Ben Rosario is the founder and head coach of Team NAZ Elite sponsored by Hoka, but he has done it all in our sport. He's competed in 2 Olympic Marathon Trials, finished 2nd in the US Marathon Championships, owned a running store in St. Louis, directed meets and events, and coached athletes of all levels. He, of course, coaches 4 of our prior guests from this year including Scott Fauble, Stephanie Bruce, Kellyn Taylor, and Olympic Trials Champion Aliphine Tuliamuk.

Having seen the sport of running from all sides, Ben brings a sharp and unique perspective to a host of important topics from how you innovate in marketing as a team to how you create a better culture for clean sport globally. Kara and Chris lead this episode starting with Ben on his beginnings and early inspirations in the sport. We talk about how and why he became a coach, how he developed the strong team dynamic at NAZ Elite, and of course, what it was like to cheer on his athletes to incredible finishes at the US Marathon Trials including Aliphine's victory.

Then, we turn to his perspective on clean sport from his time as an athlete to what he believes needs to be done to truly make a difference in the fight against doping in our sport. Finally, we cover his team's approach to the current pandemic and what they are doing to stay ready for the delayed Olympics next year, including some fun ways that fans can engage in their journey.

Ben is making big waves in our sport through Team NAZ Elite. He is direct and to the point about how to make our sport cleaner and more inspiring for all levels of athletes, and we are proud to help elevate his voice.

With this week's guest, we shift from a legend in the hurdles to a legend in the mile as Shanna and Chris interview Jim Ryun. In 1964, Jim Ryun burst on the track scene at the age of 17 by running the first sub-4-minute mile by a high school boy. He did it after only 2 years as a runner, and then just a month later, he would earn a spot on the US Olympic team for the 1964 Tokyo Games. Of course, that was just the beginning of a storied career that included 3 Olympic Games, an Olympic Silver Medal, and 6 world records.

In this conversation, Jim talks about what led him to try cross country in the first place, a hard first practice that almost made him quit, the teammates that kept him going, and of course the turning point where he realized he might be pretty good thanks to the wisdom and foresight of his coach. He shares the stories of his first Olympic experience in Tokyo as a 17-year-old and then the come-from-behind silver medal in the 1968 Games in Mexico City, including an apology that would come later from a Kenyan competitor in the same race. He discusses his attitude toward doping including when he first became aware of others using performance enhancing drugs including rumors of blood doping involving Lasse Viren from the 1972 Games.

Beyond the accolades and the talent, Jim gives us a window into what made him the athlete he was on the track through his faith, his incredible support system, and a work ethic that was fostered by a coach that really cared. Jim was a fierce competitor on the track, but you will hear a humble and gentle spirit in this interview that will bring a smile to your face.

Edwin Moses began participating in track and field at an early age, but no one could have predicted where it would take him. Undersized in high school, he wasn't recruited to run track in college, and instead, went to Morehouse College on an academic scholarship to study physics. Morehouse didn't even have a track on campus, but Edwin kept training anyway using other facilities around Atlanta.

While still at Morehouse, everything would change for him in 1976 when he ran his first 400m hurdle race and discovered his signature event. Just 4 months later, he would win Olympic gold and set a world record in the event in Montreal. That victory began a run of dominance in the event that would last more than a decade and include 2 gold medals and a bronze medal at the Olympics, plus a victory streak of 122 straight races that lasted almost 10 years.

In 1988 while still competing, he helped create the sport's first process for out-of-competition drug testing. Now as a board member for the US Anti Doping Agency (USADA), he continues to advocate for clean sport with the goal to ensure a level playing field for all athletes.

In this episode, Chris and Kara interview Edwin to discuss it all. Edwin is undeniably the greatest 400m hurdler of all-time, but his impact off the track has perhaps been even more great. We can't thank him enough for his lifelong commitment to clean sport and for continuing to lead by example with action and not just words.

In this episode, we mix things up with a get-to-know-your-hosts episode followed by listener questions. Kara takes the lead to interview co-hosts Shanna Burnette and Chris McClung. She asks about how they are both coping with the quarantine life balancing full-time jobs and 3 kids each. Then, digs into their backgrounds in sport and the key life moments that made them who they are today.

You will learn about Shanna's path to becoming a state champion in Nevada and the devastating moment she learned of her father's passing while at the University of Colorado and how it would change her life forever. You will hear about Chris's background growing up in a small town in Texas, playing soccer and how a seemingly minor decision in middle school led to other major life decisions where he chose to go against the grain.

Finally, we discuss how Shanna and Chris became passionate about the fight for clean sport before this podcast ever began, and then as a group, we answer your listener questions on a handful of clean sport topics from virtual testing during this pandemic to the biological passport to our dream guests for the podcast.

We had a ton of fun recording this episode and hope you enjoy getting to know us a little better!

Bob Kennedy is one of the most talented and consistent distance runners in US history. During his career, he was a 2-time Olympian, earned American records in the 3000m, 2 mile, and 5000m races and became the first non-African runner to break 13:00 in the 5000.

As he says himself in this interview, if it wasn't for performance-enhancing drugs (PED), he would probably be an Olympic medalist. Instead, he would "settle" for 6th place in the 5000m at the Olympics in 1996 where he took the lead with 2 laps to go in front of an electric crowd in Atlanta. Is he bitter about how that race ended or does he view it as one of his finest moments?

Find out the answer to that question and so many more in this interview with Chris and guest host Adam Goucher. Bob was precocious performer from an early age winning a national high school cross country (XC) title and then becoming one of only a few men to win NCAA XC as a freshman. After a decorated career running at Indiana University he was one of only a few Americans who could compete well against international fields in the 1990s in what would become an era marked by rampant EPO use before testing for the PED began in 2000.

While competing clean, he pushed himself by training with East African athletes and treating his training and each race "like a business." Chris and Adam dig into all of it with Bob including the mindset that made him one of the best in the world against a playing field that was far from level. Plus, Adam and Bob trade behind-the-scenes stories on 3 consecutive 5000m national championships where they competed head to head in 1999, 2000, and 2001. Spoiler alert: Adam won the first two of those before being outsmarted by Bob in a race for the ages in 2001.

Finally, we end by talking about what Bob hopes for the future of the sport so that his daughter can enjoy it the way he did. Bob inspired a generation of athletes by showing other US runners that they could compete with the best in the world and do it the right way. We are honored to help share his story.

We could all use a smile or two right now, and we believe this interview will give you just that. Jessie Diggins and her teammate Kikkan Randall won the first ever gold medal for the US in cross country skiing in the Winter Olympics in 2018. You might remember the epic finish as Jessie outsprinted a Swedish and Norwegian athlete to earn gold by half a ski before collapsing and being jumped on by Kikkan in celebration. It was a beautiful moment, but as you will learn in this interview with Kara and Chris, Jessie's story is so much bigger than one moment.

She was on skis before she could walk and showed promise early on. We talk about her journey as a clean athlete from her childhood to early success as a ski racer in high school and then her entry into international racing against the dominant Nordic countries. She discusses a day in the life of training and how the US has made such great strides internationally in the sport, even before her Olympic medal. She tells the story of her own battle with an eating disorder and how she shifted her mindset to focus on what her body can do vs. how it looks.

In addition, she gives insight into the clean sport culture in XC ski racing and how she was heartbroken just last year when an athlete she knew was busted for blood doping. Then finally, she takes us through her gold medal race moment by moment from her mindset on the start line through to every pole push down the finishing straight and how she didn't even know who jumped on her in celebration because she was seeing stars from the effort.

As we said, Jessie's positive energy will make you smile, and we couldn't be more excited and honored to have her on the podcast. Join Jessie for the virtual launch of her book Brave Enough on April 7th at 11 am EST. You can find all of the details here:

https://loft.org/olympic-training-jessie-diggins

We can't wait to read her full story. She is brave enough indeed.

We are excited to wrap up this series for Women's History Month by interviewing Sally Bergesen, the Founder and CEO of Oiselle. Sally Bergesen founded Oiselle in 2007 and since then has been making both better apparel and big waves in the sport of running.

In this interview with Kara and Chris, you will hear about her childhood growing up in Berkeley, CA as a self-proclaimed troublemaker including one funny example of challenging authority in her home economics class. From there, she discusses her parallel journey as a runner and on the road to founding Oiselle, where she has had a big impact as an advocate for women and for a better sport for future generations.

We talk about sports governance, #dreammaternity (and Oiselle's role modeling there since 2013), and particularly what brands can do to advocate for clean sport. Sally was a troublemaker as a child and is now a troublemaker (in a good way) in our sport. We can't thank her enough for her fearless leadership to promote positive change.

On April 19th, 1967, Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to officially finish the Boston Marathon in a time of 4 hours and 20 minutes. During the race, she was attacked by race official Jock Semple who tried to pull her off the course. Jock would not succeed, but the iconic photo of him trying would create an indelible image that would change the future of women in sport forever.

From that day forward Kathrine became a catalyst for change, leading the way for women to be able to officially race in the NYC and Boston Marathons as well as the Olympics, all while continuing to compete and win races herself.

Kara and Shanna lead this interview and get to it all. With Boston postponed this year until September, we hope this interview, rich in history from Boston, will tide you over until then. Kathrine has been leading change for women in sport for decades, and it was an honor for us to chat with her. While we know it is not enough, we bow low and say "thank you" to Kathrine for paving the way for so many.

Nancy Hogshead-Makar is an American swimmer who won 3 gold and 1 silver medal at the 1984 Olympics. She was a champion in the pool from a very early age, but her impact on sport and particularly for women in sport extends well beyond the pool.

With a law degree from Georgetown University, she's been a long-time champion for women on issues including equal play, Title IX compliance, sexual harassment, abuse and assault, as well as employment, pregnancy, and LGBT discrimination. She is currently the CEO of Champion Women, an organization leading targeted efforts to change policy and advocate for equality and accountability in sport.

Shanna and Kara interview Nancy to discuss all of it. It's impossible to truly understand and summarize Nancy's story in a few sentences so we just encourage you to listen, be a fan, and consider ways to stand with Nancy as a champion for women in sport. We are so thankful to have her leading the way for so many.

It seems all too perfect for International Women's Day to fall on the same day as the release of this interview. For this episode, we are excited to talk with the new queen of US marathoning Aliphine Tuliamuk who won the US Olympic Marathon Trials last weekend in Atlanta to punch her ticket to Tokyo.

Aliphine is a living example of the American dream. She's Kenya-born, one of 32 children, and moved to the US for college, becoming a US citizen in 2016. She now trains with team Hoka NAZ Elite under coach Ben Rosario. At the Trials, she and teammates Stephanie Bruce and Kellyn Taylor finished 1st, 6th, and 8th respectively to show the power of women working and training together.

In this interview, Kara and Shanna chat with Aliphine and get to hear her story from her beginnings in Kenya all the way through the finishing tape in Atlanta as an American Champion. Aliphine discusses adapting to life in the US, her collegiate career, transitioning to pro running without a contract for the first several years, almost quitting a few times, and surviving several major injuries before finally finding her home at NAZ Elite.

Yes, she is a fast runner, but she is so much more than that as a bright light in our sport. You will see what we mean when you listen to Aliphine talk about her desire to be a nurse or when she discusses clean sport and the young girls she wants to inspire at the finish line of the NYC Mini 10K. We couldn't be more proud to have Aliphine representing the US in the Tokyo Olympics this summer!