Episode 490: Austin Smeenk

The world record holder in the 400m and 800m, Austin competed at the 2016, 2020, and 2024 Summer Paralympic Games, winning a gold and a bronze medal in Paris 24.

We discuss our recent training, team racing strategy, fueling during stage racing, and our reactions to the training principles David Roche implemented during his build to the Leadville 100.

How often should you look forward to your runs? How often should you feel good during a run? How should running (or missing a run) affect your daily life? Does race performance affect your self worth?

Ian Hosek combs through the social media clips from our 2024 episodes and questions us about things we’ve said that he disagrees with!

Traditional lifting vs CrossFit for runners Speed first vs Endurance first for a new runner How early to wake up before races and long runs Workout anxiety/doubts and more!

If you aren’t an elite runner, is OCR style training your best way to improve your running?

When Betsy was diagnosed with MS she had two choices: give in, or go all in!

So you want to significantly raise your training volume but you can’t safely run any more than you already are. What are your options for doing this in an outside the box manner?

How do I know if I need to work on speed or stamina? Should I give my coach another chance? Should I use the track for intervals? And more!

The US has seen countless global medals on the track in recent years, so why have we struggled to match that level of success in the Marathon?