Podcast
We Are Superman
Hosted by Bill Stahl · EN
Founded by David Clark, a former 320-pound alcoholic, drug addict, food junkie turned accomplished endurance athlete, bestselling author, plant-based fighter, and happiness warrior. Ultramarathoner and coach Bill Stahl is continuing David's legacy to bring you inspirational stories of ordinary people overcoming alcoholism, addiction, obesity, or catastrophic injuries or illnesses to accomplish epic achievements like running ultramarathons, climbing Everest, etc. We also bring you world-class athletes and others involved in the endurance sports space, medical providers, and others who can help you up your own game in athletics as well as in life so you feel, look, and perform better. As David said, we will help you look into the far side of the universe where anything is possible and all things are eventual.
35episodes
Episodes
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#356 - We Are Teagan, KC, and Gina Martin Running Ultras 4 Reasons To Help Their Community
Aug 2001:30:31Tap to summarizeSend us a textWhen I volunteered at the Painter Boy aid station of the Leadville Silver Rush 50, there was a runner who came in who looked rather young and somewhat beaten down by the course and the heat and I thought might need some extra attention. I got to know a bit about 17-year-old Teagan Martin and his dad KC who was running with him in what was both of their first 50-milers, and that this was part of their buildup for the difficult Creede 100-miler in a couple of weeks. What really set Teagan apart is that he was doing all of this ultramarathoning as a fundraiser for people in Phillips County, a rural area of Eastern Colorado near the Nebraska border, where he lives in the county seat of Holyoke. I later got to see Teagan and KC triumphantly cross the finish line of the SR50 and learned more about what Teagan is doing with his foundation called Running 4 Reasons. When I sat down with Teagan, his mom and de facto crew chief, Gina, and KC, they described running both the Silver Rush and Creede, a small, high-altitude race with a 40-hour cutoff in the Colorado mountains, where they were last among the 24 finishers. It was a lot of fun chatting with true ultramarathon neophytes and the numerous lessons, I really mean numerous lessons, they learned along the way, some of which will likely have you chuckling, as well as the altruistic spirit they have to help their neighbors during hard times. Teagan is a really impressive young man who has put in the miles not just running but doing the extraordinarily hard work in pounding the pavement in his town to try to address their agricultural community’s staggering needs. I think you’ll be inspired by how much this project means to a young guy who is just getting started in his philanthropic life. If you would like to support the Martins’ very worthy effort, check out the Running 4 Reasons Facebook page or call him at 970-518-8241. Teagan MartinInstagram @martinteagan5Bill Stahlsilly_billy@msn.comFacebook Bill StahlInstagram and Threads @stahlor and @we_are_superman_podcastYouTube We Are Superman PodcastSubscribe to the We Are Superman Newsletter!https://mailchi.mp/dab62cfc01f8/newsletter-signupSubscribe to our Substack for my archive of articles of coaching tips developed from my more than three decades of experience, wild and funny stories from my long coaching career, the wit and wisdom of David, and highlights of some of the best WASP episodes from the past that I feel are worthwhile giving another listen.Search either We Are Superman Podcast or @billstahl8
Transcribe →#355 - We Are Terry Ten Eyck, 80 Years Old and Throwing Like A Champ, Which He Is
Aug 1501:21:04Tap to summarizeSend us a textMost people don’t imagine octogenarians throwing shotputs, discuses, and the hammer at track meets. I have officiated enough track meets that I have seen bunches of them doing so. One is Terry Ten Eyck of Golden CO, who back in 1963 set the state shotput mark of 59’-10¾”, breaking the previous record by four feet, while throwing for Wheat Ridge H.S. He went on to briefly compete in track and football at the University of Colorado and then served for 7½ years in the Navy, including in Vietnam. After about a 50-year hiatus, Terry returned to the track and field world, competing in masters meets and winning medals, most recently winning the world indoor championship in the shotput for the 80–84-year-old age group. His favorite event is the hammer which involves spinning around and throwing an 8.8-pound (4 kg.) ball attached to a four-foot wire. He also does the seldom-seen weight throw, which requires throwing an even heavier weight with a shorter wire, ideally suited to indoor competitions. Terry and I talk a lot about field events through the ages, share some great track stories and valuable wisdom, and hopefully you’ll be inspired hearing what it’s like to train and compete at the master’s level when most his age are in their rocking chairs.Bill Stahlsilly_billy@msn.comFacebook Bill StahlInstagram and Threads @stahlor and @we_are_superman_podcastYouTube We Are Superman PodcastSubscribe to the We Are Superman Newsletter!https://mailchi.mp/dab62cfc01f8/newsletter-signupSubscribe to our Substack for my archive of articles of coaching tips developed from my more than three decades of experience, wild and funny stories from my long coaching career, the wit and wisdom of David, and highlights of some of the best WASP episodes from the past that I feel are worthwhile giving another listen.Search either We Are Superman Podcast or @billstahl8
Transcribe →#354 - We Are Dave Munson Who Wants You to Get Leather Bags With a 100-Year Warranty
Aug 8, 202501:58:24Tap to summarizeSend us a textI really didn’t have to write much of an intro because I could simply copy the fascinating story in Dave Munson’s bio. It resonates with me because it reminds me about how David Clark found so much more happiness, not by making and spending huge amounts of money from his mattress and furniture businesses, but by serving others. I also love how Dave Munson manufactures products that are unique and insanely durable, which has become so rare these days. The story begins in 1999, in a dusty leather shop in Morelia, Mexico, young American Dave Munson slid a hand-drawn sketch across the counter and said, “No breakable parts. I want my grandkids to fight over it when I’m dead.” What a great slogan! That moment sparked the beginning of Saddleback Leather Co. That bag turned heads everywhere it went, and before long, Dave was selling bags on eBay, eventually bringing in family members to help meet demand. With grit, grace, and a business coach, he evolved into the CEO of one of the most recognized leather brands in the world. Today, Saddleback Leather is known for crafting over-engineered full-grain leather goods with a 100-year warranty — built to outlive the owner and become heirlooms.Dave’s wife, Suzette, is his true partner in both business and life. Together they raise their two kids and sponsor many more in Rwanda. Suzette also leads Love 41, a sister company to Saddleback that donates 100% of its profits to helping vulnerable communities in Rwanda, Mexico, and Fort Worth, Texas. They also operate the Saddleback Leather Factory, where all of their products are made, and you’ll learn here why leather goods make so much more sense for the environment than those made from artificial fibers. Headquartered near Fort Worth — where the Munsons live in safari tents — the company is celebrating more than 20 years in business. For Dave, it was never about getting rich. It’s always been about using business as a force for good — to shift the trajectory of poverty-stricken families and create a global ripple effect of hope, one bag at a time. As Dave puts it: “We make the longest lasting, most over-engineered leather bags in the world — and we love people while we do it.” I think it’s a really cool mission statement.Dave MunsonSaddlebackleather.comFacebook Saddleback Leather Co.Instagram @saddlebackbagsYouTube @saddlebackleatherBill Stahlsilly_billy@msn.comFacebook Bill StahlInstagram and Threads @stahlor and @we_are_superman_podcastYouTube We Are Superman PodcastSubscribe to the We Are Superman Newsletter!https://mailchi.mp/dab62cfc01f8/newsletter-signupSubscribe to our Substack for my archive of articles of coaching tips developed from my more than three decades of experience, wild and funny stories from my long coaching career, the wit and wisdom of David, and highlights of some of the best WASP episodes from the past that I feel are worthwhile giving another listen.Search either We Are Superman Podcast or @billstahl8
Transcribe →#353 - WE ARE BRIAN WATSON AND THE LESSONS LEARNED GOING FROM 300 LBS. TO BADWATER
Jul 31, 202501:40:17Tap to summarizeSend us a textBrian Watson was in New York City in 2018 and noticed hundreds of thousands of people crowding the streets and asked what was going on. A friend told him it was the NYC Marathon, a foreign concept to a guy living in a 300-pound body. He calmly told those around him that he would run it the next year. While that might sound daffy to some, those that knew Brian knew to take him at his word. Before you knew it, Brian had dropped a third of his weight, had finished New York, and was moving up to ultramarathons. Beginning in 2021, he completed in successive years the Arkansas Traveler 100, the Leadville Trail 100, and the Javelina Jundred. Then he jumped up to 200s and up, and discovered he actually placed better as the race got longer, finishing the Moab 240 and the Arizona Monster 300 in the top half of the fields. When I met Brian in Leadville, he was only a few days removed from having completed Badwater 135, the so-called World’s Toughest Ultramarathon in Death Valley, in 45:04:16. Transforming into an ultramarathoner is only part of his story. He owns a chain of pizza restaurants in Texas and Oklahoma and is partner in a real estate company, among his business ventures. Through all of this, he has gained amazing insights, many of which he shares in this chat. You will learn a ton about ultramarathoning and some iconic races in this episode, but also about so many of the lessons one learns doing these races that strongly apply to anyone’s daily life, including overcoming the hurdles we all face, and about the mental battles that derail our success. Brian has a matter-of-fact, no-nonsense approach to racing, like pushing through mid-race stress fractures and weather issues, but that through good planning and determination when things go south, reaching the finish line becomes a foregone conclusion, as it is with anything else he puts his mind to.Brian Watson Strava Brian WatsonBill Stahlsilly_billy@msn.comFacebook Bill StahlInstagram and Threads @stahlor and @we_are_superman_podcastYouTube We Are Superman PodcastSubscribe to the We Are Superman Newsletter!https://mailchi.mp/dab62cfc01f8/newsletter-signupSubscribe to our Substack for my archive of articles of coaching tips developed from my more than three decades of experience, wild and funny stories from my long coaching career, the wit and wisdom of David, and highlights of some of the best WASP episodes from the past that I feel are worthwhile giving another listen.Search either We Are Superman Podcast or @billstahl8
Transcribe →#352 - WE ARE THE CHISHOLM FAMILY, THE MOM AND TEEN BOYS WHO RAN THE COCODONA 250, THRU-HIKED THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL, AND LOTS MORE
Jul 23, 202501:57:40Tap to summarizeSend us a textIn previous episodes, we’ve chatted with some young runners who have taken on ultramarathons like the Leadville Trail 100, something that was unheard of in the ancient days when I began in the sport. While it’s become less rare to see this, it’s now been taken up a notch. Meet the Chisholm family of Salem, NH. Brothers Ben, Brody, Elliott, and Asher all play hockey, with the three eldest at one time playing on the same line together on their high school team. Led by their parents, the boys started off climbing in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, eventually summitting all of its 48 4000-foot peaks, which is no joke in difficulty. This evolved to the family next through-hiking the entire Appalachian Trail, then the Pacific Crest Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail, each of which are thousands of miles long and take months to complete, and definitely at times challenged the limits of family togetherness. While later hiking the Arizona Trail, they learned about this thing called ultramarathoning and on a whim entered the Elden Crest 38-miler, in which second-oldest son Brody led the family to the finish line in fifth-place overall. So the next logical step of course was to return to Arizona to run the 2024 Cocodona 250. Of course. Since races like this include large swaths of hiking, the family leaned heavily on their strong through-hiking skills, a theory that bore fruit. Brody, 17 at the time, boldly had his sights on setting a course record despite having had no prior ultra experience longer than 38 miles, but has 4:30 mile speed on the track, so he could add that running ability to the mix. He learned a lot of ultramarathoning lessons, especially regarding fueling, but still astoundingly finished 12th in 75:42:42, a pace of 18:11 per mile for more than 250 miles. Meanwhile, 18-year-old brother Ben finished 34th in 87:01:50 despite battling lack of sleep and hallucinations, and mom Jennie finished as well in 103:58:03 while overcoming tibial stress fractures. Round two for the family was this year as 16-year-old Elliott attempted to usurp Brody’s record as the youngest-ever Cocodona finisher, but a sickness felled his chance, and Brody also DNF’d. However, Jennie chopped more than 14 hours off of her previous time and placed as the 7th female finisher. So Elliott took on a new challenge the day before we recorded this and ran the Back Cove Backyard Ultra in Portland, ME, where he impressively ran 121 miles, running another 4.16-mile loop at the start of every hour for 29 hours, the third-most in the last-man-standing event. With Jennie and the three oldest boys of this super nice family all crammed onto a couch together for this really fun chat, we cover how they logistically pull all of this off with schoolwork and teen life in general, as well as dealing with those who have this idea that teenage boys shouldn’t take on epic challenges like they have. I think anyone who has doubts will walk away with other ideas after listening to them.The familyInstagram @thefieldtrip_5Jennie ChisholmInstagram @_jenniechisholmBen ChisholmInstagram @benchisholm_7Brody ChisholmInstagram @brody.chisholmElliott ChisholmInstagram @elliott.chisholmBill Stahlsilly_billy@msn.comFacebook Bill StahlInstagram and Threads @stahlor and @we_are_superman_podcastYouTube We Are Superman PodcastSubscribe to the We Are Superman Newsletter!https://mailchi.mp/dab62cfc01f8/newsletter-signupSubscribe to our Substack for my archive of articles of coaching tips developed from my more than three decades of experience, wild and funny stories from my long coaching career, the wit and wisdom of David, and highlights of some of the best WASP episodes from the past that I f
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