WEBVTT - Your Final Boston Marathon Prep with Ed Eyestone - Coach of America’s Top Runners 0:00:00.630 --> 0:00:02.130 What can we call you? Coach Ed? Coach Eyestone? 0:00:02.610 --> 0:00:04.229 My guys called me Easy E. 0:00:04.260 --> 0:00:05.160 Easy E. 0:00:06.630 --> 0:00:09.510 I don't know that it's due to my rapping abilities. 0:00:10.590 --> 0:00:13.440 I think it's just because I'm a kind of easygoing guy. 0:00:17.430 --> 0:00:20.880 Hey everybody and welcome to a special episode of Set 0:00:20.880 --> 0:00:23.430 the Pace, the official podcast of New York Road Runners, 0:00:23.430 --> 0:00:26.820 presented by Peloton. I'm your host, Rob Simmelkjaer, the CEO 0:00:26.820 --> 0:00:28.830 of New York Road Runners, and we are here with 0:00:28.830 --> 0:00:32.250 a live audience at the Citizens House of Blues in 0:00:33.990 --> 0:00:43.050 Boston, just two nights ahead of the 2025 129th running of the Boston Marathon 0:00:43.290 --> 0:00:47.850 presented by Bank of America. Who's running out there? Who's 0:00:47.850 --> 0:00:51.600 running on Monday? All right, we got runners out here. 0:00:51.600 --> 0:00:54.840 It's an incredible vibe in Boston this weekend. The weather 0:00:54.840 --> 0:00:59.220 is spectacular here on Saturday, the day we're taping, and 0:00:59.220 --> 0:01:02.280 it looks great for Monday as well. And my usual 0:01:02.310 --> 0:01:04.800 amazing co- host, Becs Gentry, is not with us today. 0:01:04.800 --> 0:01:07.680 She's back in New York tonight, so we have a 0:01:07.680 --> 0:01:10.800 very special guest host with us tonight. She's a great 0:01:10.800 --> 0:01:13.890 friend of New York Road Runners, familiar fans to all 0:01:13.890 --> 0:01:16.950 New York sports fans and sports fans everywhere and especially 0:01:16.950 --> 0:01:19.560 to fans of the TCS New York City Marathon because 0:01:19.709 --> 0:01:22.200 she is a regular host of our broadcast there. Not 0:01:22.200 --> 0:01:25.770 only that, she's running the Boston Marathon on Monday, Sam 0:01:25.770 --> 0:01:29.610 Ryan. Hey Sam. 0:01:29.610 --> 0:01:33.209 Hey there. So excited to be... Missing Becs, but so 0:01:33.209 --> 0:01:36.690 excited to be here with you guys today and this 0:01:36.690 --> 0:01:40.110 weekend, and wow, the weather. Dare we say, it's two 0:01:40.110 --> 0:01:42.360 days out. We can say it now. The weather's looking 0:01:42.360 --> 0:01:42.601 really good. 0:01:42.600 --> 0:01:42.810 It's looking great. 0:01:43.380 --> 0:01:45.059 We're close, so now we can say it. 0:01:45.060 --> 0:01:45.390 Great for Monday. 0:01:45.390 --> 0:01:47.190 All week long, I didn't want to say it, but yeah. 0:01:47.490 --> 0:01:50.340 A hundred percent. Thank goodness that the race was not 0:01:50.340 --> 0:01:54.510 today because here on Saturday, over 80 degrees in Boston. 0:01:54.510 --> 0:01:58.020 An incredible day to walk around, see the sights, take 0:01:58.020 --> 0:02:01.440 photos, but luckily a lot cooler on Monday. So how 0:02:01.440 --> 0:02:03.240 are you feeling about your race on Monday? 0:02:04.650 --> 0:02:07.050 Like those of you who are running, probably a little 0:02:07.050 --> 0:02:10.590 nervous, trying to get out of my head, but the hay is in 0:02:10.680 --> 0:02:11.880 the barn as they say, right? 0:02:11.880 --> 0:02:12.241 That's what they say. 0:02:12.241 --> 0:02:15.240 So you have to trust your training and I know 0:02:15.240 --> 0:02:17.310 we have a special guest who will tell us about 0:02:17.310 --> 0:02:22.320 that too a little later, but I trust the training and I'm excited. 0:02:22.560 --> 0:02:23.131 All right. Well, we- 0:02:23.131 --> 0:02:23.132 I'm really looking forward to it. 0:02:23.132 --> 0:02:26.280 You mentioned a special guest, and if you want to know about 0:02:26.370 --> 0:02:30.419 training for a marathon, there is no person better in 0:02:30.419 --> 0:02:32.639 the United States or beyond to talk to than our 0:02:32.820 --> 0:02:36.990 featured guest today. The legendary coach Ed Eyestone is here 0:02:36.990 --> 0:02:42.690 with us today. Ed is someone who has really become 0:02:43.050 --> 0:02:46.650 the top distance running coach in the country. He's got 0:02:46.650 --> 0:02:49.320 a number of elite runners going on Monday and we're 0:02:49.320 --> 0:02:52.380 going to go deep with Ed on all things marathoning 0:02:52.380 --> 0:02:54.720 and get psyched for what we think could be some 0:02:54.720 --> 0:02:57.570 amazing American performances. So Ed'll be with us in just a 0:02:57.570 --> 0:03:00.840 minute, but Sam, we do this member moment segment at 0:03:00.840 --> 0:03:03.270 every New York Road Runners Set the Pace podcast, and 0:03:03.270 --> 0:03:06.239 so today the member is you. We're going to feature 0:03:06.240 --> 0:03:08.880 you, Sam, as our member moment. You're not only a 0:03:08.880 --> 0:03:11.340 great broadcaster but also a New York Road Runners member. 0:03:11.340 --> 0:03:13.650 So let's talk a little bit about what you're doing 0:03:13.650 --> 0:03:15.930 and how you're feeling about Monday. I mean, it's actually 0:03:15.930 --> 0:03:19.080 amazing. You're a four- time Emmy Award winner, a great 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:23.940 broadcaster. You sit in our studio broadcasting the marathon in 0:03:23.940 --> 0:03:26.250 New York. How is it for you to get out 0:03:26.250 --> 0:03:28.950 there and actually run these races after you've sat and been 0:03:29.310 --> 0:03:30.960 a part of broadcasting them so many years? 0:03:31.020 --> 0:03:35.880 It's so different now because when I first started broadcasting 0:03:35.880 --> 0:03:40.140 the New York City Marathon after having set my marathon 0:03:40.140 --> 0:03:43.440 PB in New York City, so when you cover it, 0:03:43.470 --> 0:03:46.200 it's like covering the Super Bowl. This is your event. 0:03:46.200 --> 0:03:48.839 It's like, " Okay, now here I am covering the event 0:03:49.110 --> 0:03:52.890 that I love, that I run." You feel like you're 0:03:52.890 --> 0:03:55.650 part of the fabric. But now to go back out 0:03:55.650 --> 0:04:00.450 and to run a marathon after that, it just feels, 0:04:01.590 --> 0:04:04.230 I don't want to use the word authentic, but it 0:04:04.230 --> 0:04:06.690 feels like it's full circle, but now it feels like 0:04:06.690 --> 0:04:11.040 you can feel what you're speaking to also. So it's 0:04:11.040 --> 0:04:13.320 a little bit of that all wrapped up into one. 0:04:13.320 --> 0:04:17.370 I'm not just the runner out there. I can parlay 0:04:17.370 --> 0:04:20.789 this information into the booth as well, but I take 0:04:20.790 --> 0:04:24.120 advice from you, from Carrie, from everybody that we work 0:04:24.120 --> 0:04:26.310 with also, and I listen to them, so now I can 0:04:26.310 --> 0:04:27.450 apply that to myself. 0:04:27.600 --> 0:04:31.320 It's funny. You've covered so many big sports. You've covered Major 0:04:31.320 --> 0:04:34.650 League Baseball, the NFL, you've been a part of these 0:04:34.770 --> 0:04:38.159 big sports, but you haven't been able to play Major 0:04:38.160 --> 0:04:41.130 League Baseball or play in the NFL. So it's got 0:04:41.130 --> 0:04:43.919 to be so cool as a broadcaster to go out 0:04:43.920 --> 0:04:47.100 on the field of play that you've been covering and 0:04:47.100 --> 0:04:49.289 kind of have that crossover moment. And that's one of 0:04:49.290 --> 0:04:52.260 the things that's so special about this sport, right, is that 0:04:52.380 --> 0:04:55.710 we're going to have 30,000 people following these elite runners 0:04:55.830 --> 0:04:57.719 in Boston on Monday as we do in New York 0:04:57.720 --> 0:04:58.440 every November. 0:04:58.980 --> 0:05:01.890 You know what? We were just talking about this in 0:05:01.890 --> 0:05:04.620 the green room before that it's such an individual sport, 0:05:04.620 --> 0:05:08.790 right? You're running your pace, you're doing your training, but 0:05:08.790 --> 0:05:11.969 yet there are teammates and there is teamwork. And we've 0:05:11.970 --> 0:05:14.610 seen this with the pros. We see the teamwork and 0:05:14.610 --> 0:05:18.810 we see how the running community just bonds together and 0:05:18.810 --> 0:05:22.650 everybody supports each other. So it is a team sport 0:05:23.040 --> 0:05:26.489 in that sense too. And there's just so much energy. 0:05:26.760 --> 0:05:29.310 It's like being part of a team and everybody roots 0:05:29.310 --> 0:05:31.680 for each other. It's awesome. You guys are awesome. 0:05:31.680 --> 0:05:33.750 It is awesome. We're going to be rooting for everybody 0:05:33.750 --> 0:05:36.570 out there this Monday. That's one of the things that makes 0:05:36.570 --> 0:05:41.070 it special. Sam, you were not always into running, and this 0:05:41.070 --> 0:05:43.410 happens a lot with people. They find a point in 0:05:43.410 --> 0:05:47.130 life when they like running. When you were a kid, I'm told 0:05:47.130 --> 0:05:49.890 you would produce a doctor's note to get out of 0:05:49.890 --> 0:05:51.570 having to run a mile in gym class. 0:05:51.570 --> 0:05:53.190 It was a legitimate doctor's note. 0:05:53.760 --> 0:05:53.820 Oh, a legitimate doctor's note. 0:05:53.821 --> 0:05:54.600 It was legitimate. Yes, yes. 0:05:55.110 --> 0:05:58.140 What changed for you to get you from there to 0:05:58.140 --> 0:06:00.029 where you are now running all these marathons? 0:06:00.089 --> 0:06:02.790 So I have asthma and I don't know if anyone 0:06:02.790 --> 0:06:06.000 else does, but I as a kid, exercise induced asthma. 0:06:06.270 --> 0:06:10.409 So that was my excuse rather than, " Let's work through 0:06:10.410 --> 0:06:13.229 it," because it wasn't advisable back then. It's like, " Okay, 0:06:13.230 --> 0:06:16.860 you have exercise- induced asthma. Don't work out. Don't do 0:06:16.860 --> 0:06:19.589 anything." When I got a little older, when I was 18, 0:06:19.920 --> 0:06:24.359 19, I wanted to get in shape. I wanted to 0:06:24.360 --> 0:06:27.330 play tennis. I would get winded just running back and 0:06:27.330 --> 0:06:32.100 forth on the court. And I worked on, " Let me 0:06:32.100 --> 0:06:33.930 run to the end of my block, let me run 0:06:33.930 --> 0:06:37.500 to the end of my block and then turn the corner," little by 0:06:37.500 --> 0:06:39.540 little one step at a time. And that's how we 0:06:39.540 --> 0:06:42.120 all began, or most of us would begin our running 0:06:42.120 --> 0:06:46.140 journey if we developed running later in life. So it's 0:06:46.140 --> 0:06:47.820 just one foot in front of the other, let's see 0:06:47.820 --> 0:06:50.670 how far we can go. And then I realized I 0:06:50.670 --> 0:06:53.490 wasn't getting as winded. I didn't need the inhaler. I 0:06:53.490 --> 0:06:55.260 have pictures from my first New York City Marathon, which 0:06:55.260 --> 0:06:57.479 was my first marathon, and there's an inhaler on my 0:06:57.480 --> 0:06:57.990 fuel belt. 0:06:57.990 --> 0:06:58.350 Wow. 0:06:58.950 --> 0:07:02.490 My second one, inhaler in the hand. Never needed it, 0:07:02.910 --> 0:07:06.180 but it was always in my head and I always 0:07:06.180 --> 0:07:07.859 thought about, " Well, what if I need it? What if 0:07:07.860 --> 0:07:09.960 I push too hard? Am I going to need the 0:07:09.960 --> 0:07:14.670 inhaler?" And I didn't. And I feel that I worked 0:07:14.670 --> 0:07:18.360 through it and I feel better physically. 0:07:18.810 --> 0:07:23.400 That's a great story. It's one of 30, 000 stories that 0:07:23.400 --> 0:07:25.950 there'll be at the starting line on Monday and there's 0:07:25.950 --> 0:07:29.280 just so many stories like that in this sport. Everybody 0:07:29.460 --> 0:07:32.430 has had to overcome something to get to the starting 0:07:32.430 --> 0:07:34.950 line of an event like the Boston Marathon or the New 0:07:34.950 --> 0:07:37.500 York Marathon. Every single one of you knows, whether it's 0:07:37.500 --> 0:07:40.020 you running or a friend, you know what they've had 0:07:40.020 --> 0:07:42.540 to overcome, and for you it was that, and here 0:07:42.540 --> 0:07:43.650 you are. It must feel amazing. 0:07:43.890 --> 0:07:45.930 It does. It does. I just want to keep going. 0:07:45.930 --> 0:07:46.200 Absolutely. 0:07:46.410 --> 0:07:47.280 We all do, right? 0:07:47.730 --> 0:07:50.430 Speaking of keeping going, you have a goal of running 0:07:50.430 --> 0:07:53.640 a thousand miles a year. Is that right? You're trying 0:07:53.640 --> 0:07:54.660 to do a thousand a year? 0:07:55.020 --> 0:07:55.200 Well, yeah. 0:07:55.200 --> 0:07:57.300 That's not so crazy. 0:07:59.000 --> 0:07:59.002 (inaudible) crazy. 0:07:59.040 --> 0:08:01.140 Have you done a thousand in the last couple of years? 0:08:02.220 --> 0:08:05.400 The last two years I hadn't, but prior to that 0:08:05.400 --> 0:08:07.260 I did. This year I will make it. 0:08:07.890 --> 0:08:08.130 Yeah. 0:08:08.340 --> 0:08:09.870 Yeah. We are in a marathon training cycle. 0:08:09.870 --> 0:08:12.060 It's true. You can do that pretty quickly. Where are 0:08:12.060 --> 0:08:15.480 you trying to get to in your marathon goals? Do you 0:08:15.480 --> 0:08:17.490 have a time you're trying to achieve in Boston or 0:08:17.730 --> 0:08:17.941 what are you trying to do? 0:08:17.941 --> 0:08:24.030 I do have a time because I've run this before and the last time 0:08:24.030 --> 0:08:28.290 I ran it, it didn't go... It wasn't pretty. So 0:08:28.530 --> 0:08:34.410 I want to finish and finish proud and just happy, 0:08:35.760 --> 0:08:37.800 and I want to prove that the training that I 0:08:37.800 --> 0:08:40.860 did and the dedication that I put into this over 0:08:40.860 --> 0:08:43.230 the past year has paid off and that it worked, 0:08:43.230 --> 0:08:46.830 so let's see. Let's see where it goes. 0:08:47.100 --> 0:08:49.349 Well, we wish you luck on Monday. It's going to 0:08:49.350 --> 0:08:52.920 be exciting for you. Hope to welcome you back to 0:08:52.920 --> 0:08:57.480 New York with Boston Marathon under your belt. And you 0:08:57.480 --> 0:09:01.980 think you'll be able to take some things from this to 0:09:01.980 --> 0:09:03.959 the marathon broadcast in the fall in New York? 0:09:04.050 --> 0:09:05.580 Absolutely. Absolutely. 0:09:05.580 --> 0:09:05.761 We can't wait. 0:09:05.761 --> 0:09:09.480 And just being part of this community, it's so uplifting. 0:09:09.600 --> 0:09:12.240 So you guys are awesome. You guys are rock stars. 0:09:12.600 --> 0:09:14.460 All right. Well, speaking of rock stars, there are going 0:09:14.460 --> 0:09:19.020 to be some incredible rock stars wearing the USA stars 0:09:19.020 --> 0:09:23.280 and stripes on Monday. Ed Eyestone, no one knows more 0:09:23.280 --> 0:09:25.439 about how to prepare for a marathon than our guest, 0:09:25.440 --> 0:09:29.760 so let's bring Ed Eyestone up and introduce this incredible coach. 0:09:32.130 --> 0:09:35.100 Looking for new ways to keep you moving? 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Peloton, the official digital fitness partner for New York 0:10:11.160 --> 0:10:11.580 Road Runners. 0:10:11.580 --> 0:10:15.420 For those who don't know Coach Eyestone, I think we call you... 0:10:15.900 --> 0:10:17.970 What can we call you? Coach Ed? Coach Eyestone? 0:10:18.030 --> 0:10:19.650 My guys called me Easy E. 0:10:19.650 --> 0:10:20.580 Easy E. 0:10:22.050 --> 0:10:24.270 I don't know that it's due to my rapping ability. 0:10:25.980 --> 0:10:28.829 I think it's just because a kind of easygoing guy. 0:10:28.860 --> 0:10:29.850 Not the original Easy E. I love it. 0:10:30.870 --> 0:10:34.590 Our sport is difficult enough to not have a dictator 0:10:34.590 --> 0:10:38.340 as a coach and having been there in their position, I 0:10:38.340 --> 0:10:40.140 want to be able to work with them. I mean, 0:10:40.140 --> 0:10:42.569 I am demanding, and I'm sure you've talked to Conner 0:10:42.570 --> 0:10:45.810 and Clayton, the kind of workouts that they do, but 0:10:46.380 --> 0:10:50.400 it's kind of flattering actually, Easy E. But you can call me Ed. That's fine. 0:10:50.910 --> 0:10:52.530 We're sticking with Easy E. I love it. 0:10:52.530 --> 0:10:53.309 Easy E is good. Yeah. 0:10:53.400 --> 0:10:56.700 So for those who don't know, Coach Eyestone, Ed Eyestone is 0:10:56.760 --> 0:10:59.970 a two- time Olympian himself. He is a former NCAA 0:10:59.970 --> 0:11:04.439 champion and a legendary coach whose athletes include Conner Mantz, 0:11:04.650 --> 0:11:07.860 Clayton Young and Keira D'Amato, who all will be towing 0:11:07.860 --> 0:11:11.460 the starting line on Monday, and they are really leading 0:11:11.460 --> 0:11:15.900 a resurgence in American distance running. He's the head coach in cross- 0:11:15.900 --> 0:11:18.510 country and track and field at BYU, one of the 0:11:18.510 --> 0:11:22.200 most consistent collegiate programs in the country over the years, 0:11:22.200 --> 0:11:25.500 and talking about how calm he is, steady leadership has 0:11:25.500 --> 0:11:28.829 really made that a program that's on the map now 0:11:28.830 --> 0:11:31.230 for all runners, and he's a broadcaster just like you, 0:11:31.230 --> 0:11:34.470 Sam. You guys actually have been together I think as 0:11:34.470 --> 0:11:37.980 broadcasters. You've connected with some of your runners through broadcasting, 0:11:37.980 --> 0:11:40.319 which we'll talk about as well. So he's done it 0:11:40.320 --> 0:11:41.520 all and it's great to have you here. 0:11:42.240 --> 0:11:44.520 Well, thank you. Appreciate that, and probably a little bit 0:11:44.520 --> 0:11:47.370 of hyperbole there in that intro, but I appreciate it. It's been 0:11:47.370 --> 0:11:50.640 fun. And this is a sport that, like many of 0:11:50.640 --> 0:11:53.189 you, I started back in junior high when I got 0:11:53.190 --> 0:11:57.210 cut from the baseball team, of course. If my real 0:11:57.210 --> 0:12:00.420 dreams had have come to fruition, I'd be next door 0:12:00.450 --> 0:12:04.410 at Fenway Park. But when I did get that cut, 0:12:04.440 --> 0:12:06.479 it was the first time that I realized in the 0:12:06.480 --> 0:12:08.490 spring of the year, sure you have baseball, but there's 0:12:08.490 --> 0:12:10.590 another sport actually in the spring. It's called track and 0:12:10.590 --> 0:12:13.469 field. And so that's how I got my gentle introduction 0:12:13.470 --> 0:12:17.160 into the sport. And so like many of you, I've 0:12:17.160 --> 0:12:20.010 been involved in this for the last 50 plus years 0:12:20.250 --> 0:12:23.490 and it's been fun. I was able to run through 0:12:23.490 --> 0:12:27.929 college and then had a pretty long- lasting professional career. 0:12:28.260 --> 0:12:32.190 When I was nearly 40 actually as I was slowing 0:12:32.190 --> 0:12:36.450 down and the competition was getting faster, a good coach 0:12:36.450 --> 0:12:39.150 in the area offered me a position just to get 0:12:39.809 --> 0:12:42.059 my foot in the door of coaching. And so I 0:12:42.059 --> 0:12:44.640 went and worked at a place called Weber State University 0:12:44.640 --> 0:12:46.439 up in Ogden, Utah for about two and a half 0:12:46.440 --> 0:12:50.939 years. And then as that cycled down, my old track 0:12:50.940 --> 0:12:54.059 and cross- country coach at BYU was then retiring and 0:12:54.059 --> 0:12:56.189 I was able to move in. And so for the 0:12:56.190 --> 0:12:59.490 last 25 years, I've been working at the D1 level, 0:12:59.490 --> 0:13:02.940 and over the last 10 years or so, we've had 0:13:02.970 --> 0:13:06.210 athletes emerge who were running at a high enough level 0:13:06.420 --> 0:13:08.610 that they were going to be able to run professionally. 0:13:08.820 --> 0:13:12.179 And so it's kind of fun. My day job obviously 0:13:12.179 --> 0:13:15.089 is a track and field and cross- country coach at BYU. 0:13:15.090 --> 0:13:16.920 We won a national championship this last year. 0:13:16.920 --> 0:13:17.969 Congratulations. 0:13:18.809 --> 0:13:19.230 Awesome. 0:13:20.550 --> 0:13:24.840 Humble brag right there, humble brag, but it doesn't happen 0:13:24.840 --> 0:13:27.569 often so I work it into conversations as often as I 0:13:27.570 --> 0:13:33.720 can. But that may be my day job, but I'm just 0:13:33.720 --> 0:13:37.020 as passionate obviously about my professional athletes that I get 0:13:37.020 --> 0:13:38.429 to work with and it's so cool. 0:13:39.450 --> 0:13:43.650 Before we get to Conner and Clayton and Kiera, you 0:13:43.650 --> 0:13:47.010 talked about your career, and I know this sounds like 0:13:47.010 --> 0:13:49.650 a broad question, but we know that running, in the 0:13:49.650 --> 0:13:53.520 running community, running, there's a boom in popularity in all 0:13:53.520 --> 0:13:56.520 distances, not just the marathon, but what is the biggest 0:13:56.520 --> 0:14:00.270 difference that you see not only in the performance and 0:14:00.270 --> 0:14:03.960 the athletes, but in the training, in the equipment, in 0:14:03.960 --> 0:14:07.620 the shoes and in the coaching from when you ran- 0:14:08.190 --> 0:14:09.151 From the dark ages, you're saying? 0:14:09.151 --> 0:14:09.361 ... to today? 0:14:09.361 --> 0:14:11.130 So from the dark ages? 0:14:11.130 --> 0:14:12.059 Yeah. Well, Easy E. 0:14:12.059 --> 0:14:15.929 When all the pictures were in black and white. My 0:14:15.929 --> 0:14:18.660 guys are going, " Was color not invented when you were running?" 0:14:21.810 --> 0:14:24.360 It's interesting because I think some of the same go- 0:14:24.360 --> 0:14:27.450 to workouts that my guys love and thrive in were 0:14:27.630 --> 0:14:31.080 similar workouts that I was doing in the '80s and '90s. So some of 0:14:31.080 --> 0:14:35.730 that has been consistent, but there are always new innovations, 0:14:35.970 --> 0:14:38.790 and a good coach is going to plagiarize with the 0:14:38.790 --> 0:14:42.000 best of them. We're in a wonderful opportunity now in 0:14:42.000 --> 0:14:45.120 terms of the internet. The internet's not only great for 0:14:45.840 --> 0:14:49.500 learning a guitar song or something, but also fantastic in 0:14:49.500 --> 0:14:51.840 terms of pulling up some good workouts and seeing what 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:54.060 people around the country and around the world are doing. 0:14:54.060 --> 0:14:56.760 So I think we've all appreciated for this sharing of 0:14:56.760 --> 0:15:02.670 information that's out there, things like double threshold workouts, and 0:15:04.050 --> 0:15:07.320 obviously the equipment and the stadiums that we're running in 0:15:07.320 --> 0:15:11.940 I think are more athlete friendly now as well. And 0:15:11.940 --> 0:15:14.400 so all of those things I think are coming together 0:15:14.520 --> 0:15:16.140 and as a result of that, we're just seeing a 0:15:16.140 --> 0:15:20.550 perfect storm of speed and that's why the records have 0:15:20.550 --> 0:15:23.970 just gone through the roof in terms of across all 0:15:23.970 --> 0:15:27.450 events really, and it's going to be interesting to see 0:15:27.450 --> 0:15:28.590 what the future holds. 0:15:29.130 --> 0:15:32.160 And you were kind of a perfect storm of speed yourself when you were 0:15:32.340 --> 0:15:34.860 a runner. I mean, you haven't bragged that much about your running 0:15:34.860 --> 0:15:39.570 days, but you really were elite. You won something called 0:15:39.570 --> 0:15:42.030 the triple crown of distance running, which I think only 0:15:42.030 --> 0:15:45.570 four or five people have ever done, the national championship 0:15:45.570 --> 0:15:49.560 in cross country in the 5, 000 meters and in the 10, 000 0:15:49.560 --> 0:15:53.430 meters, which is an incredible accomplishment. What did you take 0:15:53.610 --> 0:15:56.700 from those days of running at that level that you've 0:15:56.700 --> 0:15:59.280 been able to really bring into your coaching career? 0:15:59.310 --> 0:16:01.560 Well, if you were to ask my guys, they would 0:16:01.560 --> 0:16:04.680 probably say one thing that Coach Eyestone likes or Easy 0:16:04.680 --> 0:16:09.600 E likes is consistency. And I felt like over the 0:16:09.600 --> 0:16:12.030 course of my career, even dating back to high school 0:16:12.030 --> 0:16:15.060 and college, I was someone who my coaches pretty much 0:16:15.060 --> 0:16:16.530 knew they were going to put me in and even 0:16:16.530 --> 0:16:18.330 if it was an event that I wasn't that comfortable 0:16:18.330 --> 0:16:21.420 with, a 1500 or something like that, that I was 0:16:21.420 --> 0:16:26.520 going to give it my best possible performance. Didn't mean 0:16:26.520 --> 0:16:27.690 that I was going to win every race, but I 0:16:27.690 --> 0:16:32.610 was going to be consistent. When people come to me 0:16:32.610 --> 0:16:34.470 and ask, " Okay, what's the perfect workout? What do I 0:16:34.470 --> 0:16:36.480 need to do?" It's just the consistency and I came 0:16:36.480 --> 0:16:39.239 up with kind of a corny equation because I was 0:16:39.240 --> 0:16:43.050 anything but a math major, but it's C squared equals 0:16:43.080 --> 0:16:49.020 E squared, which is just consistent competence equals eventual excellence. 0:16:49.620 --> 0:16:52.080 So you don't have to hit a home run every 0:16:52.080 --> 0:16:53.610 time you're up to bat. You can tell I'm a 0:16:53.610 --> 0:16:57.150 frustrated baseball player, right? But we just need to get 0:16:57.150 --> 0:17:00.300 out there and do our best on a consistent basis. 0:17:00.300 --> 0:17:03.870 And if we do that day in, day out, week in, week 0:17:03.870 --> 0:17:06.780 out, month in, month out, year in, year out, then 0:17:06.780 --> 0:17:09.690 ultimately I think we're going to have an opportunity to, 0:17:10.800 --> 0:17:13.830 if not achieve greatness, at least come close to our 0:17:13.830 --> 0:17:14.669 running potential. 0:17:15.510 --> 0:17:18.689 That is awesome. So when you take that philosophy and 0:17:18.690 --> 0:17:23.939 that mentality from your training and parlay that to coaching, 0:17:25.080 --> 0:17:33.540 when some athletes join you later, Kiera for example, how 0:17:33.540 --> 0:17:38.580 difficult is it to or receptive are they to your 0:17:38.580 --> 0:17:40.320 philosophy and your message? 0:17:40.619 --> 0:17:43.230 Well, I think anytime I take in someone who... I've 0:17:43.230 --> 0:17:45.060 been fortunate because I've had a number of athletes come 0:17:45.060 --> 0:17:48.000 through the BYU system, and so they've literally been with 0:17:48.000 --> 0:17:49.859 me since their senior year in high school and so 0:17:49.859 --> 0:17:51.419 by the time they get through in four or five 0:17:51.420 --> 0:17:54.390 years, they kind of know the system, and obviously it's 0:17:54.390 --> 0:17:56.790 going to be tweaked as they move up to the 0:17:56.790 --> 0:18:00.150 marathon from maybe the five and 10, 000 meters, but I've also worked 0:18:00.150 --> 0:18:03.090 with people who went to other programs and then came 0:18:03.090 --> 0:18:04.710 in. First thing you do as a coach is just 0:18:04.710 --> 0:18:06.929 sit down with person and you kind of see what 0:18:06.930 --> 0:18:11.430 their goals are. I was in at the Bryan Clay 0:18:11.430 --> 0:18:13.590 Meet in Los Angeles for the last four days with 0:18:13.590 --> 0:18:15.900 my college team. So this morning I got up early 0:18:16.080 --> 0:18:18.060 and caught a nonstop, got in about two hours ago. 0:18:18.210 --> 0:18:20.010 The guy that I was sitting next to obviously looked 0:18:20.010 --> 0:18:24.480 like a runner. We struck up a conversation and the 0:18:24.480 --> 0:18:26.400 first thing I asked him is, " What is your goal? 0:18:27.390 --> 0:18:29.850 What would make you happy in terms of running Boston?" 0:18:30.090 --> 0:18:32.730 And he said, " Well, work's been a grind lately. I 0:18:32.730 --> 0:18:36.270 haven't been able to get the miles in." So I said, " 0:18:36.270 --> 0:18:40.050 Well, obviously you have realistic expectations going in." He wasn't 0:18:40.050 --> 0:18:42.330 expecting to run a PR, but he wanted to get 0:18:42.330 --> 0:18:45.060 the very best performance out of his training that he 0:18:45.060 --> 0:18:48.210 had done. So to answer your question, Sam, anytime that 0:18:48.210 --> 0:18:50.669 I take on a new client or athlete that I'm 0:18:50.670 --> 0:18:52.830 going to work with, we're going to have a conversation 0:18:52.830 --> 0:18:54.869 about where you're at, what you've done in the past, 0:18:56.400 --> 0:18:58.020 what's some of the good things that you'd like to 0:18:58.020 --> 0:19:01.020 carry forward that you think are going to be effective, and then 0:19:01.170 --> 0:19:03.540 hey, maybe we can implement some of these things that 0:19:03.690 --> 0:19:06.540 have proven effective with myself back in the dark ages 0:19:06.750 --> 0:19:09.240 or with some of the athletes that I'm currently working 0:19:09.240 --> 0:19:12.060 with to kind of tweak things. And some of it 0:19:12.060 --> 0:19:14.970 also is just coming to altitude, like Keira D'Amato. When 0:19:14.970 --> 0:19:17.460 she came out, she'd never been at altitude. Here we 0:19:17.460 --> 0:19:20.850 have the American record holder at the time, or previous 0:19:20.850 --> 0:19:25.080 to that anyway, in the marathon, she'd never really had 0:19:25.080 --> 0:19:27.840 any extended training at altitude. And I said, " You know 0:19:27.840 --> 0:19:31.050 what? That's kind of a thing. Let's experiment with that. 0:19:31.710 --> 0:19:32.640 Let's come out to altitude." 0:19:32.640 --> 0:19:35.791 It works for Kenyans and Ethiopians and lots of other stuff. 0:19:35.791 --> 0:19:39.540 I think really if you look worldwide, if you see the 0:19:39.540 --> 0:19:42.119 people in the Olympic Games, I would say the vast, 0:19:42.119 --> 0:19:46.590 vast, vast majority, almost without exception, not necessarily live full- 0:19:46.590 --> 0:19:50.010 time at altitude, but have an altitude training component that 0:19:50.010 --> 0:19:53.070 they will step up to for at least four to 0:19:53.070 --> 0:19:53.639 six weeks. 0:19:54.390 --> 0:19:58.740 That community that you have created out there in Utah 0:19:59.040 --> 0:20:03.869 is incredible now and it really has become... There's been Flagstaff, 0:20:03.869 --> 0:20:07.619 Arizona, there's been Boulder, Colorado over the years for American 0:20:07.619 --> 0:20:10.530 distance running, but I don't know that there's ever been 0:20:10.530 --> 0:20:13.560 anything quite like what you have going on between the 0:20:13.560 --> 0:20:17.070 incredible program you've got at BYU and now this professional 0:20:17.070 --> 0:20:19.379 running scene. And I had a chance to go visit 0:20:19.380 --> 0:20:22.350 out there this past February. A guy named Todd Garner, 0:20:22.350 --> 0:20:24.359 who's a friend of yours and a friend of Road 0:20:24.359 --> 0:20:26.580 Runners, hosted me and my daughter out there. I had 0:20:26.580 --> 0:20:29.459 a chance to have dinner with Clayton and Conner and 0:20:29.460 --> 0:20:33.060 their wives and this whole crew out there and they 0:20:33.060 --> 0:20:37.800 are all hitting the roads Saturday morning, long runs, pushing 0:20:37.800 --> 0:20:41.010 each other. They got vehicle support, and it's a team 0:20:41.280 --> 0:20:44.730 that you guys have out there. What has allowed this 0:20:44.730 --> 0:20:48.240 Utah kind of cluster to become what it has become 0:20:48.240 --> 0:20:48.960 in distance running? 0:20:49.109 --> 0:20:50.820 Yeah. I mean, I think there are various things that 0:20:50.820 --> 0:20:54.990 have contributed to the growth, one, at BYU on both the 0:20:54.990 --> 0:20:57.300 men's and women's. Let me brag about our women for 0:20:57.300 --> 0:20:59.699 a minute because they won a national championship on the 0:20:59.700 --> 0:21:02.040 women's side at cross- country this year and I think it 0:21:02.040 --> 0:21:03.419 was the first time at about 20 years that the 0:21:03.420 --> 0:21:07.020 men's and women's program had won simultaneously in the same 0:21:07.020 --> 0:21:10.770 year. Coach Diljeet Taylor is doing a phenomenal job with 0:21:10.770 --> 0:21:14.850 our women there. She's also part of the Nike kind 0:21:14.850 --> 0:21:17.340 of hub system that they've established there. So she's got 0:21:17.670 --> 0:21:22.320 some very, very talented professional athletes as well. So I 0:21:22.320 --> 0:21:25.170 think it's a combination of having some really good athletes 0:21:25.170 --> 0:21:28.260 that have graduated from the system and have stuck around 0:21:28.260 --> 0:21:30.810 because of (inaudible) success. And then a lot of 0:21:30.810 --> 0:21:34.350 people, Utah is... They call it, what do they call it, Little 0:21:34.350 --> 0:21:36.869 Silicon Slopes a little bit, a lot of big tech 0:21:36.869 --> 0:21:38.820 industry coming in there. So we just have a lot 0:21:38.820 --> 0:21:40.649 of really good people moving in from out of state 0:21:40.770 --> 0:21:43.170 who love running. And as we know, running is a 0:21:43.170 --> 0:21:47.220 wonderful community and people like Todd Garner who's been very 0:21:47.220 --> 0:21:51.570 generous, very supportive, have also stepped up, and as a 0:21:51.570 --> 0:21:54.420 result on any given Saturday long run, yes, we'll have 0:21:54.450 --> 0:21:57.060 Conner and Clayton and Kiera that are leading the charge 0:21:57.090 --> 0:21:58.980 in the men's pack and the women's pack, but we'll have 0:21:58.980 --> 0:22:01.050 40 plus people show up, some of whom are three 0:22:01.050 --> 0:22:03.629 hour plus marathoners, but they know, " Okay, this is a 0:22:03.630 --> 0:22:05.429 place where we're going to meet and there's going to 0:22:05.430 --> 0:22:08.609 be some support and some camaraderie and all of those 0:22:08.609 --> 0:22:10.919 good things." When you get... There's a certain amount of 0:22:10.920 --> 0:22:14.250 synergy that comes when you have good people training together 0:22:14.250 --> 0:22:17.070 and also maybe not hanging with you in the workouts, 0:22:17.070 --> 0:22:19.980 but just supportive and know who your name is and 0:22:19.980 --> 0:22:22.560 know what your name is and how to support you, 0:22:22.800 --> 0:22:24.840 good things are going to happen. We've also had an 0:22:24.840 --> 0:22:30.119 interesting development with the state legislature, a program called REP, 0:22:31.380 --> 0:22:37.859 which has done some state dollars donating towards the development 0:22:37.890 --> 0:22:40.770 of distance running in the state, so kind of as 0:22:40.770 --> 0:22:42.960 a safety net for those college kids who come out 0:22:42.960 --> 0:22:46.139 because not everybody is running well enough out of college 0:22:46.410 --> 0:22:49.770 to garner a shoe contract, which is kind of the 0:22:49.770 --> 0:22:52.020 bread and butter of professional athletes, right? You got to 0:22:52.380 --> 0:22:54.179 be able to have something to pay the rent, right? 0:22:54.450 --> 0:22:57.600 And the vast majority of kids out of college are 0:22:57.600 --> 0:23:01.200 not at that level, but with some support, with some 0:23:01.200 --> 0:23:03.690 maintenance, and it doesn't take a lot, sometimes it's just 0:23:03.690 --> 0:23:06.810 a matter of having an insurance program, health insurance or 0:23:06.900 --> 0:23:11.790 access to PTs or athletic trainers, as a result of 0:23:11.790 --> 0:23:14.730 those monies that have been invested by the state, we've 0:23:14.730 --> 0:23:17.190 seen I think a rise as well. 0:23:17.640 --> 0:23:20.908 It's interesting. One thing that you just said that I 0:23:20.909 --> 0:23:23.250 want to go back to, you said not everybody is running well 0:23:23.250 --> 0:23:26.909 enough out of college, the development of the runner and 0:23:26.910 --> 0:23:30.540 the distance runner. Can we talk about the maturation and 0:23:30.540 --> 0:23:33.180 how long does that really take after college? 0:23:33.750 --> 0:23:36.750 Yeah. Well, I was having a conversation with somebody the 0:23:36.750 --> 0:23:41.310 other day because if you follow the sport, you probably were 0:23:41.310 --> 0:23:44.100 aware that a couple weeks ago at the LA Marathon, all of 0:23:44.280 --> 0:23:46.950 a sudden we had this college kid, I think in 0:23:46.950 --> 0:23:49.290 his first year out of college, post- collegiately. He was 0:23:49.290 --> 0:23:51.119 a two- time All- American, but he was not a 0:23:51.119 --> 0:23:52.859 name that you would really know unless you were in the 0:23:52.859 --> 0:23:58.230 conference. Went out and on his debut ran 207, okay? So 0:23:58.950 --> 0:24:01.379 Rickman is his name and I'm drawing a blank on 0:24:01.380 --> 0:24:06.270 his first name, but... Did somebody... Matt. Okay, thank you. 0:24:06.330 --> 0:24:09.001 I always get... Dorian, when I'm working in Chicago, she's the one- 0:24:09.001 --> 0:24:11.280 Dorian Cale with the assist from the first row. Yeah. 0:24:11.280 --> 0:24:11.460 Yes. 0:24:12.000 --> 0:24:12.002 (inaudible) . 0:24:12.090 --> 0:24:16.830 Dorian is the one slipping me notes saying, "Okay, you're mispronouncing"- 0:24:16.830 --> 0:24:17.191 You guys can cheer for Dorian. 0:24:17.191 --> 0:24:23.580 " You're mispronouncing that guy's name, you dummy. You gotta 0:24:23.580 --> 0:24:29.609 say it right." You need brains behind the whatever sometimes, 0:24:29.970 --> 0:24:33.359 and we appreciate Dorian. But yeah, so here's a guy 0:24:33.359 --> 0:24:36.960 who it would be easy just to say, " Okay, ran 0:24:36.990 --> 0:24:40.050 D1 college, two time All- American. It's time to move 0:24:40.050 --> 0:24:44.340 on. I got a day job," or whatever, but he's continued 0:24:44.340 --> 0:24:46.560 and he gave himself a shot. He trained and he 0:24:46.560 --> 0:24:49.770 went into his marathon and his debut ran sub 208, 0:24:49.800 --> 0:24:53.790 okay? So my conversation with the team was, " Hey guys, 0:24:53.880 --> 0:24:57.149 I think you owe it to yourselves, if it's a 0:24:57.150 --> 0:24:59.369 desire of yours"... I'm not going to push it. I 0:24:59.369 --> 0:25:00.930 am Easy E, right? I'm not going to push this 0:25:00.930 --> 0:25:03.690 goal onto them, but they should probably have as a 0:25:03.690 --> 0:25:06.869 goal at some point in time post- collegiately to go 0:25:06.869 --> 0:25:09.090 run a marathon. Let's see, because we definitely have some 0:25:09.090 --> 0:25:12.000 people that are adapters that are much better at the 0:25:12.000 --> 0:25:16.230 marathon than they would be even at the 5, 000, 10,000. There's 0:25:16.230 --> 0:25:19.950 a pretty good correlation between 10K success and marathon success, 0:25:19.950 --> 0:25:21.750 but it's not a one- to- one correlation by any 0:25:21.750 --> 0:25:24.570 means. And sometimes you'll have people who are so- so 0:25:24.570 --> 0:25:30.929 at the 10,000 meters, but because of their efficiency in 0:25:30.930 --> 0:25:34.350 running and their fueling ability or the way their body 0:25:34.350 --> 0:25:37.290 spares fuel when they run, they can really make a step- 0:25:37.290 --> 0:25:40.950 up. So I think really most runners, especially, again, D1 0:25:40.950 --> 0:25:44.340 or whatever, college runners, probably owe it to themselves that, " 0:25:44.340 --> 0:25:46.350 Hey, let's give this marathon thing a shot." 0:25:47.550 --> 0:25:50.970 And I was in Orlando a year and change ago 0:25:50.970 --> 0:25:55.260 for the US Olympic trials and saw the incredible moment 0:25:55.260 --> 0:25:57.899 that two of your runners, Clayton and Conner had, and 0:25:58.140 --> 0:26:01.200 now here we are past the Olympics where they also 0:26:01.200 --> 0:26:03.420 had an incredible day. I was in Paris to watch 0:26:03.420 --> 0:26:06.720 them both cross the finish line in the top 10, and the 0:26:06.720 --> 0:26:10.230 strength from the two of them just continues to build. 0:26:10.230 --> 0:26:13.440 So looking ahead to Monday, I'd love to get inside 0:26:13.440 --> 0:26:17.760 your conversations with both Clayton and Conner getting ready for 0:26:17.760 --> 0:26:21.419 this race on Monday. How are you talking to them 0:26:21.420 --> 0:26:24.840 about the way this race might play out and the 0:26:24.869 --> 0:26:28.590 expectations that both of them have in terms of what 0:26:28.590 --> 0:26:32.430 they can do? Clayton has been running strong, Conner just 0:26:32.430 --> 0:26:35.790 coming off of a American record in the half. A 0:26:35.790 --> 0:26:37.649 lot of people right now are talking about him as 0:26:37.650 --> 0:26:41.130 someone who could be podium or better, so different conversations, 0:26:41.130 --> 0:26:44.490 I'm sure. Let's start with Clayton and how you think he 0:26:45.060 --> 0:26:47.820 can approach this race on Monday. What looks like a 0:26:47.820 --> 0:26:48.510 good race for him? 0:26:48.510 --> 0:26:52.500 Yeah. Well, I think Clayton, and many of you are probably following 0:26:52.500 --> 0:26:58.379 along. We often have a documentarian at every workout. For 0:26:58.380 --> 0:27:00.119 those of you who are on YouTube and follow Clayton 0:27:00.119 --> 0:27:02.520 Young, he's got a series that's very, very well done and I think 0:27:02.820 --> 0:27:04.830 it gives you a little bit of an inside peek 0:27:04.830 --> 0:27:07.560 of the psyche of elite marathoners and what they're going 0:27:07.560 --> 0:27:12.540 through and whatnot. And we had an excellent build going 0:27:12.540 --> 0:27:15.270 into Paris I felt and a pretty good build going into 0:27:15.270 --> 0:27:18.719 New York. This build, and when I say build, it's 0:27:18.720 --> 0:27:21.000 usually kind of a 16- week program that we follow, 0:27:21.000 --> 0:27:25.830 this week or this build coming into Boston, when we're 0:27:25.830 --> 0:27:28.020 training for spring marathons in Utah, it can be a little 0:27:28.020 --> 0:27:30.540 dicey, right? Because we're in the winter. People fly out 0:27:30.540 --> 0:27:32.820 to Utah to ski in the winter time. They don't 0:27:32.820 --> 0:27:35.340 come out to train for marathons. So sometimes it can 0:27:35.340 --> 0:27:37.260 be a little hit- and- miss because of the weather. 0:27:37.560 --> 0:27:40.830 But Clayton's had a really nice build and I think 0:27:40.830 --> 0:27:45.270 he gauges somewhat where he's at relative to his proximity 0:27:45.390 --> 0:27:48.480 to his training partner, Conner Mantz, because Conner's just famous 0:27:48.480 --> 0:27:50.669 for going out and just hammering every workout. And I'll 0:27:50.670 --> 0:27:53.699 give him, " Okay, let's try to hit around 418 on 0:27:53.700 --> 0:27:56.220 these mile repeats," and Conner will roll in at 412 and it's like, " 0:27:56.520 --> 0:27:59.310 Conner, that's a little fast there." And Clayton's going, " Conner, 0:27:59.310 --> 0:28:04.680 that's really fast." They get along really well, but sometimes 0:28:04.680 --> 0:28:08.879 they're like an old married couple because inevitably Conner is 0:28:08.880 --> 0:28:11.520 driving the workout pretty fast and Clayton's holding on with 0:28:11.520 --> 0:28:17.939 his fingernails. But he's come into this, as you alluded 0:28:17.940 --> 0:28:24.179 to Conner Mantz coming into this 16- week cycle. I 0:28:24.180 --> 0:28:28.740 like to schedule races periodically because I think having races 0:28:28.740 --> 0:28:30.720 during your marathon build, I think there's a couple of 0:28:30.720 --> 0:28:33.060 good things that come about as a result of that. 0:28:33.060 --> 0:28:36.480 One, you avoid the what I call all your eggs 0:28:36.480 --> 0:28:39.270 in one basket syndrome where you're just training for six 0:28:39.270 --> 0:28:40.680 months and it's one race and then you get a 0:28:40.680 --> 0:28:44.430 cramp or something and it's like, " Oh crud, what do I have 0:28:44.430 --> 0:28:45.960 to show for my six months?" So I like to 0:28:46.170 --> 0:28:48.330 have a couple of races in there so they can 0:28:48.330 --> 0:28:51.480 go and have other races and try to get PRs 0:28:51.480 --> 0:28:53.460 or just see where they're at. I think it's a good 0:28:53.460 --> 0:28:57.150 checkpoint to see where am I in my training, at 0:28:57.150 --> 0:28:59.580 least in the shorter distances, and that can really instill 0:28:59.580 --> 0:29:02.760 some confidence. And I think it also forces them for 0:29:02.760 --> 0:29:05.219 about a week as they go into this to taper 0:29:05.220 --> 0:29:07.290 down just a little bit, because sometimes they'll be hammering 0:29:07.290 --> 0:29:12.120 out anywhere from 115 to 125 miles a week and it's nice 0:29:12.120 --> 0:29:15.750 to have a half- marathon or in Conner and Clayton's case, two half- 0:29:15.750 --> 0:29:19.860 marathons over this 16- week build where they were able 0:29:19.860 --> 0:29:22.380 to actually bring the mileage down a little bit because 0:29:22.380 --> 0:29:23.730 if they're going to run a race, I want them 0:29:23.730 --> 0:29:26.310 to go into it fresh enough that they're going to 0:29:26.310 --> 0:29:28.440 be able to perform to the best of their ability. 0:29:28.890 --> 0:29:33.570 And so in Conner's case, he got the American record 0:29:33.570 --> 0:29:36.450 in Houston and had an amazing race and it was 0:29:36.450 --> 0:29:39.630 a pretty windy day. It was not ideal conditions. And 0:29:39.630 --> 0:29:42.030 then he followed that up about I think five weeks 0:29:42.030 --> 0:29:43.860 ago at the New York City half, which I think you were 0:29:43.860 --> 0:29:45.570 there, Sam, weren't you, covering it? 0:29:45.780 --> 0:29:45.990 Yep. 0:29:48.360 --> 0:29:51.420 And he ran even faster there. Because of the logistics 0:29:51.420 --> 0:29:54.570 of that course, it's not eligible for American record purposes 0:29:54.570 --> 0:29:57.300 because it's point to point, but had another really good... 0:29:57.420 --> 0:30:00.570 Ran faster on what I consider a hillier and more 0:30:00.570 --> 0:30:01.890 difficult course than Houston. 0:30:01.920 --> 0:30:02.460 Definitely. 0:30:02.460 --> 0:30:06.960 So those were really good checkpoints for Conner Mantz. Now, 0:30:06.960 --> 0:30:11.790 Clayton went into... ran Houston. Ran solid, not amazing. I 0:30:11.790 --> 0:30:14.250 think we all thought he'd run closer to one hour 0:30:14.250 --> 0:30:18.270 flat and he was one hour and 50s or something 0:30:18.270 --> 0:30:20.580 like that. So he came away from it a little scratching 0:30:20.580 --> 0:30:23.910 his head going, " I think I just made some tactical decisions." 0:30:24.150 --> 0:30:26.130 It was a windy day. He didn't go with the leaders, 0:30:26.130 --> 0:30:29.070 so he got kind of no man's land. So we go, " 0:30:29.070 --> 0:30:31.950 Okay, we'll work on tactics on that." And then he 0:30:31.950 --> 0:30:36.090 ran the Atlanta half, which was the US half- marathon 0:30:36.090 --> 0:30:39.060 championships and really just had an off day. His back 0:30:39.060 --> 0:30:42.960 tightened and his lower kind of hamstring chain. And that's 0:30:42.960 --> 0:30:45.330 the other thing that happens. I think when we schedule 0:30:45.330 --> 0:30:49.620 races during a build, sometimes we can identify maybe some 0:30:49.620 --> 0:30:52.920 weaknesses in where we're at. And so I think that 0:30:52.920 --> 0:30:56.130 was a really good opportunity for the last... That was about 0:30:56.130 --> 0:30:58.650 seven, eight weeks ago. He's had a chance to meet 0:30:58.650 --> 0:31:01.320 with his PTs, do some strength and conditioning with our 0:31:01.320 --> 0:31:03.510 strength and conditioning coach a little bit, all to the 0:31:03.510 --> 0:31:06.750 workouts, and for the last four or five weeks, he's 0:31:06.750 --> 0:31:11.880 been back running closer to Conner, so actually closing the 0:31:11.880 --> 0:31:14.550 gap a little bit. And so much of the sport, 0:31:14.790 --> 0:31:18.660 if it can't be seamless, which rarely is it, then 0:31:18.660 --> 0:31:23.580 it's all about momentum, and he's hitting momentum. He's hitting at 0:31:23.580 --> 0:31:27.390 the right time. So I'm hoping in Clayton's case that 0:31:27.390 --> 0:31:30.120 we can ride this momentum to a really good performance, 0:31:30.300 --> 0:31:33.480 and by good performance, with this field that they've put 0:31:33.480 --> 0:31:38.760 together, I think Conner and Clayton, although they're 207 high 0:31:38.760 --> 0:31:44.820 and 208 flat PRs, I think they're the 16th and 17th best times coming in, okay? 0:31:44.940 --> 0:31:46.890 So that can have you scratching your head and going, " 0:31:46.980 --> 0:31:49.500 Do they even have a chance?" But what I take 0:31:49.500 --> 0:31:53.430 solace in is that head to head in strategic non- 0:31:53.430 --> 0:31:58.380 paced races, the Olympic Games, they've been beating 204 guys 0:31:58.470 --> 0:32:02.370 consistently. So that's what we're hoping for. We're hoping that 0:32:02.370 --> 0:32:05.850 it's just a grinder and that they can do their 0:32:05.850 --> 0:32:08.490 strength and it's not going to be (inaudible) . We 0:32:08.490 --> 0:32:11.910 saw Lima last year just take it out and fly. 0:32:11.910 --> 0:32:13.560 Got a big minute and a half lead I think 0:32:13.560 --> 0:32:15.840 at one point in time, and that may happen again, 0:32:16.080 --> 0:32:19.110 but I would think that Conner, you're going to see 0:32:19.110 --> 0:32:21.930 him running with the lead pack, even if they do 0:32:21.930 --> 0:32:24.810 go a little bit breakneck at the start, and I 0:32:24.810 --> 0:32:26.940 don't think Clayton's going to be too far behind. They're 0:32:26.940 --> 0:32:30.780 both engineers by training. They both graduated in engineering, and 0:32:30.780 --> 0:32:34.290 so it's fun to see their technical approach to it. 0:32:35.070 --> 0:32:38.130 Talking to Conner just a couple days ago, we had said, " 0:32:38.130 --> 0:32:40.770 Okay." I gave him a homework assignment and said, "Let's look at the last 10 years. 0:32:41.010 --> 0:32:43.080 Let's look at the first half, second half of Boston. 0:32:44.100 --> 0:32:46.440 Let's do a little analytics and see what's up." And 0:32:46.440 --> 0:32:48.900 the takeaway that he came into my office with, he said, " 0:32:48.900 --> 0:32:53.220 Coach, what I've noticed is that whoever can run 103 0:32:53.220 --> 0:32:56.130 for the second half is going to be in position 0:32:56.130 --> 0:32:58.680 or the winner I think in the last 10 years 0:32:58.680 --> 0:33:01.290 on the men's side to run 103 for the second 0:33:01.290 --> 0:33:04.980 half. I think I can do that." So it's how 0:33:04.980 --> 0:33:07.979 they get to that second half is the thing that 0:33:07.980 --> 0:33:09.900 will help determine a lot of things. But I think 0:33:10.290 --> 0:33:12.990 if we see kind of how it is sometimes, even 0:33:12.990 --> 0:33:15.150 though it's downhill, sometimes it can be kind of a 0:33:15.150 --> 0:33:17.100 pack run. Nobody really wants to take it. No one 0:33:17.100 --> 0:33:20.010 wants to be the sacrificial lamb out front. I think 0:33:20.010 --> 0:33:23.700 if they get to half at a not 61 pace, 0:33:23.700 --> 0:33:27.840 but more like 62 or 63, then I think Conner 0:33:27.840 --> 0:33:29.520 is going to have a great shot, and I think 0:33:29.520 --> 0:33:31.350 that's also the best game plan for Clayton. 0:33:31.830 --> 0:33:34.260 I am so in awe with the technical side of 0:33:34.260 --> 0:33:37.440 it and the numbers and the crunching numbers in your 0:33:37.440 --> 0:33:41.700 head while this is transpiring, but when you talk about 0:33:41.700 --> 0:33:45.810 the momentum and sprinkling those races in, and especially what 0:33:45.810 --> 0:33:50.430 we saw Conner do, how much of this... There's technical, 0:33:50.700 --> 0:33:54.180 there's experience, but then how much of this is confidence 0:33:54.180 --> 0:33:59.160 also? How much of this is a confidence build, especially coming off 0:33:59.250 --> 0:34:00.540 Houston and the NYC half? 0:34:00.720 --> 0:34:04.830 Yeah. Well, I think Conner, in fact, I was in 0:34:04.830 --> 0:34:07.350 LA with my college team, so I missed the press 0:34:07.350 --> 0:34:10.469 conference, but I listened to all the various things, and what 0:34:10.469 --> 0:34:14.670 came away for me was him, Conner Mantz, reiterating how 0:34:14.670 --> 0:34:17.640 confident he is going into this and the fact that 0:34:17.880 --> 0:34:21.719 it took... So this will be his seventh marathon and 0:34:22.290 --> 0:34:25.920 I think Clayton's as well, and his second marathon was 0:34:25.920 --> 0:34:29.160 two years ago here. So he had run Chicago, run 0:34:29.160 --> 0:34:31.410 well there and then came into this and he just 0:34:31.410 --> 0:34:33.149 put himself in it because that's the way he loves 0:34:33.150 --> 0:34:36.090 to do it. He just followed every move and he went out really 0:34:36.570 --> 0:34:39.359 probably too hard for his experiential level at the time, 0:34:39.570 --> 0:34:41.340 and then he really suffered at the end and I think 0:34:41.340 --> 0:34:45.810 faded to... I think he ended up 10th or 11th place. And he said, " 0:34:45.810 --> 0:34:48.420 That really shook me. That really shook me, because it was like 0:34:48.420 --> 0:34:51.450 this is the first time when I was blacking out," something that we've 0:34:51.450 --> 0:34:54.569 all experienced ourselves if we've run enough marathons where you're 0:34:54.570 --> 0:34:58.980 kind of seeing stars, and he wasn't used to that 0:34:58.980 --> 0:35:01.410 because he was really a track guy who was just moving 0:35:01.410 --> 0:35:04.859 up. And so I think he learned and he had some 0:35:04.860 --> 0:35:08.819 good takeaways from that, so that experiential factor comes into 0:35:08.820 --> 0:35:12.120 play. And the fact that he's done so well in 0:35:12.210 --> 0:35:15.750 the last four marathons that he's run, and if you go through 0:35:15.900 --> 0:35:18.480 the marathons that these guys have run, really, they ran 0:35:18.480 --> 0:35:23.190 Chicago two years ago. To get their qualifying mark, they 0:35:23.190 --> 0:35:26.190 had to run under 208 to get the world standard. Then 0:35:26.190 --> 0:35:28.440 they followed up with the Olympic trials where they went 0:35:28.440 --> 0:35:31.890 one, two, then they followed that up with Paris where 0:35:31.890 --> 0:35:34.350 they went eight, nine. 0:35:34.770 --> 0:35:35.219 Eight, nine. 0:35:35.219 --> 0:35:38.250 Eight, nine. Yep. And then they followed that up with 0:35:38.640 --> 0:35:42.540 New York, where they went seven, eight. Okay, and that's 0:35:42.540 --> 0:35:45.600 the amazing thing. I mean, I've seen larger gaps between 0:35:45.600 --> 0:35:48.930 Conner and Clayton when they're doing mile repeats than if 0:35:48.930 --> 0:35:51.780 you look at the average. I think the average of 0:35:51.780 --> 0:35:54.000 those six marathons has been about 16 seconds. 0:35:54.630 --> 0:35:55.020 It's incredible. 0:35:55.020 --> 0:35:57.989 They each have their own way to get where they're 0:35:57.989 --> 0:36:01.230 at. Conner has to just hammer, hammer, hammer. Clayton is 0:36:01.260 --> 0:36:03.750 holding on for life and often his back, but he's 0:36:03.750 --> 0:36:08.069 still pushing it pretty well as well. But success breeds 0:36:08.070 --> 0:36:11.580 success, Sam, to answer your question. And I think that the 0:36:11.580 --> 0:36:13.620 success that they've had, particularly over the last four or 0:36:13.620 --> 0:36:19.050 so marathons, is going to make them less conservative and more, " 0:36:19.080 --> 0:36:22.169 Hey, let's swing for the fences." This is Boston, after all. 0:36:22.739 --> 0:36:25.710 All right, Easy E, let's talk about your newest female 0:36:25.710 --> 0:36:31.020 pupil, Kiera D'Amato, who obviously is an elite American runner. 0:36:31.380 --> 0:36:34.920 Let's talk about the move that she made last summer. 0:36:35.280 --> 0:36:38.250 She made the decision to come out to Utah. She's 0:36:38.250 --> 0:36:41.549 not from Utah. She made a decision to come there. 0:36:41.940 --> 0:36:44.700 It was a family decision. She had to work with 0:36:44.700 --> 0:36:47.100 her husband and they've got kids, and this was a really 0:36:47.100 --> 0:36:50.310 big commitment she made to come train with you and this 0:36:50.310 --> 0:36:53.130 group that you've got out there in Utah. Can you 0:36:53.130 --> 0:36:56.430 talk about what led up to that decision? I mean, I know you guys had 0:36:56.430 --> 0:36:59.219 worked together in the broadcast booth in Chicago. You got 0:36:59.219 --> 0:37:01.799 to know each other there. What were the conversations and 0:37:01.800 --> 0:37:05.879 what was the ultimate conversation when she said, " Coach, I 0:37:05.880 --> 0:37:06.901 still want to come out and run with you"? 0:37:06.901 --> 0:37:12.060 Yeah. I mean, I think it's like anything. Before you make that first phone call, you kind of vet 0:37:12.840 --> 0:37:16.380 people and individuals. I had some really good experiences working 0:37:16.380 --> 0:37:19.650 with Jared Ward as his coach, and I think Jared 0:37:20.070 --> 0:37:24.239 and Kiera were probably... She knew him quite well from 0:37:24.239 --> 0:37:28.500 their world championships and just the elite circuit so to 0:37:28.500 --> 0:37:31.950 speak, and so I think she was kind of trying 0:37:31.950 --> 0:37:34.980 to find out what kind of system we were operating 0:37:34.980 --> 0:37:41.670 under. And it's an interesting system because back in my 0:37:41.670 --> 0:37:45.570 days I felt like... And I was following in the 0:37:45.570 --> 0:37:48.989 footsteps of all American and Olympians like Henry Marsh, Doug 0:37:48.989 --> 0:37:53.580 Padilla, Paul Cummings. I saw that they were doing in 0:37:53.580 --> 0:37:55.440 six days what a lot of people were doing in 0:37:55.440 --> 0:38:00.330 seven days. And so I said, " Kiera, we'd like to 0:38:00.330 --> 0:38:01.620 just do it in six days and then I'd like 0:38:01.620 --> 0:38:03.420 to give you a day off and I'd love to have 0:38:03.420 --> 0:38:05.580 you just kind of chill that day and just let 0:38:05.580 --> 0:38:09.899 your body just soak in recovery during that day." And 0:38:09.900 --> 0:38:14.160 I think it's not unusual to have runners occasionally take 0:38:14.160 --> 0:38:16.920 a day off, but one out of seven, it doesn't 0:38:16.920 --> 0:38:20.160 happen a whole lot. But I think she understood and 0:38:20.160 --> 0:38:24.480 she said, " Ed, I'm all in. I'm all in. You 0:38:24.480 --> 0:38:26.580 tell me what to do and I'm up for it," which the 0:38:26.580 --> 0:38:30.719 coach loves to hear, and obviously she's had great experience. 0:38:30.719 --> 0:38:33.960 I wanted to do what had worked for her in 0:38:33.960 --> 0:38:36.630 the past. And also, I think the altitude component was 0:38:36.630 --> 0:38:40.290 an important one for her to check out. And so 0:38:41.520 --> 0:38:44.610 she came in I think early in the summer and 0:38:44.610 --> 0:38:48.330 we had a wonderful build. And as things happen, sometimes 0:38:48.330 --> 0:38:51.719 you have a wonderful build and the week before all 0:38:51.719 --> 0:38:53.880 of a sudden there's a little something going on in 0:38:53.880 --> 0:38:57.450 the foot, and so she ended up not performing in 0:38:57.450 --> 0:39:01.080 Chicago, ended up DNFing from there. And then it was 0:39:01.080 --> 0:39:07.230 a matter of, "Okay, let's figure out what we got going on here. Let's get you healthy." And so she cross- 0:39:07.230 --> 0:39:11.040 trained for... There's cross- training where you just get on the 0:39:11.040 --> 0:39:13.260 exercise bike and you just kind of pedal a little bit, 0:39:13.260 --> 0:39:15.540 and then there's cross- training where there's a pool of 0:39:15.540 --> 0:39:18.509 sweat underneath you when you finish, and that's the kind 0:39:18.510 --> 0:39:22.319 that she was doing. But we have had a great 0:39:22.410 --> 0:39:25.320 kind of 12 weeks where she's been running on ground, 0:39:25.560 --> 0:39:29.279 looking good, and I'm very excited for her prospects as 0:39:29.280 --> 0:39:32.250 well. She'd be the first to admit, she's turned 40 0:39:32.250 --> 0:39:36.299 now, so she's a master. I think that offers some 0:39:36.630 --> 0:39:40.020 excellent incentivizing as well to be the very best master 0:39:40.020 --> 0:39:40.500 that you can be. 0:39:40.770 --> 0:39:44.400 What's it been like for the other young women you've 0:39:44.400 --> 0:39:47.129 got in that program out there in Utah to run 0:39:47.370 --> 0:39:51.180 with the Kiera D'Amano? What has that meant for them? An idol for 0:39:51.180 --> 0:39:53.460 all of them, I'm sure, and really someone for them 0:39:53.460 --> 0:39:54.029 to learn from. 0:39:54.239 --> 0:39:56.580 Well, like I say, that Saturday long run, there's a 0:39:56.580 --> 0:39:59.910 lot more people showing up and a lot more women 0:39:59.910 --> 0:40:03.480 showing up than there used to be. Courtney Frerichs, who's 0:40:03.480 --> 0:40:09.840 an Olympic silver medalist in the steeplechase from 2021, suffered 0:40:09.840 --> 0:40:14.520 a really major knee injury last year. And then I 0:40:14.520 --> 0:40:16.800 got a call from her coach in the fall saying, " Hey"... I mean, 0:40:17.160 --> 0:40:19.020 not her coach, but her agent saying, " Hey, she'd like 0:40:19.020 --> 0:40:21.000 to come out to Utah. She's heard good things about 0:40:21.000 --> 0:40:23.640 it," and it's been fun having her in the system 0:40:23.640 --> 0:40:26.819 and it's fun to see a marathoner and a steeplechaser 0:40:27.120 --> 0:40:30.570 working together, and there's a lot of workouts that cross 0:40:30.570 --> 0:40:32.190 over very well for the two of them to work 0:40:32.190 --> 0:40:35.760 together. So it been great. It's been encouraging. It's awesome for 0:40:35.760 --> 0:40:38.850 the whole running community in the area to see these 0:40:38.850 --> 0:40:41.790 Olympians and American record holders there training and they go, " 0:40:41.940 --> 0:40:44.430 You know what? These are not just fast runners, but 0:40:44.430 --> 0:40:47.819 they're really, really cool people." And I think that's what 0:40:47.820 --> 0:40:51.660 I'm most proud about is it's a very good group. 0:40:51.660 --> 0:40:55.410 It's non- competitive in terms of... I mean, everyone is 0:40:55.410 --> 0:40:58.860 building one another and sometimes that's difficult at the highest 0:40:58.860 --> 0:41:01.800 level. I'm sure you've experienced that in broadcasting or wherever, 0:41:01.800 --> 0:41:04.560 what line of work you're in. Sometimes it's like there's that, what is 0:41:05.010 --> 0:41:10.200 that, schadenfreude, where you're almost wanting them to fail. But 0:41:10.320 --> 0:41:12.239 what I love about our group and our system right 0:41:12.239 --> 0:41:16.890 now is there's a lot of building and celebration when 0:41:16.890 --> 0:41:18.030 somebody in the group runs well. 0:41:18.330 --> 0:41:21.210 When you talk about Keira, and this is someone who wasn't 0:41:21.210 --> 0:41:26.910 running competitively for a brief time and now you talked 0:41:26.910 --> 0:41:29.130 about the build to Chicago and then what happened there, but 0:41:29.130 --> 0:41:32.759 now the rebuild for Boston, what has impressed you the 0:41:32.760 --> 0:41:34.350 most since she's been with you? 0:41:34.350 --> 0:41:43.650 Yeah. I think it's just her determination and just contagious positivity. That's who she 0:41:43.650 --> 0:41:46.830 is. And if you have the chance to talk to her, I've never heard her 0:41:46.830 --> 0:41:52.379 say one negative thing, and that's contagious. The flip side 0:41:52.380 --> 0:41:54.390 of that can be contagious too, and it can be 0:41:54.390 --> 0:41:59.250 kind of terminal sometimes. But to have such a positive 0:41:59.250 --> 0:42:02.219 person come into the group. I think that's the number 0:42:02.219 --> 0:42:04.770 one thing. And I think that's the thing that once 0:42:04.770 --> 0:42:08.340 she had taken that several year break to actually just 0:42:08.550 --> 0:42:11.370 start a family and pursue a professional career and all 0:42:11.370 --> 0:42:13.290 of that, I think that's the thing that got her 0:42:13.290 --> 0:42:16.890 back. She didn't initially start back up after that multiple 0:42:16.890 --> 0:42:20.010 year layoff saying, " I'm going to get the American record." It's like, " Hey, 0:42:20.010 --> 0:42:21.600 I'm going to run this marathon and I'm going to 0:42:21.600 --> 0:42:25.080 see how I do." And then all of a sudden the times 0:42:25.080 --> 0:42:29.489 were coming off by the tens of minutes and she 0:42:29.489 --> 0:42:30.420 set the American record. 0:42:30.780 --> 0:42:33.930 Well, coach Eyestone, you're a baseball fan. I'm a baseball 0:42:33.930 --> 0:42:36.989 fan. We're sitting here feet from Fenway Park hearing the 0:42:36.989 --> 0:42:39.840 cheers from the audience and the crowd over there with 0:42:39.840 --> 0:42:42.060 a game going on. But running's been pretty good to 0:42:42.060 --> 0:42:45.270 you, hasn't it? So its been a pretty good run, 0:42:45.360 --> 0:42:45.989 if you will. 0:42:45.989 --> 0:42:46.320 Well- 0:42:46.350 --> 0:42:47.580 Where do you think it goes from here? 0:42:47.580 --> 0:42:48.120 Pun intended. 0:42:48.120 --> 0:42:52.320 Yeah. Yeah. You know what? I had a high school reunion. It 0:42:52.320 --> 0:42:56.100 wasn't the 50, no, but I think it was, we'll 0:42:56.100 --> 0:42:57.930 call it the 25- year reunion. It was more than 0:42:57.930 --> 0:43:00.509 that, but it was this last summer we had a 0:43:00.510 --> 0:43:03.150 high school reunion, and since we had had a really 0:43:03.150 --> 0:43:05.910 fun experience at the Olympic Games, and we didn't talk 0:43:05.910 --> 0:43:08.489 about Kenneth Rooks, who got the silver medal in the 0:43:08.489 --> 0:43:11.279 steeplechase, which was for me the race of the games, 0:43:11.280 --> 0:43:15.060 but of course because I'm his coach, but they had 0:43:15.060 --> 0:43:17.370 me do a little spiel on the Olympics and what 0:43:17.370 --> 0:43:21.360 Paris was like and my experience, and I've been to 0:43:21.360 --> 0:43:23.969 probably six or seven Olympic Games as either an athlete 0:43:23.969 --> 0:43:27.690 or a coach or a broadcaster. And I thought that 0:43:27.690 --> 0:43:35.430 Paris just was phenomenal the way they put things together, but yeah, and I don't know where I was going with that. 0:43:35.489 --> 0:43:37.231 It's been fun. You've had a great, great time- 0:43:37.230 --> 0:43:37.232 It's been good. It's been great. 0:43:37.231 --> 0:43:39.300 ... and you're doing amazing things. 0:43:39.420 --> 0:43:45.840 I just have one more question. Obviously, most runners feel 0:43:45.840 --> 0:43:48.540 some kind of jitters the night before a race, the 0:43:48.540 --> 0:43:54.000 night before a marathon or anxiety, something. It means we're 0:43:54.000 --> 0:43:57.120 human and we don't know how it's going to go. 0:43:57.120 --> 0:43:59.310 We have a plan. What do you feel? 0:44:00.509 --> 0:44:03.629 Yeah. As a coach, I think I'd like to be 0:44:03.630 --> 0:44:06.509 able to channel all the nerves that my athletes have and say, " Let 0:44:06.510 --> 0:44:08.880 me take this on for you guys." But there is 0:44:08.880 --> 0:44:12.630 a certain amount of butterflies that you want to have 0:44:12.660 --> 0:44:14.250 as an athlete. But I think if they can be 0:44:14.250 --> 0:44:19.500 reminded that it's enjoy the process, don't be so out... 0:44:19.500 --> 0:44:20.969 If you go in and say, " I've got to run 0:44:20.969 --> 0:44:23.730 204," that just puts a lot of pressure on you. 0:44:23.850 --> 0:44:26.670 So instead, if you can enjoy the process, make sure 0:44:26.670 --> 0:44:29.640 you're getting your water bottles, going, " Okay, I feel comfortable 0:44:29.640 --> 0:44:32.489 in this pack, I'm going to position myself." And if 0:44:32.489 --> 0:44:36.420 you're enjoying the process and just each mile along the 0:44:36.420 --> 0:44:38.940 way, then lo and behold, a couple hours go by 0:44:38.940 --> 0:44:41.400 and you're crossing the finish line. And I think that's 0:44:41.400 --> 0:44:44.310 a really good way to kind of embrace those nerves 0:44:44.489 --> 0:44:46.020 and get you your best performance. 0:44:46.260 --> 0:44:49.920 Coach Eyestone, I can't wait to see what your runners do 0:44:49.920 --> 0:44:51.300 on Monday. I'm sure you can't either. 0:44:51.300 --> 0:44:51.451 I'm excited. 0:44:51.451 --> 0:44:52.080 I'm so excited, yeah. 0:44:52.080 --> 0:44:54.029 I'm excited. I'm getting nervous here. 0:44:55.440 --> 0:44:57.810 Because it's more nerve wracking when you're the one coaching 0:44:57.810 --> 0:45:01.380 and not running, I know. So get ready. Get ready. 0:45:01.380 --> 0:45:02.280 Get some rest. 0:45:02.280 --> 0:45:02.790 I'm ready. 0:45:03.390 --> 0:45:05.161 And we wish you all the best on Monday. 0:45:05.161 --> 0:45:06.211 I appreciate it. 0:45:06.210 --> 0:45:09.270 And for your whole team, all your runners, for you, 0:45:09.270 --> 0:45:12.330 continued success. Thanks so much for being with us. Appreciate 0:45:12.330 --> 0:45:12.931 it. Great having you here. 0:45:12.930 --> 0:45:13.560 Thank you. Thanks guys. 0:45:13.560 --> 0:45:19.950 Ed Eyestone, Coach Ed Eyestone. Easy E- 0:45:19.950 --> 0:45:20.220 Easy E, that's right. 0:45:20.219 --> 0:45:24.000 ... here in the House of Blues where he belongs 0:45:25.800 --> 0:45:29.340 as he gets ready for the 129th Boston Marathon on 0:45:29.340 --> 0:45:32.100 Monday. Well, usually this is the point in the show 0:45:32.100 --> 0:45:34.890 where we go to Meb Keflezighi. He does a little Meb Minute 0:45:34.890 --> 0:45:37.980 for us, Sam, but Meb's a little busy. He's here in 0:45:38.190 --> 0:45:40.770 Boston, but he's actually going to be broadcasting the race 0:45:40.950 --> 0:45:44.100 for ESPN on Monday, which we can't wait to see. 0:45:44.100 --> 0:45:47.070 He's been so great in the broadcast business. Can't wait 0:45:47.070 --> 0:45:48.211 to watch Meb. 0:45:48.210 --> 0:45:49.080 He was at the 5K today. 0:45:49.170 --> 0:45:52.529 Yes, exactly. Meb is a legend obviously here in Boston 0:45:52.530 --> 0:45:54.660 with his win here. You can't walk around with him 0:45:54.660 --> 0:45:57.150 without people stopping him on the street. So he's busy 0:45:57.150 --> 0:46:00.630 getting ready for his broadcast. But instead, we've got actually 0:46:00.630 --> 0:46:05.190 some great advice for our runners, from Lauren Thomas, who is 0:46:05.310 --> 0:46:08.580 a performance dietitian from Morton. Morton, of course, is our 0:46:08.850 --> 0:46:11.880 partner at New York Road Runners, the company behind all 0:46:11.880 --> 0:46:15.060 the great fuels that so many of the runners are using 0:46:15.060 --> 0:46:17.850 right now, the gels and the drinks and all of 0:46:17.850 --> 0:46:19.500 that. And so Lauren, thanks for coming up and talking 0:46:19.500 --> 0:46:20.489 fueling with us a little bit. 0:46:20.759 --> 0:46:21.060 Thank you. 0:46:21.060 --> 0:46:21.061 How are you doing? 0:46:21.060 --> 0:46:21.120 Excited to be here. 0:46:24.750 --> 0:46:27.120 So we know Morton will be along the course, and 0:46:27.120 --> 0:46:29.730 I've tried it, so I know you're not supposed to 0:46:29.730 --> 0:46:32.310 try something new on Marathon Day, so once I saw 0:46:32.310 --> 0:46:33.870 that, I tried it. Love it. 0:46:34.620 --> 0:46:35.611 So you tried it two days before marathon day. Much better. Are you going to use it? What do you think? 0:46:35.611 --> 0:46:35.612 Absolutely. 0:46:35.611 --> 0:46:36.030 All right. She's in. 0:46:39.989 --> 0:46:48.030 Absolutely. Absolutely. Tell us about what runners can expect. I 0:46:48.030 --> 0:46:50.730 mean, obviously most of us have tried it, but what 0:46:50.730 --> 0:46:52.980 makes this effective and helpful? 0:46:53.160 --> 0:46:57.570 Yeah, absolutely. Super excited to be on course at Boston 0:46:57.570 --> 0:47:00.960 and of course New York as well, but the Morton 0:47:00.960 --> 0:47:04.799 gel is going to be easy to digest. The idea 0:47:04.800 --> 0:47:07.500 is that it disappears from the stomach, right? So it's 0:47:07.770 --> 0:47:12.089 giving quick carbohydrate to the muscles to get the energy 0:47:12.090 --> 0:47:15.060 that the athlete needs and then moving through the body. 0:47:15.060 --> 0:47:18.960 So the hope is that the athletes can really just 0:47:18.960 --> 0:47:21.000 get that energy and move on with their run. 0:47:21.930 --> 0:47:24.719 I started using Morton myself about a year ago. I 0:47:24.719 --> 0:47:28.860 ran Berlin with Morton in Tokyo. In Tokyo, I found 0:47:28.860 --> 0:47:31.320 it was really helpful. I bought a couple days before 0:47:31.320 --> 0:47:33.810 the race the race pack that you guys put together 0:47:33.810 --> 0:47:37.500 that has a mix for drinks, right, so drink a 0:47:37.500 --> 0:47:40.560 certain amount the day before, a certain amount the morning 0:47:40.560 --> 0:47:42.870 of the race, and then it gave you the gels, 0:47:42.870 --> 0:47:46.230 I think it was five gels to use exactly every, 0:47:46.230 --> 0:47:48.779 I forget, a certain number of kilometers I think. So 0:47:48.780 --> 0:47:51.450 it gave you a plan of exactly what to do, 0:47:51.450 --> 0:47:53.520 which for someone like me, I really needed because I 0:47:53.520 --> 0:47:56.730 had never quite gotten the fueling thing. So can you 0:47:56.730 --> 0:48:00.480 talk about that aspect of having a fueling plan for 0:48:00.480 --> 0:48:02.820 runners and how you guys can help them do that? 0:48:02.940 --> 0:48:06.300 Yeah, absolutely. So the idea is to think about nutrition 0:48:06.300 --> 0:48:08.790 just like you would your training and have a plan 0:48:08.790 --> 0:48:12.210 that you're following and that you're training your stomach just like 0:48:12.210 --> 0:48:14.670 you would train your muscles. So the idea is you're 0:48:14.670 --> 0:48:17.610 arriving at marathon day and you have exactly what you're 0:48:17.610 --> 0:48:21.270 going to be doing for your fueling standpoint done and 0:48:21.750 --> 0:48:25.320 completely confident in it. So our idea from the nutrition 0:48:25.320 --> 0:48:28.560 team was, " Hey, can we educate the runners on, " Hey, 0:48:28.560 --> 0:48:30.750 not just during the race, but what are you doing before 0:48:30.750 --> 0:48:33.090 the race? What are you doing the night before the race?" 0:48:33.239 --> 0:48:36.480 And then recommend the carbohydrates that we see in the 0:48:36.480 --> 0:48:41.160 research really make a big difference and guide that for 0:48:41.160 --> 0:48:43.680 the runner throughout their journey to make sure that they 0:48:43.680 --> 0:48:48.360 can show up at mile 13 still feeling really good 0:48:48.450 --> 0:48:51.390 because they've already fueled from the very beginning. That's the 0:48:51.390 --> 0:48:53.551 goal, right? Fueling from the start of the race. 0:48:53.551 --> 0:48:55.620 Yeah. Once you start to feel bad. 0:48:55.739 --> 0:48:55.921 It's too late. 0:48:55.921 --> 0:48:56.250 It's too late. 0:48:56.250 --> 0:48:57.000 It's too late. 0:48:57.000 --> 0:48:58.680 The fuel is not going to give you what you need. 0:48:59.100 --> 0:49:03.210 And so important during the buildup and during the training. 0:49:03.660 --> 0:49:07.469 How important is it early on just to try what 0:49:07.469 --> 0:49:10.380 works and really implement a plan? 0:49:10.920 --> 0:49:15.090 It's so important. It's so important. And everybody is so individual with 0:49:15.090 --> 0:49:17.370 what they're going to like, what they're going to tolerate 0:49:17.370 --> 0:49:21.300 at first, and you have to try things over and 0:49:21.300 --> 0:49:23.969 over to figure out what your plan is going to 0:49:23.969 --> 0:49:27.029 be, and then you have full trust in that. So 0:49:27.630 --> 0:49:31.230 the Morton is based off of being able to tolerate, 0:49:32.070 --> 0:49:34.890 really easy on the stomach and be able to, again, 0:49:34.890 --> 0:49:38.489 give those athletes those higher amounts of carbs that we 0:49:38.489 --> 0:49:41.969 see the elites pushing because all of us are going 0:49:41.969 --> 0:49:44.489 to benefit from more carbohydrate availability. 0:49:44.880 --> 0:49:47.969 What do you think is the best strategy with the caffeinated 0:49:48.360 --> 0:49:51.810 gel? I tried... I think I used one of them 0:49:52.110 --> 0:49:55.350 right at the start in Tokyo. It gave me that 0:49:55.350 --> 0:49:59.040 little burst, which was useful. Where do you recommend, for 0:49:59.040 --> 0:50:03.600 those who use caffeine, people try those, and what's the 0:50:03.600 --> 0:50:04.469 best strategy with them? 0:50:04.770 --> 0:50:09.360 Yeah, caffeine is so individual with tolerance, but those of 0:50:09.360 --> 0:50:14.279 us who are daily coffee drinkers and certainly familiar with 0:50:14.280 --> 0:50:18.810 caffeine, I would recommend have one at the start on 0:50:18.810 --> 0:50:21.870 the starting line 10 minutes prior to go time, and 0:50:21.870 --> 0:50:25.379 then integrate one maybe at the halfway. And that way 0:50:25.380 --> 0:50:28.379 you know that caffeine can take a while to hit 0:50:28.380 --> 0:50:31.170 peak in your bloodstream, so you're giving it some time, 0:50:31.860 --> 0:50:35.160 getting the caffeine along with the carbohydrate, and then getting 0:50:35.160 --> 0:50:39.300 another burst later. So we're not going all six caffeine 0:50:39.300 --> 0:50:42.210 gels, we're not going all six non caffeine gels, but 0:50:42.239 --> 0:50:45.390 maybe all alternating and sticking one midway can be a 0:50:45.390 --> 0:50:47.610 helpful way to approach that. 0:50:47.880 --> 0:50:52.350 Most of us aren't elite athletes. There are elites out 0:50:52.350 --> 0:50:55.710 there who they fuel a different way and they train 0:50:56.040 --> 0:51:00.690 differently than someone like me. But how much can we 0:51:01.020 --> 0:51:05.580 take from that and can we learn from their buildup 0:51:05.580 --> 0:51:08.310 and their fueling? How effective can that be for the 0:51:08.310 --> 0:51:09.000 everyday runner? 0:51:09.300 --> 0:51:14.100 Yeah, and I think Morton is very athlete first, and 0:51:14.100 --> 0:51:16.440 we learn just as much from our runners and our 0:51:16.440 --> 0:51:20.250 elites as we do from our everyday runner, you and 0:51:20.250 --> 0:51:23.430 me. And I think what we can learn is that 0:51:24.750 --> 0:51:28.950 fueling is only the beginning of being able to understand 0:51:28.950 --> 0:51:31.560 how your body works. So how can we make sure 0:51:31.560 --> 0:51:34.920 that an athlete is pushing those limits that they thought 0:51:34.920 --> 0:51:39.960 they maybe weren't even realizing was the limit? So I 0:51:39.960 --> 0:51:42.210 think a lot of times I'll hear athletes say, " I 0:51:42.210 --> 0:51:44.370 didn't know I could feel this good at the end 0:51:44.370 --> 0:51:47.129 of a race." And that's where fueling really comes in. " 0:51:47.130 --> 0:51:49.049 Well, I was taking a gel every hour. I thought 0:51:49.050 --> 0:51:52.650 that was fine." And sure it is, but what if 0:51:52.650 --> 0:51:56.430 you increase that and can you get to that last 0:51:56.430 --> 0:51:59.340 5K feeling strong? That's going to be a whole different 0:51:59.340 --> 0:52:01.739 end of the race than it would otherwise. So I 0:52:01.739 --> 0:52:03.960 think we can learn a lot from these athletes who 0:52:03.960 --> 0:52:07.350 are pushing very, very high carbohydrate amounts during the race. 0:52:07.529 --> 0:52:10.020 All right. Well Lauren, I think we should give away a little Morton 0:52:10.020 --> 0:52:14.460 right here. We got a crowd here, so I want 0:52:14.460 --> 0:52:17.760 everybody out there to take a look under your chair. 0:52:17.760 --> 0:52:20.520 And if it's not your chair, you can even look. 0:52:20.520 --> 0:52:23.040 It's right up underneath the chair, right? And there are 0:52:23.040 --> 0:52:26.610 some Morton, I think some water bottles there maybe. Somebody 0:52:26.610 --> 0:52:29.520 got one. I hear somebody pull... There we go. There's one. 0:52:29.580 --> 0:52:29.790 Awesome. 0:52:30.120 --> 0:52:32.790 If you've got a Morton water bottle, we've got a 0:52:32.790 --> 0:52:35.910 pack of Morton gels right here for you, so you can 0:52:35.910 --> 0:52:38.670 come up and grab them. This is the Morton Marathon 0:52:38.670 --> 0:52:44.610 collection, seven gels, two drinks. Actually, yeah, four drinks. 0:52:44.610 --> 0:52:45.181 Oh, this is like what you had. 0:52:45.181 --> 0:52:47.580 This is very similar. There's a water bottle in the pack 0:52:47.580 --> 0:52:47.731 as well. 0:52:47.730 --> 0:52:48.570 That's awesome. 0:52:48.570 --> 0:52:51.480 I love this because it just plans it all out 0:52:51.480 --> 0:52:54.960 for you. You don't have to think, and it's really 0:52:54.960 --> 0:52:57.570 great. You guys are doing a great job. I see 0:52:57.750 --> 0:53:00.839 Morton gel, it's just everywhere now. You see it on 0:53:00.840 --> 0:53:03.030 the ground sometimes when you're running for those who missed 0:53:03.030 --> 0:53:05.520 the trash basket. We wanted them to hit the trash 0:53:05.520 --> 0:53:07.739 basket, but still, you see a lot of them on the 0:53:07.739 --> 0:53:10.260 ground. You see them everywhere. So the runners are really 0:53:10.260 --> 0:53:11.640 responding to what you guys are doing. 0:53:11.910 --> 0:53:13.050 That's awesome. Glad to hear. 0:53:13.200 --> 0:53:20.339 One more question from me. For pre- race, do you 0:53:20.370 --> 0:53:24.569 recommend taking the Morton gel before you start or do 0:53:24.570 --> 0:53:27.989 you wait until a certain mileage? I know it's one 0:53:27.989 --> 0:53:31.980 size fits all, but do you pre- race fuel? 0:53:32.040 --> 0:53:35.670 I do recommend a gel 10 minutes before the start, 0:53:35.850 --> 0:53:39.719 especially a long morning like Boston or New York or 0:53:40.170 --> 0:53:42.390 any of these major marathons that you might be waiting 0:53:42.420 --> 0:53:45.089 around more. It's been a while since breakfast. Not only 0:53:45.090 --> 0:53:47.550 do you probably have to have a second breakfast, but 0:53:48.090 --> 0:53:50.760 you want to start that first 5K feeling strong. We 0:53:50.760 --> 0:53:53.759 don't want to dip into the reserves at the very 0:53:53.760 --> 0:53:58.170 beginning, right? So can we start fueled from before the 0:53:58.170 --> 0:54:00.570 start line and then again at the 5K mark or 0:54:00.570 --> 0:54:03.180 whatever your plan might be? But yeah, early and often 0:54:03.180 --> 0:54:03.839 is my motto. 0:54:04.260 --> 0:54:06.810 All right. Well, thank you Lauren. Good luck to everybody 0:54:06.810 --> 0:54:12.989 out there using Morton on Monday. Appreciate having you here. And Sam, 0:54:13.170 --> 0:54:15.660 it's going to be a really fun couple of days 0:54:15.660 --> 0:54:19.650 in Boston. There's nothing like being in Boston for the 0:54:19.650 --> 0:54:20.520 Boston Marathon. The city- 0:54:20.520 --> 0:54:20.581 The energy- 0:54:20.580 --> 0:54:21.781 ... is on fire. 0:54:21.781 --> 0:54:25.050 ... is so great. There was '80s music playing at 0:54:25.050 --> 0:54:26.669 the finish line today. Did you hear it? 0:54:26.670 --> 0:54:27.780 A hundred percent. 0:54:27.810 --> 0:54:28.261 Oh, come on. They were playing New Order. 0:54:28.261 --> 0:54:28.262 They've got a great DJ. 0:54:28.261 --> 0:54:31.260 It was great. It was awesome. 0:54:31.739 --> 0:54:34.590 The finish line on Boylston Street has been on fire 0:54:34.650 --> 0:54:38.160 all week. There's just something about this city this week, 0:54:38.160 --> 0:54:41.069 especially when the weather's good. The Red Sox are playing. 0:54:41.310 --> 0:54:44.400 People are here from all over the world. The city 0:54:44.400 --> 0:54:47.190 is just absolutely at its best. The cherry blossoms are 0:54:47.190 --> 0:54:51.060 in bloom. So if you don't love Boston this weekend, 0:54:51.060 --> 0:54:54.779 you can't love Boston because this is an absolutely gorgeous 0:54:54.900 --> 0:54:57.719 weekend. I just think the energy of the runners is what 0:54:57.719 --> 0:55:00.690 it's all about. So to you, Sam, and to everybody else 0:55:00.690 --> 0:55:02.370 out there running, good luck. 0:55:02.520 --> 0:55:03.300 Thank you. 0:55:03.300 --> 0:55:03.690 It should be amazing. 0:55:03.690 --> 0:55:07.739 And good luck to all of you guys. So excited for 0:55:07.739 --> 0:55:08.969 everybody here. It's going to be great. 0:55:10.500 --> 0:55:12.840 Thank you so much, Sam, for being with us. Thank 0:55:12.840 --> 0:55:16.859 you to Ed Eyestone, to Lauren Thomas, and we just 0:55:16.860 --> 0:55:20.219 love... We're New Yorkers, but we love coming to Boston 0:55:20.310 --> 0:55:24.570 for the Boston Marathon. We love hosting our members here. 0:55:24.570 --> 0:55:27.719 Thanks again to House of Blues, Citizens House of Blues 0:55:27.719 --> 0:55:30.390 for hosting us. Good luck everybody. We will see you 0:55:30.390 --> 0:55:33.600 next week on Set the Pace. Have a great 129th 0:55:33.600 --> 0:55:34.561 Boston Marathon. Good luck. 0:55:34.561 --> 0:55:34.711 Good luck. 0:55:50.190 --> 0:55:53.280 New York Road Runners is a nonprofit organization with a 0:55:53.280 --> 0:55:56.670 vision to build healthier lives and stronger communities through the 0:55:56.670 --> 0:56:00.750 transformative power of running. The support of members and donors 0:56:00.750 --> 0:56:03.960 like you helps us achieve our mission to transform the 0:56:03.960 --> 0:56:07.230 health and well- being of our communities through inclusive and 0:56:07.230 --> 0:56:12.120 accessible running experiences, empowering all to achieve their potential. Learn 0:56:12.120 --> 0:56:15.989 more and contribute at nyrr. org/ donate.