He Built Grant Fisher, Coached 38 State Champs, and Qualified for Two Olympic Trials—Coach Mike Scannell on What It Really Takes to Succeed

THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST

Dominic Schlueter

Running, Sports

4.8 • 686 Ratings

🗓️ 3 August 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What happens when you blend world-class wisdom with small-town humility?

When a coach chooses joy over burnout, purpose over pressure, yet still builds champions from high school tracks to the Olympic stage?

You get Coach Mike Scannell.

Yes, he’s the architect behind Grant Fisher’s rise: from Arizona high school prodigy to Olympic double bronze medalist and six-time American record holder. But Scannell’s impact goes far beyond one legendary partnership.

Before coaching, he was THE athlete. A 2:16 marathoner. A 29:02 10K guy. A two-time Olympic Trials qualifier who raced alongside some of the best of his era. He won the inaugural Phoenix City Marathon in 1987 and helped the U.S. win the 10K team title in 1988. Even into his 40s, he was still on the podium at the USATF Cross Country Championships.

What makes Scannell different isn’t just his resume, it’s his philosophy: trust over control, long-term growth over short-term gains. Whether it’s building state championship programs at Powers, Brophy Prep, or Hamilton High School, or developing over 38 individual state champions, he leads with a mindset that centers athlete happiness, not just performance.

His coaching record speaks for itself: Footlocker and Dream Mile national titles, multiple state records in the 1600, Olympic Trials qualifiers, and Olympians.

Mike Scannell is more than a coach.

He’s a builder of people, a strategist with soul, and a living masterclass in what it means to chase the long game.

In today's conversation, we dive deep into the journey, philosophy, and mindsets of Coach Scannell. We his athletes, his training, his ideas, and so much more.

This one was a treat. Don't miss the free wisdom handed out.

Tap into the Coach Mike Scannell Special.

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	The process, the journey is where the success is.
0:03.9	It's not in the gold medal, and the silver medal, and the bronze medal.
0:07.0	Honestly, the best thing about being a distance runner, granted, it's super fun to win.
0:12.0	I fully admit that.
0:14.0	But the journey is where you really, really get the lifestyle and the life growth and the self-esteem takeaways. It's the journey, not the end.
0:24.6	And so anybody can strive to be the best. And even if you don't get there, the journey itself
0:30.5	is the success.
0:36.1	That was the man the mental legend, coach Mike Scannell today on the Running Effect podcast.
0:41.2	He's been a dream guest in the making because I feel like he intersects with a bunch of my worlds,
0:46.5	both the high school realm, the kind of like business influencer realm with Marcus and Sean
0:52.3	from into New York.
0:53.3	And then obviously what most of you guys out there
0:55.9	know him for, which is being Grant Fisher, the Olympic medalist, his coach. And he was also
1:01.0	Grant's coach back in high school when Grant won national titles, I believe Grant won the
1:05.6	Foot Locker Cross Country National Title, as well as broke four minutes in the mile, which back in the
1:09.7	day was even more impressive than it is presently. yeah currently he is coaching grant to the top of the sport
1:16.2	and been a big influence behind grant's recent progression in the sport of track and field
1:21.4	this conversation breaks down the wisdom of high level training high level coaching and i really
1:26.9	tried to get into Coach Mike's
1:28.8	mind and all of the things behind it. I hope you guys enjoy this one if you do. Share it with a family
1:33.7	member, a friend, a teammate, someone who you think would find value and benefit from it. It's the
1:37.9	easiest way in which we can grow this podcast, which is obviously my goal. The other thing you can
	...

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