The Miles That Make Us Who We Are: Lessons in Becoming, One Step at a Time

The miles that make us who we are are rarely the easy ones. They are the miles that ask something of us: patience, presence, courage, or simply the willingness to take one more step when we are unsure we can. These miles shape identity in ways that time alone cannot. In this Passion Struck conversation, John R. Miles sits down with Nick Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic and author of The Running Ground: A Father, a Son, and the Simplest Sport, to explore how running became both a physical practice and an emotional compass throughout his life.

From childhood runs alongside his brilliant yet complicated father, to the miles he relied on during illness and grief, to the races that redefined what he believed was possible, Nick discovered that growth often hides inside the smallest, most ordinary acts of showing up. Running became the place where he learned to listen to his mind, trust his body, question his limits, and reshape his understanding of success and self-worth.

This conversation invites us to consider not just how we run through the world, but how we move through it: slowly, intentionally, and one meaningful mile at a time.

When Pain Becomes a Teacher

In The Running Ground, Nick describes being diagnosed with thyroid cancer in his early thirties just as his career was gaining momentum. It was a moment that forced everything to slow down. The kind of moment that divides life into before and after.

During recovery, running took on a new meaning. It was no longer simply training. It became a reminder that life is finite, and therefore precious.

Nick writes, “We do not think about death most days, which means we also forget we are alive.”

Every mile became a quiet declaration:
I am here. I am still moving. I am still becoming.

Pain was no longer an enemy. It was information. A signal that growth was happening at the edge of discomfort.

Breaking Through Invisible Ceilings

For years, Nick chased a single barrier: the sub-three-hour marathon. He got close, again and again, sometimes frustratingly close. The goal became something deeper than a time. It became a mirror.

Because so often what we call limits are not limits. They are beliefs.

When he finally broke the three-hour mark, another ceiling appeared. Then another. Then another. The body can go farther than the mind believes. The mind must be convinced first.

This is not just about running. It is the story of every meaningful transformation.

Growth begins when you stop assuming the story you have been living is the only one available to you.

Nick and His Father: The First Miles

Nick’s earliest memories of running are with his father during the running boom of the 1980s. They would run through the streets of Brookline when Nick was just five years old. Those miles were simple, joyful, and connective.

But his father’s life was complicated. Brilliant, charismatic, and deeply ambitious, he also struggled with identity, addiction, and emotional turbulence. When his father left the family, running remained. It became the thread that held something of their relationship together.

As an adult, Nick realized he was running not just to stay close to his father, but also not to become him.

Running became remembrance. Running also became a release.

The miles that make us who we are are rarely clean or easy. They are the ones that force us to feel.

The Power of Running as Reflection

Nick believes that running gives us something rare: a place where you cannot hide from yourself.

No distractions. No shortcuts. No performance for others. Just your breath, your thoughts, and the rhythm of forward motion.

In that space, you start to see your patterns clearly. When you push. When you quit. When you come alive.

Running is not just about endurance. It is about self-awareness.

Key Takeaways

• The hardest miles define us. Growth lives just beyond comfort.
• Pain is information. It signals possibility, not failure.
• Beliefs shape boundaries. Question the ones that feel immovable.
• Legacy is motion. We leave behind the way we choose to move through life.

Passing the Baton

One of the most moving parts of Nick’s story is returning to a childhood race in Maine and running it again with his own son beside him.

The same route. The same landscape. A different lifetime.

It became a moment of legacy. Not the kind that is written in books, but the kind that is written in memory and breath.

The miles that make us who we are become the miles we pass forward.

Living Intentionally, One Mile at a Time

Nick’s story reminds us that fulfillment does not come from a single great achievement. It comes from the quiet consistency no one sees. The early run. The rewritten sentence. The conversation you choose to show up for.

Every small act of effort is a mile. And those miles accumulate into character.

That is what it means to live intentionally. The miles that make us who we are are the miles we decide to travel with presence, courage, and care.

RESOURCES FROM THE SHOW WITH NICK THOMPSON

Please note that some of the links on this page (books, movies, music, etc.) lead to affiliate programs for which The Passion Struck podcast receives compensation. It’s just one of the ways we keep the lights on around here. Thank you so much for being so supportive!

1. Nick Thompson’s Site and Social HUB
2. Nick Thompson’s Book ‘The Running Ground’
3. *Free companion tools on The Ignited Life (Substack): theignitedlife.net
4. *Passion Struck Network: creator-first shows built around mattering, not metrics—passionstrucknetwork.com
5. *Apparel with a message: StartMattering.com — “You Matter. Live Like It.”

Nick Thompson – CEO, The Atlantic

Nicholas Thompson is the CEO of The Atlantic, where he has led the publication through record subscriber growth, award-winning journalism, and a renewed commitment to thoughtful storytelling. Before joining The Atlantic, he served as Editor in Chief of WIRED, where he helped shape global conversations about technology, culture, and the future of innovation.

He is the author of The Running Ground: A Father, a Son, and the Simplest Sport, a deeply personal exploration of identity, legacy, and the lessons we discover through endurance. A lifelong runner, Nick has set multiple American age-group records, including the 50K for men over 45.

His work spans journalism, leadership, technology, and human performance, and he is known for his thoughtful and grounded approach to growth, purpose, and intentional living.

Keep the Ripple Going

You can listen to my full interview with Nick Thompson on Passion Struck (Episode 683) wherever you get your podcasts. We explore the neuroscience of compliance, the psychology of moral courage, and how to cultivate defiance that heals rather than divides.

And if you’re looking for a way to help the next generation understand their worth, my new children’s book You Matter, Luma—the first story in The Matteringverse™—is now available for presale. It’s a reminder for kids (and adults alike) that the smallest acts of self-respect and kindness can create ripples of change.

Stop existing. Start mattering.