S2 EP2: Cultivating Christ’s Love with Cassie Ponder

S2 EP2: Cultivating Christ’s Love with Cassie Ponder

Grab your sneakers and settle in for a deeply personal, soulful conversation on this week’s episode of Laps. For Season 2, Episode 2, Luca is joined by none other than his best friend Cassie Ponder for a beautifully candid look at what it means to walk—and run—by faith. Cassie opens up completely about her unique faith journey, sharing the moments that shaped her relationship with God and the experiences that have anchored her through life's shifting seasons. With the effortless warmth and laughter that only exists between best friends, this conversation goes far beyond a typical interview. It is a heartfelt, vulnerable exploration of belief in the modern world. Whether you are a lifelong believer looking for encouragement, someone navigating a season of doubt, or a curious non-believer seeking perspective, Cassie’s grounded wisdom and gentle advice offer something powerful for everyone. Timestamps ——————- 0:00 Intro 0:45 Meet Cassie! 2:25 Cassie’s Faith Background 5:00 Cassie’s Faith Journey 9:50 Worship music! 10:30 Cassie’s Faith Inspirations! 11:40 Charlie Kirk & Faith Revival 14:40 Importance of Family 19:20 Life’s Seasons 20:00 Faith Struggles 24:30 Social Media news?? 28:45 Cassie’s 2026 Faith Goals 32:40 Cassie’s favorite Bible verses 32:55 1 Peter 5:7 ✝️ 33:20 Jeremiah 29:11 ✝️ 34:00 God’s Presence 34:43 Deuteronomy 6:5 ✝️ 36:20 How to Grow in Faith 38:00 Power of the Tongue 41:00 Limitless Love 42:30 Luca’s recent faith 43:00 Bring a Friend to Church! 44:00 Final Reflections 46:30 Closing Remarks 46:50 Outro

S2 EP1: Mastering the Marathon w/ Ally Gryzbinski

Welcome to the Season 2 premiere episode of Laps! To start the new season, we are diving deep into the running and marathon journeys of 5x marathoner, assistant HS XC coach, and high school math teacher, Ally Gryzbinski! Ally shares her inspiring evolution as a distance runner and her current pursuit of breaking the elusive 3-hour marathon barrier. Plus, she shares the coaching wisdom she instills in her high school athletes to help you master your next race. We talk heavy training, high school coaching, and, of course, a shared love for coffee and Disney. Hit play and let's rack up some laps! Timestamps ——————— 0:00 Intro 0:56 Meet Ally 2:38 Ally’s Running Story 3:00 HS Running w sisters 4:38 Ally’s Running Hiatus 5:10 RunDisney idea! 6:00 RunDisney half prep 6:20 Narragansett Half mems 7:20 Keeping it Private 8:03 Strava & The Comparison Trap 9:50 Avoiding Comparison 11:00 Not THAT deep 12:20 Ally’s Marathon Journey 12:50 ladies, check your iron! 13:50 Becoming well rounded 14:20 2023 Baystate Marathon training 17:10 2023 Baystate Marathon recap 18:20 Post 1st marathon feeling 19:30 Qualifying for Chicago 2024 20:10 Ally’s 1st Boston Marathon 20:20 Ally’s Marathon Timeline 20:48 2025 Baystate Marathon recap 21:10 2026 Boston Marathon recap 21:30 The Mental Game 21:50 2026 Boston Marathon 23:00 Race Day Photos 23:50 2026 RunDisney recap! 25:40 Race Day Fits! 26:10 Running Buddies 27:10 Ally’s Reflections 29:50 Ally’s coaching experiences 30:45 Building Self Trust 31:00 Coach Ally! 32:06 Self Doubt 32:30 Coach Ally’s motivation 33:20 Ally’s Future Goals! 34:10 Ally’s Future Running Goals 34:40 Commitment Issues! 35:20 Flat fall marathon + Boston #3 35:41 Ally’s BIG announcement 37:44 Ally’s advice to all runners 40:00 Closing Remarks 41:10 Outro

S1 EP8: Season Finale

Season 1 of Laps comes to a close with a short reflection on what God did through each conversation! This episode features meaningful guest highlight clips and lessons learned around purpose, endurance, faith, joy, and perseverance. Thank you to every guest and every listener who made Season 1 possible. Season 2 coming soon— in the meantime, keep fueling your fitness and faith! Timestamps —————— 0:00 Intro 1:26 Reilly Johnston 3:40 Fiona Galvin 4:50 Sydnie Rivas 5:40 John Romano 7:11 John Baker 9:16 Luca’s Reflections 10:30 Season 2!!

S1 EP7: Fast Times, Heavy Heart ft. John Baker

On S1 EP7 of Laps, I sit down with John Baker — a sub-elite, 6x marathoner — to talk about the journey behind the miles. We explore how running, faith, and purpose intersect through seasons of success, pressure, and personal loss, and what it looks like to keep showing up when the weight gets heavy. This conversation is about more than race times — it’s about resilience, identity, and finding meaning both on and off the course. Timestamps ———- 0:00 Intro 0:50 Meet John Baker 1:15 About John 2:30 John’s Childhood 4:00 Early Running Days 5:20 HS Running Growth 6:43 Meaning behind memories 9:00 Collegiate running mindset 9:35 Post collegiate running mindset 10:33 Oh the Places You’ll Run 11:08 Hometown Highlights 11:30 🇩🇪Running Abroad 13:51 🇰🇪 Iten, Kenya Service Trip 18:18 Becoming a Marathoner 20:06 Marathon #1: CA Intl 2019 22:58 Marathon #2: Houston 2022 28:10 Marathon #3: Boston 2022 36:48 Losses & Lessons 43:36 Marathon #4: Grandma’s 2024 46:42 John’s 2025 Marathons 47:02 Marathon #5: Boston 2025 48:44 Marathon #6: Chicago 2025 50:46 John’s Future Running Goals 55:14 John’s Advice for Runners 57:35 God is in Control 58:12 Finding Faith 59:08 John’s Favorite Verse (James 1:2-4) 59:40 Faith + Running parallels 1:00:20 Purpose Behind Challenge 1:01:14 Miracles in the Making 1:03:42 Bye, Comfort Zone! 1:04:37 Keeping the Faith 1:06:57 Defining Habits 1:07:24 Phone Addiction 1:08:48 Nourishing Your Soul 1:09:27 Closing Remarks 1:09:56 John’s Thank You’s! 1:10:32 PR for Laps Pod!

S1 EP6: Runnin’ Racin’ & Rippin ft. John Romano

S1 EP6 of Laps features one of Luca’s running friends from Big 4 accounting, John Romano!! At age 24, John is a seasoned 4x marathoner, dedicated runner, and most importantly a diehard Yankees fan ⚾️. Listen to and learn all about John’s running journey, memorable marathon moments, work life balance structure, future goals & meaningful advice to all runners! Timestamps —————- 0:00 Intro 0:56 Meet John! 2:30 John’s First Race! 2:57 HS XC takeaways 3:32 Stages of John’s running journey 4:42 San Diego Sunrise 5:33 Oh the Places you’ll Run 6:54 Pace Pals 7:20 John’s Fav Race 8:10 John’s Marathon Memories 8:30 John’s 1st marathon! (2023 Baystate) 9:20 2023 Cambridge Half 10:18 Cambridge Half Race Recap 12:12 Back2back marathons! (2024) 12:20 2024 Chicago Marathon 15:35 1 World Major/7 ✅ 16:08 Jersey Boy Upbringing 17:06 2024 Manchester Marathon 18:15 Digging Deep 19:50 SO to Baker the Pacer! 20:26 Work Life Balance 24:55 Running Reflections 25:50 RAGNAR ! 26:36 Race a Half ! 29:05 RAGNAR experience continued 31:00 Training techniques 32:16 John’s Future Running Goals 38:40 John’s Advice for listeners 43:34 Closing Remarks