Ep. 378: Andy Glaze: The Plant Strong Firefighter Who's Run 100 Miles a Week for Nearly 7 Years

What does it take to go from rock bottom to running 100 miles a week for more than six straight years?

For Andy Glaze, the answer goes far beyond physical endurance.

Andy is a firefighter, plant-based ultramarathon runner, father of three, and author of Smile or You're Doing It Wrong: A Journey from Rock Bottom to Redemption. But before he became an inspiration to millions, he was a teenager struggling with meth addiction, troubled schools, and a future that looked anything but promising.

Today, Andy has completed some of the world's most grueling ultramarathons and, at the time of this interview, had logged almost 350 consecutive weeks of running at least 100 miles!

He joins Rip for a remarkably honest conversation about finding his way through addiction, anxiety, divorce, grief, a willingness to embrace failure and firefighter-related PTSD — and how running, a plant-based lifestyle (and Rip!), helped him build a life he loves.

They dig into:

• The journey from teenage addiction to ultramarathon running
• His unbelievable streak of 100-mile running weeks
• Why he believes in "failing forward" and doing hard things scared
• Fueling extreme endurance with plant-based nutrition
• The emotional toll of firefighting and the importance of talking about mental health
• The surprising role Rip's recipes played in Andy's early firefighting career
• Why smiling, gratitude, and resilience are at the heart of his philosophy

This is about so much more than running. It's about second chances, showing up for yourself, and remembering that no matter how far you've fallen, you can always begin again.

As Andy says, "Smile or you're doing it wrong!"

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