It's so much more fulfilling to do something you love without validation than to do something you don't love with validation.

What's going on? Emily Abadi here. You are listening to episode 368 of Hurtle, a wellness focus podcast where I talk to inspirational people about everything from their highest highs and

toughest moments to essential tips to live a healthier, happier, more motivated life.

We all go through our fair share of hurdles.

My goal through these discussions is to empower you to better navigate yours and move

with intention so that you can stride toward your own big potential.

And of course, have some fun along the way.

For today's episode, I am elated to bring you my

conversation with Kristen Faulkner. She's a two-time Olympic gold medalist, a multi-time

national road cycling champion, and truly one of the best to ever do it to come out of the

United States. That is an awesome, truly special sentence

considering that Kristen picked up cycling at first as a hobby in 2016 to relieve stress

from her then job in finance. She started competitive cycling a year later, and well,

the rest is history. In today's episode, we get into the how,

the why, what it was about cycling that really intrigued Kristen from the get-go and how she came

to find so much success early on in the sport. We talk about the difficult decision that she

made to step away from a more conventional 9 to 5 into the world of competitive cycling

and what that required of her, including an international move so far away from the comforts

of home. We dive into what it was like for her to compete at the Olympics and how it felt for her

to be thrust into the spotlight after winning not just one, but two gold medals.

Kristen truly is the embodiment of what determination and grit can do.

I am so impressed by her.

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