What You Become Before the Finish Line

What You Become Before the Finish Line

From Free Outside by Jeff Garmire

April 23, 2026 · 1h 1m

About this episode

The episode explores the deeper value of endurance efforts beyond just reaching the finish line, featuring an interview with Monica Monroe about her FKT experience.

Most people think the finish line is the point.That’s where the photo happens, where the time gets recorded, where you finally get to stop. But after enough races, FKTs, and long efforts, I’m starting to think the finish line is actually the least important part of the whole thing.In this episode, I talk about what these big efforts really give you, and why the value has almost nothing to do with the final result.Then I’m joined by Monica Monroe, who recently set the unsupported FKT on the Ouachita Trail. Her story is one of the best examples of this I’ve seen. She didn’t start as “the FKT person.” She started as a beginner backpacker making every mistake in the book, and over time built the experience, confidence, and mindset to take on something much bigger.We get into how she trained, how she approached an unsupported effort, what it feels like to carry everything you need for a week, and the mental side of sticking to a plan when things get hard. We also talk about the moment where her “why” shifted on trail, and how these efforts can turn into something a lot more personal than just chasing a record.Follow Monica on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@makeway4mudcatSupport our…

People in this episode

Host: Jeff Garmire

Guest: Monica Monroe

Topics covered

  • finish line
  • personal growth
  • FKT
  • training
  • mental resilience
  • backpacking

Keywords

  • finish line
  • FKT
  • backpacking
  • training
  • mental resilience
  • unsupported effort

Sponsors

Sawyer, Janji, CS Coffee, Garage Grown Gear

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