Gary Way has been skiing Cannon Mountain for more than 65 years, and at 81 he is still going strong. During the 2025–26 season, he logged 111 days on snow, continuing to ski glades, skin uphill, and pursue the kind of terrain and experiences that have defined much of his life.

In this episode, Gary takes us back to his first days on skis as a teenager in New Hampshire, when he learned on wooden skis with metal edges and leather bindings before being taken to the top of Cannon Mountain after only a couple of weeks of practice. That first trip sparked a lifelong passion for skiing.

Gary also explains how he discovered telemark and backcountry skiing in his 40s, why the effort of climbing a mountain can make a single run more satisfying than an entire day of lift-served skiing, and how avalanche training and decades of experience changed the way he evaluates risk. For Gary, getting older has not meant abandoning difficult terrain—it has meant becoming more selective, more knowledgeable, and more deliberate about the risks worth taking.

He shares the habits that have helped him remain active into his 80s, including year-round hiking, regular yoga, daily strength work, staying lean, and maintaining a consistent commitment to movement. He also reflects on the wake-up call he experienced around age 40, when struggling to get up while water skiing made him realize he could no longer take physical capability for granted.

The conversation also explores the role of community and trust in backcountry skiing, the special bonds formed through shared challenge, and the satisfaction Gary gets from passing his love of skiing on to his children and grandchildren.

Gary’s story is ultimately about longevity, adaptation, judgment, and continuing to pursue meaningful challenges long after most people would have expected those chapters to close.

From Allison's almost instinctive love of running to her extraordinary response to a life-altering injury, the conversation explores how optimism, perseverance, and a willingness to pivot can transform even the most difficult circumstances.

In this episode:

• Why some people are simply born to run (and why others aren't).
• Finding your athletic niche, even if you're not the fastest person in the race.
• The role of optimism in recovery and rebuilding after serious injury.
• How small victories can eventually lead to extraordinary achievements.
• The Tevis Cup: a grueling 100-mile equestrian endurance race that has Scott contemplating yet another questionable athletic decision.
• Meg's surprise OCR registration for Scott.

Along the way, Scott and Meg reflect on their own athletic journeys, share a few laughs, and return to Allison's powerful message:

It's never too late - to start, to recover, to reinvent yourself, or to discover an entirely new challenge.

If you haven't listened to our full interview with Allison Tai, we encourage you to check it out first. Her story is one you won't soon forget.

Follow Third Quarter Badass on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you listen.

Visit us at www.3qbadass.com or send your questions and comments to info@3qbadass.com.

If you're Allison Tai, you find another way.

In 2006, Allison was building a promising Ironman career when a catastrophic cycling accident changed everything. But rather than abandon the athlete she'd become, she adapted, rebuilt, and went on to become one of Canada's most accomplished obstacle course racers—winning the televised Toughest Mudder series, the OCR World Championship 24-Hour Enduro, and earning multiple podium finishes at World's Toughest Mudder.

In this episode of Third Quarter Badass, Allison joins Scott and Meg for a conversation that's equal parts inspiring, insightful, and hilarious. From choosing a 125-kilometer ultramarathon as one of her first running challenges to attempting a 100-miler just a year after her accident, Allison shares an extraordinary perspective on resilience, competition, and the power of finding new challenges.

Now 44, a mother of two, and an endurance coach, Allison is still pushing boundaries—including a new adventure in 100-mile horseback endurance racing.

Along the way, we explore what it means to evolve as an athlete, how strength training supports longevity, why athletic identity doesn't have to disappear when circumstances change, and how to keep challenging yourself without losing the joy of competing.

Because sometimes being a badass isn't about getting back to who you were. It's about discovering who you can become.

From surviving months alone at sea on almost no sleep, to consuming 6,000 calories a day, training into the best shape of his life at 58, and returning to the Vendée Globe again at 66, Rich’s story raises a bigger question: what drives someone to keep choosing the hard thing?

We talk about the power of community, the role of discomfort, the need to prove something to ourselves, and why understanding our own “why” may matter more as we get older—not less.

There’s also plenty of falong the way: Fig Newtons, lasagna, apple fritters, French techno, questionable memory, and an unexpected golden retriever appearance.

If you listened to our interview with Rich Wilson, this is the conversation after the conversation—the lessons, laughs, and ideas we’re still thinking about.

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Visit us at www.3qbadass.com or send your questions and comments to info@3qbadass.com.

At 58, he became the oldest skipper to complete the Vendée Globe — the grueling solo, nonstop, unassisted sailing race around the world. Then, at 66, he came back and did it again.

In this episode of Third Quarter Badass, Rich talks with Scott and Meg about what draws someone back to one of the toughest challenges in sport, how he prepared physically and mentally for months alone at sea, and what happens when exhaustion, injury, fear, and isolation become part of everyday life.

They also explore the bigger questions behind Rich’s remarkable story: how our relationship with risk changes as we age, why experience can sometimes matter more than youth, and what keeps us searching for the next challenge when it would be much easier to stay comfortable.

Rich Wilson’s story is a powerful reminder that getting older doesn’t have to mean narrowing the boundaries of what’s possible.

Third Quarter Badass celebrates athletes and adventurers who keep pushing, adapting, and pursuing big goals in the third quarter of life.

Follow Third Quarter Badass on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you listen.

Visit us at www.3qbadass.com or send your questions and comments to info@3qbadass.com.

We talk about what we mean by the “third quarter” of life, why athletic ambition doesn’t have an expiration date, and why some of the most interesting stories aren’t about what people did when they were 25—they’re about what they’re doing later in life.

Along the way, we introduce ourselves, have a little fun at each other’s expense, and preview the athletes, adventurers and unapologetic badasses you’ll meet in the episodes ahead.

Getting older is inevitable. Acting old is optional.

Follow Third Quarter Badass on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you listen.

Visit us at www.3qbadass.com or send your questions and comments to info@3qbadass.com.

Hosted by Scott Bluni and Meg Kennedy, 3QB features conversations with athletes accomplishing extraordinary things in the third quarter of life — pushing limits, taking on new challenges, and proving there’s still plenty left in the tank.

We launch September 2026. Follow now. We’re just getting started.