Run to the Top Podcast | The Ultimate Guide to Running

Neely Spence Gracey has running in her blood--her Olympian dad, Steve Spence, was running the Boston Marathon the day she was born and her mom ran that day too! She became a four-time state champion in high school and went on to turn pro after college.  She has qualified for the Olympic Trials three times, but due to injury, hasn't been able to toe the line and race for a spot. Until now. On this episode of Run To The Top, Claire talks with the 2:34 marathoner about journey she has experienced for the past year and a half. From injury, to pregnancy, to qualifying for the Olympic Trials in Atlanta this weekend, she shares it all. Not only that, Neely shares her wisdom for staying focused and healthy; the same tips she gives the athletes she coaches herself. Neely has a wonderful attitude and tremendous insight to performance athletes. We can't wait to cheer her on in Atlanta!   Questions Neely is asked:   3:30 What made you change your mind to go for the Olympic Marathon Trials? 9:34 How was your mental state while you were injured? 12:12 What do you think makes a good coaching relationship? 14:52 What was your experience running through your pregnancy and how do you coach your runners who are pregnant? 21:54 Do you think you will come back stronger post-pregnancy? 23:47 Do you have any stroller-running tips? 26:05 How did you use Walk/Run to ramp back up post-pregnancy? 30:01 How did it feel from an ‘ego’ standpoint to be Walk/Running? 32:45 What are your goals for Atlanta on February 29th? 34:21 What advice would you give yourself back when you started running and weight training? 35:48 What is the best gift running has given you? 37:18 How can people connect with you? Quotes by Neely:   “I was just hoping that either it was going to happen or I was going to be far enough off that that it wasn’t realistic. Because , I did not want to be one of those very heartbreaking, tragic stories of the people who have just missed it by a few seconds.”   “As a coach, I try to really educate my athletes and help them learn about their bodies and build up their confidence and their own intuition of what they should be able to do and what they shouldn’t do.”   “There’s times where you have to push through, there’s times where it’s not a lot of fun. But, there’s also that really key line of when to push and when to not. It’s always better to err on the ‘not’.”   “The biggest thing is every person is so different. That doesn’t change whether you are pregnant or not, whether you’re a male or a female, each athlete is so unique.”   “When we try and force things, when we try and rush things it’s never going to go well. My goal for the year is to not ride that red-line at all, to be really conservative, to listen to my body, to rest when I need to rest, to not force a workout just because I think I have to, to not run that extra 2 miles at the end of a long run if I’m feeling fatigued.” Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel   Mentioned in this podcast:  Run To The Top Winners Circle Facebook Community RunnersConnect Facebook page Use Coupon Code: RUN10 for 10% off Halo Headbands Follow Neely on: Instagram Facebook Twitter neelyruns.com 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!  

After weeks and months of training and preparation for your goal race, the last thing you want is the race getting cancelled.  How to cope and modify your plans when your race is cancelled? Find out in today's episode from Coach Laura.

We're changing things up at the Run to the Top!  Listen to hear what is new.

Going to the gym to strength train is often the last thing most of us who are not elite-level runners want to add into our busy lives. So this is often why we neglect it. And, for those who actually do strength training, are we really doing what we should to improve our running?   This week, Coach Claire talks with Sam MacIntosh, powerlifter, triathlete, and marathoner. Formerly a rugby player in her 20’s, Sam switched to strength training and weightlifting several years ago. She is also a British Weightlifting Level 2 coach and a Precision Nutrition Level 2 coach. Having coached over 200 online clients to become leaner and stronger, she specializes in coaching masters-level athletes to maximize their performance.   Listen as Sam describes how we can get maximum strength gains without spending hours at the gym. She also busts several nutrition myths and gives us great tips and an interesting strategy for best nutrition.   Questions Sam is asked:   3:09 How do you balance being a champion weightlifter, a triathlete, and a marathoner? 4:26 How much strength training does a marathoner need?  6:05 What kind of exercises are the most important? 8:57 Is it better to do a high or low number of reps? 9:55 How can we improve our running form while running and while strength training? 11:30 Is it possible to gain muscle AND lose fat at the same time? 14:43 How would one periodize nutrition while building up for a marathon? 15:32 How can timing nutrition phases really help? 16:38 On a macro level, what do runners really need for nutrients and how should they go about measuring portions? 21:20 Are ‘palm-fuls’ and ‘thumb-fuls’a better way of portioning than a food calculator like My Fitness Pal? 23:08 How does nutrition differ for weightlifters and runners? 24:33 What supplements, if any, do runners need? 26:06 What are some of the biggest nutrition misconceptions do you help people overcome? 27:38 What do you eat before, during, and after a run? 29:55 What advice would you give yourself back when you started running and weight training? 31:52 What is the best gift running has given you? 32:50 How can people connect with you? Quotes by Sam:   “I think we can get everything we need from the food we eat. That said, I think everyone on a standard, Western diet, can benefit from an Omega-3 supplement.”   “If you want to reliably gain muscle and lose fat at the same time, it’s very difficult to track that. What’s better is to a periodized dieting approach like you would do with a training block for running.”   “If you learn how to keep your core integrity in strength exercises, that will transfer over into your running without even trying. Your body is a full system, so if you're learning it while you’re doing squatting and deadlifting and that sort of thing, you will carry that over into your running.”   “Two (strength training) sessions a week is what I usually prescribe for people who are training for marathons, but that can be really appropriate for a 5 or 10k racer, as well.”   “For runners, and this is regardless of level, if they’re asking me about supplements and gels and the nitty gritty, and they’re plate for three meals a day is awful, don’t worry about gels, don’t worry about supplements; you need to sort THAT out first.”   Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel Mentioned in this podcast:  Run To The Top Winners Circle Facebook Community RunnersConnect Facebook page Save 20% on your first order of Generation UCAN Dr. Alex Harrison on Run To The Top James Lawrence 50 tri’s, 50 states, 50 days Book: Mindset by Carol Dweck Follow Sam on: Instagram Endure Stronger on Instagram MacIntosh Nutrition Homepage 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!

From War Zones to Ultra Podiums: How Running Makes Joshua Stevens Thrive In this episode, Coach Claire digs in to find out how Joshua went from that shocking diagnosis to running his first ultra at age 44, and eventually becoming the Badwater Ultra Cup Champion. We also learn how he approaches training and injury prevention, his plant-based nutrition, and how he could run for 24 hours on a treadmill. Joshua has incredible insight and is an inspiration, even if you don’t plan on running any farther than a local 5K. His experiences overcoming his injury, racing for 24 hours, and helping to pace and crew for friends are enlightening and huge confidence builders. Questions Joshua is asked: 4:42 How do you look at aging and running performance? 6:27 What percentage of your training goes to all the ‘extra’ things beyond actually running? 7:17 How can people learn to stop worrying and love the treadmill? 9:38 What was it like to go through your spinal injury, receive a diagnosis that you’d never run again, and then actually start running again from scratch? 11:41 What were the steps you took to start running all over again? 12:52 What is the experience of pacing, and being paced, like? 14:49 How do you talk to somebody you’re pacing through the Dark Times of a race? 15:55 What is it like to be running an ultra really hard in the middle of the night and being sleep deprived? 18:25 What other learnings from your military experience carry over into your running? 19:36 How did you develop your running form and what tips would you share with us? 21:18 Is it easier to have better form in the gym than on the road? 22:47 What do you normally eat before and during a run? 26:14 Do you have any mantras that help you get through races? 27:59 Can you develop a positive voice when you’re not racing? 30:11 What advice would you give yourself back when you started running? 31:27 What is the best gift running has given you? 33:03 How can people connect with you? 33:35 What’s on your horizon?   Quotes by Joshua: “It’s what you do with the other 20 hours. At least two-thirds to three-quarters of everything that I do is in support of the actual running.”   “If you have a negative mindset from the moment you step on the (treadmill) belt, it’s never going to be a good experience.”   “I’m just exceedingly stubborn. If you want me to do something, tell me not to do it, and I will make it my life’s mission; it will become my purpose to do it.”   “I didn’t know what I’d been missing until I got to pace and crew for some of my friends.”   “Where sleep is absolutely imperative is in the training and recovery cycles. I typically get between 8 and 10 hours of sleep a night. I try to be routine in that sometime between 9:00 and 10:00 is when I’m going down and getting up organically between 6:00 and 7:00.” Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel Mentioned in this podcast:  Run To The Top Winners Circle Facebook Community RunnersConnect Facebook page Art Loeb Trail Run Rabbit 50 and 100 miler Spring Energy Products Wolf Pack - vegan-endurance-meal-for-athletes SPEEDNUT WITH CAFFEINE (Vegan) - Extreme Efforts Canaberry (Vegan)- Any Distance Fuel Kodiak100 Antelope Island 50-Miler Badwater 135 The Javelina Jundred   Follow Joshua on: Instagram Facebook 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!    

Running podcast to motivate & help runners of every level run their best. Coach Claire Bartholic interviews running influencers, scientists, psychologists, nutritionists, & everyday runners with inspiring stories.

The ongoing search for the best shoe for each of us is a challenge and an opportunity to improve our running. As we mentioned last week, better times, less injury, less pain, and terrain specific characteristics are some of what we are looking for in the perfect shoe. Is there a best shoe for you? Julie Cattell from Milestone Running, an independent running store in the San Diego area, will give us her perspective on what’s hot and what’s not from a warmer climate perspective. Many of the shoes we learn about from Julie are different models than those Bryan picked for us last week. Because we really can’t have too many shoes to pick from, can we? With running shoes being so important to us, we have devoted two episodes to this essential subject. Our first shoe episode was from the northern climes in Toronto, Canada where Bryan Smith offered us his thoughts on best shoes for all 4 seasons since Toronto experiences all of the weather elements including snow, ice, humidity, cold and hot days. Today’s episode takes us to the southern part of California where, except for rain and fog, runners here can appreciate and, pretty much count on, moderate temperatures and outdoor accessibility almost every day of the year.

Is there a BEST SHOE for you? Bryan Smith is the area manager for Running Room, an independent running store, and he is here with us today to discuss the top 2020 running shoes from his perspective. Shoes are probably the most important, and exciting, piece of a runner’s equipment. The ongoing search for the best shoe for each of us is a challenge and an opportunity to improve our running. Better times, less injury, less pain, and terrain specific characteristics are some of what we are looking for in the PERFECT SHOE.  

Olympic Marathon Trials There are few things more exciting than watching those who are the best of the best perform. Whether it’s sports, music, theatre, comedy, or anything else. And it’s a rare occasion that amateurs can compete along with them. On February 29, 2020 (Leap Day), over 750 of the best American Marathoners will compete in Atlanta, Georgia for a select number of spots to represent Team USA in Tokyo this summer. The Atlanta Track Club has the distinguished honor and responsibility of hosting the Olympic Marathon Trials in 2020. In this episode, we talk with Rich Kenah, Executive Director of the ATC, who shares some of the history of the Club, his own history as a high level competitive runner and lots of details about the upcoming Olympic Marathon Trials.  

Dr. Eugene Charles experienced a sports injury in his teens that ended any athletic dreams he had. No one was able to diagnose the reason for his shoulder pain and after years of looking into and studying the problem he was no closer to a remedy. Fortunately, Dr. George Goodheart had discovered a system of using movement and muscle testing to diagnose and treat health problems. Dr. Goodheart was giving a seminar nearby and after listening to this very knowledgeable man, Gene approached him about his shoulder. From watching him move and testing a few muscles, Dr. Goodheart immediately uncovered the underlying cause of pain, and in a few months it was completely healed. It changed Dr. Charles’ life.