In this podcast, Amby and George talk with Jared Ward, who explains the reasons behind the success of so many great marathon runners from Brigham Young University. Ward is a 2:09:25 marathon runner himself, and sixth place finisher in the 2016 Rio Olympic Marathon. Ward was at the finish line of the recent U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials to congratulate his friends and training partners, Conner Mantz and Clayton Young, on their 1-2 finish in the Trials. 

Ward had just received a treatment of PRP for an ailing hamstring injury that kept him from running the Trials. But he couldn't have been happier or more effusive about his two training partners. "They'll never let you down," he said. 

He also described how Coach Ed Eyestone's steady hand has produced a growing number of top runners at BYU and after graduation. In a world of increasing specialization and digitization, Eyestone refuses to get lost in the weeds. He tells his runners: "Get as fit as you can, and everything else will take care of itself."

Ward explains why he's not bitter about finishing behind runners wearing super shoes in the Rio Olympics, when he didn't even know that super shoes existed. (Neither did anyone else except for a handful of Nike runners.)

He also discusses the BYU approach to caffeine for endurance performance, the benefits of training at 5000 feet and taking one day off per week, and how much carbohydrate marathon runners can consume during their 26.2 mile efforts.

Before speaking with Ward, George and Amby briefly discussed recent news, including: Sensational running at the Millrose Games and other indoor meets, a new U.S. high school record in the 2-mile, and the deaths of Kenyan running legends Kelvin Kiptum and Henry Rono.

You can learn more about Jared Ward by following his Instagram posts. Also, in 2019, he was a big hit on the wellknown "Shark Tank" TV show, and his Myostorm company continues to produce recovery tools for runners.

Where to find “Running: State of the Sport”

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"Running: State of the Sport" is brought to you by MarathonHandbook.com and RunLongRunHealthy.com. Marathon Handbook is the world’s leading marathon website, with a special focus on trustworthy running information and free, runner-tested training plans for all ability levels.

Run Long, Run Healthy is Amby’s weekly newsletter with the newest, most scientific, and most useful training advice for runners.

Audio engineering by BJ McGeever.