Episode 27: Ian Sharman on Racing Massive Downhills (and in costumes)

I met Ian in August, 2016 one day before the Leadville Trail 100. We got coffee with a friend of ours and then watched a Beer Mile (it took place on the road behind us in the above picture).

Ian officiated – starting the race and cheering on runners as they raced and chugged beers.

Two days later, Ian crossed the finish line of the Leadville Trail 100 in first place – his third victory.

He’s no slouch in the world of ultra running. In fact, he’s one of the best ultramarathoners in the world:

• 3 x winner (and course record holder) of the Rocky Raccoon 100
• 3 x winner of the Leadville Trail 100
• Completed about 200 ultras and 100+ marathons (!)
• Record Holder – Grand Slam of Ultrarunning
• 7 x silver medalist at the Comrades Marathon

And over the last year, I’ve been fortunate to work with Ian on a few different projects:

1. He contributed a training case study that highlighted his toughest workouts before Leadville.
2. And he shared his best injury advice in the Little Black Book of Prevention & Recovery.

Now he’s back to talk about running an 11+ minute personal best at the Mt. Charleston Marathon.

But it’s not all training geekery. Did you know Ian has run dozens of marathons in costumes?

In fact, he’s run a 2:40 marathon as Spider Man!

This is going to be fun 🙂