Our guest today is a 2x champion of 100m hurdles, 2008 Olympian, educator and coach at Phillips Exeter Academy, and an entrepreneur of nonprofit business, Toyin Augustus.

During her early years as an athlete, she shows how strong she is in facing different obstacles including disqualification from the competition. She didn't let these stop her from continuing where she is good at.

We discuss how socialization affects athletes to be where they want to be and Toyin tells me how she effectively deals with it by changing her perspective.

She also shares with me how she interacts with the young athletes she's coaching and encourages them how to process their journey in reaching their goals.

It's indeed a fun and meaningful conversation with her so hit the play button to hear more from Toyin.

I get to talk today with a former pro runner who qualified for 2 World Championships and, now, the head coach for Knoxville Distance Project, Patrick Gildea.

Because he has been running for many years now, I ask Patrick how his relationship with running has changed over the years - from his competitive highs in the 28's for his 10k to now. He tells me about his various experiences with running, what running gives to him and the "old school" style of logging his runs he still does with this "crazy" technology called pencil and paper. How do you log your runs?

Patrick tells me about the benefits of running in the morning as he usually runs at 5 am. And he tells me other athletes have been training earlier than him.

Being a coach takes a lot of courage and Patrick shares how he ended up as a coach despite not being confident to teach other people what to do.

Listen to learn more about how Patrick's life goes with running.

Today's talk is full of valuable ideas shared by a 2:39 marathoner, certified USA Track & Field coach, and the founder of Strength Running, Jason Fitzgerald.

Every runner aims to run faster and better but there are a lot of things to consider and practice when you want to achieve your goals and NOT get injured. Jason comes in to share his great ideas that can change your perspective on running and strength training.

Doing a warm up is one of the things we emphasize due to its important role in a runner's journey. Do you consistently warm up before any runs?

I also ask Jason his opinion on how shoes and GPS watches can affect a runner's performance and he gives some simple advice that every runner should hear.

Lastly, he mentions a key to preventing recurring injuries and a tip to those runners who are struggling to train consistently.

Want to learn more secrets to be a faster runner? Hit the play button to get started!

Today I sit down with a 2x Olympic Ski Racer, an ultra runner, and the founder of ELITEAM, Doug Lewis.

Our talk is full of new ideas on how young athletes can reach their peak performance by NOT specializing in their sport at a young age. Doug shares with me the essential skills you should learn and the key to achieving goals based on his experiences as an athlete.

He also has some extraordinary reasons why he got into ultra running even though he hated running during his youth. These made him train better and they continue to inspire the young athletes who join his camps and programs.

Moreover, he explains to me how to respect the danger of overtraining and why he calls himself a risk averse athlete - despite bombing down snow covered hills at 60+ miles an hour.

Watch this video and get started to learn more with Doug!

If you plan to make your kids be a complete athlete, check out their programs here: https://eliteam.com/

Our guests today are both part of the Cool Planet organization who bring solutions for climate change to their local communit of Edina MN and beyond.

Paul Thompson is a cross country skier who finished 40 Birkie ski races (a 55k race), a former Peace Corps Volunteer, and a co-founder of Cool Planet organization. Alix Dvorak is a volunteer of Cool Planet and the creator of Green House Game.

Most athletes get to try different sports before they discover where they're best at. Paul shares what's his first sport and how he ended up skiing which made him do Birkie ski for 40 years. Have you heard of Birkie Fever yet?

Along with his amazing experience in Birkie, I asks Paul and Alix how people can contribute to retaining a stable climate. This topic is very important for everyone to know so even though we do simple acts, it brings a huge impact to the environment.

Alix also explains how the card game was developed and how it can affect people to help with climate solutions.

Want to know more about what they are up to? Check the links below:

citizensclimatelobby.org

braverangels.org

rpcv4ea.org

coolplanetmn.org

Back today from where the podcast started is my coach who wears many hats - former coach of Paralympic Gold Medalist Shawn Morelli, CPA, father, and founder of his own non-profit - Ryan Ross.

This episode is in part a reflection of my own training as my coach and I talk about my current challenges trying to get back into the best running shape of my life - which means cutting weight for the first time in my 20 years of endurance sports.

Because we talk frequently we jump into dealing with the hard truths very quickly: dealing with the realities of calorie burn in various sports and how it plays a role in our objectives. As well as how calorie burn isn't the most important factor if you're trying to get leaner.

Ryan tells me a little about his opinions on what can go wrong if you're cutting too much weight as well as his thoughts on my "superfood" selection.

Because food is on our minds we also get to talk about his newly founded non-profit: The Kansas City PBJ Project.

By coming back for episode 100 my coach gets to be the only person to answer all 3 season specific questions: stay around until the end to hear about how he deals with staying motivated after failing to reach a goal.

My guest today is a retired US Army Colonel, author of the book "Grow Your Grit", and the founder of The Fivecoat Consulting Group, David Fivecoat.

In his 24 years of service as an infantry officer, I asked him what made him join the military. His answer is not the typical due to influence of relatives or friends but because of this "strong" interest he had by doing something.

After his journey in the military, he found more "joy" in building his own business where he helped enhance the leadership of other people and business operations of companies through executive coaching.

He shares one easy way to help yourself decide whether to continue doing something or not. This may be helpful to those who are struggling to plan their day.

We also discuss some of the components of grit and what made him write his latest book.

Watch this video to learn more.

My guest today, Leah Gingrich, is a storied swimmer as a Six-Time Big 12 Champ and Two-Time All American. But she thought she had left that all behind. Being burnt out from swimming by 2012 just before her third Olympic trials - she left swimming and wouldn't touch the water or a workout for 6 years.

Yet somehow, she's found herself training for a 3rd Olympic Trials, trying to fulfill a lifelong dream after thinking she would never swim competitively again.

One of the big changes she's undergone is improving her mental outlook and gearing down her total yards to accommodate where she is in life now. Despite the lower time in the pool, she's still notching new best times.

We talk about the struggles of the grind of being a high achiever and the challenges it presents to both their bodies and minds.

I share with Leah my secret technique for running my best times and she confirms my expectations that she has been through it as well, but we agree it is super difficult to pull off.

Before we go Leah tells me about how she lives and thrives having a coach that's also her boyfriend. While it might not work for everyone - there's one simple and crucial concept that they nail which makes that relationship work.

The life of a pro athlete is difficult no matter what the sport, but swimming in particular shares the same problems triathlon has - it's really visible during Olympic years and almost invisible the rest of the time. My guest today, Olympic Bronze Medal Swimmer Kim Vandenberg was subject to this rule as well.

This dynamic makes it harder for pros in these sports to live and train to their fullest because of the demands life puts on you. Kim shares with me how "lucky" she was to make it through her time as a swimmer with a lot of assistance coming from different places to help lead her through 5 shots at the Olympic Trials.

Now that she coaches one of her biggest aspects of coaching is making sure young swimmers don't fall into the easy trap of only thinking of swimming. She wants to make sure they identify with more passions outside of swimming so that the stress of swimming itself is reduced and enjoyment goes up.

We talk about the importance of mentorship, her availability through Rise Athletes as well as the importance of mental health - leading to her decision to currently be working on a graduate degree in developmental psychology.

I present the idea of doing a "pros and joes" swim meet so we can finally compare what average joe looks like compared to the top swimmers in the sport.

Before we go I have to ask and fortunately she obliges - Kim gives an impromptu piano concert at my request (thank you again Kim) so you want to stick around for that near the end.

Getting out of my bubble is a must-do on my monthly checklist and this definitely qualifies - today I'm talking to Pro Cricket player from South Africa, Mangaliso "Mangi" Mosehle.

Though as I give a disclaimer at the beginning of the video - call quality isn't as good as we'd hope for - it is important to remember that we live in the future and take some of these technologies for granted. I still have a pretty meaningful conversation with Mangi despite the lag.

We jump into a little bit of cricket talk as I ask him about the differences between the two formats T20 (2020) cricket and Test Cricket - why one might be better than the other.

But ultimately we wind our way around to figuring out what it means to be a great athlete. The qualities it takes to be a great man and a great person. As well as touching on some of the cultural challenges that both the US and South Africa share in regards to expectations of what it means to be a man.

Check out my conversation with Mangi if you want to expand your mind and heart to the next level.