Episode #328: The Accidental Athlete and Running for Your Life with Barry Karch

June 4, 2024
Cheryl Ilov

Podcast: Download (Duration: 45:45 — 41.9MB)

Barry Karch is the owner of Real Estate Power Houses, host of the Running for Your Life podcast and accidental athlete who is passionate about outsmarting Father Time through running or any other physical activity, especially as we get older.

Barry encourages all of us to reject the belief that we can’t get better as we get older, to embrace the fact that each decade can be better than the one before, and celebrating what we are able to accomplish, no matter how big or small.

Barry describes his journey of how (and why) he rediscovered running at a later age and finding it far more enjoyable now than he did when he was younger. He was enjoying it so much that his wife casually asked him if he was going to start doing races again. Intrigued by the question, he wondered if he actually had the strength and ability.

That launched him on a remarkable journey of taking on physical challenges that he never would have believed possible, starting with a 5K and raising the bar a little higher with each additional challenge. He talks about training for and completing the 29029 challenge, which is a hiking challenge that equals the height of Mt. Everest, signing up and completing the CFF Tower Climb 2024, which consists of running one mile followed by a climb of 925 stairs to the top of the Tower of America, and taking on his newest challenge, called “Rite of Passage,” which is led by former Navy Seal Chadd Wright, takes place in the mountains of NW Georgia.

The Rite of Passage requires continuous movement for 24 hours and is guaranteed to break you down and discover things about yourself you never knew before. It is also designed to help participants grow physically, mentally, spiritually, and form life-long relationships with your team members. I think it sounds terrifying, but Barry is all in and can’t wait to do it.

Although Barry has accomplished amazing things in the past two years, he is incredibly humble, telling the listeners that there is nothing special about him, and if he can do it, so can you! His philosophy is to not be afraid to try new things, to keep moving, stay active, and refuse to get old.

Download this incredibly powerful, positive, and motivating episode to learn more from the accidental athlete and how we can all outsmart and outrun Father Time!