Recorded October 29, 2025 — just weeks before Tallahassee — this conversation with Indiana Wesleyan Head Cross Country Coach Brody Beiler hits different now that the Wildcats went on to win the 2025 NAIA Men’s Cross Country National Championship on November 21, 2025, and Coach Beiler was named NAIA Men’s XC Coach of the Year. 🏆🔥

At the time of this recording, IWU’s men were ranked #2 in the NAIA and the women #4, coming off years of top-5 finishes and a rising national profile. Coach Beiler walks us through the faith-driven culture, competitive mindset, and long-term vision that helped turn Indiana Wesleyan into a NAIA powerhouse.We dive into:

• 📍 Coach Beiler’s journey from Pennsylvania kid to college All-American to NAIA head coach
  
  
• 🏫 Taking the baton from legendary coach John Foss and honoring 40+ years of foundation
  
  
• ✝️ How Indiana Wesleyan balances competitiveness and Christ-centered identity (“both/and,” not either/or)
  
  
• 🧠 Training philosophy: thresholds, doubles, cross-training, Boost treadmills, and actually keeping easy days easy
  
  
• 🏟️ Facilities, IWU’s home XC course, and hosting 7,000+ HS & MS athletes every year
  
  
• 🎓 Academics, recruiting niche student-athletes, and building a national-caliber roster in Marion, Indiana
  
  
• 🧭 The “CAT” recruiting acronym (Curiosity of faith • Attitude • Talent)
  
  
• 🧺 Coach-as-CEO: budgets, big-picture projects, and fighting “disordered loves” to keep faith, family, and sport in order
  
  
• 📦 The Romans 12 “phone box,” daily practices, and what it means to truly “run free”
  
  

Whether you’re a high school athlete, a coach, or a running nerd who loves NAIA and small-college XC, this is a killer time capsule of a team on the brink of its first national title.

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Time-Stamped Show Notes
0:00 – 1:07 - Why Airey Bros Radio shines a light on NAIA, JUCO, D2 & D3 + setting the table for Indiana Wesleyan XC.
1:08 – 3:42 - Howdy & aloha intro • Full bio on Coach Brody Beiler • Taking over IWU XC after 37-year head coach John Foss • Socials and contact info for recruits & parents (IWUXCTF Instagram, email, etc.).
3:47 – 7:58 - Brody’s origin story: small-town Pennsylvania, a 2:22 marathoner high school coach, falling in love with running, college experiences at Lipscomb & Messiah, and how faith reshaped his life and career.
8:05 – 10:21- Grad school, higher ed & student ministry • How those degrees help him coach 18–22 year-olds through relationships, adversity, and big life transitions.
10:26 – 13:42 - Year 2 at Indiana Wesleyan: preseason rankings vs current reality (men #2, women #4) • Young roster, big recruiting class, and keeping everyone healthy, hungry, and joyful in championship season.
13:42 – 15:54 - Taking the baton from Coach Foss: what was already in place, pressure vs blessing, and navigating change while honoring decades of tradition and culture.
15:01 – 17:32 - Training talk: double threshold experiments, how he structures hard days vs easy days, heart-rate ranges, and making sure “easy” really is easy.
17:33 – 21:34 - Cross-training and recovery: ellipticals, arc trainers, Boost zero-gravity treadmills, aqua jogging, and “motion is lotion.”
21:34 – 26:03 - Facilities & home-course advantage: IWU’s flat, fast cross country course, indoor track, 9-lane outdoor track, athletic training staff, and Olympic-level support staff.
26:03 – 29:03 - Hosting massive middle & high school meets (7,000+ athletes per year), building revenue for the program, and giving prospective recruits a front-row view of Indiana Wesleyan.
29:03 – 25:55 - (approx): Recruiting philosophy & pipeline: local vs national reach, reactive vs proactive recruiting, social media as a window into team culture, and landing niche fits from places like Washington state.
25:55 – 33:40 - The “niche school” advantage & CAT acronym:

• C – Curiosity of faith
  
  
• A – Attitude (happy, healthy, hungry)
  
  
• T – Talent Why he recruits to Indiana Wesleyan’s mission, not just to himself.

33:40 – 37:15 - Balancing competitiveness & Christ-centeredness: “both/and” culture, identity beyond results, and the idea of “running free” from Hebrews

12.37:15 – 40:23 - Head coach as CEO: budgeting, long-term facility projects (course upgrades, berms, bathrooms), and leaning on mentors like Coach Foss to build a 37-year coaching career, not a 3-year burnout.
40:23 – 43:26 - Process > outcome: Mike Smith, podcast learning, and why chasing a national title isn’t enough if you don’t enjoy the journey and grow your athletes as people.
43:26 – 48:06 - Crossroads League & NAIA landscape: conference rivals (Taylor, Grace, etc.), key athletes to watch like Trent Sweet & Josh Bainbridge, and why nothing is promised in championship racing.
48:06 – 51:34 - Five-year vision: contending for a national title every year, best recruiting class in school history on the way, and building a staff & culture that can sustain success.
51:34 – 55:55 - Academics & campus life: nursing, engineering, business, ministry majors; chapel requirements; weekly Bible studies; 2,000 undergrads and a campus that surprises first-time visitors.
55:55 – 57:35 - Daily practices & the Romans 12 “phone box”: waging war on busyness, putting the phone away to be present with his wife and daughter, and resisting the urge to always be “on” as a coach.
57:35 – 1:00:02 - Walks, worship music, favorite podcasts (Running Effect, Christian content), Jack Daniels’ Running Formula, and learning from legends of the sport.1:00:02 – 1:01:25
Guilty pleasures, ultra talk, and closing: Brody fires up the Bros, invites them to Marion for a visit (and some IWU gear), and the Bros set the goal of sending a New Jersey athlete to Indiana Wesleyan.