Trail Stories - It Is Never Too Late to Rewrite Your Story with Joe Hardin

Joe Hardin once couldn't walk 100 yards without supplemental oxygen. He was in the pulmonary wing of a hospital, dealing with pancreatitis, a collapsed lung, and a drug and alcohol problem that had been building since middle school. On December 1st, 2019, he got sober. On his first sobriety birthday, his wife suggested a gym membership. He walked on a treadmill for 30 minutes at 5 AM because he was embarrassed to exercise in public. He found a flyer for a turkey trot on the door on his way out and signed up for a 5K. He and his wife Cassie trained and ran it together. He still does that same Turkey Trot every year. Three years ago, after a couple of DNFs at the 100-mile distance, a friend told him maybe he just wasn't cut out for 100 milers: maybe he should sign up for something longer. So he signed up for the Vol State 500K. 314 miles. Tennessee in July. This episode covers the ferry gate dropping onto Tennessee soil, the decision to go nocturnal, sleeping on church porches and the back side of a VFW wall, the Bench of Despair at mile 186 (it has candy on it), the one more mile signs on Sand Mountain, and the moment Carl told him to stop and look at Tennessee and realize he'd just run across all of it. And it covers where all of it came from. The full interview with Joe drops Wednesday in two parts.