S1 EP8: Season Finale

Grab your sneakers and settle in for a deeply personal, soulful conversation on this week’s episode of Laps. For Season 2, Episode 2, Luca is joined by none other than his best friend Cassie Ponder for a beautifully candid look at what it means to walk—and run—by faith.Cassie opens up completely about her unique faith journey, sharing the moments that shaped her relationship with God and the experiences that have anchored her through life's shifting seasons. With the effortless warmth and laughter that only exists between best friends, this conversation goes far beyond a typical interview. It is a heartfelt, vulnerable exploration of belief in the modern world.Whether you are a lifelong believer looking for encouragement, someone navigating a season of doubt, or a curious non-believer seeking perspective, Cassie’s grounded wisdom and gentle advice offer something powerful for everyone.Timestamps——————-0:00 Intro0:45 Meet Cassie!2:25 Cassie’s Faith Background5:00 Cassie’s Faith Journey9:50 Worship music!10:30 Cassie’s Faith Inspirations!11:40 Charlie Kirk & Faith Revival14:40 Importance of Family19:20 Life’s Seasons20:00 Faith Struggles 24:30 Social Media news??28:45 Cassie’s 2026 Faith Goals32:40 Cassie’s favorite Bible verses32:55 1 Peter 5:7 ✝️33:20 Jeremiah 29:11 ✝️34:00 God’s Presence 34:43 Deuteronomy 6:5 ✝️36:20 How to Grow in Faith38:00 Power of the Tongue41:00 Limitless Love42:30 Luca’s recent faith 43:00 Bring a Friend to Church!44:00 Final Reflections46:30 Closing Remarks46:50 Outro

Season 1 of Laps comes to a close with a short reflection on what God did through each conversation! This episode features meaningful guest highlight clips and lessons learned around purpose, endurance, faith, joy, and perseverance. Thank you to every guest and every listener who made Season 1 possible. Season 2 coming soon— in the meantime, keep fueling your fitness and faith! Timestamps ——————0:00 Intro1:26 Reilly Johnston3:40 Fiona Galvin4:50 Sydnie Rivas5:40 John Romano7:11 John Baker9:16 Luca’s Reflections 10:30 Season 2!!

On S1 EP7 of Laps, I sit down with John Baker — a sub-elite, 6x marathoner — to talk about the journey behind the miles. We explore how running, faith, and purpose intersect through seasons of success, pressure, and personal loss, and what it looks like to keep showing up when the weight gets heavy.This conversation is about more than race times — it’s about resilience, identity, and finding meaning both on and off the course.Timestamps———-0:00 Intro0:50 Meet John Baker 1:15 About John2:30 John’s Childhood4:00 Early Running Days5:20 HS Running Growth6:43 Meaning behind memories9:00 Collegiate running mindset9:35 Post collegiate running mindset10:33 Oh the Places You’ll Run11:08 Hometown Highlights11:30 🇩🇪Running Abroad 13:51 🇰🇪 Iten, Kenya Service Trip18:18 Becoming a Marathoner20:06 Marathon #1: CA Intl 201922:58 Marathon #2: Houston 202228:10 Marathon #3: Boston 202236:48 Losses & Lessons 43:36 Marathon #4: Grandma’s 202446:42 John’s 2025 Marathons47:02 Marathon #5: Boston 202548:44 Marathon #6: Chicago 202550:46 John’s Future Running Goals 55:14 John’s Advice for Runners 57:35 God is in Control58:12 Finding Faith 59:08 John’s Favorite Verse (James 1:2-4)59:40 Faith + Running parallels1:00:20 Purpose Behind Challenge1:01:14 Miracles in the Making1:03:42 Bye, Comfort Zone! 1:04:37 Keeping the Faith1:06:57 Defining Habits1:07:24 Phone Addiction1:08:48 Nourishing Your Soul1:09:27 Closing Remarks1:09:56 John’s Thank You’s!1:10:32 PR for Laps Pod!

S1 EP6 of Laps features one of Luca’s running friends from Big 4 accounting, John Romano!!At age 24, John is a seasoned 4x marathoner, dedicated runner, and most importantly a diehard Yankees fan ⚾️. Listen to and learn all about John’s running journey, memorable marathon moments, work life balance structure, future goals & meaningful advice to all runners! Timestamps—————-0:00 Intro0:56 Meet John!2:30 John’s First Race!2:57 HS XC takeaways3:32 Stages of John’s running journey4:42 San Diego Sunrise 5:33 Oh the Places you’ll Run6:54 Pace Pals7:20 John’s Fav Race8:10 John’s Marathon Memories8:30 John’s 1st marathon! (2023 Baystate)9:20 2023 Cambridge Half 10:18 Cambridge Half Race Recap12:12 Back2back marathons! (2024)12:20 2024 Chicago Marathon 15:35 1 World Major/7 ✅16:08 Jersey Boy Upbringing17:06 2024 Manchester Marathon18:15 Digging Deep19:50 SO to Baker the Pacer!20:26 Work Life Balance 24:55 Running Reflections25:50 RAGNAR !26:36 Race a Half !29:05 RAGNAR experience continued31:00 Training techniques32:16 John’s Future Running Goals38:40 John’s Advice for listeners 43:34 Closing Remarks

Episode 5 of Laps features Sydnie Rivas, Luca’s friend from the Heartbreak Running store! Listen in and learn all about Sydnie, her running journey, accomplishments, funny stories, and best memories working at the Heartbreak store so far! Timestamps——————————(0:00) Intro(0:47) Meet Sydnie(1:42) Sydnie’s Running Journey (3:24) Meaning of Running (3:46) Heartbreak Mentality (4:10) Heartbreak Community (5:07) No I in Team(5:40) Sydnie’s Race Memories (6:05) HS State Championship Meet(7:26) Cal Poly XC team (8:10) Conf championship meet(8:28) First 10k track race story(9:45) Cal Poly championship victory (10:25) Laugh About It (10:50) Memories working @ Heartbreak(11:15) Joining Sat Long Run!(11:36) Boston Marathon wknd!(13:11) Sydnie’s awesome co-workers (13:56) Feeling the Love (14:18) Sydnie’s Future Running Goals (15:00) Running in Boston(15:50) 4th of July 5k!(16:46) Leisurely laps ! (17:10) College running burnout (17:59) Marathoner Sydnie??(19:10) Finding the Spark(19:30) Enjoying the Process(19:57) Sydnie’s Gratitude (20:15) Metaphor for Life (21:11) Closing Remarks

Today’s episode of Laps features Luca’s friend Fiona Galvin! Listen in to learn all about Fiona’s running journey, positive community impact, future running goals, faith life, family, gifts, and career! Timestamps———————(0:00) Intro(1:30) Fiona’s Running Story(7:10) Fiona’s Favorite Race Memories(10:12) Running Community (11:00) Get Strava app!(12:00) Fiona’s Positive Imapcts(17:21) Fiona’s Future Running Goals(22:33) Fiona’s Faith Journey(28:00) Fiona’s Family, Talents, & Career(31:00) Faith Friendship & Resurgence(32:30) Freedom in Forgiveness(34:40) Setting Realistic Goals(36:15) Comparison is a Thief(40:00) God’s Timing (43:58) Music Heals(46:32) God is Present(48:03) Outro

Today’s episode of Laps features Reilly Johnston, a driven & successful 5-year Stonehill College XCTF alum & founder of the Backyard 5k non profit. Learn all about Reilly’s early running days, NCAA collegiate career, goals, and meaningful ways he impacts the world through his organization & faith!FOLLOW Backyard 5k on IG! https://www.instagram.com/backyard5k?igsh=ZWpmZXAyeTFreXd1&utm_source=qrTimestamps——————-(0:00) Intro(1:00) Opening Prayer(1:35) Meet Reilly (1:50) Reilly’s Running Story(3:45) Building Community (5:15) Reilly’s Collegiate XCTF Career(9:00) Reilly’s nonprofit, Backyard 5k(16:43) Backyard 5k Future Goals(18:30) Reilly’s Favorite Memories with B5K(21:00) Backyard 5K Positive Impact(23:20) B5K Behind the Scenes Work(25:50) Reilly’s Future Running Goals(29:45) Reilly’s College Running Schedule(31:48) Qualifying for the Boston Marathon(33:42) The Paces Keep Getting Faster(35:11) Expectations We Place as Runners(38:24) Reilly’s Faith & Its Importance in His Life(39:39) Reilly’s Building Interest in Faith(40:40) Reilly’s Favorite Faith Filled Memories (43:27) Reilly’s Gratitude (45:06) Reilly on the Importance of Giving Back(46:38) Outro

On this second episode of “Laps,” Luca reveals why he chose the following name for his first ever podcast! Luca then delves into seasons of life in building his love for running, and discusses the importance of the process behind success. Timestamps--------------(0:00) Intro(0:54) Why "Laps?"(5:43) Seasons of Life Overview(6:30) Season 1: Early Childhood(7:16) Season 2: Elementary Days(8:47) Season 3: Middle School(9:34) Season 4: High School(10:51) Season 5: College(13:07) Season 6: The Present(14:30) The Success Iceberg(16:43) Ted Lasso on Success(17:42) Appreciating the Process(18:50) Mindset Shifts(21:00) It's OK to Lose(21:50) Counting Blessings(22:27) Luca's Call To Action(23:15) First Episode Guest!(24:07) Outro

Greetings listeners! Tune in to Laps, a running podcast designed to fuel your fitness and faith. On this first episode, you will learn about the host, Luca, why he created this podcast, goals for the show, and his running story so far!Timestamps---------------(0:00) Intro(3:44) The "Why" Behind Laps(5:24) My Running Story(14:26) Did I Run In College?(16:23) High School XCTF Reflection(17:05) Reflecting on Not Running in College(18:57) God's Redirection(28:26) Conclusion & Takeaways