🎙️ Episode description

Running coach and ex‑Royal Marine Chris Taylor shares what he’s learned from organising world‑record attempts, surviving addiction and depression, and designing ultramarathons and endurance challenges at the absolute limit of human performance.

We talk about:

• Chris’s role coaching endurance athletes and walking them to the really hard moments
• Chris’s honest account of addiction, depression, and his suicide attempt
• The exact moment ultra runners and endurance athletes learn the most about themselves
• Mental toughness and the “grey space” in ultramarathon and extreme endurance events
• The pre-race contract he writes with every endurance athlete he coaches
• The endurance epidemic: why ultra running and extreme challenges have exploded, and the role of wealth, privilege and social media
• Why personality type matters less than you think in ultra endurance sport
• The post-race comedown after big endurance challenges — why finishing can leave you empty
• Spencer Matthews’ 30 marathons in 30 days and what actually goes into a world record attempt
• The Barkley Marathons, Lazarus Lake, and how to design a race at the edge of human capability
• Why the people around you matter most when you’re at your lowest”

🎧 Listen to the podcast

Watch the full conversation on YouTube below. You can also listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you get your podcasts. You can also follow The Opponents on Instagram.