Vincent Bouillard was the surprise winner (to some, anyway!) of the 2024 Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, the most prestigious ultramarathon trail race in the world. The 31-year-old Frenchman, who works in product engineering and innovation at HOKA, broke the tape in 19 hours, 54 minutes, and 23 seconds, the third-fastest time in the 21-year history of the 105-mile race.

In this conversation, which was recorded in early October 2024, Bouillard told me what life's been like since his big victory and what may or may not change for him moving forward. We discussed his life as an athlete and how he's honed his focus from a young age. He told me about his relationship with his wife, Kamilah Journét (who appeared on this podcast in 2020), why he shifted his focus to ultras a few years ago, how he trained for UTMB, 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. Podcast cover photo courtesy of Marzelle van der Merwe.

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

This week on the podcast I sat down with my right-hand man Chris Douglas and answered reader and listener questions about the updated Boston Marathon qualifying standards, balancing gym sessions with running workouts, how to better manage long runs when you're an older athlete, what is exciting me most in running at the moment, advice for aspiring coaches, 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 third quarterly conversation of 2024, which you can listen to wherever you get the morning shakeout podcast. An excerpt of this exchange can be found in Issue #42 of LtW, which comes out this week. (You can buy a copy or subscribe here.)

In this episode, which was recorded in August while the men's 1500m final at the Paris Olympics was taking place—if nothing else, listen in for our live reactions during that race—we spoke about pressure: what it is, where it comes from, and how we navigate it in running, work, and other aspects of our life. It was an insightful one, and we hope you feel the same way, so tune in wherever you listen to podcasts.

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.