About this episode

Colin Sahlman discusses his journey from a struggling freshman to a three-time NCAA champion and Nike athlete, emphasizing the importance of confidence and training adjustments.

Colin Sahlman finished 151st at NCAA cross country as a freshman. Four years later he left college with three national titles.Colin returns to the show for the first time since high school, now a Nike athlete training with Swoosh TC in Flagstaff. He walks through the part of the story most people skipped: the freshman year that humbled him, the sophomore cross country season where he didn't even make the travel squad, and the junior year where he missed the outdoor 1500 final and coach Mike Smith floated calling the season early. Colin said no, asked to run the 800 instead, and ran 1:44 for the first time.What changed his senior year wasn't the training getting harder—it got easier. He slowed his threshold work by roughly ten seconds a mile, stopped burning himself out, and went to every line believing he'd win. That belief carried him to 16th at NCAA cross country, a Millrose 800 win over a world-class field, the indoor 3000 and DMR titles at nationals, and the outdoor 800 crown in his final collegiate race.He calls it delusional confidence, and it's the spine of the whole conversation.They also get into why the NCAA humbles almost everyone and why your timeline isn't anyone…

People in this episode

Host: Dominic Schlueter

Guest: Colin Sahlman

Topics covered

• NCAA titles
• athlete development
• Olympic aspirations
• confidence in sports
• training strategies
• humility in competition

Keywords

• Colin Sahlman
• NCAA
• Nike
• Olympics
• confidence
• training
• 800 meters
• 1500 meters
• cross country

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Nike, Swoosh TC

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