Pushing Horizons Step by Step

Pushing Horizons: Step by Step is a podcast about how running changes us: physically, mentally, emotionally. Hosted by Ash Pant, each episode unpacks raw, heartfelt conversations with runners who’ve faced setbacks, chased dreams, and found themselves in the rhythm of the run. These are stories of grit, growth, healing, and quiet triumphs. Whether you're lacing up for your first 5K or recovering from your hundredth, this is for anyone who's ever run toward something more. Every step tells a story. Let’s keep moving forward, together.

Pushing Horizons Step by Step is a sports podcast hosted by Ash Pant, with 136 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Ash Pant hosts Pushing Horizons Step by Step, a sports show with 136 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #31

  The Life He Almost Missed: Eamon Kearney on Sobriety, Running & Rebuilding His Life | Season 3 Ep 31

  Oct 1, 20261h 23mS3

  The Life He Almost Missed | Eamon Kearney There was a point when Eamon Kearney didn't believe there was a future worth staying for. Today, he's sober, a father, a marathon runner, and the author of the upcoming memoir The Long Way Home . Born in Ireland and now living in the United States, Eamon's story begins long before running. He spent the first part of his life in a mother and baby home before being adopted, grew up with an alcoholic father, joined the Irish Army at 18, immigrated to America, became a father, and eventually faced his own battle with alcohol. In late 2021, Eamon reached his darkest point. What followed was a slow rebuilding of his life. After getting sober in 2022, he returned to running after decades away from the sport. Since then, he has completed numerous half marathons and marathons, including Chicago, Berlin, Boston and the Marine Corps Marathon. But the finish lines aren't really the story. In this deeply personal conversation, Eamon talks about adoption and identity, addiction and sobriety, fatherhood, his fractured relationship with his son, finding his biological siblings, therapy, learning to forgive himself, and why running became such an important part of rebuilding his life. We also talk about The Long Way Home , the memoir he's writing for his children and for anyone who has ever struggled with addiction, shame, identity or the feeling that they don't quite belong. Because sometimes the most important part of surviving your darkest moment is getting the chance to discover everything that comes after. Season 3, Episode 31 of Pushing Horizons: Step by Step. Keywords: Eamon Kearney, The Life He Almost Missed, The Long Way Home, sobriety, addiction recovery, running and sobriety, marathon running, Boston Marathon, Berlin Marathon, Chicago Marathon, Marine Corps Marathon, Irish immigrant, adoption, fatherhood, mental health, recovery, resilience, running podcast, marathon podcast, Pushing Horizons, Pushing Horizons Step by Step

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  Episode #29

  The Pursuit of What's Possible | Heidi Allan: From American Ninja Warrior to Tahoe 200 | Ultrarunning & Race Directing | Season 3, Episode 29

  Sep 17, 20261 hourS3

  Heidi Allan grew up as a gymnast and rock climber, competed around the world in obstacle course racing, and spent three seasons competing on American Ninja Warrior. Running wasn't her strength. In fact, she used to hate it. Today, she's an ultrarunner, 200-mile finisher, race winner, and Race Director for Aravaipa Running. Heidi joins Pushing Horizons to share how her pursuit of difficult challenges eventually led her into ultrarunning and why the sport gave her something she hadn't found in competition before. We get into her progression from Spartan races and Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim to Javelina 100 and Tahoe 200, where she finished fifth female in 62:47:44. Heidi shares the reality of going more than 60 hours with almost no sleep, dealing with severe blisters, hallucinating during the final miles, relying on her pacers and learning that her body was capable of running far later into a 200-mile race than she thought. We also explore Heidi's other side of ultrarunning as a Race Director for Aravaipa Running, including the work behind Tucson Marathon, Crown King Scramble and Copper Corridor. From permits and aid-station logistics to extreme heat and calculating how much water runners may need, Heidi gives a different perspective on what it takes to put on an endurance event. Most importantly, this is a conversation about how Heidi's relationship with competition has changed from perfection and pressure to accepting what she can give on any particular day. Because sometimes discovering what's possible isn't about becoming the best. It's about discovering another version of yourself. Keywords: Heidi Allan, Tahoe 200, ultrarunning, ultramarathon, 200 mile race, Aravaipa Running, American Ninja Warrior, obstacle course racing, OCR, trail running, mountain running, Javelina 100, race director, Tucson Marathon, Crown King Scramble, Copper Corridor, endurance running, endurance athlete, ultra running podcast, Pushing Horizons

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  Episode #28

  This Too Shall Pass: From Wildland Firefighter to Cocodona 250: An Ultrarunner’s Journey

  Sep 10, 20261h 18mS3

  Season 3, Episode 28 — This Too Shall Pass Trueheart Brown never grew up dreaming of becoming an ultrarunner. After years of skiing and competitive cycling, running eventually became something much deeper a way to process difficult experiences, quiet his mind, and find space away from the demands of life and his career in wildland fire. Then he discovered he could race. Trueheart won the Black Canyon 100K in 2022 before taking on his first 100-mile race at the Flagstaff to Grand Canyon Stagecoach Line Ultra in 2025. Despite never having run farther than roughly 60 miles before race day, he finished the 100 miler in 14:40:43 and took the overall win. In 2026, he stepped up again at Sedona Canyons 125 only three weeks after breaking his fourth metatarsal. He finished in 25:14:07. And won. In this conversation, we talk about his unconventional path into ultrarunning, decades of endurance training, learning to suffer, racing 100 miles for the first time, adapting when race plans fall apart, running Sedona Canyons with a broken foot, the importance of preparation, and why the darkest moments of an ultramarathon don't necessarily mean your race is over. We also talk about what comes next. Trueheart has been selected for the 2027 Cocodona 250 , where he'll attempt to make the enormous jump from 125 miles to 250. And through all of it, one idea keeps coming back: This too shall pass. The bad moments will pass. But so will the good ones. Keywords: Trueheart Brown, ultrarunning, ultramarathon, Cocodona 250, Cocodona, Sedona Canyons 125, Stagecoach 100, Flagstaff to Grand Canyon Stagecoach Line Ultra, Black Canyon 100K, 100 mile ultramarathon, 200 mile ultramarathon, 250 mile ultramarathon, trail running, Arizona trail running, endurance running, ultramarathon training, ultra running mindset, mental toughness, wildland firefighter, Coconino National Forest, Pushing Horizons podcast

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  Episode #27

  Fueling for Performance: The Basics Most Runners Miss — Part 2

  Sep 3, 20261h 14mS3

  How much carbohydrate do you actually need during an endurance race and is more always better? Roger, CEO of SQUEEZY Nutrition, returns to Pushing Horizons: Step by Step for Part 2 of our conversation about endurance fueling. This time, we go deeper into the practical problems runners face when the hours and miles start adding up. Roger explains how athletes can train their gut to tolerate higher carbohydrate intake, why blindly copying athletes consuming 120–150+ grams of carbs per hour can create problems, and why your fueling strategy needs to be built around your own body, intensity and race. We also talk about what happens when you miss your fueling early in a race, whether you can recover from an energy crash, gels versus solid food during ultramarathons, caffeine, hydration, fueling beyond 10 hours, recovery nutrition, and the relationship between endurance training and the immune system. This conversation was recorded before my attempt at the Berlin Wall 100 Miler — a race where my own fueling mistakes eventually became one of the biggest lessons of the entire experience. I carried enough fuel. I simply didn't eat enough of it early enough. After covering 52 miles, I understand this conversation very differently than I did when we recorded it. Part 2 of our endurance fueling series with Roger and SQUEEZY Nutrition. Keywords: endurance fueling, ultramarathon nutrition, running nutrition, carbs per hour running, carbohydrate intake endurance, gut training, marathon fueling, 100 mile fueling, ultrarunning nutrition, race nutrition strategy, energy gels, solid food ultramarathon, caffeine endurance running, hydration for runners, recovery nutrition, immune system endurance athletes, under fueling, sports nutrition, SQUEEZY Nutrition, Pushing Horizons podcast

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  Episode #26

  The Horizon Moved | My First 100 Mile Ultramarathon Attempt: 52 Miles, a DNF & What I Learned

  Sep 3, 202630 minS3

  I went into the Berlin Wall 100 believing I could run 100 miles. I made it 52. 84 kilometers. The longest distance I have ever covered on foot. And then the sweeper caught me. This is the story of my first 100-mile ultramarathon attempt — the heat, the mistakes, the fueling problem, the high heart rate from early in the race, and what happened when my energy eventually disappeared. The frustrating part? I had the fuel with me. I had packed enough gels in my vest for the first 33 kilometers and had more waiting in every drop bag. I just didn't eat them. I took in roughly 150 grams of fuel during those first 33 kilometers, and hours later I paid for it. But this isn't only a story about a DNF. Because somewhere inside a race I didn't finish, I also went farther than I have ever gone before. 52 miles. I didn't reach the horizon I was chasing. But the horizon moved. Season 3 episode 26 of Pushing Horizons: Step by Step. Keywords : ultrarunning, ultramarathon, 100 mile ultramarathon, first 100 miler, Berlin Wall 100, 100 mile DNF, 50 mile ultramarathon, 52 miles, ultra running nutrition, ultramarathon fueling, endurance running, trail running, running in extreme heat, DNF recovery, ultra running mistakes, endurance mindset, long distance running, Pushing Horizons podcast

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