Running Wild Podcast

Running Wild With Jackson SpencerTwo days after breaking the four minute barrier in the mile, Jackson Spencer does not sound like someone whose life has changed. He sounds calm, grounded, almost strangely unaffected by the fact that he has just done something only a tiny fraction of high school runners ever will. For most athletes, a performance like that becomes a defining moment. For Spencer, it feels more like confirmation. Another barrier broken. Another step forward. Another reason to wake up the next morning and get back to work.That may be the most striking thing about him. Not the time itself, not the accolades, not the growing national attention around his name, but how little any of it seems to alter the way he sees himself. When I asked how his recent performances have changed his perspective as an athlete, his answer was simple: they really haven’t. He loves breaking records. He loves chasing times. But after the race is over, he goes home and starts preparing for the next one. No dramatic paradigm shift. No ego boost. Just a quiet return to the process.That mindset, he says, began to shift entering his senior year, when confidence gave way to something more productive: humility. Instead of focusing on how good he already was, Spencer started focusing on how good he still wanted to become. In his words, he became more humble, and in a sport where confidence is often associated with swagger, that humility may have been what unlocked another level. It turned his attention away from protecting his status and toward pursuing growth. The result has been one of the most impressive stretches of high school racing in the country.Of course, performances like that bring pressure. Spencer knows that. Every time he steps on a start line now, expectations follow. He admits he gets nervous before races, often feeling the weight of needing to “do it again.” But rather than resisting that pressure, he has learned to live with it. He leans on routine, on conversations with his coach, and on the reminder that success does not come from trying to force greatness in one moment. It comes from trusting the work he has already done.And that work, contrary to what many might expect, is not glamorous. Spencer laughed a little when talking about what people misunderstand about elite high school running. From the outside, many imagine national-level athletes living in a constant cycle of breakthrough workouts and superhuman training sessions. His reality is much simpler. You go to school. You run. Then you run again. It is normal, repetitive, and often unremarkable. The difference is not that elite runners live dramatically different lives. It is that they learn how to do ordinary things with extraordinary consistency.That consistency is rooted in more than talent. Spencer openly acknowledges that genetics play a role in his success, but he believes mindset is what has elevated him. His faith helps ground him, with scripture becoming part of his daily rhythm before and after school, helping quiet his thoughts and settle his mind. His teammates and coaches have shaped him as well, giving him an environment full of people who push him higher while keeping him grounded. Again and again throughout our conversation, Spencer returned to the same idea: surrounding yourself with the right people matters.It is also what drew him to BYU. For Spencer, the decision was not simply about joining one of the best programs in the country. It was about continuing to place himself in an environment where excellence is expected and where the people around him make him better. He spoke less about facilities or prestige and more about coaches, teammates, and culture. For him, that is what matters.What makes Spencer especially compelling right now is that he seems to understand something many athletes spend years learning: performance alone is not enough to define you. He wants the records. He wants the fast times. He wants the wins. But he also wants to be remembered as someone younger runners could look up to, someone who pushed the pace both literally and figuratively, someone whose influence extended beyond race results.Five years from now, when people look back on the athlete Jackson Spencer became, he hopes they remember him as one thing:A hardworking, fast little guy.The “little” part may be up for debate.The hardworking part is already undeniable.As always thank you for reading, and go out there for you.-Hunter Get full access to Running Wild at runnningwild.substack.com/subscribe

Chasing Stories Not SplitsAsa Fletcher spends most of his time documenting movement. Whether it is runners training before sunrise, surfers cutting through waves, or athletes preparing for major races, his work sits at the intersection of sport, landscape, and storytelling. His photography and films often feel less like traditional sports coverage and more like quiet observations of the environments athletes move through.That perspective did not come from the outside. Fletcher was once deeply embedded in the sport himself, running at a high level and eventually landing at Newbury Park, one of the most competitive high school running programs in the country. He also competed at NYU for a bit. For a while, the trajectory felt familiar to many runners. Training, racing, and seeing how far the sport could take him.But over time Fletcher realized that competing was not the path he wanted to follow long term. What interested him more were the stories happening around the sport. The culture, the people, and the places where athletes spend most of their lives.“I realized the sport necessarily wasn’t the career path I wanted,” Fletcher says. “Being creative just felt more fulfilling.”Instead of stepping away from running entirely, Fletcher shifted his role within it. He picked up a camera and began documenting the world that had shaped him. What started as a personal interest gradually turned into a career built around capturing athletes, races, and the environments that surround them.Today Fletcher works as a photographer and filmmaker within the running space, collaborating with brands like On, Adidas, and Tracksmith while also expanding his work into surf culture, travel, and outdoor storytelling. His projects now take him from training camps in the desert to coastal towns and mountain cities like Boulder, where athletes train year round.Across all of those places, Fletcher’s work focuses less on performance and more on atmosphere. The quiet rhythm of training, the connection between athletes and the landscapes they move through, and the small moments that often happen far from race day.For Fletcher, those moments are where the real story of sport lives.Go check out Asa’s recent documentary on Leadville 100 Ft. Mathew Garlitz. Get full access to Running Wild at runnningwild.substack.com/subscribe