Latest / Hurdle with Emily Abbate / 291. Paving The Way: Marathoner Joan Benoit Samuelson On Dreaming Big & Her Lasting Relationship With Sport

Transcript

291. Paving The Way: Marathoner Joan Benoit Samuelson On Dreaming Big & Her Lasting Relationship With Sport · Hurdle with Emily Abbate

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The marathon is a metaphor for life. You don't know
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: what's around the next band, you don't know what an
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: opportunity is going to present itself, so you just have
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: to hang in there for the long run and have
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: the passion to persevere.
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: Hey everyone, Emily Abodi here you are listening to episode
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: two hundred and ninety one of Hurdle, a wellness focused
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: podcast where I talk to inspirational people about everything from
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: their highest highs and toughest moments to essential tips on
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: how to live a healthier, happier, more motivated life. We
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: all go through our fair share of hurdles, and my
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: goal through these discussions is to empower you to better
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: navigate yours and move with intention so that you can
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: stride towards your own big potential and.
• 0:57
  Speaker 3: Of course have some fun along the way.
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: Today's episode, let's just say it, it's a pinch me
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: moment for me. A conversation with v one the only
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: Joan Benoit Samuelson.
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: She was the.
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: First woman to ever win the Olympic marathon. For some
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: context here, marathons were part of the first International Olympics
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: in eighteen ninety six, but it would be almost one
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: hundred years before women were allowed to compete, and Joni
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: gives us the rundown on all of.
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: The history in our chat today.
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: Before nineteen eighty four, there was no woman's marathon category
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: in the Olympics at all, So talk about a trailblazer here.
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: Joan and I were both in Orlando at the same
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: time for the Olympic Marathon trials, which was outrageous within
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: its own way, and so magical because it was so
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: clear as someone who was in attendance that the crowds
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: were so lit for the women, not to say that
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: we weren't excited for the men, but to see the
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: hype that surrounds women's distance running right now. As someone
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: who identifies as a runner, it's really really special and
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: it's really exciting to think about where we're going from here.
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: Anyway, I digress.
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: I was so so fortunate to be able to sit
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: down with Joan on this special weekend. She was a
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: really big part of a Nike's project, dream Weaver, and
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: I'm going to elaborate a little bit on this project
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: because I find it so impressive. Basically, dream Weaver supported
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: a community of one hundred and twenty women across the
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: United States and their goal to qualify for the most
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: competitive Women's Olympic Marathon trials ever assembled in this support
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: of the athlete, it's basically what they did was they
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: gave them access to world Classike E Sport research lab scientists,
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: as well as connected them with women's marathon legends and
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: Olympians like Joni Hlne Flanagan and Kira Demato. And I
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: know a lot of jargon here, but out of the
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: women one hundred and twenty women as I mentioned that
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: were supported, fifteen of them made it to the trials,
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: got that qualifying time and towed the starting line in Orlando.
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: And it was so bone to lank.
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: Truly to watch the superstars chase their big potential. Like
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: I don't have the same aspiration to run at this
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: super impressive speed, but to see them just chasing something
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: so special and leveling up and supporting one another. Oh,
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: I still have chills just thinking about it. Anyway, Joni
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: absolute legend. I was so interested to hear more about
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: Project Dream we were from her. You can get more
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: information on that. I'll link the Nike News article in
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: the show notes. And then of course talk.
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: To Joni about so many things.
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: So much wisdom to spell here on everything from navigating
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: injury and longevity. This woman has run a sub three
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: hour marathon in five consecutive decades. She is still lacing
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: up and getting out there. We joked in today's conversation
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: about running Tokyo together. I don't have confirmation on whether
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: or not she's towing the starting line next week, but
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: what I do know is that if Jonie wants to
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: run a marathon together, she's just got to tell me
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: when and where to show up, and I'm game. She
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: also elaborates on her recovery practices, how she was able
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: to encourage her family to get active in sport, what
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: it was like to grow her family as she chased
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: her big goals as an athlete, and how much the
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: culture of sport has changed. Like I said, the first
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: woman to ever win the Olympic Marathon, so much has
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: happened for women in sport since she first laced up.
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: All those years ago.
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: And the technology also so much more advanced than it
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: was back then.
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: And trust me, she's got an opinion on all of it.
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: Make sure, if you're.
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: Not doing so yet, you're following along with hurdle over
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: on social it's at Hurdle Podcast.
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: I am also over at Emily Avadi And if.
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: You're not yet subscribed to the weekly Hurdle newsletter, I'd
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: love for you to get that in your inbox. It
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: comes out every single Friday. It's absolutely free. Another fun
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: way for us to connect. Me giving you my gear picks,
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: the things that I'm loving, what I'm watching, listening to,
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: and so many other things that you love about the show.
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: And with that, let's get to it. Let's get to hurdling. Today,
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: I have the honor of sitting down with Joe Benoit Samuelson.
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: How are you doing today?
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: I'm doing well, Thank you. I've got eighteen miles this morning.
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: Joan, this podcast, this podcast is not about me. It's
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: about you, but it could be about us. It could
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: be about both of us.
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: Actually, if we both go to Tokyo to get our
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: abb at six Stars.
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: You're really I'm the I just want to preface this
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: for everyone listening at home. Joan just asked me if
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: I wanted to run Tokyo together. What an opportunity?
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: Is an opportunity for me?
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: Oh my god, she's sweet talking to me. She wants
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: me to go easy on her. We're here in Orlando
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: right now, the weekend of the Olympic Marathon trials, something
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: that you are quite familiar with, the Olympic Marathon. How
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: does it feel for you to be here this weekend.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: I'm delighted to be here. It's really energizing to be
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: in the city right now with all the athletes who
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: will be buying for positions for the Olympic team in Paris.
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: So much has changed right since your heyday. If you
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: want to call it that.
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: Okay, age me forty years? Is that what you mean?
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: You said it, not me and your demographic isn't even
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: forty or forty is the mean? Age? Is that what
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: you're telling me? They're they're up there, So maybe I
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: have some wisdom to share with I.
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: Know that you have some wisdom to share. Oh please.
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: I wasn't trying to downplay how amazing you are. I'm
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: sitting down with the legend, truly, and when this opportunity
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: came my way, it was truly a shrieking worthy moment
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: for me. I was so excited to have the chance
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: to sit down with you, especially because we are surrounded
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: by so many people this weekend that are chasing their
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: big potential, something that you know so much about.
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: A little bit. But I'm particularly excited to be here
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: with Nike and the Project dream Weavers. Yeah, because I
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: always tell people and have to follow their hearts and
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: live their dreams, and that's exactly what all the women
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: will be doing here tomorrow.
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: Talk to me a little bit about Project dream Weaver
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: for those that don't know about it.
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: Well, Project dream Weavers is a Nike project, a bunch
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: of women who have the passion which is very important,
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: and the heart to give it their best shot with
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: their training in order to become the best runners they
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: can become and to try to achieve the Olympic Trials
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: qualifying time. And I think we have fourteen dream Weavers
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: here who have really come from Actually I think there's
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: sixteen Dreamwaivers. And that's actually my favorite number because my
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: birthday is on the sixteenth of a month and for me,
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: getting past mile sixteen and the marathon and feeling good
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: is critical. So it's a magic number. Yeah, it'll be
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: a magical number for all the women and men who
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: will be out here running tomorrow for sure.
• 8:44
  Speaker 3: For sure.
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: How does it feel for you to be in the
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: position you are now within Nike, but also beyond Nike,
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: having this opportunity to you know, foster young talent and
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: be the example for so many. We always say or
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: to be her, you need to see her, and you
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: have been the example.
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: Well, I really like hanging around with the younger runners
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: because they keep me young, and they keep me in
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: the game, and they keep me inspired. Sometimes I refer
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: to myself as the mother hand of the Nike Den
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: because I've been around the block so many times. But
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: you know, it's a two way road. We all have
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: something to gain from each other. And I think the
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: most important part of our sport is the community that
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: develops around running. And if you have a body, you
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: can be a runner. And whether you're in a wheelchair
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: running or whether you're walking with whatever you need to move,
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: it's just important that you're out there and doing it
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: and giving it your best shot.
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean community has certainly ebbed and flowed within
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: the sport over time, and when you started looked dramatically
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: different than it does now. All of these women buying
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: for a spot on Team USA give us some insight
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: in to what it was like for you to be
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: one of the first in this sport going after these
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: kind of big dreams.
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: Well, first of all, I have to give credit to
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: the woman who preceded me in sport, and I hesitate
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: to mention names because there were several women in this community,
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: but ROBERTA. Gibb who was the first woman to run
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: the Boston Marathon, followed by Katherine Switzer, and then there
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: was Jacqueline Hanson who really pushed Nike and the IOC
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: to encourage the inclusion of the marathon. And then Nina Cusick,
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: who was part of the sit down in front of
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: the New York City Marathon years ago when they didn't
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: allow women to run. So I owe a debt of
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: gratitude to all those women. But then when I was
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: in high school, track and field wasn't a sport for
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: a women. The so called experts in sport thought if
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: a woman ran more than fifteen hundred meters or the mile,
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: she'd do bodily harm and never be able to bear children. Well,
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty thousand plus miles, two children and
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: now two grandchildren later, I'm still at it and still
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: enjoying it as much as I did way back when.
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: Right because your high school at first had a track
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: club for women, right right, Okay a club.
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: It wasn't even recognized. Track and field wasn't recognized by
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: the state Principals Association. So my high school sports were
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: field hockey, basketball, where I warmed the bench. Occasionally I'd
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: get moved up from JV to varsity. But I was
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: a skier, so the coach didn't like the fact that
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: I was skiing on the weekend, so he benched me
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: a lot. And then I played a lot of tennis
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: in my youth because again track and field wasn't available.
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: And then in nineteen seventy two, at the end of
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: my first year in high school, Title nine legislation passed
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: and that started to open the floodgates for women and
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: girls to participate in sports. So really I came around
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: at the right time, And it's very coincidental or serendipitous
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: that Title nine passed the same year that Nike became
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: a company.
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: Yeah, do you remember how it felt to be a
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: woman As more and more people were becoming familiar with
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: seeing women be active, with having girls' sports teams, perhaps
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: when they weren't previously, there was their resistance to that.
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: Well, I grew up with three brothers, and I was
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: always carted around to their different sports, and there wasn't
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: really a lot of opportunity for me in the conventional
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: sports world. I remember hanging over the chain link fence
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: at my brother's baseball games in the middle of the
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: summer when they didn't have enough players to feel the
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: team and they played short and I was just leaning
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: over hoping the coach would say, Okay, come on in
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: and play. But that never ever happened, and so I
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: just hung in there. You know, you have to hang
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: in there in the marathon, and you have to hang
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: in there in life, and the marathon is a metaphor
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: for life. You don't know what's around the next band,
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: You don't know what an opportunity is going to present itself.
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: So you just have to hang in there for the
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: long run and hope then you know, have the passion
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: to persevere.
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: You mentioned loving skiing as well.
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: I know that in pursuit of what you love, you
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: certainly face some injuries starting there that have then continued
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: with you over time, and especially to that oh so
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: important Olympic marathon. At trials, bring me into your shoes,
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: you're gearing up for the Olympic marathon trials. You're not
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: in your quote unquote best body. How did that feel
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: for you?
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: I ran the Olympic Trials in Olympia and a wing
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: and a prayer forty years ago in May, and I
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: was running for Athletics West at the time, the Nike
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: subsidized Elite club, and I was training in Maine where
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: I was the most comfortable, training where I grew up
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: and where I lived today. But I needed help. I
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: needed somebody who knew biomechanics to try to get me
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: over that hurdle. And I went out there asking for help.
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: And I worked with the sports physio for the club
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: and he couldn't help me. But there was a very
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: good surgeon in town and he agreed to see me,
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: and a long story became a short story when he
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: agreed to do the arthroscopic surgery seventeen days before the trials,
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: and so I underwent the surgery. It was successful, but
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: at first I didn't think it was successful because I
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: was supposed to be ambulatory day surgery, and I wound
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: up in a hospital room. But when he came in
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: after the surgery, he said, are you surprised to be here?
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: And I said, yes, I guess the Olympic marathon trials
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: are a no go for me, And he said not really,
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: He said, your reputation has preceded you. I knew if
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: I discharged you today, you'd go out and test it tonight,
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: So I'm going to keep you here for full twenty
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: four hours. And then I did test it the following
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: night and it worked. And then I agreed to do
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: a sixteen seventeen mile run with Lisa Martin, who was
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: representing Australia in the Olympics and had gone to the
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: University of Oregon and was training out there. And I said,
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: if I can go that distance, then I'll go to
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: Olympia and run. And I covered the distance, and I
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: went to Olympia and the rest is sort of history.
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: I guess.
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: Wow, the even the thought of getting surgery one day
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: and then going out for any sort of test run
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: the next day. Nevertheless, in the weeks that would follow
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: racing a distance like the marathon, when you look back
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: at that Olympic trials, would you say that that was
• 15:44
  Speaker 2: one of the most difficult moments of your career.
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: Well, I always tell people when asked, what was the
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: race of my life. It was the Olympic trials that
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: was the race of my life. My biggest win was
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: in the Olympic Games in eighty four. But I still
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: can't tell you how I got through the trials that
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: close to the competition. And I guess I just believe
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: that nobody was training any harder than I was at
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: the time. And I loved my training. It wasn't sacrificial training.
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: It was passionate training because I absolutely loved it, and
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: I thrived on running longer and longer and faster and
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: faster in my training runs. And yeah, I guess you
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: just have to believe in yourself. And when I was
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: sort of discounted, like she's not going to be a
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: contender in LA, that's when I really got hungry because
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: Life magazine was going to do a feature story on me,
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: and then when they heard about the arthroscopic surgery, they
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: did a whole portfolio of athletes, and then there was
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: a little inset of me drinking tea out of a
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: mug in a lanes nightgawn like, oh, poor Jones, She's
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: not going to be able to compete. Yeah, I added
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: fuel to my fire. I always loved being Then.
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: How could it not add fuel to your fire.
• 17:02
  Speaker 2: And the fact that did they even reach out to
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: you for comment or did they hear that you were
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: getting the surgery and they counted you out?
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: Oh, it probably went to publication and messaging wasn't received
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: or whatever.
• 17:13
  Speaker 2: When you say that that race was the race of
• 17:15
  Speaker 2: your life, is it because that there was so much unknown,
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: so much unknown?
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: And actually when it came down to the trial date,
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: it wasn't the knee that I was concerned about. It
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: was the opposing hamstring. Because I was favoring the knee
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: so much, I didn't believe it was going to hold up.
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: And that opposing hamstring is what almost kept me out
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: of the trials.
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: Wow, well, I know that the knee, the hamstring, those
• 17:40
  Speaker 2: are just some of the things that you have navigated
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: in terms of injury over your lengthy career. So many
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: people listening to this right now have certainly navigated their
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: fair share of hurdles when it comes to injury. How
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: do you frame your mindset when it comes to navigating
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: the thing that you feel as though you have no
• 18:01
  Speaker 2: control over, like injury.
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: Well, I guess you just have to believe in yourself
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: and what you're capable of and have goals, and there
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: are always opportunities to compromise those goals, and you have
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: to sort of block that out. It's okay to set
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: intermediate goals, but don't compromise your goals. And I think
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: that I just block out all the negativity that I can.
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: I don't get distracted easily. I'm able to focus. I
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: think where I really honed my skills on that was
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: when I was coaching at Boston University and would train
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: along the Charles River and try to keep pace with
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: the shells on the river and the rhythm. That was
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: really helpful.
• 18:46
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: You mentioned running over one hundred and fifty thousand miles
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: in your career. For you, in running those miles, what
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: would you say has been the through line that you
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: take from sport through to your life.
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: There's no shortcuts in life. I've got to put in
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: the work, You've got to have the patience, you have
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: to face the challenges. I mean, it's all in the marathon, right, Yeah.
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: And as I said earlier, marathoning is a metaphor for life.
• 19:16
  Speaker 3: Marathoning is a metaphor for life.
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: You said that that Olympic Trials was such a big
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: moment for you clearly the podcast called Hurdle. Reflecting on
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: your running career, what would you say has been perhaps
• 19:31
  Speaker 2: your most proud moment of something else that you've overcome
• 19:34
  Speaker 2: thus far.
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: Well, just sort of as a sidebar. When I was
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: in high school, we had a cinder track and I
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: did try the hurdles once and I tripped up miserably
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: and still have cinder in the palm of my hand
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: from that accident.
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: I've only once tried a hurdle event, like an actual
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: hurdling thing. It was actually with Nike, and I fell
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: on my face.
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: But the other thing about that track was the infield
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: grew into the track, so you were really long, running
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: longer than a four hundred or a four to forty, so,
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: but I always counted as a four to forty, so
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: I was actually running slower than I truly was in
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: my split times. So never take shortcuts.
• 20:20
  Speaker 3: Never take shortcuts.
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: And now you have cinder in your hand for all time,
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: but a memory of overcoming a difficult hurdle.
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: Right, And you know, I started with the sprints, the
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: one hundred and the fifty and the long jump, and
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: then when I broke my leg, I didn't trust my
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: leg to hold up in a long jump, and I
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: couldn't run fast enough to do the sprint. So that's
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: when I went to middle distance, which led to longer
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: distances because the mile wasn't accepted in high school competition
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: until my junior year.
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you spoke about having a relentless self belief, let's
• 20:57
  Speaker 2: say it when it comes to navigating injury. But in
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: an instance like that, where we're talking about really being
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: down and out, what advice do you have to offer
• 21:06
  Speaker 2: to someone who may be in a similar scenario, just.
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: Not to lose sight of your goals and to understand
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: that there are lessons that are very valuable in the
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: disappointments and then the frustrations. And you have to be
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: patient in the marathon, and I sure hope the runners
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: tomorrow are patient given the heat and the conditions here
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: in Orlando, because it's easier to pass runners than it
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: is to be passed in the final stages. And I
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: think that holds true for life too. You have to
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: be patient if something doesn't come to you immediately, or
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: you're frustrated because of a challenge in the workplace or
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: a challenge with your training or your family, you just
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: have to wait it out and believe and keep your focus.
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: Keep your eye on the pie.
• 21:49
  Speaker 2: I on the pie, and you certainly had your eye
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: on the pie when it came to the nineteen eighty
• 21:55
  Speaker 2: four Olympics. Bring us there, bring us there with you.
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: When you reflect on that, what are some of the
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: first things that come to mind.
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: It was a great day, and I just didn't know
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: what the cards would hold. And I was staying with
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: a family in Santa Monica, just off the marathon course
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: that ran down Sandacani Boulevard onto Ocean Boulevard, and I
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: remember seeing a runner out on the roads right two
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: days before the marathon, and I said to my coach
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: who was coaching me at the time, Bob seventy, I said,
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: I don't know who that was running out on the roads,
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: but she was surrounded by an ingorage of people, and
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: she looked like she might be a marathon or from
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: another country. And whoever she is, I think she's going
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: to win a medal. And you know, the favorite was
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: the late great Greta Whites and her teammate Ingrid Christiansen,
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: and then there was Rosamota. Who that woman was? And
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: she did She won the bronze and then she went
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: on to sold to win the gold. And you know,
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: sometimes you can't tell a book by.
• 22:59
  Speaker 2: Its Do you think that because of what you went
• 23:04
  Speaker 2: through with your knee, that people had really counted you
• 23:07
  Speaker 2: down and out for the day.
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: Of I think they did. But then when I made
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: the team, I think they should. They should have thought,
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: she means business in LA. They should have thought.
• 23:19
  Speaker 2: But it seems as though because you say it that way,
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: that you had an idea that that wasn't necessarily the case.
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: Well, I knew I was an underdog. I knew I
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: was on home soil. I knew a lot of my
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: family and friends were going to be there, and that's
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: all I really needed.
• 23:36
  Speaker 2: That's all you needed when it comes to the way
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: that people support you, or where you garner your inspiration from.
• 23:44
  Speaker 2: What was the guiding force or the thing that lifted
• 23:46
  Speaker 2: you up as you went through your career.
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: I just think family and support. It was very important
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: in our family that we all show up at the
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: dinner table, and that's sort of a lost tradition in
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: many families today. And I think nothing escapes a family
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: when everybody's seated together. I mean, if somebody's troubled by
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: something or something's not right, it bubbles to the top
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: over dinner, and I think that's something we need to
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: think more seriously about bringing back. I think sometimes technology
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: and screen time get in the way of that. And
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: you know, I will give my mother a ton of
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: credit because dinner was always served promptly at six, but
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: I always wanted to sneak in a second workout, so
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: she did move it back to six point fifteen. She
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: knew how valuable how much the running meant to me.
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: But she was also the person who said to me
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: when I did my lap with the flag around the coliseum,
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: leaning over, she said to me, now can you quit?
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: And I said what are you talking about? And she said, well,
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: you've put me through all. I said, yeah, but Mom,
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: I still have goals I want to achieve, and she
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: supported me all the way to the end. She died
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: fifteen days shy of her ninety fifth birthday, So she
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: had a wonderful long life and held the dinner hour
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: for me and always was concerned about my knees. And
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: shortly after she passed, I had a partial knee replacement.
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: So that's another reason I want to get to Tokyota
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: run with you.
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: Hey, Hey, that lap around the stadium such a special
• 25:27
  Speaker 2: moment for you.
• 25:28
  Speaker 3: What changed after that day?
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: Well, I came through the tunnel, or I was in
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: the middle of the tunnel, and it was dark, and
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: I was all alone, and I was wondering if anybody
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: would be in the coliseum because it was the first
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: time the woman's marathon was being held, and it was
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: a Sunday morning. And I said, who's going to come
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: out and watch a bunch of women run for the
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: first time. A lot of the pundits thought women wouldn't
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: be able to do that exercise. And when I came
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: into the light, I saw the crowd. I heard that.
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: I actually heard the crowd before I got into the light,
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: and I said, whoa, there are people in there. And
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: I said to myself, don't let this moment in time
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: change the person you are, and make sure you give
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: back to a sport in a community that have given
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: you so much. And that's what led to the founding
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: of the Beach to Beach and ten k in my
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: hometown of Cape Elizabeth, with the help of Nike and
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: other sponsors and the other thing in LA that I
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: couldn't forget was I'd run a half marathon in San
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: Diego the previous fall, and I was told that there
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: was a big Gerden Life mural of me on one
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: of the apartment buildings, and watts did I want to
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: see it? And I thought that might be a bad
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: omen to look at it before the marathon. Should I
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: make the team because that wasn't a given. And then
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: I saw this Nike mural and that's what kept me
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: going through the hardships with the knee. I said, here's
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: a company that has supported me from the beginning of
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: my career and put this amount of faith in me,
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: I can't disappoint. And I grew up not wanting to
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: disappoint family or friends, or teachers or coaches. That's deep
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: in your gut and in your heart.
• 27:13
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and that's understandable, right.
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: You want to show up in whatever way you feel
• 27:17
  Speaker 2: capable of for the people that make you feel seen,
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: that make you feel valuable. It's why you talked so
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: passionately about wanting to be there for dinner for your mom.
• 27:28
  Speaker 2: You didn't want to disappoint her, but you also had
• 27:30
  Speaker 2: expectations and hopes for yourself. So combining those two at
• 27:33
  Speaker 2: times can prove to be difficult. You talk so highly
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: a family, and I'm so lucky that I get the
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: opportunity to talk to so many up and coming athletes
• 27:42
  Speaker 2: these days as well, so many of them talking about
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: the sacrifices that they have had to make as they
• 27:47
  Speaker 2: pursue their goals. I mean talking about this weekend, having
• 27:51
  Speaker 2: sat down previously with Kira Demato and then Emily sis In,
• 27:54
  Speaker 2: and I believe both of them talking so beautifully and
• 27:57
  Speaker 2: vulnerably about how the sport has impacted their family. For you,
• 28:02
  Speaker 2: aside from these dinner, these dinners with your family, what
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: was it like for you to try to prioritize sport
• 28:09
  Speaker 2: and also your personal life.
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: Well, I refer to my career in two phases BC
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: and AD, before children and after diapers. And it used
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: to be that I scheduled my day around my running
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: before I had kids, and then I scheduled my running
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: around my day after I had children. And I think
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: that was the biggest difference, and you just have to
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: reset and reschedule. I remember, this is one poignant story
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: I was. I am an avid gardener. I love to
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: feel the good earth. I love to grow what we
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: eat when I can, and with climate change, the growing season,
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: unfortunately is getting longer and longer. But I remember being
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: out there with our son, who was a newborn, and
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: our daughter who was about two and a half at
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: the time, and she was out there with her little
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: rake and try all in. Her son was in the
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: little rock room. My daughter had her babies too in
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: her carriage and said, Mom, do you mind watching my
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: babies while I go for a run? And I said no,
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: go ahead, enjoy it. And she ran around the house
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: and came back. She said, Mom, I hate to ask
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: you this, but if you watch my babies a little
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: bit longer, I can go to a meeting and then
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: go to the grocery store and run a few errands.
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: And I said, fine with me. She went and she
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: came back and she said, Mom, I'm not going to
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: run anymore. And I knew what she was going to say,
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: because it's every mother's guilt. I think, what do you
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: think she's going to say? You tell me she.
• 29:37
  Speaker 2: Was going to tell you that she felt bad having
• 29:39
  Speaker 2: to leave the family, right yeah.
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: And I said, if she says this, my career as
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: I've known it is over. And she said, I don't
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: know if I told you this, but I'm nursing these
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: babies and my boobs are killing me. So I just
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: breathed the greatest sigh of relief, and I said few.
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: But had she said what you said, yeah, that would.
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: So it's so great here at the trials in Orlando
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: to see so many young moms and to see the
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: families that have joined them, whether they're partners or spouses
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: or whomever, and the parents and in some cases grandparents
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: supporting the participants who will be running here. Our sport
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: has evolved in a very good way.
• 30:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and especially within women's distance, running more and more women,
• 30:24
  Speaker 2: I guess technically getting older, although like arguing how old
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: is quote unquote old? But women as they're aging and
• 30:30
  Speaker 2: still excelling so much in sport, it's such a beautiful
• 30:33
  Speaker 2: thing to see. You know, you made such great waves
• 30:37
  Speaker 2: for paving the way for women to be heard be
• 30:42
  Speaker 2: seen in sport, and now these women are doing it
• 30:44
  Speaker 2: in their own right in such a beautiful way to
• 30:46
  Speaker 2: say I can have a family and I can still
• 30:48
  Speaker 2: choose after my dreams, and that's remarkable.
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: And they're happily accepting the baton and moving it forward,
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: which is great. And just to see the support that
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: these women are receiving and to see the passion. And
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: you know, it's not only the up and coming younger runners,
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: it's the woman who might have had the opportunity to
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: play sports in high school and college, then had children
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: and didn't think they could run or participate in competitions,
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: and then they've discovered the sport. So you see these
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: masters runners and senior runners who are running unbelievably fast times,
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: and they keep me going as long as well as
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: the younger runners.
• 31:26
  Speaker 2: Well, and as does your family. I know that you
• 31:29
  Speaker 2: have now run a few marathons with your daughter. How
• 31:33
  Speaker 2: does it feel for you to be able to share
• 31:35
  Speaker 2: your joy of running with your family?
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: Well, more importantly, it makes me happy to see the
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: joy she has for the sport. And now she has
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: a daughter, So I look forward to running if Charlotte
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: decides that she wants to run. Charlotte's the granddaughter who's
• 31:52
  Speaker 1: feisty as heck. You know, to run three generations and
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: just to have it as a lifelong pursuit.
• 31:59
  Speaker 2: Yeah, speaking of generations, you have run a sub three
• 32:04
  Speaker 2: hour marathon in five consecutive decades. I don't know if
• 32:09
  Speaker 2: anybody else can say something like that.
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: I think there's a guy or two. But you know,
• 32:16
  Speaker 1: I really wanted to make it six decades, and you know,
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: the Sub two twenty marathon eluded me, and the sub
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: three and six decades probably will. But the passion hasn't
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: lost its fire. And the fact that I can still
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: run with everything I've been through and still enjoy it
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: as much as I did fifty years ago. Yeah, that's
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: a gift.
• 32:39
  Speaker 2: What do you think is the secret sauce that keeps
• 32:43
  Speaker 2: you running?
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: Passion? Yeah, and endorphins.
• 32:49
  Speaker 3: And endorphins both are important to the recipe, right, Yes,
• 32:52
  Speaker 3: are you a music runner or no? Nothing?
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: No, I'm sorry to say I run unplugged.
• 32:57
  Speaker 3: Oh, I mean I think that's great.
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: You know, I love I love to be one in nature,
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: and nature is hurting right now, and I like to
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: be cognizant of changes in the environment and know what's
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: going on out there, especially where I do a lot
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: of my training, on the coast of Maine, where erosion
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: and rising sea levels and storm surges are a real issue.
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: We didn't have these problems twenty thirty years ago, but
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: it's happening.
• 33:23
  Speaker 3: And as it's happening.
• 33:25
  Speaker 2: I know so often when stuff like this is going on,
• 33:28
  Speaker 2: it's like we want to take it upon ourselves to
• 33:30
  Speaker 2: do something about it. What do you find that you're
• 33:33
  Speaker 2: compelled to do about it.
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: I try to curb the carbon footprint as much as
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: I can at home, and if we all did a
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: little bit, I think it would be helpful. But I
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: think we need, especially as a population of runners, it's
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: a community of runners, need to raise the awareness of
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: ambient air quality changes, ocean acertification, lake beutrification. I mean,
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: we all love to run in beautiful places. You know,
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: maybe it's saved the beautiful places whatever.
• 34:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and even like talking about this right now, right
• 34:07
  Speaker 2: like you and I just having this conversation, which then
• 34:09
  Speaker 2: reaches other people. It's an opportunity for you to use
• 34:12
  Speaker 2: your platform to speak out about something that you really
• 34:15
  Speaker 2: are passionate about.
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: Well, you know, we grew up with parents who were
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: concerned about making do with what you had, and a
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: lot of us make do with more than we should have.
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: And I try to think about that every day.
• 34:34
  Speaker 2: Taking a break from today's episode to talk to you
• 34:37
  Speaker 2: about my sponsors. First up, my very good friends at
• 34:41
  Speaker 2: Bandit Running YEP, they are back.
• 34:43
  Speaker 3: In the mix.
• 34:44
  Speaker 2: And if you're a longtime hurdler, you already know the
• 34:47
  Speaker 2: Bandit's a regular in my outfit rotation. And if you're
• 34:51
  Speaker 2: not familiar with Bandit, there are Brooklyn based apparel brand
• 34:54
  Speaker 2: and they make some of the highest quality, most stylish
• 34:58
  Speaker 2: performance and lifestyle running gear you can find anywhere. They
• 35:02
  Speaker 2: just released their brand new sprint collection last week and
• 35:04
  Speaker 2: it is insane.
• 35:06
  Speaker 3: That's an understatement.
• 35:07
  Speaker 2: There's a ton of new pieces, beautiful sprint color ways,
• 35:10
  Speaker 2: and the highlight for me are two of their new fabrics.
• 35:13
  Speaker 2: The first, it's a ribbed compression. It comes in bras
• 35:16
  Speaker 2: and crops and five inch and seven inch bottoms. You know,
• 35:20
  Speaker 2: I am a seven inch girly. I won't lie. I
• 35:23
  Speaker 2: have one of each and I'm kind of obsessed. And
• 35:25
  Speaker 2: the second fabric I want to talk about is the
• 35:27
  Speaker 2: new pool slick shorts. They're fully perforated, so they're light
• 35:32
  Speaker 2: and airy and breathable and no matter how much you sweat,
• 35:35
  Speaker 2: they stay dry. Which yeah, that's a definite yes from me.
• 35:40
  Speaker 2: I don't know how it works, but it does and
• 35:43
  Speaker 2: you need to try it. Head on over to bandit
• 35:45
  Speaker 2: running dot com and use code Hurdler fifteen for fifteen
• 35:50
  Speaker 2: percent off your first order now in store and online
• 35:54
  Speaker 2: through April sixteenth. Again that code for fifteen percent off
• 35:58
  Speaker 2: your first order Hurdler fifteen h U R D L
• 36:03
  Speaker 2: E R one five at bandit running b A n
• 36:07
  Speaker 2: D I t R U n NI n G dot com.
• 36:11
  Speaker 3: Also have to give some love to ag one. Taking
• 36:16
  Speaker 3: care of your health isn't.
• 36:17
  Speaker 2: Always easy, but it should at least be simple and
• 36:20
  Speaker 2: math by. For the last handful of years, I want
• 36:23
  Speaker 2: to say six now, I have been drinking ag one
• 36:27
  Speaker 2: every day, no exceptions, even when I'm on the road.
• 36:31
  Speaker 3: It's just one scoop mixed in water once a.
• 36:34
  Speaker 2: Day, every day, and it makes me feel energized and
• 36:37
  Speaker 2: focused and strong and ready to take on my day.
• 36:41
  Speaker 2: That's because each serving of ag one delivers my daily
• 36:44
  Speaker 2: dose of vitamins, minerals, pre and probiotics.
• 36:48
  Speaker 3: And so much more.
• 36:49
  Speaker 2: It's a powerful healthy habit that's also powerfully simple.
• 36:54
  Speaker 3: With ag one, I know.
• 36:56
  Speaker 2: I'm giving my body the high quality nutrition that it needs.
• 37:00
  Speaker 2: Every single batch goes through a rigorous testing process, so you.
• 37:03
  Speaker 3: Know it's safe.
• 37:04
  Speaker 2: If there is one product I had to recommend to
• 37:07
  Speaker 2: elevate your health. It's ag One and that's why I've
• 37:10
  Speaker 2: partnered with them for so long. So if you want
• 37:12
  Speaker 2: to take ownership of your health, start with ag one today.
• 37:17
  Speaker 3: Try ag one and.
• 37:18
  Speaker 2: Get a free one year supply of Vitamin D three,
• 37:21
  Speaker 2: K two, and five free AG one travel packs with
• 37:25
  Speaker 2: your first purchase exclusively at drinkag one dot com slash hurdle. Again,
• 37:32
  Speaker 2: that's drinkag one dot com slash hurdle.
• 37:36
  Speaker 3: I just put.
• 37:37
  Speaker 2: Fourteen travel backs in my suitcase to head on over
• 37:41
  Speaker 2: to Tokyo.
• 37:43
  Speaker 3: Trust me, you won't regret it.
• 37:46
  Speaker 2: Go ahead, check it out. I do want to shift
• 37:56
  Speaker 2: gears a little bit. I know that you are, as
• 37:58
  Speaker 2: we've established, a long time Nike athlete now and you
• 38:01
  Speaker 2: have so much gratitude for the brand. Tell me a
• 38:04
  Speaker 2: little bit about what that means to you and also
• 38:07
  Speaker 2: what the experience really has been like for you. How
• 38:10
  Speaker 2: has it evolved as your role has evolved with the
• 38:13
  Speaker 2: brand over the years.
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: Well, I remember product that very few people in the
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: company remember today. And I remember my favorite shoe when
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: I was training for the Olympic trials in eighty four.
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: It was a shoe called the Daybreak and it was
• 38:28
  Speaker 1: an ugly shoe. It was tan with an orange swash,
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: and they had discontinued the shoe about the same time
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: that I was gearing up after the knee for the Olympics,
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: and I said, what am I going to do without
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: my shoe? And an angel from somewhere came down on
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: a doorstep with a big box of daybreaks. I think
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: they were sourced in Brazil, and it got me through.
• 38:52
  Speaker 1: I still have a couple of pairs that I haven't
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: worn yet, But I mean, the technology advancements have been
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: great for the athletes, but never forget your roots, never
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: forget where you come from. Because some of my favorite
• 39:07
  Speaker 1: apparel to this day is apparel that I had as
• 39:10
  Speaker 1: a young runner and one of my favorite pieces. And
• 39:14
  Speaker 1: Nike DNA came and took a lot of my stuff,
• 39:17
  Speaker 1: which my children were very happy about because they don't
• 39:20
  Speaker 1: want to be saddled with all the stuff I've collected
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: over the years. But I do have this orange fluorescent
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: hoodie and my mother sewed fluor ess and orange stripes
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: on the front side and a big X. This was
• 39:35
  Speaker 1: before the reflective running vests I do, and they wanted
• 39:38
  Speaker 1: to take that piece, but I couldn't let that one go.
• 39:40
  Speaker 2: It sounds like something my dad would do as well,
• 39:43
  Speaker 2: like I want you to be seen. I think first
• 39:45
  Speaker 2: he definitely bought me like one too many Neon yellow
• 39:48
  Speaker 2: items from Costco to where on my morning runs.
• 39:52
  Speaker 3: I'm an early morning runner myself.
• 39:54
  Speaker 1: And then I remember my mother sewing a Bowden singlet.
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: I went to go college and I wanted to wear
• 40:01
  Speaker 1: the college single at my senior year. And it was
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: a men's jersey because it wasn't a girls team, right right,
• 40:08
  Speaker 1: So and I still she tacked up the shoulders and
• 40:12
  Speaker 1: with red thread on the flat. So I wouldn't let
• 40:15
  Speaker 1: that go either. There are a few sentimental pieces, but
• 40:18
  Speaker 1: you know the technology that has taken place since my
• 40:21
  Speaker 1: early days to this day. You know, to put on
• 40:24
  Speaker 1: the vapor flies or the alpha flers, you can do anything.
• 40:27
  Speaker 2: With those shoes. Overwhelmed by it a little bit different
• 40:31
  Speaker 2: than those daybreaks.
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: I think the thing carry out those day breaks. I
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: mean they look like there's cement. I mean, it's crazy.
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: But then I was shown the track spikes that they
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: ran in in the nineteen twenties by this equipment manager
• 40:45
  Speaker 1: in the Bowden Cage, which is where we picked up
• 40:47
  Speaker 1: our equipment and I said, how did people run in
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: those shoes? If I brought in my day breaks, that'd say,
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: how the heck did you run in those shoes?
• 40:54
  Speaker 3: Yeah?
• 40:54
  Speaker 1: And anyway, but at the.
• 40:56
  Speaker 2: Time, they made you feel capable, right, And I think
• 40:59
  Speaker 2: that's the through line with even as technology evolves, as
• 41:03
  Speaker 2: the product evolves, people lean into their favorite items because
• 41:08
  Speaker 2: those are the things that make them feel like the
• 41:10
  Speaker 2: best version of themselves.
• 41:11
  Speaker 1: Right. But the most important thing is to be comfortable
• 41:14
  Speaker 1: in what it is you're wearing. And Nike takes the
• 41:17
  Speaker 1: feedback from the athlete seriously, listen to the voice of
• 41:20
  Speaker 1: the athlete, and they do.
• 41:22
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 41:22
  Speaker 2: And so, as I said, you have been with the
• 41:24
  Speaker 2: company for some time now, and your role has evolved
• 41:28
  Speaker 2: with the company for some time now. Talk to me
• 41:30
  Speaker 2: about how involved you are these days and what it
• 41:33
  Speaker 2: feels like for you to still have a seat at
• 41:35
  Speaker 2: this table.
• 41:37
  Speaker 1: Well, I just I just feel like I have a
• 41:40
  Speaker 1: lot of institutional knowledge, you might say. And somebody was
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: I'm into this cold water swimming, you know, And I
• 41:47
  Speaker 1: had an old pair of boots on at the beach.
• 41:49
  Speaker 1: A lot of my friends wear hoodies and gloves and booies. No,
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: that's cheating, so you have to go in just with
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: a suit period.
• 41:57
  Speaker 3: Okay.
• 41:57
  Speaker 1: He said, well why are you in Nike shoes? And
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: I said, as you discontinued the aqua socks. So I'm
• 42:04
  Speaker 1: asked with them and I think they appreciate that. Yeah,
• 42:06
  Speaker 1: And I call them on things and they listen, and they,
• 42:10
  Speaker 1: you know, like all athletes try to be better athletes
• 42:13
  Speaker 1: and better people. They try to be a better Nike.
• 42:16
  Speaker 1: He tries to be a better company.
• 42:17
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 42:18
  Speaker 1: I don't want to say.
• 42:19
  Speaker 3: They we we we You're part of it.
• 42:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and I laugh when you talk about the cold swimming,
• 42:25
  Speaker 2: you do it. We won't even call it plunging because
• 42:28
  Speaker 2: you're swimming. You're two minutest minimum.
• 42:30
  Speaker 3: Two minutes minimum. And this is why you're still running.
• 42:33
  Speaker 1: It's helped, it really has.
• 42:35
  Speaker 2: Yeah, what does that? What else would you say? My
• 42:39
  Speaker 2: bam Man friends think numb as a hake? But what
• 42:42
  Speaker 2: else would you say? Your routine looks like these days?
• 42:46
  Speaker 2: What does coffee?
• 42:48
  Speaker 3: Oh? What is there anything?
• 42:50
  Speaker 1: I didn't started drinking coffee until I was fifty.
• 42:52
  Speaker 3: Oh not that long ago?
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: No, okay, yeah, sort of.
• 42:56
  Speaker 2: But in addition to the coffee, let's say holistically, you're
• 42:59
  Speaker 2: well on this routine. You have the cold swimming and
• 43:02
  Speaker 2: obviously they're running, but how else do you take care
• 43:05
  Speaker 2: of yourself?
• 43:05
  Speaker 3: These days?
• 43:06
  Speaker 1: I cross train a lot. You know, I won't mention
• 43:09
  Speaker 1: any names, but I do have an indoor bicycle. I
• 43:14
  Speaker 1: like to chase the leader board and if there's any
• 43:16
  Speaker 1: woman over forty ahead of me or any guy over fifty,
• 43:19
  Speaker 1: I go after them. And yeah, I like to do that,
• 43:23
  Speaker 1: and that saves the pounding on my joints. And I
• 43:27
  Speaker 1: do a lot of Nordic skiing, and people think I
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: lift weights because I have some definition in my upper arms,
• 43:33
  Speaker 1: and I never lift weights. I just everything I do
• 43:35
  Speaker 1: is holistic gardening, skiing, running, swimming, no shortcuts, no need.
• 43:41
  Speaker 2: To know what time you get on this indoor bicycle
• 43:44
  Speaker 2: that should not be named, so that I could strategically
• 43:46
  Speaker 2: get on my indoor bicycle that should not be named radar.
• 43:50
  Speaker 1: Who do you like? We can talk about that.
• 43:52
  Speaker 3: We'll talk about that offline.
• 43:54
  Speaker 1: I usually have my coffee on the days that I'm
• 43:59
  Speaker 1: not running, but now I'm sort of getting hungry, especially
• 44:03
  Speaker 1: knowing that you're thinking about Tokyo and now I I
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: do two things in a day. Sometimes, Oh, you're double head,
• 44:12
  Speaker 1: ride and I well sometimes three wow, ride, swim and run.
• 44:16
  Speaker 2: Well, it sounds like you're really dipping into triathlete territory.
• 44:20
  Speaker 2: I've think on one and one was that when I
• 44:23
  Speaker 2: turned fifty. Okay, how did you feel about that?
• 44:30
  Speaker 1: I felt like I want to do another one?
• 44:32
  Speaker 3: Okay?
• 44:33
  Speaker 1: Is that.
• 44:34
  Speaker 2: Now?
• 44:35
  Speaker 1: Okay? That tears down there, because I could.
• 44:38
  Speaker 3: Be down with that. If you wanted to plan that instead.
• 44:40
  Speaker 1: We can do that.
• 44:41
  Speaker 3: We can do both.
• 44:42
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 44:43
  Speaker 3: Well, okay.
• 44:45
  Speaker 2: I think the thing that I'm so interested to know
• 44:47
  Speaker 2: because you have been such you've lived such an active
• 44:50
  Speaker 2: life for such a long time, and you're still after it,
• 44:52
  Speaker 2: and so I would be remiss if I didn't ask you,
• 44:54
  Speaker 2: aside from having passion, what else is it that keeps
• 44:57
  Speaker 2: you motivated to keep showing up day in and day out.
• 45:00
  Speaker 2: What are your secrets to still being able to be
• 45:04
  Speaker 2: so excellent in your pursuit of your own excellence?
• 45:09
  Speaker 1: Well, I think it's just a Jois de Ville, a
• 45:11
  Speaker 1: real love for life. And I think that there was
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: a rabbi by the name of Kushner. I think it
• 45:17
  Speaker 1: was Robert Kushner who wrote a couple of books, and
• 45:21
  Speaker 1: one of them was titled When bad things happen to
• 45:25
  Speaker 1: good people. And another one was when Everything is not
• 45:31
  Speaker 1: enough or something like that, and I sort of took
• 45:34
  Speaker 1: from those books the fact that patients who are diagnosed
• 45:39
  Speaker 1: with terminal illnesses start to live every day like it's
• 45:43
  Speaker 1: their last day. And I've been doing that for years.
• 45:46
  Speaker 1: I never take a day as for granted. But it's
• 45:50
  Speaker 1: come back to haunt me because now we have a granddaughter.
• 45:54
  Speaker 1: It doesn't stop. I think it's just because I had
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: a father who didn't stop. Yeah, and he was an
• 46:01
  Speaker 1: exercise theme before exercise was in vogue.
• 46:04
  Speaker 2: I guess what I want to dig into really is
• 46:06
  Speaker 2: the mentality that comes with this, in that you feel
• 46:10
  Speaker 2: as though you don't want to take a day for granted. Right,
• 46:13
  Speaker 2: So what thoughts do you have in relation to that?
• 46:17
  Speaker 2: How do you show up regularly with this mindset? Like
• 46:21
  Speaker 2: where does your head go? It's just an eate, It
• 46:24
  Speaker 2: just happens.
• 46:25
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 46:26
  Speaker 1: It's like you can't run anybody else's race. You have
• 46:28
  Speaker 1: to run your own race. Yeah, And that's what I've
• 46:31
  Speaker 1: told to many of my friends who are running tomorrow.
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: You know what you have inside you. There's not a
• 46:35
  Speaker 1: darn thing you can do about the weather. There's not
• 46:37
  Speaker 1: a darn thing you can do about your competitors game plan.
• 46:40
  Speaker 1: You can just do what you can do, and you
• 46:41
  Speaker 1: can do a.
• 46:42
  Speaker 2: Lot, and you can do a lot for you. How
• 46:45
  Speaker 2: do you feel about how far women have come in
• 46:47
  Speaker 2: sport in general? I know we've talked about specifically within
• 46:50
  Speaker 2: women's running, but so much has changed for women holistically.
• 46:54
  Speaker 2: So how are you feeling about where women are in
• 46:57
  Speaker 2: sport right now?
• 46:58
  Speaker 1: I think we're definitely moving in the right direction. I
• 47:00
  Speaker 1: don't think we're there yet. I think we need more
• 47:04
  Speaker 1: screen time. I think we need more digging into the
• 47:09
  Speaker 1: stories that really inspire others, because God knows, in this
• 47:13
  Speaker 1: world where mental health is a real issue, people need
• 47:16
  Speaker 1: to be inspired and people need to know that they
• 47:18
  Speaker 1: can do things like running.
• 47:20
  Speaker 3: Yeah, who inspires you, Joni?
• 47:23
  Speaker 1: Everybody? I come in touch with, all my friends, all
• 47:26
  Speaker 1: my family. There were very few role models for me
• 47:31
  Speaker 1: in life growing up because sports really weren't there for
• 47:34
  Speaker 1: a women. But I certainly was familiar with Billy Jean
• 47:38
  Speaker 1: King and many of the ski racers. I mean, these
• 47:42
  Speaker 1: are the women who played the sports who went out
• 47:44
  Speaker 1: there for us to be where we are today.
• 47:46
  Speaker 2: Yeah, how does it feel for you to be that
• 47:49
  Speaker 2: woman for so many other people.
• 47:51
  Speaker 1: I don't feel like that woman. I feel like those
• 47:54
  Speaker 1: women are there for me, They're keeping me in the game.
• 47:57
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 47:58
  Speaker 2: Do you have like a secret group chop with women
• 48:00
  Speaker 2: like Billy Jean King, Like, is there a place where
• 48:02
  Speaker 2: you all squat up and like talk about the future
• 48:05
  Speaker 2: of women's sports? No, I feel like in my pass
• 48:11
  Speaker 2: right here in this room, the posse's in the room.
• 48:13
  Speaker 2: I love to hear that. What excites you right now
• 48:17
  Speaker 2: Jony Tomorrow's race? Yeah, it's I think. I think we're
• 48:21
  Speaker 2: going to send a great team to Paris, and I'm
• 48:23
  Speaker 2: just happy to be here to witness it all and
• 48:26
  Speaker 2: hopefully congratulate the people who will be representing the United States.
• 48:30
  Speaker 2: And you know, everybody here will do a great job
• 48:34
  Speaker 2: if chosen or if they make the podium and have
• 48:38
  Speaker 2: the opportunity to go to Paris, and it's going to
• 48:41
  Speaker 2: be a great Olympics. It has to be. It has
• 48:43
  Speaker 2: to be to lift this world. Yeah, that's a really
• 48:46
  Speaker 2: beautiful point. I know it's so funny. You're so humble,
• 48:50
  Speaker 2: and I think it's absolutely beautiful. I talk to you
• 48:53
  Speaker 2: and say, you're such an inspiration for so many and
• 48:55
  Speaker 2: you immediately say, I am so inspired by them, right,
• 49:00
  Speaker 2: so clearly, so many look to you as an inspiration.
• 49:03
  Speaker 2: But when you look in the mirror, what is it
• 49:05
  Speaker 2: that you see looking back at you?
• 49:09
  Speaker 1: How the heck have you stayed in the game so long?
• 49:11
  Speaker 1: I mean, I feel like I'm thirty something or forty
• 49:15
  Speaker 1: something except for a bad knee and all the age
• 49:19
  Speaker 1: spots on my face, et cetera, et cetera. But you know,
• 49:22
  Speaker 1: age is just a number, and fitness and wellness and
• 49:28
  Speaker 1: health are free. They're open to everybody. All the all
• 49:32
  Speaker 1: the all the activities that can make a person healthy
• 49:37
  Speaker 1: are available. Yeah, don't question yourself. If it's in your heart,
• 49:41
  Speaker 1: if it's in your gut, just do just go out
• 49:44
  Speaker 1: and give it a try. Do it. Yeah, you know,
• 49:47
  Speaker 1: don't hold back. And I held back. I mean when
• 49:49
  Speaker 1: I first started running, I was a tomboy and I
• 49:51
  Speaker 1: was trying to shed that tomboy image. I grew up
• 49:53
  Speaker 1: in a neighborhood full of boys, with three brothers. All
• 49:56
  Speaker 1: I wanted to do was run on the roads. And
• 49:58
  Speaker 1: what I would do is walk to an end the
• 50:00
  Speaker 1: a band an army post near our house and get
• 50:03
  Speaker 1: inside the gates where at the time, no vehicular traffic
• 50:06
  Speaker 1: was allowed, and I'd run to my heart's content and
• 50:09
  Speaker 1: I'd go to the gates and walk home. And if
• 50:11
  Speaker 1: I decided that I had to get home to do
• 50:13
  Speaker 1: something or I was going to be late, I might
• 50:16
  Speaker 1: pretend I was picking flowers or returnable bottles along the roadside.
• 50:20
  Speaker 1: But then I said, what the heck, I don't care
• 50:22
  Speaker 1: what anybody thinks about me. I love what I'm doing
• 50:25
  Speaker 1: and I'm going to do it. And so that's what
• 50:27
  Speaker 1: I'm telling people. I founded the beach to beaconto my hometown.
• 50:31
  Speaker 1: As I said, I'd love to watch the elite athletes
• 50:33
  Speaker 1: from the work around the world come in. But my
• 50:36
  Speaker 1: favorite moment is standing at the finish line watching the
• 50:39
  Speaker 1: people who have been pulled off the sidelines because they've
• 50:43
  Speaker 1: been inspired by watching, you know, previous races. They questioned themselves,
• 50:48
  Speaker 1: they say, do you think I could do it? And
• 50:51
  Speaker 1: I say, just do it. And these are the people
• 50:54
  Speaker 1: that never thought they could go the distance, go the
• 50:58
  Speaker 1: distance and running, go the distance in their workplace, go
• 51:02
  Speaker 1: the distance in their family, go the distance in their community,
• 51:05
  Speaker 1: whatever it is. And that brings us back to the marathon,
• 51:07
  Speaker 1: and as a metaphor for life.
• 51:09
  Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, it really does.
• 51:11
  Speaker 2: I'm so happy that we were able to sit down
• 51:14
  Speaker 2: today together and I'm so amped to see you buy
• 51:18
  Speaker 2: my side in Tokyo and then obviously when we do
• 51:22
  Speaker 2: the like Placid Triathlon before I let you go today, Joni.
• 51:26
  Speaker 1: Let's no, let's just get to Tokyo first, Yiel.
• 51:30
  Speaker 3: That's fine. That works for me.
• 51:33
  Speaker 2: Right now, you have an opportunity to offer yourself a
• 51:36
  Speaker 2: piece of advice, knowing what you know now, looking back
• 51:40
  Speaker 2: on that moment when you showed up for the Olympic
• 51:43
  Speaker 2: Trials with so much uncertainty in your corner, what would
• 51:48
  Speaker 2: you tell yourself looking back on that moment.
• 51:52
  Speaker 1: Patience is a virtue and you need to practice patients
• 51:55
  Speaker 1: much more than you do today than I do today.
• 52:00
  Speaker 1: Oh man, well, I'm not a very patient person. I
• 52:03
  Speaker 1: want to see things like that, but patience is such
• 52:07
  Speaker 1: a valuable tool and it will be tomorrow in this race.
• 52:10
  Speaker 3: You wait and see, you wait and see. So happy
• 52:13
  Speaker 3: we were able to do this.
• 52:14
  Speaker 2: For those that want to follow along with you and
• 52:16
  Speaker 2: garner more wisdom and tips from you as they go
• 52:19
  Speaker 2: on in their journeys, how do they keep up with you?
• 52:21
  Speaker 3: How do they follow along with you.
• 52:25
  Speaker 2: I hold my carge close to my chest. Come run
• 52:29
  Speaker 2: with me, Come run perfect. I'll see you in Tokyo.
• 52:32
  Speaker 2: I'm over at Emily a Body and at Hurdle Podcast.
• 52:34
  Speaker 2: Another Hurdle Conquered. Catch you guys next time.