Dan O’Brien has a new book coming out in June called Clearing Hurdles. In our interview, we chatted about his decision to focus on the decathlon, the 1992 Dan and Dave Reebok ad campaign that made both himself and Dave Johnson household names, the disappointment at not making the 1992 Olympic team and, most importantly, how that disappointment fueled him moving forward. For so many of the athletes we interview, overcoming setbacks is what ultimately makes them great. Dan O’Brien went on to set the decathlon world record later in 1992 and then won the Gold Medal in Atlanta four years later in 1996.

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Deena Kastor holds the American record for the marathon and half marathon and took home the bronze medal from the 2004 Olympic Marathon in Athens. Deena chatted about being a mom, taking sixth at the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials, her Bronze Medal run in the oppressive heat of Athens, and the challenges she faces as she attempts to make another Olympic team, this time at 10,000 meters. “Cutting my running mileage way back has been great,” she said in our interview, “but dealing with the ‘bootie locking burn’ that comes along with all of that track work has been a challenge.” Bootie Locking Burn? LOVE that!

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Ken McAlpine’s new book Fog just came out and is getting rave reviews. Kenny started out as a magazine features writer with Outside, Sports Illustrated, Runner’s World, and Competitor Magazine, moved seamlessly into the realm of non-fiction books and now has taken his writing career to a brand new level with the release of Fog. As usual, Kenny was open and candid about this new chapter in his life.

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Manny Huerta was born in Cuba, came to the U.S. when he was 13, trains in Costa Rica, and is now a proud member of the U.S. Olympic Triathlon team after an awesome race in San Diego. This kid is a great story!

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Lauren Fleshman ran sub 15:00 for 5,000 meters (14:58:58) and was a favorite to make the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team. Dealing with a foot injury that would lead to surgery, she took fifth in the trials and didn’t get to go to Beijing. Now she is a few weeks from the 2012 trials and this time it is an IT Band injury that has kept her running to a minimum. But her attitude is awesome and this interview is absolutely one of our all-time favorites.

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Laura Bennett came into the ITU San Diego event in mid May knowing that she needed to be the first American woman and finish in the top nine to punch her ticket to London for her second Olympics. Laura is a woman who knows how to step up when everything is on the line.

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Greg Bennett is one of the most successful short course triathletes in history, took fourth at the Olympics back in 2004, and has probably won more prize money in his career than any other multisport athlete. His goal for 2012 is to race the 5150, 70.3 and Ironman World Championships later this fall. You can tell from the interview that the man still loves what he does.

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Hunter Kemper was hoping to make his fourth U.S. Olympic Triathlon team, but he was coming off of a catastrophic accident at a race in Myrtle Beach, four operations on his elbow and seven months without racing. Kemper used all of that as fuel on race day in San Diego.

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