The Sunday Shakeout

Nicholas Macha
  • 5.0 (172)
  • RUNNING
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

The Sunday Shakeout seeks to share the untold stories of top high school, collegiate, and professional runners. The mission? To showcase the humanity and unique journeys of these athletes. Through deep, authentic conversations, I aim to inspire my audience to pursue both athletic and personal success, seeing running not just as a set of goals, but as a path of growth and transformation along the way.

  1. Ep. 175 - The Most Talented HS Miler in the Nation: The Rise of 4:01 Miler, 5X State Champ & NBNO Champ Carter Smith

    JAN 5

    Ep. 175 - The Most Talented HS Miler in the Nation: The Rise of 4:01 Miler, 5X State Champ & NBNO Champ Carter Smith

    Some athletes ease into the spotlight. Carter Smith ran straight toward it... faster than almost anyone his age. The Mifflin County senior from Lewistown, Pennsylvania is still early in his distance-running journey, just three years into the sport, yet his natural ability has forced the running world to pay attention. An 800-mile talent with rare range and feel, Smith pairs raw speed with an instinct for racing that can’t be taught. He didn’t grow up doing this. He learned fast. And then he kept getting better. The numbers come quick. 1:48.66 for 800 meters. 4:01.2 for the mile. A 15:04 5K in cross country. Five PIAA state titles. A NBNO championship in the mile. Last spring, he delivered the defining performance of his career so far, doubling back to win both the 1600m and 800m at the PIAA state meet. Two races. No margin. Just execution. But talent doesn’t protect you from doubt. This fall marked only his second season of cross country, raced mostly on slower courses and capped by a fourth-place finish at states after winning the year before. A small change in placement. A sharp internal check. Proof that progress isn’t linear, even when the ceiling is high. In this episode of The Sunday Shakeout, Carter talks about the power of the mind, how belief shapes performance, and what it means to stay grounded when expectations rise faster than experience. We unpack late development, racing with intent, and the tension between trusting talent and earning it daily as he gears up for a sub-four attempt at the New Balance Grand Prix. This conversation isn’t about hype. It’s about learning how to handle talent without letting it define you. Please enjoy this episode of The Sunday Shakeout with Carter Smith. Consider leaving a follow and a five-star review. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesundayshakeout/

    35 min

  2. JAN 4

    Opening Up About 2026 & What the New Year Means - My Life Outside of Our Sport

    Wake up, baby. We're back with the doubleheader weekends. A formal interview will be dropping later today... one of the biggest talents in high school in 2026. This episode, however, has a different tone. I open up about my life outside of the sport of running as we enter the new year. I am as transparent and clear-cut as possible about my mental and emotional state after my junior cross-country season and how I am getting right with myself this new year. This goes far beyond the objective results and the times. This is existential. I explore what true meaning and pursuit looks like, and the hidden cost of obsession. The weight of passion. I hope someone can relate to my message and what I have to say. Happy New Year to all! I hope you had a lovely holiday season with family and friends and that you are ready to attack 2026.

    35 min
  3. Ep. 174 - Team Over Everything: The Rise of Rowan Saccke | Scoring the Lowest Points in Texas 6A XC State History

    12/28/2025

    Ep. 174 - Team Over Everything: The Rise of Rowan Saccke | Scoring the Lowest Points in Texas 6A XC State History

    Texas State Meet. The 3200 meters. One plan. One chance.Rowan Saacke executed. The Bridgeland High School senior from Cypress, Texas spent the past year learning how to stay steady when the stakes were highest. Patient in her approach. Grounded in her training. Oriented toward the team more than the spotlight. Her junior year, the breakthrough came at the Texas state meet. Rowan controlled the 3200m from the start and won the Texas 6A state title. Later that day, she returned for the 1600m and finished 4th. Not a failure. Just a reminder that success doesn’t always arrive cleanly. The momentum carried into late May, where she placed 3rd in the mile at RunningLane and ran 4:45 for 11th at the HOKA Festival of Miles, placing herself firmly among the country’s top high school distance runners. Cross country added a final layer. In her last season wearing a high school uniform, Rowan helped lead Bridgeland to a Texas 6A state championship, breaking the state meet scoring record with the lowest total in history. Individually, illness complicated the postseason. She finished 5th at state and 19th at NXR South, but helped her team place 2nd and qualify for Nike Cross Nationals. This episode is about composure. About learning to value execution over outcome, and meaning over medals. Rowan reflects on change, pressure, illness, and what it looks like to choose the team when individual goals don’t go as planned. If you enjoyed the episode, consider following The Sunday Shakeout on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and leaving a five-star review. It’s one of the best ways to support the show.

    52 min
  4. Ep. 173 - The Failures Teach More Than The Successes Ever Will: The Mikah Peters Story

    12/21/2025

    Ep. 173 - The Failures Teach More Than The Successes Ever Will: The Mikah Peters Story

    In South Dakota, distance running rarely comes with a spotlight. Mikah Peters earned one anyway. The Brandon Valley senior spent years quietly building belief, never assuming he’d be the best guy on his own team, let alone a national contender. Progress came slowly. Intentionally. Through seasons of patience and an offseason obsession with getting better. In November, that belief finally crystallized. Peters won the SDHSAA Class AA State Championship in 14:54, breaking Simeon Birnbaum’s long-standing state meet record. The season didn’t stop there. After falling from glory at NXR Heartland, Mikah earned the Golden Ticket and lined up at the inaugural Brooks Cross Country Nationals in Balboa Park. Against the deepest field of the year, he raced with composure and control, finishing 20th overall to earn All-American honors on the sport’s biggest stage. The performances mean more in context. One year earlier, Peters passed out while leading the state meet, battling illness and extreme heat. The season ended abruptly. That moment lingered. It reshaped how he thought about trust, execution, and what championship racing actually demands. As Mikah said: "The desert teaches you more about water than the ocean ever will." If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following The Sunday Shakeout on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and leaving a five-star review. It goes a long way in supporting the show and helping these stories reach more people.

    34 min

  5. 12/15/2025

    Ep. 172 - Excellence is Boring Before It's Impressive: Winter Training 2026, High Mileage, The Last Chance

    December doesn’t reward you right away. No races.No crowds. No proof that the work is doing anything at all. In this solo episode, I walk through how I’m approaching winter training — not just the mileage, but the mindset behind it. Why winter is my favorite season. Why PRs are made long before spikes ever hit the track. And why patience, not excitement, is the real competitive advantage. I break down my winter mileage plan, how I’m building gradually toward 55–60 miles per week, and what I believe actually defines a breakout junior track season. Not just times — but composure, durability, and the ability to show up when discomfort hits. We talk about being “due” for a breakout without feeling entitled. About trusting inputs when outcomes are still invisible. And about why spring doesn’t create fitness — it reveals it. This episode is for anyone willing to do the work when no one’s watching. Because winter always tells the truth. I hope you enjoy this episode of The Sunday Shakeout! Please consider leaving a follow and a five-star review!

    27 min
  6. Ep. 171 - The Biggest Junior Breakout XC Season of 2025 | Catching Up With Newly Crowned Oregon XC State Champ & NXN 23rd Place Yosuke Shibata

    12/08/2025

    Ep. 171 - The Biggest Junior Breakout XC Season of 2025 | Catching Up With Newly Crowned Oregon XC State Champ & NXN 23rd Place Yosuke Shibata

    In 2025, South Eugene’s Yosuke Shibata quietly put together one of the strongest junior seasons in the nation. He started the fall with a win at the Oregon City XC Invite, dropping 14:53.8 and showing early signs that he was ready for more. Two weeks later, he went 14:38.2 at Nike Portland XC — a race that didn’t just give him a PR, it put him on everyone’s radar across the region. From there, he kept leveling up. He won his first OSAA 6A state title in 15:01.1, closing hard against some of Oregon’s best seniors. At NXR Northwest, he held his ground in one of the most aggressive regional races we’ve seen in years, finishing fourth in 14:45.0 to earn his spot at NXN. And on the national stage, he delivered again — 23rd at Nike Cross Nationals, just outside All-American, but fully inside the conversation of who belongs up front. What stands out about Yosuke isn’t just the times. It’s the way he carries himself. Steady. Composed. A kid who built confidence race by race until the belief finally caught up with the ability. As he heads toward track and the rest of his junior year, his trajectory feels less like a breakout and more like the start of someone settling into who he really is as a star on the national scene. Tap into the Yosuke Shibata Special. Please consider leaving a follow and a five-star review!

    40 min
  7. Ep. 170 - The Next Great Northwest Talent: How Miro Parr-Coffin Forced His Way Into the Front of Northwest XC While Conquering the National Wrestling Stage

    12/01/2025

    Ep. 170 - The Next Great Northwest Talent: How Miro Parr-Coffin Forced His Way Into the Front of Northwest XC While Conquering the National Wrestling Stage

    In 2025, Spokane’s Miro Parr-Coffin became the freshman every Northwest distance fan had to watch. The Gonzaga Prep standout opened his high-school career by dropping a 14:29.6 at The Mook XC Invitational, finishing second in a field loaded with upperclassmen. Two weeks later, he backed it up with another runner-up finish at the Battle of the 509, proving the breakout wasn’t a one-off. His momentum carried into championship season. He placed fifth at the Washington 4A State Meet, then delivered a strong 32nd-place, 15:17 performance at NXR Northwest — the biggest race of his life, on a course only a handful of athletes had previewed. Off the cross-country course, Parr-Coffin showed an even wider range. In July, he swept the 16U national titles in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, earning USA Wrestling’s Athlete of the Week honors. The combination of endurance, power, discipline, and composure made him one of the most versatile young athletes in the country. Balancing high-stakes wrestling with high-level running, the 2029 freshman built a season defined by conviction and consistency. His progression, from breakout invitational performer to state contender to national-championship wrestler, reveals a rare competitive engine for someone this young. With three years still ahead of him, Parr-Coffin’s ceiling stretches far beyond the already massive results he’s produced. Whether sharpening his craft on the mat or chasing new benchmarks on the grass, his next chapters promise even more leaps forward. Tap into the Miro Parr-Coffin Special. If you enjoy The Sunday Shakeout, please follow the show on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and leave a five-star review. It helps the podcast grow and reach more listeners.

    43 min
  8. Ep. 169 - Cohen Butler is the Next Owen Powell: Inside the Rise of America's Most Underrated Threat

    11/23/2025

    Ep. 169 - Cohen Butler is the Next Owen Powell: Inside the Rise of America's Most Underrated Threat

    In 2025, Camas senior Cohen Butler became one of the most composed and dangerous distance runners in the Pacific Northwest. Cohen opened his fall with a fourth-place finish at Nike Portland XC (14:40.8). That September weekend turned some heads, but it was nothing that warned people what was coming. Two weeks later, he took control of the field at Hole in the Wall, running 14:36 for a course record and instantly redefining his ceiling. At the Washington 4A State Championships in Pasco, Butler controlled the race with that same icy calm, going gun-to-tape and winning with authority in a time of 14:47. Then at Nike Cross Regionals Northwest, he did it again. Cohen took off in the last 1K and matched that 14:36 to win the regional crown and punch his ticket to Nike Cross Nationals as a legitimate threat. What sets him apart isn’t just the times, it’s the way he gets them. Butler trains with a surprisingly mature double-threshold, mileage, and race-pace sessions, having that patience and discipline that serve him in championship season. Despite the dominance, he carries himself like the quiet guy in the back of the room: low-key, poised, never loud about the work, just steady enough to let the results talk. By the time he toes the line at nationals, he’ll enter as the definition of Northwest toughness: disciplined, grounded, and built for long races that require patience and guts. If you enjoy the episode, follow The Sunday Shakeout on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and consider leaving a five-star review.

    42 min
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5
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172 Ratings

About

The Sunday Shakeout seeks to share the untold stories of top high school, collegiate, and professional runners. The mission? To showcase the humanity and unique journeys of these athletes. Through deep, authentic conversations, I aim to inspire my audience to pursue both athletic and personal success, seeing running not just as a set of goals, but as a path of growth and transformation along the way.

Information

  • Creator
    Nicholas Macha
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    175
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Nicholas Macha
  • Show Website
    The Sunday Shakeout

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