In this electrifying episode of Epic Begins With One Step Forward, Zander sits down with ultra-runner and adventure coach Teresa Bowser, a woman who says “yes” to the kind of challenges most people sprint away from. Teresa shares how she transformed her life—from heavy partying to heavy mileage—by discovering Spartan Races, then trail running, and ultimately tackling her self-designed Project Untamed: 103.74 brutal miles with 26,000 feet of climbing. They dive into mental toughness, why the unknown excites her, the healing power of movement, and the wild hallucinations that accompany 36 hours with no sleep. Teresa explains how running helps her—and the women she coaches—shed old identities and step boldly into who they’re meant to become. This conversation is pure grit, growth, and epic inspiration.
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Running Into The Unknown: Teresa Bowser On Mindset, Mountains & Massive Miles
The Ultra Runner & Mindset Coach: Meet Teresa Bowser
I am so excited to have Teresa Bowser with me.
Teresa, tell us who you are and what you do.
I am an avid trail runner. I love running long distances. I am an adventurous person. If you tell me, “Let’s go skydiving tomorrow,” I’m all in. The scarier and the more gnarly things are, I want to step into those. I love stepping into the unknown. I love pushing myself. Anything mental mindset, I’m all for it. I like to empower other women to do the same within my coaching business.
That is great. Endurance running is good. I’d like to say I’m still an endurance runner, but I’m not. I don’t run nearly as often, but I used to do it. People who tune in all the time are like, “He’s going to talk about running again.”
As runners, how can we not?
I understand. I’ve gotten feedback. Someone was like, “Stop talking about the marathoning. There’s got to be other stuff.” I’m like, “Okay.” 10 halves, 4 fulls, and a 50K ultra.
You know. You are a runner.
I am a runner, but I am not actively doing it. I can’t say, “I’m out there running three times a week.” I’m not.
You can count better than I do. I’m like, “I don’t know. I run.”
Discovering The Edge: From Partying To Trail Running’s Hard Distances
You are doing distances greater than 50K. There’s one big race or a big run you did that you put together. I want to talk about that in a minute. How did you discover running? How did you say, “I like this.” It’s hard to run long distances.
I was never a runner growing up. I had the complete opposite history. I was very heavily into partying in college and outside of college. It lasted for way too long. Then, I slowly got into fitness. What sparked my healing journey was starting Insanity first. I started teaching Insanity. If you’re not familiar with that, it’s a HIIT-style workout. It’s old school. I’m dating myself. The creator is Shaun T. I was teaching those fitness classes, and that helped me get to a point where I wanted more. That led me to Spartan races.
I know what those are.
When I say I like to push myself and put myself in different situations where it is gnarly, that is the epitome of everything. Spartans allowed me to get out of the old self that I was in and get into a future identity of health-focused and more focused on mindset. It helped me curate the path that I took. I didn’t know where Spartans were going to take me. I felt this nudge that I wanted to do something more, so I said yes. I listened, and this whole big path unfolded for me.
When COVID shut down, they shut down Spartan races. That led to my friend daring me to do a 50-miler. I was like, “I’ve never run that much before, but okay. I’ll do it.” I’m saying yes and throwing myself into the unknown. Anything uncomfortable, I’m for it. I got done with that race and said, “I’m never doing this again.” I was not trained. I didn’t go to any of the aid stations. They’re like, “You don’t need anything?” I’m like, “No, I’m fine.” It was hard.
I can tell you that I got myself into running events where it seemed like a great idea six months ago. When I’m doing the race, it was not quite as good an idea. My 50K ultra happened because I was training for a marathon. My running coach had done Ironmans and was doing ultra races. He was like, “You got this. If you can run 26.2 miles, you can do 50K. It’s only five miles more.” That seemed logical when he said it. I’m like, “You’re right. If I can make it this far and I’ve done the training, I can make it. Five more miles is hard, but I have the mental toughness.”
Let me tell you that the last 5.1 miles of that ultra were so hard. I was like, “Why am I doing that?” The ultra I did was not the Billy Goat that you do up over mountains and stuff. I was mainly on bike paths and stuff. I was up in Granite Bay, California. I’m in the Bay Area, so it wasn’t that far away. The last half mile, I had to come off the top of this levee and come down on this trail. I was close to the time I wanted. I’m slow, but I finished it. That’s all I have to say.
That’s all that matters.
The sand was super soft. I’m like, “I am not making it a quarter mile away from the finish. I’ll twist my ankle or something.” I had to slow down. By that point, I was so tired that it was hard. I hit the aid stations, and they had these boiled potatoes that you could dip. They looked so good. I wanted one so bad.
It’s like five Michelin stars, bon appetit, those things.
Here’s the thing. I listened to my running coaches, and they had said, “Nothing new on race day if you have not previously eaten it.” When I finished the race, I had lunch with my former running coach. I said, “There were these potatoes. I wanted one.” He goes, “Those are great. You should have had one. They’re so delicious.” I’m like, “You kept telling me nothing new on race day.” He goes, “That’s true, but no. It’s a potato.” I was like, “I missed out,” because every time I went by, I was like, “That looks so good. I want one.”
I get the nothing new on race day. For those of you who are not runners, you want to make sure you’ve tested out any nutrition you’re putting in your body, be it drink, gel, chomp, or food, because you don’t know how your body’s going to react. There are times, and you probably have had this experience, where you tried something new, even on a training one, and it did not go very well. You don’t feel good. There could be other adverse side effects, which we will not get into, but I’m sure everyone can guess.
I am always so curious about those, though.
Curiosity can sometimes kill your race or your run. All of a sudden, you’re like, “Uh-oh.” That 50K was fun, but I’m like, “I don’t know that I need to do that one again.”
I’m doing these huge mountain climbing runs. For me to do a 50K that’s flat, I would rather do 100 miles of climbing than a 50K of flat races.
It wasn’t totally flat.
I mean, perspective-wise. People are like, “I can’t do it. I only do flat races.” I’m like, “Don’t say, ‘I only do.’ You are doing so much. Since climbing is for me, flat races are extremely hard for me. Don’t discount.”
Project Untamed: Conquering A 100-Mile Race With 26,000 Feet Of Climbing
Some of these ultra races are redonkulous. You started a 260-mile race through the Blue Mountains?
Yeah. This Project Untamed, which I finished and got the fastest known time for, is a 100-mile race. It turned out to be 103.7. As you know, that 0.74 matters. It was 103.74 miles, and it was 26,000 feet of climbing.
My legs hurt hearing that.
That was hard. It was extremely technical. Lots of roots, lots of rocks, and lots of climbing. Sometimes, you’re on all fours. Not only was it taking your physical energy, but your brain had to focus at all times because you had to watch where you were going. Your feet were foot-stepping over very technical terrain for more than half the course.
With Project Untamed, not only was it taking your physical energy, but your brain had to focus at all times.
I can imagine. What goes up must come down.
That’s the fun part.
Believe it or not, running uphill, although more physically exhausting or cardio exhausting, downhill is a lot harder overall on your body. For those of you who don’t know, when you’re going downhill, you have to engage a lot more of your entire body to prevent yourself from plummeting down the hill. If you’re in the woods, you have to be even more careful because you’re tired. It blows your quads out.
I did this run at the end of October 2025, so the leaves were starting to fall. You would get to certain parts of the mountain where we would do what we call leaf surfing. Not only are you going over technical terrain, but it’s covered in leaves.
You can’t even see the roots and the rocks.
It got interesting at certain points. I was coming down this steep face at probably around 5:30 in the morning. I was at mile 70-ish. I was so tired, and we were going down one of the steepest pitches. I created this run. I put this route together. I connected all of these trails. All of our backyard home trails that we train on, that we love, and that we do independently, I mashed them all together to create this run. I knew what I was getting myself into. I purposely put these trails at certain times of the run to test my ability and my mindset. When I was on it, I was like, “What did you do this for?”
I get that.
One epic journey, for sure, for 36 hours.
Torture Or Challenge? Would Teresa Run The Barkley Marathon?
It’s much faster than I’d ever be able to cover. That’s all I got to say. Here’s a question. Since you seem to like to torture or super challenge yourself, would you ever do the Barkley?
Honestly, I wouldn’t mind the course. It’s not having a map and knowing where to go. That is what would get me the most. It’s not the technicality of it or the harshness of it. Put me through Byers. Put me on the most insane, gnarliest trail. There are no course markers. You have to go from Point A to Point B and figure it out in real-time. I would be the one that they would have to come rescue because I would end up in another state.
For my readers, the Barkley Marathon is invitation-only.
It’s hard to get in.
You’re doing a loop around this course in the woods. As Teresa said, you’re not allowed to have any GPS or anything. Is it that you do the same direction or is it that you reverse?
You keep reversing. You go counterclockwise, clockwise, and then you have to pick up books of pages to make sure that you hit certain points. If you miss the page, then you don’t get credit, and you get disqualified. It’s a puzzle treasure map within it being very hard. Take all of that away, and the route already is insane. You have to do it in a certain amount of time, too. You have to complete these loops in a certain amount of time, or you time out. There are so many different obstacles going on. Anybody who even gets invited, does one loop, and completes it, I’ll bow down to you.
When I started running, I felt joy, passion, and an energetic jolt towards who I wanted to become, more so than anything that ever brought me.
If you’re interested, it’s put on by a guy named Lazarus.
He is a legend.
An evil genius, I don’t know. Depending on when you ask how people feel about Lazarus, they may go, “He’s Satan’s minion.” You can go to YouTube, look up Barkley Ultra, and watch whole races. They’ve got multiple seasons of it. I’ve watched a few of them, and I was like, “That may be the ultimate.”
It’s next level, for sure.
Healing Through Movement: The Mind, Body, And Soul Of Ultra Running
That’s cool. For you, what does running long distances do for you, your mind, your body, your soul?
Honestly, everything. It connects to the whole journey and the path of how I got into ultra running. In COVID, I was in a freak dog accident. I had multiple surgeries on my hand. I was out of exercise. I was taken off the trails for almost a year, and then I went back and did a Spartan race. I did good, but it wasn’t the same.
A new friend whom I’ve never met before invited me out to go volunteer at this 24-hour event. I did not know at the time that people ran for 24 hours straight. I had no idea. I was in the Spartan community. I was not in the trail running community. I watched these people run for 24 hours, and everything that they endured, and everything that they were going through. I was like, “I don’t know what that is, but I want it. I want to do that. I have to feel that I have to. That’s my next step.” That’s how I got into running.
At the time, I was going through a lot of things. I was trying to step into a new identity. When I started running, I felt joy, passion, and an energetic jolt more towards who I wanted to become, more so than anything that ever brought me. Spartans were great. They pushed me to the edge, but they weren’t taking me any further.
Once I started running, getting on those trails, and taking life onto the trails and trails into life, I was able to untangle so many spiderwebs within my mind, my brain, and my soul. I re-evolutionized myself. I learned how to be bold. Conquering mountains teaches you how to conquer life. It teaches you how to continue to show up for yourself. If you are going to put yourself in those situations and train hard, you have to train hard in life, too. It all started to mold together for the first time. It was incredible.
My training runs are probably not nearly as long as yours, and that’s okay, but I did find and still find that in running, especially when you’re running longer distances, like 10, 12, 15, or 26 miles, you have the time and the space to process through all the things that have come up that you don’t, in the moment, have a time to process.
As a mental health provider, I’m a big fan of Gestalt closure theory, which says that in our lives, we have these circles, and they’re not quite closed. We get stuck because we need to close that circle. I know when I was doing my training runs and stuff, I would finish a run, and I can’t tell you what it was that I processed through, but I would feel like, “I cleared some of the inner stuff.” I worked through stuff. I thought, “How would I respond to that?”
The energy was inside you. It’s movement. It’s moving that stagnant energy and allowing you to have space for more. It’s such a space for expansion because you’re getting things out that you didn’t know that you needed to untangle. All of a sudden, you’re in mile ten, and you’re like, “I didn’t even know I needed to clear that.”
It opens your soul and your body up for so much more. You learn how to process through hard things because, at the same time, your toe hurts, you have a blister, or you’re hungry. You’re figuring out all of these things. It’s cognitive therapy. All of these things are happening at once, and you can’t hyper-fixate on one. You see things differently. I think that’s the coolest.
Sometimes, you finish the run, or you’re on mile ten, and then you’re like, “Let me throw that baggage off here on the side of the trail.” I could say there were times that it was a good run, and I processed through a lot, but I honestly couldn’t tell you what it was. You are actively pushing your body forward, so you don’t have time to put all that energy, but a part of your brain is like, “Hold on. Let’s resolve this issue. Let me think about why I am having a disagreement with my sibling, my parent, or my boss.” It was a great thing. We talked about Barkley, but I got to know. If you had the opportunity to do Western States or Leadville, would you do either one of those?
I’m going to come at you with one more big one. Hardrock 100, I would rather do over those two. I’ve been to Leadville a couple of times to pace and crew my friend. I love it. Western States, if I got in, absolutely. I would so much rather go do Hardrock 100 because it is so technical. There’s so much climbing. It’s deep in the mountains. I used to live in Telluride, Colorado, so going back to those mountains would be epic. Hardrock, if you’re reading, go ahead and put me on the roster because I feel very prepared.
That’s great.
It’s so hard to get into. All of those are so hard to get into. It’s so popular. It’s a lottery system as well, so you have to complete other races in order to get a ticket into the lottery. I have friends who’ve been in the lottery for 6 or 7 years, and they still haven’t got in. Other friends have been in it for one year, and they get in. You never know.
Road Vs. Trail: Why The Boston Marathon Isn’t Her ‘Epic’ Race
Given the chance, would you run Boston?
No.
Not at all? No interest whatsoever?
If I had a free ticket and an all-expense-paid trip. If they were going to put me in a hotel, and I didn’t have to pay for anything, and they put me on the start line, absolutely. Those flat roads are not my style.
One, I grew up there. One of my four fulls was to run Boston in 2014. Full disclosure, I was on a corporate sponsor exemption, like one of their bibs, because I would not time qualify. Even though I grew up watching that, I can tell you that it is, by no means, a flat course. It’s a net downhill, but there are hills. We all hear about Heartbreak Hill. Heartbreak Hill itself is a series of plateaus. It’s not the steepness of those hills. It’s miles 17th through 20th. You have come off the Wellesley Hills. You dropped a lot of elevation and are going downhill. Your quads are shot, and then you’re like, “I have three miles.”
You get to the top there, and then you have another downhill. It is pretty flat going into Boston. It was honestly one of the hardest races that I’ve ever done physically. You start off, and on the first three miles, you’re on a slight downhill. Think about how jacked up you are at the beginning of a race. You start, and you’re like, “I’m going to have a great marathon. Look at me. I’m cruising along. Fastest 5K I did in a race, and it’s in Boston.” Yeah, because I was going slightly downhill. You’re amped up. You’re in Boston. You’re like, “I’m running Boston.” You’re going slightly downhill. You feel fantastic. You probably go faster than you should at the beginning of the race.
You’ve already sold me. Let’s go do Boston together.
You would’ve been finished, showered, and eaten.
I don’t know. Those road races are so different than trail. Those are so challenging to me.
Finding that next version of yourself is always going to be hard. It’s always going to be at the edge. Stepping over that edge and trusting yourself to do it is the greatest gift that you can give yourself.
When I was flying back to California, there was a woman I saw. She had her Boston medal on. I’m like, “You finished Boston. That’s great.” She had won her age class. She was 85.
That’s amazing.
There weren’t a lot of 85-year-olds. Since she won her age group, she gets to be up on stage with all the elites and stuff.
I love that.
She was like, “I am here with these people who are so insanely fast.” They’re the ones going, “I can’t believe you’re here.” She did not look 85.
I want to be her when I grow up.
No doubt. I got home, and I’m like, “Let me look it up.” I am not faster than an 85-year-old woman. She beat me by 1 minute and 3 seconds.
That’s awesome.
The other thing that I have to say that makes Boston super challenging, and people don’t talk about it, is that the elites go off at 10:00 AM. I didn’t start running until noon. It was not hot, but it was a warm day.
That’s hard. We usually start at 4:00 AM for trail running and ultra running. 4:00 AM starts are so normal. You’re going to bed at 8:00. You’re up at 2:00 with no sleep. I named the race Project Untamed 100. I started at 4:00 AM. It took me 36 hours to complete. By the time I was done, I was probably up for 38 hours. Who sleeps the night before? I had the most hallucinations I’ve ever had on this run, which was fun.
At least they were fun hallucinations.
I was almost sad that they left. I had a ten-mile stretch between mile 80 and 90 where it was so intense. I don’t know what happened at mile 90, but they stopped. They faded a little, but I was like, “I want those back.” That was keeping me company.
It is interesting what happens when we push ourselves. No matter what it is, beyond what we believe is possible.
That’s why we do the things that we do. That’s why we put ourselves in finding our next edge. I love what you are all about in your mantra of not yet.
The “Not Yet” Philosophy: Embracing Future Possibilities
I was going to ask you my not-yet question.
I love that. I ruined it. I spoiled it.
It’s good.
One of mine is that I want to do a 200-mile race. Not yet, but 200 miles is next. I need to know what it feels like at mile 130, 150, 160, and 200, all consecutive and continuing to push yourself. Going back, for me, it’s 200 miles. Maybe for you, it’s stepping into a hard conversation. Maybe for you, it’s going for a career jump, a race, or a new relationship. Finding that next version of yourself is always going to be hard. It’s always going to be at the edge. Stepping over that edge and trusting yourself to do it is the greatest gift that you can give yourself.
I love that you like that concept of not yet. I think it’s so powerful for the possibilities in our lives. To sit there and say, “This hasn’t happened. Have I run a 200-miler? Not yet,” you remain open to the possibility of doing it. No matter what that is, not yet. I know in writing the books, people are like, “Is the book out?” I’m like, “Not yet.”
Not yet, but it’s happening.
It’s the same way when people ask, “Have you run the Untamed 100?” No makes it sound like it’s never going to happen. However, with races, you’re like, “I’m in training. Not yet. It’s happening in two months.” People go, “I get that.” People want it black and white. Yet, if someone’s in college and they’re a freshman, you don’t say, “Do you have your degree?” because you know that there’s a path for them to take.
I always like to coach my clients, too. It’s like that same closed-off way of thinking of giving yourself permission versus freedom. For me, permission means you need to ask. What happens if someone tells you no? In elementary school, it was like, “Can I go to the bathroom?” “No, not right now.” With permission, you’re giving that, “Maybe yes. Maybe no,” vibe.
Give yourself the freedom to explore opportunities.
Give yourself the freedom to explore this opportunity and the freedom to explore that thought, not permission to go for it. Who wants permission? If you tell me no, that’s going to close me off and make me mad. I want the freedom to do it. It’s almost like the close circle concept. Don’t put yourself in a box by saying one certain thing. Reframe certain things. It’s like Jedi mind tricks, and I love it.
The Power Of Asking: Choosing Freedom And Conviction In Life And Business
Sometimes, we have to ask for something. For example, you asked to be on the show. If I said no, although a loss for me and my audience, you’re no worse off for having asked. I’ve shared this story before on the show, but I think it demonstrates it well. I’m going to go old-school here. Tip O’Neill, who was a congressman from Massachusetts, was the Speaker of the House for twenty years. It was a long time. He was at some event. This woman came up and said, “I didn’t vote for you in the last election.” He goes, “Why not?” She said, “You didn’t ask.”
I love this story because I’ve gotten so many things because I asked. Not only did I ask, but I asked a specific question. You and I, as coaches, if we ask a specific question, “Will you help me train for X?” Your answer could be, “Yes,” or, “No,” or, “Here’s what I can do for you. I can hand you a training schedule, but I can’t do all the training with you.”
If someone says, “Can you help me learn how to run?” That’s very vague. It’s like, “Buy some shoes. Walk out the door. Go a mile.” Anything in life, especially in distance, if we’re specific about what we’re asking for, it’s amazing. I’m sure you are trying to get sponsors for the Untamed 100. You’ve got to be specific about what you’re offering, not, “Would you want a sponsor?”
“Would you want to help?”It is stepping into those big, bold moves. Asking alone is so bold. It’s something that we’re all afraid to do because we’re like, “What happens if they say no?” It’s going back to trust, belief, and full conviction of what you want and value, and then leaning into that. It’ll give you the power and courage to do it. When you don’t have that confidence yet, you get confidence by doing. Start asking, and then it becomes easier, and you get better at it.
Asking alone is so bold, and it’s something that we’re all afraid to do.
Also, realize that if someone says no, you are still in the same place you were. You’re not behind. You may not be stepping forward, but you’re no worse off. Frankly, you’re better for having practiced asking the question. You don’t know what someone’s going to say.
I forget who said it, but no means not yet, or no is not yet. It was something like that. You never know what’s around the corner. How many successful stories of people who are the epitome of success have gone through noes? You have to ask. You have to put yourself out there.
Thomas Edison, in trying to figure out the light bulb, made 100 different attempts at it.
Failing forward, always.
This has been a truly epic conversation. I want to thank you so much for coming in. How can people get a hold of you?
The best way would be through Instagram. It’s @TeresaBowser_. If any of this resonated, I would love to contact you guys. Message me. Reach out. I would love to talk to you.
I want to remind everyone that if you’re ready to begin your epic journey, go to EpicBegins.com. As always, remember, epic choices lead to the epic life we want.
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About Teresa Bowser
I am Teresa Bowser — Empowerment Coach, multi 100-mile finisher, and founder of She Glows Untamed. I help women activate their next evolution through bold self-leadership, embodied courage, and identity work that transforms how they show up in every area of life. I’ve spent my life meeting hard things head-on and used every one of those moments to build strength, depth, and direction.
The courage was always within me, ultra running simply became the space where I expanded it. Out there, I learned what it means to live boldly and lead myself with courage when no one’s watching. To meet resistance with grounded power, to move toward the unknown with trust, and to keep choosing the woman I’m becoming, mile after mile.
Most recently, I created and completed Project Untamed, a self-designed 100-mile trail run through the Blue Ridge Mountains with over 26,000 feet of climbing, setting the first official Fastest Known Time record. But the miles were never about endurance. They were about embodiment. About what happens when courage and boldness meet and you stop waiting for permission to live fully alive.
Through She Glows Untamed, I help high-achieving women do the same. To trust the nudge that’s calling them forward, take the bold moves their future self is asking for, and live the life they crave daily. My work is about leading yourself with courage, power, and conviction, and building a life that reflects who you are becoming, not who you’ve been.