Coach Chris Hauth

Mindset Over Mountains

By 29029 Everesting

May 17^th, 2024

It feels like a lifetime ago, but I used to be an Olympic Swimmer.

After the 1996 Olympic Games, I decided I was done swimming and moved to New York. Seemingly putting my athletic background in the past, I did one of the most NYC things you could do: started a career in finance.

Of course, as anybody who has raced at a high level knows, that fire doesn’t go away, so although I wasn’t swimming at an Olympic level anymore, I decided to take up triathlons.

In 1999, I moved across the country to San Francisco, and it was there that a few acquaintances approached me and asked if I’d coach them.

It started with 4 athletes.

Then it was 9.

Then 12.

25.

40.

Before I knew it, I was coaching 40 athletes!

In 2006, I decided to quit my job in finance and become a full-time coach.

Around 2012, I started pivoting my professional racing away from triathlons and towards adventure racing and ultra running.

Much like the events I was now taking part in, the people I worked with became more eclectic too.

We’re talking people who were solo-sailing around the world, climbing Everest, paddling through the Yukon, or all kinds of other amazing, interesting adventures.

The more unique an athlete’s goal, the more I enjoyed it.

In 2017, Marc reached out to me. He had an idea for an event, and they were trialing it out that year. That event was 29029.

It sounded like the kind of unique, eclectic challenge that was right up my alley.

They invited me to speak to the participants at 29029 Snowbasin in 2018 the day before the start.

“Oh, and since you’re there, you may as well climb too.”

I was preparing for a World Championships event with another athlete just 3 weeks later, so I climbed - but just 4 ascents.

During that time, I had the chance to connect with participants as I climbed, and I naturally found myself coaching - diving into what their self-talk was in that moment, what their limiting beliefs were, and what they were thinking as they continued upwards.

From then on, 29029 invited me back to every event, not only to speak but also to coach.

I believe everybody is an athlete, and I’ve always been about unleashing the inner potential we all have. It’s what guides and motivates me as a coach.

As living creatures on this planet, we evolved by being athletes.

Unleashing that - exposing that - potential in others is what brings me the most joy.

At 29029 you see people on the startline who have never done an endurance event, let alone an ultra-endurance event. That’s right, 29029 is longer than your typical endurance event - if you get to see two sunrises, you’re definitely in ultra-endurance territory.

When those same participants who have never tackled an endurance challenge reach their summit, it is endlessly rewarding for me as a coach.

But to get there, it takes a lot of grit. It isn’t easy - it isn’t supposed to be easy - and as a coach, I want to help as much as I can.

Before somebody takes on something like 29029, there are two things I tell them.

You need to prepare, and you need to position yourself.

Preparing is the pre-work. It’s how you train, it’s gaming out what could happen - even what could go wrong at the event - and it’s getting ready so you can be fully present once it’s go-time.

Positioning yourself is all about mindset. Once you’ve prepared, you need to ask yourself how you can put yourself in a place where you can be successful.

Obviously, part of that is the physical training, and part of that is the nutrition and gear needs, but the other part is mental.

Who am I going to be on Day 2? What can I do now to prepare to be the best version of myself on Day 2?

You want exposure therapy prior. You want to do something difficult in training and find out who you are when things get hard.

Who you are in that moment - who you are in adversity - is who you truly are. That’s when the truth comes out.

If there’s one piece of advice I have to give most, it’s about normalizing the struggle.

It’s not weird when you feel tired, grumpy, lethargic, slow, negative, or irritable while doing an ultra-endurance event. You’re climbing a mountain for 36 hours - you didn’t think it would be easy, did you?

You will have lows - your success comes from managing them.

If you respond thoughtfully to hardship and setbacks, you will be able to reach Everest.

If you haven’t done a 29029 event before, there are a few common themes I always end up offering up on the slopes.

Who you are in the first 9 hours is not who you’ll be in the last 9 hours. It feels easy to stay in the moment early on, but as time wears on, it’s tempting to stray. It’s tempting to get caught up in the emotions, the fatigue, and the wrenches that have been thrown into your attempt to Everest.