Episode Overview

Podcast: Habits and Hustle
Host: Jen Cohen
Guest: Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic
Episode: 497 – "Nick Thompson: How Running 100 Miles Taught Him to Run a $13 Billion Media Empire"
Date: October 28, 2025

This episode features Nicholas Thompson, celebrated CEO of The Atlantic, author, accomplished ultramarathoner and American record holder for the 50k in his age group (45+), and now memoirist with his new book The Running Ground. Jen and Nick dive into the intersection of endurance running, leadership, personal growth, habit formation, and navigating complex family and career dynamics. They explore how Nick’s running journey, father-son relationship, and executive roles have informed each other, revealing deeper truths about resilience, grit, and what truly drives performance—in sport and in life.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Running as Metaphor and Catalyst for Life

• Early Years and Family Bonding

  • Nick started running at age 5 with his father during the late 70s/early 80s “running boom” ([02:35]-[03:35]).
  • Running became a means for his father to cope with personal turmoil and, for Nick, a source of fascination and emotional bonding ([03:06]-[05:20]).
  • The early impact: “His life after that is quite chaotic … but at that point, he’s still able to hold it together. And so he’s running. He’s running a marathon. It’s just kind of enough to keep him going.” —Nick ([04:40])

• The Microcosm of Running

  • Jen draws the parallel: “Running is like a microcosm for life.” ([07:27])
  • Nick: “The goal of the book is to show how it can be that it is a microcosm.” ([07:35])
  • Fitness routines, especially running, teach perseverance, grit, and coping—soft skills that translate into other life domains ([08:41]-[09:34]).

• Self-Discovery and Spiritual Growth

  • In high school, after being cut from several sports teams, running provided needed confidence and new social acceptance ([10:03]-[11:45]).
  • Nick developed an understanding that running’s value evolved over time: initially for confidence, then self-transcendence, and later as meditation and “release” amid demanding media jobs ([21:18]-[24:42]).

• Resilience, Consistency, and Habit

  • Running reinforced lessons such as the value of daily practice, enduring discomfort, and not procrastinating—lessons Nick credits for success in his executive roles ([26:21]-[27:54]; [28:48]-[29:35]).
  • “You learn that consistent practice gets you better… And then you learn, like, consistent practice is actually hard…there’s always a reason not to run, but once you commit to it, then you learn to get past those reasons.” —Nick ([26:21])

Mental Models and Performance: Breaking Self-Limitations

• Plateau and Breakthrough

  • Nick plateaued at a 2:43 marathon for ten years, then dropped to 2:29 at age 44, realizing that much of his limitation was mental ([05:34]-[06:47]).
  • “So much of it is up here, right? So much of it is the limits you put on yourself. And it was that realization that made me want to write the book…” —Nick ([06:49])

• Training Philosophies

  • Variety in training shoes to distribute orthopedic stress ([16:38]-[17:19]).
  • Use of “mind games” and reframing during ultramarathons: shifting from clock-watching to childlike joy to cope with fatigue and uncertainty ([43:45]-[45:53]).
  • “I’m just going to think I’m a kid running in the woods… I’m no longer racing.” —Nick ([44:37])

• The Mind During Extreme Performance

  • During ultras and record attempts, Nick uses mantras, micro-goals (run to the next tree), and dissociation to manage pain and maintain focus ([45:55]-[48:03]).

Physical and Lifestyle Components

• Body, Nutrition, Injury, and Cross-Training

  • Nick attributes robust injury resistance partly to body mechanics and Alexander Technique, plus active play with his children ([13:21]-[16:07]; [50:30]-[52:19]).
  • Diet: Pescatarian focused on whole grains, greens, legumes, good carbs ([54:47]-[55:14]).
  • He stresses that recreational strength and cross-training can come from active play, supporting joint health and injury resistance ([50:30]-[52:19]).

• Balancing Ambition and Wellbeing

  • Reflection on the dangers of over-obsession, body image, and sport-induced self-centeredness ([31:39]-[33:06]; [76:24]-[78:15]).
  • The risk of extreme leanness being pushed in elite running, especially for women, and the mental health ramifications ([77:14]-[80:14]).

The Atlantic: Media Leadership, Strategy, and "SignalGate"

• Transforming The Atlantic

  • The Atlantic has grown from 800,000 to 1.35M subscribers under Nick’s leadership ([55:43]-[56:51]).
  • Main focus has been building a smart subscription model and allowing editorial independence: “Hire the best journalists... Have them write the stories they think are the absolute best. And then we will try to get people to subscribe to read those stories. And that model has worked fantastically.” —Nick ([57:58]-[58:27])
  • Business/tech acumen paired with an editorial sensibility made Nick a fit for CEO, bridging product and content ([58:44]-[59:25]).

• The 'SignalGate' Scoop

  • The Atlantic broke a major story when its editor-in-chief, Jeff Goldberg, was accidentally added to a classified Signal group chat among White House officials ([61:16]-[66:09]).
  • Nick explains the likely sequence of events and why Goldberg’s careful handling of the scoop—verifying, exiting the chat, calling officials, withholding classified detail—reflected journalistic integrity and benefited the publication ([62:00]-[66:19]).
  • “He does everything exactly the way a reporter is supposed to do it. And so the story ends up reflecting really well on us.” —Nick ([65:53])

Father-Son Dynamics and The Running Ground Book

• The Complex Story of Nick’s Father
  • Nick’s father, an eccentric, brilliant, but troubled man, lived a wild life that included breaking barriers as an openly gay Republican in the 1980s, but also spent years in chaos and estrangement ([39:06]-[41:06]).
  • The book entwines running and the personal reckoning with his father: “He always loved me…that’s the first thing you should ask for from a parent. So I forgave him a lot.” ([41:06])
  • The memoir’s structure evolved from marathon physiology “stages” to interwoven personal stories, runner profiles, and philosophical themes ([42:53]-[43:26]).
  • “The main message of the book is that running can be a wonderful psychological force in your life and it can be a way for you to understand yourself, to understand others around you and to build habits that are great for the rest of your life.” —Nick ([36:52])

Notable Runner Stories Featured in the Book

• Tony Ruiz: Coach who overcame heroin addiction through running ([29:51])
• Michael Westphall: Fastest Parkinson’s marathoner
• Super Beckford: Ran (and won) a 3,100-mile race in Queens, NY, nine times in a row for “intense self-transcendence” ([29:51])
• Julia Lucas: Elite runner battling injury and homelessness, who missed the Olympics by 0.1 seconds ([80:35]-[82:39])

Fun Anecdotes & Insights

• Dvorak keyboard as security hack ([13:46]-[14:49])
• Nick’s accidental cross-training via roughhousing with his three sons ([50:30]-[52:19])
• A friendship with Stalin’s daughter, chronicled in the New Yorker ([83:16]-[84:57])
• The search for “Mostly Harmless”—an enigmatic hiker and Wired feature story ([85:00]-[87:23])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Mental limits and performance:

  • “So much of it is up here, right? So much of it is the limits you put on yourself.” —Nick ([06:49])

• On marathoning vs. business:

  • “The most important lesson is the benefit of consistent daily practice… Once you commit to it, then you learn to get past those reasons and you learn that you should just do it in the time available. And that’s a really good habit for your job.” —Nick ([26:21])

• On self-knowledge through running:

  • “It’s a way of spurring a creative process in your head. As you observe yourself … you think more deeply about yourself and you think more deeply about your place in the world.” —Nick ([37:40])

• On the Atlantic’s journalistic philosophy:

  • “Hire the best journalists in the world... have them write the stories they think are the absolute best. And then we will try to get people to subscribe to read those stories.” —Nick ([58:02])

• On interpersonal sacrifice and family:

  • “Running has never been the most important thing in my life. It’s always been something I’ve put a lot of time and effort into, but it’s always had a place.” —Nick ([34:59])

• On fatherhood and forgiveness:

  • “He always loved me. That’s the first thing you should ask for from a parent. So I forgave him a lot.” —Nick ([41:06])

• On extreme endurance and longevity (Trump’s ‘heartbeat’ theory):

  • “He has this theory that humans have a fixed number of heartbeats. And so the trick is to not use those heartbeats up… Now, I disagree with this hypothesis.” —Nick ([69:21])

Important Timestamps

• 00:07 – Nick’s introduction: running records and book origins
• 02:25 – Early running with his father; first marathon memories
• 05:34 – Cancer, plateauing at marathon times, the realization that changed his performance
• 09:34 – Discovering running again after sports setbacks in high school
• 13:21 – Injury prevention, Alexander Technique, and cross-training with kids
• 16:38 – Shoe selection strategies for performance and injury avoidance
• 21:18 – Running for confidence, then spiritual/meditative value
• 26:21 – Consistent practice lessons from running applied to life and work
• 29:51 – Brief stories of runners overcoming life obstacles (book content)
• 31:39 – Potential downsides and self-centeredness in running
• 39:06 – Relationship with his father and origins of The Running Ground
• 43:45 – Mind games and psychological strategies in ultramarathon running
• 48:28 – How Nick’s training evolved to break through performance plateaus
• 50:30 – Cross-training, kids, and active lifestyle approaches
• 54:47 – Diet and nutrition philosophy for performance and health
• 55:43 – The Atlantic’s subscriber growth, strategy, and editorial approach
• 61:16 – “SignalGate”: accidental inclusion of Jeff Goldberg in a classified Signal chat, and its journalistic handling
• 80:35 – Julia Lucas story: missing the Olympic team by a fraction, lessons on resilience and identity

Conclusion

This episode masterfully intertwines the rigors and revelations of extreme running with the demands of running a venerable media organization. Through candid stories, reflective wisdom, and the revealing narratives in his book The Running Ground, Nicholas Thompson and Jen Cohen explore how discipline, resilience, habit, and deep self-understanding pay dividends—whether on the trails, in family life, or at the helm of a $13 billion media empire. Listeners leave with a nuanced appreciation of the interplay between the physical, mental, and ethical dimensions of achievement, and are reminded that—whatever the domain—consistent practice, grit, and an open mind are the common ingredients of growth and success.