Today is Friday, July 10th, and we have a super special episode for you today. We're going to dive into a high school kid from the south side of Indianapolis, Charlie Robson, who out of nowhere ran 100 miles to raise money for charity. It's an incredible story of how he goes from basically couch minimal training and then finishes 100 miles. Then we dive into an interview with Colonel Scott Odin. He is uh heavily involved with the flyover, all things Indianapolis 500. You're going to love today's episode.
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Just visit infb. com to get connected to a local agent. Tell them Nate and the team at Get Indiana sent you Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance. Let's insurance together. My guest today is an incredible 17-year-old Charlie Rolfsen, and he decided to run 100 miles to challenge himself, to have a little fun, as he calls it, and to raise money for Riley Children's Hospital. I'm so excited to dive into the story of one, where you got this crazy idea, how you executed it, and how you were able to raise over $20,000 for Riley.
I think that's incredible. You're a you're a South Greenwood native, right? Yes. Yes, sir. Oh, man. Okay.
So, clearly you must be, you know, an avid member of the the Center Grove cross country team. Actually, no, I'm not. I don't run ever. This was really like my first second time running ever. No way. Okay, so take me back.
Like, who were you chilling with? Where were you hanging out? Like, where did the idea to run 100 miles to raise money for Riley? Like, where did that whole thing come from? All right. So, basically last fall, uh I was it was a Thursday night and I decided that Saturday I was going to try to run as far as I possibly could and like what like why this the first time it was because I was just bored and like well really my friends were like no you couldn't run 50 miles and I was like I bet I could.
So no way you and your friends were hanging out and they were like you couldn't do that. Yeah. And I was like I guarantee I could. He said bet. Yeah. That's exactly what it happened.
And uh so that Saturday I ran 65 and then at mile 65 I just I literally just collapsed and I had to quit. Where did you run at? Uh like my neighborhood. Really? And like And it was awesome cuz a bunch of my friends came out like ran with me and it was really fun. No way.
Took me like 22 hours. You So what time did you start? Uh around 9:00 a. m. You started at 9:00 a. m.
And when did you when did you 6 a. m. the next day? Something like that. No way. Just because they said you couldn't do it with zero training.
Yeah. What were you fueling with? Uh that's actually how I ended it. I I was eating um like gels. Yeah. Yeah.
But I mean you gets to a point where those just you can't even consume them anymore. So for the last like 10 hours of my run the first time uh I I couldn't eat anything and that's how I that's Yeah. You just run out of you run out of gas. Yeah. And how were you learning how to like run all like one piece of it that people need to know about ultra is it a lot of it comes down to fueling like being able to take calories in, take carbs in to push you further, but how are you like teaching yourself or learning about, you know, ultra running in general? So my dad uh rides bikes and he's really good at that and stuff.
He knows everything about fueling and hydration and like carbohydrates and whatnot. What did your parents say when you said, "Hey, I'm gonna run as far as I can on Saturday." Yeah. Uh they Well, they supported it, but they they obviously didn't think I could, which I mean, I did break 50, so technically I won, but uh Yeah. Yeah. They they believed they believed in me and they put a bunch of snacks out.
I was going to say, did they think you'd make it like 10 or 20? Yeah. My mom didn't. My dad knew I could cuz Yeah, I ride bikes with him sometimes. So, Wow. Like, this is like a crazy fun weekend.
And like and I'm sure you got to school on Monday and everyone was like, "Yo, that was a wild weekend." Yep. That's Yeah, that's how it went. Except the first attempt. Uh so I borrowed a pair of running shoes from my buddy and uh my feet were destroyed so I couldn't go to school for like two days cuz uh I couldn't walk. No way, dude.
That's wild. Okay. So, you do this and it's all fun, but but where does the idea to like put a little more structure to this and give it a deeper purpose come from? Yeah. So, after the first time, uh, I hated running. I was not going to run ever again for like the rest of my life.
And then that was about in August about and then around November, I I noticed like how much traction it got. Everyone in everyone in Center Grove knew about it and I had only posted like one video saying I was doing it. It was just word of mouth. So, I decided uh Riley Children's Hospital to raise money for them because of how much support it got. I was like, if I did this for a cause, it would get it would just double or increase in support by so much. Uh I decided to do it again this spring.
Okay. So, you you it got some traction. You're like, hey, let's put a purpose on this thing. Did you train? So, I didn't train all winter and then April 25th is when I did it the second time and I started training 30. I gave myself 30 days of training.
30 days of train. What did your training block look like 30 days ahead? So the first 10 days I was actually I was it was good training. It was like maybe five miles this day, 10 the next and then like I did a marathon uh one day and then I did a mini I did like and then the last 20 days uh after the marathon it just killed me and I just did like a mile a day. No way. Yeah.
Okay. So, this is not based on like intense training plans or athletic, you know, like you haven't put necessarily that much work into training. It's mostly willpower. Yeah. Yeah. Like my mental training that went behind it, it was not not much at all.
But over the 30 days and even since the last attempt, I was just like getting my mental strength to the absolute max so I wouldn't quit. That's the thing. at like every long run at some point like the demons start to come out and it's like when it's a marathon I feel like it's usually around mile 20 for me I I did a 40 mileer this past fall and it was like mile 30 through 40 was just like you're in the pain cave as a lot of the alter people call it and so training yourself of like hey times get hard you're not going to quit what what were you telling yourself what was like the selft talk in your head through whether it was through the little bit of training or even through the first or second run what do you tell yourself. So, I would just meditate and just I tried to be as calm as possible cuz uh I knew that uh however long it would take me. I was suspecting like 35 hours. I did it in 27.
But, uh it I was I knew it was just going to be the most stressful moment and I I didn't want to have anything on my mind. Yeah. And I told myself like it will be painful. Like it'll hurt, but that's all it'll do. Like it'll just hurt. Like that's all I'll just have to push through it.
And then once I accomplish it, it'll be the most satisfying thing ever. And if I did quit the second time, I I know myself enough that I would have attempted it again and I did not want to be doing it a third time. No way. You end up raising $24,000. How do you end up getting people on board, businesses, whoever it is? How do you end up actually putting, you know, donations together?
So, uh, we got the fundraiser opened up with Riley. I worked with them and then I had uh lots of I like making videos so I would just post on Instagram every day funny videos like skits and then uh lots of people saw them and then really it was just word of mouth. I got on the news I got on Fox 59 and uh channel 13 and that helped a lot and just eventually so many people knew about it and then I got one brand who donated a lot for me to wear like some some like attire of this. Wait, what was the brand? Uh back hall backall care. Yeah, thank you guys.
There we go. Come on. That was the first brand. You always You can never forget your first brand. Yeah, exactly, dude. Okay, so you had a brand and then with the rest of it just people.
Yeah. And then I got a bunch of others. Also, uh Athletic Annex. Thanks for the shoes. Yep. Yeah.
I mean, you needed shoes cuz last time your your feet got toasted. I love Athletic Annex. They're a local spot and they're like putting it's not just like ordered offline. It's like you go to the store and you like get to, you know, get fit in the whole nine yards there. Athletic Annex. They got local.
I think the guy that owns it is like a running demon. Bob Kennedy is like the guy like he was Oh, like I think he got fourth in the Olympics or he got fourth in the Olympic trials like is a a G I believe. Okay. So, how do you plan a 100 mile run? Like what goes into it? Obviously, 10 days of training, which first off, let's just say anyone's listening to this, whatever excuse you're telling yourself in your head of like why you can't do anything incredible is so false.
Like, you did this on roughly 10 days of training. Obviously, you're young and spry and you know, you're also 6' tall? Yeah, 63. So, you got long strides. Come on. But like, this is willpower.
This is just like putting your word out there saying, "I'm going to do something. I'm going to do it to raise money for, you know, the kids at Riley. And then just putting your head down and going. Yeah. Like I mean, anything anything is possible. Like wait, there's a quote h I forget who said it, but it's like whether you believe you can or you can't, you're right.
Yeah. And I love that quote. That's really I was thinking about that a lot. And I mean, you just have to believe in yourself to the full extent. Yeah. Okay.
So, planning wise, like how did you build your route? Like was it a one 25 mile route? Was it a a 10mi route 10 times? So I know like the community wanted to like support me and I it definitely I definitely needed it. I could not have done it solo the whole time. And I started at the school cuz everyone knows where to go and stuff.
So I ran the first 20 there and I ran the last 20 at the school. In between I ran back to my neighborhood. Did you have a plan? I didn't have an exact route because I didn't uh I mean that would take a while to make a 100 mile route. Yeah. So I just ran uh with my Garmin a mile one mile loop around my neighborhood 60 times.
Shut up. Yeah. And one mile loop. Dude, you know the neighborhood front to back. Were people like out looking at you or was it like So all my neighbors were had like lawn chairs and stuff and like I had snacks in every drive. Like they all put out snacks and stuff to Did people run with you?
Yeah. Uh, actually I wasn't alone ever throughout the whole 100 miles. Who? Okay, so you weren't alone ever. You have good friends, good people in the community. That's so cool.
Who ran the second most behind you? Probably my friend Traden. Yep. How far did Traden go? So he didn't run some of it. He he drove behind me like to like pace me and he he like in a car or in a bike.
Car. Yeah, it was Shout out. It was fun. Shout out Trad. Yeah. What a guy.
Okay. Um and so and one it pays to have good friends like that and it pays to be in a good community like that that's going to support you cuz I mean it gets I'm just assuming again the furthest I've gone is 40 but like there were parts of that that sucked and were lonely. Yeah. Oh yeah. 61 mile loops. That is psycho work.
Okay. So where throughout the What time did you start? So I started at noon because so the reason for that everyone was like start early. Well, the last time I started early, because I started around 9:00 a. m. By nighttime, I was exhausted.
So, I did not I could not be exhausted this time just in case I was alone ever because if I was exhausted and it was dark out and I was alone, I 10,000% would have quit. So, I started later in the day around noon so that throughout the night time, I wouldn't have been like as exhausted as I was last time. Yeah. And I mean, where where was the smallest amount of people? Like where was the moment where it was just like you and one other person? Yeah, probably about 3 to 6 a.
m. 3 to 6 a. m. Who was it? You and Hale. Uh me and uh my uh my friend Mr.
Ritter actually. He came out. He's like uh he did Navy Seal training and stuff and he's really uh experienced in that type of that type of stuff. You had a Navy Seal guy out there? It was It was fun though. Yeah, he's uh he's he's awesome.
But because a little bit of it, you also need just like some positive vibes. Yeah. You know, like people that can just be a vibe guy at 3:00 a. m. when you're I mean, how far into it at that point? So around So I hit mile 50 at midnight.
Okay. So you're probably like in the 60s to 70s at 3:00 a. m. and you're like, I've gone 70 miles like And at some point are you start do you start having that little voice creep up of like what am I doing this? Like why? I mean, I can't even like explain to people how awful like 2:00 a.
m. to to 8:00 a. m. was. Well, I didn't I stopped eating at 11:00 cuz anytime I'd eat, I I couldn't keep it down. Yeah.
So, I couldn't eat like those gels. Oh my god. That means you did the last 50 with no food. So, at 8:00 a. m. my friend brought donuts and those Oh my gosh.
Nothing sounded appetizing. And then when I had those donuts, I ate like a dozen. Yeah. No shame. Where are the donuts from? Panda donuts.
Oh, those are That'll get you going. Oh, yeah. Okay. Where was the moment that you were the closest to giving up? I planned on a good day. It was It was pretty warm, but night time was a little colder than I thought it would be.
And I was I mean, I was falling asleep every second. Like, like I was just dozing off and then I'd wake up as my head fell. And then like were you stopped or were you moving? I was still moving, but but there were times I would just like be running and then I just fall collapse on the ground and then I'd have to get back up and l like every 10 feet that would happen. And that was literally until until like 8:00 a. m.
when this when the sun came out. Oh, that was the best best feeling in the world when I heard the bird and Mr. Ritter at that point. Yeah. Yeah. And then my friends came along over time around like by eight there was probably a few other people, but yeah.
Was there a moment where you felt like you wouldn't get it done? Yeah. I mean, my dad probably believes in me more than my mom. Well, my mom just gets scared like when I'm when I'm going crazy. And I was like twitching and stuff, but uh at mile like 65, my dad told me like to stop and I was like I told him I couldn't. I said I'm not going to.
So, and you just kept going. Yeah. Yeah. He cuz you were like I mean your body is Yeah. I mean, I was It wasn't cold out, but I was just shivering just cuz of how exhausted I was and I was falling asleep and I was like talking to people who weren't there. And how did So, how did you like fight your way through that?
Um, really with uh Mr. Ritter telling me to keep pushing and then he actually gave me a good tip while I was falling asleep. So, we got a we got a bucket of ice water and I would do that like I did it a few times because it really shocked me back to get up to run again. Yeah. Because I mean this is a I mean one the most trained person like that's like an insane feat. Like 100 miles is 100 miles.
Like it's I mean again we're training for a 50 mile race and we started in February you know and like we're putting in mileage every week. It's like one this is all willpower. Like one, you're you know, you're young and you're sprry and you're, you know, you can do it like I mean when you're young is probably the best time to try crazy stuff, but also it's like this is a testament to you and your mental fortitude. Like I don't know when you think about it, what inspired you? Like how like there's one piece of doing something cuz your friends say you can't, but like that runs out at some point. Like why?
Like why run so far? Why do it? Well, people think it's just me, right? But anyone can do maybe not 100 miles cuz that's like a physically challenging thing but and I'm I'm fit enough to do it but I just wanted to show like people that literally anyone can do anything they want if if you you have to 100% believe in yourself. You can't even question it at at the at the slightest. You just have to believe in yourself.
And I was trying to show people I was really inspire like the person who inspired me was like me once I finished. like I looked forward to having accomplished it and showing people that they can do it. great determination and like just believing in yourself like that is a wild it's like so simple like in one side of it it's so simple you just believe like truthfully believe you can do it but another side it's so complex because you're like so many people are just like or they convince themselves by saying like oh I just don't want to do that I don't want to do that and that yeah that's the thing everyone nobody wants to do yeah exactly I mean people are like oh I don't like running or else I would have ran with you I was like you think I like running. I don't even That's There's a reason I don't run in my free time. I was like, "Yeah, this is just to show people that doing the hard things is what you need to do sometimes."
Was there like a runner or a creator or someone that like you saw doing this that you were like, "Oh, if they can do it, I can do it." Uh, I have a I had a feeling about David Gogggins beforehand, but then like as I once I finished, I had I have a different opinion on him. So, yeah. Wait, tell me about it. Yeah. And so him like being like stay hard and and like you have to be lonely and you it has to s you have to suffer to to be successful, that's not that's not always true cuz once I finished it, I realized how fun it was and I I loved every second of it once I'm finished.
Like once you get it done, that's fun. Yeah. Like 3:00 a. m. to 8:00 a. m.
Yeah, that was awful. But I'd rather have done that than sitting in my house on my phone scrolling or whatever then. Yeah. And Yeah. Do you feel like uh from a high school perspective that like what did what did kids say? Like what did your peers say about you attempting this?
Yeah. So lots of my friends were just like baffled. And then like even like just people who who I don't know in the halls just are like I mean I got lots of like hey good job. That's that's incredible what you did and uh I really appreciated that. Do you feel like your class, your generation, do you think that more people will start to love that kind of the pain, the suffering, the process versus scrolling? Uh, or do you think that you're an anomaly?
I I might be. I mean, I know there's no one in my school doing stuff like this, but I don't know. Maybe across the like nation there's a bunch of people. But like if you ran 100, like do you think that that inspired some people to run one or five? Yeah, I did get some people saying they they're running now because of watching me and and that really made me feel good about the whole thing. That's really what I wanted.
Yeah. And and I mean and also to be able to donate back $24,000 to Riley. Like incredible for people and especially for children that like some of them might not be able to do that. you know, if you're sick, if you have whether it be, you know, cancer or any of these pediatric sicknesses and illnesses, it's like, you know, one, you're a young kid, you're capable, you can do it, you might as well do it while you can. And I think that's an interesting piece of like motivation where it's like, yes, you're raising money and that's amazing, but it's also like internally feeling grateful for the ability to go get up and run 100 miles. And that's another thing people were saying like, "Oh, I don't like running."
Well, another thing I was thinking about, like I was showing people that you have to push through the hard stuff just like all the children at Riley Children's Hospital going through their treatments. Like they obviously don't want to be there, but they're strong enough to fight and push through it to make it out. What does your word mean to you? like when you vocalized and put it out to the world that you were going to do whether it was the first run or the second run when you gave the world your word, how important was it for you to hold to that? Yeah. So, I mean, when I said it after the first attempt, I felt awful for failing.
Like, I didn't want to talk about it at all. Did you want to get to 100 your first one? Yeah. Yeah. Once I broke 50, I was like I post I remember posting on like my Snapchat story. I was like, "All right, we're making it to 100."
And then yeah, afterwards I I was very a like ashamed even though I did something crazy like I didn't reach the goal and that's why we reattempted it. Yeah. I mean I think that being someone who doesn't just talk about it and is about it. You get don't talk about it, be about it. Like that is such an important part of life. And for you to be 17, like, do you think that your 100 mile run is the coolest thing you're ever going to do in your life?
Uh, as of right now, it definitely is, but I hope to I mean, I don't ever want I think you should always be chasing your future. Yeah. Like, not thus far. I'm saying like forever. Like, you're 17 and one day you'll be 87. Like, do you think that that's the pinnacle?
Uh, maybe willpower-wise, but I want to have some good accomplishments in the in my future. Like, I I always thought of that. So, I did an Iron Man. Oh, yeah. And it was so fun. It's like I mean it sucked.
It was a little bit but it's like I got to the end and I was like wow like one amazing like fun feat to finish and so cool but it's like I hope that's not the coolest thing I ever do. Like I hope that I continue to strive for more stuff and and push myself like even if it's not running it could be biking. It could be I don't know what meditation like it could be any of these things. But there is a value in the uncomfortable like in the challenging in the doing hard things is good for you. And I think a lot of us can forget that at times. It's like, oh well, I don't have enough time to train for XYZ thing.
I mean, like, let's be honest. Yeah. Like it's it's not like you're out there running 8 minute miles the whole time. It's like you're just keeping one foot in front of the other. And it's like you got to be sharp between the Yes. You have to have a little bit of physical prowess, but it's like you have to be sharp between the ears so that you can keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Exactly. Are there any altar runners like now that you are I mean you're you're an alter runner now. Are there any altar runners that you've seen that you're like oh man I really like that person? Uh not really. I mean I'm not really in the running scene. But that's so crazy to me.
I I like uh I don't know. I I hate it. So I I try to stay away from running. I don't like running. You literally hate running very much. Yeah.
Like you don't like you wouldn't just go out for a 5K to just like clear your mind or whatever? No. Well, I mean, if I ever were to run, it' just be to push myself. Like, I have a mile time I try to beat every time. So, if I'm ever like bored sitting home, I'll like, I'm going to go see if I can beat my mile. Get a little hot lap.
Yeah. Yeah. Dude, that's wild. Do you think that you'll ever find enjoyment in running? Uh, maybe. I mean, I like the idea that it like keeps you keeps you fit, so like sometimes that'll get to me in the summer, but I I don't run frequently.
That is wild. Okay. Hey, have you thought of I mean and it doesn't always have to be like what's next? What's next? It's like sit on and and you know, no pressure, but are there other interesting physical feats that you have seen or people have sent to you that you're like, "Oh, that would be a good way to push yourself." Yeah, lots of people have been giving me ideas.
I don't know what I'll do next. I don't know if I will do another physically enduring thing next, but uh yeah, I mean, I like cycling, but I don't think I would do anything else. out there listening, there are probably tons and tons of adults that haven't pushed themselves to the furthest of their ability. You know, they could be 30, 40, 50, 60 years old. They haven't pushed themselves as far as they could go in decades, a decade, 5 years. Yeah.
Yeah. What advice do you have for those that are sitting there that are thinking, "Oh, that couldn't be me." are are scared to go and push themselves to the limit. I always try to have fun. Like I I love having fun and like even with the small things. So I would say just to um even though it's a hard thing and you obviously don't want to do it and no one wants to do it.
Uh you have to do it whether you like it or not. And then if you don't do it then you're just not going to be able to be successful. So you just have to do the hard things and you can have fun while you do them. Like David Gogggins always saying, you you have to be lonely. You have to hate yourself or whatever. You have to you can have fun while you do it.
That's what I did. And uh I loved running the 100 miles. Not while I was doing it, but I did love it after. It's like one of those things that you look back on fondly. Uh are there small ways are there incremental changes that people can make in their lives to build stronger willpower? Sometimes I'll like I know we're all on our phones all the time.
Sometimes I'll just put my phone up for an hour and then like I mean that's just a small thing I can do but it's so hard. Like I think that it sounds so easy and everyone convinces themselves by saying well I could I could take an hour detox if I wanted to. I don't want to. And it's like dude actually try it cuz like you start like getting the ghost phantoms in your pocket and you're like yo where did the like it is addicting. Yeah. And then when you do it just like calm yourself.
Don't be thinking about it. You just have to find something fun to do and have fun with it. Like, you know, you don't you just replace whatever you were doing with something different like go on a walk, go on a run, do a puzzle, you know, grill some burgers or something, you know, like uh how much of your feet, how much of running a 100 miles is credit to your individual willpower or the community that came together to help push you through? I know for a fact I couldn't have done it alone, but I also know that if someone else were in my position with the same amount of community support, they might not have been able to do it. I think uh I have the I have the willpower for it and the community definitely boosted it. Dude, it's just like jet fuel.
Like adding a little bit of, you know, nitrous oxide to the engine. I love that, man. What do you want to do with your life? You just, you know, you ran 100 miles. You did something. You're 17 years old.
You did something that I would say 99. 999% of people will never even attempt. Yeah. Yeah. You're 17. Like what is the rest of your like what do you want to do?
I mean to be honest I I love movies. Yeah. And I like uh the idea of actors pushing themselves to become a different person for the role and I really am inspired by that. Yeah. So I'd like to be an actor. Yeah.
The dude. I think that's so like that's so cool. Are you in theater? Yeah. Yeah. I just did a play.
Actually, I have an audition tonight actually. What's the audition? Let's hear it. Uh, it's for um a competition one act in Indiana, The Thespian Society. Yeah. It's my first year, though.
I Yeah. Well, I mean, when they ask, "Yeah, I'm the guy that ran 100 miles." I I will push myself to the absolute limit. And that goes to show like whether you're in the band, in business club, on the football team, or in theater, like it doesn't mean that you can't be quote unquote very much quote unquote like tough, you know? Like I think people think that, oh man, athletes are tough. I think athletes can be tough, but like theater kids can be tough.
Band kids can be tough. Traden, my friend who ran the most with me, he's a theater kid. No way. Yeah. My Yeah. like the friends who are like on the football team or baseball team, they ran with me too, but not as much as trading.
Yeah. And it's like theater kids can be tough. Yeah, we can we can do it. You know, band kids, whatever it is, it your the activities that you do, this also goes the same way. It's like, you know, just cuz you're on the football team doesn't automatically mean you're tough. Yeah.
And just because you're in theater doesn't mean you have to be soft. Yeah. Uh-huh. Thousand%. Like your the activities that you do don't have to define you. Exactly.
I agree 100%. Okay. Actor or do you have like a plan where you want to go to like is there like a route that you I have something in mind. I don't know. Yeah. Oh, he's not ready to publicly announce it.
But dude, like if people, you know, watch more of your videos and the stuff that you put out on this like you don't have to go I feel like the path into entertainment is so vast these days. It doesn't have to be like so many. Yeah. You have to like go live on a couch in LA and like you know do a million interviews trying to get one big break. And it's like, no, you could just get a million followers on TikTok and all of a sudden now you have like a presence and you're practicing and honing your craft. And by the way, then it's like you could do another crazy feat and they're like, "Wow."
And then more people would say, "Is that the guy who played Shakespeare? Is that the guy who played Romeo but also ran like 500 miles?" Like that's wild, dude. I have the same mentality about that as well. Just don't stop until you make it. It feels like you're very in touch with just like what's going on between your ears.
Yeah. I I Yeah. Like has that always been an an emphasis for you? I say my hobby is learning new things. Like I have a bunch of talents. Like I can juggle fire.
I can walk on stilts. I can ride a unicycle and stuff. I just love like learning new things. Okay. So if you know the actor thing doesn't work out like the circus. Circus.
Yeah. That's what my mom said. Come on, let's go. But like I think that being a lifelong learner and being curious. Yeah. Cuz at the end of the day, okay, it would have sucked because of like the pride and the ego piece if you would not have been able to to make it 100 miles.
But you would have known like you chased a curiosity and you one, it's a whole lesson in self-belief, but it's also a lesson in curiosity and figure out like can you do this? Yeah, that sounds so many people auto tip to can't. Uh or they like and then they they they can't do it, but then they like put a little bit of makeup on it that says like I don't want to do it. It's like I like that. And they just a little makeup says I don't want to. It's like well cuz you're not willing to chase the curiosity to figure out if you can.
And it's like goes back to your original quote. If you think you can or you think you can't, you're right. You're right. I love it, dude. This is awesome. I'm inspired.
I'm fired up after this. This gets me so hyped. Again, me and all my my buddies are training for a race in September. It's in the mountains up in Colorado and we're like the 50 mileer and it's like dude it's like yeah we're going to train still but also like be sharp between the ears and you can get it done. It's more important to Yeah. Well and it's like I think that it also looks at your goals because the ultra runner will listen to this and be like yeah I can get it done but I want to get it done in 10 hours or whatever.
And it's like okay for that part definitely a lot more training. So many people are capable of doing hard things and getting the job done. Yeah. that just like we just got to step up to the plate, you know, just got to go audition, take it on yourself, and you can't blame anyone else for for your your faults. You just have to push yourself. I love it, dude.
This is awesome. Okay. Well, we round out every show where we talk about the state of Indiana. Okay. You get to uh enlighten us. So, first thing I'm going to ask, this is how we source new guests and learn about other people in Indiana that are doing cool things.
We love Indiana. Absolutely. Who's a Hooser we need to keep on our radar? Someone who's doing big things. Ganon Grant. Who is Ganon Grant?
Centergroveve high school pitcher. Yeah. Incredible. Wow. Wait. What's the ace?
Like are we So he's a senior. Yeah. Legend. Absolute legend at CG. Oh, wow. Ganon Grant 2026 Tennessee.
Right hand. Oh, Tennessee commit. Uhhuh. Ganon Grant from Greenwood. Right-handed pitcher. Let's go.
I'm like looking at his Oh, yeah. His stats. committed to go to Tennessee. I mean, guy looks like an absolute chiller. That's sick. He's a chiller.
Ganon Grant. What a dude. I love that, man. Yeah. 6'2, 195. Holy cow.
This guy's shredded. All right. Uh, next, this is your opportunity to shed some light on a part of the state that more people need to be talking about. It could be a restaurant, a park, it could be some place within Indiana that you just absolutely love that not enough people are talking about. What is a hidden gem in Indiana? The Artcraft Theater in downtown Franklin.
The Artcraft. Yeah. Yeah. Love the Artcraft Historic Theater. Oh my gosh. Have you performed there?
No. Hey, maybe in the future. Soon soon. But I love going there to watch watch some movies. Yeah. Okay.
Cuz it's like a play theater, but it's also like a movie theater, right? You can They do both. Yeah, dude. We got to get I think there's a couple festivals they host down there or at least one big one. Um, I definitely got to get get down there for a show and hope maybe is this maybe you you'll watch. I was going to say is this one you're auditioning for?
Uh, no. No. Unfort It's a school thing that I'm auditioning for, but All right. So, school thing, but then there might be like a there's probably, you know, local trip. If you are hosting a show at the Artcraft and you need, you know, an actor to be in it, this guy, he will commit everything else. I will.
I will. I promise. Let's go. I love it. Dude, this is amazing. It's been so fun to learn your story and and it's been inspiring.
Dude, you're 17. And even if only one person, it definitely wasn't one, but even if one person got turned to like make their life a little bit better, I'd say job well done. But clearly, you're inspiring. Whether it be old people, young people, people of all ages in between. I'm fired up, ready to run, and ready to push myself. I think that's something that we can learn.
The biggest takeaway of this episode, like do hard things. Like don't don't settle. Don't like convince yourself that you're not capable of doing great things. You are. Dude, incredible. If people want to follow you, if they want to learn more about you, if they want to cast you in an upcoming episode of their TV show or their local play, how can they do that?
Where can they find you? Charlie Rolfsen on Instagram. Charlie R O L Fs. There you go. Hit him up. Casting directors, we want to hear from you, man.
Charlie, thanks for stopping by. and we'll talk to you soon. Thank you so much. As we talk to Hoosiers like you across the state, we're inspired by the professionals shaping Indiana's business landscape. If you've reached a point in your career where you're asking what's next, but you've worked too hard to put a pause on your current success, this program was built for you. It was ranked the number one part-time NBA in Indiana by US News and World Report in 2026.
The Kelly Evening NBA program is based right in the heart of downtown Indie. Here, you won't spend two years just learning business. You'll spend two years doing it better. You'll study alongside ambitious local peers, learning from faculty who bring the boardroom to the classroom so you can apply new strategies at work the very next day. Whether you're aiming for the executive level or ready to navigate a new industry, the Kelly Evening MBA ensures you keep your momentum while building your future. Learn more at go.
iu. edu/kellyingmbba. That's go. u. edu/kellyingmbba. Let's get back into the episode.
Talk about motivation. That is incredible. Uh, one high school kid willing to run that far, raise money for good causes. Love to see that out of Charlie. Now, we're going to dive into a special interview talking all things flyover at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Indy500. What goes into I mean bringing one of the greatest flyovers in the United States of America to life where we dive into a special interview with Colonel Scott Odin.
Check it out here. All right. Now, I've got a special guest, Colonel Scott Odin. Now, he is the lead Indy500 Blackhawk pilot that did the flyover for the Indianapolis 500. I'm really excited to dive into I mean a a quick just summary here of what it looks like to see 300,000 plus roaring fans from the cockpit of a helicopter. Man, uh Scott, welcome to the show.
Hey, thanks. I'm glad to be here. I appreciate the invitation. I mean, this is awesome. Shout out to uh so it came from an Instagram DM where someone said, "Hey, I have a wild story that you need to hear about." Uh I believe was it your niece?
Yeah, Avery. Yeah, Avery. Yes, your niece reached out and said, "Hey, my uncle has this pretty sweet gig that just happened. You definitely need to sit down and talk to him." So, I'm uh I'm pumped to dive into this. What I want to know, how does your your crew get chosen to be a part of the flyover at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway?
Yeah. Well, I'll start first by saying that we, when I say we, the Indiana National Guard has a great relationship in partnership with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, not just for what we would call May activities. So, all things leading up to the Indy500 and including the IND500, but also the Brickyard and other events that that take place at the speedway. So, as you and probably a lot of people are aware, uh, IMS is extremely military friendly. Um, great supporters of of what we do, uh, in the military. And so, our relationship there, um, is just it's really special.
I'll say that. Um, and so, and so for events at the at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, um, the the team that that I used to lead, I they used to, I'll get that here in a second. Um, we provided a lot of the flyover support, meaning If it wasn't well, it didn't matter if it was our guys doing the fly over or if it was another unit outside of the state or even in the state conducting the flyovers at any event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We would provide the ground to air control to help with the timing of the flyover, working with Dan Skyver at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and really helping to make sure that that flyover uh hit time on target right at the last note of the national anthem. So, so when this year came about, if you probably remember last year, um, a unit, an active duty army unit, the 150th special operations aviation regiment, was able to do the driver's lap escort, uh, in in support of the Army's 250th birthday.
And so, as much attention that that got when it came around to this year, uh, the same the same idea came about. and through myself and our public affairs office and our aviation team here, we simply communicated through through our team to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, hey, we would love the opportunity uh to do this. We're right here in your backyard. We're a hometown unit, if you will. Everybody that would that would be flying are Hoosiers. and to do that to do that and support that is the United States 250th birthday to do that for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway given the relationship that we have with them.
Uh that's how things uh came to be. There's certainly an approval process uh to navigate through uh but all of that uh went through uh pretty quickly and uh and got us to to the race. No way. That's so cool. So then last year when they first introduced that driver's lap with the helicopters, so that was in honor of the the Army's 250th birthday, per se. Correct.
Was that crew not from Indiana? Were they from like somewhere far away? So the unit that they that they were a part of, they were based out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky. I don't know if any of the crew members are from Indiana specifically. Um, but again going back to my previous comment about how we uh will help do the groundtoair support. So we were actually on top of the pagota talking to those helicopters and helping with the timing and sequencing of getting them over the track at the right time to lead the cars around the track.
How many times you get to practice that? So usually there's a there's a Friday rehearsal uh through carb day. There's usually a rehearsal on carb day. There's a full dress rehearsal on Saturday, the day before the race. And then obviously race day. So you have a couple opportunities there.
And then depending on how the timing and sequence uh works out, there are opportunities to to go through it two or three times to make sure that you know you got the timing down. So like timing is like down to the second down to the second sometimes down to the hundth of a second. I mean depending on what the script is and how detailed the script is. Um yeah, we try to get it down certainly to the second if not um better than that. Okay. Let's say, I mean, for this year, for instance, when did the the flyover need to be timed up?
Like, how much in advance do they have to leave the ground to get up in the air, get to the right speed to then come over at exactly the right time? So, for us this year, we actually uh landed at the golf course just east of the track. And it was a it's roughly 2 minutes from the time we picked up from the golf course. We went to a holding spot just west of the track. So, we had roughly about 2 minutes to get to the holding spot and and then to be ready to be called inbound to come in overturn one. No way.
That is amazing. Okay, so talk to me. You're you're timing it up exactly right. You guys get over top of the drive. What is it? What does it look like from the sky during the Indianapolis 500 when you see all of those fans cheering, shouting, you're down really, really low.
like what did how did you t in from your perspective when we came over turn one um we and all around the track but specifically it stood out to us because we all got we even commented that we have chills um you could hear the crowd cheering in the cockpit so over the aircraft noise our helmets our hearing protection we could still hear uh I'll say the roar of the crowd if you will uh as we flew over so it definitely took a lot of focus to you know not to turn in my case to the right to look at the crowd out and kind of take that all in, but to obviously stay focused on flying the aircraft and and being where we needed to be. But it was truly an unforgettable experience. Like I said earlier, you know, super grateful that I that our organization um had the opportunity to participate in something like this. Certainly once in a lifetime opportunity. Yeah. Because it's like that was the other piece.
It's like the the crew, the unit that's on board. You guys, it's not like you're hyping up like you're you mean business. You're like almost stoic in there. not like looking in and being a spectator and taking pictures, right? Absolutely. Yeah.
You have to stay hyperfocused on on what we're doing and and the altitudes that we were flying at aren't abnormal for us to fly at. But to your point, when you when you factor in 300,000 people in the fans, you've got indie cars underneath you and trying to maintain that same altitude uh that you know that we had rehearsed so the rotor wash of the aircraft doesn't affect the cars, things like that. Yeah, we were definitely very very hyperfocused while we were executing the mission like and what's the speed you guys are set to as you do that that lap around the track because you know again it's like it's so varying from it could you could tell me it was 50 miles and you could tell me it was 150 miles an hour and I would be like oh yeah that makes sense. Yeah. So it it started out a little bit slower, but as the as we got into the second lap where the cars kind of went away from the you know rows of three and starting into the thing, I if memory serves me correctly, I think we were pushing roughly 90 knots indicated by the time we got around for that second lap, which is a little over 100 miles an hour.
Wow. So you're cruis and is that fast or like what is that relative to a helicopter? So for us in the Blackhawk with the majority of the missions that we do um we'll maintain usually 110 uh what we say knots ground speed. Um so that could vary what we're seeing indicated on the air speed indicator but most of the time we're trying to do 110 knots ground speed. Wow. I mean talk about a wild experience.
How long have you been in the military? So I joined when I was a junior in college at Ball State in August of 2001 just roughly a month before 911. Oh wow. So I mean you've been in in the service for 25 years. It' be 25 years uh next month. Wow.
So almost 25 years. Did you ever imagine in your wildest dreams that you would be part of the greatest spectacle in racing? I mean you're a junior in college. you enlist into the into the service and then 25 years later you end up uh part of the helicopter doing the the crazy lead lap with the drivers and 300,000 plus fans and everything like talk about a wild 25 years. Absolutely. If you would have told me 25 years ago that hey you're going to be flying over the Indianapolis 500 doing a driver's lab escort I would have told you you were crazy.
Um, but that's what makes it so special for me and the rest of the team that that got to do this and for the organization is, you know, I think it's it's just one of those things where we take a lot of pride in wearing the uniform. We're super grateful that we get to wear the uniform and uh, you know, and support obviously our nation and our state and and again for for our organization, the Indiana National Guard to have this opportunity right here in our backyard was just Yeah. really really special. Yeah. And it's so much bigger than just you, right? Like how many how many individuals are part of of that flyover portion of it?
Like how many people were tapped to be on helicopters during that lap? Sure. So we had four crew members per aircraft. You have two pilots up front and we had two crew chiefs uh in the back. So, eight total crew members and then we had our team that was on top of the pagota helping us do the timing and sequencing that we were talking to to truly time it that when that pace car went around turn one, we're we're up over turn one coming in and and right over the top of the cars, you know, they go around turn one. eight of you total team effort, a lot of precision, a lot of planning, a lot of rehearsals and uh from my standpoint, you know, I could not be more proud of of our team and their professionalism and and uh certainly they were excited to do it as well.
Once in a lifetime opportunity for them, so for them and their family, uh it was just a really special day for them as well. Yeah, absolutely. And you talk about there's eight people on board that kind of get to be in the limelight for a little bit there, but you represent so much more than than eight individuals, you know, like what what the military means to the state of Indiana, to the United States, 250 years, like just getting to be part of the pageantry is is incredible. from your perspective as a service member when you, you know, attend as a patron of the Indy500 and all the pageantry is going on and you know all the different uh let's say like ceremonial type stuff that happens. What does that mean to you as a service member? Well, I would tell you so most most of the time I'm watching a lot of that pageantry happen from on top of the goto.
So we're able to kind of look around um you know the entire track when all of that is going on. So whether I'm attending in an official capacity doing flyover stuff or I'm in the stands watching the race, I think just to see the reactions of all the fans um especially during taps, you know, that is such a special very special moment as we honor, you know, the fallen and to hear how quiet that track gets during that part of the ceremony. I think to me to highlight again just how much respect we all have, you know, for the for the armed forces and specifically again, you know, as a as a way to honor, you know, those families and, you know, those service members who who didn't make it home. So, I think that part is really really special to me. I mean, absolutely. It's it's wild.
You put again this year I think it was 375,000 people into one space and a song comes on and silence falls and it like makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up and I think everyone does you know let's say that if the song is 90 seconds long I'm not sure exactly what the the time it kind of stands still for a minute there for me but like everyone does their own internal maybe reflection on gratitude of the bravery of the of the men and women in the armed forces in service to the United States of America and the state of Indiana. I mean it is it is like a such a sight to see and you kind of like watch people some people close their eyes they'll you know follow along like the whole nine yards. It is just a really really special moment that I don't know I think everyone needs to experience. It's it's like different than you know at a basketball game or whatever. That's very very important.
But when you get to again 375,000 people, a hush falls over the crowd and you just take it all in for a minute. Like that is it is such a special special moment. I can only imagine how much that means to you and and others like you that are are of who we're honoring and who Memorial Day weekend like who the whole thing is about. You know, it's like we get to come out there and drink beer and race cars and have fun. Uh, and it is important to like make that time to honor uh those that have have paid the ultimate price. So, wow, man.
Now, here's a question for you. Once you do your time, like you're you're ripping those laps, what does the rest of the day look like from there? Where do you go to? Do you get to come back and watch the race? Are you like what does that look like? Yeah, once we were done with the driver's lap, we uh departed back to our home base in Shelbyville.
And from that point, it gets kind of normal for us. We shut the aircraft down. We get all of our gear out. We refuel the aircraft. We get them put away in the hanger. And then on on race day this year, then a bunch of us loaded up in vehicles.
And we went back to uh the race. We got there about halfway through the race. And uh so myself and and Avery and and some of our family uh got to watch the rest of the race together, at least the last half of it. And same for the other other folks as well. I think there were a couple of guys who who couldn't do it just for other commitment reasons and stuff, but yeah, the majority of us went back to the race and and got to enjoy that. So, that was pretty neat.
It's incredible. I do have to ask, what is your favorite Indy500 tradition? Honestly, not to sound cliche, I would have to just say, you know, Wraith Day in general and just all the pomp and circumstance that that comes with it. Truly, I mean, not just the military stuff, but just from the driver's intro to the the Purdue band and the driver's laps, you know, in the vehicles, you know, before the race and stuff. I've just I've never been to an event that has such a high level of pageantry and they do it so so well. So, yeah, for me, I mean, I love going to race.
I've been to the race for the last probably 15 years in a row and and u yeah, I would just say everything that that that makes up race day. And isn't it crazy that they keep just pushing the ball the bar higher? It's like, you know, helicopters come out and you know the the weeny 500 to what two years old that start. It's like just all the different things. It's like at every step they figure out a way to just take it to the next level. Take it to the next level.
And it is uh it is truly special. I will say that like hour or so, whatever it is before, maybe from like 12 to 1, whenever that is, where the songs and the colors are presented and the bands and the the drivers take grid drivers to your car, start your engine, like just the whole thing is it's just something to behold. For sure, man. Well, uh uh I one I just want to say we appreciate you uh members of your team and and honestly uh everyone that is that is willing to sign up and you know represent the armed forces, you know, go overseas, do all these things that take so much bravery and courage. Uh it is just uh I mean you've been doing this for 25 years since you were a junior in college. That is just uh it's remarkable.
A testament to you and everyone. And we just want to say thank you from from our team, from our listeners. It's incredible. Um it's awesome that we get to honor um your guys' commitment and sacrifice uh in part the world's largest single day sporting event at the Indianapolis 500. We appreciate you. No, I really appreciate that as well.
And like I said before, I mean those that I've had the honor to serve with the last 25 years, I mean, we truly uh love wearing the uniform from an aviation standpoint. A lot of us are living out our our dream of, you know, flying aircraft and and getting to do that. Yes, our job takes us all around the world, but it's something, you know, when we when we raised our right hand, you know, we're very willing to go and do that on behalf of of this great country and and people like yourself and our families and and uh yeah, it's truly an honor to to get to do what we do. Yeah, we're lucky to have people like you. Appreciate you stopping by and and filling us in. That's what an awesome honor and I hope I hope the helicopters remain a staple of the Indianapolis 500.
I think it's an awesome way and it just gets people fired up. I mean, there are so many and you've probably seen a bunch. I feel like you had to go famous like Tik Tok or whatever like clips with so many different music and the pageantry. It's it's electric. So, hey, we appreciate you and we'll talk to you soon. All right.
Thank you very much. Appreciate it. That's a wrap on this episode of Get In. And I hope you have a spectacular Friday, a great weekend.
