The 29029 Podcast

Have you ever watched a great athlete perform?  They can look flawless.  Light on their feet.  Perfect form.  They make everything look effortless.  Whether it's at 29029 or another endurance event it’s easy to see the “front of the pack” and think “how can this be so easy for them”.....”and why isn’t it that easy for me” I’m not sure what it is that makes us think that those who are winning the races and climbing in front of us are somehow having an easier time.  No matter your ability, everyone is covering the same distance and even the best of us have underlying struggles, not visible to the outside world, that threaten to derail our performance.  Amber Conlin was the first woman to find her Everest at Snowbasin #2 in 2022.  She was fast and fit, completing 29,029 feet of climbing and 30 miles of distance just after midnight 19 hours after beginning the challenge.  If you were standing at the summit in those dark, early morning hours, you would have seen a mom being greeted by her 4 children, her husband Tyler and her in-laws.  All of them beaming and overflowing with pride.  But this 29029 finish was not the only Everest Amber climbed on her way to this point. We may not always know the battles and challenges that rage on the other side of a smiling face and a brilliant performance, but as we dig below the surface what we uncover can teach us things for our own journey.  Amber can teach us what true happiness is and how she finally found it……not on the mountain…….but within herself!  

American Entrepreneur and Author Jim Rohn is often credited with the saying “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.”  So look around.  Who’s in your circle? Are the people you are spending the most time with people who you look up to; people who you want to be like? Alvaro Nunez is one of those people you want in your circle.  Beyond his incredible success in business, he is always seeking to live his life to the fullest.  He’s waded through the challenges of growing up an emigrant to this country.  He worked his way through undergraduate school as a janitor.  He had to reset his mind every time life threatened to derail his plans.  Through it all Alvaro developed a mindset that turns his challenges into his super power.  It will come as no surprise that Alvaro seeks to have relationships with people he wants to be like.  That’s pretty much how he ended up at 29029 because Alvaro followed the many expeditions and adventures of Colin O’Brady and he got curious.  Then Alvaro found out that Colin was going to be in Miami…….Of course, he invited him to go skydiving. Want to hear more stories from Alvaro and learn to Level Up your own life? Read his book LEVEL UP Learn more about 29029 events HERE

We don’t know about you, but we just can’t get enough of Joannie Rich! If you haven’t, go back and listen to episode 41 so you can meet Joannie and get a glimpse of why she owns 13 red hats and plans to keep climbing.  Joannie is a wealth of knowledge not only on the mountain but at home too.  She is generous with her time taking calls and answering messages from participants in our community.  It’s part of what makes her such a legend.  While we had Joannie in the podcast hot seat, we figured it was a great time to get some answers to those questions everyone is always asking her. Enjoy a little bonus episode with Joannie Rich.   Find out more about 29029 Everesting HERE

When most people sign up for 29029 they get used to being asked “but Why?” Why in the world would you want to climb the same mountain for 36 hours? Why would you want to put yourself through that? Why would you climb in the rain, the sun, the dark, the snow? Why would you dedicate so much of your time to earn a red hat?  Joannie Rich has been asked “why” more times than she can remember.  That’s probably because she was the first 29029 participant in 2021 to wear a black bib, signifying that she had completed 3 previous events.  She didn’t stop there, not even close.  Joannie went on to become the first participant to earn the designation of “10-time finisher” in 2023.  Remember, when the co-founders started 29029, they didn’t even know if people would come back more than once.  To date, Joannie has come back 13 times, climbed every single mountain we’ve offered and has never gone home without a red hat.  Whether she likes it or not Joannie has become a legend on the mountain. She’s fun-sized and fierce and always has the perfect outfit for her final lap of the weekend.  29029 wouldn’t be the same without her and with this little peek behind the curtain you’ll realize why Joannie’s answer to why is usually “why not!”  Like and subscribe for more inspiring episodes. Learn more about 29029 Everesting

On December 12, 2023 the three 29029 Co-Founders (Marc Hodulich, Jesse Itzler and Colin O’Brady) sat down to welcome our community to a new year and a new season!   Each of these men lives and breathes endurance sports.  It’s not just their business, it is their lives.  Their takeaways for how to plan, prepare and balance a massive goal like 29029 is just what you need to hear as you prepare for a new year of challenges in your own life.  No matter what mountains you are facing in this new season, know that when you lean into a community and open yourself up to new and uncomfortable experiences, you will grow into a newer, better version of yourself.   NOTE: Jesse’s wifi didn’t seem to have gotten the memo that it’s almost 2024 and we aren’t using 1996 dial-up anymore, so forgive us for some of the audio.   Don't miss an episode! Make sure to subscribe and follow The 29029 Podcast. Click to learn more about 29029 Everesting.

The hardest thing about producing this podcast is that all of our participants at 29029 have a story.  They have REALLY good stories.  We are going to keep sharing those stories with you month after month and season after season.....but every once in a while there is a story that transcends the others.  A story that epitomizes what 29029 stands for.   Jon Samnick has been climbing mountains with 29029 for a long time.  When Jon started there were no red hats, no red carpets…..there weren’t even coaches or training plans.  There was just a mountain and newly formed community that was about to change everything for Jon.   Jon talks of how he is drawn to 29029.  He’s open to the experiences the mountain presents to him.  He’s not there for the red hat or some finish line.  He’s there to “make it meaningful”. Listen and subscribe for more inspiring stories from our 29029 Community! Find out more about 29029 Everesting HERE

So!  You signed up for 29029.  Now what?  Maybe you are nervous.  Maybe you are excited.  Maybe you are even a bit scared…..okay you might be REALLY scared.  All of those emotions are okay!  You just signed up to climb 29,029 feet up a mountain in 36 hours.  That’s big, but we promise you are going to love it! Unlike other endurance events, 29029 will be different.  You are going to be fully supported and surrounded by a community of like-minded individuals who are seeking to be their best and want to support you in the same journey. One of the first people you will have the privilege of meeting and interacting with on this wild ride, is our Head Coach, Brent Pease.  Brent is a brother, a husband, a father, a multi-sport athlete and coach.  When he isn’t pushing his brother Kyle’s racing chair to the finish line of an Ironman or advocating for inclusion in sport for athletes with disabilities, Brent is writing 29029 training plans and answering your questions!  Brent is a huge reason why so many red hats now dot the world.  He is one of the most experienced coaches in the country and has lived and breathed 29029 since our first event in 2017.  We figured there was no one better to help you feel confident in your decision to climb 29029 than him! Subscribe for more stories from inspiring people. Learn more about 29029

If you ever have the chance to come to 29029, I hope that you take a moment to just observe.  Watch, listen and just feel…..You'll recognize something profound……29029 has little to do with climbing a mountain. Of course, on Friday morning at 6am we blow an airhorn and send a 250 people climbing….So yes.  There’s definitely a mountain involved.  But what you see, hear and feel at 29029 has everything to do with the people who are there, not the mountain they are climbing.  It’s this special community of mostly strangers embarking on a chance of a lifetime together.   Grace Henrikson found herself signed up for 29029 right before the world would lock down due to the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.  What’s so cool about Grace’s story is that since her first 29029 event (allbeit a virtual one) she has been a part of creating the community we all all benefit from today. Today Grace owns 3 red hats and has volunteered on the mountain just as many times as she has climbed.  Grace’s story is 29029’s story.  A story of resilience, strength, commitment and a whole lot of fun!  Learn more about 29029 Follow & subscribe for more inspiring stories!

Part of my job as the host and emcee at 29029 events is getting to know the participants who take on the challenge to find their Everest.  Over the 4 days that I get to spend with them, I typically get a good read on who they are and some of the roads and backroads they have traveled before climbing our mountains.  Each one of them has a story and I see it as my job to unlock a bit of that narrative to help create powerful moments on the mountain.   But sometimes I don’t see the whole story.  This was one of those times.  I first met Chris Bystriansky in 2021 at Snowbasin.  He was a guy with a great smile and fun personality climbing with his buddies.  He struggled and eventually called it a day 3 ascents short of his Everest.  \ In 2022, he was back on the mountain in Snowbasin.  I knew he had recently moved his family to Orlando with his wife and two young daughters.  He and Alison split up their 29029 events between the two Snowbasin weekends that year so one of them would be home with the kids.  Alison earned her red hat at Snowbasin #1 and Chris was back for redemption at Snowbasin #2.  Again, he was charming and happy.  He dug deep and this time conquered his Everest on that mountain.   It wasn’t until months later that Chris sent me a book he had written.  When I opened the package and looked at the front cover I saw that familiar grin from the mountain……but then I saw something I didn’t expect.  Something I hadn’t realized even after watching Chris climb a total of 23 ascents up Snowbasin in the past two years.  On the front cover Chris was holding two artificial hip joints…..Just like his artificial hip joints.  Chris not one but two artificial hips!   How does a 39 year old man handle 2 hip replacement surgeries in 18 months with a wife and a small child?  How does someone come back from a major surgery and rehabilitation like that to complete multiple Ironman triathlons and climb two 29029 events….when before that being athletic but not an endurance athlete!    It’s a mindset and one that we would all benefit from.  

We all create stories in our minds.  Some of those stories take the form of wishes and dreams.....maybe hopes and visions for the future.  But let’s be honest, some of those stories aren’t fairytales.  Some of our stories that we create are rooted in fear, shame, vulnerability and served up with a healthy helping of doubt.  Some of the stories you have told yourself about yourself are so unkind you would never speak something like that to someone else.  But yet……those are the stories that seem to play the loudest on a loop in your head.....especially when you attempt something outside of your comfort zone.   Julie Traxler wanted to climb the mountain at 29029.  She wanted to wear the red hat.  She wanted to watch the brands on the ascent board add up until on Saturday, she would stand atop her Everest at Stratton Mountain Vermont.   Julie hadn’t even started to climb on Friday when the stories she was telling herself…..not the fairytale and rainbow stories…..but the shameful, hateful poisonous stories......started to play over and over in her mind.   Julie’s experience at 29029 is raw and blissfully unfiltered.  It is a story of a woman who saw the parts of herself that she hated the most reflected right back to her in the mirror that was her mountain.   The work that it takes to climb the mountains in our lives is hard.  Sure, we love to share the beautiful pictures with breathtaking landscapes and exhausted happy people wearing red hats. We all love a good ending. But to only share those images and those stories does not do justice to the journey that takes place inside the messy middle when we choose climb.  Subscribe and hear more inspiring stories from our 29029 community. Ready to find your Everest? Learn more about 29029 HERE