Excerpt 8 of 8 · Talking to runners

Talking to Runners: From Compliance to Ownership

Shifting from an action-oriented, "find it and fix it" mindset to one of a non-anxious presence is one of the most critical (and challenging) evolutions for clinicians. It requires us to respect that the athlete is always in charge. Otherwise, we strip away autonomy, and that always backfires.

Let's be honest: how can we ever be in charge of someone else's body when we'll never truly understand all the moving parts of their situation?

That's the mindset shift we must cultivate when working with injured runners.

In this Clinical Running Essentials sample clip, I explore how motivational interviewing (MI) principles help move athletes from passive compliance to active ownership... where real change happens. Not through shockwave. Not via overpriced PRP. But through alliance and exercising restraint in the urge to fix.

In this lesson, I share one of my most important learnings from Edgar Schein, who helps us rethink how relationships work in healthcare. Our goal is always to move from Level 1 (transactional) to Level 2 (relational) connections, as this is where trust lives and we can finally get somewhere together.

In this video, you'll learn:

• How to shift your language to build alliance instead of asserting authority
• Why exploring the runner's goals matters more than dictating yours
• The five MI principles I use in every consult and evaluation
• The difference between surface-level rapport and deep trust
• Balancing empathy with accountability so runners can grow through pain rather than avoid it

MI isn't just a counseling framework. It's a performance tool. It's how we build better, more durable athletes. It's how we stop handing runners a to-do list—and start helping them chart their own course. Or, as my friend Steve Makofsky says: it's how we help them "own their shit."