Win Today
Win Today is a performance enhancing podcast filled with actionable insights and inspiration to come out on top in life. Through captivating interviews and solo episodes, a powerful tool is created and given to listeners to be able to push through any situation in life.
Hosted by Ryan Cass, he delivers messages that align to his purpose of helping people establish a foundation for sustained success, break trends of adversity, and chart desirable courses for life. Win Today!
Win Today
#229 | The Promise That Changed Everything: Growing Faith, Ultra Endurance, and Service Ft. Edwin Martin
A brutal, beautiful truth sparked Edwin’s transformation: a “short” run that broke him open and led to a promise to never quit on himself again. He breaks down how discipline, faith, and purposeful systems turned that vow into a lifestyle powered by daily wins and pressure-tested habits. We explore the link between adversity and spiritual growth, and how to build a real relationship with "The Big Man Above."
Edwin is also joining me as we run across the entire state of South Carolina beginning on 12/4/25.
Key Lessons:
- Choosing to become an endurance athlete despite being extremely out of shape
- How to choose “hard but reasonable” goals and build simple systems that make them stick
- Daily spiritual practices: Scripture, prayer, obedience, hearing God’s voice in the quiet
- Why confidence becomes predictable when built through reps, preparation, and purpose
Thank you for tuning in! If you feel led, please subscribe & share the show to others who you believe would benefit from it.
Keep in touch below!
A run back in the day would be running to the pantry or the fridge for a snack before I knew what a run was. But we were on a run at uh Edistow Beach and he was like, We're gonna run a mile and a half. And I was like, sure, let's go. I got that, no problem. I was a baseball guy. I had a little bit of a background in running, quote unquote. Um and we took off in probably 9:30, 10 minute pace, and I probably fell out 400 meters later. And I said, and he was like, You're gonna wait on you? I was like, man, no, go. I need to learn this lesson right now. I need to know what this feels like of falling behind and not keeping up with the pack. Um, and I let him go, and I really and I walked for about a mile and had this thought just going through my brain of like, I'm never going to experience this feeling ever again.
SPEAKER_01:Two hard things. Help one person, be good and do good. Live a life of discipline, and you will always win. You have all the tools that you need to succeed. Welcome to win today.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you so much for tuning in. My name is Ryan Cass, and I'm your host. My purpose in this world is to help push people further and harder than they believe possible and become unshakable in what matters most to them in their lives. Every week, you're gonna learn from either myself or renowned expert in their field, and we're gonna unveil pieces of our playbook to help you win today. Please, if you love the show, subscribe and share it with somebody that will benefit from it. Let's dig in. Alright, we've got someone on that is a brother in very near and dear to my heart. We've got Edwin Martin with us, and a lot to be said about him as a man of faith, as a servant leader, as an amazing ultra-endurance athlete, and uh my my partner as well, who's gonna be joining me on this 200-plus mile trek across the state of South Carolina to provide to families that have a loved one battling cancer right now, and he's someone that isn't afraid to take on any challenge. So there's nobody else in this world that I'd rather do this with, and there are uh nobody else in this world that I'm prouder to call a brother. So welcome.
SPEAKER_00:Appreciate it, brother. I think this podcast is long overdue.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I think I've been on uh you and Sean's like four times now or something like that, and at this point, I'll decline any future invites until I have both of you guys on, since that's the the commitment that that I've made. But yeah, Ed and Sean Rhodes also are the co-host of the Revitalize podcast, and Ed is co-founder of uh Revitalize. So, Ed, if we go on your profiles, one can quickly see your commitment to endurance, your commitment to faith, and they can see your physique. They may make assumptions that you've always been this way, or that you're gifted and have the genetics, all of these things. But outside of all of that and what people might see from you in little boxes in 30 seconds, what's most important for the world to know about Edwin Martin?
SPEAKER_00:That's a great question. Um first off, I'd have to say I am nothing without Christ. Um, I truly want everyone to see everything that I do, everything that I say. That is him living inside of me. Um, but more so my overall answer would be I just am like anybody else. I am just as broken as the person to my left and to my right. And I have the skills that my person to my left and my right has. But it's just ultimately, I found a switch one day that I just turned on and haven't turned off. And I want to, just like you say it, I want to leave this place better than I found it. Um, in any sort of situation that I go into, any sort of conversation that I bring myself into. I want to leave that person more refreshed than they were before I had the conversation. And that's ultimately, I feel like just with getting the endurance sports in the social media world, it's really it's really hard to actually see who's vulnerable and who's real and who's intentional with people. And I really want to stick out for being a follower of Christ and someone who's really truly endear and cares about the person who I'm talking to right in front of me.
SPEAKER_02:Two of my favorite things about you just came out there, and one is that you truly do lead from the heart, and secondly, is that you have this unshakable humility about you, and I love that because there's obviously if I was describing you, I would go on and on, I'd still be talking right now. Just as just as you could. But talk more about what you said there about it was just this switch that you flipped. Like it sounds like to me, either there was some moment in time where you were living life probably a different way, and then either there was something that came up that made you recommit quickly, or some sort of significant event. Because when I hear flip a switch, I want to hear, okay, what was before the switch?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, um, really good question. So that switch, it was in a specific moment with my cousin. Um, I remember it was in 2018. I was on a run with him. A run back in the day would be running to the pantry or the fridge for a snack before I knew what a run was. But we were on a run at uh Edistow Beach, and he was like, We're gonna run a mile and a half. And I was like, sure, let's go. I got that, no problem. I was a baseball guy, I had a little bit of a background in running, quote unquote. Um, and we took off and probably 9 30, 10 minute pace, and I probably fell out 400 meters later. And I set and he was like, You want me to wait on you? I was like, man, no, go. I need to learn this lesson right now. I need to know what this feels like of falling behind and not keeping up with the pack. Um, and I let him go and I really and I walked for about a mile and had this thought just going through my brain of like, I am never going to experience this feeling ever again. And it was a feeling of just shame and just why am I not like him? Why can't I not do this? And I made that commitment to myself is you will never be in the situation of doubting yourself ever again, of quitting on yourself, on doubting yourself that you can run a mile or just keep moving forward. And ever since that day, I'm just like, I'm going to put one foot in front of the other, I'm gonna keep pushing forward no matter what it takes. And ever since they've just flipped a switch in terms of getting my healthy lifestyle back in front of myself, because I just grew up as a kid who would eat chicken nuggets and kind of just do whatever um the world would say of just your average consumption of food and didn't really know what nutrition was growing up. Um and then when I actually realized it and realized that food was fuel for my body and I can treat it well like a temple, like we're supposed to do, um, everything changed. But ever since that day, I just flipped a switch and I haven't looked back. And it's been able to, it's really it's really cool to reflect on that day specifically, um, especially when times get rough in some of these races where I'm like, you made that commitment to yourself and you don't want to fail yourself. And you don't want to go back on your word that you promised yourself on that specific day, which has been really powerful in some of these races where the pain cave is really settling in. And I remember that day, which is just extremely powerful.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it's always cool to hear like what's the genesis behind why someone is who they are, what led to it, because I don't believe anybody comes out the womb and just decides I'm gonna go run 100 miles, or now what we're about to do, 200 plus, and and typically when people are committed to I would say the what some may deem as quote unquote crazy endurance adventures, there's some sort of story or event or series of events that that that are behind that. So that commitment is made. You can't run a 930 mile at the time, which I know when you and I are running that pace now, sometimes it feels like we're going on a walk until we're about 80 miles deep, and then it feels like we're running about a six-minute mile, even just to keep a 930 going. But talk through that a little more, Ed. Like, what do the following days and weeks and months look like? Because you can say I'm committed, but then I know that that next day and even that next week, and probably that next month were extremely challenging. It's not like all of a sudden you got fast or in shape, and I'm sure that there was a lot of temptations of that lifestyle that you committed to leave that were still saying hey to you, hey, look at these chicken nuggets, look at whatever. So walk through those preceding bit of time and some of the the battles you face there.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, really good question. So with that, and I know it's just a big um commitment is a big word for some people, and to actually follow through with that is a big process. Um and for me, I knew that my story was already written and I knew the version myself was already out there, and I wanted to go chase it. And that was my daily commitment to myself of the version that I was trying to become. What it was already there. I just had to get there. And definitely with some of those temptations of going back to my old ways, whether it's drinking, whether it's you know, eating like crap and just not feeling good, the temptation is always gonna be there. But it's up to you within your mind, your mindset, and your discipline. And I feel like a big misconception in the fitness world in general is like you want to have that, and I relate it to kind of my faith, is like you want to have a far faith, not a fast faith. Like you want to have that longevity of this isn't just for a two-month block. This is a lifestyle you're completely changing. And there's just sacrifices that you have to make in order to have goals that you want to chase. Like if this comes in the way of your goal, then you're gonna have to eliminate. It's as simple as that. And that's just the factor of or the underlying kind of problem that people come into is like, is your goal worth it? You know, is this stuff, is it something that I can completely eliminate out of my life in order to reach that goal? And those were some of the things where I had to make that really hard decision with myself is saying this instant gratification moment right now isn't worth completely eliminating this goal that I'm trying to reach. And at the time when I was just getting started, it was just weight loss and it was just kind of doing in a way I didn't really have any structure to it. So I was like pretty psychotic with it. I was really just like starving myself. But once I found that healthy balance and knowing that this can be a healthy, sustained lifestyle, it was just night and day difference because I I was feeling good. I was seeing the results, I was getting faster, but it wasn't in a year and it wasn't in six months. It was in two plus years. It was a showing up every single day, finding those little wins, finding those daily wins, starting up simple something as simple as getting a morning win, waking up early. I didn't like to wake up early for the longest time because I was lazy. You know, that's a that's a win that I had to build within those years of building those disciplines to continue to add up within your lifestyle.
SPEAKER_02:Since we're so close to a new year and you talked about having a meaningful goal, because one thing I've learned is that a goal in itself is really just a pie in the sky. But what matters the most is the system around it and the journey that you're going to commit to. So as we're very close to 2026, what what's some advice that you have to people to develop meaningful goals, or what is something that you've learned along the way now, being committed to goals for years that are now best practices, so that you can eventually achieve them and move closer to them and actually uh stick with the things that you've committed to.
SPEAKER_00:I'd say choose the hardest goal that you can possible, but have it definitely reasonable for you. Like for me, it was the small wins of like I'm gonna have I'm gonna lose this amount of weight by this time. And then that started to work, and then I would adapt. And I think a very good characteristic of somebody who's gonna really have that sustained success, whether it's their goals, is they have those those daily, those monthly goals. And it's not, it's yes, the yearly goals, but simplify it, whether it's like a weekly goal and just put in those systems of your week, of be really adjustable, is what I learned growing and losing this weight in the journey that I have is like be really adjustable to life because it's gonna throw you the curveballs, you're gonna get punched in the mouth. But how you respond to that of your goal is what matters most. And I feel like adverse adversity, because you're gonna have the temptation, you're gonna have the trials, you're gonna have the tribulations, it's gonna come, but how you respond to that is ultimately going to make you stronger in the long run and you're gonna learn a ton about yourself about if I can handle this sort of pressure, handle these sort of trials that come my way. This is waiting for me on the other side, and it's gonna make me a better version of myself if I get through that challenge, you know. So I feel like if I was going to restart this quote unquote New Year's resolution resolution or goal for me, I would break it down into the month and say I'm gonna just do something in January, I'm gonna do something in February, and just break it really down to the T of like, uh yes, I'm gonna have my yearly goals, but just really have the specific goals that are attainable to see those wins stack up because confidence is a big thing to lead up into these goals. Because I feel like a big thing when people just start, it's that negative momentum that just it's it's one bad thing and in the in the wheels go off the track quick. And then after that, it's it's you're done for. Um and it's just a matter of how you just handle that adversity when it comes your way, is the ultimate thing.
SPEAKER_02:What helps you feel more confident Ed over time, and especially as you've taken on some massive challenges and and done extremely well, whether it be the sub-three hour marathons, high rocks, etc., a lot of people ask, how do I build develop confidence? And I'm always curious in the various answers that come up. So when you say, you know, approaching things with confidence, what is that? What is what is that for you?
SPEAKER_00:Approaching things with confidence in my eyes is knowing and trusting yourself because you put in the work beforehand, whether it's a race, whether it's in job interview, whether it's a conver a hard conversation, knowing that you've intentionally prepared for something beforehand is gonna give you that confidence no matter what. Because you like I feel like when I go into something like that, I mentally go through the situation before it actually happens. I replay it in my head. I'm like, all right, this is kind of what I'm assuming, but I'm prepared. So I'm prepared for the worst, I'm prepared for the best. But I'm gonna be ready for whatever is gonna be there. And I feel like that's just a good mindset to have of just like replaying or going into whatever situation you're in with confidence, knowing that you've been there before. And then that will just translate to some positive energy um going into it.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, you you summed it up though, is is action. Like, and I figured that that was gonna be the response or something along those lines, because I feel that a lot of folks ask, how do you build confidence and motivation as if it's something that you read from a book and then boom, you grab it? It's like no confidence and motivation follow action. Yeah. And confidence especially is the more times you step into the arena, whether you want to or don't want to, and prove yourself right, then you will become more confident. I heard something really cool the other day. I was listening to a podcast and it talked about how you know how we gain certain emotions. So again, like confidence or motivation. But the example was you don't read about water and learn how to swim. You don't you don't read about running and then learn how to run a marathon. You gotta go and freaking do it. Gotta go take action, put your shoes on, left foot, right foot, go and start getting things done, and boom, what will follow that eventually is confidence. So for you, you've surpassed the well, you're about to surpass the hundred mile distance. Endurance is in your blood now. Do challenges like this still scare you?
SPEAKER_00:100%. And that's the whole point of doing it. I feel like if the challenge doesn't scare you, it's it's not big enough a challenge for you. And I feel like that's one thing when someone asks me, like, you know, how did you do that? I I I don't know if I can do it. I I just I'm gonna take the risk on myself every single time. And it's like just posting on social media or whatnot, and just like putting yourself out there for people to see. And it's like, I want to inspire people to do that and inspire and from my journey because like the kid who I was 15, 16, like you see that version of yourself and you see yourself now, it's like there's no shot that I thought I'd be running 100 miles. There was just a long journey ahead, and if you have the physical capability of doing that, I feel like anything anyone is is capable of doing whatever they want if they have the physical ability to do so.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. What what scares you about this 200 mile journey that you and I are about to embark upon across the state of South Carolina?
SPEAKER_00:Uh the first thing that comes to mind is just the body. Um, I feel like me and you have a good kind of relationship with the pain cave um together, especially. Um but yeah, just the unknowns with the body um and staying healthy and staying on top of nutrition, I think will do a good job because we have some really good people in our corner. But just the unknown with with the body and how it's gonna respond to over a hundred, hundred and fifty miles. Um just unknown territory, but that's that's a good part. That's that's the beauty, because we're gonna learn something whether we you know are in some crazy pain or we feel great at 100 mile, 150. We're gonna we're gonna take something from it, which is such a blessing to do it. And the reason behind it all is just you know our suffering is gonna end.
SPEAKER_02:For sure. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, we're going out into uh into deep, deep water. But like you said, there's a lot of beauty that encompasses this whole thing. The the most beautiful thing is certainly gonna be when we get to meet these families. Oh yeah. That they don't know you and I exist right now and be the be the answered prayer to them. I believe that you know, doing this the last couple years, and I and I believe you'll feel this as well in 11 days when when we're when we're rolling is it it almost it's tough to describe it until you're in the moment, but you kind of feel this heightened sense of responsibility that there are people that don't even know who we are, but they're counting on us right now. Like that's something that I'm excited to feel again.
unknown:Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_02:You know, what are so I said what scares you most, but what's one thing or a few things that that excite you most about what we're about to do?
SPEAKER_00:Um one, you just nailed it. Um just the feeling knowing that we're doing something so incredibly hard for someone's answer prayer is like that, like it gets me emotionally even thinking about that. I mean, literally, this is someone's we're going into the holiday season where you know it's it's a terrible time for some people. And knowing that we're gonna be able to physically make an impact to help their lives a little bit better in whatever capacity that we're able to do so is my number one like thing that's gonna be running through my head for sure. Like it's just a blessing to be able to do that. And knowing you have that in the back of your head, that's gonna that's gonna compel us forward for however long we go, you know. Um, but more so I'm excited just to have some time with the boys. Uh, I feel like it's just different seasons of life with a lot of people who are gonna be there with us. Um, so it's just gonna be some good camaraderie, a lot of laughter, a lot of Ryan Cass stories, um, just a lot of memories that we're gonna get to make out there, which is gonna be so beautiful to be out there, and hopefully just a lot of the people that we get to inspire along the way and and get to join us as well along the journey. And hopefully we don't go through a city without someone running with us um at all, which is which will be pretty cool.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, no, it'll be a lot of a lot of little Johnny jokes too. A little bit of a little bit of everything. So the the recap of this when we when we sit down in a few weeks and get to look back on all of it, and it'll be a lot to uncover. So stay tuned. Ed, I want to dig into your heart some more, man. I believe that's what I've looked forward to really uncovering the most in the conversations. I know if we wanted to, we could talk about running for hours, we could talk about endurance for hours, but let's tap in more of you. What what what would you if if you had if you could craft your ideal world and ultimately influence people to be more of something? What would that be and why?
SPEAKER_00:Uh my number one answer would be Jesus, 100%. Um, the author and perfecter of our faith. Um, he is the reason that we are here on this earth. Um he came and lived a perfect life because he knew that we wouldn't, paid our debt for our sin. Um so that'd be my ultimate answer for that. But if it wasn't Jesus, um it would be someone who truly cares about the person that they're talking to. I feel like this world would be a lot better place if we just loved each other um and actually cared about each other, and a good thing to know that that person who you're talking to cares about you, and there wouldn't be so much hate in this world. I feel like love is so much stronger than hate, and if we had that mentality going into every single conversation that we had in this world, this world would be a lot better because this this life is not about us, and if we live our life having that mentality of we love that person so much that whatever happens in this life, we choose love every single time, this world would be a lot better place. There would not be as much crime or violence or hate in this world if we just loved each other. Um I think that's just a big answer for me would be just to choose love, and love is so much stronger than hate.
SPEAKER_02:Break that down for someone that might be thinking, okay, what does that mean? Am I just supposed to say I love you all the time? Or more so, what has you feel that you are exhibiting love? Like what is that? What is your definition of it? What what are you doing to then have you tell somebody else, hey man, that show show love. What is your definition?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, good question. Um for me, it's being intentional with people um in every single conversation. It's asking, going that extra mile for people about how they're doing, what makes good, just like you say all the time, how are you doing? Good, what makes good? Going out of your way, how you can serve them, just because the savior of the world, he came down, he was servering, he washed people's feet. And if the savior of the world could wash someone's feet, I feel like I can do the bare minimum and ask someone how they're doing. But I feel like if you can go the extra mile and ask intentionally someone how they're doing, or how I can be there for you, or how I can pray for you, this world would be such a better place. And if we I feel like that's why I used to be extremely selfish back in the day, very selfish, um, very egotistical, very prideful until I met the love of God and I was like, wow, this the creator of the universe actually loves me. And I can translate that and I want to love people the way that he loves me. And it's instilled in my heart of if the savior of the world can wash feet and can do miracles, and I'm called to live like him because he lives in me, like there's nothing that I am too good for. I want to be the lowest of the low of people, and I want to meet people in their lowest point and show them the love that they're deserving of.
SPEAKER_02:Amen. You know, it feels like there's a a shift or a movement, perhaps even the right thing to say as a as a calling, but I do feel and see that there are more people around our age, around our demographic that are moving to God and moving in their faith journey, starting their faith journey. As we are approaching this new year, that's where a lot of people start doing homework. They start taking inventory, they start looking at their goals, or they start looking at why they didn't write goals down and how to start that in 2026. So we're at this point now where people start looking at what do I want to become more of, or what do I want to start, stop, and continue? More and more people, again, which is really cool to see, are moving to faith, to God, to growing a relationship with the big man. What are steps that you recommend people take if that's the choice they want in 2026? That hey, in 2026, or even right now, because the best day to start anything that's on your heart is right now. Is well, the best day was yesterday. The second best day is right here in this very moment. Just we can take action. So, with that, what encouragement can you provide? And can you also uh share a couple couple steps? So some people might think, oh, does that mean I have to memorize the whole Bible? Does that mean I have to go to church every single day? How can we grow as stewards of faith in the coming year?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, very good question. So, first one ultimately get plugged into a church. Um, and that is the biggest thing and the hardest step, I feel like, in the Christian walk is to get plugged into a church because if it can be intimidating, um, especially to go alone. Um, just because I feel like this church gets a bad impression of just like, uh, like it's just kind of out of my comfort zone. But once you actually and and find a good church that is Bible preaching, it is Christ exalting, and that actually teaches the Bible because the Bible is literally a guidance for your life. Every decision that I make is backed by scripture. I literally will resonate it day and my day in and day and night. And I feel like just have and step number two, I guess, going right into it would just be read God's word. Um, it is literally the creator of the universe on a page. Like he it is literally his words coming out on a page, and it is literally direction for your entire life and his design and his heart for us, the way he loves us. And like people kind of just feel like it is in a historical event, but like this is literally the way, the truth, and the life. It is in on a page. And it is literally the way we're supposed to live our life, right in front of us. And it literally, like I feel like that's a quote that I always hear, it's like we read the Bible, but in the grand scheme of things, it reads us. It truly does. And when you resonate with that and like actually understand the true gospel of Jesus and what actually happened. And I feel like that's there's a big kind of just misconception between like just like faith and you know, one foot in, one foot out. And I feel like you just have to get plugged into a church. You have to be stay rooted in the word. And if you uh can do both of these things, you're gonna have the right people. You're gonna have someone who's gonna be able to disciple you to show you the way to live like Jesus, to chase after him each and every day. Um, and the third, I feel like just would be to die to yourself daily. Um, because that's kind of the main rule of a Christian is you're gonna have to pick up your cross and follow after Jesus every single day. Um, it says it in Matthew. And it's really hard because we're so prideful, we're very egotistical as humans. That's by nature. We just are. We all we're all broken sinners in need of a savior. And until we understand that and humble ourselves before the Lord every single day, we're gonna be living this pride, egotistical field, and nothing is ever gonna satisfy except for Christ, because we have means to salvation by what he did on the cross. He died for our sins. He knew what we were going to literally, he knew the sins that we were gonna commit before he did that, and the blood just wash it away. So I feel like just all in all would be get plugged into a church, read the Bible, and no matter how confusing it seems like it is, it'll start to under it'll start to make sense as soon as you read it. It's just like with reps, with anything, whether it's running, whether it's nutrition, you get it in. And it's a lot of people will neglect their spiritual walk over their physical walk. And it just with anything, and it says in 1 Timothy, you have to train yourself in godliness. Physical appearance or physical fitness is important for sure, but spiritual um fitness is way more important in the grand scheme of things, and growing yourself and in the faith and your walk with the Lord, growing closer to him, drawing near to him, and making the time for it, making the intentional time to spend time with the creator of the universe because he wants to have a relationship with you. Um would be kind of my biggest thing to recommend to people is read his word, pray. And I feel like just people will ask me all the time, you know, how do I pray? Is there a specific pray? You're it is a conversation with the living God. I mean, if you don't find peace in that, that the living God, the creator of the universe, wants to have a relationship with you, and you can cry out to him and you can talk to him, and it is peace-filled. Like it is a conversation, just like I'm talking to you right now. I'm talking I'm talking to the Lord. There's no different. You don't have to have any of this scripted prayer write off a piece of paper. You can cast your worries on him and you can pray right there, just like a conversation, and just have that burden just lifted off your heart and cast them at his feet.
SPEAKER_02:When people say that they have conversations with God, what does that how does that appear for you? So I've heard various things where people do hear spoken words. People it comes up in different ways. And then some people may question, like, is that just my thought? Or is that the big man? How am I supposed to know the difference? So what's your what's your experience with that?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so a big thing that you really see is when you're intentionally when you give your life to Christ, you're born again. You have the Holy Spirit within side of you. And that is a feeling that is like no other. And you are literally discerning the fact of it's your flesh or the Holy Spirit that you're listening to each and every time. So your flesh is going to want every single worldly possession, every single temptation right here. But the Holy Spirit, you're gonna have this conviction in your heart of, is this what I actually should be doing right now? Or is this my flesh talking? And you want to kill the flesh every single time. So when people ask me, you know, how do you know this is from the Lord, or how do you know this is from the devil? Like the devil is out to steal, kill, and destroy every single action or every single thought that you have in your head. It's that's the devil, every sort of temptation. So for me, I really just go to like a quiet place, or like I'm I'm always praying. I'm praying all the time throughout the day. But if I really want to be intentional, I really want to seek the Lord, I'm gonna go to a quiet place and I'm just gonna be still. I'm gonna turn my brain off, I'm gonna turn every single distraction off, I'm gonna open his word, I'm just gonna seek him, and I'm just gonna hear from him. And you know, I feel like you're gonna be able to tell if this is from the Lord or if this is from just your flesh or the devil. And I feel like a big thing that I recommend to people is just to be still, and there's a lot of ways to go about that, whether it's, you know, truly fasting, um, literally from food. It's it's in the Bible, fasting and truly being able to actually hear from the Lord and just being intentional, repetition, whether it's prayer and knowing, and literally being in the word, because God's design, God's heart, God's posture towards us is literally written in the word. So if your heart is rooted in scripture, that's where it's gonna breathe from. Just like with anything. If you read a book, you're gonna learn from it. If you read the Bible, you're gonna learn from it. You're gonna know about God's heart, his purpose, his design, his life for you. And a big thing now to live my life for is obviously to make disciples, but I want to grow into the person God is creating me to be. And that is improving daily. It is within my relationships, whether it's my friendships, whether it's the job, my conversations I'm having, it's just there's so many things that you just have a way to make an impact on people and show the love that Christ has for you. Like every single conversation that I leave, I want to make sure that Christ was exalted and that they were walked away loved, no matter the situation. And that's why I go about my way of like, you know, you could be totally distant within the faith, and you know, there's sometimes I'm not gonna shove Christianity or Jesus down your throat, but I'm gonna love you and I'm gonna show the love of Christ to you because I want someone to walk away saying, what's different about Edwin? And he has the joy of the Lord within his heart. And I want people to know that. And I don't want any, I don't want any sort of crown above that. I want to lay that back to the Lord, but I want to know, I want to have people walk away from the conversation feeling refreshed and loved and known that they were actually pursued and intentionally seen by me every single time.
SPEAKER_02:Sometimes when I'm talking to you, I can't tell if I'm speaking to the mid-20s person that you are or someone that's just been preaching for for decades. I love your wisdom and insights. And again, that's why I wanted to have more of a conversation at first on your heart, because I believe, Ed, that that's what stands out about you the most. You know, not the fitness, not the podcast, the high rocks, the all the other things. And I know that that's what you would want people to really know the most about you is hey, it's your your heart, but more so your faith, and that you truly are, truly are a man of the word and a man of your word, and that you do what you say you're gonna do and you live life to the best of your ability in the way that you describe to people here. It's not here's how I live my life, and then on the behind the scenes it's something completely different. Like this is this is truly, truly Ed Edwin Martin coming out. So I love it, man. What's a difficult battle that you've had with your faith though, where maybe even even though you're very deeply rooted in it and well versed and have brought a lot of people to knowing God, knowing knowing Jesus. Just like any relationship, there are difficult moments where it makes you question it or hey, is this really a thing? And I'd love to know what is one in particular for you that maybe you've thought, okay, this is my next step. And then he said, uh-uh, nope, this is what I'm showing you, dude. Or something along those lines.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's a really good question. So the immediate thing that comes to mind for me is there's this thing called spiritual warfare, and it's real. Um, the enemy, just like I talked about earlier, it he is out to steal, kill, and destroy everything that you try to claim for yourself. You know, and it's there's a lot of times in my life where I'm just like I was really hesitant to make the decisions. And I really learned from experiences like being obedient is taking that first step and just opening that door and closing some when you know, prompted to do so. Um and I feel like a big time in my life that was very massive was when I was in ministry and I had to close the door on that and I had to go all in with the business. It was super scary, and I just didn't really know where I stood at that point because I was one foot in, one foot out, and I had to talk really intentionally talk to Sean. I was like, the Lord has really called me into this. This is following my dream, this is following my passion. And there was one thing that I had to surrender, and that was being in ministry. And I really had to surrender that because I loved it and I loved the conversations and the people that I got up into in that organization, but I had to realize that my ministry was are my clients and the people that are right in front of me, and that I could still have the title of ministry in my business. So there's a time where and I was really just praying and just trying to seek the Lord on some guidance for that. And there was a season where I was at just didn't have a ton of clients, and I was really just questioning, I was like, is this God's plan for my life? Is this really what I'm called to do? So I was very hesitant. And I feel like a big part of people's testimony is stepping out of the boat and taking that leap of faith of I don't know what is next, but I'm going to trust that the Lord has the plan for my life. And knowing that and leaving that in his hands and that he has good plans, he has very good plans for your life, and actually truly believing that in your heart that he's going to provide that next dollar because his will for my life is so much better than my will that I could ever script up in my head. And knowing that and believing that is that one thing that is like gives me peace, that I know God's will will prevail over my plan, my presumption of how my life should be, and knowing that God's design for my life is so much greater than what I could ever imagine. Mine could look like if my dumb self scripted it up by myself. And having peace knowing that that decision was, yes, it's been fruitful, but it's been hard. And I feel like the life of a Christian, it only gets harder because you're gonna have spiritual warfare. You're gonna have following Jesus is hard. It's very hard. Yes, there's awesome testimonies and the miracles of of God and for Him providing and stuff, but following Jesus' heart is not like the world. It the world will tell you to do a gajillion things, and the word tells you to do 3,000 things differently. So you have to say no, you have to stand firm in the faith, rooted in the word, and making sure that you discern yourself that you are not following the ways of the world and you're following after Jesus and his example that he set before us. So if anything, I feel like it's we have a means to salvation from Jesus. Yes, we get to spend eternity with him, but the life of a Christian, it is continual battle every day until we are in glory with Christ, you know, in heaven. So it's like I would I'm I would never come on here and candy cane say that the life of a Christian is is is easier buttercup because it's a continued battle every single day. It's you literally wake up and you put on the armor of God every single day, and it's a battle. Just like with anything, anybody. If you're a man of faith or not, life is hard. It'll beat you up. But how you respond is everything and what you stand firm on. And that's why I'm just like, I don't know how I went 15, 16, 17, 18 years of my life without a faith. Because I was clinging to things of this world that are so temporary. And the word of God lasts forever. I know where I'm going when I die. You know, and if I can live freely in that and show others that God has a big plan for their life and I want to get the best out of them because God has such a potential for them to fulfill. And people will go 30, 50, 60, 80 years of their life never fulfilling that potential of God's plan for their life because they were complacent or they didn't take that leap of faith. And that's what my one of my main goals in my life is, is bring that out of people. You know, I I see things in people that they might not see in themselves, and I want to bring it out because the last thing I want to do is get to heaven and and God's like, well, I had this for you and I had this for you, but you did this instead. And I want to continuously make sure that does not happen each and every day by doing the hard thing, getting out of my comfort zone and following God's will for my life every single day. And that's continuously showing up, being obedient. Because being obedient is hard, it's very hard, but it's ultimately worth it in the end.
SPEAKER_02:There's a quote from one of my favorite books, Who Not How, and the author, Dan Sullivan, he's faith-based, and he talks about the definition of hell, which I believe I've I've shared with you before, but it's basically similar to what you just said is that the definition of hell is that you live your life and then you go up to heaven, you go up to the big man, you're about to be let into the gates, and then you're introduced to the person that you could have become, or to the person that you know God had intended for you to be the whole time. And you don't get to you don't get to go back, like alright, yeah, God send me back, you know? You're you're already up there, dude. So and by living, what I'm hearing you say is that by living truly, uh by following your faith journey, even when it gets difficult there shouldn't be a introduction to who you could have become because you are going to become that person along the way and and sticking on the path and pushing through even when you think one thing, but this is what the word says, and you know that that's what you want to abide to. So I want to switch gears going back to our journey a little bit. I believe I texted you either at the beginning of the year or you had you have the screenshot of it. I know that this was a goal that I wrote down last year going into this year. But what made you say yes to it? Like, I want to do this thing.
SPEAKER_00:Um without a doubt, um, if you asked me to do something and I gave you my word, there's no doubt that I'm going back on it. But for me to say yes to this and knowing what you've been able to build with the breaking ribbons and the impact and the pictures and the stories and the testimonies of the lives you've changed, it's like there's no question in my head that I want wouldn't want to be a part of it. Because if I can play a small role in doing this and spamming the link and casting vision and helping you and coming alongside with you within your ministry of helping these people, there's no brainer. Like, do and just like the point that you always say to me is just like our suffering is such time suffering, and we know that there's going to be an end point. And the people that we're getting to bless with these finances and these money, like, they have no idea. And they could lose their loved one. But whatever that small impact of money that we can give them and bless them with could change their trajectory of their life forever. And we just don't know that. And like, that's the beauty of that, of knowing what you've done with breaking ribbons and the people that you've gotten to bless already in the past and that continuously want to pour into you and donate because of what you've started. And there's no question that if you ask me to do it, even just the idea is like, if can I partner with you at all in any sort of form, there's no shot. Any sort of question that I would have in the back of my head of not wanting to be part of something so special. Because I feel like with a lot of these endurance stuff and doing the hard thing and you know, running these crazy races, if you don't have a why or a reason behind it or who of why you're doing it, it's so meaningless. Because, like that finish line of short temporary pleasure of praise of yourself that you just want to give yourself a pat on the back and absolutely you worked so hard for it. But imagine that feeling that you upped Annie and did it for something other than you. That feeling goes millions of miles farther than you could ever imagine of just patting yourself on the back saying, We did it, yes, we did it. But imagine the lives that you could change by just doing something as simple as a fundraiser. Literally a link and being able to bless people with something. That ultimately is why I there's no way in the world that I would say no, knowing that we can change someone's lives in however the ways that we don't even know how it's gonna change it, which is even the coolest part about it, you know, just having the opportunity to do so. There's no shot I would ever say no.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, no, I I I I can't wait. And I know you have the screenshot. I think you put it on one of the earlier posts. I I wonder what I actually said, but that's something that again, going back to what I appreciate about you, but then also the encouragement that I give to people listening is that you know, if you say you're going to do something, and this is why I love Ed so much, one of the many reasons why is hey, you go and do that thing. If you say that you're gonna come show up at four o'clock in the morning to go work out or do a crazy bridge run or whatever random crazy idea I have with like six hours notice for the next day, then your word is your word. And if your word can't be taken. I don't even know what to tell you. Yeah. So yeah, but we'll have to go back and look at what the heck did I actually what the heck did I actually tell you.
SPEAKER_00:But I just I just I just found it. I I got to pull it up. What did I say? It was um we were talking about the 150 last year, and he said, Come and join me for the bridge run, going to do 150 this year, um, or doing or up for doing that plus something else. Even thought about running across the state of South Carolina, that'd be fun. And I said, absolutely would love to join. Running across South Carolina would also be epic as well. Definitely in to start brainstorming something along those lines. You said the harder and harder and crazier, the better. And he's and we said, and I said, would be epic to run across the state in the summer would make it a thousand times harder. And you said that plus having some sort of time goal would love to do it in three days or something like that. And I said, absolutely, let's do it.
SPEAKER_02:I guess we got most of it right, minus the summer part, but you know, I I kind of hope that I mean winter offers its own challenges as well. Like the colder it is, the better. Yeah, for sure. You know, I wouldn't mind if it was snowing the whole frickin' time. I don't care.
SPEAKER_00:And this was on May 1st, um, 2024.
SPEAKER_02:So I I I'll tell you, I've I've started to just how my brain works, especially if I go long run. I mean, you know, like that's just where I start thinking about things. And uh, for folks listening, this is again most of the crazy challenges I think of or thought of while probably doing some crazy challenge like in the moment. And yeah, I've already kind of started thinking through what 2026 is gonna be. Got a couple ideas.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, you might have to spill those. Uh oh.
SPEAKER_02:One I'm thinking about right now is in December again. A marathon a day every single day for the whole month. But then how cool would it be that in every marathon, just like with what what's really cool is these last two years doing the the hundred mile on the bridge and the one fifty on the bridge, and then similar and same thing with what you and Sean did with Stony this year, the Stony 100. Uh to me, I believe the coolest thing is a the impact in the lives of others. Like that is above anything that anyone does. So bare nuts. But then secondly, the second coolest thing is the people that come out and run further and and harder than they ever have in their life. So there's people coming out in the last two bridge runs I've done that if that are doing their first marathons, their first ultra marathons, their first half marathons, and we saw that at the Stony 100 as well. So I'm thinking if I do a marathon a day every single day, that provides 31 opportunities for hundreds, if not thousands, of people to come join me for one, some, or all of them, and they too can go and push their body and mind further and harder than than they ever have. And then we, all of us involved, get to help people that are again going through something that's infinitely harder than what we're gonna be doing.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, that's good. And just like we did the 13.1 um last year in August, like that was one of the coolest things that I took away from the entire challenge was the amount of people that got inspired by us doing that and wanted to have a part of it. And little did they know they would have a breakthrough in their own, their own life or their own physical, you know, journey with running or whatever it is, you know. You just never know the people that you're gonna be able to impact, and that's why truly living what you preach is ultimately the most important thing that you could ever do in your life, being a man of your word for sure.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Uh yeah, I I believe that we'll never truly understand even the what the impact of this is gonna be. 100%. Because in and even if we inspire one person to maybe start a fundraiser or whatever, or just do something that's bigger than them. Maybe they tell us, maybe they don't. Maybe they tell us five years from now, and then you know, the seed that we planted, because really all we're doing is planting seeds for for goodness in this world. I believe that's really simply put, zoomed out of everything else. That's that's what we're doing. That, you know, maybe that seed we planted for one person this year is something that evolves into a bountiful harvest five years later that we then get to learn about. It's like, how cool is that? So I believe that changing the world doesn't require running across the state of South Carolina or uh doing something extreme. It changing the world starts by helping one person by being committed to something that's deeply meaningful to you, whether whether it is running or endurance or it could be anything, but something that is is truly strikes you at the heart. Ed, I've had this conversation with folks on the pod this year, switching things up a little bit towards the end, where I want to know what winning means to people. Because I've come to change the definition of it over the years, and it's completely removed from any sort of outcome. Meaning that maybe if you asked 15 years ago what winning was, I might have told you that it was a wrestling state title or something along those lines. Now it couldn't be further from an outcome. So we're on the Win Today podcast, but if I asked you what is winning, like winning is dot dot dot. What is that for you?
SPEAKER_00:Um just like you said, my answer probably 18 years ago probably would have been um some sort of accomplishment or end result that would have been for my own gain. But winning today, in my eyes, is if I told someone about Jesus in the day. Um and if I truly poured my heart out to intentionally have a conversation with him and showing them the love of Christ every single day would be my winning. And obviously, there's no good works that is gonna that are gonna get us into heaven, but at the same time, I'm gonna do whatever I can do to go out of my way to share the love of Jesus to somebody, whether it's a homeless guy on the street or it's a person I don't know that I can bless at the grocery store by to asking them how they're doing, I'm gonna go out of my way to love someone and share them, share the show them the love of Christ that they might not have ever experienced before. And I'm gonna be that person who steps in to show them that. Um and I feel like a lot of we just kind of going back to the previous conversation. Um, a lot of times that I've seen God move the most is just to have a willing heart to say yes. Um, just say yes. You never know what is on the other side of your yes, and that's going back to saying yes to this challenge. It's just the beauty of the unknowns of the impact that you're gonna make is so beautiful because the unknown scares so many people. So many people. It'll that fear will factor in of you don't know what's gonna come. And and in my eyes, that's beautiful because that's obedience. That's stepping out of your comfort zone and doing it, and that's winning, in my eyes, is being obedient, saying yes, obviously using discernment, but saying yes to the right things because you never know the impact that you're gonna make on someone else's lives or eternity, you know.
SPEAKER_02:What advice would you give somebody to craft a meaningful relationship or definition with the concept and word winning? Hmm. Great question.
SPEAKER_00:I would say it's like just like a word or like a method that people would approach to?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, like if someone were to I just heard your definition of it, but if I was gonna ask you more simply, hey Edwin, how how can I based off that maybe my definition's not what you said, but how can I craft uh what appears to be a meaningful and deep definition for it that's that's my own.
SPEAKER_00:I would really say to search yourself, to really find deep inside of your soul what sets it on fire, you know, and it's gonna be different for each and every person that gets them up every going, like out of bed every single day. And find that thing that sets your soul on fire and never let it lose that spark ever. Because the day that you lose that spark, you're you're done for. You just find it that literally gets you out of bed and it stirs you to keep going. And that's where when you find that thing and you have that deep down in your heart and your soul, you you can keep going in some of these tough times because you, whatever that is, your your soul is on fire for it. So I'd say if I'm recommending someone, I would say find something that you're so passionate about, whether it's your faith, which I pray it is, or your hobbies, or your job, or your relationships, or your wife, or your husband, find that thing and absolutely just pursue with all of your heart. And you'll never lose that momentum when it means that much to you every single day. Just choose it. Choose it every single day when you get out of bed.
SPEAKER_02:Amen to that. What's one book that you recommend people read in 2026 that can help them sharpen up their mindset?
SPEAKER_00:For me, mine would be The Awe of God by John Brevere. Um, it really gives a good um just overview of what fearing God means. Um, and I don't want to spoil it for anybody, but the all of God by John Brevere and it'll change your life.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I always love to ask books, book recommendations, because now I've got this massive list from guests over the years and him turning it into a little running guest list, so or running book list that we'll have featured on the on the website someday. Ed, how do we keep up with you and support you? What's the best way to do that?
SPEAKER_00:Uh it would be on socials, Instagram. My Instagram is Ironsned, uh long backstory on that one. But yeah, that would be the main source of contact. And like Ryan previously gave us a shout-out. Um, the Revitalized Podcast were on uh Spotify. Um The Revitalize Podcast and on Instagram as well as for a business page.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, folks, keep up with it. Ed, Ed, love you, brother. Can't wait to share these miles with you and this journey across the state, and then eventually come back and recap the experience for folks. And I know there's gonna be a lot of lessons learned, a lot of funny things, probably some pain cave moments that will eventually also become funny things and things we'll laugh about for the years to come as long as we both get to to walk on these to walk on these grounds. We'll be joking about them, man. So can't wait. And uh recapping really what you you said and and what I'll put out as encouragement in 2026 as we go into the new year is is be love. Be love. I believe that's really what what be be love and faith and win today. Thanks so much.
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