Joe Corcione has built Everyday Ultra into one of the most vibrant coaching communities in trail and ultra running, growing from zero athletes to over 200 in just two years while hosting one of the sport's top podcasts. The ultra running coach, podcaster, and race director returned to For The Long Run to share the mindset shifts that transformed his life and the principles that guide how he helps athletes endure better.

His philosophy centers on a powerful idea: you are not fixed traits. You're a human capable of learning any skill and becoming anyone you choose to be. That realization changed everything for him, and it's now the foundation of how he coaches hundreds of athletes pursuing their biggest goals.

Joe's transformation began when someone told him to just buy a microphone, hit record, and publish it. That advice cut through all his excuses about needing to research and plan before starting his podcast. He went to Fiverr for cover art, figured out the RSS feed, bought a twenty-dollar Walmart microphone, and just talked. The first episode wasn't great. He published it anyway.

That first step changed everything. He didn't have an elaborate plan. Starting a coaching business wasn't even on his radar. Creating Desert Peak Ultra wasn't part of any strategy. All of those things emerged because he kept taking action. When people asked him to coach, his first instinct was to say no. Then he offered free coaching to a few friends just to learn. That experiment led to the business that went from one coach to ten and from zero to over 200 athletes in two years.

His rule: if an idea swirls in your head for more than a week, do something about it. That persistent thought signals something meaningful trying to emerge. Most people already know what they need to do. The gap isn't knowledge, it's execution.

Taking action requires betting on yourself. Joe faced this when he wanted to get sober but was afraid of who he'd be during the journey. Change is uncomfortable because you're not good at the new thing yet. That discomfort is why people don't make the change.

But not making that bet eats away at you. When he wanted to get sober but didn't take action, he became short with people he loved. He grew resentful. He stopped liking himself. All because he wasn't betting on himself.

The first bet matters less for whether it succeeds than for what it teaches you. Even if it doesn't pay off, you're farther ahead than standing still. You've learned what doesn't work, and you've proven you can push chips to the middle of the table. That proof makes the second bet easier, and eventually betting on yourself becomes your default mode.

Joe has a specific framework for choosing races that build mental toughness. Make two lists: everything that excites you, and everything that scares you in ultra running. Look for overlap.

Why both? Because excitement alone won't push you mentally. Research shows that doing things you don't want to do grows your anterior cingulate cortex, the part of your brain linked to happiness and longevity. But fear alone creates resistance. You need excitement to stay engaged through months of training.

One of Joe's athletes said Cocodona 250 excited her and running a 200-miler scared her. Perfect. Her eyes lit up, then immediately she expressed doubt. That's the sweet spot. When you complete a goal like that, you've proven you can do something that terrified you. That evidence makes it easier to bet on yourself everywhere else in life.

Joe tells a story about a friend who spent years trying to run a sub-14-hour 100-miler. After hiring four coaches who couldn't get him there, he hired a fifth. The training worked. He ran 13:50. He texted his coach: "Oh my gosh, this is amazing. It's so good. I can't believe I did it. Thank you."

The coach texted back: "Great job."

The athlete dropped the coach the next day. When Joe asked why, he said: "Because in that moment I didn't feel seen."

That's what community actually is. Not gathering people and calling it community. Not posting videos together with a community label. It's every single person feeling seen, heard, and valued.

People want community because they don't want to feel alone or invalidated. When you start ultra running and people say "I don't even drive that far," you begin questioning yourself. Then you find someone who asks what race you're doing and responds with "Oh, sick, which one?" Suddenly you feel seen.

At Desert Peak Ultra in April, Joe plans to watch every single finisher cross the line. He wants every person to get a handshake from the race creator, to have someone acknowledge their accomplishment. That's not performative. That's making people feel like they matter.

Joe's coach Killian Korth recently broke the record for the Triple Crown of 200s. That achievement came from refusing to set limits despite facing DNFs and medical pulls. Joe's challenge: actually set a goal next year where you're not going to set limits. Not just agree with the concept but live it.

When you aim for the moon and land in the stars, you're still way higher than if you'd aimed for the stars and stayed on Earth. Joe set a dream of getting a golden ticket to Western States. He hasn't gotten it yet. But chasing that dream has taken him farther as a runner than modest goals ever would have. His business goals that he hasn't hit yet have still grown Everyday Ultra far beyond what smaller ambitions would have achieved.

The question isn't whether you'll achieve the impossible goal. The question is whether you'll be fulfilled by the journey and the person you become along the way. A life of difficulty in service of meaningful pursuit beats a life of comfort in service of nothing.

Jon is a runner, cyclist, and podcast host from Boston, MA, who now lives in Boulder, CO. For The Long Run is aimed at exploring the why behind what keeps runners running long, strong, and motivated.

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