Nicholas Macha, well-known member of the frosh community and upcoming podcaster, is shaking the world of running up with his very own podcast, The Sunday Shakeout. Macha started the podcast in November of last year, using it as his creative outlet to express his passion of running and to assist his own athletic career. The podcast aims to highlight a new running associated topic every Sunday. From workout routines to covering advanced techniques to just general running advice, The Sunday Shakeout is described by one listener as “an absolute gem for running enthusiasts seeking a refreshing podcast experience”. To learn more about the beautiful world of the Sunday Shakeout, we interviewed Nicholas Macha himself.
Q: Why did you start the podcast?
A: I’m kind of quiet sometimes, but in my family I’m kind of a talker and so I’m passionate about running and like researching all that stuff. So sometimes when we’re just on a regular, just car ride. I’ll just start rambling about a random running topic and so obviously my parents start to get fed up with me talking. So, they’re just like, “you know what? You should create a podcast.” I denied it for a little bit, but eventually I’m like, “yes, I’m going to create a podcast” so then hence the Sunday shakeout. And you know, the rest is history.
Q: Why did you decide to make your podcast about running?
A: It’s a topic that I’m really passionate about. I think that running sounds very simple. A lot of people think, “oh, you just like put 1 foot in front of the other”. If you start to go into the scientific literature, there’s a lot to running and there’s a lot to the sport. And I think that one of my biggest philosophies and one of the biggest podcasting philosophies is you have to be podcasting about something you’re passionate about. And running is something that really checks that box for me.
Q: How do you think of an idea and execute creating an episode?
A: Yeah. So, I don’t really have a specific strategy as far as like what episode topic I’m picking. I’m not super experienced like “oh I need to place my episodes here, here and here” It’s more like I come up with an idea during the week. Something pops in my head and I’m just like “I want to make an episode about that”. Since I know a lot about running, it doesn’t take a whole lot of time to create the script. I have to do a little bit of research, but normally I have this big outline of different topics and then from there I record on Garage Band. It’s like show notes. So, then I record on GarageBand using a special mic, and then from there I edit it and add some music.
Q: Where do you see the Sunday Shakeout in senior year and beyond?
A: Hopefully sooner I can get to the point, maybe even like sophomore year where I get some like sponsors on the podcast. My ultimate goal is to try to get sponsors on the podcast and hopefully some interviewers, but yeah, I just want to get to the point where I’m getting 500 plays per week which my senior year. Hopefully I can get some guests on the show too. That’s where I kind of see it senior year, especially since I’ll have developed my speaking abilities and obviously my maturity a little bit too, so.
Q: How do you feel the Sunday Shakeout has evolved over time?
A: I think that I’ve gained a lot more confidence speaking in front of the mic. It’s gotten to the point where I’m not nervous. It’s kind of it’s just it’s become natural to me. I’d say that my production quality has also gone up. I’m getting kind of sense when an episode is kind of going in the wrong direction and how I can recover it. Whereas before if something was going in the wrong direction, all heck breaks loose, and then it’s a terrible episode. As for the production quality, how I research the episodes, how I get all the info, that process has definitely gotten a lot more efficient and a lot better over time.
The Sunday Shakeout started from humble origins with Nicholas’s parent’s encouragement and transformed into a informative charismatic podcast not just affecting the Seattle Prep cross country team but the worldwide running community.
