Amanda Basham on Balancing Elite Running with a Real Life

For The Long Run: Exploring the Why Behind Running

Sometimes the hardest race isn't 100 miles through the mountains - it's figuring out who you are when everything in your life changes.

Amanda is a professional trail runner and endurance coach with a Bachelor of Science degree from Oregon State University. She has coached endurance athletes for 10 years in everything from 5k - 200 miles. She is an Oregonian originally and now lives and trains in Colorado.

Amanda ran collegiately for a couple years and then got into road marathons. It wasn’t until 2014 that she discovered trail running after an injury from pounding the pavement. Amanda was instantly hooked and jumped into the ultra scene. She’s very competitive so she made it a goal to become an elite trail runner. She accomplished that goal in 2015 and won the 50 mile USATF Trail Championships as her first race as a professional. After that, she traveled the world and raced as many of the top trail races as she could, including Western States 100, UTMB, CCC, Tarawera and Ultra Trail Capetown.

Jon chats with Amanda about:

• Struggling with imposter syndrome as a professional runner

• Sports psychology work

• Moving from ultra volume to speed work and shorter distances

• Balancing professional obligations with family life

• Redefining success and moving beyond performance metrics

Stay connected:

Follow Amanda:

https://www.instagram.com/amanda_basham/

Amanda’s Website:

https://www.amandabasham.com/

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