What makes The Chicago Marathon a special member of the World Marathon Series, and what makes the city that hosts it so special itself?
In 2019 the Chicago Marathon will be held on Sunday, October 13 and in this episode, we are privileged to have Carey Pinkowski, Executive Director of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon talking to us direct from Chicago.
Carey shares some of the “inside stuff” to help race participants, as well as spectators, understand and enjoy how the race comes together; how to qualify, how to deal with race logistics, where it starts, where it finishes, where to stay, course details, best things to do in the city, etc.
Since 1990, Carey has served as Executive Director and has seen the race grow from 6,000 runners in 1990 to 44,341 finishers in 2017, including runners from all 50 states and more than 130 countries.
In addition to being an exciting race to participate in with a big purse for top athletes, the Chicago Marathon charity program has raised more than $167,000,000 for local, national, and global causes since 2002.
What is it about runners and data? Do we love data because it’s simply the most tangible evidence of our abilities? Is it just another way to extend our run experience by reliving a race or training run? Or is it something more, something that can actually change us into even better runners for the rest of our lives?
Today, on Run to the Top Podcast we will speak with Magnus Jonsson, co-founder of Racefox, a wearable, artificial intelligence platform that responds to your running style and gives immediate feedback on how you can run better, faster, more effectively, and with fewer injuries.
Artificial intelligence may sound like something from outer space but, of course, it is with us every day and affects our lives in many ways. Magnus and his company have gone even farther into coaching runners via artificial intelligence. Algorithms, technology and science take us into a new dimension that allows immediate interpretation of massive amounts of data and classification of that data into personal information that can be used for immediate improvement as you run. This real-time coaching can help us stay injury free and improve incrementally by making focused changes, unique to our own bodies, whether elite or beginner.
It’s not as unbelievable as it may sound. Listen as we delve into Magnus’ and Racefox’s world of artificial intelligence and improved running.
The San Francisco Marathon is one of those bucket list races for most road runners. Running across the iconic Golden Gate Bridge is such a unique and wonderful experience. Circumnavigating the beautiful City by the Bay with Fisherman’s Wharf, Golden Gate Park, cable cars, and surrounded by ocean is truly magical.
For some folks, including Michael Wardian, 26.2 miles is just a warm-up. In July 2019 Michael won the San Francisco Double Marathon – 2 X on the course for a total of 52.4 miles! And this was after several other races in 2019 including the World Marathon Challenge – 7 marathons in 7 days, on 7 continents! Michael won all of them! And even that wasn’t enough, as you’ll hear about what he did immediately afterwards.
Michael’s running career includes some crazy, funny records, and much, much more. He is certainly unique in his goals and the running path he follows. We may not all have the same goals and push that Michael does, but in this episode he gives great information and inspiration that even we ‘mere mortal’ runners can use to improve our performance and goals.
Dean Karnazes is considered a living legend to many of us runners. TIME magazine named him one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People in the World.” and Men’s Fitness hailed him as one of the fittest men on the planet.
In this episode, Dean shares some of his favorite stories from this book, his favorite and toughest runs, and his general passion for all things running.
An acclaimed endurance athlete and NY Times bestselling author, Dean has pushed his body and mind to inconceivable limits. Among his many accomplishments, he has run 350 continuous miles, foregoing sleep for three nights. He’s run across the Sahara Desert in 120-degree temperatures, and he’s run a marathon to the South Pole in negative 40 degrees.
On ten different occasions, he’s run a 200-mile relay race solo, racing alongside teams of twelve. His long list of competitive achievements includes winning the Badwater Ultramarathon, running 135 miles nonstop across Death Valley during the middle of summer, and racing on all seven continents, twice over.
In 2006 he accomplished the seemingly impossible by running 50 marathons in 50 US states in 50 consecutive days, finishing with the NYC Marathon, which he ran in 3:00:00. In 2011 Dean ran 3,000-miles from the coast of California to New York City, averaging 40 to 50-miles per day.
Dean is the winner of an ESPN ESPY and a 3-time recipient of Competitor magazine’s Endurance Athlete of the Year award. He’s twice carried the Olympic Torch (2008 and 2018 Olympic Games).
Dean was recently awarded the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award by The President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition. And now, he’s out with a new book:Chicken Soup for the Soul, Running for Good.
Jeff Gaudette Talks About Another Type of Running Business
Last week we had guests Misa Dugally, Jeff Stokes, and Katie Ownbey talk about starting their running business, STRIDE which is a franchise type of business, geared to runners. Our focus during the talk was to introduce you, as running lovers, to some of the business options out there that cater to runners if you are considering this line of work.
Today we have our very own Runners Connect Founder Jeff Gaudette to share his story. Jeff takes us through his business evolution of working with runners, culminating in what we now know and have come to love as RunnersConnect.
In addition to the inspiration behind RC, Jeff also shares with us his methodology for his business and has great insight for those considering starting a running related business of their own. He talks about business entities, employees, and the joys (and even the downsides, of being a business owner.
We think you’ll enjoy this inside look into Jeff’s business and hope it helps you if you’re looking to start your own.
How many of us love running so much that we would LOVE to quit our day jobs and start running for work and play? It’s not simple and certainly not easy, but many people, including our own Jeff Gaudette at Runners Connect, take their passion and build it into a viable business.
Today we have three great people joining us who will share their thoughts and experiences on the running business they have developed. Misa Dugally, Jeff Stokes, and Katie Ownbey will talk about their business called STRIDE, the first Indoor Running Franchise, and a “one of a kind, indoor workout studio geared specifically to runners.” STRIDE's treadmill-based cardio and strength classes are perfect for any level of walker, jogger or runner
They will share their personal stories that helped to formulate this dream business as well as the life paths and determination that brought enough pieces together to make it a reality.
Leveraging his college experience organizing and leading expedition trips that helped people discover, and push past, what they thought were their limits, Dr. Michele Ufer has written a bestselling book on mental toughness training for runners. He is an internationally sought-after expert in sports and management psychology and a successful ultrarunner. As speaker, coach, and mental trainer, the bestselling author motivates athletes, executives, and other high performers, promoting top performance.
As a runner and someone who pushes his own boundaries, he is attracted to challenges beyond the marathon distance, sometimes at great heights. Whether it’s a desert, rainforest, Himalayas, or the polar circle, Michele Ufer is at home on the most extreme running tracks. He has repeatedly achieved top 10 ratings in international (extreme) races covering a distance of up to 250km using his training methods. He researched psychological aspects in running, and presented his findings at lectures, scientific congresses, and in magazine articles.
It’s probably safe to say that most Americans have never driven across the United States. And even fewer have run across the country. So how is it that a 71 year-old Swedish man has run his way coast-to-coast across America, not once, but a staggering 7 times? And maybe more importantly, WHY?
In this episode, we meet Bjorn Suneson, the man who has done just that. I think we can all agree that runners are just a bit ‘crazy’ and perhaps Bjorn is even more Runner-Crazy than most of us. In our conversation, we not only learn why he decided to do this on multiple occasions, but how he manages the logistics involved in such an undertaking.
We’ve spent the last couple weeks learning more about the benefits of Generation UCAN and this week we have one more voice to champion the SuperStarch® that has fueled countless elite runners, recreational runners, and those of us in between.
Greg McMillan and McMillan Running are names that are highly respected and have been part of the running world for many years. Greg truly believes SuperStarch® is an essential part of a runner’s toolbox. He will also share tips and tricks from his vast experience, through McMillan Coaching, with the thousands of runners who have benefitted from his methodology.
Greg leverages his experience as a National Champion runner with his background in plans that are individualized to a runner’s unique traits. Renowned Coach Greg blends his exercise science to create scientifically-based, proven training by runners and coaches across the globe, he has one of the most diverse coaching resumes around, with equal success coaching new runners, age groupers, Boston Qualifiers, and Olympians.
This episode is full of wonderful and helpful insight into becoming an even faster version of yourself.
A recent article in Seasons Magazine featured the incredible story of UCAN, a SuperStarch® for athletes that started from a life threatening illness that threatened a baby’s survival. Follow this story from its inception as a life-saving nutrient to its evolution as a power drink that Meb Keflezighi, Dathan Rytzenheim, and many top athletes rely on.
We are now in part 2 of this amazing story that has, up to this point, introduced our listeners to Wendy Feldman, Shoba Murali, and Meb Keflezighi whose lives have been intricately intertwined by Team UCAN.
In this episode, we talk with Krista Austin, a sports scientist who has been connected with UCAN from the start. She was Meb's sports scientist back in 2009 and was the one who first worked with him to try UCAN in his training.
She also introduced the product to Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein in 2014.
t’s not often in sport that there is something that can fundamentally, and legally, improve training and performance. It’s even rarer that a product that was born out of a unique solution to a serious health issue can have wide-reaching applications, too.
Today we speak with Shoba Murali, one of the developers of Generation UCAN (also known as Super Starch) Wendy Feldman, the mother of a child born with Glycogen Storage Disease, and (THE) Meb Keflezighi about how Generation UCAN came about, the impact it is having on athletes and non-athletes, and how Meb enjoyed tremendous success while using UCAN.
Summer’s here and the time is right for racing in the streets.
Looking for some fun races for the end of summer or early fall?
Today’s guest is Mitchell Garner, President of Road Runners Club of America and he has some favorites he will share with us. With varying distances, locations, and difficulties, Mitchell has run and raced a lot of territory and visited a lot of events around the country. He will give us enough details for you to make an educated decision on your next road race – even if you wait until next year and plan a whole vacation around it.
After only running consistently for a couple of years, newly minted Doctor in Cognitive Science, Lauren Curley ran her first ever full marathon in a brisk 2:57:58.
Lauren started running to relieve stress during her doctorate program in college and her running career took off from there competing in ultra racing, trail racing, and obstacle racing. In addition to a great first marathon time, Lauren has placed first female in 2 50k’s and in the SoCal Warrior Dash. Not bad for a new-ish runner in her late 20’s.
Erin Taylor believes that yoga can save your body from injury and understands the importance of this to runners. Yoga has changed her ability as an athlete and she started a company called Jasyoga to offer yoga in a functional, fun format for runners to remain healthy and injury free.
Erin says “Do some yoga today. Anything is better than nothing. Do two minutes, do thirty seconds, do something for your body and feel the difference.”
Alex shares the science and the mysteries of endurance, a subject near and dear to all runners. From short sprints to ultra-marathons, endurance plays a crucial role and today we find out what it is and how to extend it.
Alex covered Nike’s Breaking 2 project in 2017 where elite marathoner Eliud Kipchoge attempted a sub-2 hour marathon, albeit in fabricated and controlled conditions. Kipchoge came up just short, but in so doing, showed us how close the human body actually is to breaking this wall.
Katie Zaferes - #1 Triathlete
What does it take to be ranked the #1 International Triathlon Union triathlete in the world? In this episode we talk with Katie Zaferes, 2016 Olympic triathlon participant for Team USA and currently competing professionally in triathlons around the world as the top ranked triathlete.
Katie shares with us her athletic background from running cross-country in High School and college to becoming a professional triathlete. She discusses her mental preparation for competition and how she approaches her nutrition when travelling to so many different locations around the world.
In the ITU World Triathlon Series, Katie finished her 2017 season ranked 3rd in the world and her 2018 season ranked #2. So far in the 2019 season, Katie leads the world with a #1 ranking, sweeping the first three events of the series with victories in Abu Dhabi, Bermuda and Yokohama. Approaching the 2020 Olympic Games, Katie has set her sights high, seeking to bring home a medal to the United States.
In recognition of Katie’s ascent, USA Triathlon named her its 2017 and 2018 "Women's Triathlete of the Year."
You love running, right? Today’s episode is about ROWING and how the two fit together.
Today we get some advice from an expert on how to add something new to our training regimen that might make a huge difference in our overall training.
Caley Crawford, shares details on how to improve your running with rowing. We all know that cross training can be extremely beneficial. But, just like running, it needs to be done with proper form and technique to get the most out of it.
Can doing yoga make us better runners? Yoga practice has been around for thousands of years yet, there are still questions about its benefits and usefulness for runners who inevitably would rather be running than doing much of anything else with our training time.
Today we have Lindsay Junk, marathoner, triathlete, and president of YogaSix to share her thoughts and offer some specific yoga poses that benefit runners.
A background in nutrition and personal training as well as her experience as an endurance athlete make Lindsay a great choice to talk about the benefits of cross training with Yoga.
Lindsay already has 2 marathons completed in 2019 and we’ll find out what else she’s been up to for her own fitness. Our main focus, of course, is to receive specifics on how yoga can help us in pursuit of running excellence.
This episode will give you new insight on improving your running performance and reducing injuries.
Matt Phillips is a Running Injury & Performance specialist based in Sussex, England. As a writer for numerous publications and websites, he is a popular speaker at national & international conferences, and has his own bi-monthly podcast called 'RunChatLive' helping runners, coaches and therapists clear up the myths & misconceptions that are certainly a part of this sport.
Matt shares his research-driven perspective on heel striking, foot shape, the running magazine dilemma, the dangers and benefits of running teams, and the ever elusive sub-2-hour marathon.
HILLS! For many of us this word terrifies us because they’re hard, they’re uncomfortable, and we may not even know how to run them correctly. Up hill, downhill, hills for interval training and speed work, trail running with hills, it’s all part of the running experience. Yet, how many of us know how to use hills effectively and to our optimal benefit to improve our running?
In this episode Dylan discusses hills and why all of us can benefit from understanding how to run them better and how to utilize the power that comes from effective hill running – for racing and training. When we think of running hills, we often envision running up a road with a steep hill, running up a long but low grade, or the infamous “Heartbreak Hill” of Boston. But, as Isaac Newton essentially said: “What goes up, must come down.” and Dylan also shares with us how to effectively run down hills and how hills should be approached when trail running.
Kate reached a do or die moment, her senior year of college, a moment where she either made a drastic change or let her spirit wither away.
The 2 words that kept repeating were CHANGE and RUN. So with the need to feel powerful and the thrill to seek adventure and new roads, she signed up for a 50-mile race… her first ever running race with only 3 cold Chicago months to take her non-running self across the finish line of a grueling footrace in the backwoods of Pekin, Illinois (McNaughton Trail 50-miler 2007). That singular 50-mile race changed the course of her life forever!
In this week’s episode, Austin Martinez, Director of Education at StretchLab describes the 7 Essential Stretches for runners and why we need to include flexibility and strength workouts in addition to just running miles for injury prevention and optimum performance as a runner. These stretches focus on the following areas of our bodies: Feet, Lower Legs, Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Spine, Core, and Upper Body. (Ok, that’s really 8, but Upper Body is easily overlooked for runners and Austin gave us a bonus stretch).
What do zombies and ultra marathons have to do with each other?
We find out in this week’s episode where we talk with Undead Ultra book author and ultra runner, Camille Piccott, as we honor Zombie Awareness month in May.
We discuss Camille’s 3 zombie books with ultra running heroes: Dawn Patrol, Undead Ultra, and Dorm Life. We are in for a fun and provocative discussion of the merits of ultra-running and the apocalyptic potential of zombies taking over the earth.
Hemp, marijuana, CBD, THC... How are they related and can they help runners? Are they even legal? Can CBD alleviate pain and inflammation? What is the science behind it? Are our bodies actually pre-wired for this? There is a lot of chatter about CBD supplements, but what is actually known?
Our guest today is Caleb Simpson from Hemp Daddy’s Therapeutics. Caleb will give us the facts and fill in the missing pieces of the hemp/CBD mystery.
Ryan Hall - Run The Mile You’re In
Olympic athlete and American record holder in the half marathon Ryan Hall hasn’t always loved running. In his new book, Run the Mile You’re In: Finding God in Every Step, Ryan reveals how he got his unlikely start in running, both the “why” and the secret to the success of his 20-year athletic career.
He encourages others to run their own races with confidence.