About this episode

Simon Marshall discusses the mental aspects of endurance sports and provides tools for athletes to face their fears.

Simon Marshall trained the brains of endurance athletes for a living, and in this conversation he makes the case that the mental side of sport is the part most of us skip — right up until it costs us a race. Recorded during the pandemic and shared again in Simon's memory, the episode digs into what actually decides how race day goes: why everyone walks to the start line a little terrified, why your brain treats one bad comment like Velcro and ten good ones like Teflon, and why "just find your passion" is mostly a myth. Simon, who wrote The Brave Athlete with his wife, five-time world champion Lesley Paterson, also hands over tools you can use this week — the alter-ego trick, microdosing dopamine, and the quiet skill of embracing the suck. It's funny, honest, and a little subversive, which is to say it sounds just like Simon. Come for the start-line nerves, stay for the reminder that getting fitter and getting to know yourself are supposed to be the same project — the whole point of sitting around the Campfire. Links to drop in (mentioned on-air) The Brave Athlete: Calm the F ck Down and Rise to the Occasion* — Simon Marshall & Lesley Paterson The Passion Paradox — Brad…

More episodes of The Infirmary | Fixing Broken Endurance Athletes

• Episode 50 Live from Bend Camp: David Tilbury-Davis on the Mindset and Habits Behind Long-Term Athletic Success · July 16, 2026 · 1h 3m
• Episode 48: Deliberate Practice in the Pool Leads to a TEN-MINUTE Olympic-distance Improvement · June 18, 2026 · 36 min

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