Welcome to the Mental Healthlete podcast. My guest this week is Melody Fairchild. If you're into running, there is a good chance you've heard of Melody. She's arguably the best high school distance runner in US history.

She was the first high school girl to break 10 minutes for 2 miles. She was the NCAA indoor 3000-meter champ while running at Oregon (go ducks) and she's a University of Oregon Hall of Famer - AS SHE SAYS, not because she was the best but because she persisted. Love it.

She kept running after college turning pro and winning medals in world championships AND for the last 11 years, she's directed Boulder Mountain Warriors - a running club for kids.

I've known Melody for nearly a decade and she's one of my favorite people. We had a great talk that I'm so happy to share with you in this episode.

I learned about 'becoming' from Melody. If you've read the Velveteen Rabbit, you'll already know the concept. I hadn't but now I'll never forget it.

Now, here's my conversation with Melody Fairchild.

High fives all around. Let's do this!

Do you have a personal story that you'd like to share? Do you know of other athletes who are open to talking about their mental health and its relationship to sports? Send me a note at [email protected].

And if you're struggling right now, reach out to a loved one, training partner, coach, or doctor, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. You are not alone.



This episode was produced by Mark Still - [email protected] - @uphillstill -  @thepracticalstill