Run to the Top Podcast | The Ultimate Guide to Running

The obesity-related death of his mother was a wakeup call to young, overweight Jeffrey James Binney. He could continue down the same path, or he could change his fate. And so he started running. And running. And running. All the way to the grueling Leadville 100 ultramarathon.   Jeffrey’s film Once is Enough chronicles his journey from couch potato to ultramarathoner.   Fueled by grief and the desire to write jokes, his film is part documentary, part standup, and definitely unique!    Jeffrey and Coach Claire tackle such interesting subjects as why on earth he set his non-athletic sights on doing a 100-mile ultramarathon, how he trained, his plant-based lifestyle, and the scourge of blisters and chafing. If you like your motivation served with a side of laughs, this episode’s for you! Jeffrey is a Salt Lake City based actor, singer, comedian, and "athlete."  He grew up on a farm in Laredo, MO before moving to Brooklyn, NY and later Los Angeles after receiving his B.F.A. in Musical Theatre Performance from Missouri State University.  Jeffrey has been seen on Late Night With David Letterman, in the 1st National Tour and Chicago Company of the Broadway musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and at comedy clubs and festivals across the country.   Questions Jeffrey is asked:   5:22 The reason I wanted to have you on the show is because I saw your film Once Is Enough on Amazon Prime this summer with my family.  I subject my kids to a lot of documentaries and this is one that they actually liked!  Can you tell us a little bit about the movie and why you wanted to make it? 6:42 While sitting in the hospital waiting room, you happened to pick up a copy of Trail Runner Magazine.  What happened next? 7:54 Most people don’t go running a 100-miler basically off the couch, let alone the Leadville 100. What were you thinking?!?! :) 9:51 What was it like running the race under-trained and overweight? That must have been a huge challenge physically for you. 11:20 Don’t you have to qualify for Leadville? How did you get into Leadville? 12:26 What was your typical training week like or how did it progress over your 14 months of training?   13:51 How did you change physically through training? 15:23 Speaking of nutrition, you and I have a couple of things in common besides our gorgeous red hair. You and I are both plant-based! How did that fit into your training, your nutrition? What kind of things were you eating? 18:26 Most people think, “Oh, you’re on a plant-based diet. That means that you’re only eating twigs and potatoes and you’re going to be super thin, and clearly that’s not always the case for everybody, right? 19:17 Without giving away too much from the film, what kind of lessons did you learn?  Just going through it and the whole filming and making a beautiful movie? What kind of lessons? 20:26 Do you think anybody can do this? 21:03 I would like to talk about the ultra running community. It’s kind of a special group of some very strange and wonderful people. Would you agree? 23:20 The aid stations are much better for ultrarunning, right? 23:40 I would love to talk about gear, like what kind of gear that you were using.  24:19 Do you still wear a bro? 24:49 Every ultrarunner, every runner, has to deal with chafing obviously. How do you deal with that? 26:58 There’s a point in the movie where you talk about your blisters that you had, and how did you deal with that? You look like you were in some serious pain there. 28:10 You manage your blisters better nowadays when you get them? 29:10 What kind of misconceptions have you come across in your running journey? When you started this, you had so much optimism about what this was going to turn out to be. What changed throughout your journey? What things were you surprised about? 31:21 What’s next for you? Are you still running? Obviously, COVID, there’s not a lot of races on the horizon, but what are you doing? 32:36 Some of the smaller trail races are still going on in person, so maybe there’s something you can sign up for that you could actually do in real life. 33:07 You’re still being coached by Ian Sharman, or are you on your own? 34:09 Questions I ask everyone:   If you could go back and talk to yourself when you started running, what advice would you give?   What is the greatest gift running has given you?   Where can listeners connect with you?   36:08 Any new films on the horizon or was once enough?   Quotes by Jeffrey:   “I just went on a hike a few years ago with some friends to one of the taller peaks here in Utah. I was getting to the top and I was really beating myself up because I just could not keep up with them. And I finally got to the top and I was like, ‘Why are you beating yourself up? You have 100 lbs on all of these people. You don’t come from a lifetime of fitness other than five years.’ And you’d think after this whole journey that I’ve been on that I would be able to keep that in better perspective, but there’s still time like that when I still have to check myself.”   “I never considered myself particularly outdoorsy. I certainly didn’t consider myself tough. And it turns out I was wrong. It turns out I am way, way stronger and tougher than I realized.”   “Most of the time I was running 20-plus hours per week on top of a full-time job. It’s literally a part-time job.” Take a Listen on Your Next Run   Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel Mentioned in this podcast:   JJB.life Once is Enough film Leukotape Ultra Ladies Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community RunnersConnect Facebook page claire@runnersconnect.net Follow Jeffrey on:   Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube We really hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Run to the Top. The best way you can show your support of the show is to share this podcast with your family and friends and share it on your Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media channel you use. The more people who know about the podcast and download the episodes, the more I can reach out to and get top running influencers, to bring them on and share their advice, which hopefully makes the show even more enjoyable for you!

What Your Massage Therapist Isn't Telling You: The Truth About Massage for Runners with Matt Phillips That massage isn’t doing what you think it’s doing. Not if you see massage as a way to flush toxins out of your system, improve your circulation, or work out your muscle knots. Then what good are massages for runners? Prepare to be enlightened by today’s guest, Matt Philips, who is a running injury and performance specialist, as well as an expert in massage for runners.   Matt shares his knowledge with Coach Claire, dispelling a lot of common misconceptions about the benefits of massage for runners, but also talking about the benefits of massage for anyone, and he does so with a fair amount of humor!    You may recognize Matt as a long-time RTTT and Extra Kick expert contributor. He started his career as a strength and conditioning coach with the National Academy of Sports Medicine. In 2004, he focused on sports therapy, working with distance runners and endurance athletes.   Matt is currently part of a multidisciplinary team of physiotherapists, sports therapists, osteopaths, podiatrists and massage therapists, as well as a lecturer in Anatomy & Physiology. He writes for numerous websites and national magazines, including Runners Connect and Outdoor Fitness.   Along with his running podcast and website called Run Chat Live, Matt holds an annual RCL International Running Conference. The first one was held in Brighton, Sussex with ten world class speakers traveling from Australia, Canada, and the United States. This year, the event has gone virtual, and will be held on October 29th and 30th. Listen to the show for the 20% off promo code.   Questions Matt is asked:          6:17 You are a running injury and performance specialist and massage therapist.  We could talk about any number of running topics, but today I'd like to focus on massage for runners.  Let's talk first about some of the myths about massages.  What are they and how did they get started?   11:49 What about the toxins? People talk all the time about, “Oh, I’m flushing the toxins. My muscles are building up all of these toxins from the environment or from my run.” What does massage do for that?   13:18 Let’s talk about something that actually does build up in the muscles when we run hard, and sometimes we’re doing this on purpose, is to build up lactic acid. A lot of people think, “I’m going to go get a massage just to get rid of all that lactic acid.” Do you want to talk about that one?”   15:49 If lactate is a good thing, why does it hurt so bad?   16:05 What about improving circulation?  I’ve heard that massage can help your circulation. Is that true?    18:03 When I have gotten a massage, they always tell me to drink a lot of water afterwards, and I assume that’s to flush out the toxins or whatever. Can you explain that? Why do they tell me to do that?    19:51 Okay, so we know what massage doesn't do, what does it do?     23:20 So, massage is good because it feels good?   24:26 I don’t know how the idea of massage being good because it feels good is going to be received by people who get massages all the time because they swear by it, like, “Oh, I had a knot in my neck and she just worked at it and I feel better,” or “Oh, I always get these cramps in my hamstring and after I get a massage, they’re totally fine.” There’s got to be something else going on here other than just relaxation.   28:12 What is it with muscle knots? Do muscles really physically knot? I would love to know what’s going on. You can sometimes feel like in your back a hard lump, and if you massage it, it can kind of smooth out. So what’s going on under the skin?    29:52 We often see those free massages at the end of a marathon. Should we be waiting in line for those or should we be skipping those?   31:26 Will massage make you less sore?   32:04 What about massage during taper week before your big race or a week after your big race? What do you think?    35:18 If the main reason for a massage is relaxation, we can always choose other techniques such as getting into a hot tub or doing meditation or yoga. Is there something very specific about massage that is different from other relaxation techniques?   37:20 A lot of us are missing out on the power of touch with the COVID. Are there any ways to get a massage safely these days or replicate the massage experience at home?   39:00 On a more personal note, you are organizing an online running conference at the end of October.  Can you share the details about that?   Questions I ask everyone:   42:32 If you could go back and talk to yourself when you started running, what advice would you give?   44:35 What is the greatest gift running has given you?   45:48 Where can listeners connect with you?   Quotes by Matt:   “If you are with a therapist who is telling you they’re breaking down scar tissue or they’re re-molding your fascia or something or changing the length of your muscles, then you have to question yourself whether they’re staying up to date with the latest evidence, and a lot of therapists aren’t.”   “Thanks to modern pain science and research which is developing, we know that you can’t fight pain with pain.”   “When we look and consider how important stress is in regards to delaying recovery, reducing the power of the immune system, on so many levels massage can help, not just runners, but any sports person, anybody, to function properly.”   “One of the interesting things which we forget is there’s plenty of people who have got pain when you push down on soft, unknotted tissue. There’s not a clear parallel either in clinical practice or in studies showing a correlation between tightness or lumps and pain.” Take a Listen on Your Next Run Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel Mentioned in this podcast: Run Chat Live 2020 Info and Tickets Run Chat Live Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community RunnersConnect Facebook page claire@runnersconnect.net Promo Code for the International Run Chat Live Running Conference October 29th and 30th: RTTT20 for 20% off Follow Matt on:   Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Twitter YouTube We really hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Run to the Top. The best way you can show your support of the show is to share this podcast with your family and friends and share it on your Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media channel you use. The more people who know about the podcast and download the episodes, the more I can reach out to and get top running influencers, to bring them on and share their advice, which hopefully makes the show even more enjoyable for you!

Were you one of the 30,000 people hoping to run the Boston Marathon this year? Are you hoping to run Boston next year? If yes, then you’ll want to listen to this episode with race director Dave McGillivray.  This year marked the first time since the first Boston Marathon in 1897 that the race was held virtually and not in person. Ordinarily, registration for Boston would have happened in September, but as of right now, October 2020, registration has been indefinitely postponed.  In this week’s interview, Coach Claire talks to Dave about how the virtual event went, how the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) has adapted due to the coronavirus, and what the future of the race might look like, including qualifications.  Dave also shares what he believes to be the silver lining of the pandemic, as well as his own personal health scare story which he started sharing once he learned his experience could help others. Dave has been the director of the Boston Marathon since 1988, but he also practically invented the concept of running for charity when he ran across the United States to raise money for the Jimmy Fund in 1978. He ran 3,452 miles from Medford, Oregon to Medford, Massachusetts over 80 days, averaging 45 miles per day. He ended his run in Fenway Park to a 32,000-person standing ovation. He has personally raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and has been a source of inspiration to countless others. Dave has many other incredible athletic accomplishments under his belt as well. 1980 was a big year as he became the 30th person to complete a Hawaii Ironman Triathlon by finishing in 14th place. In subsequent years, he completed the event an additional eight times. That year, Dave also ran 1,250 miles of the East Coast, starting in Winter Haven, Florida and ending in Boston. He was joined by wheelchair marathon pioneer Bob Hall to raise money for the Jimmy Fund, and they met with President Carter at the White House during the Washington, D.C. leg. And that wasn’t all for 1980. Dave also raised more than $10,000 for the handicapped in the Run For Our Dreams Marathon, running 120 miles in 24 hours through 31 communities in Southeastern Massachusetts, finishing in Foxboro Stadium (now Gillette Stadium) during a New England Patriots game halftime.  In 1981, Dave raised $55,000 for the Jimmy Fund competing in an ultra triathlon which involved 1,522 combined miles of running, cycling, and swimming in six New England states. The race included running up and down Mt. Washington and swimming over seven miles from Martha’s Vineyard to Falmouth, Massachusetts where he was greeted by thousands on the beach. As though running Boston wasn’t challenging enough, in 1982, Dave ran the marathon in 3:14 while blindfolded, accompanied by two guides, raising over $10,000 for the Carroll Center for the Blind in Newton, Massachusetts.  In 1983, he swam for 24 consecutive hours, covering the distance of the Boston Marathon, to raise money for the Jimmy Fund. He also raised money for his alma mater, Merrimack College, by cycling over 1,000 miles through six New England states in 14 days. He raised more money for charity by cycling for 24 consecutive hours in a five-mile loop in Medford, Massachusetts for a total of 385 miles, while simultaneously directing the annual Bay State Triathlon which was taking place on the same course at the same time. In 2004, Dave ran across the country a second time for TREK USA with nine other marathoners in relay style, raising over $300,000 for five children’s charities. In 2018, he accomplished the World Marathon Challenge, running seven marathons in seven days on seven continents. To date Dave has run 158 marathons, including 48 consecutive Boston Marathons (32 of which were run at night after the official marathon.) His marathon personal best is 2:29:58. His Ironman personal best is 10:36:42.  Fun note: Dave has run his birthday age each year since the age of 12. In recent years, he has both run and cycled the miles. In addition to being a super athlete and philanthropist, Dave is also an entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and author.  He has been recognized with numerous honors and awards over the years for his achievements, and through his DMSE Sports and DMSE Foundation, he has raised over $50 million for charity.   Questions Dave is asked:          5:48 The Boston Marathon was held virtually this year, in September.  How did it go?     7:49 I know the BAA discouraged people from running on the course this year, but many people unofficially did.  What is your reaction to that?   9:12 I would love to rewind a little bit and go back to February and March of this year. What were you and the team at the Boston Athletic Association talking about in the early days of COVID?     11:29 Obviously throughout the summer you had to go virtual. What was that decision like?   13:05 As we record this, it is just before the London marathon, which shifted to an elites-only race. Was having an elites-only race an option for the Boston Marathon?   14:46 I don’t know how they’re keeping the spectators away in London. I just interviewed Jared Ward and he said, “I don’t know. I’m just showing up.” I don’t know how they’re keeping them away. I don’t know if you’ve had talks with them or no?   15:47 Looking forward to 2021, obviously there’s a lot of things up in the air. Usually in September, everyone is signing up for the next year’s Boston, and registration is to be determined. Can you shed any light on that and give us any hints?   19:01 How does next year’s Boston being up in the air affect qualifying? Usually you have an 18-month window of qualifying races, but obviously this year was totally different. Qualifying for the Boston Marathon is the Olympics for some people and it’s everything, and what they train for, and what they dreamed of for years, so how does that look from a qualification point of view?   20:34 And the virtual race, that’s not going to count for a qualification, correct?   20:43 If things do change and things are looking good for 2021, what kind of things have you learned from this year and how will it be different?   23:18 When you talk about potentially having a smaller field size next year, the first thing that obviously comes up means the faster runners would be qualified. Is that how you would shrink the field size, by increasing the times?   24:12 Boston isn’t the only race that you direct. You do direct some smaller races, and a smaller race, you have more flexibility to stagger the starts and things like that. Do you see some of the smaller races, Falmouth for example, coming back sooner than the major marathons?   26:49 On a personal note, every year after the end of the Boston Marathon you have a tradition of running the race yourself. Did you run on Patriots Day?   28:04 One thing that people might not know about you is that two years ago, you had open heart surgery, which is very uncommon considering you’ve been such a prolific runner for all your life. Could you talk a little bit about that?   32:07 What did your doctor say about running? Is running bad for your heart?   33:56 What kind of advice would you give someone who is training for Boston right now or that hopes to train for Boston?   35:06 Any silver linings from all of this craziness in 2020 that you can think of? 36:55 Questions I ask everyone:   If you could go back and talk to yourself when you started running, what advice would you give?   What is the greatest gift running has given you?   Where can listeners connect with you?     Quotes by Dave:   “You had to reimagine. You had to start doing things that you don’t necessarily have a skill set in, whether it’s developing an app, or whether it’s developing a virtual expo. How do you do this?”   “We created a COVID committee of experienced scientists, epidemiologists, CDC folks, governmental folks, and put this group together to sort of help us come to some kind of intelligent conclusion as to truly what are we looking at here for next year’s Boston Marathon.”   “I learned a valuable lesson from my open heart surgery. Just because you’re fit doesn’t mean you’re healthy. And shame on me; I always thought it did.” Take a Listen on Your Next Run Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel Mentioned in this podcast:  BAA - Boston Athletic Association Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community RunnersConnect Facebook page claire@runnersconnect.net DMSE Sports Foundation Follow Dave on:   Facebook Instagram Twitter   We really hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Run to the Top. The best way you can show your support of the show is to share this podcast with your family and friends and share it on your Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media channel you use. The more people who know about the podcast and download the episodes, the more I can reach out to and get top running influencers, to bring them on and share their advice, which hopefully makes the show even more enjoyable for you!  

Forget About Your Form and Just Wear the Right Shoe: Biomechanist Dr. Iain Hunter   Every runner dreams of running faster with less effort, with minimal chance of injury.  To do that, we often think we need to “fix” our running form to become more efficient. Dr. Iain Hunter, a running biomechanics researcher, thinks you just might be wasting your time trying to run like someone you are not and tells us what to do instead.   Iain shares his expertise with Coach Claire on topics that include if running mechanics can be improved, footstrikes, how to build strength outside of running, how different types of footwear affect performance, how to know which shoes to choose, and how we can run faster. Iain, a biomechanics professor at Brigham Young University, is also part of a research team that helped determine just how much the controversial Nike VaporFly 4%s really helps you run faster. He shares the results of the study and the actual range of performance improvement attributable to the shoes (Hint: It's not always 4%).  His test subject for the study was none other than Jared Ward, the American Olympic Marathoner headed to London on October 4. Iain has a mathematics education degree with a coaching minor from BYU, followed by a  Master of Education in coaching. During this time, his interest in biomechanics grew, which led him to pursue a PhD in Health and Human Performance at Oregon State University. Iain teaches Biomechanics of Sport and Exercise and conducts research related to the biomechanics of distance running related to performance and injury. He also works with USA Track and Field,  applying his research to elite distance runners. He has been a member of the American Society of Biomechanics since 2003. Iain’s honors and awards include the USA Track and Field: USA Track and Field Sports Medicine and Science and the College of Health and Human Performance: College Teaching Excellence. For a list of his many publications and presentations, please refer to his bio at https://lifesciences.byu.edu/directory/iain-hunter.    Questions Iain is asked:          4:32 You research and teach about sports biomechanics at Brigham Young University.  Can you first define what exactly that means and how you became interested in it?   5:45 Would you say that athletes that understand their particular biomechanics well will be able to perform their best?   6:23 Let's talk about running mechanics.  There seems to be no such thing as "perfect form" because top level athletes seem to run very differently and still succeed.  But can you improve on your running mechanics to run more efficiently and therefore perform better?  How?   7:44 Let’s talk about footstrike. Everybody asks, “Is there a proper way to hit the ground?” and “Heel striking is bad”, and “Forefoot striking is good.” Can you talk a little bit about that?   9:49 Runners come in all shapes and sizes. Taller runners are going to have a different cadence than shorter runners. Is that correct?   10:25 What about an athlete that continues to be injured and you look at something about their form. How do you make changes in a form because they really are getting injured from their preferred way of running?   12:55 I would think that if runners practice through their injury, changing their footstrike, that they would eventually learn to prefer that footstrike, but you don’t see that happening?   14:01 You kind of get used to running a certain way that’s right for your own body, and that’s hard to fix, right? So should we as coaches even both trying to change people’s form?   15:09 The most common reasons we think about changing our form is first of all, injury prevention, and second of all, speed and efficiency. We want to become faster runners over longer distances. So you say that it’s just more about practicing running that’ll become a better runner rather than changing our form?   16:11 What about outside of running? Surely you recommend strength training, and physical therapy, and all of that sort of thing. What sort of things should we runners be doing outside of the run?   18:30 Any tips for the knees?   20:04 Along with Olympian Jared Ward, you and a team of researchers set out to determine how much Nike's VaporFly 4% improved performance.  How was this study done and what were the results?   22:10 What were the differences in the people who were at each end of the Nike VaporFly performance bell curve?   23:20 The results from your study have obviously been used to help other companies compete with Nike. Is that correct?   25:53 It’s more than just the carbon fiber plate; it’s the foam that does the work or a combination that  makes this shoe effective?   27:03 I know that the foam, they have made some rules on the stack height of the shoe. Can you talk about what that is all about? Why would a higher shoe increase performance?   28:12 You mentioned that you saw that there was better recovery when wearing those shoes. Were you able to test that, like how a racer feels after the marathon?   28:49 Is the difference in muscle damage related to this new style of racing shoe simply because the foam absorbs some of the shock, or any reason why?   29:35 You’ve done a lot of research on shoes from barefoot shoes, minimalist shoes, spikes, all of that.  Can you explain how our choice of footwear affects our performance overall?   32:14 Because different types of shoes serve different purposes, you should have a quiver of shoes in your closet?   32:47 How often should you change your shoes? When do you know when to toss them away or donate them? Any advice on that?   33:53 What are you researching now and what questions are you looking to get answered in the future?   36:18 Most people know if they are good uphill runners and downhill runners, right?   36:45 Do we have different mechanics on uphill and downhill, most people?   39:47 Any predictions for the London marathon coming up October 4th? Questions I ask everyone:   37:26  1.  If you could go back and talk to yourself when you started running, what advice would you give?   39:07 2.  What is the greatest gift running has given you?   41:50 3. Where can listeners connect with you?     Quotes by Iain:   “I’d say trust the body first, but then take into account your own thoughts and coach’s thoughts to help guide some potential changes in your biomechanics.”   “With just about any human activity you can think of, the body realizes, ‘Here’s a way that I can do this with less energy cost to me,’ and running is included there, where if you just let it happen, that’s the technique that will use the least energy.”   “I like to say, ‘Well, why are you going on this run?’ And if they have a good answer for that, then I can suggest, ‘Here’s the appropriate shoe for that purpose.’”   Take a Listen on Your Next Run   Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel Mentioned in this podcast:  Biomechanics.byu.edu PodiumRunner article on Jared Ward and Iain Hunter helping Saucony develop faster racing shoes Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community RunnersConnect Facebook page claire@runnersconnect.net Follow Iain on:   Instagram Twitter   We really hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Run to the Top. The best way you can show your support of the show is to share this podcast with your family and friends and share it on your Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media channel you use. The more people who know about the podcast and download the episodes, the more I can reach out to and get top running influencers, to bring them on and share their advice, which hopefully makes the show even more enjoyable for you!  

Imagine doing everything right with your health and fitness, being in peak shape, and enjoying a super successful career announcing at the start and finish lines of some of the top marathons and races in the country, and then being slammed with a cancer diagnosis. What do you do? If you’re Fitz Koehler, you become even more of an inspiration. In 2019, Fitz found a cancerous lump in her breast just seven weeks after a clear mammogram. True to form, she immediately began treatment,  including chemo, to wage an all-out war against the cancer. The treatment was exhausting and debilitating. Did she take time off? No! She got on the phone to the race directors, informed them of her diagnosis, and then told them she would still be showing up for the races. And she did.  Fitz announced at all of her scheduled races, even when literally losing her hair while doing so. She continued to fly around the country, sometimes spending entire nights on bathroom floors, but she still showed up at the races where she both gave and got energy from the athletes.  Fitz is now cancer-free and shares her story and amazing outlook on life and running in this motivating episode with Coach Claire.  Fitz Koehler, M.S.E.S.S. is one of the most prominent and compelling fitness experts and race announcers in America. As the voice of the Los Angeles Marathon, Philadelphia Marathon, Big Sur Marathon, DC Wonder Woman Run Series, and more, she brings big structure, energy, and joy to sport. She’s also passionate about guiding others to live better and longer through her company, Fitzness®. Fitz has appeared on national media outlets and has worked as a speaker and spokesperson for corporations like Disney® and Office Depot®. She has also inspired millions of kids to get active through her successful school running/walking program, The Morning Mile®. Fitz enjoys water sports, strength training, animals, hugs, sarcasm, and travel. She lives in Gainesville, Florida with her husband and two kids.   Questions Fitz is asked:          4:53 Besides being a fitness professional, one of the things that you are most well-known for is race announcing.  Can you tell us how you started and what exactly is involved?   7:48 You had a really full race schedule and were doing great. You’re absolutely uber-fit, and then all of a sudden, after doing everything right, you were hit with a cancer diagnosis. Can  you talk about what your life was like just before your diagnosis? Did you feel invincible?   8:43 You had just had a clear mammogram a couple months earlier before your cancer diagnosis.   10:04 Can you tell us how the cancer diagnosis, that first few weeks, how it affected you and your family?   11:21 You’re known for being a positive person who encourages people all the time, and you had to deliver some pretty bad news. How was that?   12:49 You had a full race calendar, and after you made that video announcing your diagnosis you had to make some phone calls to the race directors that were expecting you to show up. What was that like?    14:47 As you were announcing the March 2019 LA marathon, your hair began to fall out during the race.  Can you talk about that?   17:16 Obviously losing your hair has got to be difficult for anyone, but you chose specifically not to wear a wig and embrace your baldness. Can you talk about that?   18:54 How many races did you end up announcing during your treatment?  And how difficult was it?   20:55 How did you have the confidence to call races? Anybody would have understood if you said, “Look, I’m just too sick. I’m going to take a pass.” How did you know that it was going to be okay?   21:33 Clearly your own exercise routine was thrown way out of whack by cancer.  How did your exercise change and how did you build back up?   24:46 Why don't you like pink ribbons?   26:23 Coming full circle, you were back announcing the 2020 LA Marathon.  Can you explain what that was like?   27:52 Now that you are cured of cancer, your life has no doubt been completely changed with the cancellation of races due to the virus.  How have you used this time instead?   29:50 Tell us what the title of your book is and when it comes out.   31:45 What’s your advice on what to say to somebody who announces a diagnosis like yours?   33:28 What’s your next race on the calendar?   Questions I ask everyone:   33:52 If you could go back and talk to yourself when you started running, what advice would you give?   34:46 What is the greatest gift running has given you?   35:11  Where can listeners connect with you?   Quotes by Fitz:   “First of all, I whip them into a frenzy and then I yell, ‘Go!’ because we do not do boring races. And then I’m there at the finish line to welcome them home, and my intention is to make every single finisher feel like they won the damn thing, and if somebody goes home feeling disappointed, then I haven’t done my job.”   “Part of my platform as a fitness expert has always been annual exams, self-exams, and personally I felt like, ‘Gee whiz, if I ever have one cancer cell in my body, I want to know about it instantly so I could slaughter it.’ I just felt no mercy on cancer.”   “Stubborn is my greatest asset, my greatest curse. There was nothing going to hold me back, and when I make a decision, God help the person or thing that gets in the way.”   Take a Listen on Your Next Run Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel Mentioned in this podcast:  Fitzness.com My Noisy Cancer Comeback - pre-order signed copy My Noisy Cancer Comeback will be released in October on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Audible, etc. MorningMile.com Fitzness@aol.com Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community RunnersConnect Facebook page claire@runnersconnect.net   Book:  My Noisy Cancer Comeback,  available on presale at Fitzness.com Finding a cancerous lump in her breast seven weeks after a clean mammogram was terrifying. But fitness expert and race announcer Fitz Koehler refused to play the victim or allow cancer to steal her extraordinary career or time with family. In My Noisy Cancer Comeback, Fitz reveals the juicy and gory details of her 16-month battle, all while zigzagging across the United States. Enduring chemotherapy, radiation, and surgeries in the public eye wasn’t easy. You’ll laugh, cry, wince, and cheer as she chronicles the clash of an avalanche of side effects with 22 major race weekends. Her inspirational tale encompasses the terror of diagnosis, bald heads and black dresses, spectacular stages, parenting with cancer, perspective, and, most importantly, triumph. You’ll walk away grittier, more optimistic, and inspired to conquer any obstacle.   Follow Fitz on:   Facebook Instagram YouTube We really hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Run to the Top. The best way you can show your support of the show is to share this podcast with your family and friends and share it on your Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media channel you use. The more people who know about the podcast and download the episodes, the more I can reach out to and get top running influencers, to bring them on and share their advice, which hopefully makes the show even more enjoyable for you!  

It is the end of an elite era.  The beautiful training center in Blowing Rock, NC that has been home to some of the best endurance athletes in the country is for sale.  What does that mean for the elite athletes that live and work there?  And what about the adult and teen running camps that ZAP has hosted for the past 18 years?   Coach Claire talked to head coach and owner, Pete Rea to find out.   Pete Rea, the Elite Athlete coach at ZAP Endurance Team USA, has an impressive resume. He has led 51 athletes to Olympic Trials since the facility’s opening in 2002, and also coached the following: 42 Senior US teams  9 ZAP athletes to spots on Senior World Championship Teams including 6 to the US World XC team 4 USATF Club XC Team Championships (‘06,’07,’09,’14)  1 US marathon champion (Tyler Pennel)  1 Olympian (Pardon Nghlovu - Zimbabwe 2016 Rio Games Marathon)   Pete together with his wife, two-time Olympic trials qualifier Zika Rea, are coaches at the facility, host adult running camps during the summer and retreats all year. The facility has a state-of-the-art weight room, a bio-lab for physiological testing, and a 24-bed lodge. RunnersConnect has held fall running retreats at ZAP for years and it's always been a highlight of the season. Big changes are coming to ZAP, however, and Coach Claire talks to Pete to discover what’s in store for the team and their beautiful 45-acre center. They also talk about the evolution of running since the ‘90s, what Pete sees as the future of running, and what’s next for him and the athletes he coaches.  Prior to ZAP, Pete served as a private coach to athletes of all ages and abilities in Atlanta, Georgia. He was also the distance events coach at The Walton School in Georgia. Pete was a distance running standout both as a prep athlete in Connecticut, at the University of Connecticut, and as a post-collegiate runner in the early 1990s. Pete has been a freelance writer for over 20 years for publications such as Running Times, Running Journal, and more than a dozen fitness publications around the US.  Questions Pete is asked:          2:59 You've been the head coach at ZAP Endurance, formally ZAP Fitness, since the beginning in 2002.  A lot has changed in the world and in the world of running since then.  Can you talk about what those early years were like in the sport and at ZAP and how it’s changed?   5:59 How has the environment at ZAP changed now versus in 2002?   6:57 You mentioned that the ZAP facility is for sale. That’s a big part of why I wanted to have you on this show. Can you talk a little bit about that, what’s going on and what the future’s going to be like?   8:24 How does not having a training facility in the future, how does that change the group training model? Because they won’t be getting up together. They won’t be probably having their meals together as much anymore.    9:16 You mentioned that ZAP does group camps and group retreats, and that’s actually where we first met. RunnersConnect always has a training camp at ZAP. So what is that going to look like in the future?   10:33 What has the year 2020 been like for the athletes that you coach at ZAP?   11:59 What about the athletes that you have that have been injured? Have they been really using this time to heal and take care of themselves and scale back? At least maybe that is a silver lining for some of the people?   12:35 You have led 51 athletes to the Olympic Trials with ZAP.  What does it take for an athlete to reach that level?   14:52 How would you describe your coaching style?   16:42 Time on feet matters, but you can’t go hard all the time, right?   17:17 Would you advise a recreational runner who’s looking to move up to the marathon to do a lot of running at a controlled pace?   17:46 How much slower than marathon pace would you say is a good recovery or easy run pace?   22:49 What advice would you give the people listening about training without a goal race? How do you stay motivated? How do you add a little spice to it? How do you keep that carrot in front of you when there’s no race?   24:39 Two of your athletes, Joe Stilin and Joanna Thompson, have recently moved to New York City, but they are still affiliated with ZAP.  How will you work with them from a distance?   26:01 In 2019, the Swiss running company On became the official sponsor of ZAP.  Can you talk about the change from Reebok to On?   27:19 What’s On’s answer to the Nike shoes? They’ve got some carbon fiber plates?   28:11 Any predictions for the London Marathon coming up?   29:13 What's next for your athletes?  What are they training for?   Quotes by Pete:   “Athletes now are fully aware of the types of training others are doing both domestically and around the world, and that’s helped athletes who at one point probably thought they were training hard and then realized they weren’t.”   “We’ve got a couple athletes right now who are struggling with injury. The party line is, ‘Well, if you were going to be hurt, if there’s such a thing as a good time, it’s now.’”   “What he averaged over the long term was clearly one of his greatest strengths, not what he did over any given three weeks or even a month or six months.” Take a Listen on Your Next Run   Leave a space for libsyn link   Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel Mentioned in this podcast:    ZAP Endurance Elite Minds by Stan Beecham On Running Hansons Running SweatyBetty.com/RTTT for 20% off through Nov. 1 Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community RunnersConnect Facebook page claire@runnersconnect.net   Follow Pete on:   ZAP Facebook ZAP Instagram ZAP Strava We really hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Run to the Top. The best way you can show your support of the show is to share this podcast with your family and friends and share it on your Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media channel you use. The more people who know about the podcast and download the episodes, the more I can reach out to and get top running influencers, to bring them on and share their advice, which hopefully makes the show even more enjoyable for you!  

Jared Ward is getting ready to race. He is one of the few elite athletes that will enter the elite bubble to race the London Marathon on October 4th.    Jared is an American marathoner who placed third in the 2016 US Olympic Trials and finished in sixth place at the Rio Olympics later that year. In 2019, he ran a personal best in Boston, finishing in 2:09, and then in Houston, at the half marathon in January of 2020, he was the first American man to cross the line in a PR of 1:01:36.    With a condensed training build, Jared is now in full marathon mode and he talks to Coach Claire about how his training is going and what the 20-loop course in front of Buckingham Palace might be like for him. They also discuss pandemic-related changes to his and his family’s life and how Jared stays inspired.   Jared lives in Provo, Utah, and when he’s not training for marathons for Saucony or chasing around his four little kids, he is a professor of statistics at Brigham Young University. He famously wrote his master’s thesis on the best way to pace a marathon, and he was on a research team that set out to analyze the performance advantages of rival shoe company Nike’s Vaporfly 4%. That research helped Saucony create the Endorphin Pro which Jared wore in Boston last year for his PR performance.    If you want to race against Olympic Athlete Jared Ward, sign up for the Chaski Challenge marathon relay this Saturday, September 12th. It’s a fun run for a good cause.    Questions Jared is asked:          3:36 First of all, what a crazy year 2020 has been!  Can you take us back to the beginning of the year, as you trained for the Olympic Trials in January and February, what you were imagining 2020 to look like for you?   5:34 What did you do with your training with no races in sight?   6:55 I watched an interview after the race with you and you could have easily dropped out of that race when you knew things were going pretty bad, and a lot of elites do that. They save their legs for another day, but you decided that you were going to finish the race, and I’d love to talk about what was going on in your head at that point.   12:50 Speaking of family, how are you handling four kids at home, home schooling, training, all of the craziness that we parents are going through right now?   14:20 Another interesting fact about you is that you take one day off of running each week because of your faith.  Can you talk about this and how it affects your training?   17:05 Let’s talk about London. You have announced that you are going to be one of the few elites running the London Marathon on October 4.  Can you tell us how that came about?     19:55 Let’s talk about the logistics of the London Marathon. It’s just loops around the park, right?   20:05 Are they allowing spectators for the London Marathon?   20:55 You obviously had to get special permission for travel and all of that. What are the logistics of traveling as an American to Europe right now?   21:16 Do you know how big the field for the London Marathon is yet?   22:06 Any predictions for the London Marathon, or is it just too crazy to even try to predict?   22:51 I would imagine that this type of course (London Marathon) would actually really play to your strengths. You’re a statistician, is that correct? And so you like the mathematical advantage of a 20-loop course?   24:14 On Saturday, September 12, you are headlining the men's elite virtual marathon relay called the Chaski Challenge, which is another virtual event put on by Tyler Andrews at Chaski Endurance.  Can you talk about that and what it's all about?     26:38 So the Chaski Challenge is not a treadmill race? You can do this one outside?   28:23 What's next after London?   30:33 If racing can be done safely, then maybe it should be done, right? Questions I ask everyone:   31:27 If you could go back and talk to yourself when you first started running, what advice would you give yourself?   32:31 What is the greatest gift that running has given you?   32:56 Where can listeners connect with you? Quotes by Jared:   “I think it’s important for kids to see that even when it’s hard, it doesn’t mean we have to quit. We don’t have to give up.”   “I’ve come to appreciate now as a more seasoned marathoner that it’s a lot more about getting in enough training to unlock lifetime fitness than it is about some perfect marathon training block that tees the race up perfectly.”   “The Chaski Challenge on September 12th is creating an opportunity in a running world with fewer opportunities now than there were a year ago.” Take a Listen on Your Next Run Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel Mentioned in this podcast:    Chaski Challenge Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community RunnersConnect Facebook page claire@runnersconnect.net   Follow Jared on:   Instagram Twitter We really hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Run to the Top. The best way you can show your support of the show is to share this podcast with your family and friends and share it on your Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media channel you use. The more people who know about the podcast and download the episodes, the more I can reach out to and get top running influencers, to bring them on and share their advice, which hopefully makes the show even more enjoyable for you!

You Are Probably Hydrating Wrong: Sweat Expert, Andy Blow   Are you over-hydrating during your runs? Under-hydrating? How can you even tell and what should you do about it?  Sweat, dehydration, and cramping expert Andy Blow talks sodium, fluids, and performance with Coach Claire in this super informative episode.   Andy has a degree in Sport and Exercise Science and was a regular podium finisher in elite short course triathlon racing in his younger days, but he learned about dehydration the hard way. Andy found that he suffered more than most racers in heat and humidity and at longer Ironman distances, frequently visiting the medical tent due to cramps and dehydration despite following common hydration protocols, and he ended with poor race results.   Andy sorted out his hydration needs thanks to years of trial and error. Turns out, he’s a very salty sweater. As proof that one size does not fit all when it comes to hydration, Andy loses nearly twice as much sodium per liter of sweat than does his head of operations, Jonny.    Motivated by his struggles, Andy specialized in electrolyte replenishment and founded Precision Hydration with the help of respected heart surgeon, Dr. Raj Jutley, who introduced Andy to sweat testing and the huge variances in sweat and sodium losses among athletes.  Precision Hydration produces hydration products, and offers unique sweat and sodium testing, as well as education on creating the right hydration plan to fit your individual needs. They have created personalized hydration plans for top level athletes and teams such as the English Premier League, International Rugby Union, the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, Formula 1 Motor racing, MotoGP, and IndyCar, as well as elite individuals from the worlds of cycling, running, triathlon, and firefighters and service personnel who are exposed to high levels of heat stress and sweating, helping them maintain performance in even the harshest  of environments. As Precision Hydration progressed, they got exclusive access to patented sweat testing technology that requires no physical effort from the athlete. The technology has a long, credible history as a diagnostic test for Cystic Fibrosis and the test is simple, painless, and extremely accurate. They also developed their own range of effervescent electrolytes early on because existing products were simply not strong enough to meet most serious athletes' needs. The company working with We were now, built up such a wealth of data on how athletes sweat that they were able to build an algorithm-based questionnaire to deliver personalized hydration advice for athletes who couldn't make it to one of their test centers. Precision Hydration’s mission is to give every athlete access to a personalized hydration strategy so that they have the best chance of achieving their goals. Disclosure: Precision Hydration is not a sponsor of our show and this interview is not an infomercial for their products.  This is all about having an expert in the field help us understand our unique hydration needs.     Questions Andy is asked:          4:31 You are a former elite triathlete that learned about hydration the hard way.  I would love to hear some of your horror stories about how failing to hydrate properly affected your performances.   5:38 What were you doing wrong specifically with your hydration?   6:33 Can you give us a quick history lesson on the advice that athletes have been given about hydration?   8:33 Do you think it’s true that being a little dehydrated is a lot better than being over hydrated?   9:39 How do you know that you are well hydrated and how do you get hydrated before you hit the starting line?   12:29 I was looking at the back of a thing of salt that I have and salt has about 600mg per quarter teaspoon of sodium in it, so can I just take my bottle of water and throw a little sodium in it and call it good?   13:55 Can you just tell us what we should drink?   17:17 How do we measure our own sweat rate and  how do we measure our sodium losses?   22:01 Let’s talk about cramps because I have a pretty high level Masters Athlete that I coach and he is very, very fast. He’s a 2:27 marathoner, he’s almost 50 years old, and he often suffers in cramps, and for the most part, it’s at the end of the marathon, and he just powers through it. And we have not been able to figure it out. We think that it’s a muscle issue, but he is a strong hard worker, and so it’s really hard to figure out. Can you help explain the cramping issue?   27:36 Drink to thirst or drink to plan?   30:07 There’s a pretty common myth that if you’re 2% dehydrated, that’s too much. Can you talk about that?   31:58 How does somebody come up with a hydration plan? Do we just go out and run and see when we fall off the cliff? What do you suggest? Obviously trial and error, but let’s say I’m brand new to this whole thing. What advice would you give me?   34:35 Just like glycogen, we’re not trying to replace everything we lost during the actual event. Is that correct?   36:20 After the race, what do we drink? Questions I ask everyone:   37:33 If you could go back and talk to yourself when you first started running, what advice would you give yourself?   38:06 What is the greatest gift that running has given you?   38:15 Where can listeners connect with you? Quotes by Andy:   “I’ve had some very, very depressing long walks along highways by the side of the road at the end of an Ironman triathlon feeling like absolute garbage because of the problems I had with hydration.”   “Anyone who’s operating in a warm-to-hot environment who’s going for more than 90 minutes to two hours or doing lots of hard sessions on back-to-back days in that warm environment, they’re the people who benefit from really understanding their individual hydration needs a lot closer, and that requires a bit of investigation.”   “I quite often think that cramps that happen late on in endurance activities have a component that’s related to electrolyte imbalance.”   Take a Listen on Your Next Run   Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel Mentioned in this podcast:    Precision Hydration hello@precisionhydration.com How To Measure Your Sweat Rate Cramps How To Start an Event Well Hydrated How Much Dehydration Can You Tolerate? How To Tell if You May be a Salty Sweater Discount code for precisionhydration.com for 15% off your first order: RUNTOTHETOP Free: Book a 1:1 video chat with a Precision Hydration team member to answer your hydration-related questions! Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community RunnersConnect Facebook page claire@runnersconnect.net   Follow Andy on:   Facebook Instagram Twitter We really hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Run to the Top. The best way you can show your support of the show is to share this podcast with your family and friends and share it on your Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media channel you use. The more people who know about the podcast and download the episodes, the more I can reach out to and get top running influencers, to bring them on and share their advice, which hopefully makes the show even more enjoyable for you!

In this week's episode, Coach Michael talks about the changes on our podcast shows, Coach Dylan's strength training sessions, the new live coach chats on YouTube and our upcoming RC mobile app. Tune in now!

In this week's Up-Tempo Talks episode, Coach Ruairi talks about the new 5k world record at Monaco Diamond League, FKT (Fastest Known Time) phenomenon among trail runners, and a showdown on the 1500m Irish National Championships. Listen now!