We recently connected with Jason Karp and have shared our conversation below.

Jason, appreciate you joining us today. What was your school or training experience like? Share an anecdote or two that you feel illustrate important aspects or the overall nature of your schooling/training experience.

I first met Dr. Walter Herzog when he was 40 years old. I was a 22-year-old, inexperienced but overconfident master’s degree student when I stepped into his office at the University of Calgary. I was both impressed and intimidated. I could tell he meant business. He revealed in a later conversation that he did not feel the same way about me and, in so many words, told me that his first impression of me was not good. It would take me the better portion of two years to change my academic advisor’s opinion of me.

One day, I was sitting in Walter’s office talking to him about the research project we were working on—the esoteric topic of muscle-fiber recruitment patterns during eccentric contractions—and I asked him where his ability came from to develop his own ideas about how and why muscles work the way they do. Anticipating he was going to say something like, “That’s why I’m the advisor, and you’re the student,” I was surprised when he said, without hesitation, “Years of research.”

It wasn’t until years later, after I had experienced years of research myself while working on my own PhD, that I understood what he had meant and had reached the empowering point where I could develop my own ideas.

Jason, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My passion started with a race around the track in sixth grade in New Jersey. Little did I know how much it would define my career and life. A Brooklyn, New York native (you can take the boy out of Brooklyn, but you can’t take Brooklyn out of the boy), I grew up playing baseball and soccer and running track. It was intoxicating. The passion I found as a kid for the science of athletic performance placed me on a yellow brick road that I still follow as a run coach, exercise physiologist, writer/author, speaker, and creator of a run certification program for coaches and fitness professionals. Each of these pursuits offers me a different path to be creative. I have done a lot in my career, always striving to be the best. I have had many great experiences in my career, from writing books to speaking on the TEDx stage to living and coaching elite runners in Kenya.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

“You should call him,” my mother suggested.

I was a high school junior in New Jersey, watching a TV program about the difference between white and black athletes. Physiological differences. Biomechanical differences. Sociological differences. I was mesmerized. Starting my running career in middle school as a white sprinter, I wondered why everyone else on the starting line was black. Among the experts on the program were the famous sociologist Dr. Harry Edwards and Dr. Gideon Ariel, an Olympic shot put and discus thrower from Israel and owner of a biomechanics software company.

“You should call him,” my mother suggested, knowing how interested I was in the subject. In the days before Google, I got my hands on a California phone book and flipped through the yellow pages until I found Ariel Dynamics, Dr. Ariel’s biomechanics software company. Dr. Ariel answered the phone. I told him I saw him on TV, how interested I was in the subject, and that I was applying to colleges and wanted his recommendation.

“Penn State,” he quickly responded.

As an undergraduate at Penn State, I had a part-time job in the famous sports biomechanics laboratory, assisting graduate students and faculty with research projects. I learned from the best scientists in one of the best labs in the world.

A few years later, during my senior year at Penn State, I took a road trip with the graduate students from the biomechanics lab to attend the American Society of Biomechanics Conference. At the conference banquet, I overheard a conversation in Hebrew. I turned around to look. It was Dr. Gideon Ariel.

“Dr. Ariel,” I said, “you may not remember me, but when I was a junior in high school, I called you after seeing you on TV to ask you where I should go to college. I took your advice and went to Penn State. I’m applying to graduate school and want to ask your advice again.”

“Either stay at Penn State or go to University of Calgary,” he responded.

Calgary? I didn’t expect to hear that. I knew of Calgary because of the 1988 Winter Olympics, but I had never considered going to school outside the U.S. I applied, was accepted, and visited the school. Seeing the Olympic rings hanging from the ceiling of the Human Performance Laboratory and again down the hallway at the entrance of the majestic Olympic Speedskating Oval made the decision easy. After graduating from Penn State, I packed my long underwear to brave the frigid cold in Calgary for two years, where I studied in the department of kinesiology under the Olympic rings, again rubbing elbows with the best scientists in one of the best kinesiology departments in the world.

One of those scientists was Dr. Walter Herzog, whom I first met when he was forty years old. I was a twenty-two-year-old, inexperienced but overconfident master’s degree student when I stepped into his office at the University of Calgary. I was both impressed and intimidated. I could tell he meant business. He revealed in a later conversation that he did not feel the same way about me and, in so many words, told me that his first impression of me was not good. It would take me the better portion of two years to change my academic advisor’s opinion of me.

One day, I was sitting in Dr. Herzog’s office talking to him about the research project we were working on—the esoteric topic of muscle-fiber recruitment patterns during eccentric contractions—and I asked him where his ability came from to develop his own ideas about how and why muscles work the way they do. Anticipating he was going to say something like, “That’s why I’m the advisor, and you’re the student,” I was surprised when he said, without hesitation, “Years of research.” It wasn’t until years later after I had experienced years of research myself while working on my own PhD that I understood what he had meant and had reached the empowering point where I could develop my own ideas. It is from those ideas that I inspire others.

A few years after completing my master’s degree at the University of Calgary, I began the long journey of my PhD. This time, I didn’t ask Dr. Ariel where I should go, nor Dr. Herzog, but made the decision on my own, inspired by their lead, based on where I thought I could get the best education and pursue the research I was most interested in.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

There are two most important factors behind my success — education and relentless persistence. The fitness and run coaching industries are unique in that they don’t require an education. With no barrier to entry, everyone with an interest in fitness and running is in it. From a young age, I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in the science of athletic performance, so I followed a path that was in line with my goal and my curiosity. If someone wants to become a lawyer, he/she goes to law school to study law. If someone wants to become a dentist, he/she goes to dental school to study dentistry. If someone wants to become a physical therapist, he/she goes to physical therapy school to study physical therapy. For me, pursuing a career in coaching is exactly the same. So I went to school for many years to become a leading expert.

But education is not enough in a competitive industry when you are self-employed. While my education differentiates me from everyone else in the industry, I have had to be relentlessly persistent to get things done. There will always be a “no” response from someone, or even no response at all, so in order to get people’s attention, one needs to be relentlessly persistent. I am glad I have that personality trait!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://drjasonkarp.com
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