The second part of my conversation with mountain athlete Anton Krupicka dives into what has ultra running grown into and where might it go and what has Anton grown into and where is he going? In the last five years due to a number of injury setbacks Anton has moved away from competing at top level ultra running races. In the meantime he embraced climbing again and is now exploring a whole new way of getting into the mountains as he dives into speed accents often combining human powered methods of getting to climbs whether that by foot, bike or ski. It’s an interesting world he has opened up to himself and to others as he casts light on endeavors like the Long’s Peak Triathlon and other high end but not well known link ups and human powered ways of getting into nature and the mountains.
Keep up with Anton…if you can…at www.antonkrupicka.com andon instagram and twitter @antonkrupicka and on his Facebook page
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Leadville Trail 100 Run entry cost in 2017: $315
Thanks Pete, yeah I did get that wrong but corrected it at the end.
Thanks, you asked exactly the questions I was wondering about. Elite ultrarunners can go in a few directions once they’re not at the top anymore. Scott Jurek writes books and tours running shops and events for Brooks, Geoff Roes and Tim Olson run camps and retreats, Krissy Moehl pursues FKTs (and also wrote a book) and some like Kyle Skaggs (and Ann Trason for many years) exit the sport entirely. Anton’s transition to an all-rounder in the mountains seems perfect for him even though some of his followers are confused by it. Maybe what was missing was an explicit retirement announcement from competitive running but I sense that Anton isn’t quite ready to close that door yet. Thanks again.
I too was curious about the different directions. I have a few more runners coming on Sage Canaday and Clare Gallagher to talk more about other stages in the career and different approaches. I need to move on and not over run the podcast with runners, but at some point I would like to circle back and try to talk to Jurek and Tim Olson and some women like Krissy and Anna Frost.
I think you are right Anton probably is holding out a bit of hope that there might be a second act. I also think he just really nerds out on things. For years and years it was running and now it’s climbing and he’s fortunate to be in a position to pursue that. It will be interesting to see where he goes with it all. I really came away from my time with him liking him a lot so I wish him well and look forward to following along on social media!
I’ve always thought of Anton as a person who promotes a lifestyle, so whether he races or not isn’t really the allure that makes him so popular (100k instagram followers not because he’s a fast 100mi runner). The endurance-based “games” he plays are what attracts me to follow him–he’s an endurance monster and as a triathlete who loves the mountains, I dig how he spends him time. What’s more, because he’s genuine about his interests and how he projects himself, I feel like he should not have a problem keeping his sponsors satisfied with supporting him. What you see is what you get: He’s living his life, and a lot of people get motivation and enjoyment from his pictures and stories. Thanks for the interview; I appreciated the interesting line of questioning!
Next interview subject: no chewing gum allowed.
Otherwise, good discussion. Always nice to hear insight from Anton.