The TalkIN Distance Podcast
The TalkIN Distance Podcast
Rick Sluder and Jared Turner
A podcast devoted to everything Indiana high school distance running.
Columbus North 2025 Breakdown
In this episode, we focus in on the Columbus North Bulldogs special 2025 season. The Boys were Nike XC Town Twilight champs, IHSAA State champs, NXR Midwest champs, and finished 8th at NXN. Coach Sluder talks about the training, mindset, and community support that made their 2025 campaign so successful.
Dec 9, 2025
37 min
Top 5 Spring Storylines
In this episode, we talk through some of the top storylines facing the sports of XC and Track in Indiana this Spring season. Topics include the new IHSAA transfer rule, The additional IHSAA-mandated summer moratorium, and the Indoor HSR State Finals.
Mar 7, 2025
37 min
Ben Davis Coach Ryan McMaster
Today on the podcast we welcome in Coach Ryan McMaster. Coach McMaster is the Head Coach of both the Boys and Girls XC programs at Ben Davis High School. We ask him about how it felt to watch his Boys team make it to the IHSAA State Meet for the first time in 25 years, the rich program history at Ben Davis, and the many mentors that have helped him in his coaching journey.
Feb 28, 2025
43 min
Convo with Coach Arredondo
Today we got to catch up with Coach John Arredondo. Coach A has led the Valparaiso Girl's XC program for 17 seasons. We ask him about what makes the Valpo program special, his memories of a magical 2023 State Meet, and even dive into some music suggestions toward the end of our conversation.
Feb 21, 2025
45 min
Navigating the Offseason
In this episode we tackle what priorities we have in the offseason. We sift through a variety of topics, including having individual meetings with athletes, taking time for yourself to recharge, maintaining motivation for coaches and athletes, and making adjustments for the always-eventful winter weather.
Jan 22, 2025
34 min
Class Cross Country Vote and Week 4
In this episode we discuss the most recent Class Cross Country vote. We try to answer why, after decades of debate, it still seems like such a polarizing issue. Also, we look around the state after week 4, and share some exciting sponsorship news.
Sep 17, 2024
40 min
Week 3 Rundown and Early Season Highlights
In this episode we talk about Week 3, which featured some blazing fast times around the state. We also give some recognition to some of the performances around the state that we have been able to witness early on this season.
Sep 10, 2024
39 min
What is NOT important
As we anticipate the start of competition in the 2024 Cross Country season, we debate the aspects of our sport are worthy of focus. We take the path of pruning down some of the aspects that might not be as important as we sometimes make them out to be.
Aug 14, 2024
36 min
2024 XC Hot Takes!
In this episode we try our hand at taking some "hot-take" predictions about the upcoming 2024 Cross Country season. We even place a friendly wager on which of our predictions (if any!) turn out to be reality!
Jul 9, 2024
35 min
CONSISTENCY
While probably an overused word in distance-running circles, consistency is still is possibly one of the most important aspects of becoming a good high school distance runner. In this episode, we dive into 5 different aspects of our sport that it pays off to have consistency in.
Jun 25, 2024
35 min
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