I'll Have Another with Lindsey Hein Podcast · SandyBoy Productions

Episode 651: The Wellness One – Emily Saul on Race-Day Mindset, Segmenting the Marathon, and Redefining Success

·46 min·1 clip

The biggest shift happens when you stop thinking about the finish line and start focusing on the next mile.

Lindsay opens by introducing Emily Saul as a longtime favorite and a helpful resource for the runners she coaches. She lays out Emily’s background as a sports psychologist with a master’s degree in sports psychology, a licensed mental health counselor, a former Division I collegiate rower, a Harvard strength and conditioning coach for seven years, someone deeply involved in the November Project in Boston, and an avid marathon runner on roads and trails. The episode settles quickly into the wellness series tone, and Emily comes across as calm and grounding right away. Lindsay says that talking with Emily has a way of settling her nervous system. That feeling carries through the episode. Emily’s presence and the way she speaks make the discussion feel steady and practical, especially when Lindsay asks for help people can actually use if they are lining up for a race. A major thread is how people define success. Emily suggests that success can mean learning and growing, not only hitting a target outcome. Lindsay keeps circling back to how useful that framing can be for athletes and for kids. The conversation shows how that shift can change the tone of effort and make performance feel less brittle. Emily also talks about autonomy and choice. She argues that people, including children, learn more when they get to decide how they want to approach something. If someone chooses a strategy themselves, they are more likely to notice whether it actually helps. That can create insight without forcing agreement. The conversation gets especially concrete when Emily talks about whether labeling something as misery is actually useful. She leaves room for the idea that someone might decide it helps them get through a hard effort, but she also points out that the experience itself may show when that framing stops working. The point is not to fight emotion for its own sake. The point is to notice what serves the runner and what does not. Lindsay asks for tangible takeaways for people lining up for a race. Emily responds with advice shaped for that moment of anticipation and pressure. The timing in the episode is tied to fall marathon season, with Lindsay noting that Chicago and New York are already past by the time it airs. She points listeners toward upcoming races like the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon and CIM as examples of where this mindset work can matter right away. The show keeps its usual warm, conversational texture. Lindsay lets Emily finish her thoughts, and Emily answers in a way that feels patient and specific. The result is a conversation that sounds like a real coaching check-in rather than a polished lecture. Throughout the episode, Emily keeps returning to the idea that the runner is not failing just because the day feels hard. She treats discomfort as information. She treats perspective as a tool. She treats success as something that can include growth, not just outcomes. Lindsay clearly wants listeners to leave with something they can use. She says as much when she asks for practical tools. Emily delivers those tools in language that sounds lived-in rather than theoretical. The episode is built for runners who want mindset help they can actually apply at the start line. By the end, the message stays consistent. You can choose a better frame. You can notice what helps. You can keep learning even when the race does not feel easy. The episode closes with Lindsay pointing listeners back to the Sandy Boy Productions network and thanking them for being there. She also tees up a Friday episode with Annie Frisbee. The overall feel is steady, supportive, and aimed at helping runners walk into race day with a little more room in their head.

As heard by us

Practical marathon mindset talk about autonomy, perspective, and success.

Emily Saul and Lindsay Hine keep the conversation grounded in a simple idea: success is not only about the clock. It can also mean learning what changes, adjusting on the fly, and staying with the work when the day feels rough.

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Why you'd press play

Press play if you want your pre-race brain to unclench a little.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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