Jess Baird Walsh has turned a simple 30-day challenge into an extraordinary streak of over 1,150 consecutive days of running — and she’s not stopping until she raises $1 million for the Indigenous Marathon Foundation. A leader in AI and innovation, startup founder, and mother of three, Jess brings the same consistency, grit, and self-accountability to her career that she does to the road. In this episode, she and Jason unpack what running every day has taught her about resilience, identity, and finding purpose beyond personal achievement.

Highlights

• Hear how a doctor’s advice to “try running” changed Jess’s life at 18.

• Learn how a 30-day challenge became a three-year streak (and counting).

• Discover what running every day taught her about resilience, self-leadership, and accountability.

• Explore how she found her new purpose supporting the Indigenous Marathon Foundation.

• Understand why running is her anchor for navigating challenge, grief, and growth.

• Find out how Jess balances running, parenting, and leading innovation at a major firm.

Connect with Jess:
→ LinkedIn – Jess Baird Walsh
→ Support the Indigenous Marathon Foundation

Connect with Execs Who Run:
→ Website – execswhorun.com
→ LinkedIn – Execs Who Run
→ Instagram – @execswhorun

Connect with Jason Hunt:
→ LinkedIn – Jason Hunt
→ Instagram – @jasonzane_

If this episode resonates, share it with a friend who runs. Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and leave a quick review — it helps more leaders find the miles that matter.

When a rockstar turns 50 and runs his first marathon, and his coach breaks a world record in a suit — this is what happens next.

What happens when two very different runners cross the same finish line — one in a three-piece suit, the other five days after his 50th birthday?

In this Execs Who Run bonus episode, Jason Hunt and Tim Minchin sit down to relive the Melbourne Marathon. Jason shares what it took to break the Guinness World Record for fastest marathon in a suit, while Tim unpacks how his first 42km run reshaped his idea of aging, endurance, and joy.

It’s an unfiltered, funny, and surprisingly deep conversation about pain, pacing, pride, and why running can be both ridiculous and profoundly human.

In This Episode:

• How Tim’s first marathon turned into a lesson in midlife momentum

• Jason’s behind-the-scenes of running 2:38 in a full tailored Institchu suit

• The strange overlap between art, leadership, and endurance

• Why discomfort tolerance beats raw talent — in sport and in life

• What’s next: Tim’s London Marathon dream and Jason’s next record attempt

  
  

Connect with Tim Minchin:
→ timminchin.com
→ Instagram – @timminchin

Connect with Execs Who Run:
→ Website – execswhorun.com
→ LinkedIn – Execs Who Run
→ Instagram – @execswhorun

Connect with Jason Hunt:
→ LinkedIn – Jason Hunt
→ Instagram – @jasonzane_

If this conversation made you want to go for a run (or buy a better suit), share it with a friend who runs. Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts — and leave a quick review to help more leaders find the miles that matter.

Ned Phillips has sold horse manure door-to-door, run companies across Asia, and now runs Backyard Ultras for fun — the kind where you loop 6.7 kilometres every hour until everyone else quits. The British-born entrepreneur and former CEO turned solopreneur has built and lost multimillion-dollar startups, led with empathy through failure, and found joy in suffering. In this conversation, Jason and Ned explore how endurance sports and business share the same brutal truths: pain is inevitable, ego is fragile, and resilience is a choice.

Highlights

• Hear how Ned went from selling fertilizer to running a listed financial company in Asia.

• Learn how building and losing a $20M startup reshaped his definition of leadership.

• Discover how he found running through a 100km race — as his first ever run.

• Explore the philosophy of Backyard Ultra and the fine line between grit and madness.

• Understand what “the art of suffering” really means, in running, leadership, and life.

• Find out why empathy and curiosity are the most underrated sales and leadership skills.

Connect with Ned:
→ LinkedIn – Ned Phillips
→ Ned’s Website – teachpeoplesales.com

Connect with Execs Who Run:
→ Website – execswhorun.com
→ LinkedIn – Execs Who Run
→ Instagram – @execswhorun

Connect with Jason Hunt:
→ LinkedIn – Jason Hunt
→ Instagram – @jasonzane_

If this episode resonates, share it with a friend who runs. Subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and leave a quick review — it helps more leaders find the miles that matter.