Steve Turner Found A Way To Use His Addictive Personality Positively

My guest on the show today was going down a dangerous path with his health when only a few years ago he weighed 250 pounds and was living with diabetes.

Today he is an ultra runner that recently finished the Moab 240, so you could say running has literally saved his life.

I am looking forward to going a few easy miles with Steve Turner today.

Steve Turner

Replacing Addictions

August 1, 2020, marked 20 years that Steve has remained sober.

Steve shared that staying sober hasn’t been something that he has struggled with.

His struggle has come from what he replaced his alcohol addiction with which was food.

Steve’s story of getting healthier started in November of 2016 when his wife told him that he needed to get a physical for insurance purposes.

The results from the physical showed that his blood sugar was off the charts.

His doctor instructed him to start going to the gym and try to lose some of his weight.

Steve quickly realized that he didn’t enjoy going to the gym and preferred to workout outside.

Taking The First Steps

Steve had a 2-mile loop that he would frequently walk with his dog.

Rather than continue to walk, he decided to try running from telephone pole to telephone pole.

As time went on, Steve was able to keep increasing the distance that he ran.

Steve decided he needed a goal race to keep him motivated throughout the winter.

He chose a 10k race that took place in August.

After consistently putting in the work over the winter Steve had worked his way up to 12 miles.

Steve completed his first 10k race one month ahead of when he planned.

That same year he also completed the half and full marathon distances.

BQ Or Bust

Steve tends to go all-in on whatever he does and running was no different.

For his first marathon in his first year of running, Steve wanted to run a Boston qualifying time.

He narrowly missed his goal by 2 minutes.

Steve still intended on continuing to try to BQ, but in the meantime, he signed up to run as a charity runner in the 2016 Boston Marathon.

After Boston, Steve continued to climb up the distance ladder.

He had signed up for a 50-mile race but realized after signing up that there was a Boston qualifying race taking place one week before his ultra.

His initial goal was to run the marathon as a training run, but he felt great and pushed it resulting in a coveted BQ.

One week later, as planned, he completed his first ultra.

Steve Turner

Climbing The Distance Ladder

Steve was hooked on ultras and wanted to keep pushing his limits to see how far he could go.

His next ultra after the 50-miler was the Vermont 100.

He completed the race with just 8 minutes to spare under the 24-hour cut-off.

Last year he placed 11th overall in the Midstate 100.

Steve had found his groove with the longer distances, yet he still continued to wonder what else he was capable of.

In came the Moab 240, a 240-mile race that takes place in Utah.

He successfully completed the race in October of 2020.

Stever was unsure about how his body would handle the distance, but he found that by slowing down his body broke down much less than usual.

Not All Smooth Sailing

From the outside looking in, Steve’s progress with running appears to have progressed without issues.

According to Steve, he is on a first-name basis with his doctor.

His issues have ranged from his knees to his hips, and he even broke a toe while racing.

In hindsight, Steve admits that some of the issues may have stemmed from pushing his body too frequently and not recovering adequately.

Steve has found that it’s not the distance that affects how sore he is, but rather the effort that he exerts at any given race.

He was sorer after a 100-mile race then he was after the Moab 240.

It’s All Mental

Preparing to run any ultra often requires more mental preparation than physical.

The Moab 240 race was no different.

Steve generally runs high mileage during training and often does so on very little sleep.

He was confident that if he was mentally prepared, that he could physically get through it.

Steve admitted that he is an innately stubborn person which has worked to his advantage in the longer races.

Having a great pacer and crew is also crucial to succeeding.

Steve Turner and his pacer

The Future And Staying Healthy

Though Steve runs as much and as often as he can, he tries hard to not take any time away from his family.

His wife and his son are his biggest supporters and they have played a large role in his success.

He has found that by sticking to a routine, he can maximize his training while also not taking away from his family or work commitments.

Steve has achieved some big goals, but he has even bigger goals in the future.

Next year, he wants to run the Tahoe 200 along with completing Moab again.

His ultimate goal is to complete the Triple Crown before he is 55.

Running has taught Steve that if he wants to achieve big things, he needs to take good care of his body.

He has found what works for him which includes, eating a primarily whole foods diet, avoiding red meat, and staying active.

Mentioned In This Episode:

Stay connected with Steve Turner by following him on Facebook and/or Instagram.

Steve Turner found a way to channel his addictive personality into something positive through running. In 4 short years, he turned his life around and recently completed the Moab 240. Click To Tweet

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