Episode 235: Simon Freeman and Mario Fraioli on What We Can Learn From The Pros (And Vice Versa)

In this episode Simon Freeman and Mario Fraioli talk about what it means for an amateur athlete to adopt a "professional" mindset when it comes to training and racing: being intentional with your time and workouts, taking the work seriously, not giving into your feelings, eliminating excuses, not overcomplicating things, and a lot more. We also discuss what professionals and elites can take away from us amateur athletes: the benefits of a well-rounded life, having interests, hobbies, and other "productive distractions" outside of the sport, dealing with failure, maintaining a healthy relationship with running, and a lot more.

Episode 234: Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows on Run Crew Culture and Connection

This week's conversation with Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows is a follow-up to Episode 226, which was released back in August. In this one, we discuss how Jennifer spent her sabbatical over the summer and what she experienced visiting various run crews around the country (and even a couple internationally). She told me about what she hoped to get out of the trip, the feelings of culture, connection, and belonging she experienced along the way, how it all impacted her, what surprised her, and a lot more.

Podcast: Episode 232 | Ask Mario Anything

This week, I sat down with my right-hand man Chris Douglas and answered questions about the Olympic Trials Marathon start-time controversy, things I’ve changed my mind on, the importance of the weekly long run, time versus distance-based training prescriptions, and a lot more.

Episode 231: Megan Young on Coaching, Learning, and Living a High-Performance Lifestyle

In this conversation, coach Megan Young talks about where her insatiable appetite for learning comes from, the importance of establishing effective communication strategies with athletes and colleagues, and what she means by living a high-performance lifestyle. Megan told me who and what opened her eyes toward coaching as a career path, what that path has looked like for her over the past 15 years, and why she believes coaches need coaches. She also talked about the importance of care and connection in the role of a coach, understanding the difference between passion and purpose, her personal goal to impact 100 million lives through her work, and a lot more.

Episode 230: Stuart McMillan on Systems Thinking, Creativity, and the “Philosopher-Coach”

This week's episode of the podcast is with Stuart McMillan, CEO of ALTIS, and widely regarded as one of the best sprint coaches in the world. In this conversation, which easily would have gone another couple hours if we hadn’t run out of time, Stu and I cover a wide range of topics, from coffee and music to Stu’s former life as a DJ. We get into all things coaching, including how Stu got his start and how his approach has evolved over the past 30 years, creativity and how it influences his approach to coaching, the “philosopher-coach” and putting an emphasis on critical thinking and question asking, taking a systems approach to working with athletes and life in general, and so, so much more.

Episode 229: Don Swartz on Coaching, Innovating, and Developing a Winner’s Mindset

This week I had an awesome conversation with Don Swartz, who coaches at North Bay Aquatics in Marin County, California, and is someone I respect, admire, and try to emulate in my own life. I recently sat down with Don for a couple hours at his kitchen table to talk about his coaching journey, how he approached working with swimmers despite never being a competitive swimmer himself, founding the Creative Performance Institute in the 1970s and teaching the mental side of sport to coaches and athletes, how he stays sharp, what keeps him going, and a lot more.

Episode 228: Brad Stulberg on Performance Coaching and Mastering Change

This week I had a wonderful conversation with my good friend Brad Stulberg. In this one, the first installment of a new series I’m calling Coach to Coach, Brad and I discuss the craft of coaching and highlight the parallels and through lines that exist between working with athletes and working with executives and entrepreneurs. We also dive into his new book, Master of Change, and talk about how to navigate change: personally, professionally, athletically, and societally. Brad explains the concept of what he calls “rugged flexibility,” he differentiates between responding and reacting to things that happen to us, and a lot more.

Episode 227: Simon Freeman and Mario Fraioli on Defining Yourself as a Runner

I recently sat down with my good friend and three-time podcast guest Simon Freeman, the co-founder, editor, and publisher of my favorite running magazine, Like The Wind, for the third installment of our yet-to-be named quarterly conversation, which you can listen to wherever you get the morning shakeout podcast. An excerpt of this exchange can be found in Issue #36 of LtW, which comes out later this week. In this one, Simon and I talk all about defining yourself a runner, why many runners tend to identify themselves in a particular way, how identity influences the products you buy and the content you consume, the importance of diversifying your interests and pursuits in the sport, and a lot more.

Episode 226: Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows on Community and Belonging

Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows is a runner and serves as Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis. I’ve always appreciated her perspective on running, the industry, and this beautiful and messy path we’re all navigating called life. This is actually the first of what will be a two-part conversation. In this one, we set the table: Get to know Jennifer a little bit, learn more about her paths to becoming a runner and a member of the clergy, and hear us talk about running, community, belonging and the various ways those things all intersect and interact with one another. It left me excited for part two, which we’ll record later this year and I’ll release in November sometime. In that one, we’ll talk specifically about the crews and clubs Jennifer visited with, who she met, what she experienced, and what she took away from it all.