This episode with Tommy Rivers Puzey is a long, winding, and at times heavy conversation with someone I deeply respect and admire about life, death, cancer, identity, hope, potential, love, gratitude, and more that I feel privileged to have had in person and that I am honored to share here with all of you.
In the third installment of Common Ground, a monthly podcast co-hosted by me and Dinee Dorame of the Grounded Podcast, we catch up on all things Boston Marathon, talk a little bit about the new Red Hot Chili Peppers album, look ahead to what’s exciting each of us in the month of May, and more.
I’m excited to share the Racers’ Roundtable I hosted at Tracksmith’s Trackhouse this past Friday with guests Tommie Runz, Erica Stanley Dottin, Mick Iacofano, Caroline Williams, Ken Rideout, Katie Kellner, and Colin Bennie. A mix of first-timers and veterans, elites and age-group competitors, locals and out of towners, we talked all things Boston Marathon: how the Boston mindset is different from other marathons, dealing with pre-race excitement, lessons learned from past Boston experiences, what they were most looking forward to on race day, and a lot more.
This week I sit down with Chris Douglas, my right-hand man and sponsorship director for the morning shakeout, and he interviews me for the 200th episode of the podcast. In this conversation we take a trip down memory lane and discuss some notable episodes, we talk about how the show has evolved and grown over the past 4+ years, I explain how the pandemic has affected the past 100 episodes for better and for worse, and a lot more.
This week on the podcast I had an awesome conversation with Ben Rosario, head coach of HOKA Northern Arizona Elite, and Matt Fitzgerald, co-founder of 80/20 Endurance and prolific author of endurance sports titles, about their new book, Run Like A Pro (Even If You’re Slow), which was recently published. This was more of a Coaches Corner discussion than my typical interview-style show and in it we discussed what amateur runners can learn from their professional counterparts while covering topics like training volume, recovery, nutrition, having a champion’s mindset, and a lot more.
We are back with the second installment of our monthly cross-cast series that I’m co-hosting with Dinee Dorame of the Grounded Podcast, and in this episode we…well, we cover a lot of ground! We talk about music we’ve been enjoying, discuss some recent events that excited us, like the world indoor championships in Serbia, the NYC Half Marathon, as well as the the upcoming Boston Marathon. We talked about where we’re each at in our respective running journeys right now, brought up some recent developments in the running industry, and a lot more.
I love ladder sessions. It's a great feeling mentally when you start coming back down the ladder and know the longest intervals are behind you. This workout is not that and that's exactly the point.
I recently had a conversation with Nell Rojas, sixth-place finisher and top American at last fall’s Boston Marathon. She’s currently getting ready to line up for this year’s race on April 18.We covered a lot in this one. Nell filled me in on where she’s at in her Boston preparation and how it’s differing from her approach last fall. We talk about the role running has played in her life and how that’s evolved over the years. We discussed identity and why “runner” isn’t even one of the first things that comes to mind when Nell introduces herself. She told me about her relationship to her dad, the legendary Ric Rojas, who is also her coach, we talked coaching and what she’s learned from the amateur athletes she’s worked with, and a lot more.
This conversation with Phil Shin is one of the most meaningful and impactful exchanges I’ve ever had for the podcast. Please listen to it—all 2 hours of it. Phil is 51 years old, he’s a husband a a father, he’s a Boston Marathon qualifier, and he is out-running cancer one mile at a time. He’s actually going to run this year’s race on April 18 with his liver donor and friend Mark Murphy, who will be running his first marathon. Phil’s story is incredible, his message is inspiring, and I feel so honored to have the opportunity to share this episode with you.
Russell Dinkins is the executive director of the Tracksmith Foundation, where he will continue that work while also helping create more opportunities and inspire broader participation in track and field through various forms of advocacy and assistance. In this conversation we talked about the path he’s followed in the sport, track and field as a vehicle for diversity and educational access, how his relationship to running has evolved over the years, what he hopes to achieve through his work moving forward, and a lot more.
