"To me that's faith. To me that's faith in running. So I think runners understand faith because a lot of times we don't really see something and it might even take years, but then it's like 'Whoa! Where did that come from?' But it was actually because you stuck with it—something in you believed."Really excited to have Mario Mendoza join me on the podcast this week! Mendoza, a 32-year-old from Bend, Oregon, is a five-time national trail running champion, three-time USATF Trail Runner of the Year, and has represented the United States six times in international competition. He's placed in the top-10 at the last two IAU Trail World Championships, finishing sixth in 2018 and ninth in 2017. We recorded this episode the day before his last race—a third-place finish at the Under Armour Mountain Running Series 50K at Mt. Bachelor this past Saturday—and two days before the birth of his son, Jair Giovanni Mendoza.We covered a lot of ground over the course of this hour-long episode: the message he'll give his newborn son upon entering the world, what it was like growing up in a Mexican family on an avocado ranch in Cambria, California and how that experience has shaped his perspective on life and running, his work as a pastor and what faith means to him, how he got into running and the various ways his career has progressed and evolved over the years, why he's constantly reminding himself not to get caught up in outcomes when it comes to racing, why representing the United States at global championships is so important to him, and a whole lot more.Music and editing for this episode of the morning shakeout podcast by John Summerford at BaresRecords.comComplete show notes here: https://www.themorningshakeout.com/podcast-episode-29-with-mario-mendoza/Sign up here to get the morning shakeout email newsletter delivered to your inbox every Tuesday morning: www.themorningshakeout.com/subscribe/Support the morning shakeout on Patreon: www.patreon.com/themorningshakeout Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.