What role does talent play in running? Experts Alex Hutchinson and Steve Magness weigh in

High achievers like Olympians, record setters, and qualifiers of the Boston Marathon are considered “talented”. But what does talent actually mean? Is it just innate ability? Is it influenced by external factors? And how can we unlock talent, to maximize our potential? In this episode we speak with two of the top experts in our sport, Alex Hutchinson and Steve Magness, in an attempt to answer these very big questions.

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Alex is an author and journalist in Toronto. He writes about the science of endurance and fitness for Outside, The Globe and Mail, and has a regular column in the print edition of Canadian Running magazine. He is also the author of the bestselling book Endure.  

Steve is a world-renowned expert on performance. He has coached executives, entrepreneurs and athletes including American record-holder Sara Hall. He is also a bestselling author of The Science of Running, The Passion Paradox and Peak Performance. 

Talent doesn't always express itself right away.

Some people's talent is that they are a high responder to training/learning. They need to spend the time doing the work before they can fully express their gift.

We tend to overvalue those who show great initial promise.

— Steve Magness (@stevemagness) May 25, 2021