Super stoked to welcome Parker Max to the podcast! Parker currently runs at St. Olaf College in Minnesota, and is co-owner of The Harrier. The Harrier is a clothing company that celebrates running through casual apparel. There is a lot of up’s and downs of running a business & running in college. Thank you Parker for the insight into your life!

Today, I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Alyson Churchill. Alyson is currently an athlete at distance powerhouse, Northern Arizona University. She is from my hometown, and formerly ran at Florida State University.

Alyson has been running for a long time and through trials and tribulations has discovered that life can't revolve around the sport. Over the years, she has found other hobbies and interests in her life to help keep training a little lighter and live a fun life.

Today on the podcast, I am blessed to welcome Madison Mooney.

Madison is a Division 1 runner at the University of Wisconsin. She holds personal records of 2:04 (800m), 4:34 (mile indoor) and 21:06 (6kxc).

Not only is Maddie an amazing runner, but she has an amazing following on social media. She is currently working on a series over the span of 2024 in which she is documenting her typical week to week activities. From trying to qualify for nationals, to rest days, she is showing it all. Along with this series, she is an advocate for mental health, working with the Sarah Shulze Foundation and Voice in Sport.

She hopes to continue running after finishing her eligibility in the NCAA, and is using her platform on social media to get her to the next step.

This conversation was super insightful, and I am beyond grateful for this connection. I wish Maddie all the best in the upcoming years.

Today I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Anderson Bobo. Anderson is a former Division 1 runner at the University of North Florida.

Anderson is currently the creative director for the University of Oregon Cross Country team. He gained a degree from UNF in multimedia journalism and continued his education with a masters from the University of Florida in mass communication.

He is one of the biggest names in track photography and consistently puts out amazing content. He has used his passion for running and photography to make amazing connections, and will continue to do amazing things in the future.

Forever grateful for this conversation and the ability to grow as a person from it. Wishing Anderson the best in the future and can't wait to see where this profession takes him!

Today I had the pleasure of talking with Hayley and Alison Boyle, a set of sisters from northwest Florida that are chasing their dreams through each stage of. life. Hayley is a freshman at Barry University, in Miami and is adjusting well to collegiate running. Barry is a new program that has been reinstated after being taken away in 1992. Hayley is learning a lot from her coaches and teammates in her first year of college and is set to do great things in the upcoming years. Alison is in her first year of collegiate running in the NJCAA at Daytona State College. After taking a break from the sport post graduation, she rekindled her love for the sport and is figuring out her path day by day. She has one more year of eligibility in the NJCAA and hopes to compete in the NCAA following that.

In today's episode, I enjoy talking with Everett Smulders. He is a former Ole Miss mid-distance runner. He holds personal bests of 3:58 and 1:48 in the mile and 800m.

Throughout the first 3 episodes, I have been focused on putting out the most useful conversation to listeners. At the start of this episode, Everett reminded me this podcast was started to form connections that I wouldn't form otherwise.

As I began to edit this episode, I realized this podcast is meant to highlight life outside of the sport. My goal is to keep the conversations lighthearted and real. So, I left 99% of the episode unedited to show everyone we are all on a journey of growth and conversation is the best way to learn more about life.

Towards the end of this episode, we began to talk about my goals for the podcast and

Everett has been removed from competing in track and field for a year and a half but still challenges himself mentally every day. Running is a sport and requires time & patience, and there are lessons the sport can offer to make us better people outside of the sport. Everett has started doing ultra-marathons and challenging himself mentally more than ever.

For our third episode, I am super excited to welcome Jan Figueroa to the podcast! Jan is currently the media coordinator for Under Armour’s pro distance team in Baltimore, MD. He ran at the D1 and D2 level and is super passionate about the sport. He has made some crazy sacrifices and worked hard in order to get to a high level. He wasn’t always where he is now, listen in as he talks about the process of getting to his current position. He has some great names as mentors and is now blowing up, as you may see him tagged with Trackstaa or Athletics Weekly! Hope you guys all enjoy.

Grateful to welcome Leah Stephens, a freshman at North Carolina State University! Leah holds a top 10 American High School 2-mile time, came top 50 at the NCAA national championship this year and is a crazy hard worker. She was super involved in high school, from running to volunteering, all while keeping her grades up. Listen in as she talks about the people and actions that have shaped her into who she is today!

In the first episode of beyond the finish, Paul Stafford joins us for a great conversation about his past and future. Listen in to hear about his plans and opinions on coaching. He has been through some great NCAA programs and is one of the most knowledgeable people I have talked to. From coaching philosophies to the craziest story I’ve ever heard, Paul brings it all to the table. Thank you Paul for your time, I hope you enjoy.