Mez Kennedy & the Ultra Trail Cape Town 100K [UTCT] ft. Dana Daniels

In episode 13 of the PRP, Adam gets international and connects with seasoned runner and veteran trail trotter Mez Kennedy who has been preparing for the Ultra Trail Cape Town 100K [UTCT] on November 27th, 2021. Mez shares the tale of his innate relationship with running that he has spent years cultivating one small incremental step at a time. From running because his body (and belly) began to change in his early 30's to running ultra marathons, he hasn't put any pressure on himself to go big or go home. He simply gets out the door as often as he can and has let his love for the sport grow organically. Although he is now and avid ultra marathoner, that is not how Mez's story began, nor is it how he ever imagined it unfolding. Before his love affair with the sport began, he can remember thinking to himself how insane he thought people who ran marathons were. Funny how life unfolds, isn't it? Mez also shares his keen outlook on what it means to be an ultra runner, sacrificing some of his pace related goals for a more holistic and endurance-based approach to the sport. Mez then provides some key insight into why his career as a property consultant enables him to have an ideal work/life balance which is an important factor is his overall wellness as a human being. Because he has the ability to work when he wants, he can fit his training runs in whenever they are most convenient for his schedule which has really allowed him to blossom as a runner over the past few years.

Dana Daniels, fellow runner, active yogi and one of Mez's most loyal training partners joins the show as guest host and offers up her story of how she fell in love with running. From quitting smoking, to an occasional walk around the block turned jog around the block, to local recreational races, to the Comrades Marathon (which is actually 87K) she has come to full heartedly embrace the empowerment that endurance-based movement provides her with. Dana shares the story of how the two first connected and gives the PRP listenership the inside scoop on Mez's post race fueling routine. What does Mez like to sip of after a long, hard, steep training run?!

Mez gets vulnerable and shares some of the struggles he has been forced to juggle over the past year. From catching and recovering from COVID in June of '21, to a frustratingly perpetual injury that he has had to seek alternative support on, to working to solve his seemingly ceaseless race nutrition issues, Mez is an ideal example of how working to improve yourself as an endurance athlete is a never ending and constantly revolving process. In classic PRP form, the three take a deep dive into the world of Strava and Mez shares his mantra for the app, "If it's not on Strava, it didn't happen."

How many times will the Zoom call drop on this international assembly of like minded runners? What is the Comrades Marathon and why is it so important to the culture and people of South Africa? Why should YOU consider signing up for the UTCT at some point in your life? Answers to all of these questions and oh so much more on this ultra-international episode of the PRP.

Recorded November 22nd @ 11:00AM EST