BUILDING COMMUNITY ONE BEER MILE AT A TIME WITH VETERAN RUNNER NICK MACFALLS
Nick MacFalls brings together his skills and passions to build community, produce engaging and fun events, and live a life filled with meaning and purpose.
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“I think ideas are nothing without that grind. And it’s the same with running, you can have all the talent, but you have to be able to get through the setbacks that come. Whether that’s injuries or poor performance. It’s just being able to keep pushing through.”
“Giving back” is a desirable achievement but something that is not always prioritized.
Except with Nick MacFalls.
He’s managed to bring together his skills and passions over and over to build community, develop programs, produce engaging and fun events and live a life filled with meaning and purpose.
SHOW NOTES
(2:57) A crazy Italian family, bootlegging, and the ‘84 Olympics—Nick’s recollection of early, formative years growing up in Pennsylvania.
(5:03) A stepfather’s influence and the opportunities that came from being a high school cross country champ…
(7:31) “I volunteered at the VA and the recreation department and everyone’s like, ‘Man if I had to do it again, I’d go into the Air Force.’ And I heard that so much.” Choosing the Academy…
(9:30) Balancing the requirements of Air Force, school, and running…
(11:29) Gaining perspective from a prisoner of war, “They broke me yesterday, but I’m going to win today.”—Colonel Kenneth Hughey
(14:38) “I wasn’t really driven into the military. It was a way out for me.”
(15:13) The benefits of being in the military…
(16:23) Getting around an asthma setback…
(19:42) The Military World Games…
(23:40) A shoe program begins…
(27:21) “I put on events for the Multiple Sclerosis Society and I think I’m happiest when I’m packing the trucks.” The sweet spot of coordinating events…
(28:28) Creating events focused on team camaraderie and the whole field of athletes…
(32:18) “Having a group to run with, do workouts with, grab a beer with that became the focus for me in the latter part of my running career.”
(33:30) The four pillars…
(34:05) Working with the MS Society…
(38:06) A funny and relatable story of every runner’s worst nightmare…
(41:15) What does Go Be More mean to you?
“I really look at things on a day-by-day basis and there are things that I want to accomplish every day that are part of a bigger goal. And like I said, I’m kind of a grinder. So, a great day for me is a day that I accomplished something, that I get to work out, that I get to connect with someone. For me, those are the aspects that I like to keep feeding in my life. And when one of them’s missing, I feel something’s missing in my life. So that’s the biggest thing, balancing connectivity and consistency.”
If you liked this episode, check out our interviews with coach/event promoter Tracy Sundlun and Nick’s former roommate US marathoner Peter Gilmore.
Recorded February 22, 2021.
References:
Colonel Kenneth Hughey – POW Network
Military World Games – Wikipedia
National MS Society – website
Beer Mile World Classic – website
Guests:
Nick MacFalls – LinkedIn
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