Nikki Kimball - Dealing with depression & being one of the elite ultra runners in America

 

Let me introduce you to Nikki Kimball!!

Nikki has had a phenomenal running career and she is a living legend in the world of Ultra running. She has been a member of the US 100K Team from 2001 to 2006, she has won the Western States 100 in 2004, 2006 and 2007. She has also won the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc in 2007 and the Marathon de Sables in 2014! 

During this podcast we discuss; how she got into running, ultra running, dealing with pain and depression. Nikki also provides advice and tips to help you with your own personal challenges, whether that’s running or dealing with depression.

Show notes

• Nikki shares about her childhood and how she was a skier first, before transitioning into running
• Not feeling like a runner because of body image issues
• Accidentally running her first ultra!
• The race that scared her the most - Running the Long Trail in Vermont - A very technical, challenging 272 miles! 
• Learning more about the off shoot of ultra running - Fastest Known Time running and the 3 ways you can do it. 
• The physical training she does for ultra & the logic behind it
• Dealing with the pain, and her top tips for embracing the pain and using it to your advantage
• How to get the balance right between doing enough training without getting over trained. 
• Tips for recovery after a hard training session or a 100 mile race. Why she’s advocating for recovery lounges.
• What she eats while training, and racing and why she made the transition from vegetarian to a meat eater! 
• Why she changed  from High Carb:Low Fat to Low Carb:High Fat
• Her Marathon des Sables experience in 2014 and why she wasn’t in the right frame of mind before the race
• Why she won’t race where the prize money isn’t equal for men and women
• Living with depression from a young age and how it’s impacted on her life.
• Trying to come off medication and not being able to succeed and how’s she combined exercise with medication to help her.
• Talking about depression and the steps she took to get help and why she’s talking about her own experiences.
• Being part of the documentary “Finding Traction” that followed her journey running the fastest known time on Vermont’s Long Trail (272 miles) – 5 days, 7 hrs, 42min
• Advice and tips for women who want to take up running.
• Discussing her favourite race and the reasons why!
• Talking about her race strategies,which involve having fun and being relaxed!
• Trainers - being sponsored and the number of trainers she goes through!!!
• The ultimate race & challenge she would like to do!

Connect with Nikki on Facebook you can also like - Tough Girl Challenges on Facebook !

Listen to this episodes on iTunes, Soundcloud or Stitcher! Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode!