82. The Next Best Run with 2 Time Olympian Kim Conley
Two-time Olympian and renowned runner, Kim Conley, joins Laura on the podcast this week to share her incredible story of defying all odds to reach the pinnacle of her sport. From facing disappointments in college to becoming an Olympian with her first endorsement deal within just three years, Kim's tale is a testament to the power of perseverance and self-belief. In addition to her prowess on the track, she also operates a successful coaching company which caters to runners of all abilities across the nation. Today, this very special guest details the many powerful lessons she has learned during her unforgettable journey of passion, triumph, and dedication.
Throughout this fascinating conversation, Kim recounts her road to the Olympics, her transition to marathon running, the challenges she faced during her athletic career, and how she balanced her personal life with her professional ambitions. She highlights the significance of teamwork in running, where even middle-of-the-pack athletes play crucial roles in team scores, and notes that her love for running and the joy she finds in the sport have been the driving forces behind her success and continued dedication to the marathon. The life-changing grant that allowed her to devote herself wholly to training for the Olympic Trials, and the sheer determination and courage she demonstrated in securing her place in the Olympics by a razor-thin margin are also discussed. Kim goes on to introduce her coaching business, "Next Best Run," and her plans for the future, including her quest for the 2024 Paris Olympics. As you will hear, Kim Conley’s story, as shared here today, is a truly remarkable one of grit, passion, and seizing the moment that will undoubtedly leave you inspired to pursue your own dreams, no matter what obstacles you may encounter in your path.
Episode Highlights:
Overcoming disappointments.
The value of teamwork
Setting ambitious goals
Finding joy in running
Pursuing excellence
Striving for support and independence
Kim’s make-or-break moment
Tactical Olympic trials
Quotes:
"Sometimes we just need to give ourselves the opportunity to do great things. All of our paths to get there may look different, but every effort we make matters."
"I was really focused on really helping the coaches with the recruiting process and trying to build up the team so that we could be the type of team that would qualify for Nationals."
"I felt like, ‘Wow, in three years, if I keep making progress, could I get to the Olympic Trials? Would that make me feel accomplished and make up for this huge, heartbreaking disappointment with college?’"
"I just need to stop fixating on the outcome and just try to run as hard as I possibly can to see where that lands me."
"A lot of it is about where running is fitting into a person's life and how they're feeling. And so I like to have a lot of communication and interaction with the people that I work with."
"With the support of coaches, with the support of my family, I kind of set that goal of ‘I want to be at the Olympic Trials in three years.’ And so that's how I decided to keep pursuing it after college."
"I want to be a runner for my entire life.”
Links:
Learn more about the Take Action Workshop
Laura’s Social Media:
Connect with Kim:
42. Redefining Success with Olympic Hurdler Sarah Wells
This week, Laura welcomes Olympic hurdler, Sarah Wells, to the podcast. Once an athlete who was cut from every high school team she tried out for, Sarah discovered track and field and went on to become an Olympic semi-finalist and Pan Am Games silver medalist in the 400m hurdles, building a reputation for overcoming challenges and achieving the ‘impossible’ along the way. She is also the Founder of the Believe Initiative, where she now uses her story to help youth understand the importance of being resilient and the power of believing in themselves, and to help corporations build more resilient teams.
Sarah begins by recounting how she got her unique start in sports, the support networks which have sustained her throughout, her rapid development in the hurdles, and both working and learning through her injuries. She also shares her discovery of ‘her word’, her Olympics Trials and Games experience, managing her stress fractures, and preparing to qualify for Rio 2016. Sarah concludes the conversation by discussing her Believe Initiative, how to get involved in it, her retirement from sports, and her perspective and guide to redefining success. A gifted speaker with a truly inspiring story, Sarah Wells has learned so much from her journey which is so very pertinent to life both within and beyond the sporting arena, and she shares it all here today.
Episode Highlights:
· Sarah’s start in sports
· Her support networks
· Sarah’s rapid development in hurdles
· Working and learning through her femur injury
· Finding her word ‘Believe’
· Returning from her injury
· Her Olympics Trials and Games experience
· Managing her recurring stress fractures
· Preparing to qualify for Rio 2016
· The Believe Initiative and how to get involved
· Retiring from sport
· Sarah’s perspective and exercise regarding redefining success
Quotes:
“At that point I hadn't defined myself by sport and I also had some really amazing siblings.”
“You go from zero to competing internationally in, like, eight months.”
“When someone else says it, you know, you're instantly a bit more likely to believe it.”
“I would almost, like, live and die by how my leg felt that morning.”
“I just would get so mentally defeated and, like, halfway through an interval I would just start walking.”
“In the most important races in my life, when the gun goes off, I hear nothing. I just lock into completing what I need to do.”
“It hurts so much that I'm scared, tomorrow when I run, it could break in half.”
“It's a hard line to figure out when to push and when to ease off.”
“Success isn't linear, it’s this roller coaster ride of emotions.”
“Rest would have been very productive in that moment.”
“I miss qualifying by half a second.”
“Clearly you don't build self-belief through achievements, you build it through action.”
“It helps people everywhere take a passion they have with a problem they want solve, and they use that passion to solve that problem, and they build self-belief through action.”
“While hard work doesn't always lead to success, being resilient will always lead to another opportunity for it.”
“Far more people are inspired by the time where I didn't make the Olympics over the time where I did.”
“If you're able to continuously embody and act from a place of those powerful character traits that lead to success, well then, even in a moment where things don't work out, you're going to be able to rely on those things and find your next opportunity for success.”
Links:
5 Smart Strategies to Confidence
Laura’s Social Media:
Connect with Sarah:
39. Chasing dreams and making history with Olympic runner Dom Scott
South African Olympic runner, Dom Scott, joins Laura today for a truly inspiring conversation about persevering and making tough decisions to make your dreams a reality. Born in Cape Town, Dom’s journey to the Olympics meant moving away from her family at a young age to access the training and opportunities offered elsewhere, which resulted in multiple NCAA titles, 12 All-American honors, and, of course, her appearance at the Rio Olympics. Today, Dom takes some time out from her training for the Tokyo Olympics to share her story and the lessons it has to offer.
She begins by sharing some details of growing up in Cape Town, her start in sports, particularly running, and the difficult decision to leave home to attend a high school with a track team. Dom also discusses the road that took her to the University of Arkansas, her career there, her year of fairy tale moments, and her Rio experience. She concludes by delving into the lessons she has learned throughout her career, how COVID has affected her and her training, what keeps her going through the hard times, and the Dom Squad. The overriding themes of following your dream and cherishing support from family, friends, and faith run through Dom’s journey, and offer inspiration for us all in how we can approach our own lives.
Episode Highlights:
· Dom’s upbringing in Cape Town and her start in running
· Netball
· Living away from home to go to a high school with a track team
· Her Olympic dream and her parents’ support
· Going to the University of Arkansas
· Her college experience
· The differences between indoor/outdoor track and cross country
· How she improved so much over her college career
· Dom’s year of fairytale moments
· Her Rio Olympic experience and the process involved in getting there
· What helped Dom through her doubts and anxiety leading up to Rio
· What Dom has learned in terms of her identity
· Her current definition of success
· How COVID has impacted her and her preparation for Tokyo
· What keeps Dom going through the hard times
· The Dom Squad
Quotes:
“I grew up playing every sport.”
“I guess as a dreamer and the determined person that I am, as a 12 year old, that just seemed like something that was worth fighting for and worth making hard decisions for.”
“Selflessly…she told me to go and to follow my dreams, follow my heart, and if she hadn’t done that, I think I probably would have pulled the plug on the whole thing.”
“College, you’ve got to remember, everyone is away from home.”
“Very quickly, I started changing the way I was talking…and looking back at it, I’m so sad that I did that.”
“Don’t change who you are to blend in and be like everybody else…you want to stand up and rise above that.”
“My freshman year was a big learning curve.”
“I just tried to start observing.”
“Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.”
“Your 10 points just secured the win for the Lady Razorbacks.”
“That sermon gave me so much peace.”
“You earned your spot on that start line.”
“I had taken the necessary steps to make my dream a reality.”
“At the time, I was embarrassed to say I’d come 21st, which is ridiculous!”
“It’s not about the place, it’s about how you feel about what you did.”
“Being an Olympian and having competed in the Olympics is not something that made me a better person, or, like, changed my life significantly either…it wasn’t something I wanted to be branded as.”
“If you are searching for your identity in anything other than Christ…it’s never going to fulfill you, it’s never going to satisfy you, and you’re always going to be left wanting more.”
“I am…more than Dom Scott, the athlete.”
“I really feel like surrounding myself with people that love me and support me – that’s what helps me through those really horrible days.”
Links:
5 Smart Strategies to Confidence
Laura’s Social Media:
Connect with Dom:
37. Learning to run free with World Champion Chanelle Price
World Champion runner, Chanelle Price, joins Laura today to share her remarkable story and the lessons she has learned through it all. A supremely talented elite athlete, Chanelle’s many achievements include competing at the 2007 USA Outdoor Championships at the age of 16, running the second fastest 800m of all time by a high school female which qualified her for the Olympic Trials when she was 17, and becoming the 2014 World IAAF Indoor Champion – the first American woman to ever win 800m gold at an indoor or outdoor world championship. Along with these great successes, Chanelle has experienced some devastating low points in her career, and she courageously discusses them all here today.
She begins by sharing how she came to find her way into track, her early successes, her struggles with insecurity, and the dark days of her time at college. Chanelle then provides a highly personal account of the factors that led her to contemplate suicide, and how beginning her journey with Christianity pulled her through that tragic time. She also discusses the many challenges she still had to face throughout this journey, the difference between her Olympic Trials experiences, and training for Tokyo during COVID. She draws the conversation to a close by highlighting the importance of maintaining a healthy relationship with sport, surrounding yourself with the right supportive people, her current definition of success, and the crucial role her ‘why’ plays in keeping her motivated and moving forward. Chanelle holds nothing back as she recounts the shining mountain peaks and dark, dark valleys she has encountered in her fascinating journey, and how these have helped her to become the woman she is today - an individual overflowing with faith, strength, character, and commitment, who undoubtedly ‘brings a smile to God’s face’.
Episode Highlights:
· How Chanelle found her way into track
· Her early success
· Chanelle’s struggles with insecurity
· Her college experience
· Seeking a sponsorship deal
· Chanelle’s contemplation of suicide
· Her journey with Christianity
· Drifting away from and returning to God
· The many challenges Chanelle has worked through
· Moving to train in Eugene, Oregon
· Training for Tokyo during COVID
· Chanelle’s Olympic Trials experiences
· The importance of maintaining a healthy relationship with sport and surrounding yourself with supportive people
· Her current definition of success
· Chanelle’s ‘why’
Quotes:
“I just didn’t really find track fun. It felt more like punishment.”
“Once I started that singular focus on track once I got to high school, you know, it really paid off.”
“It was definitely the success that got me to like it.”
“That is where my sense of identity came from was my achievement on the track.”
“I don’t know who I am if I’m not Chanelle Price the track star.”
“It was like a 100 pound weight on my shoulders every time I went to race.”
“Behind closed doors, I was really, really, really struggling.”
“Chase after Me like you chase after track.”
“Your worth is not based off of how you perform out there on the track.”
“To whom much is given, much is required.”
“I was just a completely different person on the track.”
“You know, God, I’m going to come back to You.”
“The past 4 years have been the hardest years of my life…He answered, but it just wasn’t really what I expected.”
“I miss being that desperate for Him.”
“It was a very humbling experience.”
“God, I don’t know what You’re doing, but I’m about to break here…I don’t know if I can take this.”
“Every other month I said I was going to quit.”
“Maybe He’s telling me it’s time to move on.”
“I knew that this extra year was definitely a blessing in disguise for me.”
“Honestly, I considered retirement after that.”
“The woman that you have become through this journey is worth it.”
“I’m not thinking about anything else besides using my gift, and for me that’s when things seem to fall into place.”
“Some pressure is good, don’t get me wrong, but it shouldn’t get you to the point of suicide like it has for me in the past…that is not a healthy relationship with sport.”
“This is what you do. It’s not who you are.”
“The person that we become along the way - I think that’s what brings a smile to God’s face.”
“The sole thing that kept me going was my ‘why’.”
“Don’t sacrifice the gift.”
“There is always hope beyond what is happening in front us right now.”
Links:
5 Smart Strategies to Confidence
Laura’s Social Media:
Instagram: Laura's Instagram
Facebook: Laura's Facebook page
Connect with Chanelle:
23. When the beautiful Olympic moment is not what you expected with Abbey and Jacob Cooper
Laura’s guests on the podcast today are Olympic runner, Abbey Cooper, and her sport psychologist husband, Jacob. Abbey’s impressive college career includes being seven-time national champion, 16-time Ivy League champion and 12-time All-American. In 2012, she became the first Dartmouth woman to win a national title, and in 2013 she became the first Ivy League student-athlete to win the cross-country title. Currently running for New Balance and pursuing the Tokyo Olympics, Abbey is perhaps best known for her inspiring performance at the 2016 Rio Olympics, which she describes in full here today. Highly talented in his own right, Jacob was a scholarship athlete and four-year starter on the football team at Taylor University. This experience led to his interest in the field of sport psychology, and currently, he is the Director of Sport Psychology Services at Appalachian State University and a member of the Mental Health Registry of the USOPC.
Their conversation with Laura today explores not only their story in sport and in their personal relationship, but also of their unwavering faith, and the role that God plays in their lives. Along the way, they touch on Abbey’s experience at Dartmouth and the beginning of her faith journey, God’s grace in her life, His transformation of Jacob’s heart, and how He has taught them lessons about hardship, suffering, and what really matters through His ministry to them. Of course, Abbey’s historic and inspiring performance at the 2016 Olympics is recounted from both of their perspectives, and they also share details of their unique dynamic, what the past four years have been like, what they’ve been working on during the pandemic, and the dream that they have for helping other athletes. Having been through so much, and having faced it all together, supported by the power of their faith, Abbey and Jacob have many lessons to teach about making meaning out of experiences, and they do precisely that here today with extraordinary grace, humility, and sincerity.
Episode Highlights:
· Abbey’s experience at Dartmouth
· The beginning of her faith journey and her transitional moment
· God’s grace in her life
· Jacob’s athletic experience
· God’s transformation of his heart
· Jacob’s transition into sports psychology
· How Abbey and Jacob’s relationship started and built
· Abbey’s 2016 Olympic experience, and how God prepared her for the moment
· Jacob’s perspective of it
· God shifting Abbey’s perspective on the meaning of hardship
· What really matters
· How God ministers back to us
· What their past four years have been like
· The dynamic between Abbey and Jacob
· What they’ve worked on during the pandemic and Tokyo Games postponement
· Understanding the purpose of suffering
· The importance of acknowledging grief
· The unique fulfillment of inspiring and lifting other people up
· Jacob and Abbey’s dream to help other athletes rehabilitate their relationship with sport
· runningwithheart.org (coming soon)
Quotes:
“God had other plans.”
“I wouldn’t go back and change it, because it really brought me to the end of myself, and introduced me to this need for the Lord in my life.”
“It was the peace He gave you inside.”
“It was definitely a pretty humbling and arduous path from there that God really used to kind of transform my life.”
“It was this gift to glorify Him.”
“Luckily, God surrounded me with great friends, coaching, and mentors that helped me make meaning of my experience.”
“It was the fastest mile of my life, and probably the slowest of Abbey’s.”
“It was like God’s hand was over the whole thing.”
“I know that I’m here for a reason, but none of this makes sense.”
“That is so unnatural to me to respond in a way that isn’t selfish that I am so sure that it was just the Holy Spirit.”
“Abbey tried to get up like two or three times and run, and just kind of collapsed.”
“It was one of the most memorable and uplifting stories of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.”
“Now to him who is able.”
“When I crossed the finish line, I was already so amazed by what God had done.”
“Lord, bless me with wisdom, bless me with humility, and bless me with a godly wife someday…He gave me all three combined into one.”
“God’s given me a lot of hardship to walk through, and so I’ve picked up a few things along the way about what’s helped me.”
“I hope and pray athletes will feel less alone in their struggles.”
Links:
Mental Training: https://www.laurawilkinson.com/learn
Laura’s Social Media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lala_the_diver
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLauraWilkinson
Connect with Abbey and Jacob:
Running With Heart homepage: https://www.runningwithheart.org/
Abbey’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abbey_dags/