#19 - From Broken to Back: Ultraman Champion Tara Norton’s Playbook for Healthy Performance
Today’s guest is Ultraman Triathlon Champion Tara Norton
How to chase big endurance goals after major setbacks—without breaking your body or your life. Tara’s insights turn ambition into sustainable systems: smart load management, flexible mindset tools, and a supportive team culture.
In today’s conversation Tara Norton explores the real mechanics of a comeback—how awareness, flexibility, and small, repeatable habits rebuild world-class durability. She takes us inside Ultraman’s three-day gauntlet and the mindset that carried her through broken bones, fear, and self-doubt. Tara shares how a mental coach rewired her response to panic, why “just start” beats perfect plans, and how community and crew make the hardest races possible. We end with practical ways busy people can train hard and stay healthy.
You will learn how to separate real risk from recycled fear; a simple framework for adjusting plans when niggles appear (shorten, split, or swap); why missing the right workout protects race-day outcomes; how crew and accountability transform ultra goals; and how to carry a personal mantra into training and life.
You will discover that resilience is mostly logistics and honesty: start, notice, adjust, repeat—with a team that keeps you moving when your brain wants an exit.
Ambitious people over-index on willpower and under-index on awareness and recovery. Tara replaces “all-or-nothing” with flexible structure so you can build fitness, confidence, and longevity—at any age.
Key take aways:
Start imperfectly; adjust on the fly.
Awareness beats anxiety on race day.
Miss one workout—on purpose—to build flexibility.
A mantra focuses energy under stress.
Crew culture turns hard into possible.
“If you don’t start, then it will never happen.”
Today’s Expert Guest - Ultraman Triathlon Champion Tara Norton
Tara Norton is a Toronto-based multisport coach and former professional triathlete, a two-time Ultraman World Champion (2018, 2019) and long-course veteran with 25+ Iron-distance finishes and multiple Kona starts. After suffering a femur fracture in 2016, she engineered a remarkable comeback to win Ultraman Worlds in 2018 and defend her title in 2019; today she leads athletes through Tara Norton Training while continuing to race and mentor crews at ultra events.
Tara blends elite-level endurance experience with clinician-level pragmatism (RMT background), emphasizing awareness over ego, flexible planning, and the social architecture of crews and teammates. Her programs span masters swimming, indoor cycling, outdoor sessions, and open-water training—designed to fit real lives while preparing athletes for everything from first triathlons to Ultraman.
Follow Tara Norton on Instagram & Linked In.
Check out her website.
This podcast contains advice and information relating to health and wellness. It should be used to supplement rather than replace the advice of your doctor or another trained health professional. If you know or suspect that you have a health problem, seek your physician’s advice before embarking on any medical program or treatment. All efforts have been made to assure the accuracy of the information contained in this podcast / interview / article as of the date of publication. The author and publisher disclaim liability for any medical or other outcomes that may occur as a result of applying the methods suggested in this material.
