Relaxed and Fast

Hosted by Baldwin Wallace University Track and Field and Cross Country Head Coaches Joe Eby and Coach Fiorentino, the Relaxed and Fast Podcast is for recruits, parents, and coaches who want honest talk about running and the recruiting process.
In this episode (about 45 minutes), Coach Joe Eby and Coach Fiorentino break down what to do when a race stops going to plan. Whether the pace changes, the conditions turn, or your own effort fades, this conversation covers how to stay competitive in the moment.
Episode topics include:
How a race can go sideways, even for a fit, well-prepared athlete
Letting go of the original race plan and finding the next decision
Telling the difference between patience and the moment to make a move
Competing with the legs you have on a given day
How teammates can help during a hard race without taking over
Resetting negative self-talk when one rough mile turns into a bad race
Learning from a tough result without letting it define you
Deciding what to carry into the next race and what to leave behind
Who this episode is for: high school distance runners preparing for college recruiting, parents supporting young athletes, and coaches building resilient teams in cross country and track and field.
Subscribe to Relaxed and Fast Podcast for more conversations from Baldwin Wallace University's cross country and track and field programs.
#RelaxedAndFast #CrossCountry #TrackAndField #DistanceRunning #CollegeRecruiting #RunnerMindset #BaldwinWallace #BWTF #BWXC #RunningPodcast #RecruitingPodcast #CollegeRunning #NCAADIII

Championship season is here. Are you chasing a time, or competing for your team?
Coach Eby and Coach Fiorentino discuss how to approach cross country racing when places, team scores, and advancing to the next round take center stage. We talk about staying patient, responding to moves, closing gaps, and recognizing a great performance even when the clock doesn’t show a personal best.
We also explore how coaches can help athletes understand that every place matters without making them feel responsible for the entire team’s result.
Whether you’re heading into state qualifying or a college conference meet, this conversation is about trusting your preparation, staying engaged, and competing for the people beside you.

They also look at how to decide what an individual athlete actually needs heading into championship season. Consistency, fatigue, recent races, sleep, school stress, and athlete feedback all play a part, and two athletes can need very different things. From there, they explore how to help athletes trust the work through a review of the season, a clear explanation of each session's purpose, and specific preparation tasks.
The episode closes with what a competitive, disciplined athlete should do during championship week when working harder isn't the priority: follow the intended effort, keep familiar routines, recover, communicate honestly, support teammates, and prepare to race.
Their takeaway: you don't have to feel perfectly confident to race well. Give the work a chance to show up.
Who it's for: Recruits, current college runners, coaches, and parents who want to understand how to approach the final stretch before a championship race.
Run time: About 40 minutes
Hosts: Coach Joe Eby and Coach Josh Fiorentino, Baldwin Wallace University Track and Field and Cross Country

Griffin ran 5:02 for 1600 meters and 19:32 for the cross country 5K at Berea-Midpark High School. He stayed home in Berea, Ohio to compete for Baldwin Wallace in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) at the NCAA Division III level. As a senior, he has run 4:17 for 1500 meters, 4:43 in the mile, 16:31 for 5000 meters, and 10:02 in the 3000 meter steeplechase, while building his training to 90+ miles per week.
This episode is for high school runners who aren't top recruits, parents navigating the college recruiting process, and coaches building development-focused distance programs.
In this episode:
Griffin's running background from middle school through Berea-Midpark High School
His college recruiting process and why he chose Baldwin Wallace
The transition from high school to college cross country and track training
What "buying into the system" looks like day to day
How he built up to 90+ miles per week safely
The year his 5K dropped by two minutes
Learning the 3000 meter steeplechase and dropping from 11:36 to 10:02
Balancing academics, social life, and high-mileage training
Senior-year goals and leadership
Advice for developing high school runners and their parents
Hosts: Coach Joe Eby, Baldwin Wallace University Cross Country and Track and FieldGuest: Griffin Boyer, Baldwin Wallace senior distance runner
Follow us on Instagram: @bw_tf_xc | @Run800met
#RelaxedAndFast #BaldwinWallace #BWYellowJackets #CrossCountry #TrackAndField #DistanceRunning #CollegeRecruiting #D3Running #NCAADIII #OACXC #Steeplechase #RunningPodcast #HighSchoolRunning #RunnerDevelopment #CollegeRunning #OhioRunning

When a race gets hard, what do you tell yourself? And have you practiced those words before you need them?
Coach Joe Eby and Coach Josh Fiorentino share how we help our athletes build a mental race plan by journaling what they want to say to themselves at different points in the race. We talk about choosing useful cues, responding when the race goes off script, and staying focused when doubt creeps in.
We also discuss what to write afterward: an honest look at your thoughts, choices, and response to tough moments. Whether you raced well or walked away disappointed, that reflection can help you choose one practical next step for training and your next starting line.

Coach Eby and Coach Fiorentino of Baldwin Wallace University (BW) Cross Country — Ohio Athletic Conference, NCAA Division III — break down the first half of the 2026 cross country season.
In this episode:
Wooster Invitational season opener — freshman class breakthrough performances
Michigan State Pre-Regional & Commodore Invitational — the squad's first split-meet weekend
Ben Mourer '07 Memorial Classic — men's and women's teams both capture titles
What's working in training, and what still needs sharpening before the OAC Championships
Goals for the back half of the season — conference, regionals, and nationals
Rapid-fire round with Coach Eby and Coach Fiorentino
#CrossCountry #NCAADIII #OhioAthleticConference #BaldwinWallace #CollegeRecruiting #DistanceRunning #RelaxedAndFast #TrackAndField #XCSeason #BWYellowJackets

Summer mileage is banked — so what comes next? Coach Eby and Coach Fiorentino break down Baldwin Wallace's transition from base-building into race-specific and sub-race-pace work, including how they decide when to make the switch, what a workout actually looks like in this phase, and how they coach athletes through the mental shift from "just run" to "run fast on purpose." Whether you're an athlete hitting race pace for the first time this season or a parent trying to understand what's changing in training, this one breaks it down in plain terms.

Coach Joe Eby and Coach Josh Fiorentino of Baldwin Wallace University Cross Country and Track & Field break down how their threshold training philosophy has changed over the years — and why.
In this episode of Relaxed and Fast, the coaches cover:
•How BW's threshold workouts have evolved from early-career approaches to today
•The shift from fixed pace to individualized, effort-based threshold work
•How continuous vs. broken threshold sessions are used differently now
•Why lactate awareness and perceived effort matter more than a stopwatch
•Practical threshold workout examples coaches and athletes can apply
Whether you're a high school recruit trying to understand college-level training, a parent wanting to know what "threshold" actually means, or a coach building your own program, this episode gives real, specific insight into distance training philosophy.
#ThresholdTraining #DistanceRunning #CrossCountry #TrackAndField #CoachingPhilosophy #NCAADIII #RunningCoach #BaldwinWallace #RelaxedAndFastPodcast

In this episode, Baldwin Wallace University Head Cross Country Coach Joe Eby and Coach Fiorentino break down the full 2026 BW Cross Country schedule — nine meets, five off weekends, and a championship path that runs through the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) and NCAA Division III postseason.
 
Topics covered:
 
•Season opener at Wooster (Wooster, OH)
•Michigan State Pre-Regional (East Lansing, MI) — Varsity only, top 8
•Allegheny / Ben Mourer Invitational (Meadville, PA)
•OWU/Lehigh split trip (Powell, OH / Bethlehem, PA)
•Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble (Oberlin, OH)
•OAC Championships hosted at Baldwin Wallace (Lorain, OH)
•Great Lakes Regional (East Lansing, MI) — Varsity only
•NCAA Division III National Championships (Northfield, MN)
 
Coach Eby and Coach Fiorentino explain how the schedule is built — why off weeks matter as much as race weeks, how meet selection prepares the team for postseason competition, and what recruits and parents should understand about the road to NCAA Nationals.
 
Perfect for high school recruits evaluating D3 cross country programs, parents navigating the college recruiting process, and coaches building their own program calendars.
 
#CrossCountry #BaldwinWallace #NCAADIII #OAC #CollegeRecruiting #TrackAndField #D3XC #RelaxedAndFastPodcast

In this episode of Relaxed and Fast, Coach Joe Eby and Coach Fiorentino of Baldwin Wallace University Cross Country and Track and Field pull back the curtain on what a real day in the program actually looks like — no highlight reel, no filter.
 
Topics covered in this episode:
 
•What a full day actually looks like, hour by hour, from wake-up to lights out
•How much of the day is running versus lifting, meals, class, treatment, and sleep
•What recovery really looks like day to day, not just in theory
•The unscripted moments that happen in the van that never make it to social media
•What surprises athletes most once they’re living the schedule versus what they imagined during recruiting
•The people behind the scenes — trainers, managers, and support staff — who make the day work
•The least glamorous part of being a college distance runner, and how the team handles a bad day
 
Whether you’re a high school recruit trying to picture what daily life on a college team really looks like, a parent evaluating programs, or a coach building your own team’s daily structure, this episode offers an honest, unpolished look at what it actually takes.
 
Follow Baldwin Wallace Track and Field & Cross Country: @bw_tf_xc
Follow Coach Eby: @Run800met
 
#crosscountry #trackandfield #D3recruiting #collegerecruiting #dayinthelife #collegeathletics #distancerunning #studentathlete #teamculture #collegecoaching