Sarah Thomas an American ultra-marathon swimmer. Amidst a cancer diagnosis she is the first person to complete four consecutive crossings of the English Channel and the first person to swim a current-neutral swim over 100 miles. She holds the world record for longest, second-, and third-longest current-neutral swims, and various other records in both fresh and saltwater categories. We have a conversation about Sarah’s origin story and how she got into open water swimming.We talk about her...

Elizabeth Clor is an endurance athlete, McMillan certified coach and contributor to the popular running blog Racing Stripes. She runs competitively at all distances from the 5K to the marathon. She made the transition from recreational runner to high performance runner and documents her experiences in her book Boston Bound, a 7-Year Journey to Overcome Mental Barriers and Qualify for the Boston Marathon. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in English Language and...

Andrew M Jones PhD DSc is Professor of Applied Physiology in the Department of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Exeter. He’s internationally recognized for his research in the control of, and limitations to, skeletal muscle oxidative metabolism; causes of exercise intolerance in health and disease; respiratory physiology, particularly the kinetics of pulmonary gas exchange and ventilation during and following exercise; and sports performance physiology and nutrition,...

Nichole Andrews, RDN graduated from Washington State University she has a Bachelor of Science in Food Science & Human Nutrition Dietetics. She is a Registered Dietician and known as “The Oncology Dietitian.” She’s the author of the best-selling book, Sugar Does Not Feed Cancer. Nichole is considered one the most influential cancer dietitians’ specialists internationally. She’s been a practicing cancer dietitian and nutritionist for over twelve years serving adult and pediatric cancer...

Kate Allenby is a former British modern pentathlete, she won bronze for Team GB at the Sydney Olympics. She represents Pentathlon United an independent athlete representative body, representing thousands of pentathletes worldwide. Kate stands in opposition to the decision to only test OCR [obstacle course racing] and not any of the other apparent 60 options they considered in the teeth of an impending decision by the IOC to decide in regards to the future of Modern Pentathlon in future...

Mark Allen is a 6-time winner of the Ironman Hawaii (joint men's record) he had 5 consecutive victories in Hawaii (an overall record). ESPN named him the greatest endurance athlete of all time. Over the course of his racing career, which ended in 1996, he maintained a 90% average in top-three finishes. He was named Triathlete of the Year six times by Triathlete magazine, and in 1997 Outside magazine dubbed him The World's Fittest Man. He was inducted into the IRONMAN Triathlon Hall of Fame in...

Taking a look back at clips from 5 of the most downloaded episodes in Season 5 with updated commentary. 8:18: Matt Fitzgerald, – The Racing Weight Question | @mattfitwriter| Full Podcast https://bit.ly/3qcgScE 23:43: Carol Irwin, Phd – Factors Impacting Swimming Participation and Competence | @usaswimming | Full Podcast https://bit.ly/3MDUalf 48:34: Graham Stuart, MSc – The Endurance Enthusiast’s Heart | @ag_stuart| Full Podcast https://bit.ly/3WBUrK4 1:09:03: Nick B. Tiller, PhD – The...

Mike Mandel has been a professional hypnotist since 1975. He’s traveled the world doing thousands of hypnosis shows. He’s a forensic hypnotist who worked with the police on major crimes. These days he loves teaching hypnosis in our Toronto classroom, conferences around the world and especially online at the Mike Mandel Hypnosis Academy. Chris Thompson got hooked on this stuff by watching Mike perform hypnosis at his University. He eventually studied with Mike and they became best friends....

Susan Sotir, PhD coaches with Breakthrough Performance Coaching, she has a PhD in Sport Physiology and Exercise Psychology and is an assistant professor at Springfield College. Susan brings over 25 years of experience in sport coaching. She has worked with endurance athletes of all levels from recreation to competitive to professional athletes. She is a Level III triathlon coach with USA triathlon. Susan was a DIII swimmer at Tufts University and her first triathlon was in 1989. Since...

Dr. Jill Harris, PhD and Dr. Nola Agha, PhD are economists with broad research agendas in sports economics. You first heard them back in episode 7 where we had a conversation about The Wage Gap in Sports. They return to the Podcast to discuss an update to the Women’s National Team Class action lawsuit, the recent settlement, and the potential impact to other sports. We talk about the new Name Image and Likeness (NIL) ruling with the NCAA and the benefits, potential drawbacks, and open...

Nick B. Tiller Ph.D. is a senior researcher in exercise physiology at Harbor-UCLA and author of The Skeptic's Guide to Sports Science which was named one of Book Authority's "Best sports science books of all time". Tiller is a columnist at Skeptical Inquirer magazine, a columnist at Ultra-Running Magazine, and associate editor at the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. For over a decade, Tiller has been scrutinizing the commercial health and wellness industry...

Alex Meyer is a former American competition swimmer who specialized in open water and long-distance swimming. He won a gold medal at the 2010 FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships in the 25-kilometer open water event. He was a member of the 2012 United States Olympic team, and placed tenth in the 10-kilometer open water event at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Alex won his final race before retirement, the 62nd Traversée internationale du lac St-Jean held on July 30, 2016. We talk about...

A conversation with Professor Graham Stuart, MSc. Professor Stuart is a congenital heart cardiologist. He also has a clinical interest in cardiac electrophysiology in children and adults with congenital heart disease. He runs a clinic for inherited cardiac conditions and has a research interest in exercise and the heart and sports cardiology. He is an Honorary Associate Professor in Sports and Exercise Cardiology at the University of Bristol and an Honorary Research Associate at the...

A conversation with Dave McGillivray, author and race director for the Boston Marathon. From his extraordinary 1978 run across the U.S. to benefit the Jimmy Fund to serving as technical director then race director of the BAA Boston Marathon since the 1980s, McGillivray has helped organize more than 1400 mass participatory events while raising millions for worthy causes close to his heart. We have a conversation about his book, The Last Pick, The Boston Marathon Race Director’s Road to...

A conversation with Carol Irwin PhD, one of the key researchers for more than a decade around the issue of swimming competence among populations. We discuss her research teams latest qualitative report “Factors impacting Swim participation and Competence,” which aims to understand why we see lower swimming proficiency rates in underserved populations. Dr. Irwin has PhD in Curriculum and Instruction/Health Education and an MA Sport Pedagogy. She is an associate professor of physical...

A conversation with endurance sports coach, author, and nutritionist Matt Fitzgerald. He is the author of 31 books including Racing Weight, How to Get Lean for Peak Performances and Race like a Pro, (Even if You’re Slow). Just released this month. We discuss endurance athletes and the concept of achieving an optimal performance weight or what athletes colloquially call “Race Weight.” We have a science and evidence-based discussion on why and when body composition matters with respect to...

Taking a look back at clips from 5 of the most downloaded episodes in season 4 with updated commentary. 5:20: Herman Pontzer, PhD – Author of the book Burn on Metabolism, Nutrition and our Hunter-Gatherer Bodies | @HermanPontzer | Full Podcast https://apple.co/3uc0J6T 20:50: Tammy Hanson – Elite Education Manager U.S. Anti-Doping Agency | @usantidoping | Full Podcast https://apple.co/3IT9rv6 41:00: Jeff Sankoff, M.D. – Athlete Vaccine Hesitancy | @triathmagtridoc | Full Podcast...

A conversation on MLK day with Nathan Martin, the fastest U.S. born black marathoner ever. Nathan set the record for the fastest marathon time by a black man born in the United States at the 2020 Marathon Project with a time of 2:11:05 besting a 41-year-old record held by Herman Atkins. He is also a coach and substitute teacher. He qualified for the Olympic Marathon trials in 2016 and 2020. This past November he finished 8th at the 2021 New York City Marathon, while also being the third...

Joanna Harper is the only transgender person ever to be an adviser to the International Olympic Committee on matters of gender and sport. She’s the author of Sporting Gender: The History, Science, and Stories of Transgender and Intersex Athletes. She is a medical physicist by profession and holds a master’s degree in medical physics. She is a transgender athlete an avid distance runner by choice and the only person in history to publish a peer-reviewed article on the performance of...

A conversation with Dr. Jeff Sankoff, MD. He is an Emergency Physician, long time triathlete and USAT/IRONMAN University Certified coach and an accomplished triathlete himself. He produces the TriDoc Podcast that can be found on most popular podcast platforms and he’s the founder of LifeSport Coaching. We have a conversation about vaccine hesitancy in the athletic arena. In this conversation you’ll see we remain sympathetic to those that have had inequities but at the same, using a couple...

A conversation with Dr. Amanda Leibovitz, PhD, LMHCA, LPC, CMPC a licensed therapist and certified mental performance consultant with a strong calling to empower others with the knowledge, awareness, and skills needed to navigate life on their own terms. She also holds coaching certifications with USA Triathlon, USA Paratriathlon, and USA Cycling and has been coaching endurance athletes since 2012. Her unique blend of experience, education, and training allows her to integrate effective...

A conversation with Tammy Hanson the elite education manager with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). A podcast that will be very informative to listeners that seek to understand the core pillars of fairness in sport through the lenses of anti-doping. We talk about the history of USADA, the core pillars that it is built upon, how USADA defines fairness and the impact to sport since the emergence of USADA. We discuss the list of prohibited substances (banned substances) and how the list is...

Keri Serota has a master’s degree in kinesiology, and she is a US triathlon certified coach and a member of the USAT board of directors. She’s also the co-founder of Dare2Tri. Dare2tri is a nonprofit organization with the mission to enhance the lives of individuals with physical disabilities and visual impairments by building confidence, community, health and wellness through swimming, biking, and running. Dare2Tri has encouraged recreation, racing, and competition in this trifecta of...

A conversation with Evolutionary Anthropologist Dr. Herman Pontzer, Phd. He received his PhD from Harvard University now an associate professor of Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke University. He is the author of a new book Burn: New Research Blows the Lid Off How We Really Burn Calories, Lose Weight, and Stay Healthy. We have a conversation about what an evolutionary anthropologist does. We discuss his book Burn and the cost of energy, the variables of daily energy expenditure, metabolism...