Race Ready9 Nov 2025

Ep. 29 Inside the Athlete Mind: Lessons from Diggins, Ogden, Kern and Wright

In Episode 29 of the Race Ready Podcast, hosts Andy Newell and Brian Halligan reflect on the biggest lessons from this year’s training and racing season. From early-season takeaways at Soldier Hollow to insights drawn from World Cup athletes like Jessie Diggins, Julia Kern, Ben Ogden, and Campbell Wright, this episode dives deep into the mental and physical fundamentals that define elite endurance performance. The hosts explore the often-overlooked role of breathing as a trainable skill, discussing how purposeful exhales and focused respiration can enhance control, relaxation, and overall efficiency in both skiing and biathlon.

Brian and Andy also unpack common themes shared by top World Cup athletes, including a process-driven mindset, training with intent, and maintaining simplicity in a world full of performance trends. They emphasize the importance of tracking progress through training logs, knowing your body, and building fitness patiently—brick by brick. Listeners gain perspective on how the best in the world balance high-level preparation with grounded, consistent habits, while also learning how to apply these insights to their own training and coaching.

To close, the hosts touch on the importance of team cohesion and joy in sport. Drawing from FIS webinars and their own coaching experiences, they highlight how a supportive team culture and balanced mindset sustain long-term success. Whether you’re a coach, junior skier, or elite athlete, this episode offers practical strategies to stay motivated, focused, and connected as the season begins. Tune in to learn how intention, simplicity, and community can elevate both performance and passion in endurance sport.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(66)

S2E20. Why Fall Training Is Where Athletes Get Into Trouble

As summer training gives way to fall, the focus begins to shift from building volume to adding more race-specific intensity. Getting that transition right can be tricky. In this episode, Brian and And...

6 Sep 58min

S2 E19. From Skiing to Ultra Running w/ David Norris

David Norris has spent more than two decades figuring out what it takes to go fast. A former World Championship skier, two-time American Birkebeiner champion, seven-time Mount Marathon winner, and now...

30 Aug 1h 4min

S2E18. What happens to your body at 8,000 ft (2,500m)?

This week on Race Ready, Andy checks in from one of the most unique training environments in North America: the Haig Glacier in Alberta. With athletes hiking nearly an hour just to reach the snow and ...

23 Aug 54min

S2 E17. Consistency, Culture, and the Making of Great Athletes w/ Colin Rodgers

In this episode of Race Ready, we sit down with SMS T2 head coach Colin Rodgers to talk about what it actually takes to develop great cross-country skiers. Colin shares lessons from his own career as ...

16 Aug 58min

S2E16. Are You Training… or Just Exercising?

How should endurance athletes actually build a training block?How do you know when more training is helping versus simply adding fatigue? In this episode of Race Ready, Brian and Andy break down the l...

9 Aug 1h 11min

S2 E15. How Utah Earned Six NCAA Championships w: Fredrik Landstedt

In this episode of the Race Ready Podcast, Andy Newell and Brian Halligan sit down with University of Utah Director of Skiing Fredrik Landstedt, one of the most accomplished coaches in collegiate Nord...

2 Aug 1h 4min

S2 E14. The Truth About Race Weight and Performance

This week on the Race Ready Podcast, we're answering some of the biggest questions sent in by listeners and tackling topics that every endurance athlete and coach eventually has to face. From training...

26 Jul 1h 3min

S2 E13. Luci Anderson, Cross-Country or Biathlon? Here's What It's Really Like to Do Both

What happens when one of America's top cross-country skiers decides to start biathlon... and just two years later is racing on the World Cup and representing Team USA at the Olympic Games? In this epi...

19 Jul 57min