Go Get It! | Harvey Lewis | TEDxVeroBeach

Harvey Lewis has spent years pushing his body into places most people never choose to go—and staying there. Through his journey in ultrarunning, he developed what he calls the six pillars of success, a framework for building a mindset resilient enough to withstand extreme discomfort, doubt, and fatigue.

In this talk, delivered just two weeks after competing in the World Championship of Last Man Standing, Lewis shares the mental architecture that allows him to endure. At the time, he was running with two broken ribs and a pulled hamstring—yet the physical injuries are not the focus. The focus is how he keeps going when the body is asking him to stop.

Lewis explains that a bulletproof mindset isn’t about motivation or toughness in the moment. It’s built long before the race begins—through habits, self-talk, purpose, and intentional preparation. The six pillars he outlines are not exclusive to athletes; they are tools anyone can use when facing prolonged stress, uncertainty, or personal challenges.

This talk invites the audience to reconsider their relationship with discomfort and effort. By shifting how we train our minds—before we need them—we can do far harder things than we think possible, both on and off the course. Harvey Lewis is an accomplished ultrarunner and high school social studies teacher from Ohio.

He took 5 years to break 5 hours in the marathon and 17 years to qualify for Boston. But with the consistent chipping away like an Andy Dufresne, he gradually improved at his craft earning a place on the 24 Hour USA team, improving his distance from 81.3 miles at age 20 to over 160 miles in his mid 40’s. He has won races ranging from the hottest race – the Badwater 135 twice to Bigs Backyard “Last Person Standing” World Championship in 2021 and 2023.

Harvey has lived between two cities, Cincinnati and Circleville, every week for over a decade with his wife Kelly and dog Carly. He run-commutes to work every day, both ways, for over 11 years. He advocates a vegan diet and loves collecting rocks near and far. He’s run races and picked up rocks in dozens of countries on his journeys across more than 100 countries. He created a business in 2014, RunQuest Travel, which combines his passions of running, travel, and education by taking guests on hiking and running holidays to Portugal. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx