walked it I did
like nine hours it was so painful and horrible but I
thought you know what I was in a really bad shape or like
physically and I was able to complete it
I thought this is just a tiny bit longer and I'm
(10:17):
way more fit than back in
that time because I've been working out knowing this coaches and from
actually from when I started training and seeing this
race because I seen the race I was like I'm going to go to these coaches and
start training for that it was six months wow was
it a road or a trail trails trails trail trail trails
I realized that I liked a little bit more trails than roads since then and how
(10:43):
did that first very first one go oh it was so much fun because I was just pretty
much walking and trotting along with two people that I met along the route that
they were just there as well it was it was fun like I never thought.
Oh my God, I never felt like I failed in a marathon. I was like,
oh my God, this is so painful and horrible. And my feet are on fire.
(11:05):
And this one was not. I was just walking up the uphills, trotting the downs.
Probably did, I think, nine hours. And now that I see the route and the times
and everything, that was not bad because it was like in an altitude and it was
really, really high points and like a lot of climbing to do.
And I'm like, I don't know how I did that. Like, actually, that was pretty decent for that time.
(11:25):
Probably not do that right now but it
was it was fun and i think that that kind of captured me
and i said okay i didn't i didn't die and then
i think two months later i signed up for
a 60 and then my first
50 miler and so on so on that's when it started i
know now it took a few
(11:48):
attempts to get your first buckle right
first 100 mile buckle a few attempts
but you got it at the white horse 100 last
year congratulations what what's the
story behind the white horses in this race because
we checked out the website and it sounds like there's some kind
of horses on the course or what's the story there i know
(12:11):
there's no like actual horse you know have you
seen online line that there's drawings that
supposedly ufos draw in
heels right yeah it's sort
of the idea but there are horses and i don't really
know the story why they are
in this particular area that's probably
(12:32):
very stupid because i should know but there is like i don't know but there's
beautiful horses there's a massive heel and you can see a
big big horse just drawn in the.
In the field and different sizes different
kind of drawing there's somebody really tiny someone
really big sadly i think i just seen two of
the 10 the other ones i have
(12:54):
no idea and the other half they did mention you're going
to probably go through them at night so you won't but
the other beds i think i just seen two really but that's the story i'm not sure
and then there is another other historic site that we passed through that is
look that looks like stonehenge i don't know if you know like the story of those
(13:14):
i didn't know until i start you know going through the route,
running and then i seen these massive stones just in the middle of nowhere yeah
and you know and i was like okay so that's that's the area i did research and
there was a lot of those ufo things you know that they still do the next day
and then i was telling andy my husband like oh oh my God, what if I'm in the middle of the race?
(13:38):
In a field and I'm like crossing there and I'm going to start seeing like a UFO.
I was very scared about that. But yeah, everything went okay.
I was not up there. I did not see any UFO, but very sadly, probably.
Maybe they saw you. I was like, don't mess up with me. I didn't look very good
(13:59):
probably at that point, so they would have been very scared.
Well you may that may have been a hallucination had you seen it or your hallucinations
are going to be coming up this year at one point yeah for sure,
the good thing about these ones that we're we're doing
(14:19):
this year is you do sleep but they are
not not non-stop my idea
is that I use this training let's say this challenge of this year as a training
block for the next year do one that is definitely will have hallucinations in
that one because that one will be a non-stop 250 miler. Cucadona right?
(14:44):
Cucadona I am really excited like I want to do that race so I thought I don't
think I'm ready to go and shoot for that one because Because 100 took me like
three years, four years to get it right.
And as you know, it's not only the running, it's more the mental side.
And then just even picking the right rate.
Like there's so many components I have to think the same if you're able to complete it.
(15:10):
So I know I wasn't 100% sure if I was ready mentally, physically for that.
Because pushing, I mean, two days I did or like say a day and a half.
That I did a hundred miler. I'm not sure if I can do that five days in a row.
That will be a little bit, you know, I don't, I'm not, I don't have a lot of
experience in doing like back to back, back to back, back to back. Right. Right.
(15:36):
That's why I thought maybe stage races is a great controlled atmosphere to get
that practice of back to back experience, you know?
Yes. You do have a rest in the middle of the night, but I mean,
And the next day you have to wake up and do it, you know, do the same,
you know, do a hard effort as well.
So that's sort of why I'm doing this challenge this year.
(16:00):
Just plus I just seen it. It looked amazing.
And, you know, there's a lot of stakes. If I finish it, I'll be the first Mexican,
the second youngest female to do it.
So I thought, you know what? It looks fun. It's all over the world.
Get to travel a little bit. Yeah. And then you get a really good training block
for the next race. or objective that I want. Very smart.
(16:23):
Back at the Whitehorse 100-Miler, you finished with just 30 minutes to spare,
but did you ever have doubt along the way that you're just not going to make it? Or did you feel that,
a lot of that since mile 70 or
like i'm out this is not gonna happen i'm not
gonna make it because i could start seeing the checkpoints getting tighter
and tighter and tighter and tighter every time the first checkpoint is you get
(16:47):
there with hour and a half to spare so you're high and the next one is like
40 minutes and the next one is half an hour and the next one is 20 minutes and
And the last one, I barely made it with five minutes,
which you will hear about it in today's podcast.
Funny, funny story about that was like, I have no time for no,
(17:10):
I had to just go in and out because I, that was the last one.
And I just barely, barely made that because yeah, it was with like five minutes to spare.
So I needed to get in and out of the checkpoint. So I was fighting to the last minute, last minute.
And then they were like, well, you need to hurry up because you still have 15K,
(17:31):
20K, 15K, 20K to the finish.
It is a little bit of a hilly bit to go. And you only have three hours.
So you do, like, I remember the guy was, I was filling my water in those five
minutes. And the guy in the checkpoint is so funny.
Like, I was like a fighter in my face. Like, you need to run. You need to run this bit.
(17:52):
Okay. Like, he was like so excited for me. He was like trying to.
You can't walk anymore like you walk
the uphills like really fast and you need to run because you're
really tight like I was
so tired I was so broken like I don't know how I'm going to
know this seriously but okay and so
yeah we we sprint out and yeah just the
(18:15):
last 10k I was like constantly looking
at my watch because I knew I had the time against me
and I kept tripping and kept because I was already feeling very pressured and
like getting lost and is here I don't know in Canada but here is like very much
self-navigation so you have to be very smart and it's open fields like grass
(18:37):
and you do have to be very smart with your watch and.
I failed already a hundred times before. I was already bleeding from jumping barbed wires.
Like I was such an A shape at that point.
And I was 15 kilometers to go. And then I would keep tripping and making mistakes
because I was constantly looking at my watch.
And I was, you know what, I'm going to stop looking at the watch because it's
(18:59):
not, you know, it's not helping me.
So I was going to stop. I think it was kilometer 10 because I'd seen it.
I was like, I have 10 kilometers to go.
That's it. This is the last time you're going to look at your watch.
Watch, I just changed the face of the watch to the map.
I'm just going to concentrate and get into the end. And I just said, I'm going to do my best.
If it happens, it happens. And if not, so be it.
(19:22):
But I need to make my best because I don't want to get to the end and then be
like, oh, 32 hours and one minute.
That's all I was thinking. I was like, I swear to God, I think I'm just going
to die if that happens to me.
So I was trying to do my best. is like this is the 10 kilometers
more important most important 10k you've ever run in
your life like just just put like come
(19:44):
on you can do this I was just so you know so
and then when I run through the corner of the
it's a field like a soccer field when you
arrive and I was like okay this is the time of
truth I heard somebody clapping but I was like I wasn't sure if they're
clapping oh sorry she didn't make it or actually I
made it so it was a little bit like okay it's the
(20:04):
moment of truth so I just changed my watch to see the
timing and just 30 minutes to
spare and I was like that's the moment until that moment I
knew I had made it so I absolutely like broke in
tears I was like I can't I can't imagine I actually
made this it was a
very very exciting couple of
(20:26):
the last 10k were very exciting I think i was
just driven by fear and nervousness and
like i was so broken but i
all i can remember it was just survival mode at
last point like i don't all the pain and discomfort i was feeling before that
it just disappeared i was just let's just go 10 kilometers you fought already
(20:49):
you know 150 you you can't you can't just let it go just now no of course not well you did it.
Yeah I don't like after three attempts man like you have to like you've come so far now.
Well big congrats because I do know what the golden hour feels like,
Yes, oh man, that is... And we're all running for our lives.
(21:14):
All running for our lives, literally.
Have you ever considered running an ultra in Mexico? Have you looked at those races?
Yeah, I did a couple when I started running. But now there are so many now.
Well, I think everywhere kind of grew so much, the sport in the last...
(21:35):
So I've been running for eight years. so yeah this eight years it
has absolutely exploded when I left Mexico there was just
very very few events and I did them not
all but some of them and now that I
look at the Mexican website there's so many and like almost every weekend it's
insane so yeah I haven't but right now I don't even want to look because I have
(21:56):
like so many to do at the moment like I'm like I don't I don't even want to
see like I'm totally full this year I'm probably until next year definitely
if you're You're going to do Cocodona.
That's what we need to keep with the races, isn't it? Because there's so many.
I would love to do them all, but, you know, it's a sport, sadly, that you cannot do.
It's not like golf or tennis that you can go, you know, and try a different
(22:18):
court, a different place or a different game every weekend.
It's a sport that obviously takes a lot out of you and you cannot do,
you know, more than maybe, I wouldn't even recommend more than three or four a year.
No, for sure. The only one that we know is the Copper Canyon.
Oh, I know it's in my list and I think I need to do it because obviously it
(22:39):
has so much history, isn't it?
So I think everyone read that book and turned into an ultra runner after reading that book.
So yeah, I didn't know about that book until I moved here and I read it and all that.
So I missed the chance to do it when I was living there. But yeah, definitely.
I know which one you're saying. Yeah, Caballo Belen.
(23:00):
Yeah yeah let's move on to your big challenge this
year so just to recap it's the five
deserts in 12 months you have namibia and
this april gobi in june
jordan in september antarctica
november and then chile in march yes
(23:21):
and they're all 250k and they're
in stages which is like you you said a great way to prepare for
coca dona but we wanted to talk to you before you went
on this challenge because normally we talk to people after they've done
big amazing things i didn't come back well
that's just it we thought it would be fun we could have little
check-ins with you after each event and then another post
(23:43):
podcast to recap everything so that's
why we're talking with you today but where
did you first hear about this this racing the
planet i was just looking for stage raises because
i did jordan last year a ultra x
jordan is a big company here in the uk and they do it around
the world and it's much like a
(24:04):
vip holiday running holiday the
ultra x and i really enjoy it just i wanted
to just to see what was the stage race and what was
to feel like it right uh i don't
know if i love that to be honest like i i don't know
if i love stage stage racing it's it i like better.
The rolling of a non-stop event
(24:26):
you know when it breaks you to the
core and the stage race is
like you yeah you suffer a little bit but then you can go sleep recover
and then you you go again so i don't know i wasn't in love with it so i seen
coco donut to 50 i was definitely i need to do that so i had to go backwards
(24:47):
to say i need to train back-to-backs for a while.
So I thought, oh, the stage race I did, it would be an excellent way to train
and then to get better at walking because I'm really bad at walking.
I'm really slow at walking. And for these kind of distances,
you have to be a really good hiker.
(25:08):
So I wanted to practice a little bit of my hiking and all that.
And I thought, you know what, maybe another other stage race would would
help i think i really jordan was really
helpful in that sense so i thought okay so
i started you know googling and looking for stages as the
stage races and this one is one of the big ones with a lot of history and a
lot of you know so i seen one thought oh you know i was looking the options
(25:32):
that they had in the website and all that and then i seen obviously like hey
but if you do the five for them and then if you do them in one year you know
There's different levels you can do.
You can do the five ones in different years and you still go a Grand Slam.
Right. It can take 10 years if you want.
And there is the Grand Slam in one year, which is only four.
(25:54):
And there is this Grand Slam Plus, which is the five.
Been in there so I thought why not that's fun
and that's that's
how it that's how the idea came so yeah it's not like I was researching these
races just just kind of crossed my path and it was a pretty quick decision by
(26:16):
the sounds of it too it was very fast I was like yep that's it I'm having my
eyes in on on the next year so not this year but like next year like eyes on the the price,
I definitely want to do it to 50 next year.
So this will be like great preparation. So I need to start working on that.
Are you one of those registrants that register for a race after a few bottles
(26:37):
of wine and then three o'clock in the morning, not too sure.
And then the next day, what did I do? Hey guys, if you like what you're hearing
so far and check this out,
calling all trail runners to come on out to Mansfield, Ontario,
this May, the The Lost Treasure Trail Race features both the 5 and 10K on the
(26:58):
beautiful trails at the Mansfield Outdoor Center.
As the story goes, the American outlaw Jesse James buried a barrel full of gold
coins stolen from a train on his relative's property somewhere in the hills of Mulmer.
You'll earn your very own coin medal when you cross the finish line.
Registration is now open. For more info, go to gottaronracing.com.
(27:21):
Now back to Jody and Norm.
The worst part is I do it sober, all these decisions. That's even worse.
I don't have any excuse for this madness.
You know, you can put it like, oh, you can give the excuse like I was,
you know, I had a glass of half wine or whatever.
(27:43):
And no, I don't even drink. So that's really bad.
All my decisions sober.
Now these stage races do they stop
and start in the same place and you keep going or do
they move you around to get to different sections to accumulate
to move around i think it's a point to point so you are moving around and that's
(28:06):
why you have to carry your own stuff so you're carrying oh that's another point
that to mention you do carry everything you need that your foods The only thing
that they provide is water,
so there are water stations and a tent at the end of the,
or, you know, at the point where you have to arrive each day.
They do one of those teepee kind of camp things.
(28:26):
Yeah. And you have to carry your sleeping bag and your food and your gear and,
you know, everything pretty much.
And then obviously no shower, no nothing. That's okay.
You're an ultra runner, you know better. I'm practicing since then.
The sand will clean you off right there so i don't need it how the heck are
(28:50):
you training in glasgow from desert running please tell us,
I want to know. I want to know too, because I have no idea. I'll let you know how that goes.
To be honest, I've been training consistently for eight years now.
I haven't had any setbacks. I don't have any injuries, nothing for a year.
(29:15):
So I've been able to build sustainably and really nice, you know, year by year.
I kind of like keep stacking things up. so I don't
feel like I really needed to build really
that much this time just maybe a little
bit I'm trying to bulk up a little bit so right
now I'm probably one of my heaviest I've been
(29:36):
in the sense of muscle and weight and everything because
that's much that's more of
what I'm preparing for because each race is going to just shred
you to pieces yeah and I don't have time time
in between races to build up again anything pretty
much I have 34 weeks yeah so it's pretty much recovering goal
so nutrition and my
(29:58):
trainer I'm a coach but I still have a coach and that's
the plan instead of like getting me to the first one maybe a
little bit heavier maybe like really really you know as much muscle as I can
to just be able to stay the five hits that the next year able to bring so that's
that's the plan training wise just to get there as fit as I can because really
(30:18):
there's no way here that I can practice that I am way too early right now to practice,
specificity in my training but I do have some time of sauna sessions after running
a couple of 20-50 minutes I do it now just for the fun because it's really cold
here so it feels really really toasted to go in.
But as in like really, really training, it would be way much later in the session.
(30:42):
Right. Just now I'm just really pretty much focusing and get as fit and as strong as I can be.
Because if you're fit, you know, and strong, and that said, you'll be able to
endure whatever the race brings.
Absolutely. Which desert are you most looking forward to?
All of them. Yeah.
(31:04):
Nambia, the first one, I've seen the videos. I mean, I've been just, again, I don't know.
I'm just looking at videos of the website and the videos that they keep posting.
And Nambia looks amazing. It has like a pink lake because of the salt or something like that. Yeah.
It's like pink. It looked cute. We love pink. So there's a pink lakes or something.
(31:25):
Antarctica, obviously, I'm super excited, like running with a penguin again
for the pictures that I've seen and the videos.
Like I'm really excited for that one. and I'm scared about Chile because everyone's
been saying that that one is absolutely the most difficult one because it's in really high altitude,
when I say Chile is the end, they're like that one's a hard one or a couple
(31:49):
of times I've had with people that have done them all, they're like definitely
Chile is the hardest one so I'm scared for that one but thank God it's the last one so,
I'll be fine by that That would be like a total team by then.
The only way to get to Antarctica is that you have to complete two other deserts
first. Is that right? Yeah.
(32:11):
Wow. That is correct. That was the only one that has like a classification.
Like you need to be proved that you've done two before.
It doesn't need to be, I think, in the year. Obviously, you can do them in different years.
So if you want to do Antarctica, you can do one this year, one the other one,
and then the third year or later. You can try the Antarctica one.
Well, that's smart because they want to make sure that you have some experience with the whole thing.
(32:37):
Even though it's so different, I don't think it would matter.
I don't know because it's so different.
I know how I'm going to pack for this or I know what wear or what clothes I'm going to wear.
Because it's totally different. so it doesn't it's wise but everything else
(32:58):
I'm going to pack differently yeah wear differently eat differently probably
like it just is going to be so much so much different yeah that's true when
you complete this and you will,
how are you going to be able to top this oh we cook we don't have to 50 definitely
yeah it's good to know for oh man I will definitely that would definitely top
(33:22):
it I Like I said, that's what I'm shooting for.
This is just giving these five good training runs on the way there.
I'm really, really excited for that. I think it will be a really good training block.
I guess so. A good one-year training block for that. You know,
we have a 200-miler in Canada now. Yeah.
(33:43):
Happier is it you can send me the
link you're gonna look at it i think i'm just in love
with yeah with the kukudona like i've seen the
pictures and some videos and documentaries and i'm just you know one of those
that i need to have it i need to be there and i need to have that tattoo so
yeah well if you're looking for pacers yeah you guys come absolutely yeah yeah I think it's four,
(34:12):
and the hard part is I think well I think they are quite,
open to doesn't matter if they can do 20 or 10 or whatever so yeah exactly doesn't
matter because I've heard in other 200 milers you do your crew has to do at
least a 30 miler like a 50k,
chunks of that so I was like it would be really hard to find three people or
(34:34):
five that want to do a 50k just,
no problem just for the fun of it we'll do it sign us up let's do this the next
year i don't know when is it may it's in may.
May that's it write it down because we are definitely
there i'm not putting i'm not going through all this to not go exactly
(34:56):
definitely i'm going now you're
also supporting a charity through this adventure
can you tell us a bit about that yeah it's
a charity school and it's a home that is
supporting kids indigenous kids in you
know poverty and really back background and sometimes
the families go and kiss there because they
(35:16):
are in so poverty that they cannot even take care of their kids so it's just
so i can't imagine in what place you need to be to leave your son because you
can't feed him so that just broke my heart and i think most of kids you know
like they're not you know they can't do anything to help their situation really there's just kids.
(35:37):
And then when I was running Jordan, actually, I was thinking,
we were really sleeping in the ground, in the dust, in the muds, in the desert there,
eating really few fruits or just really your quantity that you have,
you know, living those circumstances.
And you're like thinking there's people that live like this every day.
(35:57):
This is a lot. I'm here just for choice. And I'm actually like.
Tomorrow, five days later, I'm going to go to my hotel, order room service,
which I did, go to the spa, get a massage, which I did.
But there's people that they live like this and they don't have a choice.
So I thought it would be... I
(36:17):
usually don't run for any charities or anything because I feel a
little bit pressured and I don't like to be asking people for money
for three seconds you know like yeah it will i
will be very very annoying but in
this one i thought you know what i haven't done anything like this in years
i think five years six years i never raised money but
i thought this one is it's big it's impactful i'm obviously running representing
(36:41):
mexico in this case i'll be the first mexican to do it so i thought you know
what let's put we're making a little bit of history and we should do it with
with an impact or an awareness that's awesome Awesome. That's really, really great.
And where can our listeners find this charity or how do we support you here?
Well, same in my Instagram.
(37:02):
It's at Semillas Durango.
Yes, but you've probably just seen it in my website or in my Instagram.
And yeah, I'm tagging them on the posts and stuff. Okay.
And it's a GoFundMe page. Because obviously they don't, in Mexico,
we don't have, you know, know they don't have direct link obviously so
(37:23):
i had to do it on my name and then but i will i
will give an invoice and everything i'll show where all
the money is it's going to go to amazing it's actually
funny because we just the kids just started
doing athletics they got together they're
starting to run and they're enjoying and i thought
that is so cute you know and it's and they're helping
(37:44):
them to kind of like the son of the of the of the
woman that is running the whole thing is helping them and like training
them to run so i thought how convenient like seriously they're just realizing
like they can maybe clear their mind of their circumstances that are not maybe
the best through running so of course so that's what it's like i'm sold you're the one.
(38:09):
You'll have to send them updates after you do each desert the kids would love to hear about that i'm
sure yeah i know i know now you've
been around the ultra scene for quite a while and we're
wondering if you have any thoughts into how we can increase female participation
(38:29):
in ultras because it's still abysmal it's still too low and what what's the
magic what's the magic answer what's the solution do you have any thoughts,
I don't know. I hope putting my story out there. I started a podcast as well.
(38:51):
I think just showing your story that you don't need to be this superhuman to do it.
Hopefully someone said, oh, if she can do it, I can do it as well.
I don't have superpowers. I'm a regular human being.
And I'm in the middle of the backpack or the pack or even the last one.
(39:12):
But maybe i think i'm the last one because we're like five women in there.
The last oh the last the country mother we were like five women we just finished four or,
three or i don't know like there's so
few that we're you know i don't know i
don't have the answer for that i would love for more
(39:34):
obviously females i don't know i don't
know i don't know what I said I don't and I think also maybe
I have a couple of athletes that I
coach that they are like they're women and they're
hey why don't you know don't want to do a 50k I'm just
trying to they you know talk them into because they do marathons that they run
and the first answer is oh I can't I can put that many hours in the training
(39:57):
because I have kids I have a house to run and I said but you don't need to put
that many hours like if you don't want to like that's why But that's why maybe I'm your coach.
Like I can definitely work around the time. We can definitely, you don't need.
When I was doing all these races, I've never put more than an hour a day until maybe now.
(40:17):
Actually, last 100 miler, that's when I bumped it up. But I've done more than
10 over without training over an hour a day.
Right. You don't know, you don't need to kill yourself over it.
I just need to be consistent. And that definitely stacks up.
And that's it. So I don't know if that's what scares them or,
(40:38):
and I don't know why, because we're so good at endurance sports.
Like women, we're females, we're made for this sport. That's right.
For us, like that's where we belong.
So it is, I don't know, it is my role and it's a good question. And that's my dog.
Yeah, I don't, I don't know why. I wish I had the answer because I don't, I don't know.
(41:00):
I have a couple of ideas, you know, some of my athletes tell me.
Me but yeah and speaking of your coaching let's give that a plug what's the name of the company,
yeah it's called run strong coaching and you guys can find me there all my training
is personalized tailored.
Made for each individual I think we're all so different
(41:23):
and that's what it made so much different when
I was you know looking for a trainer and looking
for this lifestyle that's what it was when I
made when I met these trainers and when
my coaches back then they made all the difference they showed
me like the way to train you know
because I didn't and I still don't like running so I
(41:43):
thought you know I want to do the 50k because I want to do
that but but you cannot not send me to run hours because
I don't enjoy it yeah the most important is
whatever makes you happy like you have to you know
the plan has to suit you so you're happy so
if you're happy you're going to stay consistent and that's where
the magic happens so I was able to do like I
(42:04):
said many of my races not training over an
hour I don't like running so don't
put me to run hours because that's not going to work I'm doing
it until now like six years later on
the road you you know but very much at the beginning i was
not into running hours and hours at all like i'm
not like i said i'm not i'm not a big runner i'm
(42:25):
not a fan of running you gotta find what
works for you and sometimes that takes a little bit of time to figure it out
but you're right everyone is very different he can run every day of the week
i can't do that since you become an ultra runner or what have you learned about
yourself through ultra running? Oh, so many things.
(42:48):
I think the most important ones, I think, is to be able to talk to myself with
patience because I'm not the most patient person.
But I think if you are into these distances and you're not patient,
you're going to suffer a lot.
If you want to...
Belong in this ultra running world you have to be very like love yourself self
(43:12):
self-talk with love just love your like talk to yourself with love because if
you're too harsh on yourself,
it's just it's just not gonna work like oh why
you you know why you did why you dnf you know which that
happened at the very beginning with my first dnf
probably i was so harsh on myself but I was
just feeling shit you know you're not good enough you missed
(43:34):
it you missed the call you're not made for you know if you
start talking like that in your business you know it's not
gonna work you're just gonna fail and
you're never gonna try it again because you're going so scared
of failing again and trying again so I
think when I changed that mindset of like hey you did great you
know we can try it again there's nothing wrong with it and it's
(43:55):
not like fucking yourself with a little bit of love again
and you know that changes a lot and impatient
because those miles at the end just go very slow
so you don't have patience a 5k you probably is going to take you an hour when
usually it could take you 20 minutes it's it's a lot of patience and more in
the desert when i just seen them jordan like those 10k would take me three hours
(44:19):
and it was just It's so grueling to be like, you know,
seeing the clock pass so slow and try to keep your head cold and there,
you know, without loosening.
It's just, it's definitely a skill that I had to practice a lot.
And I was like, why is this not moving? And you're going to be talking about
(44:42):
all this amazing year in your podcast. What's the name of your podcast?
The Ultra Happy Podcast. And it's going to be weekly, bi-weekly?
Yeah, right now it's weekly. We're just going to be getting ready for the Challenge
to the Deserts together.
So yeah, we're going to have a chat on how I'm training.
As I get closer to the race or start seeing the race, there's so many other components.
(45:07):
Not a normal race, like a normal non-stop race.
You know, you would usually just go to the race, do the race,
come back. But this one is like permits and insurance and traveling more than,
you know, a little bit more all over the world. And you have to be there two or three days before.
And you need like hotels and, you know, the luggage.
It's just a little bit different than the other ones.
(45:29):
So I thought, oh, you know, there's a lot of things coming and,
you know, happening behind the scene that it will be so cool to share.
Because I've been looking on YouTube and, you know, sources and I wasn't able to find anything.
Then people was like hey this is what what you need or
this is how you're going to get the permit or the permission
or whatever and I haven't been able to find
(45:50):
it so I thought you know what yeah yeah so I will be sharing
all that training and and all the
kits as well that has been my like that there's
a lot of of documentaries and things about
gear so that I've been able to find like how to pack because it has a little
bit of science in there so and I've seen like multiple ways to pack as well
(46:14):
so yeah I will be able to say like I've been looking a couple of options so.
We'll see which one we like better and, you know, we'll share it with everyone
as well. Like there was these three options of packing.
I went for this one. Let's see how it goes.
That's such valuable information. It's like your guinea pigs.
(46:38):
Tell me what to try. I'll try it. I mean, I have five races to try stuff.
So yeah, you'll be a pro by the end. We will all learn. I know I was going to
say my husband at the last one, I'm going to be like a pro in stage racing.
Well, we invite all of our listeners to follow along in this epic journey,
(46:58):
and we definitely would love to check in with you along the way.
So stay in touch. But in the video,
Norman will post all the links and where to find your coaching,
your podcast and your Instagram so that if anybody would like to support your
charity, charity, that would be awesome too.
But before we let you go, we like to finish with some rapid fire questions.
(47:21):
If you don't mind, it's just a little bit of fun. Okay.
And since you went to high school in Canada, what was your favorite Canadian
junk food? Oh, I can't even remember.
No. Oh, hold on. There's a Lerp. It's Lerpy. Lerpy.
7-Eleven. Every 7-Eleven.
I don't know why I'm laughing. my school and my my friends no it's a thing it's
(47:48):
probably american but we we've adopted it,
would you rather run a long run on the treadmill or in minus 20 celsius minus 20 all the way,
absolutely no a treadmill will destroy my legs what's a tv show to say you're
(48:10):
embarrassed that you watch 90 day oh fiance yeah yeah.
Yep i would do it everyone loves
them it's like a little bit of a guilty pleasure it's not we all need that,
would you rather be a professional writer painter or musician painter oh okay Okay.
(48:37):
Good one. Good one. I go running. I put those pictures in a nice painting. There you go.
What's another sport you'd like to excel in?
Oh, I like CrossFit. It looks really fun. The fact that you're a swimmer,
have you ever thought of being a triathlete?
Yeah, that would be too as well.
(48:59):
I don't know if I would say I would like to excel at anything because I think
that comes with a lot of pressure.
That's my swimming mind saying like, I don't want to be so good at anything anymore.
It's a lot of pressure being up there. I just want to have fun and just be happy.
So living up there is not fun. when you're running on the trail and you stub
(49:21):
your toe do you swear in spanish or english,
english yeah i've word all the way i don't know we have so like so many in spanish
but yeah i think i was gonna say what would you say in spanish if you stubbed your toe like.
(49:42):
That's a good one. That's a good one. We know that one. Or chinga, like chinga.
But that's like when I forgot something or I got lost or I missed a turn. I'll be like chinga.
That kind of thing. All right, Naren, final question.
Pick a superpower that you would like to have. Invisible.
(50:05):
Yeah, that's a good one. that was a quick one I kind of like that one I love
that one that would be super cool.
Spying on everyone good one well thank you again Tanya we're wishing you all
the best for your very first thank you so much guys for inviting me it was such a pleasure,
(50:29):
yeah it was great but we'll definitely stay in touch because we'd love to have you on again,
definitely definitely We'll come back.
And perhaps a home-and-home series. We come to you. You show us some of your
trails. You come to us. We show our trails.
Well, it's our coming to Cocodona, so, you know. Exactly. Exactly.
(50:49):
We got to get to know each other before that.
We need to do some, like, training runs, and then that can be the excuse.
There you go. That's how we'll get to know each other. And then we can spend
all this time on the trails in Arizona. I know. It's so exciting.
All right. Thanks for your time. Cheers. Thanks, guys. Bye. Bye.
(51:12):
That was Tanya Carmona all the way from Glasgow. Incredible year coming up for her. Oh, man.
That is epic. Out of those five deserts, Jodi, which one would you choose? Ooh.
Mongolia, Jordan, Antarctica, Chile. Well, they've only been to one of them,
(51:34):
and that was Jordan. And Namibia. Namibia.
I think I might pick Mongolia just because it's so remote and nothing like we've ever visited.
I think I would take Antarctica.
Would you? Strictly because it's a place you can only get to once. True.
(51:54):
It takes two days by boat to get there. And then you're there and then two days to get back. Yeah.
It's a trip that you'd only really do once. That's true. Yeah. Yeah.
And then, of course, I would like to go swim with the penguins.
You'd like to swim with them, eh?
Do you think I'd be able to survive in that water? No, no, not even a toe.
(52:20):
Well, she definitely sounds like she's prepared in terms of the incredible base
she has over the last eight years of consistent training, training,
which really spoke to me when she said people are on a circle of training for
a race, training for a race, do the race, and then take a big break. Yeah. We both do that.
Because winter comes and we're just so depressed.
(52:42):
Yeah. But. And that's an excuse. And we always complain about,
oh, it feels like I'm starting over, starting over. Because you are.
Well. And she's right. If you kept a base, then you wouldn't be starting over so much.
And it wouldn't seem like such a big hill to climb, no pun intended. Yeah.
And of course, she's doing all this for her charity in Mexico.
(53:03):
The Indigenous children need your help. So please support. Links will be in our show notes.
But before we go, we'd like to remind you, hey, if you enjoyed our podcast today,
take two minutes and give us a review on whatever platform you're listening
to. It honestly makes a huge difference.
And it doesn't take much time to do that. So we're asking you,
(53:26):
please leave us a review today.
And if you feel like even going a step further check us out on patreon and of
course providing you guys with the best content we possibly can in ultra running
for canadian athletes and around the world you got it until next time.
Music.
Hi everyone, this is Michele Graglia. This is Marianne Hogan.
Hi, I'm Adrian McDonald.
I'm Katie Asmund. Hi, this is Anthony Gasols. Hi, my name is Meg Morgan.
This is Ryan Van Duser, and you are listening to the Gotta Run Racing Podcast.
Music.
(00:24):
Hello, hello. Hey everyone, we are back with another Gotta Run Podcast. podcast.
What's happening in the world of ultra running? This past weekend,
we had two Canadians on top of the podium at Hurt 100 in Hawaii.
That's right. Ihor Veras won the men's and Andrea Tarras won the women's. Wow.
With incredible times too. Andrea broke the record, I believe,
(00:48):
and she came in the top 10. That's incredible. Hurt is not an easy course.
Damn right it's not. We have chatted with several runners who've done Hurt and they're still hurting.
Ha ha, you got it. Well, congrats to those two. Greg, congrats to Canadian ultra running.
Woo, I love it. And what's happened with our events?
Well, registration's now open for the Island Lake Classic on Labor Day Monday
(01:11):
and the Lost Treasure Trail Race in Mansfield in May.
And Rainbow Trail Race is soon to follow. I'm working on that this weekend.
Well, things are open, so come on over and register. We'd love to have you there. Absolutely.
And who's on the podcast today? Today we have Tanya Carmona.
She's 37. She was born and raised in Mexico, now living in Glasgow.
(01:35):
She's a self-proclaimed non-runner, but has completed over 20 ultra marathons,
from 50k to 100 miles, stage races, etc.
And this year she's set to take on one of the most extreme feats in ultra running
by racing across five deserts in 12 months while raising money for children in Mexico.
Mexico the company that puts on this event is called racing the planet and she's
(01:59):
aiming to be the first Mexican female to complete it first Mexican I believe
and those five races are in Namibia Gobi Jordan Antarctica and Chile and each
one is 250 kilometers and they're all self-supported,
So she wants to complete these five deserts within a year span.
Right. Including Antarctica.
(02:21):
Yes. Which is not easy to get to. Not at all.
On top of that, she's an endurance coach and her company's called Run Strong Coaching.
She and her husband just started a brand new podcast called The Ultra Happy
Podcast, which is documenting her adventure. So be sure to check that out.
Well, that's going to definitely be in our show notes. But without further ado, here is Tanya coming up.
(02:45):
Music.
Welcome to the podcast tanya i understand i
understand you were born
in mexico you went to high school in canada university in the u.s and now you
live in glasgow what a whirlwind oh my goodness i started i started my globetrotting
(03:09):
life pretty early now where in canada,
I studied high school in British Columbia in Victoria.
Oh, beautiful. You picked a nice spot.
It was really quiet and it was not a lot going on. It's beautiful,
but it's very calm, very safe.
(03:30):
And when I picked, I wanted to live somewhere else. My parents were like,
okay, let's just go and pick a place that is not too wild.
Because I was still like 15, like 13, 12 years old. So my parents were like,
yeah, let's pick somewhere that is not, you know, not a big city or anything.
Even though on the weekend, we'll take the wee ferry across to Vancouver.
(03:52):
But, you know, you still live in Victoria, which is a super, super nice, quiet town.
So what were your options? Pretty much that.
Oh, no, hold on. Quebec and Montreal, like the other side. Okay.
But that was in French. French.
And I don't know if I loved the idea of a totally different language.
And I just thought, I just want something in English, I think.
(04:16):
And it was the option of Vancouver or Victoria.
And then my parents just pretty much decided there. I think Victoria for now,
like I said, it was so small.
I'm sure you figured out that most Canadians go there to retire.
Yeah. It was lovely because I had really nice homes.
Homes because there's people that obviously host students
(04:38):
and there was usually elderly people elderly
and then were like really nice they were treating me obviously that
you know her daughter or you know really really big
homes because that used to be the family home
or whatever and now they were just by themselves I
had to I stayed in two homes that they were just grandmas that
they were just there by themselves so they really appreciated the
(05:01):
company and it was good for me as well to
just see that and your accent freaks
me out because i watched your first podcast
and at first okay i can hear the
spanish then all of a sudden i think you said we
or or something and i'm like oh my
gosh we shouldn't come in now it's wild
(05:23):
i love it like there's some mexican or they would have traveled now around obviously
we love traveling and stuff and people can put the finger on where are you guys
from like what is what is this so it has also an accent a little bit so it's
just like when people see us around it's trying to,
(05:43):
trying to figure it out yeah where are you guys from so yeah it's always fun
take your best guess we heard it all no one would ever get it no one no one so far no.
Well, before we attack this incredible journey you're going to have this year,
let's go back and tell us, were you always an active child growing up in Mexico?
(06:10):
Yeah, yeah. Actually, I said that in my first podcast that I was not an athlete.
Well, maybe I was, but...
Back then, I just thought I was a kid, you know, I was swimming and I was just
having fun with my friends.
Like I never thought anything of it, obviously.
And then I think at age 12, 13, I just went to the Nationals.
(06:33):
I really wanted to go to the Nationals because I thought, you know, but I wanted to retire.
Like I was 12 and retired, but I was so tired because I started swimming since I was four.
So I lived very very active
lifestyle I think from 4 to 12 ish 13
and it was swimming a lot I
never thought oh I'm training hard or
(06:55):
like I said I always thought like oh I was having fun with my friends
and I would used to when it was
like double sessions a day you know morning and afternoon for
me it was even more fun it was like oh I can see my friends twice a
day and you know never thought anything of it but
after that time after when I stopped with
age I guess at 12 13 there is a
(07:16):
plant like a massive gap until pretty much now
so there is yeah 10
plus years of pretty much nothing and running
was never an option really when did
it become an option tell us that story I became
an option when I'm I
finished my high school and then I finished my I went back
(07:38):
to Mexico I went back to study my master's in Chicago and then I go back Mexico
when I finished my studies and everything and I find myself you know alone because
it's been a while since I lived home so you know I didn't have any like friends
or anything you kind of like lost touch such people living so long abroad.
And I seen this like group of runners running around the block and I was like, I hate running.
(08:04):
Like, you know what, if that's going to put me, you know, to meet people and
just get out the door, I'm just going to do it.
So that's how I started.
I couldn't even do the whole loop. It was a 3K loop just around the block.
I couldn't even. That's really, really, really bad.
But it was more social, you know, like we used to go for wings on Friday and the fun stuff.
(08:31):
And I don't know why one of the
coaches or something, they invited us to a demo class in one of the gyms.
And I really, really, really liked the way he
was teaching the session it was a little bit more strengthening which
I've never had been in touch with
that in my life so I really really enjoyed the
(08:52):
session like oh it's weights and heavy heavy lifting and
so I really enjoyed it and I decided to sign
up with with this coach to work
out and you know to do the workouts and I think after that
and then running it started becoming easier year I
was going to strength training and aerobic and just and from
there I think that was it you know when you're
(09:14):
strong physically obviously your confidence mentally also gets better and I
thought you know what I think I seen on Facebook there was a 50k and I thought
you know what I'm gonna sign up and that's pretty much it how it starts that
from there everything escalated quickly.
(09:36):
Wow so how long do you heard about ultra running did you actually tow the line
at an ultra race six months i had six months,
and no no of my other running friends
knew the word of ultra runner nothing we
had no idea i just seen it on facebook and i thought that's
(09:56):
a little bit just a tiny bit longer than a marathon I've
done a marathon before the Chicago marathon when I
was in Chicago I didn't run I pretty much walked it I did
like nine hours it was so painful and horrible but I
thought you know what I was in a really bad shape or like
physically and I was able to complete it
I thought this is just a tiny bit longer and I'm
(10:17):
way more fit than back in
that time because I've been working out knowing this coaches and from
actually from when I started training and seeing this
race because I seen the race I was like I'm going to go to these coaches and
start training for that it was six months wow was
it a road or a trail trails trails trail trail trails
I realized that I liked a little bit more trails than roads since then and how
(10:43):
did that first very first one go oh it was so much fun because I was just pretty
much walking and trotting along with two people that I met along the route that
they were just there as well it was it was fun like I never thought.
Oh my God, I never felt like I failed in a marathon. I was like,
oh my God, this is so painful and horrible. And my feet are on fire.
(11:05):
And this one was not. I was just walking up the uphills, trotting the downs.
Probably did, I think, nine hours. And now that I see the route and the times
and everything, that was not bad because it was like in an altitude and it was
really, really high points and like a lot of climbing to do.
And I'm like, I don't know how I did that. Like, actually, that was pretty decent for that time.
(11:25):
Probably not do that right now but it
was it was fun and i think that that kind of captured me
and i said okay i didn't i didn't die and then
i think two months later i signed up for
a 60 and then my first
50 miler and so on so on that's when it started i
know now it took a few
(11:48):
attempts to get your first buckle right
first 100 mile buckle a few attempts
but you got it at the white horse 100 last
year congratulations what what's the
story behind the white horses in this race because
we checked out the website and it sounds like there's some kind
of horses on the course or what's the story there i know
(12:11):
there's no like actual horse you know have you
seen online line that there's drawings that
supposedly ufos draw in
heels right yeah it's sort
of the idea but there are horses and i don't really
know the story why they are
in this particular area that's probably
(12:32):
very stupid because i should know but there is like i don't know but there's
beautiful horses there's a massive heel and you can see a
big big horse just drawn in the.
In the field and different sizes different
kind of drawing there's somebody really tiny someone
really big sadly i think i just seen two of
the 10 the other ones i have
(12:54):
no idea and the other half they did mention you're going
to probably go through them at night so you won't but
the other beds i think i just seen two really but that's the story i'm not sure
and then there is another other historic site that we passed through that is
look that looks like stonehenge i don't know if you know like the story of those
(13:14):
i didn't know until i start you know going through the route,
running and then i seen these massive stones just in the middle of nowhere yeah
and you know and i was like okay so that's that's the area i did research and
there was a lot of those ufo things you know that they still do the next day
and then i was telling andy my husband like oh oh my God, what if I'm in the middle of the race?
(13:38):
In a field and I'm like crossing there and I'm going to start seeing like a UFO.
I was very scared about that. But yeah, everything went okay.
I was not up there. I did not see any UFO, but very sadly, probably.
Maybe they saw you. I was like, don't mess up with me. I didn't look very good
(13:59):
probably at that point, so they would have been very scared.
Well you may that may have been a hallucination had you seen it or your hallucinations
are going to be coming up this year at one point yeah for sure,
the good thing about these ones that we're we're doing
(14:19):
this year is you do sleep but they are
not not non-stop my idea
is that I use this training let's say this challenge of this year as a training
block for the next year do one that is definitely will have hallucinations in
that one because that one will be a non-stop 250 miler. Cucadona right?
(14:44):
Cucadona I am really excited like I want to do that race so I thought I don't
think I'm ready to go and shoot for that one because Because 100 took me like
three years, four years to get it right.
And as you know, it's not only the running, it's more the mental side.
And then just even picking the right rate.
Like there's so many components I have to think the same if you're able to complete it.
(15:10):
So I know I wasn't 100% sure if I was ready mentally, physically for that.
Because pushing, I mean, two days I did or like say a day and a half.
That I did a hundred miler. I'm not sure if I can do that five days in a row.
That will be a little bit, you know, I don't, I'm not, I don't have a lot of
experience in doing like back to back, back to back, back to back. Right. Right.
(15:36):
That's why I thought maybe stage races is a great controlled atmosphere to get
that practice of back to back experience, you know?
Yes. You do have a rest in the middle of the night, but I mean,
And the next day you have to wake up and do it, you know, do the same,
you know, do a hard effort as well.
So that's sort of why I'm doing this challenge this year.
(16:00):
Just plus I just seen it. It looked amazing.
And, you know, there's a lot of stakes. If I finish it, I'll be the first Mexican,
the second youngest female to do it.
So I thought, you know what? It looks fun. It's all over the world.
Get to travel a little bit. Yeah. And then you get a really good training block
for the next race. or objective that I want. Very smart.
(16:23):
Back at the Whitehorse 100-Miler, you finished with just 30 minutes to spare,
but did you ever have doubt along the way that you're just not going to make it? Or did you feel that,
a lot of that since mile 70 or
like i'm out this is not gonna happen i'm not
gonna make it because i could start seeing the checkpoints getting tighter
and tighter and tighter and tighter every time the first checkpoint is you get
(16:47):
there with hour and a half to spare so you're high and the next one is like
40 minutes and the next one is half an hour and the next one is 20 minutes and
And the last one, I barely made it with five minutes,
which you will hear about it in today's podcast.
Funny, funny story about that was like, I have no time for no,
(17:10):
I had to just go in and out because I, that was the last one.
And I just barely, barely made that because yeah, it was with like five minutes to spare.
So I needed to get in and out of the checkpoint. So I was fighting to the last minute, last minute.
And then they were like, well, you need to hurry up because you still have 15K,
(17:31):
20K, 15K, 20K to the finish.
It is a little bit of a hilly bit to go. And you only have three hours.
So you do, like, I remember the guy was, I was filling my water in those five
minutes. And the guy in the checkpoint is so funny.
Like, I was like a fighter in my face. Like, you need to run. You need to run this bit.
(17:52):
Okay. Like, he was like so excited for me. He was like trying to.
You can't walk anymore like you walk
the uphills like really fast and you need to run because you're
really tight like I was
so tired I was so broken like I don't know how I'm going to
know this seriously but okay and so
yeah we we sprint out and yeah just the
(18:15):
last 10k I was like constantly looking
at my watch because I knew I had the time against me
and I kept tripping and kept because I was already feeling very pressured and
like getting lost and is here I don't know in Canada but here is like very much
self-navigation so you have to be very smart and it's open fields like grass
(18:37):
and you do have to be very smart with your watch and.
I failed already a hundred times before. I was already bleeding from jumping barbed wires.
Like I was such an A shape at that point.
And I was 15 kilometers to go. And then I would keep tripping and making mistakes
because I was constantly looking at my watch.
And I was, you know what, I'm going to stop looking at the watch because it's
(18:59):
not, you know, it's not helping me.
So I was going to stop. I think it was kilometer 10 because I'd seen it.
I was like, I have 10 kilometers to go.
That's it. This is the last time you're going to look at your watch.
Watch, I just changed the face of the watch to the map.
I'm just going to concentrate and get into the end. And I just said, I'm going to do my best.
If it happens, it happens. And if not, so be it.
(19:22):
But I need to make my best because I don't want to get to the end and then be
like, oh, 32 hours and one minute.
That's all I was thinking. I was like, I swear to God, I think I'm just going
to die if that happens to me.
So I was trying to do my best. is like this is the 10 kilometers
more important most important 10k you've ever run in
your life like just just put like come
(19:44):
on you can do this I was just so you know so
and then when I run through the corner of the
it's a field like a soccer field when you
arrive and I was like okay this is the time of
truth I heard somebody clapping but I was like I wasn't sure if they're
clapping oh sorry she didn't make it or actually I
made it so it was a little bit like okay it's the
(20:04):
moment of truth so I just changed my watch to see the
timing and just 30 minutes to
spare and I was like that's the moment until that moment I
knew I had made it so I absolutely like broke in
tears I was like I can't I can't imagine I actually
made this it was a
very very exciting couple of
(20:26):
the last 10k were very exciting I think i was
just driven by fear and nervousness and
like i was so broken but i
all i can remember it was just survival mode at
last point like i don't all the pain and discomfort i was feeling before that
it just disappeared i was just let's just go 10 kilometers you fought already
(20:49):
you know 150 you you can't you can't just let it go just now no of course not well you did it.
Yeah I don't like after three attempts man like you have to like you've come so far now.
Well big congrats because I do know what the golden hour feels like,
Yes, oh man, that is... And we're all running for our lives.
(21:14):
All running for our lives, literally.
Have you ever considered running an ultra in Mexico? Have you looked at those races?
Yeah, I did a couple when I started running. But now there are so many now.
Well, I think everywhere kind of grew so much, the sport in the last...
(21:35):
So I've been running for eight years. so yeah this eight years it
has absolutely exploded when I left Mexico there was just
very very few events and I did them not
all but some of them and now that I
look at the Mexican website there's so many and like almost every weekend it's
insane so yeah I haven't but right now I don't even want to look because I have
(21:56):
like so many to do at the moment like I'm like I don't I don't even want to
see like I'm totally full this year I'm probably until next year definitely
if you're You're going to do Cocodona.
That's what we need to keep with the races, isn't it? Because there's so many.
I would love to do them all, but, you know, it's a sport, sadly, that you cannot do.
It's not like golf or tennis that you can go, you know, and try a different
(22:18):
court, a different place or a different game every weekend.
It's a sport that obviously takes a lot out of you and you cannot do,
you know, more than maybe, I wouldn't even recommend more than three or four a year.
No, for sure. The only one that we know is the Copper Canyon.
Oh, I know it's in my list and I think I need to do it because obviously it
(22:39):
has so much history, isn't it?
So I think everyone read that book and turned into an ultra runner after reading that book.
So yeah, I didn't know about that book until I moved here and I read it and all that.
So I missed the chance to do it when I was living there. But yeah, definitely.
I know which one you're saying. Yeah, Caballo Belen.
(23:00):
Yeah yeah let's move on to your big challenge this
year so just to recap it's the five
deserts in 12 months you have namibia and
this april gobi in june
jordan in september antarctica
november and then chile in march yes
(23:21):
and they're all 250k and they're
in stages which is like you you said a great way to prepare for
coca dona but we wanted to talk to you before you went
on this challenge because normally we talk to people after they've done
big amazing things i didn't come back well
that's just it we thought it would be fun we could have little
check-ins with you after each event and then another post
(23:43):
podcast to recap everything so that's
why we're talking with you today but where
did you first hear about this this racing the
planet i was just looking for stage raises because
i did jordan last year a ultra x
jordan is a big company here in the uk and they do it around
the world and it's much like a
(24:04):
vip holiday running holiday the
ultra x and i really enjoy it just i wanted
to just to see what was the stage race and what was
to feel like it right uh i don't
know if i love that to be honest like i i don't know
if i love stage stage racing it's it i like better.
The rolling of a non-stop event
(24:26):
you know when it breaks you to the
core and the stage race is
like you yeah you suffer a little bit but then you can go sleep recover
and then you you go again so i don't know i wasn't in love with it so i seen
coco donut to 50 i was definitely i need to do that so i had to go backwards
(24:47):
to say i need to train back-to-backs for a while.
So I thought, oh, the stage race I did, it would be an excellent way to train
and then to get better at walking because I'm really bad at walking.
I'm really slow at walking. And for these kind of distances,
you have to be a really good hiker.
(25:08):
So I wanted to practice a little bit of my hiking and all that.
And I thought, you know what, maybe another other stage race would would
help i think i really jordan was really
helpful in that sense so i thought okay so
i started you know googling and looking for stages as the
stage races and this one is one of the big ones with a lot of history and a
lot of you know so i seen one thought oh you know i was looking the options
(25:32):
that they had in the website and all that and then i seen obviously like hey
but if you do the five for them and then if you do them in one year you know
There's different levels you can do.
You can do the five ones in different years and you still go a Grand Slam.
Right. It can take 10 years if you want.
And there is the Grand Slam in one year, which is only four.
(25:54):
And there is this Grand Slam Plus, which is the five.
Been in there so I thought why not that's fun
and that's that's
how it that's how the idea came so yeah it's not like I was researching these
races just just kind of crossed my path and it was a pretty quick decision by
(26:16):
the sounds of it too it was very fast I was like yep that's it I'm having my
eyes in on on the next year so not this year but like next year like eyes on the the price,
I definitely want to do it to 50 next year.
So this will be like great preparation. So I need to start working on that.
Are you one of those registrants that register for a race after a few bottles
(26:37):
of wine and then three o'clock in the morning, not too sure.
And then the next day, what did I do? Hey guys, if you like what you're hearing
so far and check this out,
calling all trail runners to come on out to Mansfield, Ontario,
this May, the The Lost Treasure Trail Race features both the 5 and 10K on the
(26:58):
beautiful trails at the Mansfield Outdoor Center.
As the story goes, the American outlaw Jesse James buried a barrel full of gold
coins stolen from a train on his relative's property somewhere in the hills of Mulmer.
You'll earn your very own coin medal when you cross the finish line.
Registration is now open. For more info, go to gottaronracing.com.
(27:21):
Now back to Jody and Norm.
The worst part is I do it sober, all these decisions. That's even worse.
I don't have any excuse for this madness.
You know, you can put it like, oh, you can give the excuse like I was,
you know, I had a glass of half wine or whatever.
(27:43):
And no, I don't even drink. So that's really bad.
All my decisions sober.
Now these stage races do they stop
and start in the same place and you keep going or do
they move you around to get to different sections to accumulate
to move around i think it's a point to point so you are moving around and that's
(28:06):
why you have to carry your own stuff so you're carrying oh that's another point
that to mention you do carry everything you need that your foods The only thing
that they provide is water,
so there are water stations and a tent at the end of the,
or, you know, at the point where you have to arrive each day.
They do one of those teepee kind of camp things.
(28:26):
Yeah. And you have to carry your sleeping bag and your food and your gear and,
you know, everything pretty much.
And then obviously no shower, no nothing. That's okay.
You're an ultra runner, you know better. I'm practicing since then.
The sand will clean you off right there so i don't need it how the heck are
(28:50):
you training in glasgow from desert running please tell us,
I want to know. I want to know too, because I have no idea. I'll let you know how that goes.
To be honest, I've been training consistently for eight years now.
I haven't had any setbacks. I don't have any injuries, nothing for a year.
(29:15):
So I've been able to build sustainably and really nice, you know, year by year.
I kind of like keep stacking things up. so I don't
feel like I really needed to build really
that much this time just maybe a little
bit I'm trying to bulk up a little bit so right
now I'm probably one of my heaviest I've been
(29:36):
in the sense of muscle and weight and everything because
that's much that's more of
what I'm preparing for because each race is going to just shred
you to pieces yeah and I don't have time time
in between races to build up again anything pretty
much I have 34 weeks yeah so it's pretty much recovering goal
so nutrition and my
(29:58):
trainer I'm a coach but I still have a coach and that's
the plan instead of like getting me to the first one maybe a
little bit heavier maybe like really really you know as much muscle as I can
to just be able to stay the five hits that the next year able to bring so that's
that's the plan training wise just to get there as fit as I can because really
(30:18):
there's no way here that I can practice that I am way too early right now to practice,
specificity in my training but I do have some time of sauna sessions after running
a couple of 20-50 minutes I do it now just for the fun because it's really cold
here so it feels really really toasted to go in.
But as in like really, really training, it would be way much later in the session.
(30:42):
Right. Just now I'm just really pretty much focusing and get as fit and as strong as I can be.
Because if you're fit, you know, and strong, and that said, you'll be able to
endure whatever the race brings.
Absolutely. Which desert are you most looking forward to?
All of them. Yeah.
(31:04):
Nambia, the first one, I've seen the videos. I mean, I've been just, again, I don't know.
I'm just looking at videos of the website and the videos that they keep posting.
And Nambia looks amazing. It has like a pink lake because of the salt or something like that. Yeah.
It's like pink. It looked cute. We love pink. So there's a pink lakes or something.
(31:25):
Antarctica, obviously, I'm super excited, like running with a penguin again
for the pictures that I've seen and the videos.
Like I'm really excited for that one. and I'm scared about Chile because everyone's
been saying that that one is absolutely the most difficult one because it's in really high altitude,
when I say Chile is the end, they're like that one's a hard one or a couple
(31:49):
of times I've had with people that have done them all, they're like definitely
Chile is the hardest one so I'm scared for that one but thank God it's the last one so,
I'll be fine by that That would be like a total team by then.
The only way to get to Antarctica is that you have to complete two other deserts
first. Is that right? Yeah.
(32:11):
Wow. That is correct. That was the only one that has like a classification.
Like you need to be proved that you've done two before.
It doesn't need to be, I think, in the year. Obviously, you can do them in different years.
So if you want to do Antarctica, you can do one this year, one the other one,
and then the third year or later. You can try the Antarctica one.
Well, that's smart because they want to make sure that you have some experience with the whole thing.
(32:37):
Even though it's so different, I don't think it would matter.
I don't know because it's so different.
I know how I'm going to pack for this or I know what wear or what clothes I'm going to wear.
Because it's totally different. so it doesn't it's wise but everything else
(32:58):
I'm going to pack differently yeah wear differently eat differently probably
like it just is going to be so much so much different yeah that's true when
you complete this and you will,
how are you going to be able to top this oh we cook we don't have to 50 definitely
yeah it's good to know for oh man I will definitely that would definitely top
(33:22):
it I Like I said, that's what I'm shooting for.
This is just giving these five good training runs on the way there.
I'm really, really excited for that. I think it will be a really good training block.
I guess so. A good one-year training block for that. You know,
we have a 200-miler in Canada now. Yeah.
(33:43):
Happier is it you can send me the
link you're gonna look at it i think i'm just in love
with yeah with the kukudona like i've seen the
pictures and some videos and documentaries and i'm just you know one of those
that i need to have it i need to be there and i need to have that tattoo so
yeah well if you're looking for pacers yeah you guys come absolutely yeah yeah I think it's four,
(34:12):
and the hard part is I think well I think they are quite,
open to doesn't matter if they can do 20 or 10 or whatever so yeah exactly doesn't
matter because I've heard in other 200 milers you do your crew has to do at
least a 30 miler like a 50k,
chunks of that so I was like it would be really hard to find three people or
(34:34):
five that want to do a 50k just,
no problem just for the fun of it we'll do it sign us up let's do this the next
year i don't know when is it may it's in may.
May that's it write it down because we are definitely
there i'm not putting i'm not going through all this to not go exactly
(34:56):
definitely i'm going now you're
also supporting a charity through this adventure
can you tell us a bit about that yeah it's
a charity school and it's a home that is
supporting kids indigenous kids in you
know poverty and really back background and sometimes
the families go and kiss there because they
(35:16):
are in so poverty that they cannot even take care of their kids so it's just
so i can't imagine in what place you need to be to leave your son because you
can't feed him so that just broke my heart and i think most of kids you know
like they're not you know they can't do anything to help their situation really there's just kids.
(35:37):
And then when I was running Jordan, actually, I was thinking,
we were really sleeping in the ground, in the dust, in the muds, in the desert there,
eating really few fruits or just really your quantity that you have,
you know, living those circumstances.
And you're like thinking there's people that live like this every day.
(35:57):
This is a lot. I'm here just for choice. And I'm actually like.
Tomorrow, five days later, I'm going to go to my hotel, order room service,
which I did, go to the spa, get a massage, which I did.
But there's people that they live like this and they don't have a choice.
So I thought it would be... I
(36:17):
usually don't run for any charities or anything because I feel a
little bit pressured and I don't like to be asking people for money
for three seconds you know like yeah it will i
will be very very annoying but in
this one i thought you know what i haven't done anything like this in years
i think five years six years i never raised money but
i thought this one is it's big it's impactful i'm obviously running representing
(36:41):
mexico in this case i'll be the first mexican to do it so i thought you know
what let's put we're making a little bit of history and we should do it with
with an impact or an awareness that's awesome Awesome. That's really, really great.
And where can our listeners find this charity or how do we support you here?
Well, same in my Instagram.
(37:02):
It's at Semillas Durango.
Yes, but you've probably just seen it in my website or in my Instagram.
And yeah, I'm tagging them on the posts and stuff. Okay.
And it's a GoFundMe page. Because obviously they don't, in Mexico,
we don't have, you know, know they don't have direct link obviously so
(37:23):
i had to do it on my name and then but i will i
will give an invoice and everything i'll show where all
the money is it's going to go to amazing it's actually
funny because we just the kids just started
doing athletics they got together they're
starting to run and they're enjoying and i thought
that is so cute you know and it's and they're helping
(37:44):
them to kind of like the son of the of the of the
woman that is running the whole thing is helping them and like training
them to run so i thought how convenient like seriously they're just realizing
like they can maybe clear their mind of their circumstances that are not maybe
the best through running so of course so that's what it's like i'm sold you're the one.
(38:09):
You'll have to send them updates after you do each desert the kids would love to hear about that i'm
sure yeah i know i know now you've
been around the ultra scene for quite a while and we're
wondering if you have any thoughts into how we can increase female participation
(38:29):
in ultras because it's still abysmal it's still too low and what what's the
magic what's the magic answer what's the solution do you have any thoughts,
I don't know. I hope putting my story out there. I started a podcast as well.
(38:51):
I think just showing your story that you don't need to be this superhuman to do it.
Hopefully someone said, oh, if she can do it, I can do it as well.
I don't have superpowers. I'm a regular human being.
And I'm in the middle of the backpack or the pack or even the last one.
(39:12):
But maybe i think i'm the last one because we're like five women in there.
The last oh the last the country mother we were like five women we just finished four or,
three or i don't know like there's so
few that we're you know i don't know i
don't have the answer for that i would love for more
(39:34):
obviously females i don't know i don't
know i don't know what I said I don't and I think also maybe
I have a couple of athletes that I
coach that they are like they're women and they're
hey why don't you know don't want to do a 50k I'm just
trying to they you know talk them into because they do marathons that they run
and the first answer is oh I can't I can put that many hours in the training
(39:57):
because I have kids I have a house to run and I said but you don't need to put
that many hours like if you don't want to like that's why But that's why maybe I'm your coach.
Like I can definitely work around the time. We can definitely, you don't need.
When I was doing all these races, I've never put more than an hour a day until maybe now.
(40:17):
Actually, last 100 miler, that's when I bumped it up. But I've done more than
10 over without training over an hour a day.
Right. You don't know, you don't need to kill yourself over it.
I just need to be consistent. And that definitely stacks up.
And that's it. So I don't know if that's what scares them or,
(40:38):
and I don't know why, because we're so good at endurance sports.
Like women, we're females, we're made for this sport. That's right.
For us, like that's where we belong.
So it is, I don't know, it is my role and it's a good question. And that's my dog.
Yeah, I don't, I don't know why. I wish I had the answer because I don't, I don't know.
(41:00):
I have a couple of ideas, you know, some of my athletes tell me.
Me but yeah and speaking of your coaching let's give that a plug what's the name of the company,
yeah it's called run strong coaching and you guys can find me there all my training
is personalized tailored.
Made for each individual I think we're all so different
(41:23):
and that's what it made so much different when
I was you know looking for a trainer and looking
for this lifestyle that's what it was when I
made when I met these trainers and when
my coaches back then they made all the difference they showed
me like the way to train you know
because I didn't and I still don't like running so I
(41:43):
thought you know I want to do the 50k because I want to do
that but but you cannot not send me to run hours because
I don't enjoy it yeah the most important is
whatever makes you happy like you have to you know
the plan has to suit you so you're happy so
if you're happy you're going to stay consistent and that's where
the magic happens so I was able to do like I
(42:04):
said many of my races not training over an
hour I don't like running so don't
put me to run hours because that's not going to work I'm doing
it until now like six years later on
the road you you know but very much at the beginning i was
not into running hours and hours at all like i'm
not like i said i'm not i'm not a big runner i'm
(42:25):
not a fan of running you gotta find what
works for you and sometimes that takes a little bit of time to figure it out
but you're right everyone is very different he can run every day of the week
i can't do that since you become an ultra runner or what have you learned about
yourself through ultra running? Oh, so many things.
(42:48):
I think the most important ones, I think, is to be able to talk to myself with
patience because I'm not the most patient person.
But I think if you are into these distances and you're not patient,
you're going to suffer a lot.
If you want to...
Belong in this ultra running world you have to be very like love yourself self
(43:12):
self-talk with love just love your like talk to yourself with love because if
you're too harsh on yourself,
it's just it's just not gonna work like oh why
you you know why you did why you dnf you know which that
happened at the very beginning with my first dnf
probably i was so harsh on myself but I was
just feeling shit you know you're not good enough you missed
(43:34):
it you missed the call you're not made for you know if you
start talking like that in your business you know it's not
gonna work you're just gonna fail and
you're never gonna try it again because you're going so scared
of failing again and trying again so I
think when I changed that mindset of like hey you did great you
know we can try it again there's nothing wrong with it and it's
(43:55):
not like fucking yourself with a little bit of love again
and you know that changes a lot and impatient
because those miles at the end just go very slow
so you don't have patience a 5k you probably is going to take you an hour when
usually it could take you 20 minutes it's it's a lot of patience and more in
the desert when i just seen them jordan like those 10k would take me three hours
(44:19):
and it was just It's so grueling to be like, you know,
seeing the clock pass so slow and try to keep your head cold and there,
you know, without loosening.
It's just, it's definitely a skill that I had to practice a lot.
And I was like, why is this not moving? And you're going to be talking about
(44:42):
all this amazing year in your podcast. What's the name of your podcast?
The Ultra Happy Podcast. And it's going to be weekly, bi-weekly?
Yeah, right now it's weekly. We're just going to be getting ready for the Challenge
to the Deserts together.
So yeah, we're going to have a chat on how I'm training.
As I get closer to the race or start seeing the race, there's so many other components.
(45:07):
Not a normal race, like a normal non-stop race.
You know, you would usually just go to the race, do the race,
come back. But this one is like permits and insurance and traveling more than,
you know, a little bit more all over the world. And you have to be there two or three days before.
And you need like hotels and, you know, the luggage.
It's just a little bit different than the other ones.
(45:29):
So I thought, oh, you know, there's a lot of things coming and,
you know, happening behind the scene that it will be so cool to share.
Because I've been looking on YouTube and, you know, sources and I wasn't able to find anything.
Then people was like hey this is what what you need or
this is how you're going to get the permit or the permission
or whatever and I haven't been able to find
(45:50):
it so I thought you know what yeah yeah so I will be sharing
all that training and and all the
kits as well that has been my like that there's
a lot of of documentaries and things about
gear so that I've been able to find like how to pack because it has a little
bit of science in there so and I've seen like multiple ways to pack as well
(46:14):
so yeah I will be able to say like I've been looking a couple of options so.
We'll see which one we like better and, you know, we'll share it with everyone
as well. Like there was these three options of packing.
I went for this one. Let's see how it goes.
That's such valuable information. It's like your guinea pigs.
(46:38):
Tell me what to try. I'll try it. I mean, I have five races to try stuff.
So yeah, you'll be a pro by the end. We will all learn. I know I was going to
say my husband at the last one, I'm going to be like a pro in stage racing.
Well, we invite all of our listeners to follow along in this epic journey,
(46:58):
and we definitely would love to check in with you along the way.
So stay in touch. But in the video,
Norman will post all the links and where to find your coaching,
your podcast and your Instagram so that if anybody would like to support your
charity, charity, that would be awesome too.
But before we let you go, we like to finish with some rapid fire questions.
(47:21):
If you don't mind, it's just a little bit of fun. Okay.
And since you went to high school in Canada, what was your favorite Canadian
junk food? Oh, I can't even remember.
No. Oh, hold on. There's a Lerp. It's Lerpy. Lerpy.
7-Eleven. Every 7-Eleven.
I don't know why I'm laughing. my school and my my friends no it's a thing it's
(47:48):
probably american but we we've adopted it,
would you rather run a long run on the treadmill or in minus 20 celsius minus 20 all the way,
absolutely no a treadmill will destroy my legs what's a tv show to say you're
(48:10):
embarrassed that you watch 90 day oh fiance yeah yeah.
Yep i would do it everyone loves
them it's like a little bit of a guilty pleasure it's not we all need that,
would you rather be a professional writer painter or musician painter oh okay Okay.
(48:37):
Good one. Good one. I go running. I put those pictures in a nice painting. There you go.
What's another sport you'd like to excel in?
Oh, I like CrossFit. It looks really fun. The fact that you're a swimmer,
have you ever thought of being a triathlete?
Yeah, that would be too as well.
(48:59):
I don't know if I would say I would like to excel at anything because I think
that comes with a lot of pressure.
That's my swimming mind saying like, I don't want to be so good at anything anymore.
It's a lot of pressure being up there. I just want to have fun and just be happy.
So living up there is not fun. when you're running on the trail and you stub
(49:21):
your toe do you swear in spanish or english,
english yeah i've word all the way i don't know we have so like so many in spanish
but yeah i think i was gonna say what would you say in spanish if you stubbed your toe like.
(49:42):
That's a good one. That's a good one. We know that one. Or chinga, like chinga.
But that's like when I forgot something or I got lost or I missed a turn. I'll be like chinga.
That kind of thing. All right, Naren, final question.
Pick a superpower that you would like to have. Invisible.
(50:05):
Yeah, that's a good one. that was a quick one I kind of like that one I love
that one that would be super cool.
Spying on everyone good one well thank you again Tanya we're wishing you all
the best for your very first thank you so much guys for inviting me it was such a pleasure,
(50:29):
yeah it was great but we'll definitely stay in touch because we'd love to have you on again,
definitely definitely We'll come back.
And perhaps a home-and-home series. We come to you. You show us some of your
trails. You come to us. We show our trails.
Well, it's our coming to Cocodona, so, you know. Exactly. Exactly.
(50:49):
We got to get to know each other before that.
We need to do some, like, training runs, and then that can be the excuse.
There you go. That's how we'll get to know each other. And then we can spend
all this time on the trails in Arizona. I know. It's so exciting.
All right. Thanks for your time. Cheers. Thanks, guys. Bye. Bye.
(51:12):
That was Tanya Carmona all the way from Glasgow. Incredible year coming up for her. Oh, man.
That is epic. Out of those five deserts, Jodi, which one would you choose? Ooh.
Mongolia, Jordan, Antarctica, Chile. Well, they've only been to one of them,
(51:34):
and that was Jordan. And Namibia. Namibia.
I think I might pick Mongolia just because it's so remote and nothing like we've ever visited.
I think I would take Antarctica.
Would you? Strictly because it's a place you can only get to once. True.
(51:54):
It takes two days by boat to get there. And then you're there and then two days to get back. Yeah.
It's a trip that you'd only really do once. That's true. Yeah. Yeah.
And then, of course, I would like to go swim with the penguins.
You'd like to swim with them, eh?
Do you think I'd be able to survive in that water? No, no, not even a toe.
(52:20):
Well, she definitely sounds like she's prepared in terms of the incredible base
she has over the last eight years of consistent training, training,
which really spoke to me when she said people are on a circle of training for
a race, training for a race, do the race, and then take a big break. Yeah. We both do that.
Because winter comes and we're just so depressed.
(52:42):
Yeah. But. And that's an excuse. And we always complain about,
oh, it feels like I'm starting over, starting over. Because you are.
Well. And she's right. If you kept a base, then you wouldn't be starting over so much.
And it wouldn't seem like such a big hill to climb, no pun intended. Yeah.
And of course, she's doing all this for her charity in Mexico.
(53:03):
The Indigenous children need your help. So please support. Links will be in our show notes.
But before we go, we'd like to remind you, hey, if you enjoyed our podcast today,
take two minutes and give us a review on whatever platform you're listening
to. It honestly makes a huge difference.
And it doesn't take much time to do that. So we're asking you,
(53:26):
please leave us a review today.
And if you feel like even going a step further check us out on patreon and of
course providing you guys with the best content we possibly can in ultra running
for canadian athletes and around the world you got it until next time.
Music.
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