Episode 159. Lessons From The Pack With Queenie Azabeth & Rehana Jade

Coach Bennett shares two stories from the Nike After Dark Tour, sitting down with Queenie Azabeth from Shanghai and Rehana Jade from London to talk about the unexpected paths that brought them to running and the people who have helped them discover what they’re capable of.

Queenie went from bodybuilding and group fitness to finding her place in running, eventually co-founding a run club and taking on the After Dark Tour Shanghai 10K alongside a friend. She shares how running became a space to be with her thoughts, why community can push us beyond the limits we set for ourselves, and how showing up, even when you’re nervous you won’t fit in, can open the door to something bigger.

Then, Rehana shares her journey from road marathons to trail running, coaching, and building a community of women through Club 99 in London. She talks about the friendships and friendly competition that have made her a stronger runner, returning to the site of her first muddy trail-running adventure to complete a 50K. Plus, she talks about the joy working with her Coach Cana (peep her here on Instagram, @canapeek) and why finding people who believe in you can help you accomplish things you might not attempt alone.

FOLLOW OUR GUESTS
@rehanajade

@queenieazabeth

My book This Is About Running. This Is Not About Running. is OUT!

USA readers can order my book by clicking this sentence.

UK/GLOBAL/INTERNATIONAL readers can pre-order my book by clicking this sentence.

Send us a message

My book This Is About Running. This Is Not About Running. is now available for pre-order!

USA readers can pre-order my book by clicking this sentence.

FREE POSTER CAMPAIGN for US residential pre-orders

GLOBAL/INTERNATIONAL readers can pre-order my book by clicking this sentence.

________________________________________________________________________

AFTER DARK TOUR SERIES

If you have a question or story for the special After Dark Tour series of episodes please leave me a voicemail by tapping this sentence.

__________________________________________________________________________

Be sure to send any and all questions and comments for Coach Bennett to the mailbag:

Coach Bennett’s Podcast

57 South Main Street #215, Neptune, NJ 07753

Be sure to check out the Two Coach Bennetts Merch Store for t-shirts, hoodies, coffee mugs, pint glasses and more! - https://twocoachbennetts.com/merch...

Episode 158. This Is About Running. This Is Not About Running.

My book This Is About Running. This Is Not About Running. is out in the wild! You can order it online. You can pick it up at your local indie bookshop. You can download the audiobook. You can get one for yourself. You can get one for your friend or someone in your family. You can get one for your teammate or neighbor or someone that you believe needs to read about courage and faith and hope and strength and endurance and Dirty Dancing and running and not running.

This special episode is all about the book. Why I wrote it. How I wrote it. Where I wrote it. And so much more. I hope you love the episode. I hope you order the book. Actually, I hope you order lots of copies of the book. I'm really proud of it. And I wrote it because of you and for you.

I hope to see you out there on the Book Tour or one of the (many) races I will be out!

Cheers,

Coach Bennett

SOME COOL LINKS

Order the book in the USA here

Order the book in the UK here

Order the book all around the world here

Listen to the playlist I listened to while I wrote the book here

Check out the amazing artist that created the end papers illustration here

Send us a message

My book This Is About Running. This Is Not About Running. is now available for pre-order!

USA readers can pre-order my book by clicking this sentence.

FREE POSTER CAMPAIGN for US residential pre-orders

GLOBAL/INTERNATIONAL readers can pre-order my book by clicking this sentence.

________________________________________________________________________

AFTER DARK TOUR SERIES

If you have a question or story for the special After Dark Tour series of episodes please leave me a voicemail by tapping this sentence.

__________________________________________________________________________

Be sure to send any and all questions and comments for Coach Bennett to the mailbag:

Coach Bennett’s Podcast

57 South Main Street #215, Neptune, NJ 07753

Be sure to check out the Two Coach Bennetts Merch Store for t-shirts, hoodies, coffee mugs, pint glasses and more! - https://twocoachbennetts.com/merch...

Episode 157. Goal Setting On The Run With Joan Benoit Samuelson

Today’s a big day: Coach Bennett’s new book, This Is About Running, This Is Not About Running, is officially out in the world. One of the chapters is dedicated to Joan Benoit Samuelson, so celebrating publication day with Joanie on the mic felt like the only way to do it.

Every runner knows the feeling of setting a goal that makes your stomach flip a little. For Joanie, that feeling has never really gone away—not after winning the first-ever women’s Olympic marathon gold medal in 1984, not after 150,000 career miles, and not today. But if you ask her, the numbers aren't the point. The point is the story that happens along the way.

That’s what this conversation is really about. It’s about choosing storytelling over rigid goal-setting, learning to embrace the moments that scare you, and understanding why a runner's journey is rarely a straight line. Joanie opens up about the chaotic weeks leading up to the 1984 Olympic Trials—undergoing knee surgery just days before, trusting her gut on a risky 17-mile test run, and finding the quiet conviction to step up to the starting line anyway.

We get into the critical difference between a workout that feels hard and one where you feel completely flat, why cross-training and balance keep you in the game for decades, and how the sport of running creates a two-way road where every single person has an inspiring story to share. Plus, stick around at the end of the episode for a voicemail from a listener in Seattle on navigating post-marathon burnout and finding your spark again.

CHECK OUT JOANIE
@joanbenoitsamuelson

Send us a message

My book This Is About Running. This Is Not About Running. is now available for pre-order!

USA readers can pre-order my book by clicking this sentence.

FREE POSTER CAMPAIGN for US residential pre-orders

GLOBAL/INTERNATIONAL readers can pre-order my book by clicking this sentence.

________________________________________________________________________

AFTER DARK TOUR SERIES

If you have a question or story for the special After Dark Tour series of episodes please leave me a voicemail by tapping this sentence.

__________________________________________________________________________

Be sure to send any and all questions and comments for Coach Bennett to the mailbag:

Coach Bennett’s Podcast

57 South Main Street #215, Neptune, NJ 07753

Be sure to check out the Two Coach Bennetts Merch Store for t-shirts, hoodies, coffee mugs, pint glasses and more! - https://twocoachbennetts.com/merch...