It’s been nearly five years since Mario Fraioli was on Running for Real! At the time he was an athlete, a running coach, a journalist, and was putting out his popular weekly the morning shakeout newsletter, but he had yet to launch his podcast of the same name.

He’s now put out over 200 episodes and has been reflecting on “how fortunate I am to be able to have these conversations and to share them with other people.” Not only have his guests all made an impression on him, but, he says, “my head spins every week when I hear how one of the conversations that I've had has impacted someone else. That has been just one of the, I'll call it happy accidents of my life, I guess, to be able to have that opportunity to do that and to impact people in that way.”

One of his most impactful conversations aired earlier this month. Tommy Rivers Puzey is someone whom Mario wanted to have on the show since the morning shakeout began. He figured that they would be able to get together eventually, that it was “nothing that’s pressing.” Then in the summer of 2020, Tommy became gravely ill with a rare and aggressive form of lymphoma. He was placed in a medically-induced coma, endured multiple surgeries and treatments, and lost nearly half of his body weight. He’s now in remission, regaining his strength, and living life to the fullest. This spring he completed the Boston Marathon in an incredible, inspiring display of heart and will. Mario was privileged to speak with him the next day. You can listen to their conversation here.

Tommy’s journey is a shining example of two things that Mario would like to remind everyone listening, to “be here now” and to “find something to be grateful for.” Don’t stress over something that happened last week, something that is coming up, or things you can’t control. You may find, as Mario has, that “when I can be present, I can also have a lot of gratitude for who I am with, what it is that I'm able to do, and I can also just zoom out and be like, ‘it's not all that bad.’”

The morning shakeout website is the most central place to go for everything that Mario is doing, and you can also follow him on Instagram.

To hear his original Running for Real episode from June 2017, you can go here.

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"Thank you" to Mario. We look forward to hearing your thoughts on the show.