On a weekly basis, host Mario Fraioli gleans unique insights and inspiration from a wide range of athletes, coaches, and personalities in the sport of running through compelling longform conversations you won’t hear anywhere else.
This week I sit down with Chris Douglas, my right-hand man and sponsorship director for the morning shakeout, and he interviews me for the 200th episode of the podcast. In this conversation we take a trip down memory lane and discuss some notable episodes, we talk about how the show has evolved and grown over the past 4+ years, I explain how the pandemic has affected the past 100 episodes for better and for worse, and a lot more.
This week on the podcast I had an awesome conversation with Ben Rosario, head coach of HOKA Northern Arizona Elite, and Matt Fitzgerald, co-founder of 80/20 Endurance and prolific author of endurance sports titles, about their new book, Run Like A Pro (Even If You’re Slow), which was recently published. This was more of a Coaches Corner discussion than my typical interview-style show and in it we discussed what amateur runners can learn from their professional counterparts while covering topics like training volume, recovery, nutrition, having a champion’s mindset, and a lot more.
We are back with the second installment of our monthly cross-cast series that I’m co-hosting with Dinee Dorame of the Grounded Podcast, and in this episode we…well, we cover a lot of ground! We talk about music we’ve been enjoying, discuss some recent events that excited us, like the world indoor championships in Serbia, the NYC Half Marathon, as well as the the upcoming Boston Marathon. We talked about where we’re each at in our respective running journeys right now, brought up some recent developments in the running industry, and a lot more.
I recently had a conversation with Nell Rojas, sixth-place finisher and top American at last fall’s Boston Marathon. She’s currently getting ready to line up for this year’s race on April 18.We covered a lot in this one. Nell filled me in on where she’s at in her Boston preparation and how it’s differing from her approach last fall. We talk about the role running has played in her life and how that’s evolved over the years. We discussed identity and why “runner” isn’t even one of the first things that comes to mind when Nell introduces herself. She told me about her relationship to her dad, the legendary Ric Rojas, who is also her coach, we talked coaching and what she’s learned from the amateur athletes she’s worked with, and a lot more.
This conversation with Phil Shin is one of the most meaningful and impactful exchanges I’ve ever had for the podcast. Please listen to it—all 2 hours of it. Phil is 51 years old, he’s a husband a a father, he’s a Boston Marathon qualifier, and he is out-running cancer one mile at a time. He’s actually going to run this year’s race on April 18 with his liver donor and friend Mark Murphy, who will be running his first marathon. Phil’s story is incredible, his message is inspiring, and I feel so honored to have the opportunity to share this episode with you.
Russell Dinkins is the executive director of the Tracksmith Foundation, where he will continue that work while also helping create more opportunities and inspire broader participation in track and field through various forms of advocacy and assistance. In this conversation we talked about the path he’s followed in the sport, track and field as a vehicle for diversity and educational access, how his relationship to running has evolved over the years, what he hopes to achieve through his work moving forward, and a lot more.
I’m super excited to share the first episode in what will be a monthly series I’m co-hosting with Dinée Dorame of the Grounded Podcast. We’re calling it Common Ground and it will be a little bit of everything from two people who come from very different backgrounds and upbringings but share a mutual love of all things running (and podcasting, and music, and plenty of other stuff too). In these episodes we’ll catch up with one another about where we’re at in our respective podcasting and running journeys, we’ll discuss what’s exciting us in the sport, we’ll talk about issues in the community and industry, we’ll riff on music that we’ve been enjoying, take listener questions, and a lot more.
Hellah Sidibe is a former pro soccer player turned runner who strives to inspire and change lives through sharing his life experiences. Last year he became the first Black man to run across the United States, which he did in a quick 84 days, and he’s been running every day since May 15, 2017. His HellahGood YouTube channel has nearly 275 thousand subscribers and his energy and enthusiasm for running, life, and tackling big challenges is incredibly infectious.
Amy Leedham is my friend, she’s one of my athletes, she’s a wife and a mom, and a badass runner to boot. Amy told me about her nickname, The Punisher, and how it came to be, we dig into different elements of her personality and how they manifest in various aspects of her life, and we discuss how her relationship to running has evolved over the years, in particular the past two. Amy also describes the challenges she faced in returning to running after giving birth to her daughter Aila, she shares her best advice for other mothers who might find themselves in a similar situation, she told me how she’s developed a renewed sense of gratitude for being able to run, and a lot more.
Ted Metellus is the race director for the New York City Marathon. In this episode, I learned when running first came into Ted’s life, how his relationship to it has evolved over the years, and what it’s meant to him over the past two years that we’ve been navigating a pandemic. Ted told me about the path he’s followed in event operations, logistics, and management, what it’s like being a Black man in an overwhelmingly white sport and industry, what he means when he says that “you can’t teach care,” and a lot more.
