Harvey Lewis | The Man + Mind Behind the Ultras
Two conversations with Harvey Lewis about the person behind one of ultrarunning’s most remarkable careers, and the mindset that has kept him going for more than 30 years.
I flew to Ohio to spend the day with Harvey Lewis and record a few episodes of the podcast.
Part 1: Harvey Lewis | The Man Behind the Ultras
Part 2: Harvey Lewis | The Mind Behind the Ultras
I watched him do pushes ups, ran on the road with him, ran on the trail with him, ate Chipotle together, walked his dog twice, sat in the sauna, jumped in a cold plunge and finally sat in his front yard and talked for a while on camera while getting eaten by mosquitoes.
There’s a level of elite athlete who is so confident that they’re playful and I’ve always wondered what was behind that… Noah Lyles, Dennis Rodman.
This is Harvey. Competitive and light-hearted.
I think he truly wants to crush his competition and at the same time he’d like to talk civics with them. Or maybe help them go further. I think he’d be willing to give a tip to someone even if that tip led to his loss and their win.
In some ways Harvey Lewis toys with you.
I even spotted him doing some peacocking.
We were going to do a simple pre-Badwater taper run that led to a less than simple pace with Ohio forest climbing, standing under a waterfall, and what felt like sprinting up hill.
He said ‘my wife tells me to be careful on these taper runs because they easily become something else.’
My conclusion about Harvey is that he loves what he does.
All of it.
Teaching high school civics, running, encouraging.
I believe he loves to motivate people as much as he loves to win.
Speaking belief and life into someone is as much apart of his day as the sauna and coldplunge or hill repeats. His cutthroat nature isn’t hidden and I don’t see him wearing a mask for the public.
Mixed in Harvey is a will to win only matched by his will to see others win.
Watch Part 1 → Part 2 on the Borderlands Trail and Ultra Running Podcast presented by Kiprun.