Latest / The People Run Podcast / #56 He Had One Month of Rent Left... Then Under Armour Called | David Mullarkey

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#56 He Had One Month of Rent Left... Then Under Armour Called | David Mullarkey · The People Run Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: By the time that email come through I had just enough to pay the next month's rent and that was me done.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um for it was kind of a bit of relief, but also kind of like someone's believing in me and Yeah.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Giving me the opp this opportunity that that you know they're gonna pay me a salary and you know, all this to to represent them and on the hopefully the biggest stages.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_02: David, welcome to the People Run Podcast, man.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_02: I'm excited to talk with you.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_02: Uh you just signed your uh professional contract with Under Armour, running crew mission, run Dark Sky, recent race as a pro.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_02: Congratulations.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_02: Did you think you would ever be here coming from all the way of Osvaman to where you are now?
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely not, no.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Uh you know, the Isle of Man is a is a very small place for anyone that knows what it is.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Population of around 70,000, so yeah, it's um it's a very different world, kind of what's kind of happened over the last fo four years or so.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, never never in a million years did I think I'd be having these opportunities that I've been getting, you know, recently turning pro with Under Armour and Mission Run Dark Sky.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Just I I don't even kind of know how it's happened, but extremely grateful for for what's gone on, and yeah, I wouldn't like change anything about my my journey here.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_02: Well, hard work for sure, but hold on, let's pause that back.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_02: Did you say 7,000 people?
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: 70.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: 70.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_02: 70.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_02: That's still wow, very small perspective.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's it's 12 miles wide and 32 miles long, I think.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: So that kind of gives you the area that we're working with there.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_02: So you could basically long run if you're into ultras the whole if you're into ultras.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe not me, but if you're into ultras.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_02: Did you did you have dreams growing up, you know, with 70,000 people, like, hey man, I I want to run, I want to become a pro at some point.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_02: It just kind of happened through through the journey.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I always I I love running and I I just like love the opportunities that it can it can give you and the meet people that you can meet.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, I always wanted to see how far I could get with the running, but like I I never thought I'd I'd be making it professional at all.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like everyone always has that thing of, oh, you're a really good runner, like you're gonna be at the Olympics someday, but like everyone knows how difficult that is.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: So it'd be kind of like I'm not gonna say it's gonna happen, but I'm kind of on the pathway to having a shot at making that happen.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: It was beyond like anything that I thought.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: Even from like a few years ago when I was like 22, 23, like I never thought this was gonna be possible.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_02: That's amazing.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_02: Do you feel now that you are officially a pro?
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_02: That's gotta be good to say.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um it's it's a little weird.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's like people like that don't know what I do are just like, oh, what'd you do for work?
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm just like, oh, I'm I run.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_02: Do you feel like, hey, look, I'm a pro now I've officially arrived, or I'm just getting started now.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_02: Here's here's the the icing just beginning on the kick.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I think you know, after my collegiate career ended, it was a bit of like a process.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: There was a seven-month span there where I was kind of unsponsored, and and I'd always say to people that it like this for me has never been about the money, like it's it's not about the money.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: I would have chosen like a different career or a different sport if it if that's what I was interested in.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like um, so I feel like now I just have the best opportunity possible to to see how good I can get at this and invest 100% of my time into into what I want to do, and yeah, just yeah, grateful for Under Armour for believing in me and like seeing what we can kind of do together.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_02: Um Do you remember that moment when you got that email, phone call, text, hey, this is Under Armour, we want to sign you?
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean it's just w you know, uh like I said, there was a bit of a a time period in between college and and signing that contract, so it was pretty stressful, you know.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: I was burning through my savings, and by the time that email came through I had just enough to pay the next month's rent, and that was me done.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, um it was kind of a bit of relief, but also kind of like someone's believing in me and giving me the opp this opportunity that you know they're gonna pay me a salary and you know, all this to to represent them and on the hopefully the biggest stages.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, it's kind of just like also gives you that confidence that, you know, like okay, like I I belong on this scene and um racing all these like professional athletes now feels like I'm part of that and like I can go out there and compete against them as well.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_02: What was it like growing up when uh it became kind of serious for you?
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_02: Like, what were you as a kid?
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_02: You always had running going around before college, as a man, you're like, I'm gonna do this.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I'd say it never uh obviously at this like elite level.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: It was never this kind of like super intense setup in the Isle of Man, and I think my coaches did a great job at like holding me back, and they also encouraged me doing other sports as well.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: I was actually played a lot of rugby as a kid, and so I played rugby until I was 17.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um actually in the scrum, if you believe it or not, which is where all the big dudes are, and if you can imagine a distance runner in a scrum, that isn't usually how it happens, but yeah, I had to I had to tackle all the big dudes that that came up with scrum.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um It was it was it was very different, and uh I think doing all those sports as a kid kind of has helped guide my path a little bit and also kept it fun.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I I think the main thing about any sport is is that it's meant to be fun, and yeah, I I feel like doing those other sports as a kid just meant I didn't get too intense, and I think you can see that people often get a little bit burnt out when they go too hard as a kid.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I think my coaches have done a great job at just kind of holding me to the city.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: What'd you say, sorry?
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_02: How do you keep that fun even now?
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_02: You know, now you're competing at pro level, but you know, you're enjoying the sport still and keeping that fun alive.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think having a great team is is one thing.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's a it's a great environment in Mission Run Dark Sky.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of nice people, a lot of great friends.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think I just love running.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: I I think it's a great way to kind of just get out there and you know, you get to see lots of things.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: I I always say I don't know how the swimmers do it because they stare at the bottom of a pool.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like we have the luxury of like we have the luxury of okay, we're going out and working hard, but we're in like beautiful places.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: Like Flagstaff is a great place to run if anyone's been here.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: And like I get to travel like all over the world just doing my job, which is like such a unique opportunity that it's like so fun.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I also just love the the competition of it.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like I love going out there and racing and just seeing what I can do.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I've if I've done this massive block of training, it's like okay, now it's exciting, I get to go and see the fruits of my labor and see like what we can go and do and push myself to the limit as well.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's fun.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: For me, that's like one of the biggest things.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_02: David, how scary was the move when you decided to come?
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you just mentioned Flagstaff, but like moving to America, like when you decided, you know what, I'm gonna do it.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_02: I'm going all in, I'm chasing the dream here.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_02: Like, how scary was that at the time?
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, terrifying.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely terrifying.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: My parents will attest to this that like I was like, oh, yeah, I was scared.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I it was funny.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: I actually applied to do a master's degree in the UK and I got waitlisted.
• 7:48
  unknown: Wow.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: So I was like, okay, like if I'm gonna take this running seriously, I I ideally need to be in education of some sort because like I I'd been doing the the part-time job and it was just like it was so tiring.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'd hats off to people that do it full-time.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: I was I was doing 20 hours a week and I was exhausted.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: Hats off to those people at work full-time, but yeah, I know I knew I kind of had to stay in education, and I got waitlisted in the UK, so I was like, let's kind of explore the idea of the NCAA, and I got speaking to Coach Bob Brayman at at Florida State.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I loved all the conversations I had with him and loved the opportunity that it was gonna give me.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: I knew that it was the right thing to do, but that doesn't mean it's like knock scary, you know what I mean?
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: When you're going down to the to the embassy in London and you're like, okay, it's just starting to get pretty real now, and then the visa came through and it's like, okay, I'm I'm leaving in a few weeks.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: This is like a big move across the to the other side of the world where you know no one.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's like I'm it's a different culture, it's like brand new to me, but yeah, I mean I'm I'm glad that I did it, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't scary at the time.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_02: No, for sure.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_02: You're getting all these big scary papers at you, long flights, and like you mentioned, different cultures.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_02: Uh what was the biggest culture shock for you, you know, running back home and then coming here and running the NCAA?
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: Uh uh yeah, I think uh the biggest thing is just how big sports is in the like in the US and in the NCAA.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's you know, it's it's a massive part of their culture.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, student athletes are almost like idolized in some schools, and back in the UK no one really cares that much about like college sports.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's like in athletics and cross country, you do one meet a year, it's British athletics championships and yeah, it's like so it's like okay, it's a cool meme, but it's like not that big of a deal.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: And um yeah, just coming over here and then like you know, you get into the instable A and everything's like sorted for you.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: You've got people sorting out your classes and everything, and it's just like crazy how much money is getting thrown around for like little old me distance runner like this.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's kind of kind of that side of it was was big.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_02: Um yeah.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_02: What'd you find the hardest, like moving back home and seeing all this such a big uh you know, school and whatnot and everything taken care of in the NCAA out here versus back home?
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_02: What was the hardest for you?
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: In terms of like the transition across or like Yeah.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um I feel like the NCA is just so competitive, it's just like finding your place with within that, you know.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: I th I feel like I'd slowly been working my way up to like the top of the domestic amateur scene in the UK, and I was like, I'd finally start to get there, and then you come to the N soubala, it's my first meet, and I'm in like heat four of just this random meet in Arkansas, and you're like, okay, actually, yeah, I'm I'm not I'm not who I thought I was anymore.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: So it's just like finding your place within that and being like, okay, right, I if I'm gonna be competitive over here, I'm I need to step up my game and stuff.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: I think the the level of competition, even though it's collegiate, and you'd think, well, okay, back in the UK I was racing against like adults, like 30, 25 to 30 year olds.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's because the NCA and you have so much time to dedicate to your training, it's like okay, like it is very, very competitive, and there's a lot of like incentive to do well as well, like financially.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, for sure.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_02: Did you ever have a moment where like, oh man, I don't know, I'm I'm moving back home.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_02: This may not work out, I was scared.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I feel like once I was here it w it was good.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: I I'm not someone to like give up on something easily, so yeah.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: I think it was that first semester was I think I did the indoor season, which is like January to like kind of February, March time, and then we had a break in between indoors and outdoors, and I was like, okay, right, I really need to like knuckle down here and trained really well for two months and ended up making outdoor nationals that year, so it was like Yeah, I th I feel like once I got through that, it was like, okay, right.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: Now I'm going back home in the summer and I I know what I need to do to be competitive over here, so let's make it happen and let's get to work.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: And it was kind of like I think then it was like each season after that was kind of a step up from the last, which was like I think it was kind of just embracing the yeah, kind of the level I needed to be, and that's what's helped me reach where I am now as well.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_02: How'd the training change at Few Will?
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_02: Like what was the difference in training as you went up and got better through NCAA?
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I feel like, you know, naturally kind of mileage increases and um that that all comes naturally.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: I I feel like it was pretty like a steady progression, which has kind of helped me stay injury free to this point and like touch wood stays stays that way.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um But yeah, I feel like um at Florida State it was very it was pretty like old school.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: I'd say, you know, the old like we're gonna go out for 10 miles and we're gonna run hard and we're gonna make this like it's like the Yeah, yeah.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: We're we're doing like a 10 mile tempo, but it's like flossing back and forward, and we're doing like three miles hard and then one mile float, but the one mile floats like 520, so it's not that slow.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: Sheesh.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, you know.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um so yeah, if Florida State was very like old school with Brayman, and it definitely worked.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: I got a lot better using that chain.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but then yeah, mo made the move up to to NAU and Flagstaff and was coached by Mike Smith.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: And then I feel like we can kind of see a little bit more of the the science side coming in a bit with like the double threshold and being a bit more controlled and conservative with the efforts and you know, especially with having the benefits of altitude and stuff.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like it just became a little bit more scientific, which I think requires you to understand a little bit more about the sport rather than just go, okay, I'm gonna go and hammer this.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: Again, it's like okay, there's there's a time to go and hammer, and there's also a time to be, you know, let's let's pull it back and cover, absorb, yeah.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absorb the training.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, definitely.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_02: How did altitude uh shape you, if you will?
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_02: Like, was the adjustment rough, or like those hard 10 milers kind of helped a little bit?
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I think being in in Tallahassee in Florida kind of helped a little bit because the feel of like humidity and altitude kind of feels the same on the chest.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: If if anyone's ever done both, I think they'll kind of attest to that.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I also think the first time I came up I was pretty fit, which which helps a lot because the the transition was a lot easier last year coming up to altitude for the first time, whereas this year I I started running after my break up altitude, and I felt like awful for for months.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'm doing it easy running, my heart rates are like 190, like running up a slope with like a 2% gradient, you know.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's just like yeah, definitely helps coming up a little bit further, but I feel like the first time went as smoothly as as we could have asked for, which was nice, but that also requires you to be understand the impact of altitude and like why you need to be conservative and also having a good coach that also has experience like being altitude and and coaching altitude training.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_02: Is there anything you find helps, you know, for you personally?
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_02: I know it's individual, but like hey, you took a break, you come back to altitude, what what gets you ramped up quicker?
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'm very I'm I I feel like I'm very much someone that like kind of builds slowly.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's the biggest thing like even at sea level, like building in like okay, I'm only gonna increase my mileage by like five miles a week.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I I will start at like twenty, thirty miles and build up five to ten miles a week.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: Probably a little bit faster at the start just because my body's a little bit like I I have weeks where I run a hundred miles a week, so it's just like but it takes me what two months, two and a half months to get up to that point, just because I think the whole especially when you have time to build up to to races and stuff, if the the more like conservative you can be in the build-up, it just reduces the the risk of injuries.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: Cause for me, the only time I really get like aches and pains is when I'm gonna build up.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: So if I can like avoid injury in the build-up, then I'm more attuned to the mileage and then you know okay, yes, I might lose a couple of weeks like total volume, but like if I don't get injured, then I don't lose those weeks later.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_02: That's interesting to hear, because you know, people would assume, hey, look, he's really fast, he's you know, he's on a pro team and he's a hundred all week every week.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_02: But build slowly, you learn that's what works for you.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_02: That's that's interesting.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, definitely.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: I I think especially like more now.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: I can kinda take shorter breaks just because I can take them more frequently, so the builds will probably change a little bit.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but coming out of the NCA, I was having like two-week breaks, so I don't touch running for two weeks because it's like so full-on.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I think definitely like the longer you have off the the slower that build and more conservative that that build needs to be.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_02: David, what would you say separates someone coming out, at least from your experience if you will, coming out of NCA and then eventually getting to a pro level?
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um I feel like you know it's it's getting these contracts is is incredibly difficult and not easy to come by, and I think I think there's um an expectation that you know I come out of college and I'm gonna go straight into pros, it's like super easy, but like a lot of people like okay, your NCA champions are able to do that, but most people aren't, and it it takes time and kind of like um like just like perseverance, like okay, I'm on the right path, I just need to keep it continuing.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, you go from being in the NCAA where you get all this equipment, coaching, whatever, um, and like resources, whereas then you're on your own, and it's like okay, I don't have a coach anymore, like what am I doing?
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I I ended up self-coaching because I took a lot of time during and after college that I was like, okay, like I I read research papers, I looked at what I'd done previously that had worked for me, and I was like, okay, like the best situation for me right now is just to coach myself just because I was so close to becoming professional that I was like, I know what works for me, and like I was 25 when I came out of college, which is a little bit older, and you know, some people are a lot younger than that.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, I think taking that time to understand and kind of reflect on what you've done previously and also like research like what's worked for other people as well, and kind of applying both of them is kind of what helped me make that transition.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, that was probably the big thing for me.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_02: David, you ran world um wearing the Britain vest, great Britain vest.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_02: That must have been special for you.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_02: Uh highest finish since Mo Farah of all people.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_02: What was that like?
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that was that was pretty cool.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah, I I think you know, these were always competitions that I looked at growing up and I watched and I'm like, oh wow, like these guys are like insane.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: You know, like when you get that call that you're gonna be there, it's like wow, I okay, this is gonna be very, very, very hard.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just gonna like soak it all up and see what I can do.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, I'm 8k into the race, and I'm looking around at guys that are US champions, uh, you know, been to the Olympics, top ten at the Olympics, and I'm like, hang on, like, we've got like five minutes of running left, and these guys are right there.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like, we're we're nearly done with this, and that yeah, that is like such a cool feeling.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: And then like you find out after the race that like I was the highest finisher since since Farrah and it's just like okay, we're in we're in pretty good company here, you know.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: Like yeah, like we're not on Mofar level, like anywhere near, but that's uh like a very cool statistic to be here in, yeah.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_02: What was it like, you know, putting on the vest, if you will?
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_02: Did you feel like I'm representing the country, a lot of pressure, or is this like man, I'm just happy to be here?
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think you know, getting a uh a Great Britain vest was like one of my big dreams as a kid, and I'd I'd fell short.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: They do like European cross-country over there, and you have to qualify from from Liverpool, like it's called European Trials and it's in Liverpool.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: I'd I'd missed out by one spot by like half a second, a second, like two or three times.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: So I'd like I'd been right there as a kid, like as a junior, I was like 20, 21, and just not quite made it.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I I I actually got uh my first GB vest over the summer last year, and yeah, putting on that vest for the first time was was was so cool, but I definitely got a little bit too amped up.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, you know, super like excited to get going, and I think I I kind of like the idea of like storing emotional energy, and I definitely didn't store any energy at all.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: I was like so like, oh I'm gonna like mess these guys up, like I'm in my vest and didn't have the best race.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: So I think I'm glad I got that out on a bit of a smaller stage, because then I think when I put it on at World Cross, I was a bit more calm and like, okay, like, yeah.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: We've done this before.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's nothing like crazy.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: Let's just get the job done.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_02: You said it best, man.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_02: Watching people wear the vest growing up as a kid, that's gotta feel like elation.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, touching on that, there's some kid out there right now who saw you do that.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um, versus where you saw Mofar and others wear GB vests.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: What would you tell those listening if they ever like watch this or thinking, man, I saw David run with GB Vest that inspired me one day?
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think you know, it's just my biggest message is just enjoy the journey, and yours your path is gonna be so different to everyone else's that you just don't compare yourself to anyone and just you do what's best for you and you keep going because you know, like I said, I never got a junior vest, and at the time that feels like everything, like oh like these guys are gonna be the ones that go on to represent the country, but like I'm the one that ended up with the senior vest, and you know.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: I think it would have been easy at the time just to be like, I'm not good enough, like I'm gonna step away or like do something else, but like Yeah, I I just kinda kept going and my journey was very different to other people.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_00: Some people are like generational talents at 17-18 and they go straight into the w world stage, they're making the Olympics, and it's like that's great, that's their own journey, but there's also other people that you don't kind of know their story a little bit, but they might not make their first team till they're 30-31, and it's just yeah they everyone has their own path, so just follow your own.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_02: David mission run dark sky, what's that for you?
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_02: How's it been the environment out there in Flagstaff and and running with that crew?
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's been great.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_00: I think you know, I think having the sport of Under Armour and Mission Run Dark Sky, it's like people always think, oh, you've got great people to train with, and you know, they're better than you, they're gonna push you on, and it's like that's that's very true.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_00: Like, yes, I have a lot of very good training partners, but they're also very knowledgeable, and I think for me that's equally as important as having good training partners, because you should always be like learning about the sport and like how to get better and how to look after yourself better and how to recover better, and training philosophies and whatnot.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I think there's a lot of people on the team that are very knowledgeable, and that's you know, if you're willing to take snippets from each of them and kind of like apply it to yourself, like that's also gonna make you a lot better, and I think being in Flagstaff is just such a great place to be because there's so many people that are so good, and it keeps you humble as well, you know.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like you're rocking up to the track and somebody's just won, like I don't know, like a diamond league or something.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like just won some of the biggest races in the world, and you're like running on the same track as them and stuff like that.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, it's um it's been great so far.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: Being on the team full-time now for for two months, so um, yeah, so far, so far so good, and yeah, learning a lot, getting a lot of really great training in.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, hopefully this summer we'll kind of see the fruits of that first bit of you know time with the team.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_02: Now that you're on the team and you know, two months in now and running races eventually and soon, do you feel more freedom now or more responsibility?
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um Yeah, I think financial freedom is the biggest one, you know, get getting paid to be here.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_00: Take some of the stress away from you know, like funding yourself and you know, I'd it's an expensive sport to be in when you're you know trying to get as many opportunities as you can.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I feel like some of that stress has been taken away and yeah, now I've got the opportunity to, with like zero excuses to to not like you know, yeah be at the top and competing against the best guys in the world.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it also I've kind of got that confidence now that like I I belong at this level, and I think, you know, I think the 10k that I'd run the other week, it was a 25-second PR, but it was just like, you know, I belong in this race, and there was not a second where I doubted that I should be there competing against other professionals.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it was it was pretty it was pretty cool.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: I went to sound running.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's called the 10, and it's like a one of the only like really fast 10ks in the world each year.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: Ran a 25 second PR save my time from 2751 down to 2726.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so yeah, we're getting pretty serious there.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: That works out like 65.8 per lap, and yeah, it's it's very quick and you know, it's a great setup race.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_00: We've got pace flights, pacers, we did a great job of keeping it moving and stuff like that.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's very nervous, I feel like, with those big time trial races, because it's like, okay, this is gonna hurt from the start.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_00: Like the goal of them is just to to kind of ride that that red line for as long as possible.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: So um yeah.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_02: Um at this level it does hurt.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_00: I always say you it never stops hurting, you just get faster.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's just like, yeah.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's it hurts just as much whether you're running 27 minutes or you're running you know twenty thirty-five, forty minutes.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: It hurts exactly the same, so don't think like we don't hurt.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's just yeah, we're just running pretty fast.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: Hard race still jumps up and it still hurts.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, some people definitely make it look like it doesn't hurt when you're looking them run, you know, win the Olympic Games and they're running around doing a victory lap.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like, yeah, some people definitely make it look like it doesn't hurt, but they definitely are hurting inside.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_02: David, now that you're out there in Flagstaff on the team, what what's a normal day look like for you?
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_02: You know, obviously you're doing a lot of training now.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_02: I'm sure there's some peace of mind, less cortisol levels, you know, now you can just run freely.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_02: What's a typical day for you?
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I think you know, it it kind of changes a little bit based on whether it's in base training phase or like we're in the racing period.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, like I said, the last like probably like four or five weeks have been close to at 100 miles or pretty close to it.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_00: As you can imagine, that involves a lot of running each day.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it works out like an average of like 16 miles a day or something, roughly.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_00: Most days double run, they will be kind of like 10 and 4, 10 and 6 kind of type thing, and then we work out on Tuesday, Friday, and do a long run on Sunday.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_00: Tuesday kind of tends to be a little bit more of a double threshold or like a bit more of an aerobic stimulus, and then Friday will either be like VO2 or some kind of like efficiency work on like hills and whatnot.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, and then build like gym and also like recovery stuff in it around those days as well.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_02: I think it's pretty known now that you know high mileage key at the pro level and stuff like that.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_02: What I want to ask you is how important is the structure and how are you dealing with that and the simplicity of it all?
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_02: Because it takes a lot to run 16 uh on average, gym, sleep, recover, eat.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's the great thing about being professional is that I have nothing else going on in my day.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_00: So, which is why I'll I'll always say hats off to the people that are doing full-time work and also doing this, you know.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_00: I saw there was guys that would do like a full-time job and just run like 212 with a Linda marathon, which is like insane.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like fair play, because I'm exhausted.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'll do my laundry in the middle of the day and I'm like, I'm tired.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_00: I need to go nap.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: So fair play to those guys.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, it's just about I think understanding the the tolls of each bit of work and kind of spreading it evenly throughout the week, which is why we do like Tuesday, Friday, and then Sunday.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like there'll never be two bodies of work that are like super intense, that are close together.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um especially like if you're working, like that definitely needs to be more of the the idea.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I think it's just about understanding like what I need to do to recover, how I need to spread that work, what is gonna be more like taxing and where I need to put my biggest efforts of the week.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I think a lot of people make the mistake of running too hard on their easy runs, and then you carry then fatigue into the workouts, and the the main focus of each week should always be on the workouts, you know.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_00: That's the biggest and best bit of quality that you're gonna get, and that's where you're gonna see the most improvement.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_00: The easy running for me is just to supplement the workouts, which is why I would never increase mileage if it was detrimental to the workouts.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um so yeah, I think just like spreading that work and making sure that you're recovered in between each one is the the big factor for me.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_02: In your week, you kind of broke it down just now.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_02: What's your hardest session?
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_00: The hardest one will usually be on on Fridays.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_00: We Okay.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_00: Especially at the minute we're doing we're getting ready for track, so it's a bit more like VO2 work, you know, it's hard, like sub 5k race pace kind of effort, and especially being up at altitude.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_00: We we usually drop down to like three and a half thousand feet, but it's still still altitude, it still has an impact.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, those those efforts are definitely the hardest.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_04: Um yeah, I think.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, actually, I'm gonna change that.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_00: Hills.
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_00: Hills at altitude suck.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_00: Anyone that's done anyone that's done hills at altitude understands the pain of that.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_00: Like we did one the other week, and I'm like, my chest is like going like this because it's just like so intense.
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_02: I I agree with you 100 1000%.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not running your paces, but I am at in Denver in Altitude, man, and anytime I try to do hills, they say hills pays the bills, but it will also fry your lungs.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I I I ate hills at sea level and I hate them even more up here.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_02: There's a reason they say they're good for you, man, but they hurt.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_00: They they do hurt.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_00: I think they're a great way to take the the load off, but still run fast, but yeah.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, no.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_00: Anyone that's done hills at altitude.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, anyone that's walked up a up a hill at altitude will tell you they suck.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_00: You don't even need to run up.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I get up to boulders sometimes and even just walking some of the hills.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like, Sheesh, I'm gonna do a run out here.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_02: No, they're not easy.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_02: David, what would you say people like romanticize too much, love too much about pro in the pro running space?
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_04: Like overvalue, if you will.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'd say for me it's people running fast.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_00: I think time travel race races are great and and they look cool and um you know I I love seeing how far I can push my body and running fast and stuff like that, but I think the pinnacle of pro running should be those championship races and having a pure authentic race with no wave lights, no paces, and just racing.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I always see people get upset when they don't go fast.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_00: You know, from the start, and it's like, okay, that's cool, yeah, they ran fast, but like you just got to w watch a great championship race with the best runners in the world, and they're kind of all they're talking about is though they didn't run very fast.
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like Yeah, cool, but you know, like there's more there, yeah.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like okay, it's uh it can be a little bit boring at the start when they're jogging around, but like, yeah.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_00: That's for me is the best best part of racing is the championship racing.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like in the pro scene there's more like people kind of just like romanticize like the fast like diamond leagues, which uh yeah, they're cool to watch, but for me it's not the pinnacle of pro level running.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_04: Okay.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_02: David, there's a quote I saw you wrote which I love because it's similar to one I've thought of a lot, and it was similar to let the relentless pursuit continue.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_02: What does that mean to you now?
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I I actually have a tattoo on I think you can kind of see on Instagram sometimes.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_00: I have a tattoo on the side of my um like just under my armpit that says relentless and uh I got I didn't have the indoor season that I wanted last year, and you know I was trying to get that contract and stuff like that.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_00: So before the outdoor season I got relentless tattooed on me.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 35:19
  SPEAKER_00: Because it it just like the the definition of it is like continuing to move forward that like no matter what happens to you.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_00: You continue to push forward, and I think you know life kind of throws a lot at you sometimes, and you know, things don't go your way, and you know, whatever happens, like everyone knows how tough it can be sometimes, but it's about continuing to push forward towards like what you want to achieve your goals and what you want to do with your life.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like, no matter what happens to you, you push forward the same.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like the goal doesn't change and the pace of it doesn't change, you just keep going.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's that's what it means to me.
• 36:02
  SPEAKER_00: And at the time it was kind of just like, oh, I'm gonna get a tattoo, like I want something to remind.
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna taff on my tap on my chest when I'm like hurting in the middle of a race.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_00: But I think like I feel like I've kind of embodied that that a little bit more recently, and I you know, especially being out of college without that contract for so long, it was like you know, it it doesn't matter.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm gonna keep pushing towards what I want to do no matter what happens, and yeah.
• 36:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I I feel like it's become a lot more meaningful to me in the last like six months or so.
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_02: I'll share mine real quick because when I saw that I meant like, oh man, this reminds me of this quote.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_02: And mine was, and I I thought of this years ago, and for some reason every few years comes back, may the culmination of all my hard work equal success.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_02: Which it's kind of similar.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_02: Just keep grinding.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_00: Just keep grinding, yeah.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_00: Keep keep turning up.
• 36:56
  SPEAKER_00: You know it's the only way you're gonna get what you want is to just keep turning up.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um sometimes it's gonna suck, sometimes it's not gonna go your way, but eventually it will.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_00: You just gotta keep putting in the work.
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_04: When it doesn't go your way, how do you stay motivated?
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's just remi reminding yourself of like the end goal, you know.
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_00: It's just like you know, where as much as we want everything to go 100% correctly, the reality of it is it's not, and stuff is gonna go wrong and stuff isn't gonna go your way, and it's just about you know, remembering that like, okay, like short term, yeah, this wasn't great, but like in the long term, this can just be a little hiccup in the road, you know what I mean?
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's just like I always see it as that like analogy of like climbing the mountain.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's never just like straight up, you've got to go up and down and up and down, and you know, those downs definitely suck and they're hard to deal with at the time, and you go to bed pissed off at yourself and whatever, but like you know, it's just about putting it behind you as fast as possible, and then yeah, moving on to whatever's next.
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_02: Do like performances and races change much for you?
• 38:13
  SPEAKER_02: Like, do you stay level-headed most of the time where you're like, oh, okay, this one went great.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna push more.
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_02: This one didn't go so good, maybe I'm still gonna push more.
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think it's about trying to avoid those like peaks and troughs, you know.
• 38:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, especially if you're like in the middle of a racing season or what, if you're emotionally such like a roller coaster, I think that's kind of gonna reflect in the races as well.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, I feel like everyone thinks about physical energy, like you've got to preserve yourself and you don't want to burn out too early in the season, but there's also like an emotional aspect of that too.
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_00: And we can talk about it during races, like people talk about not getting like too amped up before races and yeah, you know, spending too much emotional energy early in the race, but you've also got to think about that on a large scale as well, like throughout the year or throughout your season is not spending too much of that emotional energy.
• 39:09
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I'm not saying don't get happy with what you've just done, like you deserve those good moments, but if you go out and celebrate for three days and do whatever you want to do and you know be super amped up, then it's probably not gonna be sustainable in the long term.
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_00: Just like having a bad race, if you're getting super caught up on it, like it's probably gonna impact races down the line too.
• 39:35
  SPEAKER_02: How do you balance the patience?
• 39:37
  SPEAKER_02: I'm sure like often as a pro and at the level you're running, you have to think not just this race, next race, like years out, a year, what am I gonna do this year, next year?
• 39:46
  SPEAKER_02: Like, how do you just stay patient with one year ambition, but also like planning the rest of the year out?
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, it's tough because you know, you want something in the everyone wants those things to come quickly, and it's it's hard, you know.
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_00: Like I just ran 27, 26 or whatever, but then I'm like now looking at like okay, what do I need to do to get the world championships qualifier, which is another 26 seconds faster than what I just ran, you know?
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's another big jump, so it's like Yeah.
• 40:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's I think the longer you're in this sport you realize that nothing comes quickly, and it's you know, you have to be willing to invest along you have to be in it for the long run, because like if your short-term goals are too override, and then it's just gonna lead to like I feel like you see it a lot where people make these massive jumps in a short amount of time, and then you go, whoa, how did how did they just do that?
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like, it probably means that they've just over-trained for a really short amount of time and they've got a lot of success from that, but like how sustainable is that in the long run?
• 40:56
  SPEAKER_00: So the long-term goals have to override the short-term goals for my in like how I view it.
• 41:02
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it's funny you share that.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_02: That's something I've been looking into in my own running as I try to improve.
• 41:08
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm like, man, these big massive jumps, what do I gotta do to do that?
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_02: And then, you know, we're in the space, right?
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_02: We meet a lot of runners and stuff, and I go, six months down the road, this person's either injured or something, and I'm like, wait, I don't want the six-month injury, I don't want that in here.
• 41:25
  SPEAKER_02: I want to keep going.
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_02: And it's definitely a balance.
• 41:27
  SPEAKER_02: I stay calm here, keep going, and you know, let it play out over the next few years.
• 41:30
  SPEAKER_02: I'm good with that.
• 41:33
  SPEAKER_02: Um, versus not wanting a stress fracture, uh Achilles or something, those are all scary as hell to me.
• 41:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and you know, like we we do this sport because we we want to run, and like if you get those injuries, then gonna be cross-training or whatever, and it's just like I don't love.
• 41:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_00: No, no one no one wants to be doing them like full-time.
• 41:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I think cross-training is a great way to be supplement in your training, but no one wants to be doing it as their full-time, like stay fit thing.
• 42:03
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just like the long-term progression is like who's gonna be better?
• 42:09
  SPEAKER_00: The guy that does 40 miles a week consistently for three years, or the guy that does a hundred miles a week but is injured for nine night like nine, ten months of the year, you know.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, like short term he might be ahead of the guy that's doing 40 miles a week, but like over that period of time, the the guy that's taking it slower and has listened to their body and been sensible with the training is always gonna come out on top.
• 42:34
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, not to add the the mental, the burnout, the the fatigue that comes with all that.
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for sure.
• 42:42
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, like these short-term like spikes and training or overtraining, like they're mentally fatiguing as well because like they're taking more out of you.
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_00: You're not used to doing that like mentally as well as physically.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_00: So again, like how sustainable is that emotionally long term?
• 43:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like probably not a lot.
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_02: Do you yourself um deal with like any mental fatigue or like overtraining now at this level?
• 43:09
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it sounds like maybe not, because you said you ramp up very slowly intentionally and you seem to manage that well, but any any mental at times where like you need a break?
• 43:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, I think always when you're like at the end of like a racing period, I think the first sign for me that like I need to take a break is like mentally, I'll be like, oof, like this is starting to get tough, you know, like kind of having to like get myself out the door to go run and stuff.
• 43:35
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like that's always the first time.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like before physical for me, every time is like okay, like maybe I start to get a little bit, you know, bad habits, just like going out for my r morning run too late and stuff.
• 43:47
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like that's like always the first sign for me.
• 43:49
  SPEAKER_00: Right, okay.
• 43:50
  SPEAKER_00: And like, you know, pro athletes are also human, they also like experience this stuff as well, which is I I think you know The best athletes will always do a great job in like periodizing their training in the sense that their base training is like purely just about getting volume in and it's not that intense.
• 44:11
  SPEAKER_00: So when they get to racing, like they're not burnt out mentally and then they're they're ready to race hard when they get to that period because like the stuff before that is just like pretty chilled out.
• 44:22
  SPEAKER_02: What are you most excited for in this next phase of your career right now?
• 44:25
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you're a pro now, two months in, more races to come.
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_02: What excites you right now?
• 44:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, I just think just getting more opportunities to race some of those top guys.
• 44:35
  SPEAKER_00: I think you know I've had a a taste of it recently, and now it's a chance to kind of yeah, test myself against the best.
• 44:43
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, hopefully a couple of championships coming up.
• 44:46
  SPEAKER_00: We've got Commonwealths and then hopefully European championships as well, which will be a good test at some of those first major championships on the track for me.
• 44:54
  SPEAKER_00: So that's yeah, super exciting, and also seeing what I can run in like some time trial type races and stuff.
• 45:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_00: And also I'm excited to I'll probably try a half marathon in the fall, so you know.
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 45:10
  SPEAKER_00: Like four years ago I was running eights and fifteen's.
• 45:13
  SPEAKER_00: I ran my first track 10k last summer, and now I'm thinking about moving up to the half marathon already, but yeah.
• 45:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, excited to try some new distances.
• 45:23
  SPEAKER_00: I actually I actually really enjoy racing on the roads, it's it's a lot of fun, and um I feel like you get pro, especially on the track.
• 45:33
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like pro running can kind of like detach you a little bit from the community, and you know, those who meets are kind of just like you're kind of segmented away from the respective community.
• 45:46
  SPEAKER_02: On the road, you got a whole field, supporters, people clapping, and you know, you're gonna be able to get the bigger.
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like I did uh Manchester Road race.
• 45:53
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you've ever done it in November on Thanksgiving, and like that race meant so much to that whole town, and everyone's just like getting involved, and it was just like so cool to be like warming up with all like the the people, like everyone just like getting ready for the race and stuff, and it was like it's kind of nice to be back in the running community and stuff like that.
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_02: Um yeah.
• 46:17
  SPEAKER_02: I haven't done that one, but there is a I believe it's spring where they have a fall, sorry, a spring where they have like a full or half that I've contemplated doing.
• 46:26
  SPEAKER_02: I even signed them one year and unfortunately got injured.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 46:31
  SPEAKER_02: But uh I've had a few people tell me about Manchester, I guess from local friends.
• 46:36
  SPEAKER_02: I have friends out there as well.
• 46:37
  SPEAKER_02: It's like I kind of want to do that at some point.
• 46:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um it just looks like it's just like small town, like exactly you can just tell it like every year this is like a big event, and you know, like to be connected in into the to the town and people that come in from elsewhere, like in that way, it's just like such a cool experience.
• 46:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 46:56
  SPEAKER_00: I'm looking forward to like eventually making my debut in the marathon and stuff like that, because I feel like that's just like Manchester on a much larger scale, you know, like be running through the streets of Boston or whatever, and everyone's just like everyone's kind of just involved and stuff.
• 47:12
  SPEAKER_04: What uh what would success feel like for you this year?
• 47:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I feel like for me, I I've I've tried to become a little less like outcome-oriented, so like you know, I'm not thinking about what times I can run or like what position I can finish at the races.
• 47:31
  SPEAKER_00: I think for me it's just about how good I can get at competing against these top guys.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they're very experienced, and this is my first kind of time on this stage, so it's just like yeah, I just want to get as good as I possibly can at being able to race these guys and understanding what it takes to kind of be competitive with them.
• 47:53
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like obviously like we all have like outcome goals like this, but I don't want that to be like the main focus.
• 48:00
  SPEAKER_00: Is for me, it's just about like how do I get better at competing against these guys.
• 48:06
  SPEAKER_02: I'm curious on that.
• 48:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um the like running and not too outcome focused.
• 48:11
  SPEAKER_02: Uh it's something I've been hearing a lot myself.
• 48:14
  SPEAKER_02: When you're training, are you just essentially training like, look, I'm just training for where I'm at, I'm going hard and let the training be what it is, and then on race day I'm just going all out and hanging on with these guys.
• 48:27
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think uh you know, obviously, yeah.
• 48:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 48:32
  SPEAKER_00: Like obviously, like there has to be some kind of outcome.
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_00: There's usually some kind of you know, incentive.
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_00: I I'm gonna run a PR or you know, like does this qualify in time for this race or whatever, but it's about for me, it's more about like training is like setting up me the best way possible so that I can like be able to do that.
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like understanding the process around it, and then like when I get into the race, like I'm not thinking about like splits or anything, it's like how do I mentally break this down and process it in a way that I can get the best possible outcome?
• 49:14
  SPEAKER_00: Gotcha.
• 49:14
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the the outcome shouldn't be like on your like you shouldn't be thinking, oh, I've just gone through 5k and my 10k and this split I'm on for this time.
• 49:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like, well no, like that that doesn't really help you, you know what I mean?
• 49:26
  SPEAKER_00: Like it should be okay, this is how I'm feeling.
• 49:30
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna listen to my body.
• 49:31
  SPEAKER_00: What do I do need to do next to to be able to get the best possible outcome?
• 49:36
  SPEAKER_02: Gotcha.
• 49:37
  SPEAKER_02: That makes total sense.
• 49:40
  SPEAKER_02: David, I want to thank you.
• 49:42
  SPEAKER_02: I appreciate you for sharing.
• 49:43
  SPEAKER_02: I'm hella excited based off some of these races you mentioned you want to do and following your journey.
• 49:49
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I'm excited too.
• 49:50
  SPEAKER_02: I'm excited too.
• 49:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, you got some uh some fast races, pro contract, pro races coming up, potential half.
• 50:00
  SPEAKER_02: Should be fun.
• 50:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yeah, a lot of fun.
• 50:03
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I'm excited to kind of see what we can where we can get to this season.
• 50:07
  SPEAKER_02: David, best of luck.
• 50:09
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks for coming on the People Run podcast.
• 50:11
  SPEAKER_02: Um, until next time, guys.