Today’s guest is Junko Kazukawa, an ultra and trail runner based in Denver, Colorado, originally from Japan. She has over 30 years of experience in the health, fitness, and training fields, and currently works as a UESCA-certified running coach, personal trainer, group fitness instructor, and Run Club coordinator at Colorado Athletic Club Tabor.

Junko is passionate about helping people achieve their athletic goals through individualized training and strength programs, with a focus on improving weaknesses and preventing injury. She enjoys working with runners of all levels, especially beginners and older athletes.

She is also a two-time breast cancer survivor, an experience that continues to shape her approach to training and life.

As an athlete, Junko has completed 19 100-mile ultramarathons, including races such as Leadville 100, UTMB, UTMF, and Ultra Fiord in Patagonia. In 2015, she completed both the Grand Slam of ultrarunning and the Leadwoman series in the same season.

She is an Altra Red Team athlete, a Nuun ambassador, and part of the Berkeley Park Running Company team. Outside of running, she enjoys exploring the outdoors and has summited multiple Colorado 14ers, as well as Mount Rainier, Kilimanjaro, and Mont Blanc.

Links

Leadvile 100

Lead challenge

Grandslam

Ultra Trail Mont Blanc

Ultra Trail Mount Fuji

Hardrock 100

14ers

high lonesome 100

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes and the Gretaest Race the World has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall

Training for the Uphill Athlete: a Manual for Mountain runners and Ski Mountaineers by Steve House, Scott Johnston and Killian Jornett

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