the morning shakeout podcast

“We really bought in—and I really bought in. Like, I really believed that we could be good, I really, truly believed that, and I got them to believe it. In fact, when we hosted our first NE-10 Championship, we had this snow squall come across the field. It was freezing, it was like blowing sidewards, and I bring the women into the sports complex, and I said, ‘Everybody, be quiet.’ I said, ‘Just listen to all the people who are complaining about the weather.’ And they were all listening. I said, ‘You’re going to march out that door and you’re gonna beat every one of those women that has been complaining about the weather because this is our campus.’ And we just like pounded our chests and we walked out there and we won. But I just remember loving it, and believing in it, and I just wanted people to believe in me. And to see it grow like that, it’s like raising a child. It was just so gratifying.”This week’s episode of the podcast is a really special one. I got to have a long conversation with someone who has had a profound impact on my life and has played a major role in shaping the person I am today, my college cross-country and track coach, Karen Boen. Coach has been at Stonehill College in North Easton, Massachusetts since 1997, when, at the age of 40, she took a part-time role to coach a women’s team that was about to be cut as a varsity sport. Twenty-three years later, under her guidance, the Stonehill women’s cross-country team has been to 19-straight NCAA Division II Championships. She took over the men’s cross country program in 2002 when I was a junior—we weren’t very good, but a year later we qualified for the national championship for the first time in school history, and the squad has gone back every year since. Coach was also the director of both the men’s and women’s track and field programs until this past year, stepping down from her role as head coach but remaining on staff to continue working with the distance runners. In her time at Stonehill, Coach has developed over 70 All-Americans, her teams have won 38 conference titles, and she’s been named conference and regional coach of the year more times than I can count. Last December, she was one of six coaches inducted into the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame. In this conversation, Coach talks about growing up in the projects of South Boston with a single-mom and two brothers; being told that she had “perfectionist syndrome” as a kid, and how that’s influenced her approach to life; getting the opportunity to escape Southie and attend college, where the only advice that was given to her was “don’t f* this up.” She recalled how she got into track in college, and eventually distance running in grad school. She talks about accidentally falling into coaching at the age of 40, taking a small team that was on the brink of extinction and developing it into a nationally ranked program, being a full-time female coach at the collegiate level while having a family and maintaining a social life, why she’s always focused on surrounding herself with fantastic people, the importance of setting boundaries, the biggest barriers facing female coaches today, and so, so much more.This episode of the podcast is brought to you by Tracksmith, which makes classically stylish, cutting-edge apparel for real-world athletes. Visit tracksmith.com/mario and use code Mario15 at checkout to save $15 on your first purchase of $75 or more. It’s also sponsored by WHOOP, a fitness wearable that helps you sleep better, recover faster, and train smarter. Learn more at WHOOP.com and enter “Mario” at checkout to save 15% on a membership.Complete show notes: https://themorningshakeout.com/podcast-episode-115-with-karen-boen/Sign up here to get the morning shakeout email newsletter delivered to your inbox every Tuesday morning: www.themorningshakeout.com/subscribe/Support the morning shakeout on Patreon: www.patreon.com/themorningshakeout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I have a lot of goals in running and I have a lot of dreams in running but I feel like I love to run—period, end of sentence. And if that is kind of all I’m ever going to say about my running career from here on out, I’d maybe be a little bit disappointed, but at the end of the day, I want to run when I’m 80. I want to run with my family, I want to run with my friends, I want to run with my dog, and those miles that I can put in going forward, I hope they lead to really cool things on the track, but if they lead to really cool things through, you know, other opportunities that come forward in the future, that would be just as cool. So maybe looking ahead, I’m not trying to write my future out maybe like I used to, I’m just trying to go a little bit more with the flow and see where the run takes me.”Mary Cain is the youngest American athlete ever to represent the United States at the World Championships, which she did in 2013 as a 17-year-old high school phenom, finishing 10th in the 1500m final. Earlier that year, she broke numerous high school and junior records from 800m through the 5000. She turned professional in the fall of 2013, joining the Nike Oregon Project under coach Alberto Salazar in Portland, Oregon. Then, last November, Mary came forward in The New York Times with a powerful op-ed sharing her story of the emotional and physical abuse she suffered while a member of the Oregon Project, which she left in 2016. The piece exploded online and revealed details about how Mary had suffered from disordered eating while a member of Salazar’s team, missed her period for three years, broke five bones, and suffered from thoughts of suicide. Following that story, several other former Oregon Project athletes backed her claims of similar mistreatment going back at least 10 years. In this conversation, which got emotional at times, we got into the details of her new employment arrangement, talked about the importance of not being outcome-oriented, the energizing effect of being actively involved in her NYC running community, and how she picked herself back up after leaving Oregon and returning to New York. We also talked about Mary the person vs. Mary the runner and when that flipped for her, what she experienced during her time in Oregon, and being self-critical and feeling helpless when she was told she needed to lose weight to run faster. She also told me when she realized the environment at the Oregon Project was a problem and why it took her so long to realize it and leave, if her training partners and teammates at the time showed any concern for her while she was suffering, how she’s thinking about her running goals in the next few years, and a lot more.This episode is brought to you by: Tracksmith: Tracksmith is a Boston-based running brand led by a group of life long runners who are dedicated to building superlative quality, classically stylish, and cutting-edge running apparel for real-world athletes. To learn more, visit tracksmith.com/mario and use code Mario15 at checkout to save 15% on your first purchase.WHOOP: WHOOP is fitness wearable for your wrist that provides personalized insights on the performance of your sleep, how recovered your body is, and how much stress you put on your body throughout the day from your workouts and the normal stressors of life. Go to WHOOP.com and enter “Mario” at checkout to save 15%.Complete show notes: https://themorningshakeout.com/podcast-episode-114-with-mary-cain/Sign up here to get the morning shakeout email newsletter delivered to your inbox every Tuesday morning: www.themorningshakeout.com/subscribe/Support the morning shakeout on Patreon: www.patreon.com/themorningshakeout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I did not enjoy the recognition. I would literally hide from newspaper reporters after races. But I was competitive and I wanted to win and I wanted to set course records and I always wanted to be the best at everything I did, so I think that was what really drove me was: I was the best, in our school, and then I wanted to be the best in the state, and then looked at being the best in the nation potentially. Even back then I loved the process, I always loved to run fast. I’ve never been someone who has been good at taking easy days and I can trace that all the way back to 7th grade—I just liked to go hard.” Kate Landau is a 43-year-old mom and physician’s assistant who most recently finished 14th at the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon in 2:34:07. Last year, she ran a personal best of 2:31:56 to finish 13th at the Boston Marathon—and the morning we recorded this episode she ran a 2:34 marathon completely on her own. A five-time All-American at Georgetown who competed in the 1996 Olympic Trials in the 10,000, Kate returned to running in 2013 after a long time away from the sport and found her racing legs again a few years later. This woman is incredibly talented but Kate has an amazing story that extends far beyond her racing accomplishments. In this conversation, we talked about how she got her start in the sport, developing an eating disorder early in high school, something that she battled—along with injuries—well into her adult years. She told me about her desire to be the best and go hard at everything she did from the time she was a young girl. Kate opened up about when she finally allowed herself to feel self-worth outside of running, why she’s enjoying the sport now more than ever in her 40s, what she tells young girls who might be on a similar path to the one she took, as well as how she guides parents and coaches of kids who are struggling with disordered eating and aren’t sure where to turn. She also talks about balancing being a mom with a high-stress job and training at a high level, the importance of setting a good example for her daughter and why that’s a driving force in her life, what it means to know that sharing her story helps others deal with their own struggles, and a lot more.This episode is brought to you by: UCAN. I’ve been using UCAN’s Performance Energy drink mix before my long runs, big workouts and races for the past four years, and it’s a crucial part of my nutrition plan, providing steady energy that’s easy on my gut. Go to ucan.co/shakeout — that’s ucan.co/shakeout — to learn more about UCAN’s one of a kind energy and use code  SHAKEOUT25 to save 25% off your first order. If you’re already a UCAN fan, you can save 15% with code SHAKEOUT.Complete show notes: https://themorningshakeout.com/podcast-episode-113-with-kate-landau/Sign up here to get the morning shakeout email newsletter delivered to your inbox every Tuesday morning: www.themorningshakeout.com/subscribe/Support the morning shakeout on Patreon: www.patreon.com/themorningshakeout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nick Willis, an Olympic medalist and accomplished runner, shares insights about staying motivated, the impact of the pandemic, age as a competitive factor, evolving training methods, coaching dynamics, reflections on doping, and exploring different areas of running.

“I’m in a position where I cannot be afraid. What I do for a living, my life, my career, I have to get out there and be among the people. And if I’m not comfortable doing that, I can’t expect my runners to be comfortable doing that. But I think it’s going to be a job that every single one of us needs to take on head first and we have to figure out ‘Does this race saying they’re going to have gloves, hand sanitizer, masks, temperature gauges, all these things, does that make me feel safe?’ And if not, anyone who is listening, you have got to speak up and tell us what is going to make you feel safe. Because as a person who is in charge of branding at the New York City Marathon finish line, it’s a really special thing. It is the world’s largest marathon, it’s 51,000 people, and it is a sight. It is a feeling, I get goosebumps talking about. And if that has to go away because we’re afraid of people, that’s going to be a sad day. You know, it just is.” Michelle La Sala is the founder and president of Blistering Pace Race Management, where she puts on races in and around the Bay Area and also serves in various capacities at bigger races around the country. A 15-year running industry veteran, she’s worked for the LA Marathon, New York Road Runners, and Sacramento Running Association, where she was the race director for the California International Marathon in 2013 and 2014. Michelle has been running since the third grade, she competed collegiately at the University of Portland, and has completed 32 marathons with a 2:59 personal best. We covered a lot of ground in this conversation, from how Michelle got her start in the sport, dealing with disordered eating and injuries as a collegiate athlete, and what sparked her competitive resurgence after college. She told me how Bart Yasso and a bizarre chance led to her getting a job at the LA Marathon, kicking off her career in the running industry. We talked about putting on events, why she does it, and the worst day she’s ever had as a race director. And lastly, we discussed her experience putting on a large event the first weekend of March earlier this year just as COVID-19 concerns were starting to escalate, what things look like for her right now with no races and an uncertain future ahead of us, her thoughts on how events might look different moving forward, and what she wants to tell runners who have had their races cancelled or postponed due to the pandemic.This episode is brought to you by: UCAN. I’ve been using UCAN’s Performance Energy drink mix before my long runs, big workouts and races for the past four years, and it’s a crucial part of my nutrition plan, providing steady energy that’s easy on my gut. Go to ucan.co/shakeout — that’s ucan.co/shakeout — to learn more about UCAN’s one of a kind energy and use code  SHAKEOUT25 to save 25% off your first order. If you’re already a UCAN fan, you can save 15% with code SHAKEOUT.Complete show notes: https://themorningshakeout.com/podcast-episode-111-with-michelle-la-sala/Sign up here to get the morning shakeout email newsletter delivered to your inbox every Tuesday morning: www.themorningshakeout.com/subscribe/Support the morning shakeout on Patreon: www.patreon.com/themorningshakeout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Just having a group of people who accepted me unconditionally, who I knew had also been through hard times, who would be there for me, getting connected through a community group every week and making church a priority and just having these things outside of running just were so, so, so vital in giving me an identity and giving me a community and helping me feel like I was part of something bigger than myself. So yeah, it definitely definitely played a huge role in helping me feel less alone—through injury and then through other hard things.” Erin Finn is the real deal: She was a 10x All-American at the University of Michigan and a 4x runner-up at the NCAA Championships. She holds four school records for the Wolverines and has personal bests of 15:23 for 5000m and 31:51 for 10,000m. But those numbers don’t even begin to tell her story. Now in her mid-20s, Erin is a first-year medical student at the University of Michigan. She’s still running, putting in 80 miles a week around her studies and other commitments, and she has her eye on moving up to the marathon in the next couple years. We recently had a great conversation talking about her relationship to the sport and how it’s evolved since she first got started as a young kid. Erin told me why she’s inspired by people who go about running differently—and along those lines, why she chose med school over pursuing a professional running career. We talked about her tendency toward perfectionism and how it can be both a blessing and a curse, getting caught in a cycle of overtraining and under-eating toward the end of her collegiate career and how she pulled herself out of it, where her competitive streak comes from and why she actively has to try and suppress it, the importance of family, faith, and community in her life, and a lot more.This episode is brought to you by: UCAN. I’ve been using UCAN’s Performance Energy drink mix before my long runs, big workouts and races for the past four years, and it’s a crucial part of my nutrition plan, providing steady energy that’s easy on my gut. Go to ucan.co/shakeout — that’s ucan.co/shakeout — to learn more about UCAN’s one of a kind energy and use code  SHAKEOUT25 to save 25% off your first order. If you’re already a UCAN fan, you can save 15% with code SHAKEOUT.Complete show notes: https://themorningshakeout.com/podcast-episode-110-with-erin-finn/Sign up here to get the morning shakeout email newsletter delivered to your inbox every Tuesday morning: www.themorningshakeout.com/subscribe/Support the morning shakeout on Patreon: www.patreon.com/themorningshakeout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“When I look at an athlete, the way I see an athlete, how they see themselves, how they feel about themselves, where they are in their lives, that’s going to show up on the track way more than the training, right? The training is only going to be in line with the athlete when those other places are in check. You can maybe fake it and get by for a little while but ultimately those things are going to reveal themselves more than the workouts, and the mile(age), whatever, any of that stuff. So, how people are feeling is, to me, the first part that you have to tackle as an athlete, then you can nerd out on workouts. But to get that order wrong, I think, you’re going to be dumbfounded at the lack of results.” Mike Smith is the director of cross-country and track and field at Northern Arizona University, where his men’s cross team country team won three-straight national titles from 2016 through 2018, and last fall, they finished runner-up to BYU; his women’s squad qualified for nationals last fall for the first time since 2008, finishing 14th. Prior to his time at NAU, Mike coached at Georgetown, and in his coaching career he’s guided numerous athletes to all-conference honors, All-American awards, and national titles. He also coaches a handful of pros and still leads the Team Run Flagstaff group workouts on Tuesday nights in town. I’ve been following Mike’s career since the mid-1990s when we were both running as high schoolers in small-town Central Massachusetts. This is a conversation about the path Mike’s followed to get where he is today, and who and what have influenced him along the way. It’s also a conversation about his approach to coaching, running, competition, and life that I personally took a lot away from and I know you will too.This episode is brought to you by: SOAR Running: SOAR is giving all listeners the chance to win a spring kit bundle, comprised of your choice of any top, bottom and accessory from SOAR’s range of products. All you have to do is head over to soarrunning.com/themorningshakeout and enter. That’s it. The winner will be selected at random and entries close at midnight on Sunday, May 3. Also, SOAR is offering FREE global shipping to morning shakeout listeners throughout April. When you check out at soarrunning.com, enter the code SHAKEOUT in the promotion box and they won’t charge you for shipping, no matter where you live in the world.The Feed: The Feed is a one-stop-shop for athletes and their online store offers a selection of over 200 different sport nutrition products, supplements and recovery devices. Whether you are looking to stock up on healthy snacks or improve your training or recovery, visit thefeed.com/morningshakeout to save 12% off your next order.Complete show notes: https://themorningshakeout.com/podcast-episode-109-with-mike-smith/Sign up here to get the morning shakeout email newsletter delivered to your inbox every Tuesday morning: www.themorningshakeout.com/subscribe/Support the morning shakeout on Patreon: www.patreon.com/themorningshakeout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I honestly was hobbling in and with each mile that went by I’m like, ‘I’m still in the top-10. That’s Uta Pippig who’s cheering on the side of the road over there. I just passed a hobbled Abdi Abdirahman—he’s a 2:08 marathoner. And that guy up in front of me is Meb Keflezighi.' I remember catching Meb with 800 meters to go and Meb went right back by me, and I had a moment of ‘Oh, the dream was too much.’ And then I said, ‘No, you’re gonna hobble back by him because this is the home stretch of the Olympic Trials and he’s the reigning Olympic silver medalist and that’s the sort of thing you pray for when you’re a kid—to go back and forth with the Olympic silver medalist in the home stretch of the Olympic Trials, what more could you want?' So I think that was a big part of it, is just that perspective.”This week’s episode is a special one for me. I sat down and had a long conversation with my college rival, Nate Jenkins, one of the toughest competitors I’ve ever known and someone I raced against regularly in the early 2000s when I was at Stonehill College and he was running for UMass Lowell.Nate was not a big star in college—he was never an All-American or anything like that—but after school he went on to do some pretty amazing things in the sport, like finishing an incredible 7th place at the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon in the fall of 2007, running a personal best of 2:14:56 in that race, and then representing the U.S. in the marathon at the World Championships in 2009.I loved this conversation and I hope you will too. In it, Nate recounts a few epic stories, including the NCAA regional cross-country championship in 2003, where he beat me by two seconds in one of the most exciting races either of us has ever run. He told me how he knew he wanted competitive running to be a lifelong pursuit all the way back when he was in junior high. Nate explained why he’s a tough athlete to coach and a tough human being to be around in general. He talked about self-experimenting with training after college and what led to his big breakthroughs. We got into Nate’s personality and how it changes when he steps to the starting line on race day. Nate also recounts his experience at the Olympic Trials back in the fall of 2007 where he finished 7th “limping as hard as I could” the last 4 miles. Along that line, Nate talks about runners dystonia, the injury that ended his professional career; we also got into what his relationship with running, training, and competition looks like right now; Nate even turned the tables on me and asked a couple questions he’s been holding onto for a while, and a lot more.This episode is brought to you by: SOAR Running: SOAR is giving all listeners the chance to win a spring kit bundle, comprised of your choice of any top, bottom and accessory from SOAR’s range of products. All you have to do is head over to soarrunning.com/themorningshakeout and enter. That’s it. The winner will be selected at random and entries close at midnight on Sunday, May 3. Also, SOAR is offering FREE global shipping to morning shakeout listeners throughout April. When you check out at soarrunning.com, enter the code SHAKEOUT in the promotion box and they won’t charge you for shipping, no matter where you live in the world.The Feed: The Feed is a one-stop-shop for athletes and their online store offers a selection of over 200 different sport nutrition products, supplements and recovery devices. Whether you are looking to stock up on healthy snacks or improve your training or recovery, visit thefeed.com/morningshakeout to save 12% off your next order.Complete show notes: https://themorningshakeout.com/episode-108-nate-jenkins/Sign up here to get the morning shakeout email newsletter delivered to your inbox every Tuesday morning: www.themorningshakeout.com/subscribe/Support the morning shakeout on Patreon: www.patreon.com/themorningshakeout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Patience is such a tough thing to have in life, the world, in running, but it is such an important thing to have. I mean, it’s just that stacking on stacking on stacking of mileage and now in this venture, for me, it’s words. Not to say that I really love going back and looking at some of my early stories—and I think I did a good job at them—but now I’m excited about what’s coming next and some of the ways I’m going to tell these kinds of stories, even the ones I don’t know about yet.” Liam Boylan-Pett is the founder of Lope Magazine, an online publication that releases one longform feature story each month from the track, road, or trail. Liam has a Masters degree in journalism from Georgetown and his work has appeared in Bleacher Report, SB Nation, NBCOlympics.com, Runner's World, and other publications. Liam is also a hell of a runner: he ran collegiately at both Columbia and Georgetown, and then ran professionally for a few years, posting personal bests of 1:46.66 for 800m, 3:37.05 for 1500m, and 3:57.75 for the mile. In this episode, we talked about when the idea for Lope Magazine first sparked and what’s behind the unique name, the importance of patience in writing and running, his thoughts on the current state of the running media, what athletes can do to better tell their stories, reach more fans, and create interest in the sport, why his relationship with running now is healthier than it was when he was competing at a high level, and a lot more. This was a great conversation. Liam is someone I’ve admired as both an athlete and a writer for a long time and it was super fun to spend an hour talking to him for the podcast. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed taking part of it.This episode is brought to you by: SOAR Running: SOAR is giving all listeners the chance to win a spring kit bundle, comprised of your choice of any top, bottom and accessory from SOAR’s range of products. All you have to do is head over to soarrunning.com/themorningshakeout and enter the prize draw. That’s it. The winner will be selected at random and entries close at midnight on Sunday, May 3. Also, SOAR is offering FREE global shipping to morning shakeout listeners throughout April. When you check out at soarrunning.com, enter the code SHAKEOUT in the promote box and they won’t charge you for shipping, no matter where you live in the world.The Feed: The Feed is a one-stop-shop for athletes to fuel their training, stay healthy and recover quicker. Their online store offers a selection of over 200 different sport nutrition products, supplements and recovery devices. Whether you are looking to stock up on healthy snacks or improve your training or recovery, visit thefeed.com/morningshakeout to save 12% off your next order with The Feed.Complete show notes: https://themorningshakeout.com/episode-107-liam-boylan-pett/Sign up here to get the morning shakeout email newsletter delivered to your inbox every Tuesday morning: www.themorningshakeout.com/subscribe/Support the morning shakeout on Patreon: www.patreon.com/themorningshakeout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Every time I line up I don’t get as anxious anymore, I don’t feel like I’m gonna barf. It’s just, ’See what you can do. You have two healthy legs. You get to do this.’ Like, the sky is the limit. And if you don’t reach what you think you might be able to do, that’s OK too. Because I’m having fun. I’m more in the moment now, not thinking about the end goal of ‘Oh, I might not do as well’ or ‘I might suck.’ That’s fine.”Bria Wetsch finished 27th at the recent U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, running 2:37:58, less than a minute off of her personal best. The 31-year-old lives and trains in Boulder, Colorado, where she also works as an accountant. Bria ran collegiately at the University of Oregon and prior to that, she was a national 2-mile champion, top-10 Footlocker finisher, and five-time state champion as a high schooler in her native Minnesota. We covered A LOT in this conversation and I really appreciate how vulnerable and brave Bria was in sharing her story with me. She told me about getting her start in the sport at the age of 11, being hospitalized for an eating disorder not long after that, resulting injuries, and how she was able to get through that period in her life. We discussed experiencing success at a young age and how she struggled to separate her identity and self-worth from her running results. Bria recounts her experience recovering from double achilles surgery in 2017 and coming back to run a marathon PR 13 months later. She explained why she’s stuck with the sport despite various struggles over the past 20 years. Bria opened up about her fear of failure and battling perfectionism—but also how she learned to let go a few years ago and what that did for her relationship with running and competition, and much more.This episode is brought to you by: Tracksmith: Tracksmith is a Boston-based running brand led by a group of life long runners who are dedicated to building superlative quality, classically stylish, and cutting-edge running apparel for real-world athletes. If you're looking for inspiration to stay motivated and get out the door these days, be sure to check out their Journal at journal.tracksmith.com and follow them on Instagram (@TracksmithRunning), where they've been sharing and creating content from around the running world. To learn more, visit tracksmith.com/mario and use code Mario15 at checkout to save 15% on your first purchase.Complete show notes: https://themorningshakeout.com/podcast-episode-106-with-bria-wetsch/Sign up here to get the morning shakeout email newsletter delivered to your inbox every Tuesday morning: www.themorningshakeout.com/subscribe/Support the morning shakeout on Patreon: www.patreon.com/themorningshakeout Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.