October 12, 2023
Today, I invite you on a journey – not through the physical terrains that typically beckon a runner, but through the untrodden trails of the mind and soul of an extraordinary athlete.
Picture an elite runner – what comes to mind? Speed, competition, and perhaps, an unyielding will to win.
Now meet Anthony Kunkel. Sure, he's swiped titles like the 2017 USATF 50-Mile Road National Champion and the 2018 100-kilometer Road National Champion. But for Kunkel, it's not merely about the race; it's about the transformative journey of biohacking, self-discovery, and deepening spirituality.
From the heart of the vibrant mountain town of Durango, Colorado, Anthony founded UltraHouse Durango – a sanctuary for endurance and a testament to his vision of holistic performance. Hovering at an impressive 6,757 ft above sea level, this haven is Kunkel's vision of a holistic performance hub, combining the very essence of athletic prowess with the ethereal elements of exploration and community. Dubbed in jest as an “ethical cult that likes to run, explore, and climb things,” UltraHouse Durango offers more than its scenic trails. The “Monk Bunk” awaits its athletes with cozy bunk beds, a well-equipped kitchen, and essential amenities for recovery and training, including cold immersion techniques and top-tier equipment like a Red-mill and custom grip-rig.
Through Anthony's dedicated lens, every corner of the facility is designed with purpose, encapsulating his decade-long passion for running and holistic well-being. And this passion isn't confined to Durango; upon touching down in Spokane, Anthony chose to traverse 18 miles on foot just to reach my house.
From donning the prestigious Team USA colors in international marathons to guiding the Indian national teams in endurance techniques, Anthony's expertise stretches far and wide. His insights into fat adaptation, morning routines, and the potent blend of training volume and heat stand testament to his groundbreaking methods.
In today's conversation with Anthony, we're venturing beyond the miles and the shoes. Dive into the intricacies of Kunkel's unique food and training strategies, uncover the magic behind his pre-race routines, and gain insights into his experiments with nootropics stacks and their effects on his sleep. We'll also explore the merits of sauna and heat exposure in endurance training and the art of tracking and interpreting biometrics. With every stride we take in this episode, you'll understand the layers of dedication and innovation that have propelled Kunkel to the forefront of ultra-running. Prepare for a marathon of knowledge.
During our discussion, you'll discover:
-Who is Anthony Kunkel?…05:35
- A racer, a curious seeker
- A flow junkie
- Ran 18.5 miles from the airport to Ben’s house
-The Faster Study at the University of Connecticut…08:27
- Faster study over at Dr. Jeff Volek’s at UConn's Human Performance Laboratory
- Athletes on very high fat, low carb diet for 6-12 months
- Ben and Anthony were participants
- An important study that is referenced all the time
- Ben's blog post about his participation in Jeff Volek's research at UConn's Human Performance Laboratory:
- Anthony’s experience with the study
- The study showed that 1.5+ g of fat can be burned in a minute during exercise on a ketogenic diet
- Anthony participated in another study in Phoenix
- Anthony had been taking 300-350g of carbs a day
- His body learns to burn fat efficiently through a ketogenic diet
- Upregulation of glycogen synthase
- Ben used it in bodybuilding
-Anthony’s food and training strategies…13:51
- Eats carbs only for dinner
- Has an 8-hour eating window
- Runs 2 times a day
- His training is gentle at aerobic paces
- 80% very easy, 20% intensive
- Stryd shoe power meter
- Keto Brick
- Anthony does 2 protocols
- EPO protocol
- Big bumps in EPO with sauna use right after exercising
- When you are heated up, a little bit fatigued, and dehydrated
- Dehydration as superpower
- EPO protocol – around 20 minutes
- Workout
- Ketones
- Infrared sauna
- Ke4 or R-1,3 Butanediol
- “Tour de France protocol” – after workout for recovery
- Hard ketone seltzer drink with protein at 1 pm
- Ketone ester for lunch and dinner
- Some carbs with dinner
- Podcast with Latt Mansor:
-Anthony’s pre-race routine…24:28
- Pre-race routine
- One-week out, two-week taper
- Something short and spicy during the week
- The final session before race day will be something at the race pace
- 72 hours out – crushing fiber
- 48 hours out – stop taking fiber
- Cleaning the bowels and avoiding bowel movement during the race
- Ultrahouse Durango – offering it to athletes for free
- Anthony is living a life where he doesn’t need a lot of money
- Early Retirement Extreme by Jacob Lund Fisker
- Trickling with carbs
- If it's a marathon or a half, he’ll have 125 grams of carbs
- Usually not over 20g
- Ben’s practice before the Ironman
- Carb load the night before the race
- Higher fat breakfast or bulletproof style coffee in the morning – Steve Born of Hammer Nutrition
- After swimming – first gel or the first dose of carbohydrates
- Keeping your body from going hypoglycemic leading up to the race
- Shifting your body into high fat-burning mode with a high-fat breakfast
- Breathwork session
- CO2 tolerance
- Oxygen tolerance – a self-alkalizing type of protocol
- The same effect with baking soda – Anthony uses sodium citrate
- 0.3 grams per kilogram
-Anthony’s nootropic stack…41:45
- Anthony’s limitless pill
- Apex by Wukiyo (use code BEN to save 10%)
- Ben tried Wukiyo products (use code BEN to save 10%)
- How Anthony discovered Wukiyo
- Runner's High by Josiah Hesse
- Podcast with Josiah Hesse:
- Go SuperBrain | User Manual: Nootropics by Andrew Triana
- Podcast with Andy Triana:
- Ultra-endurance athletes take small doses of THC
- Improved focus and the bliss state
- Andy Triana says LSD is one of the most powerful inductors of beta-oxidation or fat-burning
- Anthony takes LSD and THC 2-3 times a week
- Ben stopped using THC regularly
- A study on free radical leakage into the mitochondria with THC
- Now use it once a month for long sexual experience
- Colorado Mushroom Company
- Not eating throughout the race, just takes ketones
- The help of heat training
- Measuring body temperature
- Rectal thermometer
- CORE body temperature monitoring device
-Anthony’s morning routine…50:26
- Delay caffeine
- Cold
- Used to do up to the neck for a minute
- Now, just up to the waist for 4 minutes
- Then go to the sauna, then red light therapy
- Altering nootropics throughout the week
- Stacking nootropics with coffee or nicotine (use code BEN20 to save 20%)
- Likes to cycle everything
- Ben also believes that cycling through is best for the body
- Sometimes does kratom
- L-theanine calms you down
- How does Andy know what works?
- Taurine and Citrulline Malate with pink salt
-Anthony’s sleeping protocols…58:13
- SleepMe (use code BEN to save 15%)
- BedJet (use code BEN50 to save)
- Apollo haptic wristband
- Supplements in the evening:
- Exogenous ketones
- FreshCap mushroom blend
- Chaga
- Supplements that increase mitochondrial activity:
- Infrared therapy
-Pushback from Anthony's sponsors…1:02:03
- Pushback because of doing weird stuff
- Anthony doesn’t have a sponsorship from the shoe company
- Carving his own path
- KION
- Ben likes head-turning athletes
- Anthony prefers to be free and authentic than having a lot of sponsors
- Athletes tell him off the record about their use of psychedelics
- Athletes have something of value to offer the world
-Thinking or listening to stuff during a race…1:08:22
- Anthony doesn’t think about or listen to anything
- The fewer thoughts, the better
- He looks for peaceful, effortless bliss
- Ben listened to audiobooks during Ironman training
- Anthony often trains with his dog with him
- Sometimes listens to audiobooks
- Audiobooks are chocolate cake for your brain
- Ben had a playlist for interval training – slow and fast songs
- Nowadays, mostly audiobooks and podcasts
-Strategies for injuries…1:12:27
- Anthony almost never gets injured
- Exposure to heat is crucial
- Has been doing sauna since he was 17-18
- Ben’s experience with sauna and heat exposure
-Tracking and testing training results…1:06:10
- A lot of biometrics
- Not much blood work
- Measures respiratory rate, temperature
- InsideTracker
- Anthony doesn't like it because it is algorithmic
- Bloodwork once a year
- Getting down to marathon weight, he ended up giving up meat
- Only egg yolks and raw beef liver once a week
- Anthony takes a blend from a local organic meat farm
- Blend of fat, tongue, liver, heart, and kidney
- Copper deficiency in athletes
- Copper helps get iron into the cells
- Organ meats and legumes are a good source of copper
- Spleen extract by Ancestral Supplements (use code BEN10 to save 10%)
- Heart & Soil
- Bee pollen is massively high in bioavailable copper
- The goal is to replenish the iron with the nutrients that allow it to get into the cell vs. hanging around the bloodstream
- GoodPhyte Digestive enzymes
- Kion Flex and Colostrum
- Anthony's Patreon
- Anthony's 250-mile pilgrimage running journey
- Felt like death at first night, started crashing
- Started using colostrum packages
- ARMRA Colostrum
- Used 8-10 packages of colostrum per day
- Didn't feel feverish at night and everything was smoothly flowing
-Doping and the advantages of sports gear…1:23:38
- Ben’s recipe for getting opioid-like effects
- Phenylethylamine (use code BEN10 to save 10%)
- CBD
- Low dose kratom
- Curcumin or turmeric
- The idea of doped-up Olympics
- You're allowed to dope with whatever you want, but you have to get a health screen
- The Olympic Games are already all doped up
- There’s an alternative to doing something that's against the rules
- Super Shoes
- Anthony did a marathon and was the only one among the top 10 that didn’t wear Super Shoes
- Louis Simmons said gear can't be neutral. It has either an advantage or disadvantage
-What drives Anthony?…1:28:16
- Curiosity
- The crazy experiences that he had are worth whatever the price is
- Likes to be weird and do crazy stunts and talk about it and be about it
- People can benefit from what he’s doing
- Coaching and consults
- Ben’s coaching experience
-And much more…
Upcoming Events:
- Couples Collective: October 25th – 29th, 2023
Couples Collective is an exclusive and immersive way to explore health, wellness, and mindset with your significant other. Jessa and I will be leading a health optimization and relationships workshop, alongside many other awesome couples. This is a small event, and access requires you to interview with event-holder OWN IT to ensure a right fit. However, for those who are said fit, this event is designed to bring you into deeper union within your relationship and onward into greater connection with your life, love, health, and happiness. I'm looking for 6 to 7 powerful couples to come join me at the event – are you one of them? Learn more here.
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Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode.
Resources from this episode:
– Podcasts And Articles:
- Everything You Need To Know About Ketones & Ketosis With Dr. Latt Mansor of H.V.M.N.
- Banned For Cannabis? Is Weed An Illegal Performance Enhancing Drug? Runner’s High: How a Movement of Cannabis-Fueled Athletes Is Changing the Science of Sports With Josiah Hesse.
- Simple Tricks To Banish Anxiety & Panic, Rib Adjustments For Better Sleep, Nootropic & Smart Drug Stacks, The Science Of Getting Better In Bed, LSD For Performance & Much More With Go SuperBrain’s Andy Triana.
- Rewriting The Fat Burning Textbook – Part 1: Why You’ve Been Lied To About Carbs And How To Turn Yourself Into A Fat Burning Machine.
- Rewriting The Fat Burning Textbook – Part 2: Why You’ve Been Lied To About Carbs And How To Turn Yourself Into A Fat Burning Machine.
- Episode #175: How Should You Eat Before, During and After Long Workouts?
- How To Tap Into The Secret Psychedelic Tactics Of The Ancients Using A Free & Fast Anti-Aging, Stress-Busting, Energy-Boosting Hack.
– Books:
- Early Retirement Extreme by Jacob Lund Fisker
- Runner's High by Josiah Hesse
- Go SuperBrain | User Manual: Nootropics by Andrew Triana
– Other Resources:
- Keto Brick
- Ketones
- Baking Soda
- Sodium Citrate
- Colorado Mushroom Company
- Coffee
- Nicotine (use code BEN20 to save 20%)
- Kratom
- L-theanine
- Taurine
- Citrulline Malate
- Pink Salt
- Exogenous Ketones
- FreshCap
- Chaga
- Shilajit
- Methylene Blue
- Chlorella
- Spirulina
- Kion
- Vitamin D
- Iron
- Organ Meats
- Spleen Extract by Ancestral Supplements (use code BEN10 to save 10%)
- Heart & Soil
- Bee Pollen
- GoodPhyte Digestive Enzymes
- Kion Flex
- Kion Colostrum
- Phenylethelamine (use code BEN10 to save 10%)
- CBD
- Curcumin
- Turmeric
- ARMRA Colostrum
- Stryd Shoe Power Meter
- Infrared Sauna
- Rectal Thermometer
- CORE
- Cold Bath
- Red Light Therapy
- SleepMe (use code BEN to save 15%)
- BedJet
- Apollo
- InsideTracker
- UConn's Human Performance Laboratory
Episode Sponsors:
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Do you have questions, thoughts or feedback for Anthony Kunkel or me? Leave your comments below and one of us will reply!
This was a great episode and being new to the ultramarathon game, at 46, it’s good to hear what nootropics are helping Anthony as he continues his career. Thank you 🙏
There was a lot of information to digest, which is great!, but is there a resource that would further help with identifying the potential benefits of different supplements?
Thanks again for doing this interview. It was amazing!
thanks for the comment Johnny, you can check out my Ultimate Supplement Guide here: BenGreenfieldLife.com/article/supplements-articles/ben-greenfields-ultimate-supplement-guide/