In This Issue:

• Beyond The Breaking Point: Ryan Adams' Story Of Persistence

  • Listen Now: The HAX Show

  • 1:1 Coaching With Ryan

Beyond The Breaking Point

Persistence isn't just about your own grit, it's about the people that believe in you when you've stopped believing in yourself.

A Breaking Point

Spring, 2023. Atlanta, GA.

Halfway through an easy run, Ryan Adams hit the ground. Though only two miles from home, he couldn’t go on another step. He had finally reached a breaking point.

Three straight seasons lost due to injury. A terminated contract. The compounding intersection of physical pain and emotional weight of depression. A career that felt like it was slipping through his fingers.

“I truly felt hopeless and stuck”, he recalls.

Sometimes, to see clearly where you want to go, you have to change your perspective entirely. When his college coach, Robert Gary, reached out to check in, he found Ryan on the brink of a decision to really start fresh. With Gary’s commitment to coach him through the transition period, Ryan took action: he sold his condo and booked a one-way ticket to Mexico City.

The Move To Mexico

Ryan always felt a strong connection with his Mexican heritage. Growing up, Ryan spent summers and holidays in Mexico City with his mother’s family. After securing dual citizenship there, he decided to officially switch affiliations to represent Mexico in his career moving forward.

Settled in his grandparents' home, Ryan leaned into the "resourcefulness" that he had honed earlier in his career. In college, he trained solo for a semester in Chile, once running track intervals around a 400m traffic roundabout. In Mexico City, he found the basics he needed: a weight room, a “somewhat worse-for-wear” track, a bike path, and a soft surface loop at a nearby park.

Battling Back

While the new environment was refreshing, it certainly wasn’t a cure-all to hardship. Training at 7,400 feet while introducing double-threshold sessions was a challenging physical adjustment. More importantly, Ryan was still battling depression and processing the struggles of the previous three years. He funneled his emotions into his training—a strategy that worked well in the short term, leading to a double victory (800m/1500m) at the Mexican National Championships that summer, but inevitably resulted in burnout later on.

Success at the Mexican National Championships were a spark of improvements that earned Ryan his second professional contract opportunity with Under Armour Mission Run Baltimore in 2024. But after facing more recurring injuries and the consequences of overtraining in Mexico, Ryan decided to leave. He was convinced: his career, and lifelong dream, was officially over.

Still In The Fight

The theme of Ryan’s career, however, is the presence of a persistent support system. Just as Robert Gary had reached out in Atlanta, his Baltimore coach, Cory Leslie, offered words of encouragement that still stick with him today: “I don’t think your best years in this sport are behind you.”

Leaning on further support and encouragement to take some time away from running and reconsider his decision to quit, Ryan resolved to keep going. After stints in Austin, Indianapolis, and even back to Mexico City, he decided to take one final risk. In September 2025, Ryan moved to Boulder to give his career one last shot.

🎙️ Out Now: The HAX Show

Ryan’s journey is a masterclass in navigating the challenging moments in professional athletics. From his breaking point on the sidewalks of Atlanta to the top of the podium of Mexico and beyond, he joins us to discuss the realities of sport at the highest level, the role of support systems, and the power of truly betting on yourself.

Ready to grow in a proven system of persistence? Fluent in both English and Spanish, Ryan is now accepting 1:1 athletes.

¿Listo para crecer dentro de un sistema de persistencia comprobado? Ryan habla español con fluidez y ahora está aceptando atletas 1:1.