Coach Chris Bennett On Writing “This Is About Running. This Is Not About Running.”

“Running doesn’t want you to suffer. Running wants you to feel great and powerful. It’s just that we’re humans.”My guest for today’s episode is Coach Chris Bennett — Nike Running Global Head Coach, voice behind hundreds of guided runs on the Nike Run Club app, and now first-time author. His debut book is called *This Is About Running. This Is Not About Running.* — a title he decided on in 2007 when he adopted the mantra while coaching high school cross country at Christian Brothers Academy in New Jersey.Coach Bennett is one of the most distinctive voices in running because of the way he thinks about what running actually is and what it’s actually for. He’s a tremendous storyteller. In this one you’ll hear him tell the stories of he started off in coaching by sending cold emails to his old high school every year asking about a coaching job and kept sending them for nine straight years, expecting a no each time. Why he gets to mile 22 of marathon courses because that’s where doubt creeps in and nobody’s carrying you anymore, but he’s there to see people triumph. I’ve loved hearing him talk about how he watched Joan Benoit Samuelson win the 1984 Olympic marathon when he was a kid and it changed his life. He’s spent years telling abbreviated versions of that story before finally getting to put the whole thing on paper.Now he’s done it. The book has almost no numbers in it. Instead, the cornerstone of his philosophy is that the goal of coaching is to eventually make yourself unnecessary as a coach. You work your way down until the athlete doesn’t need you anymore. By the end of the book, he wants you to need him less.In this conversation, we get into a lot. We pick up from his last appearance on the show in 2020 on why the COVID running boom is structurally different from every previous one and why it didn’t end. He makes the case against screaming coaches and the phrase “no regrets.” He shares why he says “you’re going to suck less” instead of “you’re going to get better”. I ask what surprised him in the recording studio when he went to narrate the chapters about heartbreak. I also give him my review of the book and I hope he ends up using it on the Amazon page for it. You can buy a copy of it by following the link here. Support running books. Support the sport.____________SUPPORT OUR SPONSORSOLIPOP: OLIPOP's Citrus Rush packs apple, lemon, lime, and orange juices with 60mg of green tea caffeine for a bold, refreshing blast of flavor ready to fuel your next adventure. If you haven't had tried Olipop yet, grab a can and see what the hype is all about!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Head to DrinkOlipop.com and use code CITIUS25 at checkout to get 25% off your orders.⁠⁠ALTRA: The new Vanish Carbon 3 was built for race day. A patent-pending split-toe carbon plate delivers the rigidity you need for speed while letting the big toe engage in a more powerful way. Underneath it, a supercritical two-piece full PEBA foam — Altra’s lightest and most responsive ever. And Altra’s Racing FootShape leaves room for your toes to splay and generate power. Don’t just run. Vanish. Head to ⁠AltraRunning.com⁠ and use code CITIUS10 for 10% off your first purchase.