For The Long Run: Exploring the Why Behind Running

Tim and I spoke before the Boston Marathon, a race that he grew up watching as an athlete and coach at Boston College, which is right after Heartbreak Hill. In the interview which took place on the Friday before the marathon, Tim shared that he hadn’t run in the last 7 days and more about the dark place he was in leading up to race day and how he was managing that. Tim had a 2:21 debut at the 2013 Boston Marathon, and has brought his marathon time down to 2:11:56 en route to winning the USATF Marathon Championships at CIM in 2017. We talked about what got him out the door the first time, his progression and how he keeps the fire lit as a pro runner. We talked about his love for the journey, both his own and those of the athletes that he coaches now at UMass Amherst and with McKirdyTrained. We dug into his Why and the spiritual and religious connection he feels when he’s running and racing. Tim runs for Saucony and coaches at UMass Amherst and with McKirdyTrained, and can be found on Instagram at @timritchiewtd

Tyler Andrews is a pro ultra runner who just raced in Hoka One One’s Project Carbon X 100k world record attempt. Tyler and I talked about setting challenging and very public goals, and why he loves continuing to do.  Tyler and I dug into what it means to be a successful runner, some tips on how to continue to improve over the years and his love of the process, and what balance means to him. Tyler runs for Hoka One One, Nuun Hydration and Strive Trips.  Enjoy! 

Bonus episode! We're talking about injury prevention and recovery, when to rest and when to keep training, and how to continue to be your own best advocate when it comes to the medical system!

Stephanie and I sat down while she was in Boston for the marathon, just after we shared a run around the Charles River.  Stephanie grew up in Minnesota, and raced Nordic Skiing and Cross Country at Northern Michigan University.  She fell in love with running on the trails after college in Bozeman Montana, where she was studying Exercise Physiology at Montana State University before she moved further West to Oregon to pursue a doctoral program at the University of Oregon studying Human Physiology and ultimately earning her PhD in Nutrition and Exercise Science.  Stephanie is the 2014 Western States champion, Course Record holder at the Lake Sonoma 50 Miler and has many other professional career highlights both academically and athletically.  Stephanie is passionate about nourishing the body through physical movement and real food. She also makes incredible pizza (trust me!) and loves cooking for and eating with friends.  We talked a lot about this some of the other components of running that fuel her passion for the sport, and what she’s seen change over the years in the trail running scene. Stephanie runs her own coaching and nutrition business, and also runs at the professional level for North Face, Clif Bar, Nathan, Squirrels Nut Butter, Julbo, Kahtoola, Drymax and InsideTracker! Enjoy!

Andie Cozzarelli is a pro runner for Oiselle, Generation UCAN, Jasyoga, Big Spoon Roasters, InsideTracker, and the newly formed Raleigh Distance Project, that she helped to create. In addition to running, Andie is a former engineer turned real estate appraiser. Andie’s been a runner for nearly 15 years, and has learned a lot over that time. Andie is all about the community aspect of running, and joining Oiselle’s Haute Volee team in 2015 helped to kick start that.  In this episode, we talked about the Andie's community focus, her health journey over the last few years, and what keeps her excited about running. We sat down while she was in Boston for the marathon, so please forgive us if we still seem to have a second hand runners high or a lack of a voice from too much cheering!

Peter Bromka is a marathoner with Bowerman Track Club Elite, a father and husband, as well as a writer and consultant living in Portland, Oregon. Peter has roots in the Boston area, attending Tufts University for undergrad, and is on a passionate journey to achieve the Olympic Trials Marathon Standard, a 2:19. In this podcast we talked about setting and striving for big scary goals, and what it takes to see progress like he's seen over the years.  We talked a lot about numbers and pace in this episode. While Peter's pace is faster than most, the goal is to help explain that no matter if you're running a 2:19 marathon to qualify for the Olympic Trials, a sub 3 marathon (or 3:30) to Boston Qualify, or twice that, you can always strive for more.

Amanda Brooks is a runner, avid traveler, coach, journalist, and much more. Amanda lives in Colorado, and has been blogging about running for nearly a decade. We talked about the progression of social media and what she's seen change over the years, her soon to be released book, her tips on recovering from injury, and much more!

Emily Saul is a mover, shaker, and hugger. As co-leader of November Project Boston and a sport psychology coach, she's all about the power of community and just showing up, for yourself, and for each other. In the podcast, we talked about sport psychology and the importance of therapy (both in and out of sport!), community, what keeps her motivated on a long day or on a morning where she'd prefer to ignore the alarm and stay in bed, where her energy comes from, and much more.  Emily can be found on Instagram at @emilysaulboston. Her new work is called E Saul Movement, and if you're interested you can message her on Instagram or through the Wellness In Motion Boston website!

Devon Yanko lives in California where she enjoys both trail and road running. Devon co owns a bakery called MH Bread and Butter. We talked about what keeps Devon excited about the running community, the Donner Party 50k that she helped support, sponsorship and how the running community has changed over the years, and all about the importance of being in control of your health and being your own strongest advocate.

Seth Waltz is a runner living in Boston with a running squad about as big as his goals. Seth, or "Common Athlete" not only knows everyone in the Boston running community, but runs with just about all of them on a weekly basis. We talked training, motivation, and how he went from nearly a 4 hour marathon to his goal of lining up in the elite corral at the Boston Marathon... and why that's important to him.