Sam Lewis - Pre UTMB ETC Interview

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A hamstring injury doesn’t just take away fitness. It can mess with your confidence, your decision-making, and even your ability to trust basic sensations like a cramp. Sam Lewis joins us from the Chamonix area to talk about the messy middle of a comeback, right after a hard Sierre-Zinal and just before lining up for ETC near Courmayeur.

We get into what it’s like to train in the Alps without getting carried away, why UTMB week in Chamonix feels like a mini home for so many trail runners, and how Sam is approaching a short, fast mountain race as a way to reconnect with her roots. She also shares a meaningful shift in her week: pacing an OCC para athlete through Born To Adapt, and what it means to show up as support instead of chasing your own result.

Then we go deep on her PhD in philosophy of sport and sport ethics at the University of Idaho. Sam breaks down research on moral reasoning in sport, why win-at-all-costs culture can make people worse at ethical decision-making over time, and how coaches can actively teach better values through reflection and lived-experience focused tools. If you care about trail running culture, coaching, athlete development, and what we sacrifice to win, this one hits hard.

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