Dylan Bowman: y O up, how is it going, everyone? I hope all is great in your world. I hope you are all having incredible summers filled with fun and adventure, wherever this podcast finds you as always. I so appreciate you being here for another episode. That was just an absolute joy to record today. I, again, host my good friend, Mr. Timothy Olson for his second appearance on the podcast. Timothy appeared on the show for the first time back in may, just before setting off on a fastest known time speed record attempt on the Pacific crest trail. And as I'm sure most of you know, by now Timothy was successful in achieving this mission. He did manage to establish a new Ft on the 2,600 mile P C T traveling from Mexico to Canada in just an astonishing time of 51 days, 16 hours and 55 minutes wrapping things up just a couple of weeks ago.

Dylan Bowman: I was very fortunate to spend a single day of his 51 day mission out on the trail with Tim as he passed through the Eastern Sierra, as I was training in mammoth, as I got ready for hard rock. And wow, was it an amazing thing to behold? Tim is such a special dude and I am so excited. I got him back on the show so that we could all hear a little bit more about his journey and its immediate aftermath, which as you'll hear, has not been especially easy, which I guess is unsurprising. Uh, but thank you so much to Tim for coming back on the show. I hope you guys really enjoy this episode and before we get to it, I wanted to just quickly share a bit of personal news with you all the wonderful loyal listeners of this show, who I love so much.

Dylan Bowman: And that is that a couple of months ago, I had a conversation with my boss from my day job, uh, to let him know that I was ready to start transitioning out of the role that I've held for the past nine years at a company that I have loved working for in order to focus a hundred percent of my efforts on what we're trying to build here at pillars over the past several months, it has just become abundantly clear to me that this is where my passion is, and this is where I wanna spend my time. And this is where I believe I can have the biggest impact in the next chapter of my professional career. He and I, my boss and I talked about it again last week and we've determined that my last day at work is going to be October 1st coming up very soon.

Dylan Bowman: So basically I just wanted to let you all know that I am all in on this and this is it for me. And while leaving my job is scary and definitely gives me some deep feelings of insecurity. I'm also incredibly confident that this is the right move for me and the right thing for me to do right now with where I am in my life, in my professional career and with what we're trying to build here at pillars. Um, you know, and so I really do feel that I am letting go of the side of the swimming pool, so to speak and floating into the deep end into uncharted waters. As we try to turn this little company into a real viable business that does good in the world, and that makes a difference in our sport. And at the same time, the producer of this show, my partner and everything that we do here, Mr.

Dylan Bowman: Ryan thrower, he has also left his job to focus on pillars full time, which I just appreciate so much. He is similarly all in. We are committed to this mission to help push trail running forward. And while we're still in the early innings of what I hope is gonna be a long, incredible road for our business, uh, and what we want to do within this sport and within our community. What I hope is clear to you, all who listen to the show and who care about what we're doing is that we are trying that we are trying really hard every day to make a difference and to help people of all abilities and of all experience levels, get as much out of their participation in the sport as we have. And we do get a huge, an immense amount of joy and purpose out of what we're doing right now.

Dylan Bowman: But at the same time, we need your support if we are to realistically do this long term. And as you know, as I'm sure, you know, at this point, we do have a training app for trail runners, where for only $10 a month, you can get incredible guidance in your journey. In this sport. It's a growing wonderful community that allows us all to learn from each other. We think it's a great value for the members, and we think it's a unique and much more affordable, alternative to one on one coaching that can help you be successful in this sport at a price that we hope is accessible to almost everyone. And as I've said on the podcast many times, for those who can't afford it, but do want that guidance. We happily give away free subscriptions to help democratize this information and the support and help as many people as we possibly can.

Dylan Bowman: And we really are excited about the app and how it's evolved, and we have big plans for it in the future, but I've also received many messages from people who wanna support the show, wanna support what we're doing, but who don't feel the need for the app or similarly, people who want to support what we're doing, but at a level below the $10 a month price tag that the app entails. So today after some internal deliberations and given the circumstances of our professional transitions, we've decided to start a Patreon account. So basically this long introduction to today's episode is a call for support. We've set the Patreon price tag at $2 a month. We plan to start doing some bonus podcasts and some live live chats with Patreon supporters and app subscribers. As we start to chart this path forward as a company, but for those listening now, for those who value and appreciate what we do, we need you, we need you now.

Dylan Bowman: And without sounding overly desperate, your support is the only way that we're gonna continue doing this stuff long term. And if it doesn't work out, if a year or two years from now, I just don't see a path forward for us to be a real business. At least I'll know that we tried and that we tried together, that you tried with us and we'll just go back and find jobs again and we'll fold the tent, but for now we're doing it. We're trying, and we need your support. And while I in intend to always keep this main podcast feed free for as long as it exists, my hope is that there's many of you out there who find it valuable. And there's many of you that I'd hope would potentially pay $2 a month if it weren't free. So if you feel like one of those people, I am humbly asking for your support right now, please go to the link to our Patreon page in the show notes here in this episode, and become a supporter.

Dylan Bowman: Please join our mission to try and change the world through the miraculous sport of trail running. And if you ever feel like we've betrayed that mission, or like you're no longer receiving $2 a month worth of value out of our content out of what we're trying to produce by all means, cancel your subscription. But for those of you who value what we do and cons spare, please consider either becoming an app subscriber for $10 a month or a Patreon supporter for $2 a month. That's it, that's my passion call for support. We need you guys, if we can do this and you have my, my word that we will continue to be a hundred percent focused, a hundred percent committed to earning your time and attention and support with everything that we do here. And for those who do click the link and become supporters, know how much I love and appreciate you for joining the team, it really does mean a lot and we really, really do appreciate it. Okay. Um, with this show, please welcome the new P CT record holder, the Mirage Mr. Timothy Olson, returning to the program, my brother, Timothy Allen Olson here, recovering from the most inspiring performance potentially that I have ever witnessed. Personally, I got to spend a day with you out on the trail, but of course, Timothy, just returning home after completing the entirety of the Pacific crest trail in record time finishing how many days ago, Tim?

Timothy Olson: Gosh, a little over two weeks ago. So, uh, yeah. Yeah. I it's crazy that two weeks have passed. Cause it feels like it's been years ago and it feels like I just finished. So it's, it's a very weird feeling right now.

Dylan Bowman: Yeah. Well, well dude, thank you so much for coming on. I would have. So been looking forward to this and honestly I like felt a little nervous about this just because having witnessed your effort at least for one day. I mean, dude, it was a thing to behold, like you have a presence about you. That is special, dude. It's really special. And we will go into that here in a little bit, but honestly, man, I'm honored that you had come on and share the story with us. And you know, as we talked about last time, we're we're long time friends, we've both been in the sport a long time. We've both been through our highs and lows and this must feel like the biggest high of all time. Is that how you're feeling right now?

Timothy Olson: Yeah, man. Um, so first of all, thank you for having me back on the show, stoked to be here and thank you for joining me on, uh, you know, a little bit of the P C T it was such a highlight to have you there. Um, yeah. And I'm still fully in it. It's, it's been, you know, a couple weeks, but it's just been such, such a process to like, to integrate into, to integrate back into normal life man, like yeah. To like going from that, I mean just even think two weeks ago. So I finished it, you know, ran the 30 miles back because Canada wasn't open. So, you know, good little, little fluff, little bonus, little

Dylan Bowman: Cool down a little cool down.

Timothy Olson: Yeah. A little cool down. So, you know, I, I make my way back and then, uh, and then we get into the RV and then start heading back to Colorado. And so, you know, I got one night's sleep or, you know, some sleep, we started going back and such a surreal feeling like it was what I worked for the whole time of like, I just wanted to be with my family, you know, in the car, singing a song, eating some, some crappy food and like rejoicing that like we did this and um, yeah, uh, pretty much unscathed. Like I could have. Yeah. I could have been in much darker place. I so many, so many things could have went, went wrong. So it's just like just giving thanks that we all came together and that we finished it. And then it's just like, and then it clicks in, it was like the next day where all of a sudden my body is like shutting down and I'm like, oh yeah, it's not done yet. It's just like, I still, I like, I, I shared this the other day, but it's like, I, how I, what I've taught my kids numerous times when they're climbing up, uh, a rock face or something like, if you gotta, if you're gonna climb up,

Dylan Bowman: You gotta come down,

Timothy Olson: You gotta come down. Yeah. And so like, yeah, man, I, I was on a high, like, it was awesome that we were done, but like with all good things like that, you gotta come back to reality. And it was like a big, big reality check of like, I can't move. Like I, my, it was, it was really challenging, but my like legs basically stopping like that. I, I explain it like this too, of like, you know, doing 50 miles a day, nonstop, sleeping a couple hours, getting up, rubbing your legs a little bit and going again. Uh, it was like a car crash. Like I just instantly stopped really. And so

Dylan Bowman: It was almost like your brain understood that the mission was accomplished and it was over and it set the signal to your body that, okay, you're off the hook now.

Timothy Olson: I, I think a little bit, I think even the couple days beforehand, I would think like, you know, I told myself 50 days for this and now I was joking with coop. Like, you know, we're at 51 days and some hours right now. And like, my body is like, I told it 50 days. And so , it was like, you know, like my, my cast was doing all kinds of things and shutting down, like prior to the finish and then having to get back and yeah, it was wild.

Dylan Bowman: Wow dude. Oh my God. So before we go into the effort itself a little bit, I'd love to sort of stay on this immediate aftermath subject for a bit. Obviously there must have been an incredible feeling of elation and accomplishment and probably relief to be done. was there, was there any in the last, like two weeks moments where maybe there was a little sort of like mourning, you know, like that it is over that it is behind you and even though it was phenomenally successful, this thing that you've been thinking about since the birth of your career, as we talked about on our last podcast is now behind you. You know, as you mentioned before, we hit record here, the Olympics are going on and there's the phenomenon that Olympic athletes deal with when they've been thinking about this goal forever. And whether it goes well and you win a gold medal, or you have a huge disappointment, it's often the case that athletes kind of go through this morning period after these big, huge, um, you know, career changing endeavors. Have you found that to be the case in the last two weeks?

Timothy Olson: Maybe a little bit. I feel like, I mean, I do feel in a sense that like, I, I got that gold medal. Like I like, I even more, so man, like this, I don't know how long it's gonna take for this to sink in, man. Like you, you get to see a day of it. And like, I, it is more so like I witnessed it like happening, like where I was watching myself do this and in just disbelief, like just incredible to get to those, like those last 10 days, I literally had no clue each morning how I got up and like kept going. And, and that I would do 50 to 60 miles. I was doing some 60 mile days there at the end where just I would get done with the day and just like lay on the ground in disbelief. Like how, how did that just occur? How did I, I do that. This is so outta body. This is so like, you know, when people are, when, you know, an athlete is in the zone and like,

Dylan Bowman: Yeah.

Timothy Olson: You know, putting up stats like Michael Jordan, like when he is sick and still doing game, whatever and stuff, I just felt like in this place where like, this is, you

Dylan Bowman: Couldn't be stopped, dude. Like I said, I try

Dylan Bowman: You, you had something going on, man. Like, honestly, it was a presence. As I said, when I spent that day with you, man, you could feel it in the air, your determination and just your spirit man. It's a, it was such an amazing thing to behold. And I'm sure the people who are with you for the entirety of this 50 day mission probably got to see the, the really dark moments. But man, I mean, you were in the zone, it was like Michael Jordan's flu game for 50 days. It seemed like for the outside observers,

Timothy Olson: I, I like, I both a little sick, like with like five days to go, I had like, I was having these cold sweats in the middle of the day and like wanted to sleep. And I was just so worried I was getting sick or what was going on. And I just, the whole time I was just, I was purifying. I was purging out what didn't serve me and somehow continuing to go on like that, that day I, um, I went over, like I was, I was free freezing. It was still, you know, a nice day out there, but I was like having these cold sweats where I was like, um, sweating, getting cold. I wanted to sit like lay down. I like laid down for 10 minutes and like was gonna fall asleep. And I was just like, I, I can't, I, I, I, I, I knew it wasn't, it wasn't safe, like where I was, I just couldn't just start laying down there.

Timothy Olson: I didn't have enough clothes, enough stuff with me that I knew I needed to continue on. And it was just these different moments where I don't know how, um, I can yeah. How I kept going and that my body like responded to everything I asked for. And not always, like in the time it was just like, it was just these continual lessons of like being patient and like just, you know, asking the body for more listening to it and being okay. Okay. It might take, you know, a few hours longer than I was thinking, but like, my body is still doing everything I'm asking and more, um, and like back to the recovery too. I wanna like, I, I do wanna share a little bit more about that because, um, it was, it was definitely a huge part of it of, and, or just, it was a big shock for me of coming into this and like, so my legs like went into these spasms where like every muscle like fired up, like, like when you go into a cramp and wouldn't let go. And so like, I,

Dylan Bowman: So this is, this is after you finished, like right after you

Timothy Olson: Finished a co no. A couple days. Yeah. So it was like, I felt kind of good. And even like the first day we, we had the RV and, and um, I wasn't driving. So like I moved up to get some food and like, just like felt, you know, we were like singing songs with the boys and like, you know, pretty high spirits and, and whatnot. And, and then it it's just like, you know, I was super tired and sleeping a little bit, but then the next day waking up and like trying to go to the bathroom and everything cramping in my legs. When I sat down on the toilet and going into just complete spasm I was like, I mean, the most hilarious thing, if I wasn't like crying while it was going on, because I was in so much pain. It was,

Dylan Bowman: You go from just the, the biggest high of your entire life to sitting on the toilet in total spas, feeling like

Timothy Olson: To not being able to actually take a shit, go,

Dylan Bowman: My God.

Timothy Olson: It was, yeah. From, from complete high to low, it, like, that's the whole journey. It kind of sums it up right there of like, you have elation singing with your boys, you know, everything accomplished. And then next thing you know, you can't walk and not just that you can't walk like that. Would've been nice. Just everything was spasming and yeah. So painful when we got home here. So I was like in, I was laying down in an RV. I could not like, sit. I tried to like sit up in the passenger spot, then like buckle up. And, um, everything went into spasm. I couldn't, I couldn't do that. Wow. And so then I had to lay down and then that took days. So I was like in the RV, we eventually got back to Colorado. The walk from my RV to the home was like one of the most excruciating, like when my calf was really messed up, um, getting closer to Oregon, that was like, I thought the most pain I've ever had in my life.

Timothy Olson: And I still think that that was like the most pain, cuz it was like, every step was excruciating, but in an intensity, like this was like, I felt like I was being tortured. I like it. Like, it was so much pain and I couldn't walk. I like the walk from my, the RV to inside to like I was trying to get to a bed and I couldn't even get to a bed. I had to lay down on the couch there. And that was like, I just sat there and, and cried for a, like, it was so much wow pain. It was um, yeah. And then like, you know, sit there, I'm trying to breathe. And like just having to surrender so much to the moment, cuz like any movement was just so much pain. So I try to like sit with their breath with it and breathing like wasn't working to let the muscles wouldn't let go. They just stood there, like cling and uh, shoot. But I'm

Dylan Bowman: Just like, just like the run you gotta just yeah. Endure that, that pain let the acute healing happen. And eventually the body comes back around, man. You look good. Just looking at you through zoom right now. Like man, it feels like you could put in a 50 mile day today. yeah. So let's talk, I'm sitting across,

Timothy Olson: I'm sitting crosslegged right now, which is pretty impressive today. This morning was the first time I did exercise and exercise. I meaning I walked, my son rode, rode their bike. I walked and my, my pregnant wife walked with me and who's like, you know, a couple weeks from giving birth and she is walking faster than me. My kids are like, come on dad. And I'm like, I'm just hobbling. And I'm two weeks out. Like this is I'm, I'm like post hundred mile race a and like two weeks out from this. Yeah. So I mean like at least I had something to compare it with, but then it was also that thing, like, no one's done what I've done that like, I was a little nervous of like, what is all happening in my

Dylan Bowman: Body? What happens?

Timothy Olson: What's gonna keep happening. Like when I was going into like those spasms, I was like, is this gonna keep happening up my body? Is this, where is this gonna end? Is this, where is this gonna end? yeah.

Dylan Bowman: Well, I'm glad to hear that there's been some progress and that you got that nice little walk in with your family. And that's one of the things I want to talk about here eventually is just that family vibe. And just that part of the story is also so special. And the fact that your two infant sons are gonna be able to tell this story for the rest of their lives and carry this memory with them. It's such a beautiful thing and that your baby girl who's coming any day now is also gonna have this story, um, you know, to, to tell for her whole life. So we'll get to that eventually, but let's talk a little bit about the effort itself. And honestly, I don't know the best direction to go with this because it's such a long thing and I don't want to make you sort of like talk about every single step of the 5,700 miles.

Dylan Bowman: Yeah. So, so I, I figure what we do is maybe just kind of like keep it high level, allow you to share any sort of highlights or low lights. And I figure, it's sort of like, if you think about the P C T you can kind of break it up into four pieces, Southern California, Northern California, Oregon, and Washington. And I know, you know, from the start it's difficult, right. Even though the terrain is probably a little bit more, uh, you know, faster quote unquote, it's a lot as you compare it to the Sierra and then north cascades and things like that. It's super hot. And so I wondered, you know, if you wanted to share anything about that section in Southern California, what it was like to just kind of get started and get your body used to putting in 50 mile days back to back to back in the heat of Southern California. Were there any moments of doubt early on in the expedition or were you, uh, clicking on all cylinders from the start?

Timothy Olson: Yeah, I so, so much involved with this. I, I guess that's why I keep looking forward to sharing more and uh, I, I think we're gonna have a movie come out with it, so which will kind of highlight it's, you know, how do you like put together 51 days in a short way in any, any sense? And it is, um, yeah, I,

Dylan Bowman: We need like one of those MJ documentaries, you know, we need like a 10 part, 10 hour documentary about this, at least pass that to pass that to the creative people, making the movie

Timothy Olson: We'll do will do. Um, I mean, I definitely, they have a lot of good material to work with. I think that's, what's gonna be really entertaining as we keep, as this keeps progressing, is that like, I did have a camera on my face that whole time and where I was really frustrating at certain points of like really struggling and have a camera there. Gosh. Now when we get to look back on this and just even, I mean, talk, talk about like, you know, whole movie to the next level of like, you know, just, you know, having your boys and going on a little family, you know, holiday or whatnot. Um, but this is yeah, a little bit different. There was some business involved and yeah. Um, just to start off, I, I think I mentioned to this, to you on the trail, but like the first day was, was magical where I just like, it just started really beautifully with having the family of just being able to, you know, to be there and, and set the intention for it.

Timothy Olson: Kind of, you know, say a prayer to the, the land and ask permission to like, to, to go on this journey where so many people have traveled and so many people have, have been a part of the trail and, um, just taking care of the, the land. It wasn't just, you know, so many people have moved from Mexico to Canada and have taken that journey and much harder than I did it as I did it supported and, uh, with an RV, um, it's really mind boggling to think of, you know, people moving through this area, you know, whether on foot or horse or whatever, and, and exploring and seeing these places. And, and definitely for me going through the whole process, um, JB Bena mentioned this when he was running with me, um, on one little section, but just, you know, you, you may never see this section of land again, I in your whole life.

Timothy Olson: And, um, you know, I'll, I'll run sections of P CT. Again, maybe we'll hike it as a family. You, you just never know what, what the P C T has in store for us in the future. But as of right now, you know, I did the whole thing covering every step of that and getting to see it all. And for me, I'm a very visceral person of really feeling the place where I looked at maps and watched videos and, you know, had an idea of this, but like when you really live and breathe it and, and just experience it for all it's, it's majesty, it just is incredible to be in some of these places where like, yeah, I'll, I'll never be here again and see it as it is. And, and trying to take that in, in the, in the midst of trying to do a huge, you know, athletic endeavor, but also, you know, trying to be there with a family and do that and, and doing it in a fast way.

Timothy Olson: But in a, for me, um, was the only way I wanted to do it. I wanted to do it the way I, I did and feel really content with doing it supported with, um, the, how fast I did it of like still enjoying the trail. I remember every bit of the trail. I, people always, you know, ask me if I will remember it, or, you know, did I move too quickly to take it all in? And no, the answer is no, man. I like, I, I soak this trail in with everything it's worth and, you know, it's just even the beginning of, of the heat heat, and actually runnable sections. Like, you know, I remember running through those sections and actually moving and, and, and just, you know, dying in the a hundred plus degree heat. But, uh, towards the end, like wanting that, I was like, bring me on a hundred degree weather and yeah, nice, smooth, single track, cuz my feet were just so, you know, it just, it just keeps compounding.

Timothy Olson: Yeah. Every single single day it's like, you know, things kinda heal, like things did heal amazingly, but it's just like something pops up. It's just, you know, the whackamole game where it just every moment, something new pops up and that's kind of the reminder of yourself, like, okay, this really hurts. And this is bothering me right now, but that will go away. Or just even the heat. Like I just always knew to take things a little bit more chill in the heat of the day, because I knew that that little section from, you know, maybe noon to four, but just even one to like one to three, one to four was such a hard section. I wanted to like always take a nap during that section. It was so hot. Um, it always seemed to be exposed. It's just, you know, so

Dylan Bowman: You just take it a little easier and, and try and cover miles a little bit more quickly early in the day and late in the day.

Timothy Olson: Totally. And you just learn how to deal like with your body and accept it as it is. I remember towards the end where I just, you know, it's, it's comical, how slow I move in the morning of like, you know, getting up outta my, and like, like all of a sudden realizing, okay, I'm awake. Oh, damn. It's like, oh man, like nothing changed. I still have to do this. Um, it wasn't just a dream. And so like, you know, it's like, okay. I normally started with working on my legs for a couple seconds working on my feet. My feet hurt so much. So whether I was getting out of the RV or getting out of the, like my little B on the ground. Yeah. I was just, I was so sore. And like just in this mindset of like, I like just shell shocked of like, I don't wanna do it again. I can't go out there and do that again. Yeah. And then like having that, you know, that, that first thought of like, I don't wanna do this. And then like instantly like bringing it to my breath, putting that away and like, no, like I'm doing this and like sitting up like,

Dylan Bowman: Dude, you're a Stu stubborn, tough mofo, bro. Like, I'm sure people have told you this before, but my God, man, just the one day that I spent with you, like, I've been thinking about it ever since. Like, it was a seriously like special day for me, man. So let's talk about the Sierra because you know, this is the, this is the, the part that I got to experience with you just for one day, one of the 51 days that you were out there. And like I said, it was an incredibly special day, but it was clear to me when I found you in the middle of nowhere in the Sierra that you were hurting, man, like you were, you were hurting. And of course, like

Timothy Olson: I, like I climb all of a sudden, I see you. And I'm like, Hey Dylan. I'm like, I dunno what Dylan was coming outta here. Yeah. Yeah. That was

Dylan Bowman: Awesome. Um, so, but I think this section was particularly tough for you. Like I think you were kind of behind the pace at this point, you had the bare box on your back. You were on your own for days on end meaning because, because the, that section of the P CT is so remote, there was not opportunity to finish at the RV to sleep, you know, comfortably with your family. You were out there alone with a burden on your back and, and likely, I think you were falling off the pace a little bit there. Talk about the, the Sierra section and uh, yeah, just like what, I don't know. Just what, what do you remember from that section? What was important about it? Did you ever, I don't know, have, have those doubts as you sort of felt like you were maybe fallen behind or whatever. Yeah. And you saw it so far to go at that point.

Timothy Olson: Yeah. I, I think that being one of the things that I kept, you know, that little nugget of like that there's so much more to go and I kind of held onto that with all, all of its strength through that section, because I did move a little bit slower, slower than I wanted to. I don't think I was off pace. I think I was still ahead of him. Um, by a little bit, I went into the Sears where I did was just how it worked out. I did a 25 mile day and stopped right at, uh, that red, uh, thing I'm blanking on it, red Meadows, right before going

Dylan Bowman: That that's where I, I, I took you to Red's meadow and then you kept me red. You, you kept going.

Timothy Olson: Yeah. But prior to that, um, right, as you entered the Sierras, like, and there's not a lot of access for my crew. Um, I would've had to do like a 70 mile day or something to get where I wanted to. So I wa like I did a 25 mile day, had a nice, like sleep with my crew. And then we kinda like, we went into like getting ready for the Sierras mode of like packing my, my bag and getting that ready and then kind of just game plan of, you know, next four days or by myself. And then, um, then I'll meet up with the crew as we get to red Meadows. And so kind of just like, it's something that I probably could have game planned a little bit more going into is one of those things where I didn't have that as dialed in of like, you know, knowing what I wanted for my sleep gear completely.

Timothy Olson: And, and, you know, I think about those things and I could have been more prepared, but like you just had to, you had to be just in the moment. And I needed to decide there, like with the weather, with everything, what I needed to bring weight wise and stuff. And so that just took a little extra time and, um, we decided to do a short day and then the next day was a 45 mile day too, where crew could get, get to me. Oh. Um, so I went, did that and were they, I didn't have to hike with my huge pack that whole time. I still had to carry, you know, enough for 45 miles stretch, but I didn't have to do the bare box for that a little bit. And so then I met up with them, got the bear box, got everything else, and then went and slept for a night.

Timothy Olson: We did like an extra five miles got in like 50 miles that day slept. And the next day, you know, by myself with the bare box, all the stuff and, and those days yeah, went slower. It's just, you know, you're going up past foresters past. So you're at over 13,000 feet, um, rockier terrain. Yeah. And you just came from the Sierra. So my feet were pretty beat up with blisters and it was, it was a hard shoe shoe choice too, where I was planning to wear a more, um, aggressive sh shoe, um, just with more protection and stuff and actually continued with what I wore pretty much the whole time, um, being more cushion.

Timothy Olson: Yeah. Yeah. Two ultra parlay, which was just more cushion. The knit upper, like led my, let my foot expand. Yeah. Um, with the blisters and just how it rubs. So, um, I went for a pretty, you know, more head cushion, but more minimal in protection shoe. Like it didn't have a rock plate. It was just, you know, just boost cushioning. And, um, I'm really happy with that choice. I like happy with all my, pretty much, most of my choices. I felt like really, they were, they were inspired and like, like not even knowing, but like it just, everything worked out really well. Yeah. Like, um, yeah,

Dylan Bowman: One, one of the things I remember from our conversations that day, we had amazing conversations that day. Maybe some of that stuff will make public, uh, in a, in a future conversation. But one of the things, because I was just kind of like fascinated about the strategy and your day to day, and I asked you, so like, are you ever laying down to take a, like a midday rest or whatever? And your response was, no, I don't do that. But usually every day sort of mid-morning I find a nice rock and I sit down and I meditate and I thought it was just hilarious, you know, cuz it's so Tim Olson and it is like, you know, within this huge undertaking where every little thing, whether it's reaching into your bag to grab another gel or a bag of potato chips or whatever, or yeah. Reaching down to refill your water bottle, like everything is just a huge effort. Talk about the intentionality with which you maintained the commitment to your meditation practice out there. And what value you thought it provided you in those 50 days?

Timothy Olson: Yeah. Um, it was incredible of the amount of focus that this took. I didn't, I don't think I actually realized it as much as going into that, but I was, my meditation practice was the foundation for this whole thing. And um, I will totally lift it up is the reason that I, I finished this because anytime anything went crazy, I would come back to my center. My like just into that, that heart cave to meditate and to radiate from there. And when, you know, and I would pass them out in line and I was super scared and like, is it gonna eat me? I, instead of freaking out, I would come back to like that breath that meditation I'd breathe into my heart, feel like the warmth and like just come back to that space. And when I had to cross these like raging creeks in the middle of the night where it's like, if I wash away, no one will ever see me again.

Timothy Olson: Like no one will know. There was like, you know, you don't know all these things coming in or even just how the snow is melting. So how hard things are gonna flow. And so you get to these spots where it's it's dangerous. I like it was wild and like, okay, I can, like, my heart's pumping so much right now I can get really scared and nervous or I can just come back to my center, come back to like this form of meditation of just like just grounding myself within myself. And it was just the space I knew I could keep coming back to when I was like, you know, ready to cry and quit because of what, you know, the billion reasons that I could think of to complain about. I like would come back to that space and it helped tremendously. I like, I don't know how many times, even the last seven miles, the last little bit, I like my calf was like cramping up and I didn't know exactly how I was.

Timothy Olson: Like, I knew I was gonna finish, but there was a good chance that I might be crawling to the finish. I like, I took a moment to just pause and to like, yeah, to take it in. And so like my meditation practice, I kind of had a routine like after I'd get a couple really slow miles done in the morning, I'd warm up enough to like that my joints were moving and stuff. And I would just, I would just take a moment to really appreciate being out there and nature my body. And I would do like a minute of like just this slow chigong type movement and then meditate. And, um, I think there was one day that I didn't do it, that I was moving a little too much where I was like, I didn't stop to do the GGO and actually meditate. And I was, I regretted it the whole time cause I was

Dylan Bowman: Just like, it was,

Timothy Olson: It was just the space, the space that I had to, like, I don't know it, I think it's something that I, one of the things that I really learned and really appreciated and hoping to kind of bring back was that, that space in the morning where I like, you know, got past the, oh man, I'm doing this again. And like, you know, everything hurts and whatnot and got to this, just this moment of let's give thanks for a moment. And just kind of like, you know, a prayer myself connecting with nature, connecting with just the, the source of all creation and getting to, to just remind myself that this is why I'm here. This is what I'm doing it. And, and there was moments where I'm hurting so much and I sat down to meditate and like had that thing if I don't get up from here. That's okay. Like I'm, I'm,

Dylan Bowman: I'm in peace.

Timothy Olson: Yeah. I'm in peace. Yeah. I mean, that's one of the reasons I, I do what I do and is to find this piece, this, uh, you know, this tranquility that, that flows with this all the time and that we just sometimes forget. And it's the, the running is this reminder, the Nate connecting with nature is this reminder to, to be in that space. Yeah. And so that was like a goal throughout this thing of not, cuz I'd get to moments where just everything hurts. And there wasn't many times that like I wanted to give up, like I'm giving up on this, but there's just times where it's just so much pain and I just really didn't know how to, to maneuver through it or just so sleep deprived and like cranky and, and just like, um, yeah, just little low.

Dylan Bowman: Yeah. I, I mean, again, it was something that stood out for me in our days long conversation. The fact that you did carve out that time and you really do, you have like this calm, peacefulness about you, but you also have like this fierce intensity about you dude, then you can feel both of them when you're in your presence. At least I did that day that we were out on the P C T. And I think there's like, for example, it's, it's easy to see this when you have, you know, were following your progress on, on Instagram. And I think a great example of this is the photo of you sitting in meditation at the Northern Terminus of the P C T having just accomplished your goal is like a goosebumps, goosebumps picture of you just sitting there in your peaceful tranquility. And then the photo, the photo that you posted after that to sort of announce it where you have your arms spread out and you sort of have this primal roar, it sort of illustrates this fierce intensity that you have in yourself as well. I, I mean, I'm not, not getting to a question here, but I mean, it's just, uh, it was phenomenal to see. And I, I think just like taking that space for yourself to be peaceful probably allows you to access that, that deep fierceness too sometimes. Huh?

Timothy Olson: Yeah. I wanna, I think there's something I really wanna share with that of like, I think it's been one of the biggest things in my life of, I have a huge fire burning with me. I have a deep passion. I have my, my, my spirit animals are wild and I have , you know, as you can feel, I have like a, a really intensity to me. And, um, I I'm very aware of that and it's something I've like, I've not liked about myself. Like I can get really intense and I can be really passionate about things and be opinionated. And, and, um, I've had to work with that over my life of like sometimes I get too excited and I'm just like too revved up. And, um, it led to a lot more anxiety and like just judging myself and pressure. And then I found meditation and it was like this way to like BA you know, like the balance beam, like I was able to take that fire and that passion and then that coolness of meditation and cooling it down.

Timothy Olson: And then like sometimes, you know, like the, the meditation takes more of a priority and sometimes the running and the fire takes more of a priority. And I've really learned how to like balance both of those, those worlds and, and love both of them. Cuz I like, I really disliked the passion and fire in myself that led to me being so fiery competitive and, and just some characteristics that I wasn't yeah. Overly loving of myself. I'd like, I, I saw those in myself and I'm like, that's just too intense and yeah. Um, and I didn't like that in myself. And so then the meditation lot brought the coolness and brought me to calm down. And I also like I've chosen in my life to not just be a monk in, you know, in meditating in the forest, my whole life. I chose to have a family.

Timothy Olson: I chose to have this career and like, and bring that passion, bring that fire into this and, and combine the fire and the coolness together, the fire and water together to like, to, to make me who I am and to, to learn to like love all aspects of myself. And so then when I can throw that out in a huge project like that, you get to, um, you get to see the beauty of me. Like it's, um, I'm a very, as we all are very unique and interesting person that has a lot in me a lot more than that. I just show as we all like, like where all these, these warriors, these, these people that can do so much more than, than we ever thought. And it, sometimes it sometimes just takes balancing, you know, the whole aspect of yourself and learning to like to embrace all of yourself.

Timothy Olson: And I think that's kind of what this like lit up that I was able to embrace myself and I needed to take those moments of meditation and to like chill out the fire. But then also I was, you know, when I'm out there, I I'm fierce. And I, I invite, I invite my, my spirit animals. I invite the trees and um, just all, you know, all the positive beans and vibes that wanna roll with me on that trail. I'm, I'm inviting them. So like I, when I feel like I'm rolling down there, I, I roll deep. I roll with like, you know, gang of like it

Dylan Bowman: SQUI squirrels and bears, SRR and mountains deer. You're rolling. It's kinda

Timothy Olson: Deep. Those, those weird Dr. Do little movies or something where like you're connected with the animals and all of a sudden they're like drawing with you down the way. And when I was running the trail,

Dylan Bowman: Ventura that scene in ACE Ventura

Timothy Olson: Yeah, exactly.

Dylan Bowman: Uh, dude, it's so, so cool. Let's talk a little bit about the record itself because I'm sure this is something that was at least in the back of your mind every day. And I may have been mistaken when I said earlier that it felt like you were falling behind a little bit in the Sierra. How was your relationship with the pace and how much information was the support crew sharing with you about where you are relative to the established FK T and just anything else that you can provide about the psychological, uh, sort of yeah. Hurdle that you gotta get over every day about where am I relative to? What is my goal of setting the new speed record?

Timothy Olson: Yeah. Um, it was something I kinda, you know, I probably knew more than I wanted to most of the time, like I,

Dylan Bowman: Yeah. Were you ever, were you ever behind, were you ever far behind?

Timothy Olson: No, I don't. I don't think so. I think the, where I could have been is because he, um, he did some different fire routes and he kind of just like, I, I did some back and forth some out and backs on it. I did some extra mileage, so I ended up running, I think, like 50 plus miles more than him. And there was a, there was a couple times like, um, dude,

Dylan Bowman: That's like a full day.

Timothy Olson: Yeah. Yeah. So, wow.

Dylan Bowman: Like

Timothy Olson: I, um, I'm yeah, pretty happy with where I ended and, and just like the, the Mount I, I had there's one point where I, when I was having the injury in my leg right before I kind of entered Oregon where I did a couple, like, I think I did a 46 mile day and those days were, they were messing with me cuz I just, I like keeping it around 50 miles. And uh, when I was, I couldn't, I just couldn't go anymore. It was so much pain. And, and, uh, it was, I mean, cool in that aspect that I was like so limited and really struggling and it definitely brought him a few times of like, okay, the we're getting closer cuz I, I think I had like a 25 plus mile lead or I had like, I think I had like a 40 mile lead, but then when he did the, the fire closure, cuz we did him a little bit differently.

Timothy Olson: Um, all of a sudden he had like 40 extra, like it jumped. So it was like within 20 miles or something of just how the math worked, like cuz I was doing extra all of a sudden we were a lot closer and I was hurting a lot. So I was like taking these slower days and it was just getting close, more close than I wanted to. And the whole time I had, you know, probably a half a day plus lead, um, I think just there, I did a couple bigger days earlier on, in the first couple weeks in the heat and I knew I had a little bit of a lead there and I held onto that the whole way and then kept gaining towards the end. But it just, I don't know, there was just times where it messed with me. Whereas like I was thinking about it a little bit and especially when I was injured of like, gosh, really getting close, what happens if I have to like really struggle towards the end and like I'm that last day I'm pushing everything I got just to, to get it. And I didn't get to that space like much. I was pushing my body and wasn't

Dylan Bowman: I did wanna, well dude, I bet that's when, when you feel as if maybe you're losing mileage or time against the established record, when you're doing these reroutes, that's probably when that inner Ferness is awakened within you and uh, you, I mean obviously you made up a ton of time then from, you know, Oregon to Canada and um, ultimately you finish in 51 days, 16 hours, 55 minutes. So at what point did it become clear to you that, you know, barring catastrophe the record was yours or were you playing preve defense the entire time?

Timothy Olson: Yeah. Uh I was playing a little bit too much. I don't know. It was, it's such a weird thing. Cuz there was moments, it kind of like switched hourly where there was moments where I was playing more defense where I'm just like, you know, let's keep, let's keep this shit together. Yeah. And stuff. But then it, it, it comes so close to unraveling where, I mean, I was just, it was a harder, um, red line to be on compared to like a 50 mile race, a hundred mile race where you kind of know where you are with this. It was, it was a little questionable of like where I knew exactly where I was on it because if I pushed it a little bit, like anytime I did a 60 mile day, I was so much more fatigued. The next day I was like little injuries would kind of creep up when I would push it. Just that little bit more further like 55 miles was okay. Uhhuh. And then like I did some 60, 62 mile days and just how much more that took it out of me. It was even just, I noticed that when I was doing like 50 mile days, like I could do 50 mile days and felt like I

Dylan Bowman: Could, you could do it again.

Timothy Olson: I could do this, I could do this again. Mm-hmm but anytime I kind of increased it past the 50 miles is when it was like, whew thing, like this is getting dicey and yeah. And, and like just muscles would get so tight and where they could just, they, they could turn to injuries really quickly. And so I was like, you know, having to stop on the trail to like work on my legs sometimes to kind of prevent things from getting any worse. And, and then things sometimes got worse like that shin, I knew it kind of like, I don't know exactly what you wanna call it, cuz it was like the TBIs shin muscle there. But I felt like it kind of ripped off of the bone there a little bit. And like it got really red and swollen and just the amount of pain it was in that section where I couldn't, I couldn't put my finger on my, my shin, like muscle next to the bone.

Timothy Olson: It hurt like it, my eyes lit up. Like I, you know, , like just got shocked by an electrical cord. Like it was, it was just, it was wild how much pain that was in that. And then how I had a couple days of just a, you know, I made it through the Sierras and it was great uninjured and like feeling really good. But that, that day that I met, um, I, I can't remember exactly where we were at when, when I left you 30 miles, but I ended up doing like 62 miles that day. So I went over yeah. The down pass. I wasn't planning to go that far. I was planning, my crew was gonna maybe hike in with some stuff to like sleep a little early. And it just, it was farther than I thought I, I was so tired. Like I guess I started that morning with

Dylan Bowman: Like, dude, this is why I was so blown away. You know, I was completely smashed after 35 miles myself, you took an hour at Red's meadow, took a shower, ate some food, fixed your feet up, repack your bag. And you went and did like another 27 miles that night.

Timothy Olson: Yeah. Yeah. It can almost another 30

Dylan Bowman: Miles that yeah, I was, I was fresh man. And you were fricking 900 miles deep. In fact we'd pass mile 900 together. Remember you had me take your photograph. Yeah,

Timothy Olson: Totally laying on the ground. Yeah.

Dylan Bowman: Yeah. So talk, talk about the, um, the finish itself. I, uh, I, I just wanna like get a glimpse into what this felt like, man, like 51 days of being on the red line and sharing every day with your family, with your wife, your pregnant wife, Christa, your two sons, Tristan and Kai with Bob and Debbie Lu. Lumis your, your in-laws with Jason coop. Just like what, what did it feel like to get to the Canadian border and realize this, this dream?

Timothy Olson: Yeah. It, it felt like everything I could ever dreamed of. Like it, it's kind of like the question when you asked me before, which I, I knew I couldn't answer on there if like, you know, you've won Western states had the course record there, would this be a pretty good, you know, exclamation mark to the career and like, yeah. You know, I might still have some other plans. I might have some other things on my sleeve for, for the rest of this career, but like, um,

Dylan Bowman: You could retire happy

Timothy Olson: I'm content man. Like that, that was, yeah, it was the biggest Fe of my life. It just like I've done ultras and like I've ultras got me into this, to where I was able to train for the last, you know, 10 years doing ultras to get me ready for this. I was running an ultra every day and it was, I mean that it helped so much these 10 years of training and struggling through races and having those highs and lows. I like that taught me so much for this, this project and to go out there and do it until like, just to be so worked and to get to that, that like those last miles. And it's kinda like where I was saying where, like, there was moments where man, I felt like a go go a little faster, but then I'd go a little bit faster or something and just realize like I was just on the red line.

Timothy Olson: I was there and just, I, I couldn't push it any farther. And when I got to Canada, I was, I spent everything I possibly could have done. I don't think I could have gone faster when I think back to like someone when I did a couple shorter days or like I was trying, you know, I, there's just some things I did with, with timing wise and shorter days. And even like ending where I did before the last day, I, the mileage was a little goofy. I didn't know exactly where I would be. And we did a shorter day, two days prior. So I did like 46 miles and then I did 50 some miles and then ended with a 60 mile day. But just how it kind of lined up. It was like these things I play in my head like, oh, I should have done that a little better. I should have maybe went a little bit further this day. Ah, and then when I got to the, the, that last day, I just realized that like everything aligned exactly how I was supposed to, like, I just, like, I needed to stop questioning myself, stop questioning everything, like everything lined up so perfectly and yeah, just like, it was just a miracle. How everything

Dylan Bowman: Miracle, man. Yeah, man. So cool. And you had that, you had that moment at the Northern Terminus where you're literally sitting in the Lotus position in sacred prayer for what you've just done, man. It's a goosebumps thing. It's so, so incredible.

Timothy Olson: My finish too, of just like it, it was everything I envisioned of just getting back. Like I got to the end and I was kind of like fatigued. I kind of had this idea that I wanted to like roar at the end or just like just kinda let it all out. And of course there's just so many down trees, the last couple miles and it's so overgrown and I was pretty, so much. And even like, you know, 10 before the finish, there was a down tree, 10 feet before the finish that like you had to like kind of maneuver yourself over like three different trees. And then you were like, by the finish, like there was no sprints of the finish because you had to like, you know, like maneuver your body, you know, all over these trees. And

Dylan Bowman: They were just the forest. The forest was telling you to be present and to enjoy those totally take it easy and enjoy

Timothy Olson: All

Dylan Bowman: In, take it in. And

Timothy Olson: That, that was it too, is like, I was struggling. Those last little bits, the cap was hurting so much and I was going over this tree kind of grumbling a little bit to myself. And then all of a sudden I started laughing and just like, realized like, why would I want the finish to be easy? Why would I want a red carpet? Like finish? I want it to be as gnarly as F like, I want it to be as gnarly as can be of like, I, this has to be hard. This has to be where I am struggling every last little bit to get to the finish. And then I got to the finish and like, you know, touched the touch Canada and like, took that in for a second and then let off like one big roar into the camera. I let off a couple roars and I was just like, realizing I was just purging the blast little bit, the last energy, the last, anything I had, the, any, any garbage that was left in me, I was just letting it all out. And then I was able to just sit there and just breathe and be in this moment and be like,

Dylan Bowman: What did I did? I just do, wow,

Timothy Olson: What just transpired? And

Dylan Bowman: Like, let's, uh, let's talk about your trail name because I think this is also a fun part of the story and fitting very fitting what's. What's your trail name? How did it come about and maybe do, do you feel that it's part of your identity now?

Timothy Olson: Yeah, I feel like I almost wanna start

Dylan Bowman: Change your name. I signed it.

Timothy Olson: Yeah. I signed, I signed an email yesterday and they were asking me like, I was gonna, I'm gonna sign like, um, some shoes or something. And I wanted to ask, like, what do I sign it? Do I sign my name? Some of the Olsen are Mirage, like my trail name. And it's like, I almost wanna just start signing everything at the end Mirage like it. Um, so it came about of just running through the desert and, you know, passing a lot of people and, and you know, of course people give me things like lightning or just these, you know, random ones. I'm like, no, there's no speed or whatever, you know, whatever speedster thing that you need. . And, uh, and then it just like, you know, some came like, gosh, you just, you it's like a Mirage. You pass by. You're like the Mirage.

Timothy Olson: And like that it just kind of stayed. And, and then I, you know, some other people were giving me names and I like mentioned that one and I could see people's eyes light up a little bit. I just like, and then I, I thought about it for a minute, like, okay. A few of these people have shouted names at me, what, what's a good name. And then I like the Mirage one just kept coming up in my mind. I'm like, God, that's beautiful. That's like, it is totally what's going on out here of just like, I'm just like, I'm just this light, just like reflecting and changing in the distance. And you know, you're not sure exactly what you're seeing in me. Am I real or not? And then, and then just, I don't know, my kind of aspect of it. I just feel like it was this slow, like a Mirage. That's just like, is that what is it? And it's just kind of, it's slowly just dissolves into nature of like, was it there? Was that, what did I see in the distance? How is this light reflecting off? And, um,

Dylan Bowman: It's so fitting. It's so fitting. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I mean, when, when I heard it too, and I'm like, I should say I'm a big fan of like nicknames and sports and stuff. And uh, yeah. I just, I love it, man. I think you should totally adopt it and yeah. Maybe sign autographs, change it, change it.

Timothy Olson: Yeah. I think it's really fitting. And uh, I've like, I've had so many, like little random nicknames over the years, of course, of like Tebo or, you know, Timbo or, or ti love or all these different things. And just like nothing, nothing. I never wanted to ever be called anything else and just like Timothy, Tim, whatever. Yeah. And this is like this hits home. This is I'm I

Dylan Bowman: Mirage. Mirage.

Timothy Olson: Yeah. So don't start talking to me out on the trails with this Tim Timothy stuff. I only turned my head to Mirage

Dylan Bowman: Now. Damn straight, man. Cool. Well, um, we can start wind it down. I, I don't want to take up your whole day and you know, we've talked about a lot of fun things already, but I, I really wanna focus on this theme of family a little bit before we close out. Um, it's a special thing, man. It was so cool. I mean, I didn't get to spend a ton of time with Chris Dunn. The boys, uh, did get to talk to, to Debbie and, and Bob a little bit, but, um, I mean talk about just the shared experience of doing it with your family. And then also talk about the fact that you're about to have a baby girl. How is Krista doing? How are things going on that front? When is the due date? And just generally, I mean, one of the things you said in one of your posts that I thought was really beautiful is just something to the effect of this is an immense and powerful time for our family. Like you guys got to share a profound thing together for 51 days, and now you're gonna start the next chapter as a larger family with the birth of your baby girl here very soon, please reflect on all that.

Timothy Olson: Yeah, God, I, um, I don't even know how to, like to say what's radiating inside. I'm I'm so happy. I'm uh, like yesterday was my, uh, Tristan, my oldest son's birthday. So he turned nine yesterday and he wanted to get up in the morning and do an early photo shoot. like he wanted to, he he's. So what is this, what is this trip done for us as a family, he's got to hang with some of the best photographers videographers in the world. Like having Keith led Zinsky be a part of this project and the other, all the amazing people that, that joined us. And they turned into like, you know, just our best friends, like when Tristan's having a birthday party on Sunday and he wants to invite the whole crew of all the camera people and like the people that were out there cuz he, he loves him. He's got such a big heart and it meant so much to him to be out on the trail to make like Steven, this younger guy who was like an intern there, uh, what, a project for him, first of all. But they, they had so much fun hanging out and um, like that's one of his best friends. He's like, he's got, Steven's gotta be here for, for my birthday party.

Timothy Olson: And uh, gosh, and even like when, as we finished, like everyone was just hanging around and of course I have my, my little intimate family, you know, me and my kids, my wife, but, um, having my father-in-law and mother-in-law uh, coop, Jason coop, my coach and just the, you know, the other people that came in, it was all family like, and we just, we came so close and just so grateful for the team that was a part of this. I couldn't have asked for a better team. Um, I wouldn't have been able to do this without them. Well, like I, um, really want to give thanks to them and, and that's not even, and that's including my pregnant my eight month. Like she's a couple weeks from, from popping out a baby full term. So like we are, she, um, she blew my mind with just the power that she is, her, her being able to like she wasn't driving the RV beforehand and all of a sudden was like driving the RV, maneuvering it up, these crazy dirt roads. doing all the things that like, you know, that I normally do. And she just took it on and complete badass of just cruising up these dirt roads and, you know, just

Dylan Bowman: Shout out to Christa, man, she's got a similar, a similar peacefulness, but also a similar, I don't know, just supportive intensity, you know, like you can totally feel like she's the matriarch of the family. And she is like, you know, yeah, like a critical piece of your ability to achieve something like this and, and the fact that your kids are being raised to see what's possible, what humans can achieve to have this love of nature and an adventurous spirit. It's a really special thing in, in our last conversation. Tim, I want to give you an opportunity to talk about this too. Obviously we talked a little bit about the troubles that you guys have experienced as a family recently experiencing a couple miscarriages and you did this project at least in part to raise some money for the return to zero foundation, I think is what it's called. Yeah. Talk a little bit about that. How did that play into things and maybe what impact, uh, did you have, and, and I'll definitely make sure to point people in the right direction to, uh, to make a donation on your behalf.

Timothy Olson: Cool. Yeah, the return to zero. Um, I think there like, um, an Instagram is like RT Z hope or something and just really cool organization that is there to help support, um, other families and, and people who have went through, um, you know, child loss, um, miscarriage of just having, you know, baby loss of having those, um, you know, something that happens to, um, unfortunately so many people and it's, um, it's very prevalent and, and I think more so just kind of bringing it to light a little bit of, of, of sharing, sharing it. A lot of people, you know, deal with, you know, having a miscarriage, maybe an early term one that, you know, um, wasn't as impactful in, in their life. But for some people it really is, and there needs to be no judgment around that, of how it affects you and, and how you need to heal through that.

Timothy Olson: And, and so me and my wife over the last few years and my family, we've had, um, two miscarriages and one a later term one, um, and one in earlier term one and, and both were super heart wrenching and, um, yeah, just a really challenging thing to maneuver, um, in life. And it really brought us to our knees where like, it really, um, yeah, it was a really hard time for our lives. Um, just our, our relationship and just, you know, having to share, share that with our, our boys of that. They're not having a, um, another, a brother for one of 'em and, uh, sister for the other one. And, and, um, yeah, that was a really hard time in our life. And, and for me too, is this this time where I really, um, from my past, I've struggled a lot in my past with, uh, being a addiction and wanting to turn to like alcohol and, and drugs and stuff.

Timothy Olson: And there was definitely moments in there where I was, I felt really lost and really, um, unsure of just how to support my family, how to support my wife and how to support myself and wanting to turn to not healthy things. And, um, when we had our first miscarriage and I was, we were really struggling with that. I just kind of made this out of myself to just like, keep, keep working on myself, keep, you know, trying to be the best version of myself I can be and be loving and, and share that with my kids and my wife. And it it's turned around to, we we've worked through these things and I it's, it's taught me to go and, and get therapy. And so like actually talked to people about my struggles and talk about what I'm feeling and, and, um, and then me and my wife getting to share and communicate just, communication's such a powerful thing.

Timothy Olson: And, and, uh, communication was actually a, a deep prayer I had for the last week going into this of, of, you know, communication of course for me and my family and stuff, but the communication for me communicating with this earth and just how that, um, keeps evolving over over time and how I can be, you know, a beacon of light for this world. And, and that, um, that's, that was kind of the, the prayer towards the end. And now that we've these past months, we have another baby on the way I call, uh, rainbow baby, cuz it's right after we've had a couple losses. Um, she is joining us, um, at the end of August, um, everything has been going really, um, you know, relatively smooth. We've had a little bit of, um, she's a very tiny baby as me and my wife are tiny people. We're not producing giants . And so she's a little, she's a little bit under, um, you know, weight that they're, they're a little concerned a week ago, but everything I think is coming together well, and our baby should be joining us in the next couple weeks. And, um, yeah, it's just this huge, huge blessing of, of, you know, dealing with, with loss and, and, and just life and dude,

Dylan Bowman: What a metaphor for life it is though, you know, like the last couple years have been hard as hell for you guys, you know, and you've, you've had to sort of work on your relationship together, work on your relationships individually with yourselves and then have this huge undertaking that then goes nearly perfectly or as perfect as something that's that difficult to do. Can, you know, and it's indicative of the fact that we do go through these seasons in our lives, these cycles in our lives, where we experience these profound moments of grief and sadness, and then just these incredible feelings of success and victory, and it's all about, you know, experiencing all these different things and, uh,

Timothy Olson: Realizing that it's, it's all part of it. And like, I, I wouldn't change a thing like it I've had, you know, I've had hardships in my life, but like I don't regret them or wanna change it. It's like, oh, it's all, it's all perfect. It's all just how it's supposed to be. And I, all I can do is say, thanks.

Dylan Bowman: It's a phenomenal story too. And so we'll close by just talking about this, Tim, you disclosed to me and if this is not public information or you want me to cut it out, I, I totally can. You said that you were thinking about writing a book and also there's gonna be a movie that's gonna be made about this. I'm sure it's gonna take a while for all those pieces to come together for a finished product, but we will be anxiously awaiting it. But bro, this is an amazing story. Like from what you've been through that you've been open about in your past, dealing with addiction, dealing with hitting rock bottom, coming back, achieving, you know, phenomenal things in the sport of trail and all running, being a transcendent figure in our sport, then having, you know, a period of overtraining of sort of under performance and then this stuff with your family and now to come back and have this amazing P C T fastest known time. I mean, it's a story, bro. Talk about how you plan to share this with the world. And, uh, yeah. If there's anything else that you can tease about, you know, where, where people can, can, can learn more about your story.

Timothy Olson: Yeah. I just, gosh, as you share my life, I just like sit in awe sometimes I'm, um, I'm just so grateful of how things have transpired and that, um, yeah, that I've had the life that I've had that I get to share with people just, it's such a gift to build, to share it with others because we've all been through our own ups and downs and have our own life story. And we are all amazing, amazing people that are making this world the beautiful place it is. And we need to recognize that and, um, and, and own up to it like, gosh, instead of, you know, having a bad day and thinking you're such a terrible person, we need to own the power that we have and that we are incredible people that can do amazing things and we need to just live up to it and show up.

Timothy Olson: We show up that was like the, the goal of this, of every day when I was injured and I didn't know how I was gonna do the next day. I just figured I'd show up and just see what happens. So that's like that that's all you can do. And that's, yeah, that's what I ask of y'all out. There is just show up for, for your day, for your own individual life and to, to be there, to be present and to live it to the utmost. And um, yeah. Now, um, I hope to continue to share the story. It's like, it's something where I'm not, so

Dylan Bowman: Now now you have to sit down at the computer and just start typing or what, yeah. I mean, are, are you gonna write a book? Is that in the plan? And if so, I don't. I mean, obviously, you know, you probably haven't figured everything out. You probably don't have like a contract sign yet, but

Timothy Olson: I don't, so yeah, let's, uh, let's bring, bring it to the table. Let's see what we can do. And, um, I, every day, every day I would cuz I couldn't, I, I was planning to like write and journal some and I just, like, there was not time to sit down and write. So I mean probably 10 minutes a day or so I would, um, record a voice memo of just kind of what happened either that, that, that day or, or the days prior or something. And I did that pretty much every day. So I have, you know

Dylan Bowman: Sure. You embed that audio into the, into the audio book.

Timothy Olson: Yeah. Well, really cool parts about that, that I guess I'll share here is like I tried to like record just like a little note, um, to my girl. Um, Esmer, who's joining us. So to, so I've been trying to kind of like write her like a little letter or just kind of just a little note of just like, I, I think of her as this, this powerful little dragon and I honestly felt like, uh, I was riding her wings to the, the finish of this P C T where, um, I'm so excited to meet my little girl and just feel like, um, she's got a little bit of fire, like, like me, like her mama that, um, yeah, I, I feel like she played a big part in this, this journey and I'm really looking forward to meeting her in a couple weeks and uh, eventually getting to share of just how impactful she was throughout this journey and to just, um, share my love for, for her cuz um, yeah, it was just something that I thought about every day and I definitely have some good voice memos of me cracking up crying saying, you know, just that I like just so grateful for how much she's helped me.

Timothy Olson: And um, yeah, and that through, through this, I think I get to really share a lot of things cuz I hope to kind of share the story of the P C T in the book that I I've started writing, I'm trying to maneuver, but I also kind wanna share a little bit of my past and stuff. So I kind of hope to share yeah, my P C T adventure and kind of like how that all transpired, but kind of bring back to a couple of like, you know, some really important races or times from my past and just, yeah, just kind of share a little bit about my life. So I'm, um, I'm really looking forward to, to be Penn this down I've been writing. I like, I started writing a few years ago of writing, kinda a little bit of my story and now, um, I have a bunch of chapters and now kind of going through this, I'm hoping to put together, um, just sharing a little bit about my life and then how I've turned things around and uh, how I, uh, you know, picked myself up, dust myself off and continue on and that you can do the same.

Timothy Olson: So I'm yeah. Looking forward to, to sharing this, um, hopefully in the next, you know, year or so. I think a movie will come out in 2000 in 22. Um, so if I can get, you know, I, of course I wanna be spending time with my family and such as a new old girl, but I'm hoping to carve off a little time to keep writing this book as well. Yeah. And, uh, share that with you all.

Dylan Bowman: Yeah. Beautiful Tim. Well, let's sign off there before I burst into tears, but bro, I mean, again, congratulations. Like you're a special person, man, and you deserve this amazing achievement. You earned every step of it and it was just so fun to be there for one singular day and just witness what you're all about. So thanks for coming back on the podcast and sharing a little bit about the journey. You're an inspiration, you're great ambassador for our sport and uh, I'm grateful for your time now. Go recover, go lay on the couch some more. Should

Timothy Olson: I go rest? Should I just go rest uh, yeah man. Thank you for having me on the show. Thank you for joining me on the trail, man. I like that was one of my favorite days out there and uh, I'm really glad that I got to share that with you and, and like, man, I, I let you carry my bear, you know, back for a little bit and look what it did. You you'd like you ripped it up at hard rock,

Dylan Bowman: Dude. I thought about that. I thought about that a lot out there. It's just like, man, you know, Tim

Timothy Olson: And that harmony had harmony had that little video of me, like actually saying to you, like, you know, you, you carry my pack now go kick at hard rock who did and like, oh yeah. So congrats man.

Dylan Bowman: Yeah, dude. Well, well again, thanks so much, man. Uh, really appreciate your time and uh, wish you guys nothing but the best in the next couple weeks as you welcome child number three into the family, give my best to Christa and the boys as well. And uh, let's catch up again soon.

Timothy Olson: Will do. And yeah, let's uh, we'll have to get a run or a walkin point. I'm

Dylan Bowman: A

Dylan Bowman: Okay. Another one done and dusted. Thank you guys so much for listening. I hope you've enjoyed this episode as much as I did. Thank you so much to Tim. I hope he continues to recover. Well, can't wait to read the book and see the movie. Hopefully those two things come out so soon so we can binge them both. And if you don't already go follow Tim on Instagram, I'm sure you already do. But if not, I have a link in the show notes. I also linked to the return to zero foundation that we spoke about in this episode. If you feel compelled, go throw them a donation in the Olson family name, as they provide support and resources about pregnancy and infant lost to bereaved parents. It's awesome that Tim has taken this mission upon himself and is using his platform to help people. Who've been in his position.

Dylan Bowman: As I mentioned at the beginning of the show, please also consider join our training community in the pillars app or supporting us on Patreon for as little as $2 a month. It would really mean a lot and we would be forever grateful. And finally, if you haven't done so yet, please go listen to the first episode of trail society. It drop down Monday this week. This is the newest show in the pillars network. It's hosted by Keely Henninger, Karin Malcolm, and Hillary Allen. I am so excited with how the first episode turned out. It is such great, informative and entertaining content. It was a great conversation, uh, that needs to be had more in our sports. So go subscribe and listen to their show and also go leave them a rating, a review, let 'em know that you do support them as they try and get this new platform off the ground. Um, it's so good and it'll only get better, which is crazy. The first episode was incredible. And so I am just so excited to see what the three of them do with this new show in the future. We've got more great content coming very soon, but that's it for this week. Appreciate you all so much for listening until next time. Love you so much. Bye bye.