# The Mental Side of Ultrarunning | Lauren Jones on Failure, Hallucinations, and Hard Things

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Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/free-outside-6909507/the-mental-side-of-ultrarunning-lauren-jones-on-failure-hallucinations-and-hard-things.md
Podcast: [Free Outside](https://stenobird.com/podcast/free-outside-6909507)
Published: 2026-05-25T16:08:38+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/freeoutside/episodes/The-Mental-Side-of-Ultrarunning--Lauren-Jones-on-Failure--Hallucinations--and-Hard-Things-e3jsbhp
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/eaf7016c/podcast/play/120515577/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-4-25%2F424857234-44100-2-41214de76ebba.mp3
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Duration seconds: 3123

## Resource

Lauren Jones. Lauren balances a demanding career as a pediatric nurse anesthetist, family life, and somehow still finds time to chase some of the hardest endurance goals imaginable. Multi-day races. Cocodona. Fixed time racing. Running over 150 miles in 24 hours. Team USA. Hallucinations. DNFs. Successes. Failures. We talk about balancing life with training, learning how to fail without letting it define you, why hard things can make other hard things easier, and how radical acceptance of failure can unlock growth. Lauren shares stories from Cocodona, fixed time racing, hallucinating deep into ultramarathons, running 154 miles in a day, and what keeps bringing her back to difficult challenges. We also talk about getting back into running after Cocodona, Memorial Day reflections, honoring sacrifice, and why maybe the point isn't perfection. Maybe the point is showing up anyway. Topics: • Cocodona 250 • Fixed time racing and Desert Solstice • Running 154 miles in 24 hours • Team USA experience • DNFs and learning from failure • Hallucinations and sleep deprivation • Balancing career, family, and training • Mental strategies for ultrarunning • Why we keep choosing hard things Thanks to Janji, Garage Grown Gear, Northeast Trail Adventures, and Montana Meltdown for supporting the show. Support our Sponsors: Sawyer: https://sawyerdirect.net/ Janji (code: Freeoutside): https://snp.link/a0bfb726 CS Coffee: CSinstant.coffee Garage Grown Gear: https://snp.link/db1ba8ab Subscribe to Substack: http://freeoutside.substack.com Support this content on patreon: HTTP://patreon.com/freeoutside Buy my book "Free Outside" on Amazon: https://amzn.to/39LpoSF Email me to buy a signed copy of my book, "Free Outside" at jeff@freeoutside.com Watch the movie about setting the…

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