Show Notes
What does it really take to build an Olympic marathoner? In this episode of the Easy Double Podcast, we're joined by legendary coach Ed Eyestone—two-time Olympian, NCAA champion, and the architect behind one of the most successful collegiate distance running programs in the world. Having coached Olympic marathoners Connor Mantz and Clayton Young, along with Olympic silver medallist Kenneth Rooks, Ed shares the principles that have shaped decades of success at BYU.
Joining Ryan and Dean is coach, Raf , who brings a unique coach-to-coach perspective throughout the conversation. Raf's experience as both an elite athlete and long-time coach allows the discussion to go beyond the usual interview, diving deeper into training methodology, athlete development, the balance between talent and hard work, and the finer details of coaching at the highest level.
Together, we explore Ed's journey from Olympian to one of the most respected coaches in world distance running, discussing his own career, the evolution of his coaching philosophy, lessons from training alongside some of the world's best marathoners, and the mindset required to consistently develop athletes capable of competing on the biggest stage.
In this episode we discuss: Ed's journey from athlete to Olympic coach
Building the BYU distance dynasty
Coaching Connor Mantz, Clayton Young & Kenneth Rooks
Talent vs trainability
Marathon training philosophy
The importance of belief, culture and consistency
What everyday runners can learn from elite performers
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What a week of marathon running and no need to fear if you missed any of it as we have you covered. Perth Running Festival brought the goods with Dominic Ngenu’s strong solo win in the marathon, Dean racing hard in the 10K and finishing third, and impressive times across the board. Melbourne Marathon delivered the spectacle, Kipchoge doing Kipchoge things, Tommy De Canto showing experience and running a PB, and Jimmy Whelan learning the hard way that 2:08 ambitions on debut don’t translate. Chicago saw Clayton Young’s gutsy come-from-behind American record, Charles Hicks right there hunting, and the women’s race owned by Izzy Bat-doyle smashing the Australian/Oceania record in 2:20:38. 📰 In running news, the stories were everywhere. Perth’s got problems to fix, no kilometer markers on course, missing elite drinks, and a few questions about social media strategy. But the depth of Australian marathon running is genuinely unhinged. Seth O’Donnell solo 61:20 in the half. Nicola Sheridan from Ireland flying a 2:29 after switching to Sydney. The domestic talent pool is ridiculous. 📺 YouTube Diaries gets a big one this week. Marcus Malone dropped a 50-minute documentary called Ordinary Excellence, the Grant Fisher story. Long-form content done properly, childhood, college, coaching relationships, build-up to New York. It’s storytelling, not highlight reels. Shout to Joey Bowden for the tip-off. 👊 Double Trouble stays light as Ryan gets some grief!
Welcome to the fourth episode of our bi-weekly series, The Road To Dublin, where we follow three athletes building toward the Dublin Marathon on October 25th. The end is well and truly in sight as all the guys enter their tapers. We cap of the last 2 weeks of training and look into what the next two weeks will entail. It's super exciting times as all three look forward to race day! Please meet: Bri McGhee, a final-year dietetics student running her very first marathon. David Troy, the national 10k champion, gearing up for only his second time over the 42.2km distance. Will Boyle, an Asics frontrunner coming off an injury that ruled him out of London, now looking ahead to an exciting Dublin build. Follow along as these three chase very different dreams on the same course.... it's going to be something special.
A big one this week as we’re joined by Sam Maxwell — Managing Director of Emageo Group and Elite Athlete Coordinator for the Perth Running Festival — ahead of race weekend in Perth. Sam takes us behind the scenes of building an elite field: recruiting international athletes, appearance fees and prize money, pacemakers, visas, anti-doping and the challenge of growing Perth into a genuinely world-class marathon. We preview Sunday’s races, unpack the headline names coming to WA and hear about the longer-term ambitions for the event.