Hilary Oliver is a writer, editor and filmmaker. She makes outdoor films for brands such as REI, Outdoor Research and Yeti Cycles. Her mission is to give voice to women in the outdoors - to showcase a perspective deeper than physical achievement alone. Her work includes Above the Fray with Beth Rodden and How to Run 100 miles with Brandon Leonard for REI.
She loves filmmaking and is driven to do it but the thing is, it doesn’t pay the bills. Don’t get me wrong, she makes money but it’s not her bread and butter. What is? Her work as a freelance writer and editor of the Outdoor Research blog.
Today, we’re going to talk about doing your craft because you love it, not because it pays the bills. How fulfilling it is to be involved in something you love and removing the pressure of making money doing it - how that impacts the experience of making it and the outcome. Hilary will share how she broke into freelance writing and then parlayed that into film making.
But we’ll also talk about finding stories and giving voice to women in the outdoors. I hope today’s episode will inspire you if you to pursue things because you want to, not because you want to get rich doing it.
With that, let’s listen in and gear up for what’s next:
Where to find Hilary:
Resources Mentioned:
Where to link to videos: https://hilarymoliver.com/films/
Learn more at The Gear Show
We don’t want to think about it but I’m sure lots of us do. What happens if/when we blow our knee? what does it mean when that happens, what are the mechanics that contribute to it; what choices need to be made for treatment and recovery?
There are many things today to consider, and today, Brian Harder, a frequent guest and good friend of mine shares his philosophy, sadly, from personal experience. Earlier this year, Brian had an ACL injury in the backcountry. Being an orthopedic physician assistant and therefore medically trained, Brian brings some interesting and debatable albeit a scientific approach to dealing with a ruptured ACL.
We’ll discuss factors that led to the incident and lessons to perhaps avoid your own. Hint: that GoPro on your head might have more consequences than you realize.
We’ll analyze the incident itself and best practices for getting your sorry ass out of the backcountry without making the problem worse. After that, many decisions must be made: surgery immediately or later? What type of graft? How should I choose the right surgeon?
Please note, although medically trained, this is obviously not medical advice. We all present unique factors and unique cases. Brian says so himself in the show - these are his opinions in a sea of opinions. You know we all have two things in common and one of those is opinions. You should do your own due diligence and discuss your specific case. Many would disagree with his thoughts here, while others would agree.
Also, for context, Brian is 56 at the time of the recording.
Well? What did you think? Agree? Disagree? have questions? we’d love to hear your experience - what worked for you, what you might have done differently. please include your age and fitness level when yo do. If you have questions, you can contact me privately or include it in the comments at takeabigleap dot com/ ACL
With that, let’s listen in and gear up for what’s next:
Where to find Brian:
You can find Brian at skimolife.com and on instagram at brian.skimolife
I have one more rerun this week and return to original interviews next week starting with Brian Harder on ACL injuries; turning suffering into growth with Christian Little, and some insight into making outdoor adventure films from filmmaker Hilary Oliver so stick with me! But first - today, since, for many of us, summer is just beginning, I want to make sure you have what you need in your backpack.
If you are type A, you are going to love the way Jeff Thompson plans his summer camping trips.
Jeff is director at Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center, - he’s been on this show a few times. He is a husband and a dad to a five year old girl. We’ll talk about packing lists, and lists of lists, and refining those lists. He’ll share with us what he carries in his backpack and we even talk about how to get kids stoked to love the outdoors.
Learn more at www.thegearshow.com
Links, Resources, Further Reading:
Nalgene Drink Tube and Bite Valve
Where to find Jeff:
Today, we talk with USATF Certified running coach, author, and speaker, Mike Ehredt about trail running, shoes, socks, and being pragmatic in competition.
No shoe is made for all runners. We have to take things like running conditions, the terrain you're running on and your own biomechanics to choose the right shoe for you. And remember, just like the best marketing can't fix product or business problems, the best shoe alone will not fix your biomechanics, or take you to first place. If only it were the easy. Also, Mike will share with us his favorite app to identify potential issues so you can not only tackle underlying things that might cause injury but also know what shoe might be best for you. Listen on.
Mike ran 4424 miles from Oregon to Maine, 30 miles a day, planting a flag every mile to honor fallen service members. That was Project America I. For Project America II, He ran 2,146 miles from Canada to Galveston, TX , a marathon a day, with no days off. Again, planting a flag every mile, building an invisible wall to honor fallen service members.
Topics covered:
You know what? Socks matter! They slide down your feet, cause blisters, get wet (ew!) and have varying levels of breathability.
LINKS
WHERE TO FIND MIKE
I have a rerun for you this week but we have lots of new listeners since this episode ran originally last year so I think it won’t feel like a rerun to most of you. This was one of the most popular episodes from last summer: Rene Unser, trail runner, coach and founder of Pace Sport Fitness, race director of a fantastically challenging but fun series of Canadian trail races - whose mission is to motivate others to be better runners.
Sometimes we get pulled into trying something. But we suck at the beginning. we equate sucking with hating the thing. We may give up. Or, we push on because as I said, we are pulled by any number of reasons. In Rene’s example, it might be an encounter with an elephant in Thailand. You’ll have to listen on to know for sure.
And if you do, you’ll learn more than how she came to be an awesome coach and race director, but also her philosophy on training and some tips for keeping all the body parts in working order.
Professional trail runner and coach, Rene Unser shares with us her training philosophy and habits and tips she incorporates into her every day life as it relates to rest, recovery, and hydration. Along the way, she shares some pretty moving stories and experiences.
Links mentioned:
Where to find Rene online: