Just wrapped up a fantastic conversation with Christian Barratt, who is the host of the Back of the Pack Ultra Gup Podcast. We dive deep into ultrarunning and mental wellness. I shared my journey into ultrarunning, the mental health benefits of running, and the impact of trauma on athletes.
Christian and I explored the mindset shift from merely finishing races to competing, the importance of coping mechanisms, and the role of the vagus nerve in regulating emotions.
I emphasized the need for self-reflection and building a support system while navigating the challenges of running and life.
We concluded our discussion with insights on finding balance and the importance of mental health resources.
Get to know Christian
1. How did the podcast come to be?
I started my journey doing Spartan races and Crossfit. around 2012 -2014. I dropped off these routines after that time. I found my way to endurance sports around 2017 when a friend mentioned that he was going to do a half ironman. I thought it was such a cool thing and started to look into it. I committed to doing a half ironman.
After completing the half ironman I signed up for a full ironman. During training for this I found some YouTube videos about 100 mile Ultra marathons. This captivated me and I made the decision to start training for Ultras after I completed the full ironman.
After completing the ironman I signed up for the Whiskey Man Ultra series, completing that was really tough and then I kept moving up in distances to the Cocodona 250 May 2023.
With all this said The podcast was really born during the training and completion of these different events. I would meet people who had such amazing stories that were not being shared. At that time I could not really find anything online about normal humans doing great things; most of the online content was professional athletes and or coachs.
There is nothing wrong with this but there was almost two different worlds that I was seeing. One being the online stories of the professional athletes and two coaches. There was nothing really geared towards the regular joe. I wanted to share the stories I was hearing in the community and the people I was meeting during these races.
2. What was your biggest accomplishment so far this year? It could be running related or not.
Being a good husband and father (well I am trying)
Running stuff is 2nd.
3. What’s one mindset or mental wellness tip that really works for you? Please, explain a little.
When you feel drawn to a goal or adventure do not let anything or anyone tell you that it is not possible. Most of the time it is a small voice within yourself that speaks the loudest. If you have that draw (your why) that will take you farther than you can even imagine.
4. What are your social media handles/links?
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/backofthepackultraguy/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Backofthepackultraguy
Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/back-of-the-pack-ultra-guy/id1805247790
Listen to our episode here!
Notes on the episode
people’s stories of overcoming issues
After spending some time in the ultrarunning community, I started to hear stories that people were sharing about how they got into ultrarunning and why they continue to do so.
Many of the things that people were saying involved managing PTSD, ADHD, stress, anxiety, overcoming addiction, and in general, working to improve their mental wellbeing.
Over the years of working in the mental health field, I have always wanted to somehow combine my love for mental health and ultrarunning. For a few years, I learned how to utilize my knowledge and mental skills in ultrarunning and push myself further and harder.
Once it was clear that others needed and wanted mental health support for both their running and other areas of life, that was part of deciding to open my mindset and mental wellness coaching business.
Trauma
Trauma is an emotional response to a distressing event that overwhelms a person’s ability to cope.
It can be a single incident or a series of incidents and leaves a negative, long-lasting effect on a person’s emotional, physical, and psychological wellbeing.
Trauma challenges a person’s sense of safety and ability to function.
– American Psychological Association
Trauma responses
Sometimes we have misconceptions about responses to trauma.
Here’s a short list of examples of what people can experience:
- Over explaining everything
- Apologizing when you’ve done nothing wrong
- Avoiding conflict at all costs
- Feeling numb or disconnected
- Being hyper-independent
- People-pleasing to stay safe
- Expecting something bad to happen
- Struggling to trust others
- Feeling “too much” or “not enough”
- Overreacting to small triggers
Running, exercise, and the vagus nerve
The vagus nerve is the main nerve in our body. It carries signals between the brain, heart, and digestive system. It controls the body’s functions like digestion, heartrate, immune system, mood, mucus and saliva production, skin and muscle sensations, speech, taste, etc…
Targeting this nerve can help manage and treat depression and PTSD when standard therapies aren’t helpful.
Mental health benefits of running
- Manage anxiety and PTSD symptoms
- Treat depression
- Improves sleep
- Increases self-esteem and confidence
- Improves focus and helps manage ADHD
- Boosts creativity and mood
- We can use it as a tool to work on negative self-talk and growth mindset
- Problem solving
- As a way to connect with others
- To challenge yourself
- To prove your narrative wrong
Don’t just rely on running to improve your mental health!
It is important to work with a mental health professional and not just rely on running as a coping mechanism.
It’s okay to work with someone before you hit “rock bottom.” Most people wait until things are at their worst, but waiting can actually make things worse and the issue can become harder to treat or work through.
Find a professional online through an online counselor directory who specializes in the area that you care to work on. These directories allow you to use a filter, and sometimes, a directory can have you complete a questionnaire and will find a potential match for you.
Similar articles and resources
Runner Performance Scale for Important Areas of Life
How to Move from a Fixed Mindset to Growth
Finish Stronger Mindset Community for Runners on Facebook
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One of my many goals is to increase mental health awareness, the availability of free resources, and the access to services.
If you value my free mental health content, it would mean a lot to me if you would “like,” share, or Buy Me a Coffee.
This helps people find my free content and allows me to continue providing free content.
Thanks for being a part of my mission.
Happy running,
Shannon