Welcome back or welcome to the single track podcast. I'm your host Finn Melanson and in this

episode we are talking with John Ray ahead of the 23 Western States 100. Before we get started though,

this episode is brought to you by features, Morton, Hoka, and Rabbit. Head over to the show notes page

of this episode for discount codes and product

releases from each of these four sponsors. With that, let's get started. Johnny Ray, welcome back

live in studio, Olympic Valley to the single track podcast. Hey guys, excited to be here. Johnny Ray,

one of the coolest names in sports, period, and now.

Hopefully this gets heard and taken over to the live stream on Saturday.

You heard it here first.

Yeah, yeah, on the baseball field, I was always Johnny Ray.

Growing up, I'm becoming like a mature adult.

So introduce myself as the formal John or Jonathan more often was always Johnny Ray. Growing up, I'm becoming like a mature adult. So I introduce

myself as the formal John or Jonathan more often. But Johnny Ray, I'll take as my athlete name.

I think the first question I want to ask you, because we have had you on multiple times after

Bandera, I believe right before Havelina. So it's been six or seven months. In terms of your intensity in the sport,

in terms of how you prepare, how you think about racing,

the level of involvement that running has in your life,

are you the same runner right now,

or do you find yourself to be a more serious runner?

Over the last year, I don't think that big of a change.

It's like kind of a nine-year trajectory of like becoming incrementally more and more

professional.

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