#195 Winning an Ultra With a Heart Condition (Archie Hunt is back!)

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Kristian welcomes back his friend Archie Hunt, a lawyer, dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) advocate, and 2:27 marathoner who just won an ultra outright on his very first attempt. This one covers online hate, an incredible ultra win in Finland, and why he's now dabbling in speed work for the first time in his running life.

Archie opens up about the wave of online criticism he gets for training and racing hard despite his heart condition, and why it barely fazes him. He then walks through how a spontaneous decision with friends turned into winning a 110k ultra outright, running huge back to back mileage weeks to prepare, and the mental battle of racing alone through a Finnish forest for over 10 hours.

The conversation closes with a deep dive into his zone one and zone two training philosophy, why he's cautiously adding speed work under medical supervision, and his goal of becoming the first person with DCM to break 2:20.

In this episode:

- Dealing with online hate about training with a heart condition

- How friendship and the running community keep things fun

- Signing up for a 110k ultra on a whim

- Stacking huge, mostly easy mileage weeks to prepare

- Race recap: winning the Ultra X Finland outright

- The mental and physical toll of racing solo for over 10 hours

- Why zone one and zone two training built the durability that got him here

- Adding speed work for the first time, under his doctor's supervision

- A full breakdown of his weekly training structure

- The goal: becoming the first person with DCM to break sub 2:20

Content note: this episode includes discussion of a chronic heart condition and online harassment. Archie's training is medically supervised; please take care while listening.

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome back and dealing with online hate

06:16 Why the running community means so much to Archie

09:07 A spontaneous decision: signing up for a 110k ultra

14:08 Ramping up to 200k+ weeks to prepare

17:07 A zone two marathon test run under the midnight sun

23:41 Watching the race unfold and knowing he was in the lead

25:22 What the Ultra X Finland course was actually like

27:07 The hardest part: technical trail vs. road running

28:46 Breaking the race down into "seasons" to cope

30:16 The mental breakthrough at 30k to go

31:36 Crossing the finish line and processing two years of running

33:46 Setting a new Ultra X course record

39:01 Comparing ultra pain to marathon pain

58:52 Why he's now adding speed work to his training

1:00:24 Physically outrunning his heart condition

1:01:01 The goal: first with DCM to break sub 2:20

1:03:23 A full weekly training breakdown

1:09:39 Learning to run truly easy on easy days

1:15:03 Closing thoughts and see you in Valencia

Archie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archibald_on_the_run/

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Full episodes + the Boston 2025 documentary: https://www.youtube.com/@Warwickruns

Follow my training journey on Instagram: @warwick.runs

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