Exploration Local
Exploration Local
Unstoppable Strides: Finding Empowerment Through Trail Running, with Tera Pruett
Weaving through the trails of personal transformation, Tera and I revel in the shared triumphs and communal bonds formed at events like the Trail Running Film Festival and the much-anticipated Unstoppable Women's Mountaintop Retreat. The episode resonates with hopes of newfound confidence and lasting friendships forged under the open sky, a testament to the event's mission to unite and uplift through a shared passion for adventure.
Tera's journey and our heart-to-heart are a clarion call to all who seek the vitality of nature and the camaraderie of fellow adventurers – an invitation to stride into the wild, unstoppable in the pursuit of dreams and connection.
Unstoppable Women's Mountaintop Retreat
Mike Andress
Host, Exploration Local
828-551-9065
mike@explorationlocal.com
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Have you ever laced up your running shoes and felt an instant surge of freedom with every step you took? If so, you're in good company. In this episode, tara Pruitt, owner of Unstoppable, joins me to share how her love for trail running evolved into a journey of community and empowerment. From the joy of running through nature, organizing a trail running film festival and creating adventurous retreats, tara's story highlights the transformative power of embracing your passions and connecting with others. From channeling running as a means to combat depression to celebrating it as a catalyst for empowerment, tara's journey is a testament to the enduring power of perseverance and discovering one's passion. We'll dive into the transformative effects of physical activity on mental health and explore how it fosters positivity in every aspect of life. But that's not all. We'll also scale the heights of the Unstoppable Women's Mountaintop Retreat, a visionary endeavor designed to provide women with thrilling adventures in a supportive environment. Tara's efforts in creating spaces where barriers are stripped away reveal the power of connection and the magic that unfolds when we immerse ourselves in nature and reclaim our joy. Tara's journey into personal training, the establishment of her own studio and her dedication to cultivating personal connections with clients affirm the philosophy that physical strength and outdoor adventures are indeed pathways to a more fulfilling life. Tune in as we celebrate Tara's journey, the strength of the trail running community and the transformative impact of embracing the great outdoors. I'll see you on the other side.
Speaker 1:You're listening to Exploration Local, a podcast designed to explore and celebrate the people and places that make the Blue Ridge and Southern Appalachian Mountains special and unique. My name is Mike Andrus, the host of Exploration Local. Join us on our journey to explore these mountains and discover how they fuel the spirit of adventure. We encourage you to wander far, but explore local. Let's go. I am with Tara Pruitt. Her company name is Unstoppable. That's the name of her business, and you're going to know in the next few minutes why that has become such a powerful name. Business name for Tara Also kind of a really important sort of moniker in your life too, tara, I think. But thanks for taking the drive down. I'm glad we could finally put this together. This is going to be a great show, tara. Welcome. Glad to have you.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. What I'd like to do is spend a little bit of time just kind of talking about your journey, a little bit your story. We're going to talk about how you got into running, what running means to you, and then what you're looking to do to bring this running not just to women but just to anybody who would love the idea of trail running. The beautiful part of this to me, too, is that we did talk about this as Mental Health Awareness Month and we're not going to go really deep into that part of your story, but it really, I think, creates the framework behind Unstoppable, behind how you got into running. So let's start there a little bit about who you are, love for listeners to know who you are, what makes you tick and how we got to the word Unstoppable.
Speaker 2:My business name Unstoppable is about strength, endurance and adventuring, and those three pieces have played a major role in my life and I found that we all have this journey of learning about ourselves and trail running and exploring and hiking and backpacking has been a major piece of creating who I am today and who I choose I want to evolve into as I grow and the I think to tie it into the mental health aspect, it really I've always used running as a piece of handling depression, as since a kid I may not have known it as a kid Nobody.
Speaker 1:You don't put those pieces together all the time.
Speaker 2:But I do remember as a as a young child, even as early as 10 years old, that running helped me feel free and it helped me feel empowered and motivated and positive. And I would recognize that after I'd come back from a run or some form of exercise that I felt this rejuvenation and excitement and positivity that would just exude into other areas of my life. And I started putting the pieces of the puzzle together like, oh, when I'm not active or when I'm not using this as a part of my day-to-day kind of survival skills, I can tell a difference in my mood, or my depression would get worse, or I would feel less motivated to do other things get worse, or I would feel less motivated to do other things. And so I think that it was an early trigger for me that, okay, this needs, I need this as a part of who I am, and this has got to be implemented on a regular basis.
Speaker 1:Wow. And so when you first started getting to the running piece you were sharing earlier, that it was about more of an escape from something, and then it really has become something that you're sort of leaning into and is becoming a part of you and I wonder if you can just kind of unpack that just a little bit for us.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think we moved around a lot as a kid and it was hard to make friends, it was hard to fit in, it was hard to find different areas where I felt like I couldn't connect with other kids my age and I imagined running away a few times and even attempted it and then got scared, went back home. I was like that's not going to work. And that's when I realized like okay, running feels pretty good. I've never been good at it. I'm still a very much back of the packer. I just realized that at first running was an escape and it was like okay, this, this gives me a chance to check out and I can push myself and challenge myself and push a little more.
Speaker 2:And then I started doing other things in life, like I taught group fitness for many years, I dabbled a teeny bit in bodybuilding, then I got, I found my way back to running. I hope listeners don't get mad at me, but I started road running and I did a few years of a stint of trying all the half marathons and then I did a marathon here locally and hated it and swore I was done with running. And then a friend of mine invited me to train for a trail race here in the area and I was like, oh you know, maybe I'll try that instead of road running, because I, after the marathon I was just determined to be done. It's like it just about crushed me one and done.
Speaker 2:It was crushed my soul. So then I was like, well, let's give this a try, I'll see how I like this before I sign up. And then I ended up getting. At the time the entry was kind of a lottery you mail your check in and your letter and registration, and if your check was cashed, then you knew you got in the race. And so I was like, okay, well, we'll just see, I'll just test this out. And I kind of had this love-hate relationship with it at first, because when you transition from being on the road to keeping a certain pace and running certain splits to, you've got to finish in this amount of time. And trail running was like just come out and have fun, who cares what your pace is? And yeah, if you do races some races you have cut off times, but you're it's a much more relaxed and chill environment. We're just here to have a good time, kind of a thing. So I was like, wow, this is a whole nother world.
Speaker 2:How did I miss this? And the more I learned about trail running, I was like these people are crazy and yet they're out here having the time of their life, like I need more of this in my life. So I got hooked on the trail running piece. But running was always this intro into all my other health and wellness avenues to. At first they became survival skills, in a manner of speaking, and then they turned into this passion of figuring out who I was and meeting these amazing people that you would have never met in any other path of life.
Speaker 1:Wow, wow, that's so good. And so you were a physical education major. I think you said you did that for about six or seven years, and it's very clear that coaching, working with people, seeing people kind of perform at their optimal and again, you're not trying to train an Olympic athlete, but it's more it's more like enjoy what you're doing, get better at what you're doing, find the releases and the benefits that come from all this, and and so you actually have a personal training studio as well. So so there's a lot of things that you do. So the word is unstoppable, and it just sort of occurred to me that that really kind of has set you in motion, because you have a personal training business, you do a trail running film festival that we'll talk about, you have a retreat that we're really going to dive into a little bit, and then you have the running piece. So, yeah, there's a lot of you. That's about pouring into other people, helping them to come along, it seems.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and to be honest, if you knew me in my teenage years, or even in my early twenties, you would have never, ever thought that this is where I'd be. I would have never thought I knew this is what I wanted. I envisioned where I am today as probably a late teen.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:But I was severely introverted. People are always surprised to hear that I am actually an introvert and they're like no way. No, you taught you know six to 12 group fitness classes a week and then personal train the other part of the day Like there's no way you're an introvert. Personal train the other part of the day Like there's no way you're an introvert. But it's honestly that that's probably another piece of why I love trail running, because it gives me a chance to like rejuvenate my soul and who I am as a person, so that I can give back well in the community and to those around me and and to my spouse my husband and my and our son.
Speaker 2:I think that if you'd asked my parents or my sister or anybody that knew me in my teens, they'd have been like uh-uh, there's no way. She does all of that because she's an introvert and she's quiet and she's the. She's the one that kind of sits on the sidelines and doesn't have anything to say until I have something to say.
Speaker 1:And then listen up yes, yeah, oh, that's great. Let's talk a little bit about the Trail Running Film Festival. Let's start there, because that's in the past. You've already had it, but it's a really cool concept, and then people are going to have the opportunity to attend that, if they want to next year. So let's talk a little bit about the Trail Running Film Festival, and it's interesting how you just kind of found your way into this and it was wildly successful for a couple of years running now.
Speaker 2:So the Trail running film festivals originated in Bellingham, washington, and they used to travel around the states and host these in different cities, and, of course, we're a major outdoor community here, so they would come to Asheville. And, of course, after when 2020 hit, everything quit. And so, in 2021, december of 21, they sent an email out to their entire email subscriber list and they were like, hey, we want to bring this back, we're thinking of doing it this way. If we do this in this specific manner, would any of our email subscribers want to be a host? And so I was. I and I know many people in our community were just ready for something to bring us back together and inspire us, and nothing does that more than documentaries of, of people's stories.
Speaker 2:We all have a story and we all have a story to share that could inspire someone else, and that's what these films do. And it's pretty incredible to me that when I applied for this, I was like they'll never pick me. There's just no way. I'm just a normal runner in the community, Not really anybody that they should be like. Oh, she's the one she knows everybody because I don't. But they picked me. And when I told my husband, he was like you did what? And I said well, this is probably going to be a team effort, so get ready.
Speaker 2:Yeah, get ready. And so in 2022, I had eight weeks to plan the trail running film festival and I was so grateful that our community came together and were so supportive and between sponsors and people at the Orange Peel you know they're a very popular local music venue. This was not on their radar at all and they stepped it up and they enjoyed having us there. Something different and unique and special to our community and it sold out and we had.
Speaker 2:It was unique to look out on this stage as an introvert, trying to make myself talk and see everyone in the community connect in a way that we all had missed for a couple of years. To see them be like, oh, I haven't seen you in so long. We should run together. Or how's your kids doing? You know they're in different schools now. Or seeing even people that host different trail running activities around town connect and be like I didn't know you did that, and it was just really special to me to look out and just see that happening versus the cherry on the top with their films themselves. So it was so cool and so I got a chance to bring it back again this year and again was a huge success. Again at the Orange Peel. They were, they've been, they were just been truly amazing to have something different there, and we'll see what next year brings. I hope that we can make that happen again.
Speaker 1:So let's stay with the theme of you making big impacts and inviting people in to be a part of things. You have a really special and this is, I think, is going to be, the inaugural right. It's going to be the very first, ever, Unstoppable Women's Mountaintop Retreat and it's a round running trail getting people connected all different levels. This is amazing and I can't wait for this part. Let's really kind of dive into this, because I'd love to know where your heart was for this. Where did this come from? Because I can already tell like you're a connector, you love people, you love seeing people being connected to one another. And then you're doing it around this, the outdoors and trails and this is really, really cool. So let's just dive right in. What is this event? Where did it come from?
Speaker 2:This has been on my mind for a few years, and I've been too chicken to do it.
Speaker 1:All right.
Speaker 2:So the film festival kind of ties into this a little bit, because it was something I felt drawn to and needed, and I had heard other people talk about needing something like that. Same thing with this women's mountaintop adventure. I've heard other women say, man, I wish that there was a retreat for women to connect and be able to have a place to escape, but I don't have a tent or I don't have all the backpacking gear, I don't have all the setup to be able to have a place to escape, but I don't have a tent or I don't have all the backpacking gear. I don't have, you know, all the setup to be able to be out there. Um, or I'm afraid to be by myself or I'm afraid of exploring beyond my comfort zone, which generally is someone's local area around their home that they've just repeatedly used.
Speaker 2:So this, this, this has been on my mind for a while and just listening to what others are looking for from a connection standpoint. But what really made me like go for it was I'd been stalking the cabins at Sandy Mush Bald for a while and I didn't get a chance to get up there last season when I saw all these other adventure women posting their retreats around the globe. And I saw someone from I believe she's from Arizona. She posted that she was going to host an event here in Western North Carolina and I was like hold on a second.
Speaker 2:This is my turf and so I told my husband I was like I pulled the plug, I'm doing it and I committed to the cabins at Sandy mush and I'm going to make this happen because I didn't want to sit back one more year and watch someone that doesn't even appreciate our mountains. Now that's probably a little harsh, but, like, this is my hometown and I want to share it from the perspective of what these other amazing, beautiful businesses are doing for our community, like Lisa's story, and highlight that and showcase that, without it seeming touristy, without it seeming like a salesy thing, really is meaningful to me to pull people together to enjoy this historical piece of land that sits on this epic mountaintop, that you have these breathtaking views, that you will, you, you just have to sit up there and enjoy them.
Speaker 2:Like you, you cannot. They look fake. You cannot, you cannot like just go up for one day. You have to be up there and let it rain on you, or let the sunset, you know, soak in below the clouds, or let the sunrise come up above, you know, the fog in the. A taste of what that truly feels like and experience it firsthand. I'm going to want to do this again, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, it's so cool that you it's not just like a two-day thing. I mean it's Thursday to Sunday, it's the June 20th, to, excuse me, june 23rd. So in that, even in the hike up and all the things that you will do, there's an element of decompressing and unplugging entirely. And I love the fact that you have it over a few days, because sometimes it takes people a little bit of time just to decompress and just say, okay, I'm good, now I can be present here. This isn't just something I'm doing on the weekend. So the fact that you're doing it for so many, you know, days in a row, I think is a testimony to you kind of understanding a little bit about getting people out in nature, getting them to the point where they're ready to to just be, to be present, to receive whatever it is that you guys are going to have for them.
Speaker 2:So so you're right, we we are such a busy, busy society culture of if you're not busy or you're not tackling things or you're not exhausted at the end of the day, that we're not succeeding in life.
Speaker 2:And I think that's another attraction to me about not only the places like cabins at Sandy Mush, but getting out in our mountains is it really brings you back to the realities of what's truly important in your life, and I hope that the women walk away from this retreat really uh and questioning what their focuses should be on, and ultimately, I hope it's they realize themselves first, because when we take care of ourselves, that spills over into every other aspect of our life.
Speaker 2:First of all, our close, close ones are loved ones.
Speaker 2:But you're right, it takes a few days to kind of like let that go and be like everything will survive without me, like everything will survive without me. But the start of the retreat will be Thursday evening, so that people don't have to necessarily miss work Thursday and Friday, so if they are somewhat local, we won't start until Thursday evening and we're going to start the weekend off at my studio space, because it's near and dear to my heart that women learn to strength train space, because it's near and dear to my heart that women learn to strength train, and so we'll go through a very beginner approachable strength training class that will be body weight focused but have the option to down the road if they have access to a facility, a gym or anything at home that they can incorporate this so that they feel empowered and strong, to not only tackle the do's, the don'ts and the how of strength training and why it's so important to incorporate this in their day-to-day life, but how it will trickle over into their adventures.
Speaker 2:You know, to feel strong on the trail, to feel like you can catch yourself if you fall or if you're carrying a loaded pack or if you're newly getting into it, that you can feel solid being out there. So it's very important to me that we talk about the whys and make sure that we're doing this in a well-approachable manner. But so then we'll have dinner and hopefully by a workout, which is the most unfriendly way to break the ice but hopefully after the workout and we have dinner, we'll have a chance to kind of let the guard down and really show up and be present for the next two to three days, that's great.
Speaker 2:And so Friday we'll wake up early and we'll head to Hot Springs and we'll have some adventures in Hot Springs. We'll have lunch in Hot Springs and then on Friday afternoon we'll head over to the cabins at Sandy Mushbald. I'm excited because Natalie from Food for Adventures is going to be cooking for us. I keep nudging him and bugging him because I think I'm more excited about food. We'll do anything for food. So I've already nudged him with some of my ideas for recipes or things. I mean, he's so good at what he does anyway so.
Speaker 2:I know he's totally going to walk our worlds with his food. So Friday, well, he'll have us some dinner ready so we can, and so we'll smell all his fabulous food while we're settling in and kind of getting our sorts about us up at the cabins. And then Saturday we'll have breakfast there at the cabins and we will head out. Natalie's going to help do a short, brief class on foraging, because that's his specialty as well.
Speaker 2:And then I'm going to lead a class on a wilderness awareness. So I call it wilderness awareness 101, because there's an element of safety. I don't like the element of survival. I like the awareness of knowing what the possibilities are and how can you be most prepared for those possibilities. And a lot of the fears that we hold on going out solo or what do I need to pack, what do I not need to pack, what are the potentials of happening and how can I be prepared. But so often we let those fears take over that we don't even take action. So being able to utilize what you carry and then just being able to take those steps and feeling empowered. So it's not going to be a certification. You won't walk away with any kind of promise, know, promise of anything.
Speaker 2:This is for educational purposes only oh, that's huge and then saturday night, we're all going to cook together as a crew oh yeah, which I think the best conversations happen on in two places in our world.
Speaker 2:Well, three I lied in the car, because you're not confronting with someone in the car on the trail because, again, you're not face to face, and the car on the trail because again you're not face to face, and there's something about like opening your heart. When you're on the trail, what says is set on the trail stays on the trail. And then when you're cooking, there's something special about those moments shared around the table when you're cooking with someone else and you're telling stories and you're sharing life experiences and you're connecting in a way that again that could happen on the trail with someone that you're like wow, I just learned this valuable life lesson from someone. So it's important to me that we cook together up there and then, of course, enjoy the fire.
Speaker 2:That's the best part of the whole event.
Speaker 1:That's right. So was it your idea to cook together. That's right. So was it your idea to cook together.
Speaker 2:Actually I gained. So I did a poll recently and some of my followers responded. I would say, out of the dozen that responded, half of them were like cook together and I was like okay.
Speaker 1:Smart smart.
Speaker 2:I was like that's the best feedback ever. It's so good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's so good. I mean, I'm thinking of the times that I've just been out and the beauty of this thing, too, is that you already have several hours underneath your belt, so to speak. You guys were together for a few hours and now you get to come and there's stories of just reconnecting what you just experienced together, the aha moments, the connections, all this kind of stuff is just so kindred about people coming together and fixing and preparing, and everything in the outdoors tastes good. It's going to taste even better because you're going to have a great cabin to stay in and you got Natty that's leading the way there. But yeah, there is something that's very, very, very smart about preparing together, breaking bread together, being together. Yeah, and it's hard to put into words or why, but it's true, like you said, when we're outside something drives up the appetite.
Speaker 2:But then when you've made it yourself and then you sit down with the people you just made it with and it tastes better, it has more flavor, it has more meaning and there's studies that show that all of that is connected and it will imprint a memory for eternity, that that you will never forget.
Speaker 2:And if you think about back back to our childhood, that's where a lot of our memories would come from is something around. You know cooking together or doing events together, or you know family stuff together. That's where you're going to see conversations really flourish or not flourish in some cases, but there's something about that. Like you said, the breaking the bread together but when you've made it and you've enjoyed being outside. It's pretty special.
Speaker 1:Oh, it's really special, yeah, yeah. So the expectation is not these mountaineer, 25 years experience. I mean, you're talking to me, you're really open to a lot of different. This could be somebody who is in their 20s to somebody that's in their 60s and-.
Speaker 2:And beyond, and beyond.
Speaker 1:So there's no caps or limits on any of this stuff, and it sounds to me like this is a retreat that people could come to, that they don't have to have it all figured out. This, this is about helping them figure this out.
Speaker 2:Find your inner wild.
Speaker 1:Find your inner wild. I like that.
Speaker 2:And you know you could be a hiker, a backpacker, a trail runner. You'll have options. As we play in hot springs, you know to explore whatever, whatever avenue you are at in this point of life, you know. Explore whatever, whatever avenue you are at in this point of life, you know. And then up on the, on the property, at the cabins, you know if you're ready to and you're in training mode for a race and you're trail running and you want to go up and down the two and a half mile and then the mile loop around and then there's a half a mile to each bald, go for it like more power to you. But if you're just wanting to take a leisurely stroll and have some quiet time and that's more where you're at in your journey, then then this is also the place for you.
Speaker 2:So, yes, all different aspects. I think that was my. The other thing that was really important to me was I love attending multi day events. Sometimes in the trail running world we call it stage, stage, day stage events where you run an X amount of mileage, make it to the next point, run X amount of mileage, you know, point to point or back to base camp, whatever that may be, but I also like the option like what if I'm just not feeling it today?
Speaker 1:and.
Speaker 2:I just want to chill and hang out, and if you want to sit on the front porch that day and have your downtime with a quiet cup of coffee, by all means this is your trip too, and so there's plenty of avenues to make this what you want it to be, but enough of activities that you feel like you've gotten other avenues to be able to learn from and connect with people in a different way.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's good when you think about coming out of this weekend, when you think about the people who are going to reflect back, because we go through these experiences and then they impact us, but then it could be a day, a week, a month down the road that when people reflect back on it, that those benefits come out even more. You're a very purposeful person, so when you think about this and you think about somebody coming out of this, what are a couple of top, couple of things that you hope and not that you're like stressing on it and if they don't have this, they don't express it to me it's not a success, but what are the things you really hope in that people get out of this for them? And that also love to hear your perspective of what you hope to get out of this too.
Speaker 2:I'd also love to hear your perspective of what you hope to get out of this too. That's a great question. Ultimately, I want to give the freedom for people to come and check out and just maybe they're missing that in their life, Maybe they're missing just some quietness, Maybe they're missing connection with someone and that it was just odds or fate, whatever you may want to call it that they met this person, someone other in the group, someone else in the group, and they become friends for life. So I think if I could encourage anyone attending to just come with an open heart and a willingness to just be, because a lot of these types of events are so overly planned, Like I've got it planned. But I also want you to have freedom to make it yours and I think, if anything, if you walk away making one friend for life, then it's a win to me and maybe even learning one thing you know and I hope to learn from other people.
Speaker 2:I think that's what's important to me is, had I not taken the chance or the leap of faith and done this, I would have not met these other women, from wherever they're coming from, and that's another chance for me to like hey, I'm going to come stay at your house next year and vacation in your town, so you know. And vacation in your town, so you know. It could be anything. The possibilities are endless, but just being open to what it all could turn out to be.
Speaker 1:Cool. Will you have any part of this where the last night or you mentioned the fire and gosh so many good things come from campfires? Will there be an element of you sort of being able to kind of unpack this or just let it kind of happen organically? I know you don't want to be overplanned with it, but is there an opportunity for people to just kind of reflect on that, or are you just kind of hoping that it just comes up organically?
Speaker 2:I would like everyone to come together for breakfast on Sunday.
Speaker 1:Nice.
Speaker 2:And maybe at a specific time, that they maybe did get some quiet time that morning before and had a chance to kind of, you know, regroup, or even if they took the morning, and then we met up together and did like a little hash out, you know feedback session or what, what did you take away from the weekend kind of moment before we hike back down on Sunday morning or Sunday afternoon?
Speaker 2:Um and you know, the weather around here could be a very big role in some of this. I'm a little mentally prepared for that, but, um, you know, being on the edge of the Smokies you never know what could happen. So, yeah, I think that ultimately, to me it would be you know, what could you take away from the weekend or what could you give to somebody? You know what can you take, what can you give?
Speaker 1:Well, I like that, I like that. Yeah, and then what about for yourself?
Speaker 2:Same, so I'm. So I'm one of those types of people that I can be in charge and I don't mind being in charge.
Speaker 2:I don't have to rule everything and I don't want to. I want to create the groundwork and put it out there, and then you and I do this with my coaching. A lot Like this is the. This is what I was taught to do, but I also know that I need to listen to the. I need to have. I coach people a lot Listen to your body, listen to your heart, what's your gut saying, and then we meld the two together. So the same.
Speaker 2:With this experience, it's important to me that here's the groundwork, but nothing says we have to go by the rules and obey every single thing that's put out there. What if we get the group together and 24 hours in, we're like, oh, we need to pivot. Ok, we're going to pivot and we make that happen. And I feel like that's what my specialty is is being able to pivot and not let it destroy the whole weekend. If something needs to change like it's, it's okay. Yeah, and that's just being human like we did, we need to be okay with that, like the. Even in my training plan, you know the these are, this is the way it should look, but then in the real world, 80 of the time, I actually abide by it, because life happens. So that's kind of how I'm approaching the weekend is I got all these cool things that I want to do, but if we, if there's a moment that we're just like in it and we're just going to be there and we're going to let it happen, and that's the way it should be.
Speaker 1:I love that. All right, so details on this. It's limited to 10 people and space will be limited because we know this will be a popular thing. The cost and how can we find out details?
Speaker 2:Yes, so on, TaraPruittcom is my website and I have it set to. If you want more details, you email me, Because if that I'm old school, let's just say I'm very old school. I'm a single person running all the things and I actually, if I would prefer to do a phone call if somebody really has concerns or questions. The biggest concern I get people asking is I'm afraid I'll be slow, Aren't we all? We're all afraid of being slow. So no, you're not going to be the slowest one in the group, Um, or? I don't have all the gear, no-transcript afternoon, so we'll be. We'll be back to Asheville or to where your car is parked Um Sunday afternoon.
Speaker 1:That's so great. Yeah, oh, good for you. All right. So a few times in here before we let you go, I have to talk about your coaching business, your personal training business. That's a huge part of what you're doing. You're starting this whole retreat at your facility. Let's talk about that a little bit. What got you into it? And tell me a little bit about your clientele and what you are doing there I had.
Speaker 2:Obviously we talked about this earlier. I'd always been into exercise and at the time I didn't know it was such a beneficial piece for me, for my mental health, and I've always struggled with depression and had on took some time to kind of realize how exercise was going to be a major role in helping combat my depression, and it still does. I still hit pretty heavy moments in the wintertime, the seasonal, darker, gloomy days.
Speaker 1:It's real.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's very real. There's some weeks my husband's, like you, got to go outside.
Speaker 1:Same with Teresa, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and so I made that connection and I didn't get to play a lot of sports. I dabbled in gymnastics as a teenager and was never really good at it, and started after my son was born. I taught group fitness, was obsessed with the gym environment and teeny dabbled in bodybuilding. And then I became a personal trainer and I knew that was what I always wanted to do. I mean, probably since the age of like 12, I knew I wanted to be in the health and wellness realm. I just didn't know what that looked like, and when I got certified as a trainer I was like I don't want to work in a gym. My dream is to one day own my own space.
Speaker 2:I don't want to work for somebody. I don't want to manage people and I really just want to serve my client and who they are when they come to me. And that sometimes can be challenging in a corporate environment, and rightly so. You know you have to follow all the guidelines, but I knew that having my own space was my ultimate end goal and in the middle of all of that, I did road running and then trail running and hiking, and now backpacking. And in 2018, I finally opened my own space and my husband was so excited. All the gym equipment was coming out of his garage. He was like, thank goodness, I can have my garage back.
Speaker 1:I've known a few people like that, and that was their story too, so I love it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I trained people at the park a lot for a couple of years, I trained people at the park, in their homes or in their garage or in my driveway, and I was just determined to make it happen. So, little by little, I had accrued all that equipment and put it in the garage and was carrying it out in my car, and then I rented some spaces from some other women business owners in the community that were extremely supportive and a huge role in my making this happen. And then, in 2018, I opened this space and it's evolved into now I rent the space out to three other trainers who run their own businesses and are their own brand, because, ultimately, as we all know, we are our brand and I want to connect with my people. I want them to connect with their people and attract their clients, so they run each of them run their own business and we share the space now and it's wonderful.
Speaker 2:I love it.
Speaker 1:Good, good, good, and tell me about your clientele, the people that come to work with you, to train with you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so most of my clientele it comes in for strength training.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And I have a variety from 20 somethings that are, you know, wanting to learn to lift weights to my oldest client is 83. So you know he'd never he'd walked his most of his life and, and you know they he and his wife lived on a boat for 12 years, so they'd been always been active but he never strength trained really. So he came to me and wanted to learn to strength train. So that just goes to show you're never too old and he's rocking it, he's totally rocking them. So a wide variety of clientele. And then I coach running athletes online. So I have a handful of clients that I coach online to, to, from road runners to trail runners, to, you know, people tackling their first 5k to someone running their first hundred miler. Then the adventure piece, this new endeavor for the retreat, and I'm excited to add this to the list of of cool things I get to do for my amazing job.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's so good. Well, you're such an inspiration. From the very first time that we talked, I've been inspired and I've really been thinking on and chewing on just your desire to see people living life well. I think it's an outflow, it's an overflow of kind of who you are too, it's definitely evident. But I think this is going to be a smashing success. I think you actually, at this point when this airs, you probably will be about 50% capacity for people to sign up, but we want people to definitely sign up for this event.
Speaker 1:I'm going to be talking to my daughter as soon as we're done, recording because she's just now getting into running and she's going to sign up for her first event and she's going to do it with a friend.
Speaker 1:Yes, and she actually had one of her customers gifted her some running shoes. So she's going out to get the shoes and she's doing all the things and and it just one of the other things just to kind of tie in there too you mentioned the strength training and just how the strength training piece can help all the other aspects of life, and not not just in life, but I mean if, if it's trail running, if you feel stronger, if you feel like you have more endurance, the way that you perform and your confidence level being out on the trail just goes up exponentially. And I'm here to tell you that is so true. Just watching my 20-year-old daughter go from being in the gym, strength training and what that's doing for her climbing, what it's doing for her just hiking in the outdoors, it really does boost that confidence level a lot. So I'm going to be talking to her about this event too.
Speaker 2:I't know if she's gonna be able to pull off this one this year, but definitely in the future years I know that there'll be more Well and just a little add on to the strength training piece. One thing we need to remember, and this is the coach going to come out and meet for a minute.
Speaker 2:One thing we need to remember is, at any age, muscle is is the key to longevity, and I'm not talking about just living long. I'm talking about living a quality life as we age to, whenever that time comes. But we are starting to switch our mindset to it just being exercise Right now. It's a necessity to live a high quality life as we get older, from a day-to-day functioning to doing the things that we love, to being able to just go to the store.
Speaker 2:We've gone from the 80s and the 90s of obsessing about being cardio junkies to gym junkies to really demonizing exercise as an obsession or a bad thing or a chore or a if I have time kind of thing too. We really we've got to incorporate a more healthy mindset around it being a normal piece of our day-to-day life, and I strength train in the gym. I do what I have to in the gym. I love strength training, by the way, it's my passion, other than trail running. But I do what I do in the gym so that I can do everything outside the gym better and more present and more alive, and so the more we can wrap our head around this, this piece of it being, I'm going to embrace this. I'm going to make the best of it. I'm going to be my best, the better we're going to live a quality life outside the gym.
Speaker 2:So we just got to switch our mindset around it a little bit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's so well said. It's not for a competition or anything else, it's just for quality of life and and and just being able to live life well with the people around us and care for them and care for ourselves. Yeah, absolutely. And those?
Speaker 2:that want to compete or those that want to, you know, take it to that level. That's great, but the general population most of us are going to be in the realm of this is going to help me live a quality, more sustainable life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, completely relatable Great message, yeah Well, yeah, completely relatable Great message. Yeah Well, I have thoroughly enjoyed sitting down talking to you, hearing your heart a little bit more. Again, I wish I would have hit record, but as a podcast host, those are the things that I have the privilege of just kind of hearing off the mic too. So thank you for everything that you've shared, thank you for the work that you're doing, and I hope that this is going to be an absolute smashing success for you.
Speaker 2:Thank you very much for having me and giving me a chance to share. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1:From the joy of running through nature to organizing a trail running film festival and creating the Unstoppable Women's Mountaintop Retreat. Tara's story highlights the profound impact of embracing your passions and connecting with others. Her journey is a testament to the enduring power of perseverance and the discovery of one's true passion. We've discussed the transformative effects of physical activity on mental health and how it fosters positivity in every single aspect of our lives. I hope the Tarot story has inspired you to lace up your running shoes, embrace the great outdoors and connect with your community. Remember, the journey to wellness and empowerment can start with a single step and it's never too late to discover your passion and transform your life. That's going to do it for this episode.
Speaker 1:I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please subscribe, rate and leave us a review. Your feedback helps us continue to bring you stories of how these mountains and the outdoors influence and shape our lives. Join me on Instagram and Facebook and drop me a note at mike at explorationlocalcom if you ever have a suggestion for a future episode. As always, I encourage you to wander far but explore local and until we meet again, keep running towards your dreams. Embrace the adventure and never, ever stop being unstoppable.
Speaker 2:Thank you.