About this episode

Max Jolliffe discusses his record-setting run at Badwater 135 and his journey into ultrarunning.

Max Jolliffe is one of the most followed ultrarunners on the internet, and in July 2026 he became the fastest man in the 49-year history of Badwater 135, finishing Death Valley's brutal 135-mile course (ending with a 12-mile climb up Mount Whitney Portal Road, in temperatures hitting 118°F) in 20 hours 53 minutes, on his very first attempt. In this episode, Michael talks to Max about his journey from Newport Beach surf-and-skate culture to ultrarunning champion, the science behind his heat training, his race-day battle for the lead at Badwater, how he balances content creation with elite racing, and why Cocodona has become his "white whale." Chapters: 0:00 Intro 3:25 Growing up in Newport Beach: surfing, skating, and sports 6:16 Getting sober and finding running almost by accident 8:14 His first marathon: OC Marathon, 2019 10:14 The meteoric rise from marathoner to ultrarunning champion 10:37 Training through COVID and building real consistency 12:13 Racing his way into Badwater (Sean O'Brien 100K to Angeles Crest 100) 14:05 Course recon and race-specific prep for Death Valley 14:58 The science of heat training: core temp, sweat tests, and data 17:28 What it's actually like to…

People in this episode

Host: Michael

Guest: Max Jolliffe

Topics covered

• ultrarunning
• heat training
• Badwater 135
• running journey
• content creation
• race strategy

Keywords

• ultrarunning
• Badwater 135
• heat training
• running
• Newport Beach
• content creation
• race strategy

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Newport Beach, Death Valley, Mount Whitney Portal Road

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