Episode 51: Grayson Murphy and David Roche are rockstars: environmentalism and coaching the whole person

Social Sport

Grayson Murphy is a professional trail and road runner for Saucony, whose many accolades include first-place finishes at the 2019 U.S Mountain Running, World Mountain Running, and XTERRA Trail Run World Championships. She graduated from the University of Utah in the spring of 2018 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering and 5x All-American honors at the NCAA D1 level. Aside from her pro running career, Grayson is currently pursuing her Masters in Sustainability and Natural Resources from Oregon State University. She trains in beautiful Bozeman, Montana under the coaching of David Roche and the SWAP (Some Work All Play) team.

David Roche is the 2014 USATF Trail Runner of the Year at the sub-ultra distance. He is a two-time national champion and three-time member of Team USA. He graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Environmental Science and received a master's degree and law degree from Duke University. Today, he continues to work as a staff attorney with the Environmental Law Institute. David started the SWAP (Some Work All Play) team in 2013, "with the premise that he could help athletes learn to live like puppies and run like rockstars while not giving a f#ck about things that aren't important." One of his main goals of the future is to do whatever he can to support athlete-activists like Grayson.

Discussed in this episode:

--Supporting an elite athlete with a variety of interests

--Mental health and Grayson’s blog post on "brain sprains"

--Grayson’s planners

--SWAP podcast with David and Megan Roche

--Running as a celebration of life

--Ted Lasso show

--26:12: David flipping the interviewer-interviewee tables on me

--31:00: Grayson and David's environmental work

--Protect our Winters (POW)

--Forest Service Council

--38:20: David’s pro bono work and Inuit Circumpolar Council

--Editor of trail runner mag, Zoë on the Social Sport Podcast

--44:00: gendered access to outdoor spaces

--David’s dog Addie; Grayson’s cat Cusco

Quotes:

“Brands are recognizing that athletes can be more than just gold-medal coat hangers. They can also be ambassadors for the sport, and can be important influencers of change…companies, athletes, and coaches are becoming more holistic.” -Grayson Murphy

“When we’re talking about the environment, we’re also talking about race, we’re talking about gender—everything that makes us humans… This is not a liberal versus conservative issue; this is about how, as a society, we can move forward to a much more just place.” -David Roche

*This episode is sponsored by Paper Trails Greeting Co. Use code SOCIALSPORT for 15% off your order at papertrailsgreetingco.com.

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