Episode 5: Couch Potato to Ultramarathoner: My Slow Journey to Lasting Change
“You have a gallstone and need to get your gallbladder taken out.”
I stare at my doctor in disbelief. I have to get my gallbladder taken out at 28 years old? Just hours before, I was at my office in Dachau, Germany, doubled over with sharp, stabbing pain under my right rib cage.
But still… I can’t wrap my head around it. I'm not ready to have my gallbladder out! God put it in there for a reason and I'd like it to stay right where it is.
I tell the doctor this and she replies, “Well, the other option is that you get in shape. Stop eating animal fat and start exercising.”
Sounds like simple advice for a 28-year-old, but it was a tall order for me at the time. After all, I’d gained around 30 pounds since moving to Germany. I was enjoying a lot of beer, schnitzel, spaetzle, and delicious bread. I’d fallen in love with German food, but it was doing not-so-wonderful things to my size and health.
Just a couple of weeks prior, I had to quit a hike halfway through because my knees hurt so badly.
I’d chalked it up to aging, but now — with my doctor giving me the option between surgery or lifestyle change at 28! — I knew it was time to make a transition. A transition that would take me from being limited physically in my late 20’s to becoming an ultra-marathoner at the age of 40.
THEMED INTRO: (DON’T RECORD)
[themed music plays]
I’m Art Blanchford, and this is Life in Transition, a podcast about making the most of the changes we’re given. As a married father of three teenagers, long-time global business executive, personal growth fanatic, and adventurer, I’ve been through hundreds of transitions in my life. Many have been difficult, but all have led to a depth and richness I could never have imagined. You’ll get to hear about them on this podcast so that, together, we can create more love and joy in our lives — no matter what transitions we go through.
EPISODE:
Part 1: Why this matters to listeners
Hello and welcome back to Life in Transition. I’m Art Blanchford and today we’re going to talk about a transition that took over 10 years for me to complete: going from couch potato to ultra marathoner.
I want to share this experience with you because if you’re like me, maybe you’ve wrestled with your eating and weight your whole life. Maybe you’ve started and stopped countless exercise routines and healthy eating plans — and feel like getting into better shape is an impossible obstacle in your life.
I’ve been there. When my doctor in Germany told me I had to make some changes or I’d face surgery, it was a HUGE wakeup call. But if you told me that I would be running ultramarathons a decade later, I would’ve laughed in your face. “That’s impossible!” I would’ve said.
But as you’re about to learn, small, incremental changes over a long period of time can make the impossible, POSSIBLE. My hope is that by hearing my story, you’ll see the extraordinary potential you have — even if it’s not obvious right now.
[a beat… possibly with transitional music]
Part 2: Backstory to the gallstone
If you’ve been listening to Life in Transition since the beginning, then you know that I’ve always been a bit of an overachiever. I’ve routinely put work ahead of taking care of my body.
When I played football in high school, but in college, I was all about school and work. I only ran a little bit to get my energy up in the mornings, and didn’t bother much with exercise outside of that. These habits continued into my young professional years, until one day my wife came home with an idea.
[energetic music starts]
“Nashville is hosting a Country Music marathon this year. Want to go?” she asked.
It was 2000 — the first time Nashville had ever hosted a marathon like this. And since we both loved Nashville and it was for a good cause, I said, “Okay, I’ll try it.”
I used the marathon as a way to raise funds for the Leukemia Society, got a coach, and started training. I'd never run a race in my life, so training was a very tough process. Everything hurt — especially my knees. It got so bad that I started packing bags of frozen peas in a cooler to use after my long runs in the park.
When marathon day came, it was more difficult than I had imagined.
[race sounds]
I ran and walked it in four hours and 45 minutes, and the 10 days after were excruciating. I could barely walk and everything hurt really badly.
[music ends]
You’d think after all that work I would continue with my training. But soon after the Country Music marathon, my wife and I moved to Germany for my job. When I tried to run, everything hurt too much. So I quit. I tried hiking with my wife sometimes, but going down mountains made my knees hurt so badly that I quit that too for the most part. The only physical activity I did was mountain biking — but only occasionally. I spent most of my time working hard and traveling a lot.
Add that sedentary lifestyle to consuming a ton of delicious German food, and that’s how I landed in the doctor’s office with what appeared to be a gallstone.
Part 3: The Slow Road to Health
Even though I walked out of that doctor’s office determined to do everything I could to avoid gallbladder surgery. It was not an overnight transition. I still didn’t exercise regularly — even though I made plans to do so many times.
Instead, I focused on my diet first thanks to Tony Robbins. I attended his Unleash the Power Within conference and was inspired by his outlook on diet. He talked about eating mostly vegetables and plant-based fats, and consuming very little to no meat, dairy, or animal fat. So I started on that path.
Two years later, work moved me back to the U.S. and I found myself under tremendous pressure. At 31 years old, I was a VP of a multi billion dollar global corporation. I felt like I had so much riding on my shoulders. I needed to do something to help manage my stress, and I needed it fast.
[energetic music]
Telling myself I didn’t have time for anything big, I started with fifteen minutes every morning. I would get up a little early and walk around my neighborhood, following along with the Tony Robbins 15 minutes to Fulfillment. I’d say the things I'm grateful for, do breathing exercises that helped me feel more energized, and say affirmations.
It was only fifteen minutes, but it helped a LOT with managing my stress. I didn’t know it at the time but committing to those 15 minutes every single morning was the start of an entirely new way of living.
It was the foundation for what would become a slow and steady physical transformation.
[music rises and plays for a beat].
As that 15 minute morning walk became a daily habit , I found myself wanting more. I thought, “Well hey, I used to run. Maybe I'll try jogging for five minutes in the middle.”
So jogging became part of my daily habit. I'd walk for five or ten minutes, jog for five minutes, and then walk for five or ten minutes. I did it almost every morning. Slowly, what started as 15 minutes stretched into what Tony Robbins calls a full Hour of Power.
I told a friend about what I was doing at work, and he recommended a book called Galloway’s Book on Running by Jeff Galloway. It was all about how to run injury-free.
“That’s what I need!” I thought. So I started following the Galloway regimen, where I’d run one mile, and then walk one minute. I kept my pace very slow as I built my endurance up. The idea is that you allow your body to train and transform slowly to avoid injury.
Deep down, I wanted to run another marathon but I was nervous about it. My back still bothered me a lot, and I worried that another marathon meant hurting myself even more. So I didn’t put a date on it. I just said, “I’m going to do another at some point.”
For years, I continued using the Galloway method to build up endurance and my distance, getting up 5 or six days a week as part of my morning habit. Finally, in 2007 — a full seven years after my first marathon — I ran a half marathon in Detroit. Then in 2008, I ran it again.
I enjoyed these races so much that one day it hit me that running was no longer something I did to manage my weight or stress. It was something I truly enjoyed.
If I didn’t get a morning run in, I'd come home from work, put my young kids in a double jogging stroller and take off for a run. I love being outside, being in nature, and moving my body. I added yoga and eating well into my routine with the encouragement of my sister-in-law.
The hardest part wasn’t moving my body — it was eating well. I still battled my weight, because I loved bread, sweets, and eating big portions of both in the evenings. If there were any sweets around, I would eat it.
But I kept at it just like I did with the running. Slow and steady everyday. I aimed for small improvements everyday, not comparing my progress to anyone else.
And then finally, in 2009, I got big news. After two years of trying, I’d won the New York City Marathon lottery. I was finally going to run another marathon.
[transitional music]
Part 4: NYC Marathon
By this point, I was nervous and excited, but committed to training. But just days before the big day, I pulled my hamstring.
My first thought was, “See, I knew I couldn’t do it without getting injured. I'm out. It’s too dangerous and I don't want to hurt myself.”
I was living in Michigan at the time, and bought all my gear and got sports massages a Hanson’s Running Stores. . There were a lot of Olympic hopefuls on the Hanson’s running team and one such runner was my masseuse right after the injury. When she completed the massage, she said, , “I think you can still do the NYC marathon. . If you were sprinting, it would be a problem. But you can run a marathon and be just fine.”
That was a pivotal moment for me. Her words gave me the confidence and inspiration I needed to show up to the New York City marathon — hurt hamstring and all.
[music builds]
On race day, I had all kinds of butterflies in my stomach. It was the day after Halloween and so people were making their way back home from parties the night before while the runners lined up at the starting gate. You could just feel the energy of the million spectators. e.
My family and good friend, Jim, werw there, and my sister came up from Philly to watch. As soon as I heard the starting shot[1], I followed the Galloway way, running and walking, then running and walking some more. It was shoulder-to-shoulder throughout most of the race because there are just so many people who come to do the New York City marathon.
During my walking periods, I’d go to the side and try to get out of the way. But some people still get really upset that I was slowing down so much during those minutes. But I did it anyway every mile and trusted it was the right method for my body.
In every race I’ve ever done, there’s always this short period of time where you know your limits are, and you go for it anyway. Everything feels so real in that moment. I felt that many times during the New York City marathon. It was really tough.
But at mile 20, I rounded the corner and when I saw my wife, kids, and sister, I just started crying. It was so great to see them and steal a quick hug. Tears just kept coming into my eyes because I was pushing myself as hard as I could.
When I finally crossed that finish line, I felt like a rock star. My time was 4 hours and 15 minutes. A whole 30 minute improvement from my first marathon nine years prior.
[music beat]
It felt amazing. And that night, my family and I had a blast walking around New York City. I wore my marathon shirt out to dinner and got a standing ovation in the restaurant. We saw tons of other marathoners with their medals on out and about and I’ll never forget it.
Best of all, I hadn’t injured myself. My body could run a marathon without getting hurt.
[transitional music]
Part 5: Improving Times & Shifting Paradigms
After that New York City marathon, I decided to do one marathon every year and see if I could keep improving my time.
And sure enough, in Chicago of 2010, I ran it in just over four hours — cutting my time by nearly 15 minutes. Then in 2011, I ran a marathon in Montana. I felt great the entire race, and my end time was 3 hours, forty-four minutes and forty-five seconds. Not only is that still my best time, but I also ran into Jeff Galloway himself during that marathon. I got to thank him for his mile run, minute walk method that helped me heal my body and saved me from getting any serious injuries.
After that marathon, my family and I moved to Shanghai, China for my job, and I got plugged into a local running group there. It was full of mostly Scandinavian guys who ran marathons every month or so.
This completely shifted the paradigm I’d been operating under. “You CAN”T run more than one marathon a year without injury?” I thought. But with these guys, I did exactly that. I ran the Shanghai marathon, Great Wall marathon, HongZhou marathon, each twice, Nanjing mountain marathon, and many others.
Training with these guys, I increased my mileage a lot, and I started doing martial arts and p90x plyo training to strengthen my body. It worked. I felt like I was in the best shape of my life.
So much so that when my friend Didier Chavet said, “Hey, you should do a 100km, 60 mile, trail race,” I jumped at it. I wanted to see what was possible. But boy,[2] I had NO idea what I was getting into.
[fresh music builds]
Part 6: Ultramarathon
[nature sounds + footsteps]
It's over 90 degrees. I've been running, hiking, and climbing, mostly by myself, for more than eight and a half hours on the beautiful, rugged terrain of southwest China. I'm descending a large canyon with a black, 3000 foot granite wall that’s radiating the desert sun heat onto me as I climb down.
My body feels like it’s right at the edge of shutting down. My legs quake with every big step, and when I bite into my Camelback valve to suck in some much needed water, I feel nothing but thick saliva and air in my mouth. It's empty. I have no more water and I'm in the middle of nowhere China all by myself descending into Tiger Leaping Gorge.
My mind starts to race. All the inner critics come out saying, “You’re so stupid. You have three kids and a wife and you're not going to make it home. Who do you think you are for doing this silly race?”
I was also kicking myself because I’d initially signed up for only 60k, 40 miles, but when I heard the race director describing the beautiful views of the 100k race, I changed my mind last minute. I had enough supplies and thought, “Why not? When else will I be in southwest China?”
This was the first day of the 100k race. I was supposed to run 40k, 25 miles, and already I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it. My body was shot from the 10,000 foot elevation climb I’d already made that day, and I was really second guessing this step to become an ultramarathoner.
I prayed and thought, “Well, what can I do? Stopping in the middle of the dessert didn’t seem like a good option. Well, Ikeep putting one foot in front of the other and I'll go a little slower. I'll conserve energy. And I'll keep my eyes open for anybody that might be out here and see if they have some water. If not, maybe I can figure out a way to go down to the river.”
I knew drinking out the river was not a smart thing to do, but definitely better than cramping up and not being able to move or completely dehydrating and damaging myself. So I slowly rounded the next switchback and as I came around to the next part of the trail, I saw a young lady tending her goats.
In broken Chinese I said, “Hey, do you have something to drink?” Maybe she knew the race was coming through, because she had two or three Chinese versions of gatorades in a little woven basket in the shade. I always carried money when I ran long distances in China so I gave her 20 RMB or so and she was really happy with that even though I couldn't really communicate too well because my Chinese is so bad.
That was truly a godsend. I slugged down two or three 16 ounces of Gatorade equivalent and was able to finish that day of the race. Later that night, all the racers (the ones doing the 60k AND 100k) all met up and stayed at a little country bed and breakfast. We ate food, drank beer and just enjoyed the camaraderie with one another.
But that next morning, I woke up and couldn’t move my legs. They were unbelievably sore. I’ve experienced pain and soreness before — but NOTHING like this. I told my friend Andrew Lacey who was doing the race as well, “Look, I think I'm done. I can't move my legs.”
Andrew replied, “Well, do what you can do. Can you get out of bed?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I think so.” So I moved my legs over the edge of the bed. It took a lot to stand up. The pain was there, but I could do it. I walked around a little bit, and every step was really painful. I said, “I'm done, I'm just going to quit or at the most finish with the 60k runners.”
Andrew encouraged me to walk around a little bit more to work out the lactic acid and said, “It's gonna hurt whether you do it or not. And maybe it hurts less if you do it.”
To get to breakfast, I had to walk down a spiral staircase. The whole way hurt, but Andrew kept saying, “Just do what you can do. Don’t give up because something hurts or give up because it's hard. Just do what you can do. If you can take another step, take another step.”
Luckily on that day, the 20k version and the 40k version started together. So I had a big breakfast, worked on my legs with the roller and learned how to run using my glutes instead of my quads from one of the other runners.
It hurt a lot, but it also hurt a lot to sit. So I kept focusing on what I could do, and didn’t stop even when I felt that pain. After an hour or so of running, the lactic acid cycled through and my legs didn't hurt. I ran another 40 kilometers (25 miles) — almost a full marathon that day. And I made a BETTER time than I had the previous day.
By the third day, I felt strong. There was a lot of sliding down hills through pine forests, which was so much fun because it felt like skiing on pine needles. I had adjusted to the altitude and finished feeling great. 20k (13 miles) that day seemed easy, even if it was after running back to back marathons the 2 days before . At the end when they started calling the winners of age brackets, they called out ‘Art Blanchford’ for third place. It felt amazing. Of course later I would find out that there were only three in my age bracket, but it was still a great experience.
It had been a LONG journey from that doctor’s office in Germany to now — over 10 years. But it was ALL worth it.
[music swells]
Part 7: 5 Steps to Lasting Change
I wanted to share my couch potato to ultramarathoner story with you because I think we sometimes expect ourselves to transition and transform as fast as possible. But often that’s not how real, lasting change happens.
In fact, you’ll be shocked at the power of small, incremental changes. The impossible will become possible.
Whether you want to work on your physical health or something else entirely, here are some ways you can implement that slow and steady transition.
First, get in the habit of doing something — even if it’s really small.
You hear my story of how I started walking 15 minutes every morning, James Clear mentions it in his book, Atomic Habits, if you want to get in the habit of being somebody who: fill-in-the-blank, start small, really small, but do it consistently over time
Maybe you want to be somebody who works out. Then do something every day, go for a walk or go s to the gym. Amount of time does not matter here. It could be as small as five minutes. You’re just getting in the habit of doing something.
Maybe you want to become somebody who always takes the stairs instead of the elevator or somebody who parks in the farthest parking space to get extra steps.
And make it easy on yourself. If you want to be somebody who works out in the morning, have your exercise clothes or swimsuit already laid out the night before.
Again, it’all about getting in the habit of DOING something and doing it consistently.
Second, make steady progress.
Everybody overestimates what they can accomplish in one year, but most people UNDERESTIMATE what they'll accomplish in three years. Take a, long term outlook and make steady progress.
Remember, you're not out there to prove anything. You're out there to improve. That's true for all of life, but especially when you're getting in shape. It's not about comparing yourself to your friends, or how much you can do on the first day or even the first year. It's about slow and steady improvement leading to a new you
Third, find your joy.
This is a really important one because whatever you choose, you want to be able to stick with it for a long time. Maybe you don't like walking or running, but you really like skipping, biking, swimming, or playing paddle ball. Find your joy to be willing or even excited tostick with it for a while.
I didn't realize how much I really loved running until I'd been doing it for a few years. So give something a try, and be willing to stick with it for a while before you reevaluate.
When you find your joy, you’ll start to see exercise not as something you should do, but something youlove to do. And that makes all thedifference.
Fourth, hang out with people who inspire you in that space.
There are so many ways to hang out with people who enjoy doing the same kind of physical activity as you. You can read books, listen to podcasts, or watch athletes on TV. For me, that was reading Jeff Galloway’s book on running and Chris McDougall’s book called, Born to Run.
But my favorite way is to find people who are further ahead in their journey than you. For example, my brother is a much better runner than I am. And I loved training with these crazy Scandinavian running dudes in Shanghai because they really inspired me by showing me what was possible.
So hang out with those that inspire you mentally, physically, and spiritually.
Fifth, say “What can I do?” instead of “I can’t.”
What can you do? What’s a little thing you can do? Can you walk around the block? Can you walk up the stairs? Can you pedal your stationary bike for 20 minutes while you watch something on TV? Can you run a mile or two? What can you do?
And as you push yourself to do even more, don't quit. I was out hiking with my son and his scout troop a couple weeks ago, and it was really tough. We did 11 and a half miles on very steep terrain, while carrying heavy packs. After about seven and a half hours, the boys were done. They were tired and sore.
So what did I do? I first gave them all something to eat, and then said, “Hey, what can you do? Can you take one step?”
“Yes,” they said. And then it was just one step after the other. It’s like that old adage of this journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step. And another. And another.
So whenever you feel like quitting, remember to ask yourself, “What can I do?” And then do it.
Part 8: Conclusion
I really hope you found my story helpful as you begin your journey. Remember, I NEVER thought I would be running ultramarathons when I first started getting into shape. I just wanted to avoid gallbladder surgery and manage my stress better.
But now that I am in better shape, I love being fit, as Christopher McDougall says, to be useful. I love the things I can do because I'm fit and not in pain. I can climb trees with my kids, swim out the water falls, clear heavy debris after the tornado, lead the scouts on long hikes, and lift and relocate the furniture for my wife easily. I feel so much more fit than 25 years before I feel usefull in so many ways.
Before we wrap this up, I want to ask you some questions to help you figure out your next steps.
- What's one small habit you can start today? Something you have been talking to yourself about for a long time? Can you start doing it just 2 or 5 minutes per day?
- How can you make steady progress with that habit?
- Take a three-year view. Where would you like to be? What would bring you joy? What would you like to be able to do three years from now?
- What has worked for you? What are you already doing?
Take a minute and jot that down. Record or write it on your phone. Email or text yourself, or write it on a piece of paper. And please share it with me.
I can’t wait to hear what you look forward to doing as you make your slow and steady progress.
Connect with me on LinkedIn or our website, LifeInTransition.online and let me know if anything stood out to you from this episode. Let a close friend know too — it could be a huge encouragement to them as well.
Thank you so much for joining me today. Make sure you subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, and it would mean a lot to me if you shared this episode with a friend.
I’m Art Blanchford, and I’ll see you next time on Life in Transition.
[music plays]
CREDITS (Don’t record)
Life in Transition is co-written and produced by Laura Boach. And if you want to learn more about me and what I do when I’m not podcasting, please visit me at artblanchford.com. Life In Transition is a production of
(GFS Sonic Logo [“Great Feeling Studios” read by my nephew followed by a laugh of my son])
whistle? gong? not sure what's the norm :)
Feel free to chance this to sound more like you
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
Stay Connected
