Heading into this holiday week we’re going to re-run one of my favorite episodes of the podcast from years past. This one is from January 2020 and it’s with Fernando Cabada, a former professional distance runner who is still competing at an elite level. In fact, Fernando is now one of the fastest Masters runners in the country, running 2:16:51 at Grandmas Marathon back in June to qualify for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon. He’s also the Masters American record-holder for 50K, running 2:57:35 earlier this year.
This week I’m sharing the latest episode of the Weekly Rundown, which is usually a Patreon-only podcast that I co-host with my friend Billy Yang. We’ve been on a bit of a hiatus since May, but we’re back with special guest Brendan Leonard of Semi-Rad—who you can listen to on Episode 211 of my podcast if you haven’t already—and the three of us catch up on what we've been up to of late, we talk all things NYC Marathon, and a lot more.
In this conversation, Jake Wightman talked about the world 1500m final and the tactics he used to take the win. Jake told me about what it was like to come off the high of that world title and still having to race in the Commonwealth Games and European Championships in the weeks that came after it. We discussed pressure as a privilege, what it’s like going into races now as a favorite rather than an underdog, and how he’s learned to appreciate his accomplishments over the years. Jake also talked about growing up as the son of two accomplished runners, being coached by his dad and the dynamics of their relationship, and a lot more.
I’m excited to bring you the 9th installment of Common Ground, a monthly podcast co-hosted by me and Dinée Dorame of the Grounded Podcast. In this episode, Dinée shares a couple personal updates, we geeked out and got excited about the upcoming New York City Marathon, which we’ll both be heading to later this week—we also shared some information about the respective events we’ll be involved in, so keep an ear open for those—we talked some music, of course, and a lot more.
Marielle Hall and I talked about how she’s using this training camp as an opportunity to re-center herself and set the tone for the year ahead. She told me about traps that she’s gotten stuck in over the years and how she’s trying to maintain focus and keep the main thing the main thing. We discussed how she’s feeling now versus a year ago when she left the Bowerman Track Club, and when she knew it was time to change her training environment.
This week’s episode is with Chris Mosier. Chris is a hall of fame triathlete, an All-American duathlete, a 6-time member of Team USA, and a two-time national champion and Olympic Trials qualifier in race walking. He’s also a Nike-sponsored athlete who, in 2015, became the first known transgender man to represent the United States in international competition. Beyond all of that, however, Chris is an incredible person who knows himself better than nearly anyone I’ve ever met and he’s an advocate, inspiration, mentor, and a role model to so many, myself included. In this wide-ranging conversation, Chris and I talked about his relationship to sport and how that’s evolved throughout his life. We discussed identity and how he shows up in the different communities that he belongs to, as well as why he doesn’t want to be seen in any one particular type of way. Chris told me about navigating the world now as a white male and how that perspective differs from what he experienced earlier in his life, how we can all be allies and advocates for equal rights in sports and society, and so, so much more.
Hills and Twos is a staple early season session for a number of top high school, collegiate, and professional programs that combines a set of short, hard hill repeats with a set of short, fast intervals. I’ve been doing some version of this workout since college, the Bowerman Track Club has their own take on it, and a couple of Georgetown runners even named their podcast after it.
The "Reverse Michigan" workout is an ascending ladder on the track—starting with a fast 400m, ending with a strong mile—interspersed with longer stretches of tempo running off the track between intervals. It's a great blend of speed and strength that can be beneficial to nearly any runner whether they're training for the mile, the marathon or anything in between.
Hill workouts should be an essential part of any runner’s training repertoire. They provide a lot of benefits for a relatively steep price: speed, strength, fitness, focus, challenge, and confidence all wrapped into a tidy package of uphill repeats.
