Making It Podcast - Jeff Browning

We hope you’ve been enjoying our new podcast series called Making It AfterShokz Podcast Series by BibRave. Throughout this five-part series, we explored what it takes, both mentally and physically, for athletes to “make it” to the highest levels of their sport. 

In previous episodes, we featured Jeff Knous, the last PGA golfer to earn a TOUR card in 2018, Chaz Davis, a runner who lost his sight as a teenager and is now training to represent Team USA at the 2020 Tokyo ParaOlympic Marathon, and Bubba Wallace, one of the few African Amerian drivers in NASCAR’s elite Monster Cup series.  

In our most recent episode, we hear from Jeff Browning, a 48-year-old ultrarunner who has managed to not only run and win long-distance races against competitors half his age, but has also carved out a thriving profession in a field with almost zero margin for profit.

Browning's story is compelling because it’s so relatable. When most of us think about professional athletes, we imagine them training in their sports since childhood. Browning, however, didn’t grow up in an elite athletic family. He actually didn’t even start running until his late 20s! As a kid, he grew up on a farm in the Midwest and played a few sports in high school, but professional ambitions weren’t a major focus at the time. 

What sets his story apart is that Browning didn’t start his running career with a 5K or even a half marathon. He dove straight into the ultrarunning scene after learning about the Western States Endurance Run - a premier 100-mile race. In the 18 months it took him to train and qualify for that race, his passion for long-distance running was ignited. 

As you’ll hear in this podcast, while Browning was pretty good at ultrarunning, it was his dedication to the details - strength training, nutrition, and running form - that shaped him into one of the greats. After twenty years, almost 50 ultra wins, and now a highly sought-after ultrarunning coach later, Browning has truly made it in the ultrarunning space.