the morning shakeout podcast

"A lot of the folks I interact with now, whether it's a newly post-collegiate athlete who's still got goals that they want to achieve, or a middle-aged athlete who has a general fitness goal they want to achieve, or they'd like go for that Boston qualifier, whatever it is, most of these goals are achievable if you stick with it and keep building the tower—I call it 'the Jenga tower.' My outlook on...

"I think what made me me was taking big risks and training really hard. And I think that's what allowed me to have such high highs but it's also why I had so many low lows as well. I think if I would have taken the edge off my training I probably would have just been a lot more steady in my results and not so up and down and all over the map. But also, in my mind, I don't know if I would have gott...

"The bottom line is that a lot of people look at running and they want to try it but are intimidated by it—and I think the more encouraging and welcoming we are, starting from the top of the sport, the better it is. And so that's exciting for me to watch and to cover and I hope [elites] continue to be encouraging and welcoming."I had a great time sitting down with Erin Strout for this week's episo...

"Looking inside at the stuff that is scary and that you don't want to face, that's really hard, uncomfortable work. So in order to get to the other side, to truly feel compassionate for yourself and show yourself love, you have to come to terms with the ugly stuff. And that ugly stuff can be, 'I'm insecure,' that ugly stuff can be that, 'The only reason that I race is because I'm scared to die and...

"Things are going to be uncomfortable in life. You're going to have uncomfortable runs, uncomfortable races, uncomfortable conversations with family and friends, or standing up to your boss if you feel like you deserve a raise. All things like that, I think are just giving you a little more courage and a little more pep in your step to really stand up for what you believe in and push through those...

“Everybody runs. It's the original. You go to an elementary school at lunch time and everybody is running. It's intrinsic to us. And we lose that, whether we don't make the track team, whatever it ends up being, we lose that and I think that's a shame. And I think as a community and as an industry and everything we need to get back to this idea of 'run a block and a half, and then run five blocks,...

"I hope people can find joy in what they're doing, I hope people find things that are exciting, I hope people can look at me and say, 'If that dude with a job and a family and 1.5 cars and all the same things that I'm dealing with can get out and do something, maybe I can do something too and maybe I can set a big goal and maybe I can find something that excites me and motivates me and I'm passion...

“There were days when I was just so exhausted and I didn't even want to get up out of bed because I didn't even see the point. There was so much time that I spent wishing that the accident would have killed me because it felt like it was easier than to have to face the pain and face the challenges of everyday life. But then I'd receive a message and some voice of encouragement, sometimes from a de...

“The idea of doing what you love doesn't happen by accident. Like if I went to drama everyday, sure I'd have fun but it would have been misdirected. And I was fortunate enough to have what I loved and learn it but really cultivate it and really be around other people that loved it. And that's probably the theme that will come out of this conversation, whether it's a peer of mine that I'm still fri...

“I just kind of started to give myself a little bit more credit for what I've done and stopped having that need to incessantly prove myself. Because nobody else is thinking of me that way, nobody else is quantifying other people that way, it's just yourself. And so I made the choice to stop doing that to myself because the priority for me is health—because I can't do the running if I'm unhealthy,...

"You know, growing other avenues of my life has been really positive, and having an overall balance in my life, and not just having this laser focus on running. Because before, my running and my happiness were tied so close together that it was almost a dangerous thing. If I wasn't running well, the rest of my life was not going well either and it was nice to be able to separate that and separate...

"Like I want to make people happy, and do the right thing, and be successful. And I think a lot of people end up getting sucked into that and then have to be like, 'Wait, why am I doing this?' 'Do I want to be here?' 'Why did I make these choices?' and you have to rethink it and figure out what actually makes you happy and what you actually want to do. Luckily, just being competitive and wanting t...

"That's the great thing about competition or even just running in general—it's all about yourself. And maybe even greater than that, your running community is behind you and they want you to do well or set PRs. But as long as you're happy or you're doing things that are of value to you, I think people really rally behind that and I think that's what's so cool and unique about the running community...

"I think sometimes someone tells you their story, and you're listening to it and that's a value; other times you need to tell people about it in advocacy; and other times you need to do something about it to help create change. I kind of see Girls Gotta Run as an extension of that, really working to bring those stories, bring the experiences of the girls to an elevated level where more people can...

“The number one thing is really taking ownership of what you do with your body and understanding that our ideas on strength and exercising, it's not the multivitamin. I can't eat like crap and take my daily pill and think I'm good. Strength doesn't work that way [either]. It's not like I can run like garbage, never stretch, ignore all these signals that my body is giving me all the time, but do th...

"As far as balance goes, and how do you make it all work, some people call BS and say balance is not attainable, and I think there are moments in life where it feels like it's not, but I think if you can really hone yourself in on the things that are important to you at different parts of your life, it can be.” It was super fun to sit down recently with Lindsey Hein, host of the popular I’ll Have...

"I talk about why I had success in Boston—it’s a 26.2-mile race that this year felt like 30, right? You add in the wind, and the conditions, and it suddenly feels longer, which is part of why I have this advantage in my mind. And so why not test that theory out in the actual distance? I think I can finish a marathon feeling like I can probably go another 10 miles, I just couldn’t go a lick faster,...

"I think my purpose is to share peoples' stories, share my story, share any stories that will impact peoples' lives. And I love the idea of the content that I create living beyond me, I do. I try not to get too wrapped up in legacy and all that crap but when I do allow myself to take a step back and look at the work that I'm creating, to have it impact people, beyond just the small circle of runne...

“I'm just excited about being a part of the sport—my love for running and the community continues to evolve. My boy, 4 years old, did the turkey trot yesterday and he loves to race. We go to the track at Point Loma Nazarene and [we're] raising that next generation of runners. There's a lot of up-and-coming athletes that I think are going to do some pretty incredible things and so again, I think it...

"Running is such a passion for me and such a source of joy. It's really my way of experiencing life but also a way of exploring the world, and so I really look at it from that lens and I'm always interested in new ways of exploring either the planet or my own capabilities or bringing other people along with me who maybe haven't done something as long or as vert-y, or whatever, and that kind of is...

"If some of the people at the very front would start with these groups in the very back and see people's journeys, they would be changed—and they would realize, not only are these people working so hard at it but they [will] actually physically see what they go through to get to where they are. You know, I have people come up to me at races and say, 'I know you won't believe this, but I used to we...

“Not to sound cheesy, but anything is possible. I think that when you set your mind to something, and make a plan on how to get there, then you just chip away at what the next step of the plan is and you keep working up to the next step on the staircase basically—and it’s amazing how far you can go.”Really enjoyed sitting down with two-time U.S. Olympian Kim Conley this past weekend after she fini...

"It's really inspiring to see someone push themselves and challenge themselves...Bringing out the achievements of people who are fighting the odds, and really putting into context today's race, even for a pro, because even a pro is overcoming something tremendous each race they do—it's never rosy. And understanding that hardship, I think, will give people context into the meaning of a particular r...

"You have to look at it like a business. What do you want the culture of your team to be? Focus on that and make sure that the people you're working with are bought into what you're doing. Because I'm telling you right now, you could raise Bill Bowerman from the dead and he could write your schedule, but if you don't have the people that you're working with believing in you, and believing in each...

“I could remember standing at the start line the next year and [seeing] how impactful what I do—that solidified it for me—how impactful a job I have to see the world come here and run this race. And when the howitzer went off, I couldn’t pull myself away and I was really overwhelmed at the time. It was a testament to all the work we do to put this on and just standing there and seeing the people r...