Frodeno Going Mental

Jan Frodeno, Podstars by OMR

Welcome to Frodeno Going Mental. A podcast with me, Jan Frodeno, where I sit down with people who know what it feels like to hit the edge and sometimes go way past it. Physically, mentally, emotionally.

In every episode, we dig into questions that don’t leave you alone: What actually drives us? What holds us back? And how do we grow beyond the person we thought we were?

We talk about the search for meaning, identity and the tiny details that turn good into great. But also about the things most of us keep quiet: the setbacks, the doubt, the loneliness, the dark stretches that never make it into the highlight reel.

This podcast is for anyone who wants honest conversations, real resilience, and stories that go deeper than results. If you’re curious about what happens in that space between breaking down and breaking through - enjoy the show.

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28 episodes
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Avg 58 min
English

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Yesterday · 46 min
Courtney Dauwalter: No Coach, No Plan
Courtney Dauwalter won Western States, Hardrock and UTMB in a single summer in 2023, and this July she won Hardrock again. Seven weeks later she stopped at UTMB: the batteries, as she puts it, weren't ready to go again. She does all of it with no coach and no training plan, and she says that's part of what keeps her healthy. Hand her a written workout and she'd chase an A-plus in it, regardless of the day. In this episode of FRODENO GOING MENTAL, Jan sits down with Courtney in Kona. They talk about the pain cave she chisels a little bigger with every race, the mantra she falls back on when nothing is fine, how she tells a real warning flag from ordinary suffering, and the leopard in a hammock she saw beside a trail while sleep-deprived. A conversation about choosing the hard thing, and keeping joy in the driver's seat while you do it. Enjoy this episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
October 19 · 54 min
Olivier Bernhard: Impossible Means They Don't Know How
Olivier Bernhard's Achilles wouldn't heal. So he and a friend who was an engineer glued pieces of garden hose to a running shoe. He waited until dark to try it, and ten steps in, he knew. Every brand he pitched it to said no. In this episode of Frodeno Going Mental, Jan sits down with the co-founder of On Running in Kona, an island Olivier loves and says he was never made for. They talk about finding triathlon at 13 in a village with no club, eight wins at Powerman Zofingen, the long mountain hike that turned three friends into business partners, why he goes looking for the problems people call impossible, and why he calls the money "only paper." Jan, who fought his own Achilles problems, knows exactly where this story starts. A conversation about letting go of control and trusting what you feel before anyone else agrees. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
October 12 · 46 min
Mark Allen: Peaceful Yet Powerful
For six years, Mark Allen was often in the lead late at the IRONMAN Hawaii, and he fell apart every time. He came to believe the island had it out for him. Then he won it six times. In this episode of FRODENO GOING MENTAL, Jan sits down with Mark Allen in Kona. They talk about the pickup truck that hit him on a ride and took away his reason to race, the 1989 moment his mind went quiet, the shaman whose image returned to him then, and why, at 68, he takes his coffee outside before he picks up his phone. Both came to triathlon from surf lifesaving, and Jan asks how a swimmer who calls himself very average built the engine to win. They talk about what the island tried to teach him: give everything you have, even on the days you only have 60% of it. Enjoy this episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
October 5 · 54 min
Kat Matthews: Mindset Isn't Enough
For Kat Matthews, the mindset is just about removing the barriers. What's left, in her words, is to get a bit fitter. In this episode of Going Mental, Jan Frodeno sits down with Kat three weeks out from Kona to find out how she got there. She explains the load bucket she uses to decide when to back off a session, why she started calling consistency boring, and what changed when she handed her coaching to her husband. They get into Cautious Carol, the part of her she would have to let go of to race past her limit, and why going mental, for her, means waking up in the night six weeks before a race, wondering if she should have tied her shoelaces differently. A conversation about what's left once the mindset work is done. Enjoy this episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
September 28 · 52 min
A medal doesn't fix anything in your life - Molly Seidel
Molly Seidel calls her Olympic medal the coolest experience of her life. She also says it didn't fix anything. She poured everything she was into it and came out the other side the same person. In this episode of Frodeno Going Mental, Jan Frodeno sits down with Molly Seidel— in town for UTMB and to talk about blowing up at mile 55 of Western States and finishing anyway, why she left the marathon before it broke her again, the coach whose real job is to pull the reins rather than push, why she gaslights herself on every descent, and what a year of pretending to be retired taught her. A conversation about why she keeps going back out when she already knows the medal won't be the answer. Enjoy this episode! Video credits: Maurten. Footage taken from the film "Molly Seidel — take the show off the road | a Maurten film": https://youtu.be/pTUbgCsFsMo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
September 21 · 1 hr 6 min
500 Tries for One Trick – Fabio Wibmer
What does it take to try the same trick 500 times — knowing that the next one could still go wrong? Fabio Wibmer has built a career doing things on a bike that most of us wouldn't even attempt on two feet. His videos have reached hundreds of millions of people, but behind the viral clips is an obsessive process of repetition, visualization and calculated risk. In this episode of Going Mental, Jan Frodeno sits down with Fabio to understand what actually happens before he commits to a trick where there is no room for error. Fabio talks about fear, why visualization can make a stunt feel like he's already done it and the moment when he has to switch off doubt and go all in. They also get into his "trial and error" philosophy, growing up in a tiny Austrian village, being inspired by Danny MacAskill, dealing with perfectionism and the pressure of creating for an algorithm that constantly demands more. And Fabio explains why, despite more than a billion views and increasingly ambitious projects, the feeling he's chasing is still the same one he had as a kid jumping his first homemade ramp. Enjoy this episode! Tomorrow People eyewear: high-performance sports sunglasses, 3D-printed, Carl Zeiss lenses and made in Germany. Built for cycling, running, trail and triathlon – with a precise fit, premium lenses and a clean, design. Save 10% with the code GoingMental: https://wearetomorrowpeople.com/discount/GoingMental Produced by Podstars by OMR. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
September 14 · 1 hr
Memory Loss on Everest and Three Years of Pain – Kilian Jornet
Kilian Jornet has spent decades pushing the limits of human endurance. But what happens when you actually reach them? In this episode of Going Mental, Jan Frodeno sits down with Kilian Jornet for a rare deep dive into the mind behind some of the most extreme performances in endurance sport. Kilian explains what happened when he pushed himself so far on Everest that his brain stopped forming memories and why he believes the ultimate limit of human performance is one we never actually want to reach. They talk about fear, pain, risk, ego and the psychology of pushing beyond what your brain tells you is possible. Kilian also opens up about the times he knew he had gone too far in the mountains, his current battle with injury, and how his approach to training has changed as he gets older. Enjoy this episode! Ryzon – performance apparel from Cologne, made in Europe, worn by Jan at the UTMB. Ryzon stands for highly functional sportswear with a clear, timeless design. Save 10% on the entire Ryzon collection with the code TRAILRUN10 (valid until 31.10.2026): https://ryzon.net/en-int/discount/TRAILRUN10?utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=podcast&utm_term=goingmental Tomorrow People eyewear: high-performance sports sunglasses, 3D-printed, Carl Zeiss lenses and made in Germany. Built for cycling, running, trail and triathlon – with a precise fit, premium lenses and a clean, design. Save 10% with the code GoingMental: https://wearetomorrowpeople.com/discount/GoingMental Produced by Podstars by OMR. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
September 7 · 21 min
Jan Frodeno on What He Learned From Going Mental
For the first time on Frodeno Going Mental, there’s no guest. Just Jan Frodeno, a camera and 19 conversations worth looking back on. In this first solo episode, Jan revisits some of the moments from Season One that stayed with him long after the cameras stopped rolling. He reflects on how Alistair Brownlee once shattered his confidence and ultimately forced him to rebuild himself as an athlete. He explores what Demi Vollering taught him about daring to lose, why letting go of embarrassment can make you a better competitor and why his conversation about the Enhanced Games challenged some of his deepest beliefs about performance, shortcuts and what makes achievement meaningful. Jan also returns to Brad Stulberg’s idea of the “identity house” and why building a life beyond one single pursuit might actually help you go further in the thing that matters most. From Olympic medals and sports psychology to failure, resilience, identity and the uncomfortable question of whether winning is ever really enough, this is Jan looking back at Season One and at what changed his own thinking along the way. No guest. No interview. Just Jan, going mental. Enjoy this episode! Produced by Podstars by OMR. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
July 20 · 1 hr 12 min
Enhanced Games CEO Max Martin: Paying for Performance and the Future of Elite Sport
In this episode of Going Mental, Olympic champion and Ironman legend Jan Frodeno sits down with Max Martin, CEO of the Enhanced Games, for one of the most controversial conversations in modern sport. Together they explore whether the current anti-doping system is outdated, why Enhanced Games believes athletes should have the freedom to compete using medically supervised performance enhancement, and whether science should redefine what's possible in elite competition. Jan challenges Max on athlete safety, ethics, fairness, longevity, recovery, sponsorship, financial incentives and the true meaning of pushing human performance. The discussion goes far beyond doping, touching on recovery, testosterone, peptides, longevity medicine, the Olympics, World Athletics, personal responsibility and the future of professional sport. Whether you agree or disagree, this conversation forces one important question: What does it really mean to compete at the highest level? Enjoy this episode! Produced by Podstars by OMR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
July 13 · 1 hr 2 min
Francesco Puppi: Logic, Pain, and the Reality of Ultra Running
Ultra running is often romanticized, but elite trail runner and physicist Francesco Puppi looks at 100-mile races through the lens of pure logic. Fresh off an incredible podium finish at the Western States 100, Francesco joins Jan Frodeno to strip away the sugar-coated heroism of endurance sports and reveal what it truly takes to survive the pain cave. From the psychological negotiation with extreme physical agony to the bittersweet reality of being handed two world titles months late due to doping cheaters, this conversation exposes the raw mindset needed to conquer the extreme limits of performance. Discover why real mental strength isn't about pushing harder, it's about having the patience to hold back. Produced by Podstars by OMR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
July 7 · 59 min
The Day After HISTORY - Sam Laidlow on Breaking the World Record
Sam Laidlow has just rewritten triathlon history. Fresh off his record-breaking victory at DATEV Challenge Roth, the French triathlon superstar joins Jan Frodeno for an exclusive conversation on Going Mental. Recorded less than 24 hours after becoming the fastest athlete ever over the full-distance triathlon, Sam opens up about the mindset behind his historic performance, the relentless pursuit of greatness, dealing with pressure, building an elite team, confidence, setbacks and why questioning conventional wisdom became his greatest competitive advantage. With Challenge Roth once again at the center of the triathlon world, this conversation offers a rare look inside the mind of the athlete who has just delivered one of the greatest performances the sport has ever witnessed. Enjoy this episode! Produced by Podstars by OMR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
June 29 · 1 hr 3 min
A Fighter’s Mind - Chris McCormack
In this episode of Going Mental, Jan Frodeno sits down with one of triathlon’s most iconic and polarizing figures: Chris “Macca” McCormack — 2x Ironman World Champion, 6x Triathlete of the Year, and one of the sport’s greatest storytellers. From the fierce Kona battles against Norman Stadler and Faris Al-Sultan to the psychological warfare, self-doubt and relentless determination that defined his career, Macca opens up like never before. Together, Jan and Macca explore the mindset behind elite performance, handling failure on the biggest stage and why the mental battle is often harder than the physical one. They also dive into athlete identity, retirement, fatherhood, entrepreneurship, and what happens when competitive obsession meets real life. This is a conversation about resilience, vulnerability and the mindset that turns champions into legends. Enjoy this episode! The Pod by Eight Sleep is a smart mattress cover. Optimize your recovery and wake up full of energy with Eight Sleep’s personalized temperature regulation, the secret to your deep sleep. Use code JANFRODENO at https://www.eightsleep.com/de/janfrodeno/ to save up to €350 off your order. Produced by Podstars by OMR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
June 22 · 53 min
Pressure, Panic Attacks and One of Cycling's Greatest Comebacks - Demi Vollering
Fresh off one of the most remarkable victories in professional cycling, Demi Vollering joins Going Mental to unpack the mindset behind her dramatic Giro d'Italia Women comeback. Just days after completing an extraordinary Grand Tour triple, Demi opens up about the final stage that changed everything, why she was willing to risk losing her podium place to win it all and the mentality that allows her to thrive when the pressure is at its highest. Jan and Demi dive into the defining moments of her career, including racing with a broken back at the Tour de France Femmes, dealing with panic attacks in competition, overcoming external expectations and why she believes movement is one of the most powerful tools for mental health. From the mountains of the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France to the deeper lessons about resilience, identity and courage, this is an honest conversation about what it really takes to become one of the greatest cyclists in the world. Enjoy this episode! Ryzon offers high-performance, fairly produced endurance apparel for triathletes, cyclists, and runners. The brand is globally recognized for combining technical innovation with a clean, timeless design. Use the code “FRODENO10” to save 10% at Ryzon (valid until October 31, 2026). More: ⁠⁠https://ryzon.net/en-int?utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=podcast&utm_term=demi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
June 15 · 1 hr 11 min
Why Success Feels Empty at the Top - Scott DeRue
Scott DeRue has climbed Mount Everest, completed the Seven Summits, led global businesses through crisis and now serves as CEO of Ironman. In this episode of Going Mental, Scott shares the leadership lessons he learned on the world's highest mountain, why reaching the summit is often the easy part and how high performers navigate uncertainty, risk, and pressure. We dive into Scott's journey from a small town in North Carolina to becoming a professor, business leader, Everest climber and ultimately the CEO of Ironman. Along the way, we explore purpose, resilience, decision-making under extreme conditions and why the most meaningful growth happens outside your comfort zone. Scott also reflects on what it means to "go mental"— not as losing control, but as finding clarity and focus when everything around you feels chaotic. Enjoy this episode! PILLAR Performance provides science-backed, clinically dosed micronutrition designed specifically for endurance athletes. Their supplements focus on optimizing recovery, sleep, and immunity without unnecessary fillers. If you want to give it a try, use the code GOINGMENTAL at pillarperformance.shop — or, for North American listeners, at TheFeed.com. That’s GOINGMENTAL for 15% off your first purchase. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
June 8 · 57 min
Broken Bones, Tour Wins & Why Happiness Beats Pressure - Tom Pidcock
What does it take to win Olympic gold after breaking your collarbone just weeks before the Games? In this episode of FRODENO GOING MENTAL, Jan Frodeno sits down with Tom Pidcock. The two-time Olympic Champion, Tour de France stage winner, Cyclocross World Champion and one of the most exciting riders in professional cycling reveals the mindset that helped him recover from devastating injuries, manage chronic knee pain and perform under immense pressure. He explains why he walked away from one of cycling's biggest teams, how he rebuilt confidence with his new team and what the Tour de France is really like from the inside. The conversation dives deep into resilience, motivation, mental health, identity, expectations, leadership, and the challenge of staying happy while competing at the very highest level. Enjoy this episode! Ryzon offers high-performance, fairly produced endurance apparel for triathletes, cyclists, and runners. The brand is globally recognized for combining technical innovation with a clean, timeless design. Use the code “IRONMAN10” to save 10% at Ryzon (valid until July 31, 2026). https://ryzon.net/en-int?utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=podcast&utm_term=pidcock PILLAR Performance provides science-backed, clinically dosed micronutrition designed specifically for endurance athletes. Their supplements focus on optimizing recovery, sleep, and immunity without unnecessary fillers. If you want to give it a try, use the code GOINGMENTAL at pillarperformance.shop — or, for North American listeners, at TheFeed.com. That’s GOINGMENTAL for 15% off your first purchase. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
June 1 · 55 min
Henning Thrien: The Mind Games of Elite Athletes
In this episode, Jan opens up a deeply personal chapter by sitting down with his own sports psychologist, Henning Thrien. Henning has spent the last 15 years working at the intersection of human vulnerability and elite performance, including guiding athletes through the high-pressure cooker of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Pulling back the curtain on the raw emotional reality of world-class sports, he shares fascinating, extreme insights from his practice. Jan and Henning discuss Henning’s self-definition of being a "mental trash can" for performers, why true growth is fundamentally impossible without embracing discomfort, and how the greatest champions handle the brutal contrast between deep pre-race anxiety and laser-focused autopilot. It’s an honest, unfiltered masterclass on what happens when superhumans face their very human limits and how they manage their needs to deliver when it matters most. Enjoy this episode! Produced by Podstars by OMR PILLAR Performance provides science-backed, clinically dosed micronutrition designed specifically for endurance athletes. Their supplements focus on optimizing recovery, sleep, and immunity without unnecessary fillers. If you want to give it a try, use the code GOINGMENTAL at pillarperformance.shop — or, for North American listeners, at TheFeed.com. That’s GOINGMENTAL for 15% off your first purchase. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 25 · 57 min
Nino Schurter: Winning for 20 Years
Olympic Champion and MTB legend Nino Schurter joins Going Mental for a deep conversation about pressure, flow, motivation and longevity. Nino reflects on a career that shaped modern mountain biking. From Olympic gold and World Championship titles to the mental challenges of staying on top for over two decades. A fascinating conversation about mindset, resilience and what truly drives champions. Enjoy! PILLAR Performance provides science-backed, clinically dosed micronutrition designed specifically for endurance athletes. Their supplements focus on optimizing recovery, sleep, and immunity without unnecessary fillers. If you want to give it a try, use the code GOINGMENTAL at pillarperformance.shop — or, for North American listeners, at TheFeed.com. That’s GOINGMENTAL for 15% off your first purchase. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 18 · 1 hr 8 min
From Oxford Mathematician to Cycling World Record Holder - Vittoria Bussi
In todays episode of Going Mental, Jan Frodeno sits down with cycling world record holder Vittoria Bussi. The first woman in history to ride more than 50 kilometers in one hour. But Vittoria’s story goes far beyond cycling. A former Oxford PhD mathematician, Vittoria shares how losing her father changed the direction of her life, how she turned pain into performance and why obsession became her greatest strength. Vittoria also explains how she built her own independent project outside traditional cycling structures, why she repeated one-hour simulations every single week in training and what it really feels like to push the human body to its absolute limit. This is a raw and inspiring conversation about elite performance, mental strength, grief, purpose and what it truly means to go mental. Enjoy! Ryzon offers high-performance, fairly produced endurance apparel for triathletes, cyclists, and runners. The brand is globally recognized for combining technical innovation with a clean, timeless design. Use the code “FRODENO10” to save 10% at Ryzon (valid until October 31, 2026). More: ⁠⁠https://ryzon.net/en-int/discount/FRODENO10?utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=podcast&utm_term=goingmental PILLAR Performance provides science-backed, clinically dosed micronutrition designed specifically for endurance athletes. Their supplements focus on optimizing recovery, sleep, and immunity without unnecessary fillers. If you want to give it a try, use the code GOINGMENTAL at pillarperformance.shop — or, for North American listeners, at TheFeed.com. That’s GOINGMENTAL for 15% off your first purchase. Produced by Podstars by OMR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 11 · 1 hr 14 min
The Norwegian Method: Science vs. Soul – Kristian Blummenfelt
What drives someone to race four major triathlons across two and a half continents in just six weeks — and still come out sharper on the other side? In this episode, Jan sits down with Olympic Gold Medalist and World Champion Kristian Blummenfelt to decode the mindset of the "Norwegian Terminator." Kristian opens up about his "kamikaze" racing schedule, the devastating mental basement of a bad race, and why his deepest fuel isn't the joy of winning, but a fear of loss. Jan also shares a personal angle: after his 2022 crash and surgeries, Blummenfelt became one of the reasons he wanted to come back — to race him one more time in 2023.They dive deep into the split with his long-time coach, the transition to being self-coached, and the truth behind the 103 VO2 Max rumors. From the aggressive racing style of his hero Alistair Brownlee to the high-stakes "barking" in the Olympic village, this is a raw look at the methodology and the madness required to redefine the limits of human endurance. Enjoy! The Pod by Eight Sleep is a smart mattress cover. Optimize your recovery and wake up full of energy with Eight Sleep’s personalized temperature regulation, the secret to your deep sleep. Use code JANFRODENO at https://www.eightsleep.com/de/janfrodeno/ to save up to €350 off your order. PILLAR Performance provides science-backed, clinically dosed micronutrition designed specifically for endurance athletes. Their supplements focus on optimizing recovery, sleep, and immunity without unnecessary fillers. If you want to give it a try, use the code GOINGMENTAL at pillarperformance.shop — or, for North American listeners, at TheFeed.com. That’s GOINGMENTAL for 15% off your first purchase. Produced by Podstars by OMR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 4 · 32 min
Eliud Kipchoge: The Philosopher of Running
For this conversation, Jan sits down with the greatest marathoner of all time, Eliud Kipchoge. They explore the mindset that led to the historic sub-two-hour marathon and why Eliud believes that records don't belong to individuals, but to the sport itself. Eliud shares his profound wisdom on the purity of running, explaining why he still lives and cleans in a simple training camp despite his global success. They discuss the "heavy load" of preparation, how to maintain focus in an age of distraction, and his rule for the next generation. A conversation that serves as a blueprint for anyone looking to push their own boundaries, whether in sport or in life. Enjoy! Get Your Own CANYON GRAIL Ready to hit the gravel? Grab Jan’s bike of choice and save extra on your next adventure! Offer: Extra 5% OFF all Canyon Grail models. Bonus: This code stacks! It is valid even on top of already discounted bikes.*** Code: FRODENO5GRAIL Shop here: canyon.com PILLAR Performance provides science-backed, clinically dosed micronutrition designed specifically for endurance athletes. Their supplements focus on optimizing recovery, sleep, and immunity without unnecessary fillers. If you want to give it a try, use the code GOINGMENTAL at pillarperformance.shop — or, for North American listeners, at TheFeed.com. That’s GOINGMENTAL for 15% off your first purchase. ***Legal Terms & Conditions: This voucher code is valid online on www.canyon.com between 9 April 2026, 00:01 CET and 20 April 2026, 23:59 CET. The promotion applies a 5% discount to all models of the Grail bike family. It cannot be redeemed in conjunction with any other discount code and excludes Factory Outlet bikes. It cannot be redeemed in conjunction with bike leasing. The discount cannot be applied retroactively and applies only to products available at the time of purchase. Cannot be redeemed for cash and resale is prohibited. Canyon reserves the right to terminate or change the terms of this promotion at any time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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