With the race director Bill Stewart
We were going to be in the area visiting family around that time and I couldn’t resist the chance to run one more marathon before the end of the year.
I’d never previously considered running an indoor marathon or thought it sounded like anything but torture. But as ideas do, this one continued to grow in my mind until I decided to just go for it (see podcast #128).
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When the New Year arrives many of us think about making changes and undertaking certain challenges.
Our theme for this podcast and year is “Just Go For It.” This is a reflection of what Trevor and I are aiming for in our business and running.
For most goals there will never be that “perfect” time. You have to make the perfect time.
Your goals and challenges for 2015 will be unique to you. But I want to make some suggestions on how to decide on goals and how to carry them through. Continue Reading →
Here’s a question from our Academy Facebook group:
“Ran my first marathon yesterday at the Dallas Marathon. One thought I had often “how the heck does Angie do back to back marathons without falling apart?!” –Ashley
First of all a big congratulations goes out to Ashley for running her first marathon! I certainly wasn’t thinking about running multiple marathons before or during my first marathon in 2008. It was just one of those big challenges that I had to do.
At the time I didn’t have any friends who were runners and didn’t know anyone personally who’d ever run a marathon. Despite making lots of mistakes in training I crossed the finish line in 4:10 and knew that I’d run another marathon.
However, ITBS (iliotibial band syndrome) forced me to lay off running for the next several months. But I knew that I’d learn from my mistakes and come back stronger. I recovered properly, trained smarter and ran a marathon in 2009 breaking four hours. From there it was a process of learning more, setting bigger goals and running more marathons.
Now I’ve run 29 marathons and know that there are many, many more in my future. Here are my tips for running more and recovering more quickly whether your goal is to run more 5ks or marathons: Continue Reading →
From our hotel room in San Antonio, Texas
We love San Antonio, Texas!
We recently took a quick weekend trip to the Lone Star State so Trevor and I could run the San Antonio R ‘n’ R Marathon.
We had a lovely time.
Here is our “world famous” race recap (with pictures). Continue Reading →
Rhonda Lee Foulds
I met Rhonda Foulds at the starting line of the A2A Marathon in Ardmore, Oklahoma, earlier this this year. We later became Facebook friends and she has become one of my biggest sources of inspiration.
In this podcast episode you will hear how Rhonda, a mother of three boys, witnessed her health and fitness deteriorate due to early onset Parkinson’s Disease and was forced to stop running and doing other things she loved.
In the years that followed she became very tired and depressed, gained weight, and needed wheelchair assistance.
In 2003 Rhonda underwent a procedure called “DBS” (Deep Brain Stimulation) which places electrodes in certain areas of the brain to block the signals of Parkinson’s.
The surgery was a success and she began to reclaim her health and fitness one mile at a time. She has lost close to 100 pounds, gone from thirty-three medications to zero and has now completed over eighty half marathons, eighteen full marathons and two ultras.
Rhonda is proof that you really do have what it takes to run a marathon and change your life!
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A day after the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon, which I ran this year, it was reported that the first place woman was disqualified for an inconsistent time.
Tabatha Hamilton of nearby Trenton, GA had finished the race in 2:55:39 claiming first place.
Upon closer inspection the chip times didn’t add up. It turns out her first half split was 2:06:51 and her second half was run in 49 minutes (which is 9 minutes faster than the current men’s world record)!
Reading about his unfortunate news made me wonder how frequently cheating goes on in the racing world, specifically during marathons.
Continue Reading →
Looking good and loving life. Colleen and Lee Staats with Meb Keflezighi before the Columbus Marathon.
In this episode we bring you a marathon success story with Lee and Colleen Staats, two Academy members from Galion, Ohio, who are transforming their lives through running.
They have both lost weight since starting to run and recently completed the Columbus Marathon.
Colleen set a PR in the half and Lee qualified for Boston by running 3:21:52.
They have both battled through injury and a busy work load to achieve their goals.
It has been my great honor to be their running coach. Continue Reading →
I’ve been thinking about doing a Georgia marathon since we’re within driving distance here in Missouri.
So after the Marine Corps Marathon I made the last minute decision to sign up for the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon in Fort Oglethorpe, GA on Nov 8, 2014.
It was around a 6 hour drive each way and we left the kids with my Mom and drove down there on the Friday before the race. I entertained myself by reading reviews of the race on Marathon Guide and was happy to see that most everything was positive. Continue Reading →
Marine Corps Marathon 2014. Photo credit: Elvert Barnes, Flickr Creative Commons.
In this episode we recap the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C., one of my favorite marathons to date. This is definitely a marathon I’d like to repeat!
One of the things that stands out about MCM is the exceptional organization and communication.
The Marine Corps motto is “Semper Fidelis” (always faithful) and they were definitely faithful to carry out an exceptional marathon experience. Continue Reading →
Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2014
photo credit: Gregory Regalado; flicker creative commons
In this podcast episode and blog post I recap one of the world’s largest and most exciting marathons. Let me take you on a personally guided tour of this amazing race. Continue Reading →
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I envision myself running my whole life but I’d never really thought about how the “mechanics” of aging would affect my running.
Hopefully by digging into this topic now those of us who are younger can be mentally prepared and able to gracefully adjust to the natural slow-down that comes with age.
This should also be a help and encouragement to those runners who are noticing an age related slow-down in their running.
Continue Reading →
