The point was living with grace, decency, and attention to the world, and breaking free of the artificial constructs in your own life.

Nature's arena has a way of humbling and energizing us.

For me, challenging myself with this type of endeavor [ultramarathons] brings the best out in me because even at the darkest, deepest moments when I feel like I can't go on, when I feel like there's no chance I could break the record or much less finish the trail, somehow I find that strength inside of me.

For me, it's about optimizing health. It's about lifestyle and longevity. Then you think about what vegetarian diets can do for the mass population, in terms of lower consumption of resources. When you look at the numbers, it's pretty staggering.

What we eat is a matter of life and death.

Humans aren't built to sit all day. Nor are we built for the kinds of repetitive, small movements that so much of today's specialized work demands. Our bodies crave big, varied movements that originate at the core of our body.

Only the most saintly and delusional among us welcomes all pain as challenge, perceives all loss as harsh blessing.