Welcome to episode 30 of hurdle, a podcast that talks to everyone from top CEOs to entrepreneurs about how they got through tough times, hurdles of sorts, by leaning into wellness.

My name's Emily Abadi, and today I'm chatting with Olympian Colleen Quigley, a Nike pro runner with the Bowerman Track Club and all-around rock star. I literally landed

yesterday back in New York City from recording this with her over the weekend in Portland,

where I joined my friends at Nike to check out the Nike Cross Nationals, which is the high

school championships for cross country. I've got to admit, it was surprisingly emotional for me to see. All of the camaraderie

and the bravery and the dedication of these high schoolers. It was, it was really special. Before we

get in today's episode, shout out to the sponsor, Athletic Greens. Complete with 12 servings

of fruits and vegetables, having the greens powder first thing in the morning

before I head out the door makes me feel like a better me. They're offering a special deal

for hurdle listeners. It's 20 free travel packs valued at $99 with your first purchase.

Just head on over to athletic greens.com slash hurdle to claim it. No code necessary. Again,

that's athletic greens.com slash hurdle.

Now, let's talk about Colleen. The first thing to throw out there is that this 26-year-old

definitely didn't grow up dreaming of going to the Olympics to compete in the steeplechase.

And if you've never heard of the steeplechase before, well, you're certainly not alone.

It's essentially a 3,000-meter obstacle race, and each lap of the track has four barriers or

hurdles and a water pit.

After joining the track team, her freshman year of high school and finding her fast, the

St. Louis native realized she really had a knack for this running thing. She landed herself

a scholarship to run at Florida State University, and despite being mega successful, she still

was hesitant to turn pro. But soon enough, she was relocating to Oregon to run as a Nike-sponsored

athlete with the Bowerman Track Club, gearing up for the 2016 summer games.

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