Clean Sport Collective

With crazy lives and busy schedules, it's been a minute since we published an episode, but we are excited to release this roundtable on recent current events in the realm of clean sport. Hosts Kara Goucher, Shanna Burnette, and Chris McClung all join to provide life updates and discuss:

- Bizarre cheating scandals in chess and fishing - Doping positive for Simona Halep (former tennis #1)  - Gold medal upgrade for former guest Lashinda Demus - Recent Kenyan doping busts (including 2021 Boston champ and 3 pacemakers for Kipchoge's sub 2)  - News of a previous doping suspension for NYRR's new Chairwoman - Nnenna Lynch

Listen in for our reactions to it all and for a few specific changes we would like to see on how doping positives are reported. We hope to be back to you periodically with similar roundtables in the ever-evolving world of doping and clean sport.

Note: Here is a link to an update on the Nnenna Lynch and NYRR story, including her statement which was released after this episode was recorded:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/12/sports/running-nnenna-lynch-nyrr.html

Jenna Fesemyer was born with a birth defect that would cause doctors to amputate her left leg soon after she entered this world as one of a set of triplets. They told her parents that she would be slow to sit, crawl, and walk even after being fitted with a prosthetic leg before her second birthday.

Spurred on to compete with her siblings, she was the first do to everything which might have been perfect foreshadowing for her current career in sport. She now often stands in first place on top of podiums as a competitive wheelchair racer. She is a national champion, a Pan Am Games champion, a World Marathon Major podium finisher, and now a Paralympian in 3 different events - the 1500m, 5000m, and marathon.

In this episode with Jenna, she shares her journey along the way from her first wheelchair race as a sophomore in high school to living her dream in the Tokyo Paralympics last summer. Jenna also gives us insight into the clean sport culture in the Paralympic world, including out-of-competition testing protocols, the whereabouts filing system, and recent controversy involving new, carbon-fiber wheelchairs that could permanently change the sport. 

Jenna is an absolute inspiration. She will be racing the Boston Marathon on April 18th, and we can't wait to cheer her on!

Dominique Scott is a 2-Time Olympian, a 5-Time NCAA Champion, a South African champion and record holder, and the owner of two new, smoking-fast personal bests in the half marathon (67:32) and 10K (31:00).

Beyond the accolades, her energy and passion for the sport is contagious, and her journey to realize her Olympic dream in 2016 in Rio is absolutely inspirational. Kara and Chris dig into it all with her. 

We are fortunate that Dominique believes in #cleansport, because she also went nearly 2.5 years without an out-of-competition drug test between the fall of 2019 and early March of this year, which included no out-of-competition testing immediately before competing at both the 5K and 10K at the Tokyo Olympics. 

That, of course, is not her fault but does highlight the challenges of international drug testing and the window of opportunity for cheating that was created by the COVID-19 pandemic. This conversation also underscores the difficulties of staying motivated as an elite athlete knowing that the playing field is not level.

Listen and be a fan. Dominique's story is one to follow closely as she aspires to compete in both the Commonwealth Games and the World Championships this year. 

Finally on a podcast note, we just surpassed 1 million podcast downloads last week which is a big milestone for us! We wanted to thank you all for listening and supporting this platform. Together, we are making a difference in the name of clean sport!

She first tried out for the Olympics in softball but didn't make the team. Then she switched sports, and the rest is a story for the history and record books.

Now, she is a 4-time Olympian. She is a 5-time Olympic medalist and 8-time World Championship medalist. She is the most decorated Black Winter Olympian ever. She is the most decorated female bobsled Olympian ever.

She is the oldest US woman to win a Winter Olympic medal. She is the only woman to ever win two medals in bobsled at a single Olympic games. She is an advocate for female athletes and athletes of color. She is the mother to two-year-old Nico, and she is an inspiration to us all. 

She is Elana Meyers Taylor, and we are so excited to welcome her to the show. We talk about her journey from softball to bobsled, from her first trip down the ice in 2007 to her triumphant results in Beijing at the most recent Olympic games. She tells us stories from the sled including her perspective on doping and racism in the sport.

Along the way, you see Elana as one of the toughest, most resilient, humble, caring, and inspiring athletes we've had the chance to interview. She doesn't know what's next for her yet, but no matter what we will be cheering for her and following along!

We are BACK for a new season of Clean Sport Collective Podcast episodes, and we start this season just like we did the last one with a host round table with Kara, Shanna, and Chris.

We get personal updates from the crew and then talk about some of the big topics in recent months from the world of #cleansport including the Russian doping scandal in figure skating at the Winter Olympics, the confirmed lifetime ban for Alberto Salazar via SafeSport, a recent 10 year ban for Blessing Okagbare in Track and Field, and why Major League Baseball isn’t currently testing for steroids.

Of course, we love to finish on a positive note, and Kara tells us at the end why we should still have hope as fans in the face of these issues.

This episode was recorded prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, making some of these discussions seem trivial in context. We also want to say that we stand with the people of the Ukraine. Our hearts are broken and go out to them during this time. We denounce the Russian invasion and fully support the moves by governing bodies in sport to ban Russia from international competition. #saveUkraine

Nathan Martin is the fastest US-born black man to ever cover 26.2 miles. He ran 2:11:05 at the Marathon Project in 2020 to earn that title with a new personal best. He also finished 3rd American and 8th overall at the recent NYC Marathon, but based on the TV coverage, you would have barely known he was in the race.

Fortunately in this interview, we get the play-by-play on his in-race back and forth with Ben True over the final miles. It is a riveting firsthand account, and we are proud to give Nathan the platform he deserves to share it. 

Nathan, however, is used to not being in the spotlight. He's been diligently working to be a better runner in his home state of Michigan since discovering his talent in middle school. In high school, he focused on and was state finalist in the one mile race before being encouraged to move up in distance by his college (and current coach) Dante Ottolini.

In college, he capped his senior year by winning NAIA national titles in the 10K and marathon (yes, marathon!), all in a span of 36 hours. That final college race kickstarted a post-collegiate marathon career that has now included two Olympic Marathon Trials, top finishes at US Marathon Championships, the big PR at the Marathon Project, and now a top 10 result at a World Major. 

Nathan and his coach believe that making a US team at the World Championships or Olympics is a possibility, even as he splits his time coaching high school level athletes himself.

In his own words, we learn where Nathan gets his work ethic and his roll-with-the-punches attitude, along with the values he learned from his coaches and parents along the way. We discover the source of his integrity, his perspective on clean sport, and the lessons he hopes to pass onto the kids he now coaches. 

Nathan subtly drops truth bombs throughout this episode, and we couldn't be more honored to share his story with you.

Ryan Montgomery and Zach Bitter are no strangers to doing really hard things over long distances. Zach holds the world records for both the 100-mile distance by time and for distance run over 12 hours at 104.88 miles. Ryan just finished second at the Javelina 100, earning a golden ticket for the Western States 100, and he earned a spot on Team USA for the 24-Hour World Championships with a 154.71-mile performance over 24 hours last December. 

Together, they join us for our most in-depth conversation to date on the clean sport culture in the trail/ultra world. We start with a story from Ryan on an innocent visit to the doctor that could have inadvertently resulted in him committing a doping violation.

From there, we talk about the need for more education and openness on the topic of clean sport in the trail/ultra community. We discuss drug testing in the sport including Ryan and Zach's history with it (or lack thereof). We cover strict liability, IVs, marijuana/THC use in ultras, and the challenges of enforcing clean sport culture in this corner of the competitive running world without a governing body.

Finally, we discuss the roles of various stakeholders to build and sustain the clean sport culture in trail/ultras including athletes, events, brands, and fans. We asked Ryan and Zach the hard questions, and just like in big races, they didn't back down. Thank you to both of them for their willingness to dig deep.

We also owe a special thanks again to Altra Running for hosting us in their booth at The Running Event, for supporting these two amazing athletes, and for being a brand that cares about clean sport. 

"The biggest thing that I just want to stop feeling, that I continue to feel, is the time that I spent in my career being fake." - Alysia Montaño. 

Alysia has joined us on 2 episodes already so you know her story well. She is a 7-time US Champion. She is an Olympian, and she has two bronze medals from the World Championships that were stolen by dopers and eventually awarded to her many years later.

You may not know, however, that she is still in an ongoing battle more than 11 years later to recover $60,000 in prize money that was also stolen from her at those two events. For Alysia, it's not about the money. It's the principle that matters, and she is challenging World Athletics, the IOC, the USOPC, and USADA on this issue to set a new precedent for future athletes who might end up in the same situation. 

She gives us the play-by-play on that challenge while also catching us up on the latest in her life with 3 kids, her first Spartan obstacle course race, and the important work of her non-profit &Mother.

This is a tough conversation at times, but in the end, we do talk about hope and where she goes to find it. Thank you to Alysia for never shying away from the tough issues and for her commitment to leaving the sport better than she found it. 

Also, special thanks to Alysia's sponsor Altra Running, signer of the Clean Sport Collective brand pledge, for hosting us in their booth for this recording during The Running Event in Austin, TX last week. 

"You don't quit. You don't look behind you, and you don't cheat." - Molly Seidel, discussing values she learned from her mom.

We can't think of a better guest for our 100th episode than Molly Seidel. To the world, she might be the new face of American marathoning, but privately she is the same person who grew up in a small town in Wisconsin, doesn't take herself too seriously, and is the fiercest of competitors once on a start line.

From Foot Locker champion to NCAA champion to Olympic Bronze Medalist, the journey has not been a linear one for her. In fact, she almost quit the sport multiple times before finding her love for it again in late 2019. In this episode, we learn about it all.

This episode also represents a passing of the torch as Kara discusses Molly breaking her American course record in New York. You get to be a fly on the wall as the two of them fan-girl each other.

Come for that, stay for the fun details about Molly's journey including her running heroes in high school, where and when she decided to race the Olympic Trials, the source of her ferocious nature in races, and near the end, the advice she would now give to the younger Molly who once wrote down her dream to earn an Olympic medal. 

We love Molly for her integrity and for her fun-loving nature. We need more of both in our sport so we know the future of American marathoning is in very good hands.

Annie Frisbie had a dream day at the NYC Marathon. She finished as the 3rd American and 7th overall in her debut marathon, running two half marathon PRs en route to the finish line in Central Park. Her finishing time gave her the 4th fastest marathon debut ever by an American. 

As an unsponsored athlete, she ran in a mix of apparel and footwear from different brands, all while taking vacation from her day job as a graphic designer for a healthcare start-up. Though unsponsored, she is not unsupported as she runs with Minnesota Distance Elite in Minneapolis. 

At 24, Annie Frisbie seems to just be getting started as an elite-level runner. She won a state title in cross country in high school, is an NCAA All-American, and is now getting the opportunity to show her potential and passion for road racing.

In this episode, we cover her childhood growing up in River Falls, Wisconsin where her entrepreneurial parents showed her the importance of hard work. We discuss her patient progression in the sport from high school to Iowa State to joining Minnesota Distance Elite. We discuss her love for and early success on the roads and why she chose to move up to the marathon so soon. 

Then of course, we get the play-by-play on her amazing marathon debut in NYC including how she celebrated afterward. Finally, we talk about her perspective on clean sport including the fact that she's never been tested out of competition as a pro. 

Annie's perspective on our sport is pure and refreshing, and we can't wait to see where it takes her next!