Fingerprints on Medals

Sports dietitian Anna Turner, MS, RD, CSSD, joins Ralph Reiff and Scott Hudson to answer a question every athlete's family should ask: is my athlete eating enough? Anna grew up as a triathlete in rural Illinois and worked at Kansas, Illinois, and Notre Dame. She later worked with the Colts, Fever, Butler, and Ball State through St. Vincent Sports Performance in Indianapolis. Today she runs a virtual practice serving colleges and athletes nationwide. Anna explains why high school athletes may need 2,500 to 5,500 calories a day, plus extra for growth. She also covers why parents often see only the dinner plate, how to fuel between lunch and practice, and what to drink before a 6 a.m. run. Then the conversation turns to injured athletes: why healing raises calorie needs, protecting muscle, vitamin D, anti-inflammatory foods, and why a stress fracture should prompt the question of underfueling versus mechanics. Learn more about Anna: atsportsnutrition.com Newsletter: ralphreiff.com Educational content only, not medical advice.

Melina Kennedy is a mom of twins who both run Division I track — Sophia at Stanford and Marcus at Notre Dame — and their paths could not have been more different. Sophia found running in fifth grade after a self-described "terrible" soccer career. Marcus played soccer through his first year at Eckerd College, tried track on a brand-new team, ran 1:52 in the 800, and transferred to Notre Dame. A former IU track athlete and today CEO of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, Melina joins Ralph Reiff and Scott Hudson for an honest conversation about raising athletes: letting kids explore, not overcooking it early, trusting coaches, listening after a bad race, getting to know teammates and parents, and protecting balance so sport never becomes a child's entire identity. Ralph connects the discussion to NCAA mental health findings on athletic identity and the transition out of sport. For parents of middle school, high school, and college athletes — especially runners. Chapters, links, and more episodes: https://ralphreiff.com Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@fingerprintsonmedals This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Short version (for preview fields / social, about 300 characters): Stanford & Notre Dame track mom Melina Kennedy on raising college athletes: let kids explore, don't overcook it early, trust the coach, listen after a bad race, and protect balance so sport never becomes their whole identity.

Emma Grace Hurley holds the American women's 8K record — she took it from Deena Kastor at the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle in March 2026, 21 years after Kastor set it. Eight days before this conversation, she finished fourth at the ASICS Falmouth Road Race in 35:36, eleven seconds off the win, on a day she was convinced would be a disaster. Ralph was working the medical tent at that finish line. She sat down with Ralph Reiff and Scott Hudson in her home neighborhood of Broad Ripple in Indianapolis, a week and a half out from the World Athletics Road Running Championships half marathon in Copenhagen and about six weeks from her marathon debut at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Scott has done her strength training and soft tissue work for more than two years. What makes this episode useful is the specificity. She walks through an ordinary training day hour by hour: awake at seven, eight easy miles at 6:50 pace, breakfast, television, a book, five more miles in the afternoon with her dog at 7:00 pace, strides that she deliberately never times. Then tomorrow's workout — two mile, one mile, two mile, one mile, a little faster than half marathon pace. She explains how much hands-on care she actually needs (once a week when healthy, five times the week before a goal race), why she trusts her coach enough not to lie awake questioning the plan, and why recovery is a skill she has consciously built.

2008 Olympic bronze medalist and Alabama women's gymnastics Associate Head Coach Justin Spring joins Ralph Reiff and Scott Hudson to retrace the injuries most fans never understood — the 2007 ACL tear, a torn ankle deltoid ligament four months before Beijing, and an L4–L5 disc flare two weeks before Olympic Trials — and how he still hit team finals. Justin then flips to today: the freshman-to-college gap, the identity statement he repeated on the podium during Jonathan Horton's high-bar routine, Alabama's three-prong return-to-play standard, and why excellence isn't a microwave. Recorded in Broad Ripple, Indianapolis.

School is back, the buses are rolling, and the first cross country meets of the season are here. In Episode 10, Ralph Reiff and Scott Hudson turn their attention to the high school cross country athlete — and to the parents trying to support them without overstepping. Scott, an athletic trainer and strength coach who raised a runner through Carmel High School and college, offers the advice he wishes he'd followed more often: be a parent, not a coach. From there the conversation gets practical — how to pack for a 5 a.m. wake-up and a 10 a.m. race, why there are two fueling windows on race day, what actually belongs in the parent tent besides cookies and coffee, and how to handle the drive home after a race that didn't go the way anyone hoped. Ralph also walks through an elite athlete's race-day schedule minute by minute — Jenny Simpson's routine at a Diamond League 1500 — and shows how the same structure scales down to a Saturday high school meet. Because when the logistics are handled, the mental side gets easier. In this episode: Why the real collegiate "studs" skip early-season meets and circle only three dates Being supportive without coaching from the sideline Managing the collision of school routine and season routine in mid-August Race-day nutrition: the night before, the pre-race meal, and the post-race refuel What to stock in the team tent (hint: protein, not just donuts) Jenny Simpson's Diamond League schedule, broken down and scaled to a high school meet Keeping a training and racing diary so November's sectional decisions are informed Post-race debriefs: listen first, offer advice later Lessons from Butler's Matt Roe, a masterclass in the post-race debrief Butler All-American William Zegarski on self-evaluation and honest venting Why logistics management is really mental management Mentioned in this episode: Newsletter signup: RalphReiff.com (contact page) Joe Piane Invitational, Notre Dame — Burke Golf Course NCAA Great Lakes Regional Indy Runners Labor Day charity run — indyrunners.com Powered by REPS. Subscribe on YouTube and leave a comment — we build episodes off your feedback.