Ep. 23: Matt Johnson - Running Across Texas for Veterans
In Pursuit
MeatEater
4.9 • 6.8K Ratings
🗓️ 15 January 2026
⏱️ 95 minutes
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Summary
On this episode of In Pursuit, Rich Froning sits down with Matt Johnson for a raw, wide-ranging conversation about purpose, pain, faith, and the power of fitness to change lives.
Matt opens up about his journey from a turbulent childhood and military service to discovering endurance sports as a lifeline. What starts with running becomes a calling—one that leads him to ultra-endurance feats, running across Texas, and raising significant funds for veterans through Valor Fit. Along the way, Matt shares the realities of trauma, failure, marriage, identity loss, and near-breaking points—and how faith, community, and fitness pulled him back.
Rich and Matt dig into what it really means to prepare for life when the stakes are real: learning from failure, stewarding influence responsibly, using fitness as a gateway to community, and serving something bigger than yourself. This episode isn’t just about running far—it’s about running toward purpose, choosing discipline over isolation, and changing the trajectory of entire families by bringing veterans back into community.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an IHeart podcast. |
| 0:21.8 | Guaranteed Human. Guys and gals, it's like we need to get them in, you know, into the fitness community. Number one, for me, I chose ValorFit because fitness changed my life. If I would have never started running, I would have never, it would have never led me exactly where, you know, I believe that God gives you, you have a choice choice are you going to do this or are going to do this and i chose to run and fitness led me to where i am |
| 0:26.4 | today and i'm like if i can get back to valor fit who puts a veteran in the gym and then they |
| 0:31.5 | the same thing happens to them that happens to me and it changes the trajectory of their |
| 0:35.3 | entire family's life, my mission is complete. |
| 0:41.4 | Out here, the stakes are real. Effective preparation starts with fitness, but it requires so much more. |
| 0:49.5 | This show explores the tools, knowledge, resilience, and skills needed to be ready when it matters the most. |
| 0:56.6 | Join me, Rich Broning, as we apply the decades of wisdom I have gained through training and |
| 1:01.6 | competition to hunting in the backcountry. This is In Pursuit. |
| 1:08.3 | Brought to you by Mountain Ops. |
| 1:12.4 | In collaboration with Mayhem Hunt. |
| 1:15.3 | In Pursuit, birds back. |
| 1:17.7 | You've not been here for the last three or four, right? |
| 1:20.4 | Scott, Scott has been in the big show. |
| 1:22.8 | I've been here just doing other things. |
| 1:24.6 | Been here doing other things. |
| 1:25.6 | We've got Matt Johnson. |
| 1:29.0 | Matt or Matthew? You introduce yourself as matthew in the coffee yeah i do i introduced myself as matthew to everybody |
| 1:34.2 | um i don't know why that was kind of a thing um my name is matthew there you go on on on on |
| 1:41.8 | on instagram it's matt okay that, I was about saying Matt. |
| 1:44.8 | Amanda don't even call me by my name. |
| 1:46.1 | Amanda calls me MJ. |
... |
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