Sebastian Junger is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Storm, Fire, A Death in Belmont, War, Tribe, Freedom, and In My Time of Dying, as well as an award-winning journalist, documentary filmmaker, and, perhaps most impressively, highly accomplished distance runner. A collegiate athlete at Wesleyan University in the early 1980s, Junger has run 3:55 for 1500 meters and 2:21 for the marathon.

In this conversation, we talk about his background in running as well as how it's shaped his identity and framed his perspective on writing and life. We also discuss how his relationship to running has evolved over the years, the parallels between competitive running and being in combat — "There's nothing like fear and exhaustion to wipe out your ego," he explains — how he got his start as a journalist and eventually author, the race he's spent his entire life training for, and a lot more.

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Music and editing for this episode of the morning shakeout podcast by John Summerford.

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