Episode 49: How to Face Your Fear w/Sports Psychologist Simon Marshall

Simon Marshall trained the brains of endurance athletes for a living, and in this conversation he makes the case that the mental side of sport is the part most of us skip — right up until it costs us a race. Recorded during the pandemic and shared again in Simon's memory, the episode digs into what actually decides how race day goes: why everyone walks to the start line a little terrified, why your brain treats one bad comment like Velcro and ten good ones like Teflon, and why "just find your passion" is mostly a myth. Simon, who wrote *The Brave Athlete* with his wife, five-time world champion Lesley Paterson, also hands over tools you can use this week — the alter-ego trick, microdosing dopamine, and the quiet skill of embracing the suck. It's funny, honest, and a little subversive, which is to say it sounds just like Simon. Come for the start-line nerves, stay for the reminder that getting fitter and getting to know yourself are supposed to be the same project — the whole point of sitting around the Campfire. Links to drop in (mentioned on-air) The Brave Athlete: Calm the Fck Down and Rise to the Occasion* — Simon Marshall & Lesley Paterson The Passion Paradox — Brad Stulberg Paula Reed, adventure psychologist (the "fun scale" and the 150-item adventure list) Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)