"(In 2016), I thought it was cool to be in Eugene for the Olympic Trials. I was still young. I was not a fast athlete in the field. I just had a good experience after that race and from there, I was like, 'OK. I want to be better. I want to be the top athlete. I want to make Team USA.' I started playing with my mind like that and just reminding myself I can be one of those guys."
My guest for this episode is Biya Simbassa. We recorded this back in late March. Bear with us since we had a couple of microphone and audio issues that kept this episode pent away for the past couple of weeks. We did our best to repair it and still wanted to share his story with you all. Biya is a professional runner for the newly rebranded Under Armour Mission Run Dark Sky Distance team based in Flagstaff, Arizona and coached by Stephen Haas. Biya was last year’s USATF Running Circuit champion with solid performances week after week on the roads including personal bests in distances from 5K to the half marathon. He also finished seventh at the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 10,000 meters despite being one of the last men entered in the race. This year, he finished 11th at the U.S. Championships. We touched on how he wants to improve this year both on the track and the roads but also dive into his upbringing being the son of an Ethiopian refugee, going through JUCO before landing at Oklahoma and then navigating his career post-collegiately.
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