From Wake Forest to Full-Time Counselor: Ashley Bastron on Leaving Coaching at Her Peak, the Eating Disorder Crisis in Running, and Putting People Over Results

Ashley Bastron just had the best year of her coaching career. Then she quit, and she's never felt more at peace.In this episode, Dominic sits down with the former Wake Forest Associate Head Coach who guided the Demon Deacon women to their first NCAA Cross Country Championships since 2006, coached three All-Americans and two ACC champions in 2026, and then announced in July that she was stepping away to become a full-time clinical mental health counselor. Her reason cuts deep: in an NCAA increasingly built around money and results, she couldn't be everything her athletes needed her to be.What follows is one of the most important conversations we've had on this podcast. Bastron pulls back the curtain on the eating disorder epidemic hiding in plain sight in our sport: how student-athletes are two-to-three times more likely to develop one; how roughly 85 percent of female NCAA athletes admit to some form of disordered eating; and how eating disorders carry the second-highest mortality rate of any mental health disorder, behind only opioid use. She explains why "disciplined" eating is often a red flag, why losing your period is never normal, why male body dysmorphia is rising in silence, and how "amygdala hijacking" keeps today's athletes stuck in fight-or-flight.But this isn't a goodbye. Bastron is still coaching post-collegiates (including Wake Forest legend Elizabeth Whaley), still mentoring young female coaches, and now fighting for athletes from the other side of the table. Her hoped-for legacy says it all: never give up on a kid.Tap into the Ashley Bastron Special. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and giving us a five-star review! I would also appreciate it if you share it with your friend who you think will benefit from it.S H O W  N O T E S   -The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs-Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run  -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ-My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠-Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffzBehind the scenes of The Running Effect: https://youtube.com/@dominicschlueter?si=PM9FjPc92eFUFEZLuminaryThreads: luminarythreads.shop$20 off your next Attuned scan: https://attuned.health/discount/TRE20?ref=TRE20