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Today I sit down with Doug Cornfield, former Division 1 Runner at the University of Georgia and current co-founder of Disability, Dream and Do - an organization enabling kids with disabilities to realize their potential.

As we get going I ask Doug about what they do at Disability Dream and Do including their flagship sports camps. They never ask parents to pay for the kids to attend and how they fund their venture is both unique and eloquently simple.

Doug tells me about a little about his history at Merrill Lynch and when he met Dave Clark, his co-founding partner of Disability Dream and Do.

Both Doug and Dave encourage parents who have kids with disabilities to live by a simple and powerful philosophy which he shares with me (about 24 minutes in).

Although he wasn't able to join us today, Doug gives me a little more insight on his co-founder Dave, who's one childhood story inspired the book A Pound of Kindness.

Before we sign off - Doug tells me about his new book plans and how a host of inspiring people are helping him create a literal new chapter for people to read.

Today I'm talking to Katie McGibbon, a Performance Scientist in Swimming currently working in Australia. She shares with me one of the most important skills that should be developed by athletes and a little about her PhD research.

Though Katie is originally from the UK she is currently staying in Australia for good reasons. She tells me that there's really no better place than the Queensland Academy of Sport to study high level swimmers like she does. It's a culture where everyone grows up swimming so the talent pool is deep - making for plenty of research subjects.

One of her research projects she shares with me focuses on pacing profiles and she tells me about how people pace in competitions versus training.

Though many of the identified strategies that could help swimmers be faster seem obvious on the surface, the culture and psychology holding people back is deeper than the data.

Because the pool is inherently not a laboratory with precise measurements and instruments; Katie shares some ways on how she measures a person's pace. As well as a unique strategy being used by swimmers that results in better pacing profiles.

Today, I speak with Julia Roman-Duval, an astrophysicist and a marathoner who ran in the 2016 Olympic Trials in the US.

We talk about recovery methods including her go-to method to relax after a peak marathon race.

She tells me about an unexpected event that led to postponing a race which she spent a lot of time preparing for.

She also shares with me how she does her training to get in her best shape, how she stays motivated in running, and what's the important thing she does after a marathon.

Julia also shares a little about her astrophysics research at the Space Telescope Science Institute.

Today I sit down with award-winning, Applied Psychologist at Rice University and runner who has ran a marathon in all 50 states and every continent, Michelle "Mikki" Hebl.

We talk about some of her exciting adventures as she ran those marathons and also a bit about her work at Rice where she focuses on issues related to diversity and discrimination.

She also tells me about how friendship and a bond is created when running and the whole mentality of running culture.

We discuss the difficulties of aging and changing goals over time. Figuring out whether the goal is the point or if the journey itself is the goal.

Today I sit down with former pro triathlete and artist Vanessa Raw.

We dive right in on how she got started with her triathlon career and eventually making the British triathlon team.

She gives me a rare insight into the potential downsides of high end sports training - the things which are rarely shared when an athlete is still active in their career. Which leads us into a discussion of a potential culture change that might bring about better health for all athletes involved.

We also talk about the personal changes she went through to find a place where she is now more happy and fulfilled.

Vanessa was kind enough to do our interview in her current studio so she gives me the tour and shows me some of her artwork.

I ask her about what life as an artist is like and why in the world she would choose two careers, triathlon and art, which are both notoriously difficult to making a living at.

Today I sat down with former Olympian Skiing Coach, former pro cross country skier and triathlete and co-author of The Uphill Athlete: a manual for mountain runners and ski mountaineers, Scott Johnston.

We discuss how he went from being a near Olympic level swimmer to cross-country skiing.

He tells me about his time at the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs and his training as a developmental swimmer and how burnout influenced his switchover to cross-country skiing.

We talk about the essential ingredients in training endurance athletes regardless of their particular discipline. Scott tells me about the one thing you can not skip as an endurance athlete as well as one area of development that can actually hurt you.

Before we go I ask him about fat adaptation and the role that diet plays in allowing endurance athletes to burn more fat as fuel so they can go harder, longer.

Today I sit down with competitive powerlifter, powerlifting and strength coach, and clinical research coordinator at the Geneiva Foundation in the Gate Lab, Claire Zai.

She shares with me what she does in the Gait Lab and some of her responsibilities.

Claire also tells me about her future plans and goals.

We discuss the basics of what competitive powerlifting is and how a competition is scored as well as some of the basic strategy.

Claire gives me a rundown on one of the topics she's passionate about: periods. And why taking periods into account matters in terms of women's strength training and competition.

Today I sit down with cyclist, scientist and author of "Bicycle Diaries", David Kroodsma.

He shares with me how he got into cycling and his 20,000+ mile journey across the north american continent - from the US to Argentina.

He tells me about how he interacted with the culture on his ride and the benefits of traveling alone as well as why it's good to hide your tent!

David lets me know how the cross-continent trip influenced his book and why he wrote it at all.

Before we go I ask him about the work he's doing and his research projects over at globalfishingwatch.com.

Today's guest was a referral from an earlier guest, Ian Bolliger. And much like Ian, Pavel has a lot to say about climate change and the environment, but from a bit different perspective.

Pavel tells me about how he took a roundabout journey to get into running starting from a trek in 1989, the year I was born. He tells me about how he takes this epic ultra runs and uses them as a teaching tool to make people aware of climate change.

I get educated on some of the visual and measurable impacts that climate change has on the environment and us. Things you can't argue against as being part of a completely natural climate cycle.

We speak about the possibility that COVID can make a positive impact on the climate change conversation as well as the dichotomy between personal responsibility and group action.

The high point of our conversation centers around what we should actually be doing and what's the most practical way forward: baby steps or a giant leap into a different lifestyle?

Today's podcast affords me the chance to sit down with a guy who is all over my digital world of eCommerce - Ezra Firestone.

CEO of Boom by Cindy Joseph, Zipify Apps and the Founder of Smart Marketer, Ezra has been in the eCommerce space and building online businesses for over a decade now.

But before that, he grew up in Hawaii learning Judo and working to become a top competitor all before the age of 18.

If you're considering getting into an online business Ezra gives an easy tip for figuring out how to differentiate between shysters and the real deal.

Ezra tells me about his backround in Judo and how a familial connection got him started in the discipline when he was 4.

He shares with me what transfers over from martials arts to the rest of his life and why that makes him as successful as he is at the things he wants to do.

Because we are all pressed for time I have to ask Ezra how he manages all of his time and seemingly appears everywhere on the internet in the ecommerce space while running a couple other businesses.

This also transfers over to his personal life to make sure he is taking care of his health, his family, relationships and his businesses.