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
Jack Thompson on resetting the boundaries of ultra cycling and recovering from addiction
Known to his fans as Jack Ultra Cyclist, Jack Thompson has been smashing world records left and right for close to a decade. Growing up in Perth, Australia, he struggled with depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder as a teenager and eventually entered rehab for a drug addiction. Once he was able to channel his focus into cycling, however, he found his element. Quitting his construction job and moving across the world, he found a niche tackling seemingly impossible ultra challenges and raising money for mental health charities. In 2022, he broke multiple world records by climbing one million meters of elevation, Everesting once a week on a different climb each week, and raising $500k for mental health.
Payson sat down with Jack in Girona to discuss growing up in Perth, his struggles with addiction and mental health, and quitting his career in the construction industry to follow his dream of becoming a professional cyclist. Jack recounts his first major challenge in 2018 when he decided to do the Taiwan KOM climb, considered one of the hardest on earth, four times without stopping. He also reveals just how brutal it was to complete a million meters of elevation in a year, how under-eating led to chronic fatigue, and why surfing gives him a respite from the bike.
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YouTube: Payson McElveen