Send us Fan Mail

In this episode of the Hot Ashes Podcast, Lee and TK are back in the lounge with cigars, craft beer, and two special guests: Cody and Jim Roche, a retired Navy Seabee commander and bona fide ultra marathoner.

We kick things off with our usual cigar and drink rundown, then drift into:

Hilarious stories about first cars, driver’s ed, and sketchy road tests
Life as a Seabee and how Jim escaped a miserable Gulfport tour for four years in Belgium
Deep dive into the world of ultra running – from 50Ks to 100‑mile races, Western States, C&O Canal 100, Umstead, aid stations, pacers, puking, mountain lions, and what it really takes to keep going for 24+ hours
How aging, training, and pace change over time – including Jim qualifying for the Boston Marathon and Cody just missing the cutoff
The Ironman refund rant, beard competitions, strip‑club cigarette machines, and way more side quests than we can count
If you’re into running, military stories, beers, cigars, and long-form storytelling, this one’s for you.

Timestamps:

0:00 – Welcome back to Hot Ashes + cigars & beers of the night
1:30 – Introducing Jim and Cody + nootropic pouches & quitting nicotine
4:10 – Beard competition update: trims, weddings, and first-time beards
6:45 – “If you woke up in 1996…” time-travel thought experiment
8:30 – First cars: Broncos, T‑Birds, Escorts, Ares, and sketchy driver’s tests
12:00 – Driver’s ed horror stories, bench seats, and imaginary brakes
17:00 – Manual vs automatic, Jeeps, tractors, and learning clutches
21:00 – Jim’s Navy Seabee career, Gulfport misery, and landing in Belgium
26:30 – Life in Belgium: languages, rural living, and serious Trappist beer
32:30 – What is an ultra marathon? Jim’s 50Ks and 100‑mile races explained
35:30 – Western States 100: heat, river crossings, shoe mistakes, and the brutal climbs
40:30 – Night running, mountain lions, and doctors cutting your wristband
48:00 – Calories, hydration, and the buffet-style aid stations
52:30 – C&O Canal 100, pizza at aid stations, and community around ultras
58:00 – Boston Marathon qualifying story + age group math and perfect conditions
1:06:00 – Training talk: speed work, fartleks, aging, and realistic pacing
1:14:00 – Pre-race rituals (pizza, pancakes, tequila shots) & post-race war stories

Hashtags:

#HotAshesPodcast #Podcast #RunningPodcast #UltraRunning #MarathonTraining #NavySeabees #MilitaryLife #BelgianBeer #CigarsAndWhiskey #FirstCars #WesternStates100 #TrailRunning #EnduranceAthlete #BostonMarathon

Support the show