Fitness
Fitness Training
How David Kilgore helped Michelle Khare conquer the Great World Race
Sometimes the best way to finish a seven-continent, seven day marathon is to tap a two-time winner of the competition as your mentor.
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As runners everywhere begin their training for the Wings for Life World Run on May 10, many are asking how to refine running form, sustain pace, and cultivate mental strength. These same qualities are championed by ultrarunner champion David Kilgore and YouTube’s daredevil and Challenge Accepted host, Michelle Khare.
In the lead up to the 2025 Great World Race, Kilgore had two missions: train for the race himself and serve as “coach” and mentor to Khare.
Having recently recovered from an injury, Kilgore was aware his training put him at risk of returning too early, an unfortunate possibility that actually came to fruition halfway through the Great World Race.
But instead of calling it quits, Kilgore selflessly remained on the sidelines as Khare’s support system, guiding her through different temperatures, elevations, and climates all across the world - and ultimately, across the finish line.
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David Kilgore and Michelle Khare post training
© Michelle Khare's team
For Khare, it was Kilgore’s support that made all the difference.
“With Challenge Accepted, I’m learning a different sport, profession, or stunt, so the role of ‘the mentor’ is really important to me,” Khare said. “Not just for my own success, but for the audience to get a window into what it’s like for a professional in a specific environment to excel. We were so lucky Red Bull put us in contact, and even more lucky David said ‘yes.’”
Throughout the training process, Kilgore discovered supporting Khare was actually an equally fulfilling role to running, albeit through a different lens.
“This was my third time going back to the race, and it was a ton of fun, so I was definitely bummed when I had to pull out halfway through,” Kilgore said. “It was somewhat more gratifying being on the sidelines and being more engaged with Michelle - riding scooters next to her and being more of a cheerleader and actual mentor throughout the entire duration, not just for a slice of it.”
Kilgore’s training mentorship began at the Red Bull Athlete Performance Center (APC) in Santa Monica, where he and Khare met in person for the first time and where he witnessed her VO2 max treadmill test - measuring the max oxygen rate a body can utilize during intense exertion.
“I don’t know anyone who does a VO2 max test and feels great afterward, but David was so supportive and kind,” Khare said. “It was a funny introduction to what became a journey for the two of us.”
Kilgore and Khare at the Red Bull Athlete Performance Center (APC)
© Michelle Khare's team
Kilgrore’s naturally supportive demeanor became a hallmark of his coaching, helping Khare learn by example of what - among other things - true support could look like.
“David’s not only an incredibly knowledgeable superstar, his attitude, aura and vibe are everything,” Khare said. “He stood on the sidelines for every single race, cheering for everyone, which is a level of professionalism and eliteness I have never experienced with any other athlete I’ve had the privilege of working with.”
That’s due in large part to the prioritization and emphasis Kilgore puts on finding his happiness and joy - every single day - whether as a coach, competitor, mentor or friend.
“I’ve been in this sport for a really long time and that’s a wave I’ve been riding for a while,” Kilgore said. “As I got older, I realized I wanted to do things that really inspired me, made me happy day-to-day - things that really set my soul on fire. Even though there was a setback and I wasn’t able to finish, I was really excited to be there for the rest of the athletes racing, being there for Michelle, and witnessing her go through an incredible journey.”
After the APC, the training continued to downtown Los Angeles, where Kilgore stood in a freezer while Michelle trained for Antarctica, and then stood in a 103 degree sauna while she trained for Abu Dhabi.
“One of the more challenging things of the race beyond time zone change is the change in environment,” Khare said. “We cranked up the sauna as hot as it could go, I ran for 30 minutes, measured my sweat loss, and then immediately went to a cold storage freezer. This thing was so cold, there were icicles on the ceiling. To go between those two polarities in one day was crazy, but it was the closest thing we could get to simulating these environmental changes.”
Because of the hot and cold simulations, Khare and her crew were able to experience what it was like to be in those conditions - experiences that dramatically altered their plan for how to prepare for both Antarctica and the UAE.
Adding to the physical preparations were the mental strategies Kilgore was able to share with Khare, helping her better grapple with the long running distances, changing course elevations, climate shifts, and sleep and nutritional variance across all seven continents.
Khare and Kilgore reflecting on their training for Great World Race
© Nathan Rey Gold
“I learned from David that mindset is absolutely the key to high performance of any kind,” Khare said. “I used to think it was something very strict, rigorous, always following the training plan. David showed me that the opposite could also be just as powerful.”
With a race like the Great World Race, athletes are not only battling themselves and their inner mental toughness, they’re battling the elements of mother nature, where the unplanned can happen instantly - challenging one’s ability to adapt and persevere.
The night before Kilgore and Khare left for the race, they received a call that due to weather changes, the race - which historically started in Antarctica - was starting in Africa.
“Everything I’d mentally prepared for had now changed, the first of many changes throughout the entire race,” Khare said. “But what I saw from David and a lot of the other racers was that the people who made it the farthest were the people willing to go with the flow and maintain a positive attitude about everything. At a certain point, you need to succumb to the reality of circumstances and be okay with them - something David taught me how to do.”
In this way, success at the Great World Race is a metaphor for life - controlling the things you can control and releasing the rest.
“Of course you need to have a strong base and training absolutely matters,” Kilgore said. “Leading up, you put in all the work, but for the race itself, mindset is what tips somebody getting over something like this, versus somebody who does not.”
David Kilgore is one of the world’s greatest endurance athletes
© Drew Reynolds / Red Bull Content Pool
To aid getting over any humps throughout the race, Kilgore and Khare enjoyed their fair share of Red Bull powerups. For Khare, that included a strategy of employing Red Bull before, during and after long-term races, which helped mitigate sweat loss and combat refueling challenges in different environments.
“We had a strategy as to when we were having regular Red Bull, flavored Red Bull, Red Bull Zero - all based on time, caloric output, and sweat level,” Khare said. “If we hadn’t been fueling and drinking the right product at the right time, I don’t think I would have recovered and gotten through the next day. I never cramped, never got a blister, and kept all 10 of my toenails.”
The different flavors at different intervals also helped encourage Khare’s performance, adding a tangible incentive to the race.
“That’s something to look forward to,” Khare said. “It’s a simple thing and doesn’t necessarily have to do with the components of the drink, but it certainly brought me joy when I was feeling otherwise.”
Now, following her joy in 2026, Khare is attempting to reach the taekwondo nationals - a goal that’s slightly more attainable due to the physical baseline Kilgore helped her achieve.
“This race is so challenging and so tough that it definitely sets up a really great base for anything endurance-wise you’ll get into within the next year,” Kilgore said. “While it was the third time I’d participated in the race, it was my first time working with somebody else going through it for the first time and I was so inspired watching Michelle’s journey from start to finish that it made me pumped to want to get back out there. There’s comfort in being uncomfortable, and I’m carrying a lot of stoke and a lot of that energy into 2026.”
Whether you’re chasing a personal best or simply committing to the joy of the run, take the lessons of resilience and preparation from Kilgore and Khare into your own training - and join runners worldwide at the 2026 Wings for Life World Run on May 10. Learn more and sign up today.
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