Ep. 82 - 14-Year Old: Erik Semling on Running Fast, Recovering, and Becoming World-Class

This week on the pod is Erik Semling
In this episode of The Sunday Shakeout, I sit down with Erik Semling, a 13-year-old phenom who holds the age-group world records in the 5K and 10K with astonishing times of 15:09 and 31:17, respectively. Not only is Erik incredibly fast, but he is also extremely eloquent and thoughful.
We cover a variety of fascinating topics, including:

Erik's experience running at the Minnesota state meet as an eighth grader
Developing race tactics for track events
Erik's passion for the sport and his journey towards becoming world-class
How his training is tailored to his strengths as an aerobic runner
Erik's early days in the sport and his presence on Instagram
A deep dive into track talk, discussing athletes like Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr, and all things middle-distance running

Before we dive in, if you're enjoying The Sunday Shakeout, please consider following the podcast and leaving a five-star review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Your support helps me continue to have conversations with amazing people in the running community.
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Without further ado, please enjoy my conversation with the incredible Erik Semling.