291. Paving The Way: Marathoner Joan Benoit Samuelson On Dreaming Big & Her Lasting Relationship With Sport
Hurdle
Emily Abbate
5 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 26 February 2024
⏱️ 53 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Look up the word "goat" in the dictionary, and you'll see a photo of Joan Benoit Samuelson. OK, maybe not really — but Joan's the first woman to ever with the Olympic Marathon in its inaugural year for women in 1984. We had the opportunity to sit down in Orlando this year during the Olympic Trials, and this was definitely a pinch-me moment.
With a plethora of wise takeaways, we chat through so many things in this week's episode: Nike’s Project Dreamweaver, navigating injury and longevity, how she balanced the sport with growing her family, and her opinion on how the culture of the sport has changed.
IN THIS EPISODE
All about Nike’s project dreamweaver (7:55)
What is was like to be one of the first women in this sport chasing big olympic dreams (10:01)
Why Joan denotes the 1984 Olympic trials as ‘the race of her life’ (15:30)
How Joan frames her mindset when faced with things outside of her control (17:45)
Joan’s advice to anyone navigating injury (21:00)
A reflection of the 1984 Olympic games (22:01)
How Joan prioritizes sport with personal life and sharing her joy for running with her family (27:35)
What keeps Joan running after all of this time (32:40)
How her experience and role has evolved through the years as a Nike athlete (38:05)
What’s in Joan’s daily wellness routine (42:50)
What keeps her motivated to show up in pursuit for excellence (44:45)
Joan’s opinion on the current state of women in sport (47:00)
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| 0:00.0 | the marathon is a metaphor for life. You don't know what's around the next bend, you don't know when an opportunity is going to present itself, so you just have to hang in there for the long run and have the passion to persevere. Hey everyone Emily Abody here you are listening to |
| 0:30.0 | episode 291 of Hurt, a wellness focused podcast where I talked to |
| 0:35.6 | inspirational people about everything from their highest highs and |
| 0:38.9 | toughest moments to essential tips on how to live a healthier, happier, more motivated life. |
| 0:45.6 | We all go through our fair share of hurdles, and my goal through these discussions |
| 0:50.4 | is to empower you to better navigate yours and move with intention so that you |
| 0:55.1 | can stride toward your own big potential and of course have some fun along the way. |
| 1:01.6 | Today's episode let's just say it, it's a pinch-me moment for me. |
| 1:06.0 | A conversation with the one, the only, Joan Benoit-Samuelson, |
| 1:12.0 | she was the first woman to ever win the Olympic marathon. |
| 1:17.1 | For some context here, marathons were a part of the first |
| 1:19.6 | International Olympics in 1896, |
| 1:21.9 | but it would be almost 100 years before women were allowed to compete and |
| 1:27.6 | Joni gives us the rundown on all of the history in our chat today. |
| 1:32.9 | Before 1984, there was no woman's marathon category |
| 1:37.6 | in the Olympics at all. |
| 1:39.8 | So talk about a trailblazer here. |
| 1:43.9 | Joan and I were both in Orlando at the same time |
| 1:46.0 | for the Olympic marathon trials, |
| 1:47.6 | which was outrageous within its own way |
| 1:51.1 | and so magical because it was so clear as someone who was in attendance that the |
| 1:56.9 | crowds were so lit for the women not to say that we weren't excited for the men but to see the hype that surrounds |
... |
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