[powerpress]
Cedric King doesn’t tap out just because he’s tired.
Afghanistan. Summer of 2012. Cedric was an Army Ranger and a Sergeant First Class with the 82nd Airborne Division, on what should have been a routine reconnaissance mission, when an IED detonated beneath him.
The blast punctured his lungs and burst his eardrums. Doctors tried to save his legs. They couldn’t. He woke eight days later in Bethesda, Maryland, still feeling toes that were no longer there.
What came next was the bottom of the second act where all hope is lost: the shame, the anger at God, and eventually a flirtation with addiction to the very painkillers meant to help him.
Then Cedric flipped the switch, taking ownership of his injury as the birth of a new life. Twenty-one months after the blast, he ran the 2014 Boston Marathon, one year after the bombing. How is that possible?
More than 30 marathons later, this past Sunday, he lined up in New York on running blades. I joined my friend Joe Chura to spend 26.2 miles supporting him across the finish line. It was an honor and a delight.
Eighteen months ago, I underwent spinal fusion – a pretty intense operation that prompted my surgeon to say I could forget about running. I baked up a plan and began plotting my way in.
I toed the line in New York not to make a comeback, but to mark a new and different relationship with running. One that is much more about service and connection than ego-gratifying performance goals.
What happened along the way forever changed me.
Today, we go past the poster version of his story, into the blind spots underneath: the fear, the embarrassment, and the sense of specialness that comes with being seen.
Inside this conversation:
- The Hospital Pencil & Giving Pain a Purpose
- A Daughter’s Request & Life With Phantom Pain
- The Parachute With Built-In Holes
- Two Grenades & a Second Chance
- His Father, Alcohol & Understanding Absence
- Helping Others Through Your Own Hardest Miles
- Tactical Patience & Running to the Next Stoplight
- Why Hardship Is a Life Hack
For those who prefer a visual experience, the conversation is available on YouTube. As always, the audio version streams wild and free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Peace + Plants,
Listen, Watch, & Subscribe
Get $20 off an annual subscription of the meal planner with code RICHROLL20 at meals.richroll.com
Rivian: Adventure is only possible with a thriving planet. Rivian is not just building vehicles — it’s building momentum toward a more optimistic, regenerative future with a mission to keep the world adventurous forever. Visit stories.rivian.com/richroll to learn more.
Whoop: Get insight into how your body is actually performing and use that information to make more informed decisions about your health. Whoop is the only wearable that turns your health and fitness data into personalized guidance and gives you a truly comprehensive view of your body—designed to help you improve your performance, longevity, and overall health. Join now and get one month free at join.whoop.com/Roll.
Mill: Food waste is one of those problems that feels impossible to fix. But here’s the wild part: Most food waste comes from our homes. And that means we actually can do something about it. Mill is the odorless, effortless, fully automated food recycler. Try Mill risk-free for 90 days and get $75 off at mill.com/richroll with code RICHROLL.
TORRAS: The TORRAS Q3 Air Pro is protective phone gear for people who like to hike, climb, travel, camp, run, and create outdoors, and exists to reduce the mental load of carrying your phone outdoors. For listeners of the show, TORRAS is offering 15% off your order of TORRAS Q3 Air Pro when you enter the code RICHROLL at torraslife.com.
Kohler: Your gut health has a daily score. Now you can actually see it. Kohler Health tracks gut health, hydration, and blood presence through Dekoda, a discreet toilet attachment, turning everyday signals into insights in the Kohler Health app. Learn what’s normal for your body, spot changes, and gain a clearer picture of your health between doctor visits. Your health, understood a little better, every day. Use code RICHROLL10 for 10% off Dekoda at kohler.com/kohlerhealth. A Kohler Health membership is required.
Eight Sleep: The next generation has arrived. The Pod 6 is the smallest and most intelligent sleep system yet. Add the cover to your existing mattress to help improve your sleep quality and get preventative health insights. Use my code RICHROLL at eightsleep.com/richroll for up to $200 off the Pod 6. You get 30 days to try it at home and return it if you don’t love it. But I’m confident you will.
norda: Born of the most demanding conditions and terrain, and developed without compromise on performance nor durability, norda set out to create the finest trail shoe possible. They achieved this by creating the world’s first seamless trail running shoe made with Bio-Based Dyneema®—a material intrinsically fifteen times stronger than steel yet light enough to float on water. Experience the ultimate in trail running innovation and shop the latest collection by visiting nordarun.com.
- Connect with Cedric: Instagram
There are a few simple ways you can support the show and the content we strive to craft and share every single week
Subscribe & Review: Please make sure to review, share comments and subscribe to the show on the various platforms (Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Spotify). This helps tremendously!
Patronize Our Sponsors: Supporting the companies that support the show! For a complete list of all RRP sponsors and their respective vanity URLs and discount codes, click the ‘Sponsors’ tab in the ‘Shop’ menu.
Spread The Word: Help grow our reach by sharing your enthusiasm for the podcast and/or your favorite episodes by posting about it on social media.
Thank The Team: I do not do this alone. Send your love to Tyler Piatt & Dan Dake for producing, audio engineering, & creative direction; associate producer Desmond Loh; Blake Curtis & Morgan Mcrae for video editing, graphics by Bryan Lawrence & Alejandro Ribadeneira; portraits by Dan Drake; copywriting by Ben Pryor; social media management by Shaina Savoy; and theme music by Tyler Piatt, Trapper Piatt & Hari Mathis.
Amazon Disclosure: Third-party books and products denoted on this page and website may be hyperlinked to the Amazon affiliate program. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
