the morning shakeout podcast

Sebastian Junger is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Storm, Fire, A Death in Belmont, War, Tribe, Freedom, and In My Time of Dying, as well as an award-winning journalist, documentary filmmaker, and, perhaps most impressively, highly accomplished distance runner. A collegiate athlete at Wesleyan University in the early 1980s, Junger has run 3:55 for 1500 meters and 2:21 for the marathon.

In this conversation, we talk about his background in running as well as how it's shaped his identity and framed his perspective on writing and life. We also discuss how his relationship to running has evolved over the years, the parallels between competitive running and being in combat — "There's nothing like fear and exhaustion to wipe out your ego," he explains — how he got his start as a journalist and eventually author, the race he's spent his entire life training for, and a lot more.

This episode is brought to you by:

— Tracksmith, New Balance, Precision Fuel & Hydration, and Final Surge. All of these brands have missions I believe in and products that I trust and use myself on a regular basis. One of the best ways to support the morning shakeout is by patronizing the partners that help keep them going week in and week out. Check out this page some of the discount codes and special offers available exclusively to readers and listeners of the morning shakeout.

Click here for complete show notes and sign up here to get the morning shakeout email newsletter delivered to your inbox every Tuesday.

Music and editing for this episode of the morning shakeout podcast by John Summerford.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I recently sat down with my good friend and frequent podcast guest Simon Freeman, the co-founder, editor, and publisher of my favorite running magazine, Like The Wind, for our first quarterly conversation of 2025, which you can listen to wherever you get the morning shakeout podcast. An excerpt of this exchange can be found in Issue #44 of LtW, which comes out this week. (You can buy a copy or subscribe here.)

In this episode we discuss the importance of making time for quiet, creating space for ourselves, and slowing down in both running and in life.

This episode is brought to you by:

— Tracksmith, New Balance, Precision Fuel & Hydration, and Final Surge. All of these brands have missions I believe in and products that I trust and use myself on a regular basis. One of the best ways to support the morning shakeout is by patronizing the partners that help keep them going week in and week out. Check out this page some of the discount codes and special offers available exclusively to readers and listeners of the morning shakeout.

Click here for complete show notes and sign up here to get the morning shakeout email newsletter delivered to your inbox every Tuesday.

Music and editing for this episode of the morning shakeout podcast by John Summerford.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ben Rosario has worn a lot of hats in the sport and industry of running: professional athlete and two-time U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon qualifier, co-founder of the Big River Running Company, race director, elite athlete coordinator, marketing director, author, and, most recently, founder, head coach, and director of HOKA Northern Arizona Elite. In December of 2024 Ben stepped away from his involvement with NAZ Elite to focus on the next iteration of The Marathon Project, a race that he co-founded and put on for the first time in December of 2020.

In this episode—Ben's third appearance on the podcast—he and I talk about the return of The Marathon Project, his career as an entrepreneur in the running industry, running's third "boom," and a lot more.

This episode is brought to you by:

— Tracksmith, New Balance, Precision Fuel & Hydration, and Final Surge. All of these brands have missions I believe in and products that I trust and use myself on a regular basis. One of the best ways to support the morning shakeout is by patronizing the partners that help keep them going week in and week out. Check out this page some of the discount codes and special offers available exclusively to readers and listeners of the morning shakeout.

Click here for complete show notes and sign up here to get the morning shakeout email newsletter delivered to your inbox every Tuesday.

Music and editing for this episode of the morning shakeout podcast by John Summerford.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.