Running On Purpose

Hello, it's Steve Sisson, recording this in March of 2026. As you've probably guessed, this podcast has been retired — but I'm excited to share what's coming next.It's called oyo.run, & the focus is simple: self-coaching. Taking ownership of your running experience — as you should have been doing all along.I'll be your host, joined by a range of collaborators who'll help me break down the fundamentals of training & racing with as much clarity, precision & honesty as I can muster. We'll move across the full spectrum — physiology to strategy, mental skills to organizational planning — all with one purpose: to make you more invested, more effective, more motivated, & ultimately, to help you derive more meaning from everything you do as a runner.Think of it as the definitive resource for the self-coached runner.The name oyo.run carries a legacy & a story — and I'll unpack that in the very first episode, dropping April 1st, 2026. Yes, April Fool's Day. You'll find it wherever you get your podcasts. I'm bringing to this is fifty years of my own running & racing experience, as well as over thirty years of coaching expertise. My goal with these early episodes is to lay the foundation — the how & why behind the training systems coaches build. For some of you, this will be review. For others, it'll be critical background you've never had access to. Either way, my goal is to provide the foundation to develop your own system, or at minimum, to deeply understand the one you're already in. Eventually, we'll get deeper into the weeds with all manner of topics, guests & breakdowns. Alongside the free podcast, I'll be hosting a private online community resource for deeper exploration & discussion. More on that in the coming weeks. Now — you might wonder why a coach would give away the keys for free. That's reasonable, I guess, so I'l provide a clear answer: I benefit far more from working with an informed, thoughtful, reflective athlete than I ever could from one who simply follows orders. While my system has been honed through thirty years of hard-earned experience, what makes coaching truly rewarding is having an athlete who can take that knowledge into the arena of their own unique experience. So this isn't a pitch to stop working with a coach. If anything, I view this as a public service for coaches everywhere — including myself. Think of the difference between a cook who follows a recipe & a chef who understands balance, flavor, technique. I'd rather coach a chef. Someone who can take the fundamentals into the kitchen of their own experience & make something real with them - not just execute instructions they don't understand. &, as I'll argue throughout the entire podcast run, the athlete who knows gains significantly more benefit from any training or racing situation than one who simply follows.  So join us April Fool's Day for episode one. All the information lives at www.oyo.run. I am honored & excited to share this project with you & Godspeed.

The continuing dialogues between Steve & Kobe around running & what we call the spiritual. In this episode we unpack & examine the differences between personal growth & spiritual growth: how they are different, the ways they feed forward & backward into each other & share some deeply personal ways in which we both have "struggled well" in relationship to growth - however it framed. Godspeed my friends, godspeed. 

The beginning of the end of the Running on Purpose podcast is the new beginning of the RunGnosis project. This episode covers the reasons for the transition & introduces the general message & intent of RunGnosis. After this intro, Steve covers the reasons why every runner should be focused on their inner experience of running as much as their goals, results & data. Godspeed. 

This is the final episode in our “apophatic” series, where we tackle the topic of No Lies. An overarching theme is my personal experience around the toxicity of modern Western culture & how it creates many challenges for runners. 

In he fourth episode in our "apophatic" series, we cover no assumptions. Godspeed, my friends, godspeed. 

In the 6th installment of the "Kobe & Steve Show", which I call The Innerwork Dialogues, we start in a more contemplative mood & take our time in getting around to our planned discussion topic of No Assumptions. In fact, we realized about an hour in that we'd really not specifically addressed the topic but instead spent our time reflecting on the initial two topics, while at the same time looking forward to the next two topics. We consider the differences between contemplation & mindfulness, between full engagement & the observing witness position. I argue that considering space as our natural state is more useful for Westerners - & runners especially - than the idea of emptiness. Running allows for skillful means for working somatically - with the nervous system as our guide - with attention & awareness. Kobe & I discuss a specific coaching situation & try to unpack why some athletes are not appropriate for the kind of coaching methods we utilize.  So much is considered here, as usual in these conversations, but we didn't really hit on No Assumptions & we plan to approach that next time we talk.  

Back finally with another solo episode. As I mentioned recently, I have been working on a new series for this podcast that I’ll be announcing very soon. This series will fold in with the Innerwork Dialogues I have been doing with Kobe over at In The Zone & continued posts around the Endorphin Book Club - more on that below - & continued reflections around training the body mind & soul as inspiration ensues. I already have outlines for the following topics: The Felt-Sense; Three Intelligences (the head, the heart & the gut); The Essential Skills of Attention & Awareness; a deep dive into the energy systems introduced in the Keep Going podcast (see Episode 22) with a special focus on the esoteric aspects, & many more topics. If you’ve got a topic you’d like me to cover, please feel free to reach out to me at sisson at telos running dot com & I promised I’ll consider it. Today’s episode has been long in the incubation, if rather short in the execution. I announced the Endorphin Book Club in Season 2-Episode 12 & we had about a dozen folks start reading Peter Ralston’s The Art of Mastery together. It was a bit of rocky going as I was facilitating my first book club & didn’t really understand what a book club should be & the nature of Ralston’s book made discussion initially very challenging. After four meetings, we finally got through the book & our last two discussions were really fruitful. If you are interested in joining the EBC, simply send me an email & I’ll invite you to the club. It’s free, we meet 1-2 times a month for an hour or so & discuss a portion of the book we are reading. We end with a final wrap-up meeting. We are currently voting for our next selection this week. If you want to vote, be sure to reach out. Voting is closing on Sunday evening, May 5th. The books we are voting on are Shambhala by Chogyam TrungpaOpen Focus Life by Les Fehmi, Susan Shor Fehmi & Mark BeauregardFree Play by Stephen NachmanovichThe EBC’s schtick is it's a book club for runners reading books not specifically about running but useful for unpacking & relating to in a running context.  The Art of Mastery by Peter RalstonInitial Overview: If I have ever read a more complex book that uses conventional English language, I can’t remember it. I read a lot in the subjects of philosophy, psychology & spirituality & self-help, but rarely have I read a more challenging book written in what I call “plain-speak”. It’s not the language Ralston uses that is challenging, it's the concepts & the way he asks the reader to consider these concepts in really radical, non-intuitive & non-traditional ways. Because of this, the book makes for some heavy sledding. Perhaps this is the reason our book club shed engaged readers over the three months we wrestled with the text. But before you decide that it’s not for you, please hear me out. There are so many diamonds in this book for practical application, for challenging assumptions, habits & even our conception of reality. But Ralston does so without relying on philosophical language. He keeps it really real. In this episode I am going to cover the book’s format, it’s core concept & a few very practical takeaways that I believe will be really helpful to enhance a runner’s training & racing experience. Some of these are coming from our EBC discussions, & some are simply my personal points of resonance. I hope this review will help you in determining if you’d like to read further into this work & potentially into other works by Ralston. Who Is Peter Ralston?I found Peter Ralston’s work over a dozen years ago as I was researching different approaches to body awareness & the inner experience of physical skill & mastery. I came across his book, Zen Body Being, which I devoured immediately. I loved the book so much that I recommended it incessantly, bought copies for others or loaned my copy out without expectation of having it returned. As I transitioned from Rogue to Telos, I found Ralston’s approach to somatic skill permeating into much of my coaching work. I found myself using his principles in a variety of different contexts: physically, mentally & foundationally as in worldview exploration. I bean reading his more philosophical work around what he calls consciousness work & found in it even more resonance & challenge. I even considered taking an extended visit at his retreat center outside San Antonio, near Bandera. But the amount of commitment that Ralston required in terms of time away from family & work, was too much for me to accept. SO I continued reading & watching videos from his YouTube channel. If you watch these you’ll realize he is a bit cantankerous & aloof. Eventually, I moved away from his work in consciousness & just settled on Zen Body Being. 

The second episode in our series on the running's apophatic path: no expectations. 

In a another of our Innnerwork Dialogues, Kobe & I unpack a key concept from an early In The Zone episode more fully. We discuss the hazards of judgement. Please join us 

Happy Vernal Equinox 2024. Last night at 10pm we shifted seasons. This marks the scientific & mythic transition from winter into spring. It’s associated with Easter & the death burial & resurrection of Christ & the temporary return of Persphone, goddess of Spring,  from her enslavement in the underworld with Hades for the rejuvenation of the crops & cycle of agriculture. For many runners, it marks the final preparations for the annual pilgrimage to Hopkinton & the most desired starting line experience on the planet, the Boston Marathon. It marks for HSers the beginning of outdoor season, cut grass & the taste of blood at the finish of track races. I want to use this opportunity to highlight the importance of cycles & rhythms in a  runner’s life. For so many athletes I see a disregard for the season & cycles of life that make a significant impact on our bodies, minds & souls. 

I am back with Kobe of the In The Zone podcast, where we are primarily focused on the inner game of running. What are the varieties of inner experience, that some may call spiritual, & how to they impact our training & racing. In this specific episode we explore the concept of "goallessness" or framing one's running experience without the typical overriding focus on goals & outcomes. Using Kobe's recent training focus away from outcomes & toward process, we dive really deep into som of my very favorite topics: the importance to have varied racing & training experiences to become a more complete runner, how process can open up much greater fitness, how running ins a path with heart, & various other modes of appreciating how limiting goals & expectations can be in our training & racing experiences. I hope you enjoy this episode I call On "Goallessness" & Process. Godspeed my friends, godspeed. 

Where I announce the Endorphin Book Club, a community for runners who read or readers who run. If you are interested in joining us please reach out to me directly via email at sisson at telosrunning dot com. 

In this essential episode, I walk through the single most important protocol one can implement this year & in the future for vastly improving their performance in training & racing. There is a ton of very important information here. It can be distilled as follows:  The Mission Protocol. The Brief is the Vision. The intention is the Seed. Training is the water/ground/conditions.  Rest & recovery are the Harvest. The Debrief is the Full Belly & Story/Map for future Vision. As mentioned in the episode, please see the Google Document entitled THE MISSION PROTOCOL for tracking the content of this episode & future reference. 

“The bad news is that you are falling through the air, there is nothing to hang onto, and you have no parachute. The good news is that there is no ground.” ~Chögyam TrungpaWe are back in conversation with Kobe Blondeel from In The Zone podcast for another of what we are calling The Innerwork Dialogues. Our goal with these discussions is to begin to attempt to sketch the outline & form of a concrete & practical approach to incorporating & exploring the spiritual path with running. We cover a lot of ground in this conversation. A few of the The Big Picture ViewTraining Weaknesses Early & Strengths LateIntentionsOvercoming a Toxic Running CultureThe Felt SenseAn Anatomy of SoulStaying Open Brief & DebriefPattern Recognition & ReversalBeing in process In the final 20 minutes, Steve brings forward an actual, real life example of how a spiritual approach (process in this case) can improve an athlete's training & racing experience in potentially evidential ways. & Kobe discusses how a "failure" experience of trying to run under 20 hours in a recent 100M event, where he finished 4 hours slower than his goal. & yet, he was deeply moved by how he was still possible to tap into the love of the process. At the end of the episode we ask your to reach out to us if have specific questions or examples so we can use them to help clarify our point. We hope you are encouraged & inspired by this episode to continue to take risks & dive into your next challenge. Godspeed, my friends, godspeed. 

If you are anything like me, you probably listen to a lot of podcasts. I mean, here you are, listening to this one now. & it can be challenging to process the content in a long, deep episode & come away with concrete, actionable takeaways. I'll be listening to an episode & have a note file started on my phone so I can jot down key insights or inspiring ideas I want to develop later. If this is you, you are going to love my guest this week. Charlotte Grysolle is an online writer who distills in her weekly newsletter "tools & resources to experiment with your mental and physical performance • Guaranteed to teach you something new about your mind and body in just 15 minutes per week". She calls it Stretch Letter & there is a link below to subscribe to it. & it's free. & it is chock full of practical content. & that content is highly applicable for runners of all levels as she is a runner herself & uses the newsletter to work through the experiments & practices she researches.  Stretch Letter comes out each Friday & I invariably read it the day it arrives.I believe you will, as well.  I was so excited to talk with Charlotte & hope you'll find the conversation as stimulating & inspiring as I did. Topics we cover in this episode are Charlotte's running journey, our future admission into the Andrew Huberman Fan Club, understanding the nervous system, the importance of breath for runners & considering our "future self in relation to goal setting.   LinksCharlotte's Stretch Letter

This episode is filled with gold. While the recording quality was abysmal - totally a fault of my using a recording system I was unaccustomed to - the discussion is phenomenal. I as mentioned in the last RoP episode, sometime getting more context & discussion around the heady, meta foundation of worldview can be challenging. This discussion has many takeaways & practical applications that would have taken me too much time to articulate in a solo episode. On tip of that, I hope to coax my interlocutor - my brother in soul & the run, Jason Brooks - to continue where we started with these episodes. If you like this discussion, there are several more in this short-lived podcast experiment under the show name arête or RunGnosis. Below are links on Apple Podcasts & Spotify. Apple: RunGnosis: arête Spotify: RunGnosis: arêteAs usual, I am honored by your ears & attention. I simply ask you bring these ideas forward & apply them in your personal running journey. My goal is to revision running & steal the toxic culture of acquisition & outcomes over the freedom & fluid process of self-discovery & soul-making. Godspeed, my friends, godspeed. 

Because something is happening here but you don't know what it isDo you, Mr. Jones?-Bob Dyan, Ballad of a Thin ManThis intro is from Cat Power's recently released live album Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert. I highly recommend this album & of course the various originals Dylan himself released. This episode takes this quote as inspiration for exploring worldviews as foundation for running, training & racing. 

In this Thanksgiving special episode, I interview Bill Corrigan an athlete I have worked with for over four years who was diagnosed almost two years ago with ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease. What follows is an inspiring & moving conversation around how this disease has changed Bill's life & how much we all have to be grateful for. Happy Thanksgiving & godspeed, my friends.  At the end of the episode, Bill mentions his fundraiser for Boston this year, HERE IS A LINK.  I also mention our first conversation titled Q&A: On Planning Mental Training. Also, the title of this episode is taken from a quote Bill mentions repeatedly from Andrea Lytle Peet. Definitely check out her inspiring story. 

In this solo episode, I develop my thesis that running is best understood & experienced as a movement practice. Here I unpack various arguments & points of view where the focus of most runners on training & racing is missing a huge opportunity & is a fundamental misunderstanding of what we are doing as runners. While this might seem a bit dry or meta, I sincerely hope you'll consider following me down this path. I use it as a foundation for running & the conversations that will continue n this podcast will be using this idea of running as a movement practice as a core principle. I have unpacked this idea repeatedly in conversation with Michael Krajicek on the Keep Going podcast, be here I present a much more comprehensive argument. So if this is a little too much, consider listening to the following episodes:The Art of Running: Grace & A Beautiful RaceThis Podcast Is Our Therapy (The Practice) Embracing Uncertainty: Pattern & Chaos in Assessing ResultsI mention at the outset of this episode that I am developing a program I am calling Foundations of Running which is designed for intermediate & advanced runners to get back to basics & find core principles & processes for grounding their running in deeper & more pragmatic modes of being. More on that to come. Please enjoy this  episode I call Our Birthright: Running as Movement Practice. Godspeed my friends, godspeed. 

This episode is the first in a series of readings I am calling the Endorphin Book Club. The EBC - which really should be called the Endocannabinoid Book Club to honor recent scientific discovery but we'll keep it simpler & nostalgic - scratches an itch that I have always wanted to scratch: classic texts in running history read in audiobook style to relive & honor great running history & writing. The first take on this concept is a reading of my favorite running writer, Kenny Moore, who died in the summer of 2022. This essay/article comes from his classic book, Best Efforts, which is out of print & difficult to find. The essay I selected in one of my favorites in the iconic book about the Australian distance runner, Ron Clarke. I hope you enjoy this reading. Let me know what you think! You can find out how to reach me in the episode itself. 

I am very excited to introduce a new series & co-host to the RoP podcast. Over the summer I found a podcast created by a Belgian runner & coach, Kobe Blondeel, that addressed topics that I felt resonated the essential shift in consciousness that was undergoing around running as a spiritual practice. Kobe hosts In The Zone & his early episodes were a mix of solo discussions around his experiences as an athlete & coach around deep philosophical & spiritual modes of being a runner with his travelogue of running across Belgium. Suffice it to say, I had a bit of envy around the courage & insightfulness  Kobe brought to these discussions. I highly recommend listening to episodes #11, #12 & #28 as introductions to his inimitable style. So I reached out to Kobe to see if he would consider a collaboration. I was planning the reboot of this podcast. I was committed to a mix of solo, co-hosted & interview type content & felt that Kobe - if he was game - would be a really valuable conversation partner. I think my initial Instagram message to him gave him some pause, however. Who is this crazy old dude vibing on his weird content? But thankfully he respectfully responded that perhaps we could meet to explore common ground & potential collaboration. Our first conversation can be found on on his In The Zone podcast under the title, Steve Sisson: running as a spiritual path & I highly recommend you give it a listen if you want a little more background & how we worked out what we were even trying to accomplish with our conversations. That episode went well enough for us to commit to an ongoing collaboration/co-hosting of our discussions on each of our podcast platforms. What follows here is us beginning to work out the details on what we think we can unfold & offer the running community that hasn't ever been done before. I mean this...I believe we are doing something novel in the space of running podcasts; we are stating emphatically that running is a path with heart, a spiritual practice that can be & mined for deep inner wisdom & practical benefit to our experience of moving through space. I'll let you decide if this is your particular cup of tea. In this episode we introduce the series & discuss our point of views; setting the stage for a deeper dive into our argument framing Belief as the essential starting point for our conversations. As Kobe summarizes in this episode: we have conscious & subconscious beliefs, most of them subconscious, & a belief actually runs as a sub pattern in our physiology, it’s something that we observe in our inner experience. These patterns show up in our lives, both negatively & positively, & are the programs we operate on to help us filter for the good shit we want in our life, & filter out the bad shit. So running has the opportunity to become a testing ground of these beliefs & how they serve us. I provide a specific method for assessing & managing challenging feeling states, using the prompt “Is this real?” to help with decisionmaking in a training or racing environment. I also delve into what he calls “the natural state” as our foundational & fundamental birthright, which needs to be claimed for any truly skillful approach to these challenging feeling states. The first hour unpacks the concept but in the last half hour Kobe & I both explore the practices of meditation, contemplation & prayer as core practices for deepening & expanding our running experiences. So much good stuff buried in this episode. I hope you enjoy this conversation & join us for the future ones coming up in this series I call the Innerwork Dialogues: Belief as Container & Fuel for SensemakingGodspeed, my friends, Godspeed.

As I was putting the finishing touches on the episode I planned to release today, I realized it might be helpful to discuss what I see purpose meaning now - in the fall of 2023 - vs how I framed it three years ago. This episode is a revisioning of what I mean by "running on purpose" & how I am doubling down on the concept, if in a slightly modified version. A meandering meditation, free-form & floating along. I hope you enjoy.Godspeed. 

Wherein your host, Steve Sisson, marks the return of the podcast from a three year hiatus. This episode reintroduces the new reboot of the Running on Purpose with a Who, What Where, When & Why for this return. It's been a long time coin', but Sisson is BAAAA-AAACCCKKKK!

Show NotesFull Video of this Episode (YouTube)Deena's Essential "Instructional" Memoir at AmazonFull video of 2003 London Marathon (PART I) (PART II)Footage of the 2001 World Championships 10,000m Race (YouTube)Deena book recommendations-Big Potential by Shawn Acor at Amazon-A Practice of Mountains by Andrea Mead Lawnrece at Amazon ($$$!)-The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin at Amazon Time - Content00:00 - In da Club/Intro6:30 - Women's Marathoning from 1985-200312:00 - Protagonists 12:00 - Catherine Ndereba16:30 - Paula Radcliffe24:10 - Deena Kastor40:00 - Other Protagonists45:00 - Lead-up & Race Discussion1:18:15 - 2004 Athens Olympics1:30:00 - Open Discussion with Deena1:37:00 - Excellence vs Success1:46:50 - Deena's book and other favorite books1:58:00 - Deena signs off, Jeff and Steve wrap up

YOUTUBE VIDEO LINKOnly 18 months after making the decision to train seriously, Dick Beardsley drives the best marathoner in world beyond his limits in the world's best marathon. How does an upstart develop so quickly in such little time? Listen to this interview & you'll find out. After our inaugural episode of Legends, covering the 1982 Boston Marathon & the iconic Duel in the Sun, we had an opportunity to interview Dick Beardsley. This interview runs the gamut, from history & reflections on his running career to a deep sharing of personal tragedy & loss. But the current running underneath the narrative is Dick's love for life, others & the simple act of moving through space. It was an honor to conduct this interview & hope you find it as moving as we did.

Show Notes        Time - Content00:00 - Race Discussion11:00 - Post-Race Interviews16:50 - Post Olympic Careers - Joan Benoit23:15 - Grete Waitz28:50 - Rosa Mota32:00 - Ingrid Kristiansen35:00 - Who Was the Best of the Decade (1980's)?43:00 - Rabbit Holes (Olympic Marathon Course Design & the History & Legacy of Athletics West)47:20 - Questions/Debates/Loose Ends

Show NotesTime - Content3:30 - Reflections on Legends 1984 Boston Marathon6:00 - 1984 Olympic background13:20 - Women’s distance running history23:55 - Grete Waitz31:10 - Joan Benoit41:40 - Ingrid Kristiansen45:15 - Rosa Mota49:20 - Who was supposed to win?

Episode Breakdown0:00 - Introduction of Legends10:45 - Culture & Running Scene in 198217:55 - Background on Race Protagonists34:55 - Race Discussion & Analysis51:00 - The Race Finale1:00:15 - Career Epilogue1:13:15 - Hot Takes on Alberto1:27:00 - Final Questions about RaceLinksBoston Marathon 1982 Video footage - https://www.runnerspace.com/video.php?video_id=62014Duel in the Sun - https://www.amazon.com/Duel-Sun-Beardsley-Americas-Greatest/dp/1594866287

A dialogue with Bill Corrigan on how to set up a metal training plan. Bill asks if there is a periodization model we can use to optimize our mental game in running & racing. Recorded before the outbreak of COVID-19 on March 6th.

In this episode we discuss life on lockdown & how we recommend silence & resilience as tools for coping with change & uncertainty. We end with one key session you can add now that will pay huge dividends down the road.

A wide ranging, honest dialogue about how injury impacts running & life. We start off talking about the US Marathon Olympic Trials & move into the specifics of how Tomek became injured, how he struggled with diagnosis, how it impacted his overall wellbeing & what he's going to be bringing to his running & his community as he returns back to full health. I mention late in the podcast about the need for community when athletes are injured. We are considering creating a community of Injured Reserves who can commiserate, compare, discuss & stay in community while they recover from injury. If you are interested in helping us create this community, please reach out to me at [email protected] & use the subject Injured Reserve. 

A Question & Answer episode on playing a long game in your running.

A Question & Answer episode on weight training.

I. Preparatory Work:Review Your WhyReview Your GoalReview Your TrainingReview Your CourseReview Your HeartII.Align Your Fitness/Circumstances with Your ObjectiveHow Likely Are You To Achieve Your Goal90-100% Likely: Negative Split80-90% Likely: Slight Negative SplitLess Than 80%: Even SplitHow To Assess Your FitnessLong Runs - How many 20+? Quality Long Runs? Closes?Tempo/Threshold Work - Helpful but less indicative; if you are good at them, it is very helpful, if not then reassess ability to reach goal.10K & Faster - These are supports to the marathon training, not indicative of marathon specific fitnessPersonal Strengths/WeaknessesExperienceType of Runner: Steady-Eddie or Speedster?Mental SpaceGamer? Or Choker? Or somewhere in between?ConfidenceNervousnessCourse ConcernsCourse Challenges: Do Your HomeworkLook At Map/Elevation ProfileCheck the Elevation Scale! Very important. Measuring in feet or meters?Tens of or hundreds of?Read Race Reports/ReviewsInterview Friends/Training PartnersLook For All Intel PossibleUphills/DownhillsSpecial ConsiderationsRhythm & Flow vs Specific PacesIf Training Has Not Factored in The Specifics of Your Challenging Course?Reconsider Racing for TimeBe Very Conservative (Aggressive Negative Split)Don’t Make This Mistake TwiceWeather IS. But it WILL affect performance.Heat & HumidityIgnore At Your Own Perilit Harder On Heart/BloodflowShould/When/How You Adjust?Make A Plan 1 Week OutAdjust 2 Days OutLock In 12 Hours PriorAdjust in RaceIII. Make The PlanDecide & ExecuteBig Picture: Tell The Story/Your WhyTwo Basic Approaches:Beautiful RaceGoal TimeDetails: Mile By Mile Or Gates?TURN OFF PACE CALIBRATOR!!!Mile By MileCloser Detail, More StressOverwhelmingLess Flexibility/More ControlGatesRequires Rhythm & FlowListening To BodyMentally Less Work & Less StressFactor Course, NOT WeatherDo the Details Corroborate the Big Picture?Always Be ClosingIV. Check Your WorkDoes This Align with Your Training & Your Philosophy?Your Coach’s Philosophy?Do You BELIEVE In It?Can You DO IT?

The first in an ongoing series of short exhortations or "rants", if you will. This week I discuss the essential & necessary aspects of suffering in our training & racing.

The Long Run What Even Is a Long Run?Why It MattersMost Important Run For All DistancesBenefits for Aerobic Development (covered below)All Distances (800m to Marathoners/Ultramarathoners)Arthur Lydiard’s LegacyPeter Snell 20M Hilly runs as an 800/1500m runner)Special Concern for MarathonersOther races distances the LR is longer than the race. Not so for marathoners.Specificity Can there be too much cost for this specificity? (Hanson’s, covered below)What Happens in the Long Run PhysiologicallyEnhancing aerobic development at the cellular levelStroke Volume - Hearts ability to send blood to working musclesGreater capillary densityBuilding mitochondriaRace Specificity Fat adaptation after about an hour and a half of running- fuel switching Long Run Adaptors vs Long Run BreakdownIn my experience there are folks who, for whatever reason (genetics: slow twitch, fuel burning, personal preference) just respond much better to long runs. There are those who breakdown.Most fall in the adaptor/slight adaptor camp, in my experience. Hanson’s 16M Long Run - Luke Humphrey’s (https://lukehumphreyrunning.com/hansons-marathon-method-the-16-miler/)Time Factor: Balancing the Benefits of Aerobic Development with the structural damage of long runs. The Hanson’s Method argues that over 3 hours is very costly. I agree. & if you are a 4 hour + marathoner, there are hard choices to make. Do you prepare for the distance of the race? Or do you follow a more conservative approach? To me it comes down to the likelihood of injury or burnout. 9/mile pace: 16M - 2:24; 20M - 3:0010/mile pace: 16M - 2:40; 20M - 3:2011/mile pace: 16M - 2:56; 20M - 3:4012/mile pace: 16M - 3:12; 20M - 4:00Percentage Factor: Research has argued that keeping LR volume at 25-30% of total weekly volume max is recommended. Lots of marathon programs end up with LR being 50% of weekly volume for those who only run 3-4 times a week. I agree that this is a challenge but in my experience most people are already tapping out on what they can commit to in a training cycle. Sure, everyone would benefit from 50-70 mpw, but this is not doable for some. So do they keep their LR at 16M & get totally fucked?!? I really have never understood this argument. I agree for races up to 13.1M that running 16-18M is sufficient, in most cases. For marathoners, you have to think through the best option for yourself knowing your coach’s philosophy & what your risk factors are. But 26.2M is 26.2M. I think you need to be ready. I think you need 22-24M long runs at least 2 times in a cycle. 

Dr Zach Bush on the Rich Roll podcast discussing gut health & biome. Episode 353Episode 414Episode 456Highly recommended. 

In this episode Steve discusses:Why Mileage MattersWhy Dick Measuring is RidiculousWhy More Mileage Is Not Always BetterJunk Miles, Long Runs & Medium Long RunsWhat a Sweet Spot Is & How To Find ItHow To Safely Raise Your MileageWhat Mileage Has To Do With Your "True Potential"Enjoy!Telos Running has a new FREE Base Building program beginning February 3rd called, Basecamp. You can find out more at www.telosrunning.com/basecamp

RoP 12 - On Your Why: Creating a Running Purpose (Part II)Quick Review from last Week: Why Your Why is ImportantIntrinsic vs Extrinsic Reasons for Running & Why Intrinsic is the only one that will stick. How to get started:Brainstorming with Mind Mapping, clustering or other brainstorming techniques that work for you. Take your timeWrite a Letter to Running (LtR) that discusses RelationshipChallengesGiftsEmotions/FeelingsTake the LtR & pull out the most resonant threads.Take the Mind Map Brainstorm & pull out the most resonant threads.Pull on these threads, see how resilient & long they are. Take the threads & run with them for a few weeks. Do they braid into other aspects of your running. Are they compatible with goals, with failure, with success, with pain, with training partners, with Strava, with your geekometer? Do they fit with the rest of your life? With work, with family, with your other hobbies?If they can’t take the pressure, they are not real. You want to subject the threads to pressure. Create a Purpose StatementSoP 1.0Take the tested threads & weave them into a statement. Take all the threads & copy & paste them into a document. Go over them & add, subtract, expand, deepen. The get them into a list or series of paragraphs.Look for redundancies, duplicates, the same concept written in different words & find the best version of that concept or feeling & lock it down. Tidy it up & walk away for a week or two. Be sure you tidy it up so when you come back to it is manageable & not a total mess. This Statement needs time to breathe & speak & grow. Give it that time. This is SoP 1.0.SoP 2.0Take the SoP 1.0 & read it. Look for more redundancies. Excise anything you feel didn’t stand up in the last week or two. Add anything that came up in the last week that feels important & called out to be included.Now take the list or paragraphs edit them mercilessly. Get them down to 1-2 paragraphs, 3 at the absolute limit. Read it out loud. What does it feel like? Is it alive?Listen for the commonality, the poetry, the practicality. This is what makes an idea universal & powerful. It is both magical & mundane. It is deeply moving & inspiring but grounded in the mess & muck of life. It needs to have been created in a space of vulnerability where you might be afraid to share it with others for fear of rejection but as the statement grows in power & utility you want to eventually shout it from the rooftop that you know your WHY! SoP 3.0 Now take SoP 2.0 & try to take the long version & turn it into 1-2 sentences. The Greatest Hits, or the clearest, cleanest drink from the stream of your words. The Essential. Or a reformulation into different words that get to a different angle or description of Why you run. What you would actually shout from the rooftops (because a few paragraphs won’t do.Then you plant the seed of your SoP in the fertile ground of your being. You see how it grows, how it impacts the rest of your life, how it is a very positive, useful way to experience life. Live your PurposeYou’ve created your Statement, now you have to live it. You’ll want to do daily, weekly, monthly check ins on your Purpose. Daily: Set a timer on your phone or watch to look back at your SoP daily. Do this consistently & you’ll eventually have it memorized. Then it will evolve, morph & change as you reflect on it. It will become a living document, one that informs, sustains & inspires you to be your best self, to recognize your inherent value. Weekly: You should be doing a weekly reflection on your training. This allows you to check in not only on the physical training you did in the week but to also reflect on the emotional, psychological & bioenergetic experience of your training. If you are doing this then starting off your weekly reflection by detailing how your Running Purpose served you that week can really deepen the value & experience of your SoP. It’s like a mission statement for your running & the consistency of your being aligned with your purpose will significantly improve your training at all levels. Monthly: I highly recommend a deeper dive into your SoP each month. Carve out 30 min to an hour to take your SoP, your four weekly reflections & read them. Then start again with the mind mapping brainstorming process that started this whole journey all over again. Don’t worry about anything: redundancy, ridiculousness, vulnerability, etc. Just take a deep breath & start the process over again. When you finish, look over the mind map & consider it in relation to your SoP. How has your purpose evolved or changed? Are there greater depths to your purpose that need to be folded into your statement? Any new languaging or images that can deepen the experience of living your running purpose, day to day. Some Additional ThoughtsPoetry & magic are inherent to all activities in our lives. It is the poetry & magic, we argue, that provides real, sustainable meaning in our lives. Do not be afraid of the Imaginal Realm where logic & order are less the operating system. A little beauty & chaos are critical, necessary components of life that frequently get overlooked or diminished in our society. By continuing to allow your purpose to flex & flow, it deepens & grows to the point where it infuses everything in your life. You begin to live through purpose, instead of through expectations, requirements & deadlines. You express your deepest, most authentic self. Now isn’t that magic?If you are interested in being guided through this process of finding your running purpose, Steve can help. He is also completing a certification in Purpose Guiding, which expands the search for purpose into all of life. If you are interested in that, you can check out our website (www.telosrunning.com/purpose-guide) or reach me directly at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you. 

RoP Episode 11 - Finding a Running PurposeINTROWhy It Is Important (6:18)Stop chasing numbers start letting the process Deepens & expands the running processHelps develop meaningHelps develop balancePulls a beautiful form of expression back into the totality of your life. It is not separate or other. It IS you & you ARE it. Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Purpose (20:05)Intrinsic means it is INSIDE you, it is part of your whole experience as a human being. Extrinsic means it is OUTSIDE you, that it is only a part of your experience of being human. Why it cannot be extrinsic.Flight or FightIt can’t be dependent on anything or anyone else. It must be its own ecosystem. External reasons don’t usually hold up under late-race pressures: pain, desire to quit, fear of failing, etc.This does not mean we don’t set extrinsic goals, it just means that WHY you run has nothing to do with anyone else. Period. The question of selfishnessHow to get started (36:05)It’s a Big Ask, don’t diminish the difficulty & the importance. Take your time. Do not rush this process. If you have the time to devote a concentrated & focused period of time to this process that can certainly kickstart the process into overdrive & help you stay on task & in focus. However, it is probably best to set a goal of 3-6 months to have a SoP completed. This allows you to steep your purpose into a strong dark brew. Go DeeperBrainstorm with Mind Mapping: https://zapier.com/blog/mind-mapping-tutorial/ (40:37)Take these notes & use them to compose a Letter to Running (LtR)

In this episode, Steve interviews the Wiseman of the Trails. A mentor to me for many years, Joe is a coach & former race director by trade but he is really more like a Taoist sage of the dirt. We discuss the early years the Austin running scene & the parallels between running, coaching, positive energy flow & trail running.  We also cover Joe's years as a race director & the impact that he has had on the sport of ultra running. He is working on a book that should be available in 2020 that is a how-to manual on race directing. You can find Joe's online coaching HERE at Rogue Virtual 1:1. If you listen in at the end he even gives you his phone number if you are old school like that. I was interviewed by the great Ron Romano for his podcast RunChats with @RonRunsNYC. You can find it HERE on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Season 4 of Telos Running starts December 30th. More on all available training programs can be found at www.telosrunning.com.

A month early we ask you to take a look back on your running year & check your process & results against your 2019 goals, your purpose for running & how this reflection can be really impactful on you 2020 goals & results. 

A rant on the unreasonable expectations we all have in training & racing. We cover the expectation of linear progression, of expecting races not to hurt & training to gain fitness rather than proving fitness among other topics. We end on a positive note with some preliminary thoughts on a universal purpose for running.

An interview with Certified Mental Performance Consultant & Olympian in the 3000m Steeplechase, Lennie Waite. We discuss a wide range of mental training topics including nervousness, fear of failure/success, how we find meaning through running & a host of other topics.

ATTENTION ALL PENDULUM SWINGERS!! We know from experience how hard it is to find balance in training & in life. In this episode we discuss balancing the body in a few key training areas: mileage, periodization, neuromuscular recruitment patterns & nutrition. We also discuss the crucial need to find balance in life in order to keep running healthy, happy & strong. Steve goes on a few #sissonrants & Krysten has to talk him off the ledge. We start the episode off with a discussion of the recent four year doping ban of Alberto Salazar & how different people react to the question of doping in our sport. 

Why do people quit in training or a race? We argue there are really only two reasons: negative mental feedback loops & Imminent dangers like injury, etc. If you make the decision to Never Fucking Quit & you stick to that commitment, you'll be amazed at the power inherent within you. If you have quit, how can you keep yourself from doing so in the future? We provide a number of effective techniques to get you through the pain cave to across the finish line.

In this final episode in the self-coaching series, Steve provides a basic outline & discussion for what you need to get started self-coaching. Topics include:Radical Personal Responsibility. Come Prepared.Get Your Data In One Place. Reflect on it. Share the Key Points With Your Coach Every Week. Set Goals with Your Coaches Input.  Create Your Own Race Plan. Write a Race Report. Determine What Worked & What Didn’t.

Steve delves deep into the dark secrets of the coaching profession & calls all coaches, including himself, out on their methods of coaching & coercion. His topics include:Your Coach Thinks You Are Full of ShitYour Coach Is Fucking With Your HeadYour Coach is Experimenting On You.Your Coach (Probably) Knows Less Than They Let On & They (Probably) Stopped Learning.Most Coaches Coach From A Place of Fear. Most Coaches Are Dogmatic & Inflexible.Your Coach is a Thief & Copycat.Your Coach Has Blindspots.Coaching Running is Not Rocket Science Enjoy!

In this episode, Steve covers the importance of self-coaching to all runners even if you already have a coach. If you can say yes to the following statements then you need to listen to this episode & the next two that follow it:You care about your performanceYou care about your race resultsYou want to get better You want to know howThese are the basic prerequisites for self-coaching. This podcast episode will cover the basics of how to set up your mindset & provide an initial basic template to start you on your way to effectively coaching yourself.

A short introduction to the podcast.