“When I look at an athlete, the way I see an athlete, how they see themselves, how they feel about themselves, where they are in their lives, that’s going to show up on the track way more than the training, right? The training is only going to be in line with the athlete when those other places are in check. You can maybe fake it and get by for a little while but ultimately those things are going to reveal themselves more than the workouts, and the mile(age), whatever, any of that stuff. So, how people are feeling is, to me, the first part that you have to tackle as an athlete, then you can nerd out on workouts. But to get that order wrong, I think, you’re going to be dumbfounded at the lack of results.” - Mike Smith (@coach_mike_smith) is arguably the top collegiate distance running coach in the country. His NAU men’s cross-country team has won the national title six of the past seven years. His women’s squad finished sixth this past fall, their highest placing since 2007. Mike has been named National Men's Coach of the Year five times, and is only the second coach to win this award three years in a row. Listen to a re-run with Smith on @applepodcasts, @spotify, @stitcherpodcasts, or wherever you get your audio content. Many thanks to our friends @tracksmithrunning for sponsoring this episode of the podcast. #run #running #runningpodcast #podcast #mariofraioli #themorningshakeout #theamshakeout #trailrunning #trackrunning #trackandfield #ultramarathon #marathon #halfmarathon #10k #5k #TracksmithRunning #IronmanKona #MikeSmith #NAUXC #Tracksmith