Episode 685: Courtney Frerichs on Rebuilding After ACL & Ankle Surgery, Letting Go of Comparison, and Embracing a New Chapter
I'll Have Another with Lindsey Hein Podcast
SandyBoy Productions
4.9 • 2.1K Ratings
🗓️ 22 May 2026
⏱️ 289 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Courtney Frerichs returns to the podcast for a conversation that goes far beyond racing. Courtney opens up about the difficult road back from major ankle and ACL surgeries, missing the 2024 Olympic Trials, and what it’s looked like to rebuild both physically and mentally over the past two years. She shares how stepping into a completely new chapter of her career has changed the way she approaches training, racing, and confidence.
We also go all the way back to Courtney’s early days growing up in Missouri, playing multiple sports, doing gymnastics at a high level, and discovering running later than most elite athletes. She reflects on the impact her college coach had on her life and career, what made their relationship so special, and how those lessons still shape her today. Courtney also talks about moving to Park City, joining Ed Eyestone’s group, racing with freedom again, and the mindset shift that helped her run her fastest 5K in over two years at the USATF 5K Championships.
Topics Discussed:
- Returning to racing after ACL and ankle surgeries
- Rebuilding confidence after injury
- Letting go of comparisons to past versions of herself
- Missing the 2024 Olympic Trials
- Joining Ed Eyestone’s training group in Park City
- Learning to race freely again
- Her silver medal race in Tokyo
- Growing up playing multiple sports
- The impact of Coach Butler on her career
- Finding longevity and joy in the sport again
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is a Sandy Boy Productions podcast. |
| 0:18.3 | Hey friends, welcome to all have another podcast with Lindsay Hine. |
| 0:22.8 | I'm your host Lindsay. |
| 0:24.2 | Thanks for being here today. |
| 0:26.3 | Okay, Courtney Freyrix is joining the podcast. |
| 0:30.4 | I had Courtney on the live podcast that we recorded in Indianapolis the day before the USA |
| 0:36.5 | 5K champs. |
| 0:38.0 | And I hadn't talked to her in quite a while and decided I want to have her back on the show |
| 0:42.9 | because there was a lot more I wanted to ask her and it was just really good to reconnect. |
| 0:48.0 | So we decided to do a full episode with just her and I. |
| 0:51.8 | Courtney is a world and Olympic silver medalist in the |
| 0:57.4 | steeple chase. And the past couple years, she has had some major surgeries. She had an ankle |
| 1:06.3 | surgery and then also an ACL meniscus surgery. |
| 1:17.9 | She was unable to compete in the 2024 Olympic trials because she injured her knee like right before. |
| 1:22.6 | So to say it's been a process is an understatement. |
| 1:29.8 | She was really excited to gear up and defend her spot on the Olympic team, but also her Olympic medal that year. Courtney used to run with the Bowerman Track Club. She was part of that group |
| 1:36.8 | in Portland, followed the group to Eugene for a little bit, and then came out here to North Carolina |
| 1:43.7 | and trained with Amy and Alistair Craig |
| 1:46.4 | for a bit. And now she's training with Ed Istone's group in Utah. So there's a lot to cover here. |
| 1:53.6 | I've interviewed Courtney several times on this podcast, but we definitely took it in different |
| 1:58.8 | directions this time. And we went all the way back. You know, |
| 2:01.7 | we talked a lot about her history. And it's so cool to me that you can have so many long-form |
... |
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