28 - Rachel Entrekin

Welcome to a brand new episode of Take Off Your Shoes! My guest today is the one and only Rachel Entrekin!I’ve been told before that my conversations feel like therapy sessions for my guests. To be clear, I am not a therapist, but I always feel happy to hear that I allow them to share and perhaps work through things in the meantime. More than anything, I appreciate their candor, vulnerability, and openness.This conversation with Rachel felt like a therapy session for me. Getting to know her and seeing how she has shifted her mindset to embracing hard things, in and outside of running, and how she started seeing them as moments of practice, hit home in a way that’s hard to put into words, especially how I’ve been reacting to some recent events.One thing that I don’t think I’ll forget easily was her description of how we can choose who we are in the face of a challenge, and how we can take ownership of our responses.I think, and hope you all agree, that the challenges we take on in the realm of (ultra)endurance go beyond the physical. I truly believe the mental side we hear about can be beautifully exemplified by Rachel’s words and actions. It’s not necessarily about pushing through and never giving up, but about who we choose to be and how we choose to show up when things get inevitably hard, whether in a race or, hopefully, when we’re able to translate our learnings into our real life.Thank you, Rachel, for this wonderful conversation, and I hope it also speaks to you while listening.Must read: Rachel's SubstackFollow Rachel on InstagramFollow and DM me your thoughts on InstagramOther incredible interviews Rachel's been on, which have inspired me:Choose Strong #126Rachel Entrekin | Two-Time Cocodona 250 ChampionRest Day | Rachel Entrekin Interview, Francois D'Haene's 2026 Season & Free Agency NewsI’ll Have Another Episode 624The Trail Network Podcast Episode 78The Trail Network Podcast Episode 69