This week’s conversation is with Katie Arnold, a longtime journalist and an elite ultra runner.
Katie was the 2018 Leadville Trail 100 Run champion.
For those of you unfamiliar with Leadville, it’s an Ultramarathon held annually on rugged trails and dirt roads near Leadville, Colorado, through the heart of the Rocky Mountains.
The race course climbs and descends 15,600 feet, with elevations ranging from 9,200-12,620 feet – the elevation and terrain makes this an incredibly difficult course.
Katie is also a contributing Editor at Outside Magazine and has written for many well respected publications including: The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Runner’s World, ESPN: The Magazine, Elle, and many others.
She recently published a new book called: Running Home: A Memoir.
Running is the through line, but her book and this conversation are about more than running – we discuss the power of observation, expression, and mindfulness.
Running is just Katie’s way through those things, but anytime she references running, you could scratch that out and say your thing, and the message is the same.
I, for one, am not a big runner but this conversation hit home for me – it’s about understanding your path and where you’re headed next.
“Anxiety creates indecision and a lack of clarity, but coming back to my values always cuts through that uncertainty.”
In This Episode:
- Father was a National Geographic photographer, taught her to pay attention to the moments that often times slip by
- That insight from her father helped her realize the power of observation
- How her parents divorce shaped her
- Her relationship with nature
- What she’s searching for … connection
- What was key to winning the Leadville 100? (100-mile Ultra in Colorado)
- Why she’s a big proponent of approaching things with a “beginner’s mind”
- Her gratitude practice
- What she loves about racing and why she embraces a competitive environment
- How she gets in her way… self-doubt
- What habits are important to her? Movement, being in nature, and consistently writing in her notebooks
- Her meditation practice… sitting in silence
- Her purpose in life: expression, to express the essence of something, the truth
- Her guiding values: adventure, family/community, expression
