The TalkIN Distance Podcast

In this episode, we focus in on the Columbus North Bulldogs special 2025 season. The Boys were Nike XC Town Twilight champs, IHSAA State champs, NXR Midwest champs, and finished 8th at NXN. Coach Sluder talks about the training, mindset, and community support that made their 2025 campaign so successful.

In this episode, we talk through some of the top storylines facing the sports of XC and Track in Indiana this Spring season. Topics include the new IHSAA transfer rule, The additional IHSAA-mandated summer moratorium, and the Indoor HSR State Finals.

Today on the podcast we welcome in Coach Ryan McMaster. Coach McMaster is the Head Coach of both the Boys and Girls XC programs at Ben Davis High School. We ask him about how it felt to watch his Boys team make it to the IHSAA State Meet for the first time in 25 years, the rich program history at Ben Davis, and the many mentors that have helped him in his coaching journey.

Today we got to catch up with Coach John Arredondo. Coach A has led the Valparaiso Girl's XC program for 17 seasons. We ask him about what makes the Valpo program special, his memories of a magical 2023 State Meet, and even dive into some music suggestions toward the end of our conversation.

In this episode we tackle what priorities we have in the offseason. We sift through a variety of topics, including having individual meetings with athletes, taking time for yourself to recharge, maintaining motivation for coaches and athletes, and making adjustments for the always-eventful winter weather.

In this episode we discuss the most recent Class Cross Country vote. We try to answer why, after decades of debate, it still seems like such a polarizing issue. Also, we look around the state after week 4, and share some exciting sponsorship news.

In this episode we talk about Week 3, which featured some blazing fast times around the state. We also give some recognition to some of the performances around the state that we have been able to witness early on this season.

As we anticipate the start of competition in the 2024 Cross Country season, we debate the aspects of our sport are worthy of focus. We take the path of pruning down some of the aspects that might not be as important as we sometimes make them out to be.

In this episode we try our hand at taking some "hot-take" predictions about the upcoming 2024 Cross Country season. We even place a friendly wager on which of our predictions (if any!) turn out to be reality!

While probably an overused word in distance-running circles, consistency is still is possibly one of the most important aspects of becoming a good high school distance runner. In this episode, we dive into 5 different aspects of our sport that it pays off to have consistency in.

After quite the spring hiatus, we catch up in this episode. We discuss the long Track & Field season, the odd time of year as post-season outdoor Track meets finish up and Cross Country preseason starts, and what are some of the most important things teams can be doing right now to set the foundation for a great Cross Country season.

In this episode we look at the ways that Psychology and Distance Running intertwine. We wonder if there are topics in psychology that can help us understand our pre-race anxiety? Or, why it is so hard to take that first step of a run? We also discuss how Psychology may help us be better parents and coaches of distance runners.

In this episode, we discuss the large training block over the winter months. We try to tackle topics about what the focus of winter training should be, how to handle the indoor season, and ways to keep kids motivated to train through the adverse Indiana winter weather.

It is by-far the biggest debated topic in Indiana high school Cross Country...... So, we take a stab at some pros-and-cons of the Class XC debate. This is not even close to an exhaustive list, but instead, a conversation that is really aimed at informing and getting more voices heard throughout the state on a topic that is passionately debated in every circle of the sport.

After a short hiatus, we return to discuss the Top 10 Conferences in Indiana in Cross Country. We discuss the teams that make up these conferences as well as what makes them special.

In this episode, we talk to Springs Valley Cross Country Coach Derek Freeman. The Hawks have had unprecedented success under Coach Freeman, so we had a bevy of questions for man in charge. We discuss training, culture, and how success at a small school in Indiana's single-class system may be defined differently, but does not mean lowering expectations.

In this episode we summarize, recap, and digest all that happened in the 2023 IHSAA State Cross Country Meet. We include team talk, individual talk, and some coaching hypotheticals coming off of the biggest meet of the XC season.

In this episode we try to pack in as much IHSAA State Meet preview content as possible. We look at both the Boys and Girls Individual and Team title contenders, highlight some small and medium-size schools that qualified, and preview what comes next now that the Cross Country season is drawing to a close.

In this episode we cover a wide variety of topics, including reflecting back on an exciting Sectional weekend, looking forward to an exciting Regionals weekend, as well as pour over some classification breakdown of Regional-bound teams. We even discuss what a 2 or 3 class Cross Country tournament may look like from our current alignment.

In this bonus episode this week, we discuss the value of the Sectional round, to not only small schools, but all schools. Then, we take a quick trip through the state and highlight one Sectional meet from each of the Regional sites that they feed into.

In this episode, we talk about the excitement that surrounds the week leading up to Sectional Saturday. We try to break down what the priorities are in training and mental prep through the final part of the season. Finally, we discuss how to navigate fall break when it comes during a crucial part of the postseason.

Two (very tired) coaches try to recapitulate the epic Nike "XC Town" Twilight Meet, as well as look at what kind of changes that may lie ahead as we enter the first edition of our new 3-round IHSAA tournament structure.

In this episode we talk about what kind of things change (and remain the same) as we enter the final weeks of the regular season. Also, we attempt a nuanced analysis of small and medium-sized schools in Indiana that are having success and what can be learned from them to grow our sport as a whole in the state.

In this episode we give our Top-5 "Do" lists for athletes and parents of Cross Country runners. We discuss some main qualities we believe it takes to be a good distance runner, as well as qualities that make up being a good parent of a distance runner.

In this episode we talk about the first weekend of racing in September. Recapping some stellar individual and team performances around the state. We also take time to discuss the topic of tempo/threshold running as well as begin to open up the topic of how we as coaches can collaborate with parents in our program.