With Pace
Professional mountain biker Payson McElveen sits down with some of the biggest names in sports and adventure to get an inside look at what sets them apart. With no script, the casual conversations are as diverse as the guests, with topics ranging from harrowing tales of survival, to debates on current events, to everyday tips and tricks and everything in between. As Payson travels the world for his two-wheeled day job, listen in as he rubs shoulders with and learns from some of the most inspiring athletes, entrepreneurs, academics, and others as they chase and inspire greatness.
With Pace
Larissa Connors, mountain biker
Larissa Connors is a two-time winner of both the Leadville 100 mountain bike race and Belgian Waffle Ride. Payson caught up with her at her home in Orange County, California in February to talk work/life balance, over-training, and why she has unfinished business in Leadville. They also talk about why she’s glad she doesn’t live near any of her toughest racing competitors, how she manages to maintain her infant daughter’s breastfeeding schedule while training for races and working full-time as a math teacher, and how her work in the classroom allows her to find a consistent source of self-worth that is so elusive in the unpredictable world of professional cycling. Known for her love of extreme physical challenges, Larissa also has a few cautionary tales up her sleeve, including the time she did five 100 mile mountain bike races in less than six weeks, and her first (and last) experience at La Ruta de los Conquistadores in Costa Rica when she nearly died of kidney failure and found herself alone in a rural hospital in the jungle with nothing but the kit she was wearing and a very limited understanding of Spanish.
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