For The Long Run: Exploring the Why Behind Running

This week's episode is with Dorothy Beal, founder of @mileposts and #irunthisbody. In this episode, we talked about: -listening to your body... and what that really means -why Dorothy loves racing marathons -why Dorothy loves racing MULTIPLE marathons in the same cycle -Dorothy's history with social media -the benefits of therapy and focusing on mental health... and much more! You can find Dorothy on Instagram at www.instagram.com/mileposts and on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/mileposts!

This week's guest is Cat Bradley. Cat's a pro trail runner for Salomon living in Colorado. In this episode, we talked about: -her love for 100 milers -what she's scared of -how she practices gratitude and appreciation on the run -SWAP Run Coaching -what keeps her going through tough times -fueling at altitude  -carrot cake -much more! You can follow along with Cat's adventures on Instagram at www.instagram.com/catberad!

This week's guest is Neely Spence Gracey. Neely is a professional marathoner for Adidas, and we covered a wide variety of topics in this episode including: -balance -mental training and coming back from a hard race -her entry into the running world -Top American at Boston 2016 -motherhood and pregnancy -sponsorship and childbirth -social media as a pro athlete -much more! Neely can be found on Twitter at https://twitter.com/neelysgracey and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/neelysgracey/

This week's episode is with Paddy O'Leary. Paddy is an ultra runner from Ireland, living in San Francisco. In this episode, we talked about: -Getting into running -His experience leading and participating in November Project -Why he loves racing short distance trail races and cross country -His professional career as a cancer researcher -His relationship with his sponsors and thoughts on racing full time You can find Paddy at instagram.com/poleary87 and twitter.com/poleary87!

In this week's episode, Mike Wardian talks all about: -what it's like to race every weekend -some of the amazing adventures he's been on -what balance means to him -what scares him -what keeps him motivated -why he pushes his body to such limits You can find Mike at www.instagram.com/mikewardian and www.twitter.com/mikewardian!

Anna Mae Flynn and I sat down in Tahoe the week of Western States to talk about her DNS and what she and others can and should learn from it. In this episode we covered: -Longevity vs chasing short term goals -Connection and community in the trail world -Sharing the journey  -Future goals and much more! You can find Anna Mae on Instagram at instagram.com/annamaeflynn

This week’s guest is Chris Mocko.  Chris is a trail runner, ultra marathoner, and long distance specialist who is currently training for the Western States 100 Miler at the end of June.  We talked about what excites him about the hundred mile distance, as he feels he’s figured out the road marathon but still is pretty uncertain about the hundreds, which he finds to be a fun challenge to try and figure out. We talked about Mocko’s experience as a full time athlete, as he’s quit his job twice now. He talked about balance as well as his YouTube channel and general social media presence. Chris opened up a bit about vulnerability and the shared struggle of things not going well all the time, as well as what scares him.  Enjoy! Chris runs for Nike and hopefully one day, Kodiak Cakes. You can find Chris on Twitter at @chrismocko, on Instagram at @cmocko, and his YouTube at youtube.com/themockoshow

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