#99 - Winning The World's Toughest Ultra With Sally McRae (Badwater 135)

People run for all kinds of reasons – in many cases as a means of escape. That could have been the story for Sally McRae, Nick’s guest on this episode of The Bare Performance Podcast. Instead, this year’s winner of the Badwater 135 has used her life filled with challenges and losses to fuel her. At 42, she has built a phenomenal running career, competing in ultras around the globe while also building a family. But more than anything, she has taken from early life challenges wisdom that has sweetened her journey and inspired everyone who comes into her orbit.

This compelling conversation touches on fundamental ultra-training, strategy, nutrition, and lessons learned through various race experiences. But it’s the eloquent philosophical insights that will linger long after the podcast sign-off. With remarkable grace, Sally has found meaning in the inexplicable: a childhood marred by a chronically abusive father, a mother taken way too early by cancer, and what seemed like the loss of her dreams of competing as a professional athlete. Sally shares reflections on the upsides – as well as downsides – of strong survival skills. The protective walls that helped her endure a tough childhood might have suffocated her adulthood but because of her curious mind, open heart, and hunger to push herself to the limit, Sally came to understand some fundamental truths. For one, we are strongest at the broken places – and everyone has broken places. For another, feelings are our allies, even the toughest feelings in the midst of the most grueling race. Sally shares insights into how her training has shifted from emphasizing physical mechanics to developing psychological self-awareness and a positive mindset adaptable to all kinds of challenges (including diarrhea 14 miles into Badwater 135, known as “the world’s toughest ultra-race”).

Sally’s life story will leave everyone ready to work harder towards goals while understanding, deeply, that (to quote the songwriter Harry Chapin), “It’s got to be the going – not the getting there – that’s good.” In addition to an amazing amount of wisdom, you’ll also get the scoop on how Sally trains, nourishes herself, beats back heat, and trains for every outcome. It’s no surprise that she has prevailed in life as she did in the 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon in 2021.

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Key Takeaways:

• (3:54): All about how Sally acquired her childhood nickname, “Sunshine.” It was given to her as a child by her mother, who proclaimed her as bright and shiny as the sun. Hence, Yellow Runner.
• (5:10): Nick and Sally share a central pain in the loss of their mothers to cancer, a grief that has driven them forward with urgency and a desire to do their best in life.
• (7:10): About the impactful role, Sally’s mother played, demonstrating grace and wisdom that provided a huge cushion. But Sally, the middle among five children, was the least liked by her physically and verbally abusive father. This set in motion many years during which Sally sought her father’s, unattainable love. She strived relentlessly, excelling at sports, holding down two jobs as a teenager, being a leader in all ways at school.
• (10:55): Sally’s mother left a deep imprint with her message that her children could do anything so long as they worked hard and went for big dreams.
• (12:50): At 15, under threat from her angry father, Sally realized that she could empower herself to stand up to him and defend her mother, who was at that time dying. It was a moment of reckoning.
• (15:47): Shortly before her death, Sally’s mother came out to watch her daughter compete in a soccer game. It didn’t matter that she was in extreme physical pain – an example of resiliency and toughness that has remained indelible throughout Sally’s life.
• (19:16): About Sally’s estrangement from her father (whom she’s seen twice in 20 years), necessary protection from ongoing resentment about the pain he inflicted upon her. She has long since forgiven him, but attempts to reconnect were only toxic, so she had to step away in order to move towards making a healthy family of her own.
• (23:56): We don’t have to be or inhabit the bad choices or toxicity of those around us; a lesson it took Sally time to learn and that she has to remind herself of even now, whenever she feels demons rear up out of fear or residual anger.
• (24:42): Nick shares a poignant story about his mother in the final stage of her fight with cancer; one that demonstrated to the end her selflessness and care for others.
• (27:19): How Sally chose “Yellow Runner” as her name and identity as it relates to the loss of her mother and the promises she made to carry on beyond her death. Running ultimately became a way to excel, push herself and do something beautiful and natural. Sally’s entire perspective towards running does not recognize pain and suffering (by choice) but rather the opportunity to shine – and inspire a similar radiance and purpose in others.
• (35:11): Following her mother’s death, when soccer was still her primary sport, Sally went through a period of disaffection. What was the point of sports? It took time for her to transition beyond grief and more family strife.
• (37:02): A personal nadir. Not yet out of high school, Sally’s mom was dead, two younger sisters were in foster care, her abusive father – despite their complicated relationship – had required support through a brain tumor diagnosis. It felt like everything had been taken from her.
• (42:17): The man who would become Sally’s husband broke through to her in an important way once he understood the degree to which she had developed harsh survival mechanisms that would likely only alienate her from the possibility of love. He gave her permission to feel for the first time and let down some of the toughness that had previously enabled her to survive and thrive.
• (45:56): College was a time of questioning and working through a lot of tough questions about justice and God’s will for Sally, who felt bereft and bitter. But signing up for a humanitarian volunteer trip to a Ukrainian orphanage transformed her perspective on just how bad deprivation can actually be. She finally fully felt and understood the gift she had received in being seen, known, and loved so fully by her mom.
• (49:20): Soccer as a universal language. In her early travels, Sally found joy in the revelation that through her sport she could connect and communicate with people from diverse cultures all around the world.
• (49:28): Sally shares the moving story of her 2001 humanitarian trip to South Africa, where she became both a novelty and symbol as the lone woman playing on an American men’s team. Women fans shared heartbreaking stories that contributed to her worldview and understanding of the true scale of human suffering.
• (52:50): By the time she graduated college Sally had come to realize that her life was not about loss or deprivation; that she was not isolated or different. Rather, she was part of a huge human mosaic full of broken pieces, the sum of which is tremendous beauty. Sally experienced a shift in her understanding of survival – and love – when she came to fully recognize that no one is an island.
• (59:08): What is it that fuels Sally’s commitment to running? For her it’s not so much a certain pace or mileage goal. She experiences it as a source of peace and serenity from which she continues to evolve and get stronger. The view from Mt. Baldy (her favorite mountain for training) is a constant gift of freedom.
• (1:03): All about running in China, where endurance training prompted her to start entering marathons. Over the years, after the birth of her son, Sally conducted boot camp training, and then … one day she came across an article about ultra-races.
• (1:05:45): What it is about ultra-running that fascinates Sally, not least physical demands on the human body to reach its maximum capacity. In 2010, with two toddlers at home, she did her first ultra and was hooked! Three years later, she was seriously competing.
• (1:09:20): Nick shares a little about what running means in his life – how it clears distraction, fuels energy and creative thoughts.
• (1:10:54): Sally believes that running -- really any meditative practice or exercise – invites us to be completely honest with ourselves and set a meaningful agenda. There are many ways to do it, achieve that moment of peace, if you make it a discipline. Go and be quiet, suggests Sally.
• (1:16:17): Sally’s true secret sauce? She stopped caring what everyone else is thinking and started down her own path, claiming running as her personal journey.
• (1:19:05): Sunrise runs. Nick’s and Sally’s happy place and apex of peace. Caveat Advice: It’s important for everyone to find the time of day that works for them.
• (1:21:06): It was in 2015 that Sally’s dream of seeing the world through her running started coming to fruition with as many as eight ultra invitations a year. She chose races for where they were and the cultures she wanted to explore.
• (1:22:58): All about Badwater 135 – What about it first attracted and mystified Sally? She was humbled by the 2018 race and challenged beyond measure, though she was at her fittest. Despite wounded pride, Sally saw that setback as an opportunity to learn and grow. Which she did – returning again in 2021 with a completely different approach.
• (1:29:44): Getting specific about why Badwater 135 is her favorite. Sally details the course, the conditions, the climbing, the terrains – all extreme. She considers it the toughest race.
• (1:31:32): A look at what Sally changed in her training routine that prepared her to dominate at Badwater 135. She dove into researching what her body was doing in the tremendous heat and how to nourish it. There wasn’t a lot of science on which to rely, so she experimented with running in different temps, different nutrition, gear, and shoes.
• (1:41:24): Nick explains his love of the nutrition aspect of endurance sports and the art of fueling. He can enjoy endless training so long as he has the right calories and sodium.
• (1:43:18): Sally gets real about diarrhea she suffered starting at mile 14 of Badwater in 2021. She was miserable physically, but in such a strong space mentally that she was prepared. In training, she had created a positive mindset that she tested regularly like a muscle, strengthening her inner dialogue incrementally. Her plan for when everything falls apart? She would set small goals to be the best at whatever she could be best at any given moment – including having diarrhea in the midst of an ultra!
• (1:50:20): By integrating an entirely different psychological approach, Sally was able to make Badwater 135 an opportunity – to experience pain, feel all the feelings. You can be weak and courageous at the same time.
• (1:51:45): What it means to Sally to move forward and how it’s a huge part of who she is today. She accepts frailty, hurt, broken parts in herself (and others). This is what makes us strong, and brave. She is someone always willing to keep going.
• (1:54:22): Crossing the finish line – whether at the Badwater 135 or in a chapter of life – can give a sense of relief and validate hard choices and accountability. But what Sally embraces most in her victories is the hard work itself, the pursuit of the dream.
• (1:59:08): Nick wraps up with a reflection on “Yellow Runner” – a name he doesn’t believe Sally chose so much as received as a guide through a life whose heartache and struggles built in her the grit to keep on going. She has gotten what she earned.

“Courage is still moving forward despite what you know is ahead of you. When you know that what’s ahead of you sucks, when it hurts, when it’s going to be a challenge. A courageous person still goes, despite all. But you can be weak and courageous at the same time.”

Further Contacts/Resources:

Bare Performance Nutrition: www.bpnsupps.com
BPN's Instagram: www.instagram.com/bpnsupps
Nick Bare: www.nickbare.com
Nick's Instagram: www.instagram.com/nickbarefitness
Sally's Instagram: www.instagram.com/yellowrunner