This Too Shall Pass: From Wildland Firefighter to Cocodona 250: An Ultrarunner’s Journey

Season 3, Episode 28 — This Too Shall PassTrueheart Brown never grew up dreaming of becoming an ultrarunner.After years of skiing and competitive cycling, running eventually became something much deeper a way to process difficult experiences, quiet his mind, and find space away from the demands of life and his career in wildland fire.Then he discovered he could race.Trueheart won the Black Canyon 100K in 2022 before taking on his first 100-mile race at the Flagstaff to Grand Canyon Stagecoach Line Ultra in 2025. Despite never having run farther than roughly 60 miles before race day, he finished the 100 miler in 14:40:43 and took the overall win.In 2026, he stepped up again at Sedona Canyons 125 only three weeks after breaking his fourth metatarsal.He finished in 25:14:07.And won.In this conversation, we talk about his unconventional path into ultrarunning, decades of endurance training, learning to suffer, racing 100 miles for the first time, adapting when race plans fall apart, running Sedona Canyons with a broken foot, the importance of preparation, and why the darkest moments of an ultramarathon don't necessarily mean your race is over.We also talk about what comes next.Trueheart has been selected for the 2027 Cocodona 250, where he'll attempt to make the enormous jump from 125 miles to 250.And through all of it, one idea keeps coming back:This too shall pass.The bad moments will pass.But so will the good ones.Keywords: Trueheart Brown, ultrarunning, ultramarathon, Cocodona 250, Cocodona, Sedona Canyons 125, Stagecoach 100, Flagstaff to Grand Canyon Stagecoach Line Ultra, Black Canyon 100K, 100 mile ultramarathon, 200 mile ultramarathon, 250 mile ultramarathon, trail running, Arizona trail running, endurance running, ultramarathon training, ultra running mindset, mental toughness, wildland firefighter, Coconino National Forest, Pushing Horizons podcast