Episode 191 | Luis Grijalva

This is the first podcast Luis Grijalva has ever been on and he’s got a great story to tell. Luis is a 22-year-old Olympian for Guatemala and finished 12th in the 5000m final in Tokyo, running a personal best of 13:10.09. He now runs professionally for HOKA and recently graduated from Northern Arizona University, where he was a multiple time All-American.

In this conversation, Luis tells his story of coming to the U.S. as a baby, growing up in Fairfield, California, and how getting into running at the age of 14 changed the course of his life. He told me about his experience qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics, navigating the challenges of traveling outside the country as a DACA beneficiary, and what it meant for him to represent not only his home country, but over half a million other Dreamers on the world’s biggest stage. We also discussed his relationship with coach Mike Smith, where he he draws his confidence from, and a lot more.

This episode is brought to you by:

— Recover Athletics. Recover Athletics has worked with the world's best sports physicians and Olympians like Meb Keflezighi to design an app that makes prehab fun and easy. In 90 seconds, the app will customize a program for your body and your training with different resistance exercises, plyometrics, and mobility work—100% evidence-based exercises that are easy to follow on your iPhone or iPad. It’s available only in the iOS app store by searching "Recover Athletics" or at this link.

— the morning shakeout Patreon community: This is where shakeout superfans can support my work directly, interact, and also gain access to exclusive content like The Weekly Rundown, which I co-host with Billy Yang, a monthly "Coaches Corner" discussion, and other fun perks. You can join for as little as a buck a week at themorningshakeout.com/support.

Click here for complete show notes, sign up here to get the morning shakeout email newsletter delivered to your inbox every Tuesday morning, and/or join our growing community on Patreon, where for as little as a buck a week, you'll also gain access to exclusive content like The Weekly Rundown, my Patreon-only podcast with Billy Yang, a live monthly Coaches' Corner discussion, the occasional “emergency pod,” and other perks that pop up from time to time.

Music and editing for this episode of the morning shakeout podcast by John Summerford.

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