Clean Sport Collective

We are excited to kick off the podcast in 2021 with one of the greatest American distance runners of all time - Shalane Flanagan. From the roads to the track to the grass and mud of a cross-country course, her resumé of accomplishments pretty much has it all: 3-time NCAA champion, 4-time Olympian, Olympic silver medalist, 18-time US champion, World XC bronze, NYC Marathon champion, and former American record holder for all distances from 3K, 5K, 10K and 15K.

Even with this amazing list of accolades, we may never know Shalane's true accomplishments because many of her major races were affected in some way by drug cheats.

In this episode, Kara and Chris ask Shalane about it all. We discuss her childhood growing up as the daughter of two elite distance runners, living in Colorado and then Massachusetts, where her parents emphasized surrounding yourself with the right people.

She shares when her Olympic aspirations began and the gory details of getting food poisoning in China before bouncing back to earn Olympic bronze (which was later upgraded to silver). She talks about that medal upgrade and the impact of drug cheats on many of her major races including the Boston Marathon in 2014. Finally, she tells us about the true meaning behind the "f-yeah" moment at the finish line of her NYC Marathon victory and then how she now approaches clean sport as a coach with her athletes at the Bowerman Track Club.

Shalane is an amazing ambassador for #cleansport, and we can't think of a better way to kick off our podcasts as we head into this Olympic year!

Imagine missing the Olympic team by .14 seconds in 2008 after working so hard to return from having twins and becoming a mom the first time. Then four years later, imagine nearly tearing your hamstring off the bone just a few months before the Olympic Trials, putting your shot at redemption in doubt. Imagine traveling to Germany away from your kids to see a special doctor and working so hard every day in rehab just to make it to the Olympic Trials to earn a spot on the team. Imagine the relief of making that team, the additional month of painful, hard work to try to get to 100%, and then imagine earning a silver medal in front of a packed Olympic stadium in London.

Now, imagine being so fiercely competitive and believing so firmly that you were the best that you viewed that medal as a disappointment because it wasn't gold. Imagine 8 years later in 2020 that you wait in limbo as a court of arbitration is set to determine whether or not the woman that beat you that day was a doper. Imagine the victory lap not run, the US anthem not played, and the lost moment of glory that you could have shared with your twins who were there that day. Imagine the lost bonus and future earnings that would have been associated with being an Olympic gold medalist. And imagine all of the private moments of mental anguish as you beat yourself up and second-guessed every step in a race that you lost by .07 seconds. Imagine not knowing if you were just great or truly the very best in the world that day.

There is one person who doesn't have to imagine it because she lived it, and that's 400m hurdler Lashinda Demus. In this episode with Kara and Shanna, you will hear about it all and also learn that that this story only scratches the surface of the strong and fascinating woman that Lashinda is. She is a world junior champion, a world champion, officially-for-now an Olympic silver medalist, a mom of 4 boys, a clean sport advocate, and a badass on and off the track that we promise will inspire you. We are very honored and proud to introduce you to Lashinda Demus.

In this episode, we dig into the story behind the stories as Shanna and Kara interview NY Times journalist Lindsay Crouse. In 2019, Lindsay helped break two of the biggest stories of the year, one with Alysia Montano and Allyson Felix on maternity rights for athletes and the other with Mary Cain on her abuse while training with Alberto Salazar at the Nike Oregon Project. Both stories drove critical conversations and paved the path for change in the areas of #dreammaternity and #fixgirlssports. Interestingly, breaking these stories is not Lindsay's main job at the NY Times, and at least one of these stories took nearly 6 years to tell.

In this episode, Shanna and Kara dig into Lindsay's circuitous journey to live her dream in working for the NY Times, while pursuing a parallel dream to qualify for the Olympic Trials in the marathon. Lindsay talks about her childhood aspirations to attend Harvard even though no one from her town in Rhode Island ever had. She discusses her early running career and how she ultimately earned a spot at Harvard to both run and study for her future in journalism.

The path to the NY Times was far from straightforward, however, as Lindsay moved to New York City and had several other jobs before landing her NY Times opportunity. Even then, she had to rely on her own entrepreneurial spirit and instincts to find and tell these important stories, including an initial off-the-record conversation in 2014 with Shanna and Kara on her treatment by Nike during pregnancy.

Finally, Lindsay shares the painstaking and thoughtful work required to verify facts, confirm information from sources, frame the conversation, and ultimately to tell the stories in a way that will resonate with readers in order to provoke much-needed conversations. The work isn't easy, but Lindsay does it well and with integrity. We can't thank her enough for simply giving athletes a platform to tell the truth and to use their voices to drive change in our sport.

In this episode, we learn the fascinating back story of how Aisha Praught Leer became a Commonwealth Games champion in the steeplechase, while also evolving into an outspoken champion for #cleansport.

Aisha grew up in Illinois where she competed in a variety of sports but developed an initial focus in competitive cheerleading. In a twist of fate, cheerleading politics led her to quit that sport and turn her attention to the track where she found her niche in the mile before later adding the steeplechase while in college at Illinois State University. At Illinois State, she finished 2nd in the indoor mile in her senior year which would pave the way for her to turn pro and join the Oregon Track Club, where she made both World Championship and Olympic teams in 2015 and 2016, competing for Jamaica.

Later, she would move to Boulder to be coached by Joe Bosshard and train with steeplechase World Champion Emma Coburn (and others). After a disappointing 2017 World Championships, she came back strong in 2018 at the Commonwealth Games in the race of her life where she earned a gold medal in the steeplechase with a come-from-behind victory over Kenyan Celliphine Cesspol.

In this interview, Kara and Chris discuss it all with Aisha including how she came to compete for Jamaica, what it was like turning pro including the "baptism by fire" that was joining the Oregon Track Club, why she made the switch to train with Emma Coburn in Colorado, and what it's been like living in a two-athlete household with her husband and fellow pro runner Will Leer.

Finally, Aisha provides her perspective on clean sport by sharing her first exposure to other athletes doping and what has led to her be more outspoken on the topic. She talks about how cheaters change the dynamics of races and how the psychological impact of cheating goes well beyond the result for clean athletes. She calls for lifetime bans for dopers, and she gives crystal clear ideas on what can be done to build a better future. We know it's not easy to stand up and use your voice, but we can't thank Aisha enough for leading by example with both her actions and her words.

Betsy Andreu was there when Lance Armstrong first admitted to doping in a hospital room in Indianapolis while preparing for cancer treatment. She heard him rattle off the performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) that he used well before winning his first tour including EPO, HGH, cortisone, and steroids. She was shocked not just by this revelation but also by the lack of surprise exhibited by everyone else in the room including his coach, business associates, sponsors, and yes, her now-husband Frankie who was one of Lance's cycling teammates. That moment would change her life forever.

Growing up in Dearborn, Michigan, however, there was no way to know the path that would lead Betsy Andreu to become one of the most important truth teller's in the Lance Armstrong story. She came from humble beginnings growing up in a Slavic family there, but it gave her a foundation built on principle that has never wavered. She has always told the truth about what she heard and saw because it was the right thing to do.

In this interview, Kara and Shanna begin by understanding Betsy's background and history built on principle. Then, they discuss her relationship with Frankie including how it began and how it survived the revelations about Lance as well as Frankie's own EPO use. Betsy tells the story of the moment when she knew Frankie himself was using PEDs as he led a climb in the Tour de France in 1999, the year of Lance's first Tour victory. Plus, she discusses the aftermath and an argument with Frankie at Lance's victory party which would ultimately lead to Frankie leaving the team, effectively ending his cycling career.

Finally, Betsy discusses her journey as a truth teller including the reasons why she told the truth about what she heard in that hospital room and all of the very real personal pain and suffering she and Frankie have endured as a result of the backlash from Lance and his team. As a contributor to it, she also provides her perspective on part 1 of the Lance Armstrong 30 for 30 documentary on ESPN and what she is expecting from part 2.

Betsy Andreu might be an unlikely hero in this story, but she is a hero indeed. We need more like her who are willing to stand on principle and tell the truth no matter the circumstances.