Clean Sport Collective

Kara Goucher, Shanna Burnette, and Chris McClung
Clean Sport Collective

The Clean Sport Collective is a community of powerful voices comprised of athletes, brands, events, clubs, fans and the public to support the pursuit of clean sport and athletics through the absence of performance enhancing drugs. With this podcast, we will celebrate clean athletes, educate you on issues in the world of clean sport, and bring hope that we can all believe in the power of fair play across all sports.

  1. 03/22/2022

    Episode #106: Dominique Scott, 2-Time Olympian in Track and Field

    Dominique Scott is a 2-Time Olympian, a 5-Time NCAA Champion, a South African champion and record holder, and the owner of two new, smoking-fast personal bests in the half marathon (67:32) and 10K (31:00). Beyond the accolades, her energy and passion for the sport is contagious, and her journey to realize her Olympic dream in 2016 in Rio is absolutely inspirational. Kara and Chris dig into it all with her.  We are fortunate that Dominique believes in #cleansport, because she also went nearly 2.5 years without an out-of-competition drug test between the fall of 2019 and early March of this year, which included no out-of-competition testing immediately before competing at both the 5K and 10K at the Tokyo Olympics.  That, of course, is not her fault but does highlight the challenges of international drug testing and the window of opportunity for cheating that was created by the COVID-19 pandemic. This conversation also underscores the difficulties of staying motivated as an elite athlete knowing that the playing field is not level. Listen and be a fan. Dominique's story is one to follow closely as she aspires to compete in both the Commonwealth Games and the World Championships this year.  Finally on a podcast note, we just surpassed 1 million podcast downloads last week which is a big milestone for us! We wanted to thank you all for listening and supporting this platform. Together, we are making a difference in the name of clean sport!

    1h 18m
  2. Episode #103: Nathan Martin, Fastest US-Born Black Marathoner

    12/20/2021

    Episode #103: Nathan Martin, Fastest US-Born Black Marathoner

    Nathan Martin is the fastest US-born black man to ever cover 26.2 miles. He ran 2:11:05 at the Marathon Project in 2020 to earn that title with a new personal best. He also finished 3rd American and 8th overall at the recent NYC Marathon, but based on the TV coverage, you would have barely known he was in the race. Fortunately in this interview, we get the play-by-play on his in-race back and forth with Ben True over the final miles. It is a riveting firsthand account, and we are proud to give Nathan the platform he deserves to share it.  Nathan, however, is used to not being in the spotlight. He's been diligently working to be a better runner in his home state of Michigan since discovering his talent in middle school. In high school, he focused on and was state finalist in the one mile race before being encouraged to move up in distance by his college (and current coach) Dante Ottolini. In college, he capped his senior year by winning NAIA national titles in the 10K and marathon (yes, marathon!), all in a span of 36 hours. That final college race kickstarted a post-collegiate marathon career that has now included two Olympic Marathon Trials, top finishes at US Marathon Championships, the big PR at the Marathon Project, and now a top 10 result at a World Major.  Nathan and his coach believe that making a US team at the World Championships or Olympics is a possibility, even as he splits his time coaching high school level athletes himself. In his own words, we learn where Nathan gets his work ethic and his roll-with-the-punches attitude, along with the values he learned from his coaches and parents along the way. We discover the source of his integrity, his perspective on clean sport, and the lessons he hopes to pass onto the kids he now coaches.  Nathan subtly drops truth bombs throughout this episode, and we couldn't be more honored to share his story with you.

    1h 1m
  3. Episode #102: Zach Bitter and Ryan Montgomery on Clean Sport in the Trail/Ultra Community

    12/13/2021

    Episode #102: Zach Bitter and Ryan Montgomery on Clean Sport in the Trail/Ultra Community

    Ryan Montgomery and Zach Bitter are no strangers to doing really hard things over long distances. Zach holds the world records for both the 100-mile distance by time and for distance run over 12 hours at 104.88 miles. Ryan just finished second at the Javelina 100, earning a golden ticket for the Western States 100, and he earned a spot on Team USA for the 24-Hour World Championships with a 154.71-mile performance over 24 hours last December.  Together, they join us for our most in-depth conversation to date on the clean sport culture in the trail/ultra world. We start with a story from Ryan on an innocent visit to the doctor that could have inadvertently resulted in him committing a doping violation. From there, we talk about the need for more education and openness on the topic of clean sport in the trail/ultra community. We discuss drug testing in the sport including Ryan and Zach's history with it (or lack thereof). We cover strict liability, IVs, marijuana/THC use in ultras, and the challenges of enforcing clean sport culture in this corner of the competitive running world without a governing body. Finally, we discuss the roles of various stakeholders to build and sustain the clean sport culture in trail/ultras including athletes, events, brands, and fans. We asked Ryan and Zach the hard questions, and just like in big races, they didn't back down. Thank you to both of them for their willingness to dig deep. We also owe a special thanks again to Altra Running for hosting us in their booth at The Running Event, for supporting these two amazing athletes, and for being a brand that cares about clean sport.

    58 min
  4. Episode #101: Catching up with Alysia Montaño

    12/06/2021

    Episode #101: Catching up with Alysia Montaño

    "The biggest thing that I just want to stop feeling, that I continue to feel, is the time that I spent in my career being fake." - Alysia Montaño.  Alysia has joined us on 2 episodes already so you know her story well. She is a 7-time US Champion. She is an Olympian, and she has two bronze medals from the World Championships that were stolen by dopers and eventually awarded to her many years later. You may not know, however, that she is still in an ongoing battle more than 11 years later to recover $60,000 in prize money that was also stolen from her at those two events. For Alysia, it's not about the money. It's the principle that matters, and she is challenging World Athletics, the IOC, the USOPC, and USADA on this issue to set a new precedent for future athletes who might end up in the same situation.  She gives us the play-by-play on that challenge while also catching us up on the latest in her life with 3 kids, her first Spartan obstacle course race, and the important work of her non-profit &Mother. This is a tough conversation at times, but in the end, we do talk about hope and where she goes to find it. Thank you to Alysia for never shying away from the tough issues and for her commitment to leaving the sport better than she found it.  Also, special thanks to Alysia's sponsor Altra Running, signer of the Clean Sport Collective brand pledge, for hosting us in their booth for this recording during The Running Event in Austin, TX last week.

    43 min
4.6
out of 5
304 Ratings

About

The Clean Sport Collective is a community of powerful voices comprised of athletes, brands, events, clubs, fans and the public to support the pursuit of clean sport and athletics through the absence of performance enhancing drugs. With this podcast, we will celebrate clean athletes, educate you on issues in the world of clean sport, and bring hope that we can all believe in the power of fair play across all sports.

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