For The Long Run: Exploring the Why Behind Running

This week’s guest is Matt Daniels.  Matt is a trail and ultra runner, as well as a coach. Matt has run a sub 4 minute mile, and this summer he’s taking on the hundred mile distance for the first time, after coming from a track and short distance background. Talk about range!  Matt spent three years stationed in Japan with the US Navy. After that, he returned Stateside to run for a DII running powerhouse where he truly sharpened his speed and ran that sub 4 minute mile.  Over the next few years, he found himself loving the trails after moving to Boulder, Colorado, where we recorded this podcast.  We talked about the dangers of comparison and sticking to your own path, especially in a town like Boulder where the running joke is that “Boulder Average” means having a shoe sponsor. Towards the end of the episode we talked a little about mental strength and Matt’s experience with battling depression and how running helped to bring the joy back into his life. I hope you enjoy our chat!  Matt runs for Nike Trail, Unived Sports, Little Tree Labs, and InsideTracker.  You can find Matt at @mattdaniels480 on Twitter and Instagram!

This week’s guest is Corrine Malcolm. Corrine is an ultra runner, coach, writer and scientist with a degree in Health and Human Performance, living in San Francisco, California.  We sat down to chat about all things ultra running and science, and this one had a lot of tangible takeaways for athletes, particularly heading into the summer. We talked about heat and altitude, as well as what got her into high performance sport as both an athlete and on the scientific side of things.  Corrine was training for nordic skiing at the Olympic level, and talked about how she was overtrained during the 2010-2012 Olympic Cycle in biathlon and found the trails and mountains and hasn’t looked back. We talked about how to find joy in the day to day, how to reframe discomfort as something productive, and so much more. Enjoy! Corrine runs for Adidas Terrex, InsideTracker, coaches for TrainRight, and writes for iRunFar. You can find Corrine on Twitter and Instagram at @corrinemalcolm.

This week’s guest is Kyle Robidoux. Kyle is an avid skier, runner, local beer enthusiast, and non-profit manager who has worked tirelessly to ensure that he is not defined by the boundaries that others place on him and his vision.  Later this month, Kyle will be the first visually impaired athlete to race the Western States 100 miler… while having a visual field of about 2-5% of what a normal eye would see.  In this week’s podcast, Kyle and I talked about his experience as a visually impaired athlete and what motivates him to explore his limits both on the roads and on trails.  We talked about what got him into running, and why he continues to do it. Kyle’s no excuses approach is pretty awesome and I’m excited to follow along with his journey from Squaw to Auburn in just a few weeks! You can find Kyle on Twitter at @kylerobidoux and on Instagram at @blindbeerrunner

This week’s guest is Sally McRae. Sally is a pro trail runner, mother, wife, coach, speaker and world traveler.  Sally uses her platform as a pro athlete to connect with people all across the world, often through sport.  We sat down in Woodstock Vermont at Sarah Canney’s Rise Run Retreat, where Sally was a guest and speaker.  This was a fun one. As you’ll hear in this interview, I’m a big fan of Sally’s, and not just because of her accomplishments on the trails. If you follow her on social media, you know that she’s one of the most positive people out there, always supporting others and helping people to see the best in themselves.  We dug into that and talked about her history which has helped shape her into the person she is today, and about her fears and dreams.  This one could have gone on for hours, and I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!  Sally runs for Nike Trail, Spring Energy, Coros, O2 Health Lab, LiquidIV, Igloo, and InsideTracker. 

This week’s guest is Teri of a Foodie Stays Fit, which is her blog all about food and fitness. Teri was born and raised in Utah and now lives in North Carolina. She's run a handful of marathons, and we spoke on Wednesday after the Boston Marathon, so that’s why I might sound a little horse!  Teri wrote in her journal when she was 21 that one of her life goals was to qualify for Boston. At the time, she was running 11 minute miles, and over the years, she got closer and closer to making it happen, and eventually did. She has now run Boston twice! We talked about some of her tips for finding enjoyment and fun in the process, even if you’re far away from your goal. Teri just left corporate america after 13 years to run her own business. We dug into this, taking risks, and her take on balance. We also talked about how important racing something like a 5k can be, for the lessons you can learn in running and in life in general. You can find Teri on Instagram at @AFoodieStaysFit

I sat down with my coach to talk about our progress over the last year and what led into the Providence Marathon breakthrough, a race that we decided on only about 8 weeks out. We covered the idea that without struggle, successes aren’t as meaningful, and that acknowledging discomfort and pressure is necessary and helpful in both running and life. I hope there are a lot of fun takeaways in this one for everyone to learn from!

Tim and I spoke before the Boston Marathon, a race that he grew up watching as an athlete and coach at Boston College, which is right after Heartbreak Hill. In the interview which took place on the Friday before the marathon, Tim shared that he hadn’t run in the last 7 days and more about the dark place he was in leading up to race day and how he was managing that. Tim had a 2:21 debut at the 2013 Boston Marathon, and has brought his marathon time down to 2:11:56 en route to winning the USATF Marathon Championships at CIM in 2017. We talked about what got him out the door the first time, his progression and how he keeps the fire lit as a pro runner. We talked about his love for the journey, both his own and those of the athletes that he coaches now at UMass Amherst and with McKirdyTrained. We dug into his Why and the spiritual and religious connection he feels when he’s running and racing. Tim runs for Saucony and coaches at UMass Amherst and with McKirdyTrained, and can be found on Instagram at @timritchiewtd

Tyler Andrews is a pro ultra runner who just raced in Hoka One One’s Project Carbon X 100k world record attempt. Tyler and I talked about setting challenging and very public goals, and why he loves continuing to do.  Tyler and I dug into what it means to be a successful runner, some tips on how to continue to improve over the years and his love of the process, and what balance means to him. Tyler runs for Hoka One One, Nuun Hydration and Strive Trips.  Enjoy! 

Bonus episode! We're talking about injury prevention and recovery, when to rest and when to keep training, and how to continue to be your own best advocate when it comes to the medical system!

Stephanie and I sat down while she was in Boston for the marathon, just after we shared a run around the Charles River.  Stephanie grew up in Minnesota, and raced Nordic Skiing and Cross Country at Northern Michigan University.  She fell in love with running on the trails after college in Bozeman Montana, where she was studying Exercise Physiology at Montana State University before she moved further West to Oregon to pursue a doctoral program at the University of Oregon studying Human Physiology and ultimately earning her PhD in Nutrition and Exercise Science.  Stephanie is the 2014 Western States champion, Course Record holder at the Lake Sonoma 50 Miler and has many other professional career highlights both academically and athletically.  Stephanie is passionate about nourishing the body through physical movement and real food. She also makes incredible pizza (trust me!) and loves cooking for and eating with friends.  We talked a lot about this some of the other components of running that fuel her passion for the sport, and what she’s seen change over the years in the trail running scene. Stephanie runs her own coaching and nutrition business, and also runs at the professional level for North Face, Clif Bar, Nathan, Squirrels Nut Butter, Julbo, Kahtoola, Drymax and InsideTracker! Enjoy!