I met Chaiwen Chou on the trip I took in March to the Atacama Desert of Chile that was led by Tyler Andrews of Chaski Endurance Collective. Two things immediately stood out about Chaiwen: one was her gorgeous purple hair, and the second was the boot on her foot. As you know, this was no tourist cruise, we were going to be climbing several very tall summits, the highest at almost 20,000 feet, on steep, loose terrain. You see, Chaiwen had broken her ankle a few weeks before the trip, and her doctor and physical therapist told her that the trip was out of the question. Undeterred, she came on the trip, at first thinking she would just walk around the beautiful landscape while the rest of us took on epic challenges. That thinking didn’t last long. Chaiwen not only conquered all of the climbs in her boot, but she crushed them! Despite those achievements, when she got home to NYC, those professionals still told her no running for several more weeks. Which was a problem because this veteran of epic races like the Formosa Trail 104k in Taiwan and the Tahoe 200 was registered for her dream race, the UTMB, in August. Chaiwen talks here about her long injury recovery, her crash training regimen which totally blows me away, and her experience running in the “Super Bowl” of 100-mile races. So, so impressive! She is tremendously fun, so I think you’ll get a kick out of this chat as much as I did.

Chaiwen Chou
Instagram @aehrwyn

Bill Stahl
silly_billy@msn.com
Facebook Bill Stahl
Instagram and Threads @stahlor and @coachstahl
YouTube We Are Superman Podcast

Our guest today is a local running and coaching legend here in Colorado who is also well-known worldwide. Junko Kazukawa came late into the running world, but has been a prolific endurance athlete, while exuding tons of positive energy. This year alone she completed the Leadwoman challenge – all of the Leadville running and biking races – which included her 10th LT100 run finish, then finished the very difficult Tor des Géants 200-miler in Italy, ran rim-to-rim-to-rim in the Grand Canyon, and currently has the NYC Marathon on-deck. In 2015, she became the first person to complete Leadwoman plus the 100-miler Grand Slam – Western States, Leadville, Vermont, and Wasatch – all in the same year. She did this on the heels of a second breast cancer diagnosis. This has given her the wonderful perspective of if there is something you want to do, don’t wait, just do it, you never know what will happen tomorrow. And then her philosophy that cancer takes away a lot, but it gives you so much more. Junko also talks here about the interesting topic of how suffering through a tough ultramarathon makes her feel more alive. Her infectious positive energy has created a huge following for her both at her races and in her coaching, and Junko Mountain Training is not only the training regimen for many of her athletes, but has become an Internet sensation, too. Junko with her running and coaching has also generously supported the Susan B. Komen Foundation, the Leadville Legacy Foundation, and several individuals battling cancer themselves. I know you’ll enjoy this chat with this relentlessly energetic and positive dynamo.

Junko Kazukawa
boundless.com
kickingjk@gmail.com
Instagram @runjunkorun

Bill Stahl
silly_billy@msn.com
Facebook Bill Stahl
Instagram and Threads @stahlor and @coachstahl
YouTube We Are Superman Podcast

We have had some uplifting performances by young runners in American Heroes Run. Last year, we had the formerly overweight high school freshman who completed the marathon. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago a freshman cross country runner named Bobby, who normally runs 5K, who completed 50K. And then we have 19-year-old Steven Sampson, who completed 35.7 miles in the 9 hour & 11 minute run. One thing that sets Steven apart is that he considers himself a hybrid athlete because he devotes probably more of his time to weightlifting and bodybuilding than he does running. Some of his inspiration comes from the likes of David Goggins and many notable competitive bodybuilders. So like the young marathoner last year, it was cool to see a guy with a jacked body hammering out long distance miles. One of his drivers, too, has been overcoming surgery to remove a brain tumor, which has left him with screws in his skull and he also hopes doesn’t prevent him from someday becoming a Navy Seal. He’s a super nice young man who is passionate about his athletic pursuits, and is just getting started in finding where these will take him, so I think you’ll enjoy our chat.

Steven Sampson
Instagram @camopants_steve

Bill Stahl
silly_billy@msn.com
Facebook Bill Stahl
Instagram and Threads @stahlor and @coachstahl
YouTube We Are Superman Podcast