The Human Potential Running Series Podcast · John Lacroix

HPRS Podcast – Episode 62: Care, Concern, and Accountability

·1 hr 31 min·5 clips

Gary Robbins came in six seconds late and from the wrong direction at Barkley 2017.

John LaCroix welcomes listeners back and sets the episode in the HPRS calendar. It is April, and the spring race season is beginning to come into focus. He points to Endure Trail Runs, set for May 17 in Divide. He also introduces Summits, HPRS's newest race, happening June 14 at Granby Ranch Resort in Granby, Colorado. He describes it as a first-year concept and expects a few trial-and-error tweaks after the debut. The distances are six miles, 21 miles, 27 miles, and 43 miles. From there, the show shifts into a looser conversation with a guest host in studio. The topic moves away from logistics and into the internal mechanics of racing. Ego becomes the frame. They talk through why a runner wants a certain result so badly and whether the pressure is about money, professional status, or having the result line up with how they see themselves. A Stories race memory comes into view as an example. John recalls wanting to win and wanting to run 100 miles, then only running 73, and he says the ego hit was real. He also remembers not knowing enough about longer ultras at the time and thinking he could just push through. In that race, he says he did mental calculus about cutting the course, saving time and elevation, and whether anybody would know. He says he could not live with himself if he cheated and would have asked to be disqualified. The episode closes that thread by tying experience to better judgment. After two races where he made errors, he says he studies the course now and knows roughly where he needs to go. The final stretch points ahead to a future conversation about the development of mantras and how runners arrive at the phrases they need. The whole episode stays conversational, practical, and personal, with the rough edges left in place rather than polished away.

As heard by us

Spring race updates give way to a blunt, honest look at ego, accountability, and what it means to stay on course.

Episode 62 begins with spring race housekeeping before settling into a frank talk about ego, honesty, and accountability. John LaCroix says Endure Trail Runs is set for May 17 in Divide, and that Summits is the newest race, a first-year event on June 14 at Granby Ranch Resort.

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Why you'd press play

If you want race talk that turns into an ego check, start here.

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