The Shakeout Podcast

The 2026 Canadian track & field championships are underway from Ottawa and The Shakeout Podcast team brings you all the storylines you need to know heading into a full weekend of action on the track.

Host John Gay is joined by Canadian Running's Cameron Ormond and special guest Avery Pearson, fresh off her final collegiate season at The University of Colorado.

From a jam packed night of distance action on Thursday, June 18th right through the always-riveting 1500m finals set for Sunday, the team takes a deep dive into the head-to-head battles, superstar showdowns, and dark horse picks you need to keep an eye on this weekend.

Plus, Pearson shares from her experience competing in her final season as a collegiate athlete, from the demands of the NCAA racing schedule to making her first senior national team earlier this year and how she plans to carry the momentum from a breakout season into a stacked women's 800m competition this Friday and Saturday in Ottawa.

Follow Avery @averyypearson

Cover Photo: Lauren Cawley

Subscribe to The Shakeout Podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts.

[This collaboration is part of an advertising campaign led by the Podpass agency for Altitude Sports]

Shop now at Altitude Sports and enjoy up to 20% off your first order with the promo code “SHAKEOUT2026” Click here to order 👉 https://bit.ly/altitude-shakeout2026

Create an account or sign in to access the discount. Valid on items at regular price only. Valid for a limited time only after sign up. Cannot be combined with any other discount code and/or promotion. Limited to one use per customer. Membership discount not applicable on this offer.

Time to plan your next Run-Cation! Spots remain for the 2026 Fiddler's Marathon, a BQ-eligible course in beautiful Sydney, Nova Scotia

Sign-Up today: https://fiddlersmarathon.com/

A quick scan of a pre-race warmup area and you’ll see a rainbow array of brightly coloured drink mixes filling the bottles, beakers, and hydration packs of endurance athletes. For many, these beverages are the bridge between the hydration needs of “normal” people and the performance necessities of athletes, with brands touting optimized mineral blends and special formulas aimed at keeping athletes running harder for longer.

But how much are these drinks really doing for performance and how much is clever marketing aimed at capitalizing on the most basic of human needs: thirst?

With the hottest months upon us and the racing season in full swing, we welcome back Registered Dietitian Sandra Frail to dive into the salty waters of endurance hydration. We’re taking a look at what our bodies really need to perform at their best, debunking some of the common misconceptions around electrolytes, sweat, and dehydration, and understanding the real-world strategies athletes can use to optimize their hydration and avoid pouring away extra money on pricey pee.

Subscribe to The Shakeout Podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts.

Follow Sandra @nosweatnutrition

McCubbin Journal Article: Sodium intake for athletes before, during and after exercise: review and recommendations

Push past the finish line with nutrition that fuels you. CanPrev is proudly Canadian and has been delivering supportive natural health supplements for over two decades. Whether you’re training for your next goal race or looking to maximize performance when the gun goes off, make CanPrev's top-quality products part of your well rounded nutrition plan. Discover more at canprev.ca

Weeks after retiring from one of the greatest professional running careers in a generation, Evan Jager found himself inside a Swedish lab testing a supplement made from broccoli sprouts.

The results of those lab tests caught his attention, and before the ink was dry on his retirement letter to the sport of distance running, the Olympic silver medallist and American record holder was right back in the world of high performance. 

But while he’d spent a pro career focused on running as fast as possible, this new chapter would be all about helping other athletes reach their full potential, as he became head of athlete relations for Nomio, the Swedish company behind the broccoli-powered super supplement.

Today on The Shakeout Podcast, Evan joins us to talk about how a move to Sweden set the stage for an improbable post-career pivot, what the transition to life after pro running has looked like and what it was about that first experience with a shot of broccoli juice that had him diving back into the heart of high performance sport just as quickly as he’d left.

Subscribe to The Shakeout Podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts.

[This collaboration is part of an advertising campaign led by the Podpass agency for Altitude Sports]

Shop now at Altitude Sports and enjoy up to 20% off your first order with the promo code SHAKEOUT2026 Click here to order 👉 https://bit.ly/altitude-shakeout2026

Create an account or sign in to access the discount. Valid on items at regular price only. Valid for a limited time only after sign up. Cannot be combined with any other discount code and/or promotion. Limited to one use per customer. Membership discount not applicable on this offer.

This week on the Shakeout Podcast host John Gay is joined by his coach Jonathan Green of Verde Track Club to breakdown the 2026 Ottawa Marathon, John's debut at the distance.

48 hours post race John and Jon review the training block leading up to Ottawa, the key workouts along the way, and the final preparation before the gun went off. From race-day strategy to tapering, recovery, and setting up the next training block, Jon shares his insights as a coach and his impressions of John's first foray into the marathon.

Subscribe to The Shakeout Podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts.

[This collaboration is part of an advertising campaign led by the Podpass agency for Altitude Sports]

Shop now at Altitude Sports and enjoy up to 20% off your first order with the promo code SHAKEOUT2026 Click here to order 👉 https://bit.ly/altitude-shakeout2026

Create an account or sign in to access the discount. Valid on items at regular price only. Valid for a limited time only after sign up. Cannot be combined with any other discount code and/or promotion. Limited to one use per customer. Membership discount not applicable on this offer.

For his entire adult life, Olivier Duhaime has been no stranger to taking on hard challenges. Running his first marathon at just 18 years old proved a gateway into endurance sport that would see the Gatineau native tackle events from ironmans to ultramarathons and even a multi-day cross-province run from Quebec City to Ottawa. But when a shock cancer diagnosis in late 2021 put a pause to his endurance-sport lifestyle, it presented a test of perseverance unlike any he’d faced before.

From training everyday to barely able to get out of bed, Olivier was faced with a mountain to climb that dwarfed even his longest trail ultras. But from a lifetime spent pushing his body to do the impossible he knew that at rock bottom there’s nowhere to go but up, and after 51 rounds of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, he emerged from a years-long battle cancer free. 

Next week, Olivier will make his long-anticipated return to a marathon starting line close to home at the Tamarack Homes Ottawa International Marathon, where he’ll be toeing the line in support the Ottawa Hospital Foundation whose care helped save his life. 

Olivier joins The Shakeout Podcast to share his journey of recovery and his return to full the intensity marathon training,  and why this marathon carries extra importance as he raises awareness and funds for the future of the cause that gave him back his. 

Support Olivier's Fundraising Efforts for the Ottawa Hospital Foundation Campaign to Create Tomorrow

Subscribe to The Shakeout Podcast feed on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts.

The Shakeout Podcast will be LIVE from The Tamarack Homes Ottawa Marathon Race Expo: Friday, May 22nd @ 4pm EST: Come by and check out our interview with some of Canada's top distance stars, plus a chance to win free gear!

[This collaboration is part of an advertising campaign led by the Podpass agency for Altitude Sports]

Shop now at Altitude Sports and enjoy up to 20% off your first order with the promo code SHAKEOUT2026 Click here to order 👉 https://bit.ly/altitude-shakeout2026

Create an account or sign in to access the discount. Valid on items at regular price only. Valid for a limited time only after sign up. Cannot be combined with any other discount code and/or promotion. Limited to one use per customer. Membership discount not applicable on this offer.