Podcast

From cancer to health. Back to the hospital with a heart attack—and home with a new heart. And finally, across the country on a bike, twice. Mike Cohen’s life has taken him to places he never could have imagined. In this week’s episode, the San Diego-based athlete—who calls himself a professional cyclist riding for a…

On most days, British runner Anji Andrews lives the athlete’s dream. She works from home—with plenty of time and flexibility to train—making a living coaching, writing about running, and handling social media for organizations like the popular UK-based podcast Marathon Talk.    But this summer, a foot injury that had begun to develop earlier this…

Lex Gillette—a world record holder and national champion in the long jump—has had to navigate change before. At age 8, doctors diagnosed him with detached retinas, and couldn’t save his sight despite multiple surgeries. Though the transition wasn’t easy, Lex credits his support system—and the confidence they inspired in him—with getting him through.   Even…

Wherever you are, stop for a moment and take stock of what’s on your mind. Then, look down at your feet. Ask yourself: Are your body and mind in the same place? Your physical being occupies space in the present moment. But often, our thoughts are a million miles away, fretting over the past or…

Mechelle Lewis Freeman had put everything on the line to achieve her Olympic dream. She’d walked away from a successful career in advertising, moved to a full-time training facility, and calculated everything from the hours of sleep she needed to the grams of protein she ingested to the positive mantras running through her head. (The…

Chris Mosier has made history many times before, as the first transgender athlete to represent the United States in international competition, appear in the ESPN Body Issue, and be sponsored by Nike.   This January, he once again blazed a trail at the Olympic Trials for the 50K racewalk, becoming the first transgender athlete to…

Basketball, ski racing, sprint kayaking, surfing—Alana Nichols‘ athletic career has brought her to the highest levels of a wide range of sports. Still, she tells us on this week’s show, as a Paralympian she often struggled to get the same care for her injuries as her able-bodied peers. But fight she did, and her advocacy…

Note: This episode was recorded several months ago, before the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, and the protests that have followed. So, we start it off with a statement about Black Lives Matter, systemic racism, and our commitment to examine our own role and make changes. The second time Amanda Ferranti…

We first spoke with this week’s guest, pro distance runner Alia Gray, in person during Olympic Marathon Trials weekend in February in Atlanta. She’d chosen not to run the race despite a qualifying time and an injury-free stretch—a choice made from joy rather than fear, she says, and one she describes at length in this…

In slalom water skiing, Matteo Luzzeri says, “you’re playing tug of war against a 6.2-liter engine boat.” Injury—both from overuse and from sudden, traumatic events—comes with the territory.   On this week’s episode, Matteo shares the story of his most serious injury, a ruptured Achilles in September 2014. The experience was all the more challenging…