Nicholas Thompson: How Running Taught Me to Lead, Endure, and Find Meaning

THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST

Dominic Schlueter

Sports, Running

4.9 • 821 Ratings

🗓️ 20 November 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Few people embody the intersection of endurance and intellect quite like Nicholas Thompson.

He's a runner, writer, and CEO of The Atlantic, and in his new book, The Running Ground: A Father, a Son, and the Simplest of Sports, Thompson explores how running has shaped his resilience, his leadership, and his pursuit of meaning in a relentless world.

It's a story of motion–literal and metaphorical–from chasing split times on the road to navigating the fast-evolving media landscape.

A lifelong competitor, Nicholas has defied convention by getting faster with age. At 44, he ran a blistering 2:29:12 marathon in Chicago; at 46, he set the American 45–49 age-group record in the 50K (3:04:36); and in April 2025, at 50, he won the Lake Waramaug 50-Mile in 5:43:08.

His regular "run commutes" through New York and obsession with sleep have become trademarks of his disciplined, data-guided approach; one that keeps him thriving as both an athlete and executive.

As CEO of The Atlantic since 2021, Thompson has led the publication into a new era of growth, championing thoughtful journalism amid a fractured digital age. But behind the boardroom and the headlines is a runner who sees training as a mirror for leadership–patience, discomfort, and long-term vision.

He's here to reflect on the lessons behind The Running Ground:how running taught him to manage pain and purpose, how endurance builds empathy, and why mastering the miles has made him a better human.

Whether you're chasing a PR or perspective, his story is a testament to running not just as a sport, but as a way of thinking–and living–in motion.

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Like what is the fastest speed that I can hold for eight miles?
0:03.0	Or even better, let's do a cut down one.
0:04.7	Right? I'm going to start at A and every mile is going to be faster for eight of them.
0:08.2	And the goal is to get as fast as possible on your average speed.
0:10.7	It's like a great challenge.
0:11.9	And what you learn in that is how to adjudicate the effort, right?
0:16.0	You put into something, right?
0:17.1	And you learn like not to go too fast you learn not to go too slow and like the habits of mind that you force through like a pacing workout or a cut down workout are so valuable and like everything in life because okay here are the things I have to get done today right I okay at least in the number of this amount of time I have to get these things done this amount of free time I have this is the amount of like these the meetings I have the meetings I have. Okay, now let me adjudicate what I'm going to do and what I'm
0:39.9	going to do now. It's not that different, right? And there's skills that you learn going out on
0:44.9	that threshold run that are really helpful. That was Nicholas Thompson today, back on the Running Effect podcast, and this time with a
0:58.1	brand new book called The Running Ground, A Father, a Son, and the simplest of sports.
1:02.3	And if you're unfamiliar with Nick, he's a runner, writer, and the CEO of the Atlantic.
1:07.1	He's also remarkably fast.
1:09.1	You guys won't believe it.
1:10.1	At 44, he ran a blistering 229-12 marathon in Chicago.
1:13.9	At 46, he set the American 45 to 49 age group record in the 50K, running three hours and four minutes.
1:20.2	And in April 2025 at 50, he won the Lake Warma Nog. I'm definitely not saying that right, 50 mile and five hours in 43 minutes.
1:29.1	He regularly run commutes to work and has just this wealth of depth and knowledge that he distills into his new book, The Running Ground, which I personally am very much enjoying reading.
1:38.8	And so today's conversation dives into his relationship with his father, which the book centers around a lot, even on the book cover as a father, a son, and the simplest of sports. And so we dive into his relationship with his father, his relationship with his father, his relationship with his kids, work, discipline, future things. Love this conversation. I hope you guys, you do as well. If you do, share it with a friend, word of mouth marketing is the easiest way in which we can grow. Give us a five-star review. It takes three seconds to hit that button and hit the follow button so you don't miss more conversations like this in the future. I hope you guys are doing amazing. Appreciate you all. Like genuinely, do not take it for granted that you spend time with me and listen to me and my guests. Apologies if I sound a little sick right now.
2:18.1	It's because I'm dealing with a little bit of a sore throat. But yeah, appreciate you all being here
2:22.3	listening to this conversation. It's a fun one. And thank you so much for following the
2:26.0	podcast. It means the world without further ado. Enjoy this amazing conversation with the man
	...

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