David Rutherford Show: Inside Jeff Garmire’s 45-Day Appalachian Trail Record: Pain, Fear, and Unbelievable Grit | Ep. 79
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
iHeartPodcasts
4.5 • 11.4K Ratings
🗓️ 24 November 2025
⏱️ 78 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
📍Ultra-endurance athlete Jeff Garmire joins Navy SEAL David Rutherford to break down one of the most insane physical and mental feats ever attempted — a record-setting, unsupported 2,200-mile speed run of the Appalachian Trail in 45 days, 8 hours, and 37 minutes.
Jeff reveals:
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How he quit a life path that wasn’t his
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Why depression pushed him into the wilderness
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What 20 hours a day of problem-solving does to the mind
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How starvation, sleep deprivation, and hallucinations nearly broke him
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What the AT teaches about presence, identity, and authenticity
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Why suffering is the path to true freedom
This episode blends elite performance, mental health, spiritual presence, and raw survival stories — including the day Jeff ran 32 miles with only a handful of peanuts, and how he overcame brutal setbacks to secure the record.
If you’re drawn to endurance, resilience, military mindset, or the search for purpose… this conversation is a masterclass.
Next Steps:
- 🏫 Get coaching by David Rutherford: https://www.froglogicinstitute.com/
- 📕 Get David's novel, The Poet Warrior: https://www.ballastbooks.com/ballast-bookstore/the-poet-warrior
- 📰 Sign up for David's weekly newsletter for free coaching tips, updates, and more: https://davidrutherfordletter.substack.com/
00:00 - Intro
02:42 - Problem solving on the trail
03:55 - Why Jeff started hiking the AT
07:27 - Feeling the elation of the trail
12:13 - When did you decide to pursue this grand goal of endurance?
19:09 - Finding who you are through adversity
24:45 - Technical realities of attempting the record
29:32 - Life is suffering.
43:46 - Insane stories of challenges on the AT
59:23 - Crossing the finish line, beating the record, and the lessons learned
01:10:32 - The Trevor Project
01:14:13 - What’s next and how to follow/support Jeff
Follow Clay & Buck on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/clayandbuck
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:02.3 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:03.9 | What does it take to run, walk, hike 2,200 miles in 45 days? |
| 0:12.4 | Find out today on the David Rutherford Show. |
| 0:32.9 | All right, everybody, I'm going to tell you, one of the greatest places that I've ever lived in my entire life was out in Asheville, North Carolina. |
| 0:40.2 | I love North Carolina as it is, but out in Asheville in particular. And the reason was is because of the hiking and the running trails that were there. And so when I'd come back from overseas, I'd get home |
| 0:46.4 | in my way to find that piece in my heart, in my head, post-appointment craziness, was to get out on the Appalachian Trail with my dog Zulu |
| 0:57.1 | and just go for two, three, four-hour runs and just escape out into the wilderness. |
| 1:04.1 | Well, today, my guest is a gentleman named Jeff Garmeyer. |
| 1:08.6 | And recently, he finished an unsupported southbound Appalachian Trail and set a record for 45 |
| 1:18.0 | days, 8 hours, and 37 minutes, beating the former record of Joe, my favorite string being |
| 1:25.4 | McConaughey, right, at 45 days, 12 hours and 15 minutes. |
| 1:32.1 | And he's just waiting on the faster known time organization to set the trail record for this |
| 1:38.4 | incredible feat. |
| 1:39.3 | So without further ado, I'm so honored to welcome ultra-endurance athlete Jeff Garmeier to the show. |
| 1:48.3 | Thank you, Jeff, for coming on. |
| 1:50.3 | Yeah, thanks for having me. |
| 1:51.9 | I'm glad you've experienced the trail as well on your runs. |
| 1:55.2 | It's a pretty rugged trail out there, isn't it? |
| 1:58.0 | You know what? |
| 1:58.9 | I used to think like, all right, I'm going to crush this. At that time, |
| 2:03.2 | I was doing long runs in Florida where I live. We moved up to North Carolina and I swear to |
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