The 50th and final episode of the year is a “best of” compilation of highlights from 12 of the most impactful conversations that I’ve had over the past 12 months. In this episode you’ll hear from 13 people whose experiences, insight, and/or advice stood out to me. They are, in order of episode release date: Alexi Pappas, Craig Curley, Dinée Dorame, Nathan Martin, Keith Kelly, Jorge Maravilla and Stephanie Howe, Mark Coogan, Christine Gould, Alison Mariella Désir, Jon Green, George Hirsch, and Alex Varner.
This week's episode is with my friend and sometimes training partner, Alex Varner, and we recently sat down at his kitchen table to continue a conversation that started a few months ago on some runs together about moving on from the sport of running, or at least reevaluating our relationship with it. Alex has been running competitively since high school and has done some pretty amazing things in the sport: he’s won a national title in the 50K, he’s been top 10 at Western States, he’s won and broke the course record at Lake Sonoma, he’s put up the fastest time at the Dipsea Race a record 9 times, he’s run a 2:21 marathon, and he’s also won the Krispy Kreme Challenge in Raleigh, NC. After 20+ years of being a competitive athlete, Alex’s relationship to the sport is in an interesting place and we spent this entire episode talking about identity, motivation, letting go, and a lot more.
