Podcast: Episode 164 with Lauren Hurley

Mario Fraioli | June 7, 2021

“When I was doing triathlon I would get a workout and I’m like, ‘Oh, I can’t do that. That’s too hard. No way.’ Now Tom tells me this workout and I’m like, ‘You’re crazy, but let’s go for it. Let’s try it.’ Because I don’t care. I don’t care if I fail. So I think that’s a huge thing for people. It’s like as soon as you step away from that fear of failing you open yourself up to so many things—and for so long that just held me back. Because really, and it’s so cliche, but anything is possible. And it’s been a big lesson I’ve learned throughout this short little running journey I’ve done and I’m gonna carry that through the trials. Do I think I’m gonna make the Olympics? No. But do I think I can run the Olympic standard? Yeah, I do. And I’m not gonna tell myself I can’t, you know? So that’s gonna be cool and exciting and I’m gonna carry that to Eugene.”

Lauren Hurley is a friend of mine and it’s been super fun to watch her improvement in running from afar the past few months. She recently qualified for the Olympic Trials at the Portland Track Festival, running 32:17 for 10,000m, finishing fifth in her first ever race on the track at any distance.

Lauren might be new to racing on the track but she is not a novice athlete. She raced triathlon professionally for 10 years, winning 11 Ironman 70.3 events and numerous other races. She retired from triathlon in 2019 after accepting a 6-month suspension from USADA for testing positive for THC—a banned substance that was in the CBD cream she was using to treat an ankle injury at the time.

In this conversation, we talked about Lauren’s suspension and why, in retrospect, it ended up being best thing that ever could have happened to her. Lauren told me about feeling burned out from her professional triathlon career and why she never thought she’d do another interval, much less compete, again. We discussed motherhood—she and her husband Matt have a 10-month old son named Wilder—and how that’s reshaped her perspective on what’s important in life. Lauren talked about growing up a swimmer, suffering from disordered eating in high school, and how finding running and triathlon in college helped her manage anxiety and get healthy. We also talked about competitiveness, entrepreneurship, how 10 years of high-level triathlon training has contributed to her current success in running, and a lot more.

Lauren Hurley: Instagram | Strava

the morning shakeout: Instagram | Twitter

Mario Fraioli: Website | Strava

This episode is brought to you by:

— New Balance. The new FuelCell Rebel v2 is my new favorite running shoe. It’s super super light, it’s incredibly responsive, and offers good protection underfoot. I think it’s the perfect workout shoe and I’ll be using it all the time. Check it out today at newbalance.com and consider adding a pair to your rotation today.

— Goodr: If you want to support the podcast and treat yourself to a pair of goodr sunglasses, head over to goodr.com/MARIO or enter the code MARIO at checkout for 15% off your order. Look good, run goodr!

Music and editing for this episode of the morning shakeout podcast by John Summerford.