Relaxed and Fast

In this episode, Coach Joe Eby and Coach Josh Fiorentino dive into one of the most overlooked parts of distance running: the work that happens before and after the run. Summer is the perfect time to build strength, improve mobility, address imbalances, and develop the habits that pay off when championship season arrives. While everyone is putting in mileage, the athletes who commit to lifting, cor...

What do coaches really learn about a recruit during a campus visit? In this episode of Relaxed and Fast, Coaches Joe Eby and Josh Fiorentino talk through the recruiting visit from the coach’s side of the table. Most recruits think the visit is mainly about seeing campus, meeting the team, checking out the facilities, and deciding if the school feels right. And all of that matters. But coaches are...

Everyone wants the workout that changes everything. In reality, improvement usually comes from the workouts that don’t stand out at all. In this episode, we talk about why consistency is one of the most overlooked parts of training. We discuss the temptation to make up for missed days by hammering workouts, why that approach usually backfires, and why showing up day after day is what actually move...

Can four days really change your running? We believe they can. In this episode, Coach Joe Eby and Coach Josh Fiorentino take you inside XC in the Hills, our four day high school cross country camp at Mohican State Park. We share why we started the camp, what makes it different from other running camps, and why we believe some of the biggest moments happen away from the stopwatch. From scenic trail...

In this episode of the Relaxed and Fast podcast, Baldwin Wallace University Head Cross Country and Track and Field Coach Joe Eby and Coach Josh Fiorentino recap the 2026 Midwest Elite Meet held at George Finnie Stadium. This high school track and field invitational was built to bring together top distance running and sprinting talent from across the Midwest for a college-level meet experience, and...

Down to your final two college programs and can't decide? In this episode of Relaxed and Fast, Baldwin Wallace University Head Track and Field and Cross Country Coach Joe Eby and Coach Josh Fiorentino walk recruits and parents through how to make the right college decision when both schools look great on paper. This recruiting-focused episode covers what college running recruits tend to over-value...

The Midwest Elite Meet delivered one of the most memorable nights in meet history. In this episode of Relaxed and Fast, Coach Joe Eby and Coach Josh Fiorentino recap an incredible evening at George Finnie Stadium where nine meet records fell, dozens of athletes ran season bests, and a new generation of stars announced themselves on one of the Midwest’s fastest tracks. The conversation starts with...

How many miles should a distance runner actually run? In this episode of Relaxed and Fast, Coach Joe Eby and Coach Josh Fiorentino of Baldwin Wallace University Track & Field and Cross Country break down weekly mileage, training volume, and safe progression for high school and college distance runners. There’s no magic mileage number—the goal is optimal mileage, not maximum mileage. Joe and Jo...

Lots of teams have slogans. The best teams have standards. In this episode we dig into what “Team Family Pride” actually means—and why it’s more than something we put on a shirt or shout before a race. We break down all three words: what separates a real team from just a group of runners, why we call ourselves a family (and whether that happens naturally or has to be built), and what healthy pride...

What is recruiting supposed to look like?   In this episode of the Relaxed and Fast Podcast, Joe and Josh share their experiences from four days at the Ohio High School State Track & Field Championships at Jesse Owens Stadium. For Josh, it was his first time recruiting at a state meet. For both coaches, it sparked some important questions.   As athletes walked out of the clerking area after so...

Why do two runners with identical splits show up to the same start line — one believing, one already beaten? That’s confidence, and it might be the most underrated weapon in distance running. In this episode of Relaxed and Fast, Coach Joe Eby and Coach Fiorentino of Baldwin Wallace Cross Country and Track and Field dig into how confidence actually works: how it’s built one honest workout at a time...

You found the coach’s email. Maybe you have their cell number. But do you actually know the right way to reach out — and what happens on the other end when you do? In this episode, Coach Joe Eby and Coach Josh Fiorentino of Baldwin Wallace University Track and Field and Cross Country pull back the curtain on one of the most overlooked parts of the recruiting process: communication. Not what to say...

Injuries are part of running — but they don’t have to define your season or your career. In this episode of Relaxed and Fast, Coach Joe Eby and Coach Josh Fiorentino from Baldwin Wallace University draw a clear line between injury prevention and injury management, and explain why understanding the difference is one of the most important things a young runner can do. They cover how prevention is bu...

Getting Real: How to Talk to Athletes on a Visit Without Getting the PR Answer   Campus visits are carefully planned — but the most important conversations happen off-script. Coaches Joe Eby and Josh Fiorentino from Baldwin Wallace University Track and Field and Cross Country break down how recruits can move past the polished answers and have honest, real conversations with current athletes. From...

What does it feel like to push past the point where everything in you says stop? In this episode, we dig into one of running’s greatest lessons — learning to get comfortable being uncomfortable. Whether you’re a high school runner toeing the line at your first big race, a college athlete chasing a PR, a coach trying to unlock potential in your athletes, or a parent watching your kid struggle and g...

Most recruits have no idea how to talk to a coach. And it’s costing them. In this episode, we break down one of the most overlooked skills in the recruiting process — how to actually hold a conversation. Not just answering questions, but engaging, asking back, and showing a coach who you really are. We’re talking about the difference between a recruit who gives one-word answers and goes silent, an...

Every great program is built on a philosophy. In this episode, Baldwin Wallace University Head Cross Country and Track & Field Coach Eby breaks down exactly what drives his approach to developing collegiate athletes. From the relationship between strength and speed, to the art of balancing volume and intensity, Coach Eby walks us through the principles that shape every decision he makes on and...

Race week can make or break your performance — and most athletes get it wrong. Coaches Joe Eby and Fiorentino break down exactly what to do (and what to ditch) in the final days before race day. From sleep and mental state to how much your mileage should actually drop, this episode cuts through the noise and gives you a simple, proven race week blueprint. You’ll learn why changing your routine las...

Junior year is almost in the books — and if you're a track athlete with college dreams, your recruiting window is wide open right now. In this episode, we break down exactly what you should be doing this summer to get ahead of the process. From researching coaches and digging into college rosters, to planning campus visits and writing that first email to a coach — we cover it all. Whether you're w...

What happens when a college athlete tries to live like a pro runner? In this episode, we find out. From dialing in sleep and nutrition to double threshold days and recovery-first mindsets, we break down what actually translates from the professional lifestyle — and what completely falls apart the second you’ve got an 8am lecture and a dining hall meal plan. Featuring real talk on training like Nad...

“I don’t know if I can balance running and academics.” It’s one of the most common things college coaches hear from recruits — but is it a valid concern or an overblown fear? In this episode, we break down where this mindset comes from, what college life as a student-athlete actually looks like, and why the structure of being a competitive runner might make you a better student, not a worse one. T...

Every athlete has a race they’d rather forget — a strategy that fell apart, a training block that went too deep, or an injury they refused to listen to. In this episode, we’re not hiding from the failures. We’re breaking them down. We get into the honest conversations that most athletes avoid: the bad pacing decisions made mid-race, the overtraining cycles that quietly sabotaged months of work, an...

Getting recruited by multiple schools sounds like a dream — but most recruits and parents aren’t prepared for what comes next. In this episode, Coach Eby and Coach Fiorentino break down exactly what happens when the offers start rolling in. They share what they actually think when a recruit is juggling 20+ schools, how to evaluate programs beyond the sales pitch, and the mistakes they see families...

Not every good race shows up on the clock. This episode is all about understanding performance at a deeper level. We talk through what separates two athletes who run the same time, how to evaluate execution, and what coaches are really looking for after a race. If you’re an athlete trying to make sense of your races, this gives you a framework for what matters, what to look for, and how to keep im...

Most athletes think a bad race hurts their recruiting. It doesn’t. How you respond to it does. In this episode, we break down exactly what high school athletes should say to a college coach after a tough performance. Because every runner has off days, but not every runner knows how to handle them the right way. We talk through the biggest mistakes athletes make, like saying nothing, over-apologizi...