Run to the Top Podcast | The Ultimate Guide to Running

How to Stay Running For Life:  Special Collaborative Episode!   This week’s guests are a little different from our usual guests such as Olympian Jared Wade or top race director Dave McGillivray of the Boston Marathon or yoga instructor Adina Crawford to name a few. The athletes in this podcast aren’t household names but still impact lots of runners. They’re founders of some of the top Facebook running groups around the world and they have agreed to collaborate on this special episode.   Facebook is a great platform for runners around the world to interact, share advice, and build virtual communities, which is especially important during these times. Coach Claire joined several of these Facebook running groups to try to find out what members were discussing and what questions the runners had.    For this episode, Coach Claire decided to focus on advice for how to keep running for as long as possible, and so asked each of the guests the same question: What do you include in your running routine that will help ensure you are running for life?   The responses were great. Each guest had something a little bit different to say, and all of it is good advice that will hopefully help keep you running and motivated for life. So get ready for six guests, one question, various accents, and some great answers coupled with Coach Claire’s expert commentary!  Question All Guests Are Asked:   What do you include in your running routine that will help ensure you are running for life? Guests:   06:06  Karen Guttridge, Running Like A Wrinkly   08:30  Andy Jones-Wilkins, East Coast Trail and UltraRunners   11:50  Fred Scraire, Running Motivation Club   14:35  Mindy Bayless, Trail Sisters Asheville   16:14  Ken Michal, UltraRunning and Running Stupid   18:26  Steve Rice, Runners Helping Runners Take a Listen on Your Next Run! Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel Mentioned in this podcast: RunnersConnect Free Virtual Training Summit, Dec. 10-13 Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community RunnersConnect Facebook page claire@runnersconnect.net https://www.precisionhydration.com/ Guest Facebook Groups   Running Like a Wrinkly East Coast Trail and UltraRunners Running Motivation Club Trail Sisters Asheville, NC UltraRunning Running Stupid Runners Helping Runners 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! ac2JFFUTKOF2J5FGYx1K

Elite distance runner Becky Wade Firth, a standout at Rice University in Texas, was expected to turn pro after graduation. Instead, she chose a different plan that changed her life and how she looks at running and training. Becky decided to travel the world, but not just to see and explore like a typical college-age kid.  She applied for and won a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship to travel the world to learn how others run. Over the course of 12 months, Becky traveled solo to 22 countries including Switzerland, Ethiopia, New Zealand, and Japan to learn about some of the world’s most fascinating running traditions, and she captured her experience and findings in her book RUN THE WORLD.  Coach Claire talks to Becky about how her year abroad affected her and what she learned from this incredible experience. They also get into Becky’s cross training, her experience with orthotics, similarities between recreational and pro runners, and Becky’s perspective on running in a year without in-person races. Becky is still an avid writer and in addition to her book, you'll find her work all over the web in places like Runner's World, Outside, Podium Runner, Women's Running and more. She is also a food lover and traveler. Part of two sets of twins born 20 months apart, Becky grew up in Dallas, Texas, before making her way to Rice University on a track scholarship. There, alongside the world’s greatest teammates and coach, she fell in love with the distance running lifestyle and by the time she graduated, was a junior national champion, an All-American in cross-country and track, and an Olympic Trials qualifier in the 10K and 3K steeplechase. Since then, Becky has moved up to the marathon, signed with Flynn Sports Management, relocated to Boulder, Colorado, and gotten married. She’s competed in three more Olympic Trials (4 total: 2 in the 3K steeplechase, 2 in the marathon) and qualified for 2 senior USA teams (2018 and 2020 World Half Marathon Championship, the latter of which USATF sadly pulled them out of). She now has her eyes set on the 2021 US Olympic Track Trials, faster PRs over all distances, and many more writing projects—ideally a second book before too long!     Questions Becky is asked:   3:54 Instead of going directly from college to the pros, you took a year off to travel to 22 different countries to learn what runners do all over the world.  What were some of the biggest similarities and differences you found when compared to American running?    5:19 Some of the countries you went to are obviously the big running countries that we all think about, Japan and Africa, New Zealand, all of these places, but you didn’t end up just going to those places; you took a couple of detours. Anything you want to tell us about that and what you learned about that?   7:17 Were you worried at all before you left? Because people who are on track to do amazing things in whatever sport it is, they kind of get nervous about change, they kind of get nervous about getting out of their schedule. Were you worried when you took off for a year that your running might suffer?   9:01 I think that if you want to learn more about your own country, the only way to do it is to leave it, so I highly encourage everybody who can in college just to get out of America to see what the rest of the world is like.   9:43 What was it like coming back to the States after that experience?  Do you think it made you a better runner?   10:51 Recreational runners think the same thing as professional runners, “Are we doing enough? Should I be resting? Should I be doing heel lifts?” Or whatever it is. You just think that “I’ve got to do it in such a perfect way,” and there’s room for flexibility.   11:44 2020 has been obviously a very strange year for everybody, but I'd love to know how you are doing specifically and how you've been training.   15:12 Let’s talk a little bit about your cross training. I’ve looked through your Instagram. There’s a lot of pictures of you in the pool and I know you aqua jog. Can you help us out and give us some tips to make aqua jogging less boring?   20:03 Besides your book, you are a pretty prolific writer. You write articles for lots of running magazines and online places, so what are some of your tips? I know you recently wrote an article for Runner’s World about challenging the conventional rules of running. Do you want to talk a little bit about that?   22:26 Why do you wear orthotics? What is it for you?   23:28 We think of orthotics as a temporary solution, but to hear that you’ve been wearing them for 10 years, that’s super interesting.   23:55 Another conventional rule of running you challenged in your Runner’s World article was the 30-minute window, that you have to eat 30 minutes after you stop running, and you found that not to be true.   25:08 One thing I’ve been asking almost everybody this year is without in-person races, s really hard for a lot of people to find motivation, and for a lot of people it’s going to be a really long time until we race again. Do you have any tips or any suggestions to kind of keep that spark, and what can you do as far as training goes in a world without races?   28:51 What’s coming up for you in the future? What have you got your sights on? Questions I ask everyone:   30:00 If you could go back and talk to yourself when you started running, what advice would you give?   31:02 What is the greatest gift running has given you?   32:01 Where can listeners and charities connect with you?   Quotes by Becky:   “It really allowed me not only to see how the best runners in the world train, and some of the strongest, most kind of iconic running traditions are, but I also got to see so many just passionate recreational runners and see how running influences their life to just the same degree as someone whose career it is but in a different way.”   “I think there are maybe components of successful training systems that people maybe can apply, but there’s really not that. I think one of my fears was that I was going to go travel and see that what it takes to be a really good runner is to be like 100% dialed into running. That’s your life. That’s all you do. You do everything perfectly, and I literally never saw that, so that was kind of validating.”   “I think there are a lot of things you can do, nothing that is exactly like racing because I just find like the whole atmosphere, and like official results, and the community and everything, that’s really what makes road racing special to me and to a lot of people I think, but there are other ways to I think really stay engaged with the sport and stay on top of training and still work towards goals.”   Take a Listen on Your Next Run Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel Mentioned in this podcast:   Becky Runs Away Run the World book Thomas J. Watson Fellowship Runner's World Article: When You Can Challenge Conventional Running Wisdom Runner's World Article: Alternative Outlets for Your Competitive Fire Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community RunnersConnect Facebook page claire@runnersconnect.net https://www.precisionhydration.com/ Follow Becky on:   Instagram 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!  

The Real Way to Get Mentally Tough: Matt Fitzgerald   The biggest difference between elites and the rest of us is not simply talent; it’s mental resilience. Matt Fitzgerald has been studying elites his entire career and has learned what techniques the best of the best use to get there. In his new book, The Comeback Quotient, Matt talks about a philosophy called ultrarealism and how we can all apply it to add some extra oomph to our training and push to the next level.   Matt is a well-known endurance sports author, coach, and nutritionist. His many books include How Bad Do You Want It?, 80/20 Running, and The Endurance Diet. Matt’s writing has also appeared in numerous magazines, including Outside and Runner’s World, and on popular websites such as podiumrunner.com and nbcnews.com. He is a cofounder and co-head coach of 80/20 Endurance and the creator of the Diet Quality Score smartphone app. A lifelong endurance athlete, he speaks frequently at events throughout the United States and internationally.   Matt’s work has given him access to some great athletes who have shared their secrets about what it takes to truly become the best in the world, and it’s not just about raw talent or genetics; it’s about the mind. It’s about leveraging science and psychology and philosophy into mental toughness. In The Comeback Quotient, Matt combines those elements that he’s compiled from the best in sport to deliver actionable advice and techniques that any athlete can use to improve.    If you haven’t heard of David Goggins, look him up. He overcame an abusive upbringing to transform himself into a Navy Seal, Air Force Ranger, and competitive ultramarathoner, and he is undeniably one of the toughest minds out there. He’s just one example from Matt’s book that he and Coach Claire discuss as they talk about the qualities that athletes like David have that we can all develop in ourselves.   Matt’s new book The Comeback Quotient comes out in December 2020, and if you are as interested in training your mind to be as fit as your body, make sure you get a copy!        Questions Matt is asked:   6:15 You've written several books on endurance fitness that also seem to have a healthy dose of psychology woven in.  What is it about the mental side of the sport that interests you so much?   7:49 I have two little kids, and when they run, they run as fast as they can and then completely poop out. They have no sense of pacing or anything like that, so obviously that’s something that we have to learn.   8:30 Your new book that’s coming out is called The Comeback Quotient.  Can you give us a summary of what it's about and why you wanted to write it?   9:56 One thing that you talked a lot about in your book was a philosophy called ultra-realism.  Can you explain what that is and why it's important not just for athletes, but for life?   12:24 It sounds so simple when you say, “Just make the best out of it.” How simple is that? But why is it so hard?   14:16 If our brain is so good at predicting, then what do we do when we haven’t thought out a way to get around the obstacle?   16:50 How do you override everything your brain is telling you when you’re in pain?   18:51 You did have a few examples in your book of people who like David Goggins and the Slovenian skier who won Olympic bronze after she had punctured a lung and broken a bunch of ribs. I don't want to be that mentally tough!!! That just sounds pretty stupid some of these things though. Where’s that line?   20:39 Besides just reading your book, how can athletes actively practice mental fitness?  It's pretty simple to learn how to physically run your best, but how do you mentally train? Any advice with that?   23:59 You definitely have some stories in the book about people freaking out and things not going so well.   26:37 You basically said to some of the athletes that you’ve coached to stop BSing themselves, and sometimes that’s some realism that’s hard to hear too.   28:13 One thing I definitely have done in a race myself is BSed myself in a positive way and told myself, “It doesn’t hurt. It’s fine. Nothing is wrong here. You can keep going,” when that’s not really the way I feel at all. So I don’t know how that falls into it. I feel like I’m lying to myself in a positive way, if that makes sense.   31:02 Another thing that struck me is a lot of sort of… I don’t know if we call this a self-help book, but a lot of books that are trying to get into the psychology of performance, they only talk about the really positive things. This is called The Comeback Quotient. We’re expecting to read a whole bunch of comeback stories and have everybody get the gold medal at the end, but you included several people who didn’t come back “successfully,” and I’d love to hear about why you chose to do that?   34:02 I think there’s a lot of people, especially new runners, seem to struggle with accepting things that don’t go as expected. Would you say that?   36:37 Another part of the book was your personal journey to train for a triathlon using the mental training techniques that you learned from the ultra-realists.  Without giving too much away, what were some of the lessons that you applied for yourself?   39:54 One thing I thought about when reading your race report is it’s very common for people to set goals. So you’ve got your A goal, shoot-the-moon goal, B goal, C goal, but most people aren’t really happy with that C goal. I think that maybe being actually happy with your C goal is like a mental trick that you can do because you didn’t get your A goal in your triathlon, right? And you’re still super, super happy. And how is that possible? How are you not upset that you didn’t get your A goal?   41:44 When does the book come out and what's next for you? Questions I ask everyone:   43:22 If you could go back and talk to yourself when you started running, what advice would you give?   44:09 What is the greatest gift running has given you?   45:12 Where can listeners and charities connect with you?   Quotes by Matt:   “I’m still running at 49 and I just believe that the most obtrusive barriers in endurance sports are the mental barriers.”   “The people who are able to make the very best of the very worst situations in endurance sports, they do so through a process of just facing reality.”   “Whether or not you’re already the most resilient person in the world, if you simply just copy what the ultra-realists are doing, you will start to develop those qualities.”   “You’re not dependent on reality, kind of the stars aligning. It just doesn’t matter. You can succeed in any situation simply by making the best of it even if the end result is not what you originally wanted.”   “It is about the process. Ultimately, when it comes down to it, like you have one race day for every 100 training days or whatever, so those training days you should be enjoying.” Take a Listen on Your Next Run Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel Mentioned in this podcast:   MattFitzgerald.org Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community RunnersConnect Facebook page claire@runnersconnect.net https://www.precisionhydration.com/ Follow Matt on:   Facebook 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!  

How to Make Everything Hard About Running Easier: Brad Miles Imagine being able to run and heal through an injury. Or imagine significantly increasing your weekly mileage while healthy, while also minimizing your chances for injury, increasing your speed, and improving your recovery. Wouldn’t that be great? Brad Miles, the founder of Lever Running says it’s not only possible, but scientifically proven.   Brad created his Lever system to deliver the benefits of body weight supported running in a convenient, portable package that costs a fraction of the AlterG. The what? The AlterG is basically a big, fancy, eye-poppingly expensive treadmill that takes some of your weight off as you run. It’s a bulky piece of equipment that NASA uses, not your local gym, and certainly not your average runner. And for years, it was the only player in the market for body weight supported running.   Enter Brad, who says that the Lever makes everything that’s hard about running easier. He shares use cases with Coach Claire about how injured athletes have benefitted from body weight supported running using his system, and also how healthy athletes have leveraged it to up their game. He describes the technical aspects of his system and how it works, and after hearing about it, you’ll probably find yourself visiting his website to check out the videos and see the Lever in action.   Please note: Lever Running is not a sponsor of the Run to the Top. This is not an infomercial, but we do talk about the product in great detail in order to introduce you to something that just might help you run faster and injury free.   Brad is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He started getting serious about running in high school where he helped his team win two State cross country titles, won an individual State cross country title, as well as the Footlocker Northeast Championship.  He went on to run cross country and track for Baylor University and was named as Baylor's Cross Country Runner of the Decade. Brad first experienced the benefits of body weight support first hand in college, and soon his business degree was put to good use. He and co-founder Ryan Ognibene started LEVER in 2019 after they recognized the overwhelming need for a mobile, athlete-friendly body weight support system to compete with the AlterG. The primary goal with LEVER was to take technology that was once reserved for the elites and make it available to everyone. This episode is for everyone interested in breaking the injury cycle, cross training while running, or getting faster! Questions Brad is asked:   7:22 You first experienced body weight supported running in college.  Can you talk about that experience?   8:05 Were you injured when you first tried body weight supported running?   8:13 The AlterG is a pretty expensive piece of technology, is that right?   8:32 AlterG was basically the only game in town as far as taking gravity off your run, is that right?   8:52 From a physiological point of view, what does taking the weight off running actually do for you?   9:32 Because AlterG is such an expensive piece of equipment, not a lot of people have access to it, so I don’t think a ton of people besides the real running nerds know a whole lot about body weight supported running. So what made you decide to make a competitor?   10:37 Let’s talk a little bit about the Lever product. It’s basically an AlterG in a bag?   11:28 How much body weight can the Lever support?   11:35 Can you tell us a little bit more about what this is used for? Why would I want to have something like this?   13:32 In the use case you just described, you talked about a woman using your device to significantly increase her mileage. How was she able to do this safely?   14:28 Are you saying that anybody can use your product and basically double their mileage in a couple of months?   15:24 As a coach, I know that the best thing to do to become a better runner is to run, but there’s an upper limit to that. So basically, it sounds like using body weight support could be like cross training, the most specific cross training that you could possibly have. Would you agree with that?   16:10 Let’s go back to what Lever was originally designed for, which was injured runners. Do you have any stories that you could share about some of your clients?   17:56 Any surprising kind of uses that you’ve seen?   19:05 How do you use Lever for speed?   19:49 If the Lever makes it easier to run, isn’t it de-training by using it?   20:45 Let’s say you’re running whatever pace for your tempo run and your heart rate is X, you want to make sure your heart rate is still at X, but obviously that speed, that pace is going to be much faster with the weight taken off using Lever is what you’re saying?   21:59 Does your Lever pace translate to when you go outside? Do you run at the same pace or somewhere in-between your Lever and outside pace?   22:24 I went to your website and watched the videos and one thing I noticed is that you have to wear specific shorts in order to use this product. Can you tell me about the shorts and why that was a design feature?   23:26 You went with the shorts instead of some kind of harness system?   24:06 What are the shorts like?   24:44 What are the limitations to the body weight support device? Specifically I’m thinking about heavier runners. Is there an upper limit or is there even a lower weight limit?    25:37 The Lever takes off 45 pounds max no matter what your body size, right, not a percentage of the person’s body weight?   25:56 Do the shorts come in all sizes for all runners?   26;04 Could this potentially be a way for heavier runners to get more running in with less pounding?   26:51 What kind of reaction do you get when you bust this out in the gym?   28:07 What's next in the technology?   29:06 For those who are interested in getting this for themselves, you have both a rental option and a purchase option, is that correct? Questions I ask everyone:   30:35 If you could go back and talk to yourself when you started running, what advice would you give?   31:29 What is the greatest gift running has given you?   32:16 Where can listeners and charities connect with you? Quotes by Brad:   “One of our users just recently reached out to us and said, ‘Guys, thank you so much. I have been able to improve my marathon time from 3:09 to 2:42.’ Big jump.”   “If you can cross train but still run, you’re getting more benefit out of each step that you’re taking.”   “Far too often, a lot of athletes just fall into this repeatable pattern of like injured, getting healthy, injured, getting healthy, and so we’re trying to help athletes break that.”   “We wanted to make sure that the experience was still the experience that you have running, not a very uncomfortable… And again, I’ve run in AlterGs. They are uncomfortable at times, and so we wanted to create a very natural motion of running.” Take a Listen on Your Next Run   Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel Mentioned in this podcast: Lever Running Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community RunnersConnect Facebook page claire@runnersconnect.net https://www.precisionhydration.com/ Follow Brad on:   Facebook Instagram 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!

The Fate of Charity Running in a World Without Races: Susan Hurley   If you’ve run for charity, you’re probably wondering how charities have been doing this year with so few races being run. Or maybe you’re looking for inspiration and motivation during these uncertain times. If so, this week’s guest, Susan Hurley, may provide the answers you’re seeking.   A former New England Patriots cheerleader, Susan brings the high energy, creative mind, and fun approach required to motivate, inspire, and lead others to achieve personal goals through fitness and running, while also raising funds for small nonprofits through her organization CharityTeams.  CharityTeams helps nonprofits raise money for good causes through the use of running races and athletic events. Running for charity takes a lot more than just asking your friends and family for money. It takes a lot of organization, and Charity Teams helps take care of the details. Susan shares how 2020 has impacted charity running and what she sees for the future, through virtual racing and beyond. She also talks about her app, Charge Running, which she’s developed over the last 3 years with a team in Chicago. Charge Running is a live virtual training and racing platform, which is especially relevant now when there are so few in-person races. Susan started CharityTeams when she recognized the need small nonprofits had for support in valuable athletic fundraising opportunities, and she created a niche sports-related business around that.  CharityTeams has blazed a trail for many nonprofits to grow and set the bar high in the athletic fundraising industry. Her teams are some of the most desired to run on. She is a certified RRCA professional running coach and fundraising expert. ​ Susan is a professional at developing team brands and understands what it takes to keep them succeeding. Her network in the industry is extensive and she has a strong ability to work with runners of all backgrounds in running and fundraising building lasting friendships in her groups and strong ambassadors for charities.   She is formerly a New England Patriots Cheerleader and continues to dispel the words of her mother, that "You can't be a cheerleader your whole life."  ​ Susan's marathon personal best is 3:16 and she continues to run The Boston Marathon, NYC Marathon and Chicago Marathon each year, as well as many other races.  (Qualifying for NY and Chicago) She has been running since she missed the bus in 2nd grade. ​ She has qualified and competed in the World Triathlon Championship in Hawaii. She continues to run competitively while raising funds for various causes. Susan completed the first ever 2017 Fenway Park Marathon and the first ever Gillette Stadium Marathon. She is a two time finisher of the  Mt. Washington Road Race in 2018 and 2019. She finished her first 50K at the Marine Corps Marathon weekend in 2021.  ​ Susan also works on special projects such as the Bobbi Gibb sculpture project which will be unveiled in April of 2021. This beautiful statue named after the children's book, The Girl Who Ran, was sculpted by winner of the Boston Marathon and trailblazer for women’s running, Bobbi Gibb. It is of herself. In 1966, Gibb popped out from behind forsythia bushes in Hopkinton to become the first woman to run Boston.    After listening to Susan, maybe you’ll be inspired to run for a higher purpose!   Questions Susan is asked:   6:36 Your business, Charity Teams, has raised over $24 million for various non-profits.  Can you tell us more about how Charity Teams works and how you started it?   7:39 Let’s say I am a charity and I want to raise money and I give you a phone call. What’s that conversation going to be like?   8:26 Charity Teams is like a one-stop shop then for fundraising?   8:57 Obviously 2020 has been strange for all of us, but especially in the running world with no races. What are charities doing?   9:48 Most runners, we race because we want to achieve a personal goal.  What makes it different when you run for charity?   11:09 Let’s talk about the Boston Marathon for example. If you’re not fast enough to meet the qualifications, you can go ahead and sign up with a charity and run for charity. But there’s some big fundraising goals you have to meet which I think might be intimidating to some people, and maybe kind of stressful. So how do you encourage people when they’re facing some $5,000 goal or something like that? How do you encourage people because that seems a little scary to me?   12:41 Do you have anybody that you can think of in mind that is just a charity superstar? Any good stories that you can share with us?   14:23 Let’s talk about virtual racing. Virtual racing is here to stay I think for a while. I think it’s a challenge for some people because it’s not the same as in-person races, and you’ve kind of come up with a little bit of a solution for that with your app. Do you want to tell us a little bit about it?   16:22 So if I wanted to go out the door and go for a run using your Charge Running app, I just plug in my headphones and somebody will be telling me to run faster, or how does it work?   17:22 Is the Charge Running app course specific?   18:10 One of your projects you are working on is installing a statue of Bobbi Gibbs on the Boston Marathon race course.  Can you tell us, for those who may not know, who Bobbi Gibbs is and why the statue’s so important?     19:08 What made you want to get involved in the Bobbi Gibbs statue project?   20:01 Do you know anything about the Bobbi Gibbs statue artist?   20:35 This year has been really challenging for a lot of people, so I would love to hear your tips since you’ve worked so much in the virtual race space, how do we stay motivated? How do we look beyond possibly having no races and nothing to plan for? What are your best tips for this?   22:20 Could choosing a charity and having to show up to a race for someone besides yourself be really motivational for some people?   23:27 What is next for you? You mentioned that you are training for some virtual marathons. What kind of things are you training for? Questions I ask everyone:   24:42 If you could go back and talk to yourself when you started running, what advice would you give?   25:37 What is the greatest gift running has given you?   26:10 Where can listeners and charities connect with you? Quotes by Susan:   “The bigger charities have a lot of bandwidth to be able to provide services, but the smaller charities don’t, so the smaller charities is really where I have made my little bit of a niche, if you will. And so I’ve really helped a lot of small nonprofits grow.”   “I think you see a different breed of runner going into the charity world. Maybe not as fast. Definitely somebody that might be just more of an average runner trying to qualify, or maybe would never have the chance to qualify for an event, but they go into this charity space and they’re inspired and they can set goals and feel like they’re achieving a lot of great things.”   “With goal setting comes inspiration. Maybe find a nonprofit that is hosting a virtual run and use that for your inspiration in your goal setting so that you can continue to stay in shape as we move through this really uncertain time.”   Take a Listen on Your Next Run   Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel Mentioned in this podcast: Charity Teams Charge Running App Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community RunnersConnect Facebook page claire@runnersconnect.net Follow Susan on:   Facebook - Charity Teams Instagram - Charity Teams Twitter - Charity Teams 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!  

As a runner, you prioritize your physical training, but what are you doing for your mental health training? Dr. Lara Pence (aka Dr. L) is a clinical psychologist who has spent the last 15 years working with endurance athletes to help them shed unhealthy patterns of behavior and build mental strength using curiosity as a tool to become mentally resilient and adventurous. By training athletes to dive deeper into the why behind their goals, she also helps them boost their mental toughness by creating a values-driven way of being.   Dr. L shares a lot of great info with Coach Claire on how to build mental strength, including discussions on the relationship between athletes and food, changing our personal narratives about our performance as we age, setbacks, and motivation. Having a fit mind is at least as important as having a fit body, and this is an episode everyone can benefit from.   Dr. L is an East Coast native who did her post-doctoral fellowship in Dallas, TX. She has since built her own private practice, becoming one of the most sought-after therapists in Dallas.  She moved to Colorado in 2019 to become the Chief Mind Doc for SPARTAN, the world’s top endurance company. She also hosted the Spartan Mind podcast and served as a consultant to the organization on various mindset-focused initiatives.   Dr. L is also a coach for The Unbeatable Mind, alongside Mark Divine, founder of SEAL FIT. She has been featured in various publications and media outlets such as Good Morning America, the BBC, Glamour, Vogue, WebMD, Psychology Today, and The Huffington Post.    Most recently, Dr. L has launched her own podcast called Curious Minds with Dr. L, and she has a new product called LIGHFBOX, a simple program designed to exercise your mind, spark curiosity, and boost your mental fitness.    Get ready to strengthen your mind and boost your mental fitness with Dr. L!   Questions Lara is asked:   6:17 You like to call yourself an "active therapist" and that's not just because you are also a runner.  What do you mean by that?   7:39 Let’s talk about the people you do work with and your own running background. How do you specifically work with runners?   9:34 Eating disorders and running. Obviously, to be at the top of your game, you need to be light and lean. Thankfully some elite runners these days are talking more about how getting too lean is really causing huge problems, but there is a fine line between being at your highest performance and whether that’s actually healthy or not. So how do you kind of dig through that mess?   12:15 Let’s go into the performance side of what you do, mental strength training if you will. A lot of people, when runners or athletes get to a certain level, they realize that it’s not just all about physical training. The mental aspect is absolutely huge, if not more important than the physical training. Everybody wants to know: How do we get mentally tough?   14:47 You’re saying that we should just be curious about why a race or a workout didn’t go well. How do you incorporate curiosity in success and failure when it comes to athletes?   17:12 I would love to hear about how you practice incorporating curiosity. Say I’m a runner and I’m trying to go after this big goal and I’m just getting frustrated. How do I practice curiosity to improve my mental strength?   20:33 What happens when you peel back the onion and maybe there’s not such positive motivation down there?   23:45 Obviously 2020 has been a crazy year, but for runners specifically, all their races have been canceled pretty much. And so the carrot that everybody has, that’s evaporated, and so a lot of the clients that I coach have just been like, “You know what? There’s no race on the schedule. I don’t really feel like training anymore.” What advice do you give runners who are training without races?   29:23 I read on your blog that you wrote an article recently about overcoming setbacks.  Obviously as people, but also as runners specifically, setbacks can happen all the time, whether it’s just a bad workout or a big race that you train for that didn’t go so well. I’d love to hear your ideas about overcoming setbacks.   33:28 How about successes? Some people, surprisingly, don’t handle success very well. What are your thoughts on that?   35:54 I'd love to get your thoughts on comparison and competition.  Runners compete in races and we compete against ourselves. That can be great, but that can also be pretty tough, especially if you were let’s say a high school or college runner and you’re now in your 40s, 50s, and 60s, and you’re just not the same person that you used to be. I would love to get your opinion and thoughts about Masters runners and about how as we get older, we’re not as fast as we used to be, and how can we still celebrate what we can do?    40:16 I think honestly, the runners that have the healthier outlook as Masters are the ones who were not competitive when they were younger, because they’re finding it all new and exciting, and every race is a PR, so it’s really special, whereas sometimes I get other athletes who competed before and it seems like they’re always looking backwards instead of looking forward.    42:31 What's next for you? You say that you have a race coming up in May. What are you training for? Questions I ask everyone:   43:42 If you could go back and talk to yourself when you started running, what advice would you give?   43:51 What is the greatest gift running has given you?   44:15 Where can listeners connect with you? Quotes by Lara:   “One of the things that I love to do, one of my strengths, is actually knowing my limitations and knowing what’s the appropriate arena for me to explore something with a client and when it’s not.”   “The judgement that can accumulate inside of us is almost like energy, if you think of it as energy. It’s really toxic and can be really poisonous. And when we reduce the judgements and open up space for curiosity, it really allows for a willingness to learn and a willingness to absorb other information that can actually be helpful and fuel us.”   “In terms of setbacks, I really, really encourage individuals to have the mindset of everything is an opportunity.” Take a Listen on Your Next Run Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel Mentioned in this podcast: https://www.drlarapence.com/ Podcast - Curious Minds with Dr L Newsletter sign up LIGHFBOX self-reflection cards Salt Flats Endurance Run Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community RunnersConnect Facebook page claire@runnersconnect.net Follow Lara on:   Instagram 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!  

Speed in Your 60s and the Fastest Mile That Didn’t Count: Dan King   Dan King is blistering fast at 61 years old. We’re talking world record breaking fast. He just broke the masters record in the mile for the 60-64 age group, running 4:49:08 to beat the 4:51:85 record set in 2012. But this amazing feat won’t count. Why? Listen in to find out.   Dan also talks about his surprisingly low-mileage training routine, how he incorporates a lot of cross training into his daily life, and his plant-based diet which he believes is key to his performance.    Despite being super fit, Dan has suffered a number of injuries, including plantar fasciitis that has plagued him for years. He talks about a procedure he had to alleviate his heel pain, and how he’s adapted his training and overall lifestyle to stay both fit and injury free.   Dan hails from Boulder, Colorado. At the University of Colorado-Boulder, he ran an impressive 5,000-meter PR of 14:34, but didn’t complete too much after graduation. After building a successful start-up company, he sold his business and retired in 2017.   As of this recording, Dan was preparing to run another mile race that would officially count as a world record if he repeated his August performance. Coach Claire will share Dan’s results at the end of the episode.    Dan is definitely proof that you can train well and be fast at any age, and that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all training plan that all runners must follow. Whether you’re a masters athlete or just aspiring to keep on running as you age, this one’s for you! Photo credit: Todd Straka Questions Dan is asked:   5:18 This past August, you ran 4:49:08 in the mile, which is faster than anyone in the world in the 60-64 year old age group.  Now, I understand that this may not count as an official world record on a technicality. Can you explain this?   7:16 There’s another race in South Carolina on October 17th that will be USATF certified, and that should count for the world record. And by the time this airs, you will have already raced it, but hopefully you’ll get your official time at that one, right?   8:04 Can you tell us about the race and your strategy?   9:59 You've been a runner a long time. You ran for the University of Colorado in college.  But you were not a miler back then, right? What made you decide to specialize in the mile now?   12:43 I would love to talk about your training. Your training is a little unusual for somebody at your level I would think. Can you talk about what a normal week looks like for you?   14:49 You’re missing a big element that most runners think is incredibly important, and that’s the long run. So no long run for you?   15:55 You’re not running a ton of miles or pounding a lot by running over and over again, but you’re spending hours and hours on your off days of running doing something aerobic. So you’re still building that aerobic engine, just not running all the time.   17:18 You have no rest days?   17:27 About 25 miles a week is all you put in for running?   17:52 I would like to go a little bit deeper into your injuries, and especially the plantar fasciitis. You had what’s called a Tenex procedure for that. Can you talk about that?   19:42 What was the recovery from the Tenex procedure like?   20:29 What is the eccentric calf-raise exercise?   21:13 Let's talk about diet and nutrition.  Like me, you are 100% plant based.  Can you tell us how you decided to become plant based, and what the benefits have been for you?   23:30 You’re plant based, which is not always the same thing as being a vegan. Is that correct?   24:30 What do you eat and where do you get your protein?   26:29 What are your favorite things to eat before a workout or after a workout?   28:19 I’d love to know what lessons have you learned being a Masters athlete that maybe you didn’t have to think about so much when you were younger?   30:17 What do you do for mobility and strength and stretching? How do you fit that into your routine?   31:12 After the race on October 17th, what’s next for you?   Questions I ask everyone:    32:54 If you could go back and talk to yourself when you started running, what advice would you give?   34:23 What is the greatest gift running has given you?   35:20 Where can listeners connect with you? Quotes by Dan:   “I was still under a five-minute mile equivalent, and that was when I was 56. And so it just sort of put a goal in the back of my head that when I turn 60, I want to see if I can still run a five-minute mile.”   “When I turned 40, I just redefined myself as an endurance athlete, not as a runner, and I haven’t not been fit since I’ve been 40.”   “I have gotten really consistent this year in terms of doing electrolytes post-workout. I feel like a lot of the injuries I get as a Masters athlete are because I get more easily dehydrated than I used to.”   Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel Mentioned in this podcast:   Younger Next Year The China Study Skratch Labs Nuun World Masters Athletics   News Article - Dan King's Second Try at Official M60 Mile “... was more than 4 seconds off his August mark of 4:49 at a meet in the same city. It barely missed the listed M60 American record of 4:53.01 by Nolan Shaheed in 2012.”   Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community RunnersConnect Facebook page claire@runnersconnect.net Follow Dan 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!  

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!