Oh gosh, it's so weird. I don't know what 30 years are something like that. We've been in this sport and how identify the runner is still shifting and changing and I'm still able to get out there but it looks a little different every year. Welcome to the trailhead of Trail Runner Nation, where we go on virtual trail runs every single week with guests that are going to help us become better runners, faster runners, more healthy athletes, and maybe that'll translate into being better human beings. Today, we're discussing aging as an athlete And if you plan on having a birthday, you're part of us aging as an athlete. Darcy PQ is on the podcast today and we're talking about everything trail. Have you ever noticed how the trail just clears things up? Totally done. Somewhere between that climb and the descent, life just gets simpler, right? And hopefully we learn something. That's when the lessons show up. And that's exactly why we're launching something new with Tafosi Optics called Clarity on the Trail. What this means is we want you to participate. We want your golden nugget, one lesson, one mindset shift, one simple truth that has made you a better runner. And maybe even a better person, Scott wore. Well, with Tophosi, at least makes you better looking. Keep it to 140 characters. Share us your lesson posted on Instagram and tag Tophosi Optics and Trail Runner Nation and use the hashtag ClarityOnTheTrail. Each week we'll choose one submission. Read it right here on the podcast. And that runner not only gets the fame and the kudos for such a great golden nugget, but they also will get a free brand new pair of to Fosi's latest model that just launched this week, the Sanctum SL. Those are good looking lenses because clear lenses lead to a clear vision. Clear vision leads to confident movement and clear minds lead to better performance. Check out Tafosioptics.com and check our deals tab at trailrunnernation.com for is Don Freeman. I'm Chrissy Male. And I'm Scott War. And Chrissy is back. And why would she come back? Because we're doing another episode of aging as an athlete. If you haven't listened to any of the previous episodes, please go back. Just Google, TrailRunnerNation, aging as an athlete. There's been, I think Chrissy, I can't remember. Maybe this is the ninth episode. We're up there. We should know that number's got to be. I think we originally started with the idea of doing like three or four, and it's just been, you know, a lot of fun to produce them, and the listeners have really liked it, so we're continuing. Today we have Darcy PQ, and she's a veteran elite ultra-trail runner with more than two decades in the sport, including podium finishes at some of the world's toughest races like Hard Rock and Leadville, which gives her a rare lived perspective on staying competitive over the long haul. She's also a licensed therapist and a mental performance coach who specializes in working

with athletes helping them navigate identity, resilience, and the middle skills needed

to train, adapt, and thrive as their bodies and lives evolve, or age, right? That's why aging is an athlete. That combined with long-term performance and clinical expertise makes her perfect to be on this episode of aging as an athlete. Chrissy, you invite all the guests for this mini series. Why did you invite Darcy? Oh, man, she like embodies this whole piece. Darcy and I came up in the sport around the same time and have had conversations about this on the trail. So this is probably like a redo for us, but it'll be really cool to get to share here with the travel Indonesian audience. And a big piece for it for me is coming up as a woman in my 20s. Now I'm in my 40s and all the women that were in their 40s when I got into the sport started in their 40s. They didn't have 20 years of having competed and run these long, long distances.

And so I'm just really curious.

Like, what does it look like?

And we're Darcy and I and a whole list

that I just keep kind of going through in my brain.

It feels like we're on the front end of that.

And that's why I want to just talk with somebody

that's been right through it with me.

So Darcy, you've actually been there.

You've been high performing for decades now

and competing at a high level and working with athletes

in your private therapy practice.

As you look or think about longevity,

what's the biggest difference between athletes

who are still thriving years later? What is the magic juice that they have? Yeah. The magic juice for people who are still thriving, you know, sort of, are you saying sort of into their 40s and 50s? Yeah, or beyond. Yeah. I don't know if, yeah, I don't know if there is necessarily a magic juice. I think, you know, it's interesting. Like Chrissy said, when we entered into the sport, the women who are winning at the time were 40 and maybe above. So the sport now has just gotten so much younger, I would say. You know, I don't, again, I don't know if there really is a magic sort of, there is no magic pill or magic bullet to staying in this board. I think it's all about self-care. And I think like as you age, so does your training and like how you train that shifts and changes as your body changes. So I think it's important to just listen to that and listen to the signs that your body is telling you. Things like, you know, you've probably talked a lot about this, but like strength training and like things that I got away with not doing when I was much younger. Now I sort of have to do all of those things. And yeah, I mean, I think that's such a huge topic. I don't think there isn't one specific thing that you could do to stay in it. I wasn't a collegiate or high school runner. And so I think for me that was helpful, but I still don't have any cartilage in my left and my knees now. So I'm not sure what that says. I'm curious, Darcy, you talked a lot about the physical aspects of aging as an athlete. How important is the mental aspect? Is there a mental aspect to being able to get out there and train and enjoy and compete mentally? Yeah, I mean, I think there has to be like a level of acceptance, right, that happens as you get older. The acceptance of, oh, I can't, like, I can still tow the line. I can still sign up for races, but I also have to accept that I'm not going to be maybe as competitive as I I want to be and I definitely can't be as competitive as I used to be.

But I can still get out there and enjoy myself and love the sport, but it's going to look different. And so I think you have to at some point, right, like make peace with.

And I think that looks different for everyone, but you have to make peace with

like what that is for you as you age. And I know it's probably different for men and women. Women sort of have also, you know, we don't need to necessarily go down the whole menopause pathway. But you know, that's taken them down at any time. There's so much that the changes in our bodies. So, right, and then there's a whole mental component to it. So, absolutely, I've always said, I mean, the mental component is so important from start to finish, right? Even when you're a younger athlete, racing and training. You know, this thought went through my head when we were discussing, is there a magic pill and what's the secret? And I thought, if you wanna go long for a long distance run, one of the things you have to do is pace yourself. You just don't wanna go out there and start out too fast. You're going to end up,

you know, in a bad spot before you hit your finish line. And then I started wondering, well, you know, maybe it's the same thing with aging. You can't do it all at once. You've got to look at the long term. You've got to do some fitness training, some strength training, some cross training. Do some things. you're just not always out there hammering, hammering,

handing, hammering, because you might not make it to the end.

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