Latest / The People Run Podcast / #25: 44 Marathons and Counting | Maurice Lowman

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#25: 44 Marathons and Counting | Maurice Lowman · The People Run Podcast

0:00
SPEAKER_03: The community part like being around other people that enjoy this stuff and think it's awesome to like put their body through this.
0:06
SPEAKER_03: So with the marathon distance, I jumped jumped in full throttle as well.
0:10
SPEAKER_03: So within the next six to twelve months, I checked off I think four more marathons.
0:16
SPEAKER_03: Um so I was averaging four or five a year minimum.
0:20
SPEAKER_03: There was a time where I did four in one month.
0:22
SPEAKER_03: So the number the numbers just um kept getting bigger.
0:25
SPEAKER_03: I had a run streak going.
0:27
SPEAKER_03: Um it wasn't the the monetary part of the gift, it was the fact that someone recognized me for doing something positive.
0:34
SPEAKER_03: So I immediately was like, this is what I need to be doing.
0:37
SPEAKER_00: This is what I was you got like a positive feedback, yeah.
0:45
SPEAKER_01: Hello everyone, welcome back to the People Run Podcast.
0:49
SPEAKER_01: Um, today's gonna be a fun one, and and I'm gonna start this off right off the rip on this episode.
0:53
SPEAKER_01: Got Maurice on.
0:54
SPEAKER_01: We were just talking and chatting up right before we started.
0:57
SPEAKER_01: The man is 43 and one.
0:59
SPEAKER_01: You're probably listening to us and thinking, what does that mean?
1:02
SPEAKER_01: The man has run 44 marathons, and I just want to jump into it right like that.
1:07
SPEAKER_01: First off, Maurice, thank you for hopping on, man.
1:09
SPEAKER_01: How you doing today?
1:10
SPEAKER_02: I'm doing very good.
1:11
SPEAKER_02: Happy Sunday, everybody.
1:13
SPEAKER_02: Thanks for having me.
1:14
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, of course, man.
1:16
SPEAKER_01: Happy Sunday, everyone, those on the grind, those who probably got their long run in today, you know.
1:20
SPEAKER_01: Uh, thanks for tuning in.
1:22
SPEAKER_01: Uh without further ado, Maurice, like, you know, so we started off right off the rip.
1:27
SPEAKER_01: You run 44 marathons, man.
1:30
SPEAKER_01: Like that that's that's a lifetime achievement, and you still go and like how have you run and why did you choose to run 44 marathons?
1:39
SPEAKER_03: So um, what's up, everybody?
1:41
SPEAKER_03: My name is Maurice from Providence, Rhode Island, East Providence.
1:45
SPEAKER_03: Um, I call myself the Marathon Panda.
1:47
SPEAKER_03: So the mantra is you can't call yourself the marathon panda and not be outside running marathons.
1:51
SPEAKER_03: Um, the overview is about 11 years ago, I got real serious about my health and my wellness and my sobriety, which is the number one priority, and running was the number one tool in my toolbox.
2:03
SPEAKER_03: I immediately jumped into the community and did my first half marathon um about 12 years ago.
2:10
SPEAKER_03: And I was infatuated with the community aspect of it.
2:13
SPEAKER_03: I was like, this has been the missing piece.
2:15
SPEAKER_03: I love this.
2:16
SPEAKER_03: Um, that's where the mantra, the high fives and positive vibes was born.
2:20
SPEAKER_03: So immediately after I did my first half marathon, I signed up for everything.
2:24
SPEAKER_03: I think I did a half dozen half marathons within the next six to eight months, and the goal the goal was to run the Boston Marathon.
2:32
SPEAKER_03: But at the time, I was very naive and didn't have the knowledge of qualifications, charities, uh world majors.
2:39
SPEAKER_03: I didn't get the significance behind it, but I had this goal.
2:42
SPEAKER_03: Um so I started with a small one, the Newport, Rhode Island Marathon in October of 2014.
2:48
SPEAKER_03: When I crossed that finish line, um the the training that went into it, the the finish line high, I like to call it, um, it made me think I never need to look for anything else in life, you know, as far as alcohol and substances when I can when I can get this feeling off of natural life and the community part, like being around other people that enjoy this stuff and think it's awesome to like put their body through this.
3:14
SPEAKER_03: So with the marathon distance, I jumped jumped in full throttle as well.
3:20
SPEAKER_03: So within the next six to twelve months, I checked off I think four more marathons.
3:25
SPEAKER_03: Um, so I was averaging four or five a year minimum.
3:29
SPEAKER_03: There was a time where I did four in one month, so the numbers the numbers just um kept getting bigger.
3:35
SPEAKER_03: I had a run streak going.
3:37
SPEAKER_03: Um, so this past October was the first marathon I did not finish.
3:42
SPEAKER_03: It was the Chicago marathon, my first ever Chicago.
3:44
SPEAKER_03: I was in with the charity, shout out run through autism, and I had to DNF at mile 19.
3:49
SPEAKER_03: We can get into that more after, but um, I was coming off of a stress fracture, wasn't 100% healed, um, banged up my foot at mile 11, pushed through the pain, and decided to pull the plug at mile 19.
4:00
SPEAKER_03: So that's why I'm 43 and one.
4:02
SPEAKER_03: 44 marathons with 43 finishes and a bunch of ultras in there as well.
4:07
SPEAKER_03: That's the real passion right now, is chasing down some hundred-mile goals.
4:10
SPEAKER_03: So I got those those goals to go after too.
4:15
SPEAKER_01: Let's peel that back a little bit, and we'll get in, of course, to all the stuff you just dropped there.
4:19
SPEAKER_01: But you start with a lot of half marathons, you know.
4:22
SPEAKER_01: Most people are scared to jump on that first one and and like train and get it fit and whatnot.
4:28
SPEAKER_01: You know, obviously you had a lot of motivation behind your sobriety and getting in shape.
4:32
SPEAKER_01: Like, how do you go from, you know what, I'm just keep going.
4:34
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna sign up three, four, five, six to just keep going.
4:38
SPEAKER_01: Um, how how did you even train?
4:40
SPEAKER_03: So I was I was really fortunate where when I started running and became consistent with it, so to dial that back and to and to go from the beginning, my running started with just just wanting to be able to run continuously for 20 minutes without stopping.
4:55
SPEAKER_03: So that was the first goal.
4:57
SPEAKER_03: And I would run for 10 minutes, and then it was 12 minutes.
5:00
SPEAKER_03: And then when I got to the 20-minute mark, I was like, that was pretty awesome.
5:04
SPEAKER_03: Then 30 minutes, then 40 minutes.
5:06
SPEAKER_03: So I had a big base.
5:07
SPEAKER_03: When when I say I jumped in and did a half marathon, at that point, I was already running 40 plus miles per week.
5:14
SPEAKER_03: So the the distance wasn't it the distance wasn't gonna hinder me.
5:18
SPEAKER_03: Um, the distance wasn't overwhelming.
5:21
SPEAKER_03: I was already running super consistent.
5:23
SPEAKER_03: I had just never done a race before.
5:26
SPEAKER_03: And the whole reason why I talk about the sobriety so much, it's the biggest piece of my story.
5:31
SPEAKER_03: I was actually in prison up until one week before the half marathon.
5:38
SPEAKER_03: And um my partner at the time, she knew how much the running meant to me.
5:43
SPEAKER_03: She signed me up for a half marathon the weekend after I got out, knowing that when I got out, I needed to stay positive, I needed to stay consistent, I needed to stay sober, I needed to do something that I loved that didn't involve alcohol and drugs.
5:57
SPEAKER_03: So when I when I went to that half marathon, not only had I never run an organized race before, no 5K's, nothing, um, I was fresh out of prison.
6:06
SPEAKER_03: And I mean, I I bought a pair of brooks from like the Marshalls clearance racks because that's what like the Running World magazine said to wear, and I put them on.
6:15
SPEAKER_03: I felt like ran the race and just like it was just like it was everything that I needed to stay focused and to stay consistent.
6:25
SPEAKER_01: Man, that's that's wild and talk about a uh a life change there, man.
6:28
SPEAKER_01: Uh crushing that.
6:30
SPEAKER_01: Um that that's like amazing, and you know, I'm glad you shared that as far as the story, like to come out and just get into running.
6:37
SPEAKER_01: I remember funny enough, I read Runner's World book once and it did say go to like Marshall's.
6:41
SPEAKER_01: It's like an older book to like get the sneakers.
6:45
SPEAKER_01: Um you just flashback with that, man.
6:48
SPEAKER_01: That's pretty cool.
6:50
SPEAKER_01: Um, you mentioned Boston, right?
6:52
SPEAKER_01: So like Boston was a dream.
6:54
SPEAKER_01: You've run seven of them, if I'm correct.
6:56
SPEAKER_01: Uh you know, tell me about that.
6:58
SPEAKER_01: How did why did it become a dream and how did you get to run seven of them?
7:01
SPEAKER_01: People want to run one.
7:02
SPEAKER_01: You can run seven.
7:03
SPEAKER_03: So um big shout out to everybody out there that's qualifying for Boston.
7:07
SPEAKER_03: Um, I never want to take away from that.
7:09
SPEAKER_03: I am a charity runner.
7:10
SPEAKER_03: I've been very fortunate to have run seven of them.
7:13
SPEAKER_03: Um, hopefully this April will be number eight.
7:15
SPEAKER_03: Um, so about two or three years into my running journey, once again, super consistent with running halves, running fulls, um, being the cheerleader out on the course, cheering for everybody.
7:27
SPEAKER_03: I have this attitude like, we're the lucky ones, we get to do this, I'm working hard, you're working hard.
7:32
SPEAKER_03: We all have a story.
7:33
SPEAKER_03: I'll sit here all night and talk about my story, but we all have stories.
7:37
SPEAKER_03: Um, so I really embraced that role as a cheerleader for everybody.
7:42
SPEAKER_03: And out of nowhere, a good friend of mine from the local running community reached out to me and was like, hey, I'm going for my master's degree, my kids are doing this, my husband's doing this, I can't train for Boston and I can't fundraise for Boston.
7:57
SPEAKER_03: Will you take my charity bib?
7:59
SPEAKER_03: And I said, Absolutely.
8:00
SPEAKER_03: So she transferred the charity bib to me.
8:02
SPEAKER_03: So shout out to Amy.
8:04
SPEAKER_03: Um, and I immediately, it was a it was a cool charity for technology for autism, very modest fundraising limit.
8:12
SPEAKER_03: Um, so immediately through like social media and word of mouth and a couple of community events, I hit the fundraising goal, did my first Boston, and the reason why Boston is so special to me is because at one of my low points when I was homeless and addicted to drugs, it was on the same streets that the Boston Marathon runs.
8:32
SPEAKER_03: So I have this mantra of running the street that used to run me.
8:35
SPEAKER_03: So to be somebody that's clean, sober, positive, doing something for health and wellness, running these streets of Boston where I was once literally on the other side of the tracks doing everything bad, that's why that course means so much to me.
8:50
SPEAKER_03: So every year when I go out there, um, it just becomes more special.
8:55
SPEAKER_03: And I've been very fortunate to get some charity bibs over the year.
8:58
SPEAKER_03: Um, over the years, um, I wear a full suit when I run the Boston Marathon, the full shirt, tie, dress pants, and suit jacket.
9:08
SPEAKER_03: It obviously it attracts a lot of attention, and it's that it's not just that hey, look at me attitude.
9:13
SPEAKER_03: It's like, hey, look what you can do.
9:16
SPEAKER_03: I'm just some guy that loves running.
9:17
SPEAKER_03: Um, and I turned my life around with this as being my number one tool.
9:21
SPEAKER_03: So if I can do this, then you can do anything that you're you're dreaming of.
9:27
SPEAKER_01: Man, that that's so dope, man.
9:29
SPEAKER_01: And uh, you know, you've mentioned a few times, but I want to pause and say, man, congrats to the turnaround, congrats to your sobriety, man.
9:35
SPEAKER_01: That that's an amazing um you know achievement and turnaround and everything you're doing.
9:39
SPEAKER_01: Um, talk to me about the suit, man.
9:41
SPEAKER_01: So you run in the suit.
9:43
SPEAKER_01: How how do you even run 26.2 in a suit?
9:46
SPEAKER_01: Like, what are the legit like does it hurt?
9:48
SPEAKER_01: Does it get comfortable or like at Mause 20?
9:51
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, I want these pants off.
9:53
SPEAKER_03: Well, there's there's so many cool stories about it.
9:55
SPEAKER_03: Um, it's funny.
9:56
SPEAKER_03: I was in the barbershop one day, and I'm reading a GQ magazine, and there's an article about a clothing company, and it the the headline was you could run a marathon in this suit if you had to.
10:09
SPEAKER_03: So immediately the wheels start turning in my head.
10:12
SPEAKER_03: But they're pitching this suit as being like a comfortable athleisure brand that you can go to work, jump on the subway, go to a work meeting, and still be comfortable.
10:21
SPEAKER_03: And it's comfortable enough where if you needed to like jog around the block, you could.
10:25
SPEAKER_03: Um, so I'm immediately thinking, I need to run a marathon in the suit.
10:29
SPEAKER_03: I'm a charity guy, I need to raise awareness funds for this charity.
10:33
SPEAKER_03: My run coach, shout out to Lori.
10:36
SPEAKER_03: She we both had this idea that I needed to do something crazy um to raise awareness and to get some attention for the for the charity that I was with, Rhett Syndrome at the time.
10:46
SPEAKER_03: And so we both kind of came up with this idea.
10:50
SPEAKER_03: I'm gonna run the Boston Marathon in a purple suit, okay?
10:53
SPEAKER_03: Because purple was the color of the charity.
10:56
SPEAKER_03: This company didn't particularly offer a purple, but they were super responsive.
11:01
SPEAKER_03: I sent them a message on Instagram and I was like, hey, I'm a Boston Marathon charity runner.
11:06
SPEAKER_03: I want to buy a suit from you guys.
11:08
SPEAKER_03: Um, any way I can get a discount or anything like that, would you be willing to gift me a suit for the marathon?
11:14
SPEAKER_03: And they immediately responded to me.
11:16
SPEAKER_03: Ministry of Supply immediately responded to me, and they were like, We can't give you one for free, but buy the suit, run the marathon, tag us, and we'll give you 40% back.
11:28
SPEAKER_03: Um, so I thought that was awesome.
11:30
SPEAKER_03: So that's exactly what I did.
11:32
SPEAKER_03: They didn't offer purple, they they dubbed it as lavender, but it was really like a gray.
11:37
SPEAKER_03: Um, so I ran the marathon in a gray suit.
11:39
SPEAKER_03: It was a big hit.
11:40
SPEAKER_03: Following year, I looked for a purple suit, um, and it was a very comfortable suit.
11:44
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
11:45
SPEAKER_03: So yes, I was hot, yes, I was sweaty, yes, people were like, hey, take off the suit that you'll feel better.
11:50
SPEAKER_03: Yes, my friends were like, you know, you could run a faster marathon if you weren't wearing a suit.
11:55
SPEAKER_03: Um, but that's not the point.
11:56
SPEAKER_03: I can run, you know, I can chase a PR on any other marathon.
12:00
SPEAKER_03: This this is this one day a year is the is the day where I can put the ego in the back pocket and say, it's not about me, it's about the charity.
12:08
SPEAKER_03: That's the reason why I'm able to run this race.
12:10
SPEAKER_03: Um so I I Googled, you know, purple suit, and I got this thing in in Amazon like a week before the next Boston Marathon, and it was purple, okay?
12:20
SPEAKER_03: Like prints, purple, rain, purple.
12:22
SPEAKER_03: So it was definitely the color, but it was polyester, okay?
12:27
SPEAKER_03: And it was very heavy.
12:29
SPEAKER_03: It rained that year.
12:31
SPEAKER_03: So by mile three, not only is the suit uncomfortable, it's soaking wet and it's heavy.
12:37
SPEAKER_03: So it feels like I'm running with like weighted arms and weighted legs, and I'm only four or five miles into the race.
12:45
SPEAKER_03: Um, but I had the commitment mindset where if I take this suit jacket off, then I'm gonna be the guy that ran five miles in a suit, not the guy that ran a marathon in a suit.
12:56
SPEAKER_03: So that was the motivation.
12:58
SPEAKER_03: Don't take it off, don't take it off, keep it on.
13:00
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
13:00
SPEAKER_03: And because it became such a big hit, I did it again.
13:04
SPEAKER_03: Um, then these last this last year and the year before, um, really fortunate to be hooked up with Lululemon.
13:12
SPEAKER_03: They gifted me a suit, Navy Blue, and much more comfortable, much more lightweight.
13:18
SPEAKER_03: And yes, it gets hot, um, but it was much more much more manageable to run 26.2 miles in a nice lemon suit than it was in a heavy polyester.
13:28
SPEAKER_01: I can't even picture it, man.
13:29
SPEAKER_01: And even running in the rain with the suit, it's just feeling heavy, three miles in.
13:34
SPEAKER_01: You got 23 to go and the hills of Boston.
13:38
SPEAKER_01: Oh boy.
13:40
SPEAKER_01: Shout out to you.
13:41
SPEAKER_03: The crowd is is worth it.
13:42
SPEAKER_03: Like the kids at Boston College are like, this guy's awesome.
13:45
SPEAKER_03: He has a suit, and I added the shirt and tie last year, and it was a it was a big, big hit.
13:49
SPEAKER_03: Um, there was once, so going back two years, I had the suit, and I'm I'm passing out high fives at like um athletes village, waiting for the bus.
13:57
SPEAKER_03: I mean, getting all the buses and everything, and and I remember meeting these guys, um, they have a pr a pretty well-known podcast, and basically it was very hot that year, and people were like, Is this guy really gonna wear a suit for 26 miles?
14:11
SPEAKER_03: And at the end of the day, the race is over, we're home, everybody's doing their social media thing and everything.
14:17
SPEAKER_03: My friend sends me a message, it's a link to a podcast, and these guys were talking about the guy with the suit, saying, Oh, I bet you he took it off mile five.
14:28
SPEAKER_03: Um, with the other guy was like, No, he was pretty positive.
14:30
SPEAKER_03: Um, I bet you he took it off at like mile 10, and the other guy was like, No, I give him to like mile 13 because that's when it really got hot.
14:38
SPEAKER_03: He probably took it off at mile 13.
14:40
SPEAKER_03: So my friend's message was like, I know this guy, and he didn't take the suit off at mile 13 because that guy is you.
14:47
SPEAKER_03: And it was like, it was so cool.
14:49
SPEAKER_03: Like, I obviously like the attention, but it's just so fun and exciting.
14:53
SPEAKER_03: Um, and once again, it helps me awareness for for the charity.
14:59
SPEAKER_01: What goes through your mind, man, when you're going to Boston, given what you shared?
15:02
SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, it's it's for you, it sounds like it's kind of like a homecoming of change.
15:06
SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, you used to be on the other end of Boston on the course, you know, with addiction, whatnot.
15:12
SPEAKER_01: Now you run it every year.
15:13
SPEAKER_01: Like, what goes through your mind as you're about to do the start line or you're finishing it and you get all the crowd cheer and stuff from Boston?
15:20
SPEAKER_03: So it's the number one thing is like the privilege, the gratitude.
15:24
SPEAKER_03: Um, I have these mantras like, you know, be grateful for the grind.
15:27
SPEAKER_03: We are the lucky ones.
15:28
SPEAKER_03: Like, we get to do this.
15:29
SPEAKER_03: Like, nobody's making me sign up for a marathon.
15:32
SPEAKER_03: Nobody's and my whole thing is like the running community, we're we're so fortunate that it's so inclusive.
15:40
SPEAKER_03: I've never had a bad experience with with inclusivity when it comes to um when it comes to running.
15:45
SPEAKER_03: And not everybody can Yeah, not everybody can afford to race, not everybody can um afford to travel.
15:53
SPEAKER_03: So to have something of such significance, like a world-known marathon, close enough to be able to afford to travel, close enough to be able to um to get there and train for it and train on the course, it's a privilege, it's a gift, it's a blessing.
16:07
SPEAKER_03: So the gratitude always fuels me.
16:10
SPEAKER_03: And I I really want to be the voice of like, we are the lucky ones.
16:16
SPEAKER_03: Like, if I love the Boston Celtics, I'm not gonna open up the garden and let me play with the Boston Celtics because I'm just not that good.
16:23
SPEAKER_03: I'm not that good at running, but I love to do it, and the community lets us go out there and run on the same day as the professionals and the people that are competing at a high level.
16:33
SPEAKER_03: Um, and it's a it's a it's a true, it's a two-way street.
16:36
SPEAKER_03: When I'm out at these races, even when it's a a local race, I love like an out and back.
16:42
SPEAKER_03: Let's say you're a guy that runs 30 minutes faster than me and you're on the way back, and I haven't even made it to the turnaround.
16:49
SPEAKER_03: I'm the guy screaming at you, awesome work, awesome work, go get it, go get it, finish strong.
16:55
SPEAKER_03: And when I get that high five in return, or when I get somebody come up to me after the race, like, hey bro, man, like you really pumped me up.
17:01
SPEAKER_03: I had three miles left and I was fading, and you really hype me up, like I love your energy.
17:06
SPEAKER_03: That's rewarding to me too.
17:08
SPEAKER_03: So, yes, I'm doing it.
17:09
SPEAKER_03: And I I have friends that are like, you know, if you weren't yelling and screaming, you'd probably run a little bit faster.
17:14
SPEAKER_03: But I'm not gonna I'm not gonna win.
17:16
SPEAKER_03: I'm not gonna win the thing, and I'm not gonna change my style of being that loud, positive voice of chairing for everybody.
17:23
SPEAKER_03: So the whole the whole mindset is always gratitude.
17:26
SPEAKER_03: When things get hard, like I've been through way, way harder things.
17:30
SPEAKER_03: Um yeah, and that's that's what fuels me.
17:33
SPEAKER_03: Like I joke around and say things like, I mean, I walked miles before just to like go get alcohol or drugs, so I can run, you know what I mean?
17:41
SPEAKER_03: If I now that I'm physically and and mentally and emotionally capable to do this stuff, like I can run for three hours, I can run for four hours, that's no problem.
17:50
SPEAKER_01: No, I love it, man.
17:52
SPEAKER_01: It it uh, you know, from anything I've seen from you, and you know, even before we chopped it up here, um, it seems like you run for fun and have a lot of fun while running, and a lot of people lose that when they get serious or chase PRs and whatnot, and and you out there crushing and having fun.
18:06
SPEAKER_03: I I embrace that, and at the same time, there was a like if you're chasing a PR, obviously you're not gonna stop for the selfies and the hugs and the high fives.
18:14
SPEAKER_03: And I I have had a couple of races where I've really focused, um, put the number put the training numbers in, put the speed work in, and really dialed down to execute a pace on race day, and you put the blinders on, and that race isn't about the high fives and the selfies and and stopping to scream and yell.
18:34
SPEAKER_03: And it's funny, like one time at the Providence Marathon, um, my run coach Lori, she paced me the entire way to my current marathon PR, which is 341, just to put that in perspective.
18:46
SPEAKER_03: I totally that fast, but um, but it's funny because like I had a family friend, and afterwards she's like, I've never seen you more focused.
18:54
SPEAKER_03: Like you ran right by, you didn't stop for the selfie, you didn't stop for the high five.
18:57
SPEAKER_03: Because most of the time, people are like, Why are you stopping for a selfie?
19:00
SPEAKER_03: Like you're running a marathon.
19:01
SPEAKER_03: I'm like, I'm not gonna win this thing.
19:03
SPEAKER_03: Like, you know, I'm having fun.
19:04
SPEAKER_03: But there are days where you go out there and you want to execute and you want to prove that you can you can beat your personal record.
19:11
SPEAKER_01: No, for sure, for sure.
19:13
SPEAKER_01: You know, you've run a lot of them, right?
19:14
SPEAKER_01: All kinds of races.
19:15
SPEAKER_01: We we mentioned we started with 43 and 1, but you've run also a lot of halves, I'm sure other distances.
19:20
SPEAKER_01: You've done so many races.
19:21
SPEAKER_01: What has been some of your favorite races you've done?
19:24
SPEAKER_03: So the Boston Marathon ranks up there.
19:27
SPEAKER_03: Um, and then I get into the Ultra community um several years ago, and there's a local one that we do every single year on the hottest day of the year.
19:35
SPEAKER_03: Sometimes it's in the middle of August.
19:37
SPEAKER_03: It's called the Anchor Ultra.
19:39
SPEAKER_03: It's a 24-hour event.
19:41
SPEAKER_03: You run a 2.4 mile loop over and over again for 24 hours.
19:45
SPEAKER_03: You start at night, so you run through the night.
19:47
SPEAKER_03: You have 12 hours before the sun even comes up, and it's very challenging.
19:51
SPEAKER_03: It's half trail, half pavement.
19:53
SPEAKER_03: Um, it's very challenging.
19:55
SPEAKER_03: It's a ton of fun.
19:56
SPEAKER_03: There's people out there competing for 100 plus mile finishes, men and women.
20:01
SPEAKER_03: Um, I think the winner one year was like 120.
20:04
SPEAKER_03: Um, to put that in perspective, I've never gotten more than 90.
20:07
SPEAKER_03: Um, signups are this week, and I'm going back for my fourth year to get the elusive buckle.
20:12
SPEAKER_03: You get the buckle for a hundred miles.
20:14
SPEAKER_03: You only need like 60 miles to get the medal.
20:17
SPEAKER_03: Um, so I'm not going in for the medal, I'm going for the buckle.
20:20
SPEAKER_03: Um, that's one of my favorites.
20:22
SPEAKER_03: And then I recently, not recently, but a couple years back, did the Daytona 100 down in Florida.
20:28
SPEAKER_03: Um so it's warm, it's flat.
20:31
SPEAKER_03: You can't get lost, because I've I've gotten lost in some of these ultras.
20:35
SPEAKER_03: Um, you can't get lost.
20:36
SPEAKER_03: It's warm, it's flat.
20:37
SPEAKER_03: And the aid stations are like just insane.
20:40
SPEAKER_03: There's people with grills making you cheeseburgers, like your family can drive along and meet you 20 miles down the road and do it, give you anything that you need.
20:50
SPEAKER_03: Um, so that became one of my favorites, even though I've only done it once.
20:53
SPEAKER_03: I can't wait to be able to get back out there and do it.
20:56
SPEAKER_03: And that's what's so cool about running.
20:59
SPEAKER_03: Ten years ago, I wasn't in uh a financial situation to be able to travel to Florida.
21:05
SPEAKER_03: I wasn't in a situation physically to be able to do 100 miles.
21:09
SPEAKER_03: So to see the doors that open, to see the progress that you can make in life by just applying that marathon mindset to everything.
21:16
SPEAKER_03: I've advanced professionally, I've advanced financially, um, I've advanced physically to be able to do these things.
21:23
SPEAKER_03: So it's always gratitude where I'm like, you get to do like it, this is crazy.
21:27
SPEAKER_03: Like people like you do you that's crazy that you do that, but like I look at it as like I get to do this.
21:33
SPEAKER_03: This is crazy, like yes, it's crazy, but I'm physically, mentally, emotionally, financially able to do stuff.
21:40
SPEAKER_03: It's a it's a true gift, especially when I look at the contrast of the things that I used to spend my time, money, and energy on.
21:49
SPEAKER_03: All the negative stuff that doesn't get you anywhere.
21:51
SPEAKER_03: So to be out there doing something positive, like I can't say enough about the running community um and what it means to me.
22:00
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, for sure, man.
22:01
SPEAKER_01: Uh couldn't have said it better.
22:03
SPEAKER_01: It's like we get to do this, you know.
22:04
SPEAKER_01: Some people can't, some people can't even run.
22:06
SPEAKER_01: So for us to be able to travel and you know, share experiences and all that is definitely a blessing for sure.
22:13
SPEAKER_01: So you're doing ultras now, right?
22:14
SPEAKER_01: Like, what was that change like?
22:16
SPEAKER_01: What got you into ultras?
22:18
SPEAKER_03: Um, so I volunteered um at my first 24-hour event, that one that I just mentioned, the Anchored Down Ultra.
22:24
SPEAKER_03: And I just did like a four-hour shift where um I manned one of the aid stations, passed out water, I helped set up some of the food tables, um, I helped direct some traffic in the park.
22:36
SPEAKER_03: And I think the four hours turned to like six hours because I didn't want to leave.
22:40
SPEAKER_03: But um it's gone through my mind and I'm seeing these runners, and I'm like, wait, they're not stopping in four hours, they're not stopping in eight hours.
22:49
SPEAKER_03: Like, they're gonna keep going till tomorrow.
22:52
SPEAKER_03: Like, that is so awesome.
22:53
SPEAKER_03: Like, that is so badass.
22:55
SPEAKER_03: I was like, I want to be one of these people.
22:57
SPEAKER_03: How do I do this?
22:59
SPEAKER_03: So, like, I immediately looked up the qualifications.
23:02
SPEAKER_03: You had to do like a 12-hour event to qualify.
23:06
SPEAKER_03: Um, I had already planned my very first um, I think this was around COVID time, so things had turned virtual.
23:14
SPEAKER_03: So it worked out because there was like this ultra marathon down in I want up in like Pennsylvania or something like that.
23:21
SPEAKER_03: And I technically I couldn't have gotten the time off of work, and I it would have been a stretch to try to afford to make the trip.
23:26
SPEAKER_03: So it worked out that it was virtual because I was like, I can run for eight hours in my in my neighborhood.
23:31
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
23:31
SPEAKER_03: So that's exactly what I did.
23:32
SPEAKER_03: I got two of my buddies.
23:34
SPEAKER_03: Um, we set up an aid station in my shed and with food and fruit and hydration and all that stuff, and I just ran the streets that I know for eight hours, finished the race, and that was technically my first ultra marathon on ultra sign up.
23:49
SPEAKER_03: Got me right in the mindset of like, I'm signing up for this 12-hour event.
23:54
SPEAKER_03: So I do this event called the Hamster Wheel, the dumbest race in New Hampshire.
23:57
SPEAKER_03: It's a four-mile loop over and over again, either 12, 24, or 30 hours.
24:02
SPEAKER_03: Um, so I did the 12 that qualified me to sign up for the 24.
24:06
SPEAKER_03: I signed up for the 24 the next year, and I was just like, uh, like just because it's amazing what the body and the mind can do.
24:13
SPEAKER_03: Um, you just tap into things and and it once again, it and like I told you, I have a story, but we all have stories.
24:21
SPEAKER_03: Like there's people dealing with a lot in life, and um that's that's one of that's the logic behind the suit.
24:26
SPEAKER_03: Like, there are people in life facing much bigger challenges than me putting on a jacket and a pair of pants and running 26 miles.
24:34
SPEAKER_03: Like, like you said, we're like you agreed with me that we're lucky that we can do this.
24:38
SPEAKER_03: We're in physical shape, we're in shape.
24:40
SPEAKER_03: There's people that wake up every day and can't say that, and there's people that have family members that can't say that.
24:46
SPEAKER_03: So I keep that in mind.
24:47
SPEAKER_03: And you run and that's where these mantras come from.
24:50
SPEAKER_03: Like, run for those that can't, and and stuff like that, and be a light and and let and like spread that love and that hope and everything.
24:57
SPEAKER_03: In the ultra community, you meet you do meet a lot of people that have overcome addiction, but once again, I don't I never want my story to be just a one-street story um where it's just about addiction because you could be overcoming grief, mental health, um, weight loss, anything.
25:13
SPEAKER_03: You know, the running helped me when I lost my job.
25:16
SPEAKER_03: Like I I I was kind of you know very surprised when I I had my first corporate sales job.
25:21
SPEAKER_03: I was doing great.
25:22
SPEAKER_03: I got promoted, I had my own department, all this stuff, and I get laid off.
25:25
SPEAKER_03: And I was like, what am I gonna do?
25:27
SPEAKER_03: Well, I know I can go running tonight.
25:29
SPEAKER_03: I know I can go running tomorrow.
25:31
SPEAKER_03: I know I can start yelling and screaming on Instagram tomorrow morning and get some positive feedback.
25:35
SPEAKER_03: So I had that foundation, I had that community where I had something to do that wasn't gonna detour me from staying positive and from staying uh from staying sober.
25:46
SPEAKER_03: I had the running community, and the ultra community is just that on steroids.
25:50
SPEAKER_03: It really is.
25:53
SPEAKER_01: No, that's dope, man, for sure.
25:54
SPEAKER_01: Like um it's it's crazy to like just to hear and see.
26:00
SPEAKER_01: You know, where would you um I wanted to ask you, like, where's the drive come from?
26:05
SPEAKER_01: Obviously, you made the switch.
26:06
SPEAKER_01: You're you know, you want to motivate and push others, like you said, not be one story.
26:10
SPEAKER_01: Um, did you have like some kind of mentor as you was going through the transition change?
26:14
SPEAKER_01: Like you could have done anything, you could have gone into basketball, baseball, uh, uh lifting, which I know you do, but you picked running and then you know now you're motivating people, like someone you looked up to, it just clicked one day.
26:26
SPEAKER_01: What was it?
26:28
SPEAKER_03: It did just click one day.
26:29
SPEAKER_03: So running was always my go-to exercise.
26:32
SPEAKER_03: Like when I was drinking and and drugging and I had a bad weekend.
26:36
SPEAKER_03: Um, maybe by Sunday I'm trying to shake it off, like trying to wipe the dirt off your shoulders per se, and I'd go for a run.
26:42
SPEAKER_03: I'd put on some sweats or some and some sneakers, and I'd go for a run.
26:46
SPEAKER_03: And the immediate increase in self-esteem, self-confidence, that's that's what I was chasing.
26:52
SPEAKER_03: I was like, this feels good.
26:54
SPEAKER_03: I'm doing something good.
26:55
SPEAKER_03: That runner's high per se, but I was never consistent with it.
27:00
SPEAKER_03: I was never consistent with it.
27:01
SPEAKER_03: But once again, I would always turn to it whenever I needed it.
27:05
SPEAKER_03: So when I got serious about the health, the wellness, and the sobriety, I was like, I'm gonna run.
27:10
SPEAKER_03: And it's funny, at the for the program that I was in, you couldn't leave the property.
27:14
SPEAKER_03: I used to run in the parking lot for 20, 30 minutes a day, and I couldn't leave.
27:20
SPEAKER_03: And then I couldn't wait for that six-month window to go by where I could leave the property and I could run down to the local track.
27:26
SPEAKER_03: And when I did that for the first time, I ran down to the local track and I ran for as long as I could before I had to get back.
27:34
SPEAKER_03: And there's so many little stories that make this so cool.
27:38
SPEAKER_03: Like, I can remember going to that track and seeing this woman that was like running speed intervals, doing pull-ups, doing push-ups, and I'm like, that's that's awesome, right?
27:48
SPEAKER_03: And she like never acknowledged the fact that I'm running around the track either.
27:51
SPEAKER_03: And you and you get the ego gets going, and you you want the acknowledgement.
27:54
SPEAKER_03: I'm like, I'm working hard too.
27:55
SPEAKER_03: And I always used to say like hi, and I never got anything back.
27:58
SPEAKER_03: And I was like, it kind of used to bother me a little bit.
28:01
SPEAKER_03: And then one afternoon I'm out there and I'm I'm running hard.
28:05
SPEAKER_03: I'm I'm I mean, I had been out there for like 90 minutes doing the speed intervals, power walking, doing speed intervals.
28:12
SPEAKER_03: Um, and she came up to me and she's like, Hey, brother, like awesome work out here.
28:16
SPEAKER_03: I see you're keeping up with the consistency.
28:17
SPEAKER_03: I just wanted to tell you awesome work.
28:19
SPEAKER_03: And that fired me up so much, and that positive recognition was what fueled me.
28:26
SPEAKER_03: And another piece to that story is when I was in that program, um, a woman came up to me one day, and she's like, Hey, I hope this is okay, but um, I found out your shoe size, and me and my husband wanted to gift you with something, and it was a brand new pair of A6 sneakers, and she was like, I told my husband your story about you're staying sober, you're in a program, you're in a men's rehab program, you're trying to better your life, and you love running, and we just wanted to give this uh gift this to you to recognize that you're doing good.
28:55
SPEAKER_03: So here I am.
28:56
SPEAKER_03: I'm like, when I was on the streets doing dumb stuff, nobody said great job.
29:00
SPEAKER_03: So now, now that I'm doing this, it was like the first door that opened.
29:05
SPEAKER_03: It wasn't the the monetary part of the gift, it was the fact that someone recognized me for doing something positive.
29:11
SPEAKER_03: So I immediately was like, This is what I need to be doing.
29:15
SPEAKER_00: This is what I was you got like a positive feedback, yeah.
29:18
SPEAKER_03: And the third part of that story is when I was a a youth, my grandmother used to tell me, You're gonna be a runner.
29:26
SPEAKER_03: You're gonna be a runner, you have strong legs, you're gonna be a runner.
29:29
SPEAKER_03: And I never grasped that.
29:30
SPEAKER_03: Like I played youth athletics, but I was never good at anything.
29:33
SPEAKER_03: Like I was the kid they put in for four plays because like he never missed a practice.
29:37
SPEAKER_03: But like basketball, baseball, football, like I just wasn't good.
29:40
SPEAKER_03: Um, and I didn't I didn't know what track was.
29:42
SPEAKER_03: Like I didn't run track in junior high or high school, but as an adult, once again, like as as I've been talking about, I found the running and I tapped into that member of my grandmother telling me I was gonna be a runner.
29:54
SPEAKER_03: So that all combined together, and I was like, this is what I was meant to do.
29:58
SPEAKER_03: Like, this is this is me.
29:59
SPEAKER_01: Shout out to to Grams and also like the couples donating the choose, and you know that that that obviously fuels a lot of fire.
30:08
SPEAKER_01: That's so cool, man.
30:10
SPEAKER_01: Uh talk to me about your training.
30:12
SPEAKER_01: I know you lift too, I've seen you cycling.
30:15
SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, you got the injury now, but you're still in the gym lifting heavy.
30:18
SPEAKER_01: Like, how do you balance that?
30:20
SPEAKER_03: So it's I'm I'm really, really fortunate where I have I have a full-time sales job and they're awesome.
30:26
SPEAKER_03: They support me for the marathons and everything.
30:28
SPEAKER_03: They let me take some time off when I want to do races and everything.
30:31
SPEAKER_03: Um, but to to go to give you the overview on that, like I had the run streak going for nine plus years, never missing a day of outside running.
30:39
SPEAKER_03: Um that started with the hundred-day challenge that I just never stopped.
30:43
SPEAKER_03: And a few years back, about four years ago, I was experiencing some some hamstring stuff, okay?
30:50
SPEAKER_03: And I went to physical therapy, they gave me some exercises, nothing was really working.
30:55
SPEAKER_03: I had to pull out of a marathon that I was signed up to do.
30:57
SPEAKER_03: I made the right decision because I was just in too much pain.
31:00
SPEAKER_03: I had raced a half marathon with a bad hamstring, and it didn't go away.
31:04
SPEAKER_03: Um, so started going to physical therapy, nothing was really happening.
31:07
SPEAKER_03: And then one day um the office was like, hey, you're gonna meet this new PT guy.
31:12
SPEAKER_03: He's really excited to meet you.
31:13
SPEAKER_03: He's training for his second marathon.
31:15
SPEAKER_03: He heard that you run a bunch of them, he's really excited to meet you.
31:18
SPEAKER_03: Um so we meet, he has me do some exercises, and he loves my story, he loves my attitude, my positivity, and the fact I've run like dozens of marathons at the time.
31:29
SPEAKER_03: And he said, Don't take this the wrong way.
31:32
SPEAKER_03: You're just not strong.
31:33
SPEAKER_03: Like, the you're not strong.
31:35
SPEAKER_03: For a guy that can put on his shoes and run for hours, you lack leg strength, glute strength, hamstring, calf strength.
31:41
SPEAKER_03: Like, you're gonna continue to get injured and you're gonna continue to plateau if you don't find a strength training program that works for you.
31:48
SPEAKER_03: So the strength training was non-existent at the time.
31:51
SPEAKER_03: My idea of going to the gym was like a couple of dumbbells, some push-ups, like, you know, I just was really lucky that I could put my shoes on and run for hours and never have any problems.
32:01
SPEAKER_03: So I took that advice and I ran with it.
32:04
SPEAKER_03: And I found a local strength training gym.
32:06
SPEAKER_03: I loved it.
32:07
SPEAKER_03: I was super intimidated at first.
32:08
SPEAKER_03: I always tell the story, like, I could almost read the look on the coach's faces, like, this guy runs marathons and he can't do a split squat.
32:16
SPEAKER_03: You know what I mean?
32:16
SPEAKER_03: Like, but I couldn't.
32:17
SPEAKER_03: Like I, you know what I mean?
32:18
SPEAKER_03: Never mind like a heavy back squat or anything like that.
32:21
SPEAKER_03: I had never done anything like that.
32:23
SPEAKER_03: Um, but once again, I'm fired up with the challenge.
32:26
SPEAKER_03: So I'm like, I'm gonna be like that guy over there doing the heavy back squats.
32:30
SPEAKER_03: I'm gonna be like that woman over there doing the heavy split squats, step by step by step.
32:36
SPEAKER_03: And I stuck with it.
32:37
SPEAKER_03: The strength training helped me stay injury free.
32:40
SPEAKER_03: I sprinkled in some yoga, some Pilates, some biking, um, and over the years stayed injury free and got stronger and got some knowledge of all the strength training.
32:53
SPEAKER_03: Last year, um, 2000 this year, 2025, after the big ultra in August, I ran 83 miles, um, was back to pain-free running, and then one morning went to go to my track workout and was just in a ton of pain.
33:08
SPEAKER_03: Um, so shut down the workout, went to my PT, shout out to Alex, um, Burks Sports Performance Burks Performance Rehab, and um he was like, This isn't muscle, this is a bone injury, you need to go to a real foot doctor.
33:23
SPEAKER_03: Go to the foot doctor, does the x-ray, tells me I have a stress fracture.
33:27
SPEAKER_03: The only thing in my mind is I gotta do the Chicago marathon.
33:31
SPEAKER_03: It's my first Chicago, I'm stained up, the flight's booked, the hotel's booked, my son's going, my daughter-in-law's going.
33:37
SPEAKER_03: Like, this is a big deal.
33:39
SPEAKER_03: I can't miss this.
33:40
SPEAKER_03: He's like, Well, you have six, seven weeks, maybe you can do it.
33:44
SPEAKER_03: So all I needed was that maybe.
33:46
SPEAKER_03: And I was like, I'm gonna do it.
33:47
SPEAKER_03: I'm gonna do it.
33:48
SPEAKER_03: So I did the right thing, no running for the entire month of September.
33:51
SPEAKER_03: I wore the the aircast boot, um, no running, no biking, nothing.
33:57
SPEAKER_03: Um, a couple weeks before the race, I got cleared to bike, I got cleared to do some easy runs.
34:03
SPEAKER_03: I did a couple of runs.
34:05
SPEAKER_03: I knew I wasn't 100%, um, but I knew I wasn't gonna back out of the marathon.
34:10
SPEAKER_03: So I showed up to Chicago, not 100%, taking it pretty easy, um, and everything was going good until it wasn't, you know.
34:17
SPEAKER_03: So not to sound too cliche, but that's exactly what happened at mile 11.
34:21
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
34:22
SPEAKER_03: Banged up my foot in a pothole.
34:24
SPEAKER_03: The med tent was like, hey, brother, like we know you don't want to quit, but you have a stress fracture and you just banged it up.
34:29
SPEAKER_03: Like you can wrap it, you can biofreeze it, you can do whatever you want, but it's not gonna go away.
34:34
SPEAKER_03: So I pushed through the pain until 15 and then eventually 19 and made the decision to DNF.
34:40
SPEAKER_03: So I'm going back in 26 as a redemption run.
34:43
SPEAKER_03: I'm really excited about that.
34:44
SPEAKER_03: Um, I just got cleared to start running again in February.
34:48
SPEAKER_03: So to answer your question more correctly, the strength training has just taken the front seat because I can't run.
34:55
SPEAKER_03: So I've just been in the gym like every day's upper body day.
34:58
SPEAKER_03: Um, I just got cleared to do some lower body stuff.
35:00
SPEAKER_03: But the strength training, it works.
35:02
SPEAKER_03: I know every I know there's a big genre out there with like the hybrid athlete training and all that stuff, but it works.
35:07
SPEAKER_03: Like you can lift heavy, you can get strong, and it helps you stay injury free.
35:13
SPEAKER_01: No, agreed for sure.
35:14
SPEAKER_01: Well, how'd you uh that you maybe know of, like, you know, you ran so many races up until there's one injury, like you know, we we joked about in the beginning, 43-1, and there's many other 20 other races.
35:25
SPEAKER_01: Like, how did you say injury free?
35:27
SPEAKER_01: Was it like I think you mentioned Pilates yoga?
35:29
SPEAKER_01: Have you always been doing that?
35:30
SPEAKER_01: Is there something else you attribute to not getting injured till now?
35:34
SPEAKER_03: A lot of luck, definitely a lot of luck.
35:37
SPEAKER_03: Um, the yoga in Pilates has only been for the past four years.
35:40
SPEAKER_03: So since that hamstring aggregation, it was, and I've I've heard, I've heard a couple people, you know, friends, community people, like, you know, how do you not get injured?
35:49
SPEAKER_03: And I used to be not naive is not the right word, maybe a little ignorant to the fact that people do experience real injuries.
35:56
SPEAKER_03: And I then I had some close friends get sidelined with some pretty serious stuff.
36:01
SPEAKER_03: So I would recognize how fortunate I was to not be in that situation.
36:06
SPEAKER_03: And the run streak, I started to take a lot of pride in it, um, but there was never any real rest.
36:12
SPEAKER_03: Like a rest day would be a one mile jog around the block to say that I kept the streak alive.
36:17
SPEAKER_03: So I'm not really not really resting.
36:20
SPEAKER_03: And even a day after a big race, I'm doing that one mile.
36:23
SPEAKER_03: So I was never really resting.
36:25
SPEAKER_03: And and it's like what my foot doctor said.
36:26
SPEAKER_03: He said, You're really lucky that you've only had this one serious injury in the last 10, 11, 12 years.
36:33
SPEAKER_03: So to kind of answer that question the best I can, I was just really lucky, really fortunate to not get injured.
36:41
SPEAKER_03: Um, and I mean, don't get me wrong, I've twisted an ankle, I've had some swelling, I've had some minor stuff that you just ice and elevate and get back out there.
36:49
SPEAKER_03: But this was the first time where I had to shut everything down and not run it off for several months.
36:57
SPEAKER_01: What's your uh typical training like pre-injury?
37:00
SPEAKER_01: You know, you're training year-round, it sounds like you got a lot of races.
37:04
SPEAKER_01: Um, what what are your what's your typical week look like?
37:08
SPEAKER_03: Um it's a pretty pretty basic setup.
37:10
SPEAKER_03: Now with the gym and everything, I would do strength training in the morning, try to squeeze in a 60-minute run before work, and then follow a marathon training plan if I had a marathon coming up.
37:20
SPEAKER_03: So that would consist of like Monday easy run, Tuesday speed work, Wednesday, maybe some hills, Thursday long run, because that's my day off from work, Friday easy, Saturday easy, Sunday long, and then just kind of repeat it.
37:36
SPEAKER_03: Um I really started to embrace the um the benefit of following a real plan and doing, I love doing the work.
37:47
SPEAKER_03: Like I love being able to say, I just did Hills for two hours.
37:50
SPEAKER_03: I love being able to say I just did a bunch of eight hundreds at the track.
37:54
SPEAKER_03: And and and I accredited I I accredit a lot of that to the social media community.
37:58
SPEAKER_03: I've always used it as a positive tool.
38:00
SPEAKER_03: I mean, especially now with all the you can go down rabbit holes of negativity, but you can also find a lot of positive stuff.
38:07
SPEAKER_03: And there's a lot of people out there doing awesome stuff.
38:10
SPEAKER_03: And I mean, obviously, I'm motivated and inspired by so many people.
38:15
SPEAKER_03: Um, so I love I love doing the work because you feel so accomplished when when you're done.
38:20
SPEAKER_03: And then when you get to the start line, the confidence is there.
38:24
SPEAKER_03: Like you, you know you put in the work, you know you got up at 5 a.m.
38:28
SPEAKER_03: on a bunch of mornings where you didn't feel like it and went running in the cold or the rain, or you did that track workout when you were tired, or you had to get to work early, so you couldn't go to track in the morning, but you did track at night when nobody else was doing it and you didn't feel like doing it.
38:42
SPEAKER_03: And those are the foundation pieces, and those are like what David Goggins says that's what you put in the cookie jar.
38:48
SPEAKER_03: Like, so when on race day, when you don't feel like when things get hard, you can draw back and be like, I did hill repeats in the rain and the cold, like when I didn't feel like it, I can run seven more miles.
39:00
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for sure.
39:02
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, those are the moments I often myself also like yourself go back to in like the race.
39:07
SPEAKER_01: It's like, man, there was all those cold nights, that rainy day, them hills that sucked, etc., that keep you going, you know.
39:18
SPEAKER_01: Uh talk to me about like the content.
39:20
SPEAKER_01: You got into content, and you know, something I found funny.
39:22
SPEAKER_01: I'm sharing for those listening, right?
39:24
SPEAKER_01: Like, you got positivity and hope dealer on your page, and then I saw some of your good mornings, you know, which are hilarious, by the way.
39:31
SPEAKER_01: If you haven't checked out, I'll probably throw one in the show notes here.
39:34
SPEAKER_01: I think you are like, hey, Maurice, the meteorological meteorologist, you know, stuff like that.
39:40
SPEAKER_01: Where are you coming with this?
39:43
SPEAKER_03: So it's funny.
39:45
SPEAKER_03: Um, I'm very I'm heavily influenced by like hip hop culture and social media culture.
39:50
SPEAKER_03: Like, there's a lot of negative talk about like run influences out there now, and like just to put the positive light on it, like there was recently I was at the New York City Marathon as a spectator, and there was two young ladies, I don't know their name, but I guess they have a huge following on like TikTok and Instagram, and people were talking smack that they got bibs to run the New York City Marathon.
40:09
SPEAKER_03: Well, not for nothing.
40:10
SPEAKER_03: They're really fast, they're really fun, they're really energetic, and they were stopping and giving people high fives and running really fast, and they put the training in and they and they respect the sport.
40:20
SPEAKER_03: And I learned a long time ago from one of my mentors and run coach Laurie if you respect the rules of the sport in the community, then you can you can do whatever you want.
40:31
SPEAKER_03: And I I I have this mantra of like I found my own lane.
40:34
SPEAKER_03: I want to be the hype person, I want to be the motivation person, I get influenced by hip-hop culture, I try to come up with these little little ABC Dr.
40:42
SPEAKER_03: Seuss rhymes to get people smiling and laughing.
40:45
SPEAKER_03: And nobody, if you told me 10 years ago I'd be the guy getting up at 5 a.m.
40:49
SPEAKER_03: to get to the gym at 6 and squeeze in, you know, a seven-mile run before the work day starts, I'd be like, that's crazy.
40:55
SPEAKER_03: Like who goes to the gym and runs before work?
40:57
SPEAKER_03: Like that's crazy.
40:58
SPEAKER_03: But then I became that guy.
41:00
SPEAKER_03: So and the whole the whole social media piece, it's it's a hey, look at me, because it's hey, look what you can do.
41:08
SPEAKER_03: When I was doing dumb stuff, I wasn't like taking selfies saying, hey, look at me.
41:13
SPEAKER_03: I just lost my job, I just blew my paycheck on drugs, like I just, you know, got kicked out of rehab.
41:19
SPEAKER_03: Like I it was never that.
41:20
SPEAKER_03: It was always a shame.
41:21
SPEAKER_03: Um you I was living in shame, I was living in regret.
41:25
SPEAKER_03: So now to be hyped up and positive and everything, I want to shine a light on that.
41:30
SPEAKER_03: And once again, it's not just about being sober, it's about being positive, it's about being grateful.
41:35
SPEAKER_03: Like, it's is it's not to me, it's not cheesy and corny.
41:40
SPEAKER_03: Like, I literally am the guy that's like, hey, why why is it a happy Monday?
41:44
SPEAKER_03: Because we're alive, we're breathing, we have jobs, we have houses, we have cars.
41:47
SPEAKER_03: Like, there's a lot of things to be grateful for.
41:49
SPEAKER_03: It could be way, way worse.
41:50
SPEAKER_03: So I want everybody to know that.
41:52
SPEAKER_03: I want to share that attitude, I want to share that positivity.
41:55
SPEAKER_03: And I am a hope dealer because I was the guy that if I was your friend, family member, coworker, and you'd be like, hey, Mo, I love you, but I I don't think you're ever gonna change.
42:04
SPEAKER_03: Like you've you've relapsed ten times.
42:06
SPEAKER_03: You're back to doing drugs, you're back on the streets, you lost your apartment, you lost your girlfriend, you lost your car, like you're never gonna change.
42:13
SPEAKER_03: And I want people to know if they're no matter what they're going through, there's always hope, you know?
42:18
SPEAKER_03: And and not just through with addiction, but like if I can hit those rock bottoms and then turn it around, imagine what you're going through in life, even if it's not addiction related, no matter what it is, you can start all over with, you know, I I was fortunate enough to be hooked up with the Bank of America campaign with Heron Project for the Boston Marathon, and what they grabbed from my story, they put on a billboard, and it was like positive changes one step at a time.
42:47
SPEAKER_03: So it tied in my positivity with like that N-A-A-A one step at a time kind of mindset.
42:54
SPEAKER_03: And it's like it wasn't easy to get out of that rock bottom, but one little step in the right direction, one little step in the right direction, turns into a hundred steps in the right direction, turns into a guy that's on a billboard for Bank of America for the Boston Marathon, where when I was homeless and addicted to drugs, they weren't putting me on billboards.
43:13
SPEAKER_03: I mean, they might have been putting me in police stations, but not billboards.
43:19
SPEAKER_01: You know, even that is a positive spin on, you know, that we can make light of it now.
43:24
SPEAKER_01: But uh man, that that that's freaking awesome.
43:28
SPEAKER_01: You've worked with a lot of charities, actually.
43:29
SPEAKER_01: You mentioned a few, like what's some of your favorites and what what keeps you working with charities?
43:34
SPEAKER_01: I mean, you know, it helps with races, but you like to bring a lot of positivity through that as well, not just your page.
43:38
SPEAKER_01: Like what what charities you favor and like what have you learned through some of these charities?
43:43
SPEAKER_03: So the charity role, um, I've tried I've really, really matured into it because once again, it's once a year or twice a year where I can do something that's not just about me.
43:54
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
43:55
SPEAKER_03: I love to run around town and talk about my story and talk about everything that I.
44:00
SPEAKER_03: overcame and talk about my runs and my mileage and my ultras.
44:04
SPEAKER_03: I love that obviously.
44:05
SPEAKER_03: But to be able to do something for the community, because I'm somebody that used to take from the community.
44:10
SPEAKER_03: So to be able to give back is a gift in itself.
44:13
SPEAKER_03: It's a gift in sobriety, it's a gift in life, it's a gift in mental health.
44:18
SPEAKER_03: So Rhett's technology for autism was the first one I got hooked up with.
44:22
SPEAKER_03: Rhett syndrome, which is a rare neurological disorder, I don't have anybody in my family affected by it.
44:28
SPEAKER_03: But when I met those families, they appreciate someone like myself that loves to run and I can run the Boston Marathon, something I love to do, and raise a bunch of money and raise a bunch of awareness for their cause, which is a very special cause because they're facing huge challenges.
44:44
SPEAKER_03: So I was fortunate enough to be with them for four years.
44:47
SPEAKER_03: And then I got hooked up with the Heron Project which is all about sobriety and recovery.
44:52
SPEAKER_03: And that's obviously a huge place in my heart.
44:54
SPEAKER_03: So that I was super super passionate about because now I'm raising money for families that are affected by addiction.
45:02
SPEAKER_03: And that's my story.
45:04
SPEAKER_03: And also run for autism.
45:06
SPEAKER_03: I have a best friend at work.
45:08
SPEAKER_03: She's like I see you running marathons for charity have you ever thought about doing it for autism?
45:12
SPEAKER_03: And you know shout out to my friend Ashley she hooked me up with the autism charity last year for Chicago and it just puts it all in perspective where there's so many people out there that you have to look at the positives.
45:25
SPEAKER_03: You know, you can read the negative comments about charity runners and them taking bibs and all that stuff.
45:30
SPEAKER_03: But the positive piece is there are people like myself that love and respect the sport that are passionate about the sport and that do this yes because I get to run these awesome races but I'm super grateful that I can raise money for an awesome cause and make it make it not just about me.
45:48
SPEAKER_03: So those those are the charities that mean a lot to me I've been really fortunate that they've had my back for years and you know shout out to my job Kev Attleboro for for for sponsoring me for several years.
45:59
SPEAKER_01: And to all my friends no it definitely takes a lot of work man uh to do these charities people you know people love to talk you know as I'm sure you know but uh I I did Chicago for a charity myself uh the Ronald McDonald House and and it's work to raise that money and put awareness out there and at the same time you're helping people you know quick question for you this might be a funny one if running stopped tomorrow what would you do?
46:27
SPEAKER_03: Well I've been doing that for the last few months because I I haven't I haven't been run so true I had true I I had to remind myself that and it's been tough like it was really tough to DNF the marathon it was really tough to end the run streak but the community that I've built and the community that I have the messages I received people saying Maurice are you okay is your sobriety okay is your mental health okay I know how much the run streak meant to you I know how much running meant means to you are you going to be okay and I'm like wow there's people that really care about me.
47:02
SPEAKER_03: So that was one huge drive and then the other piece of it was people saying things like you're much bigger than the run streak.
47:11
SPEAKER_03: You're much bigger than saying hey I did my 44th marathon because you've built a community you've opened doors you've advanced your life you've stayed clean you've stayed sober.
47:21
SPEAKER_03: I have to remind myself that I can't just be Mr.
47:24
SPEAKER_03: positive and disciplined when when when everything's going great when things go when life throws you a curveball you have to stay true to who you say you are and that's been the driving motivation when I wake up and I'm like I can't run today I can't run next week I can't run next month but I have to stay true.
47:44
SPEAKER_03: I can't call myself Mr.
47:45
SPEAKER_03: positive and then be in a bad mood because of this.
47:48
SPEAKER_03: So I've embraced it as like a a new chapter to kind of rewrite the story write a new chapter um reset the body reset the mind I'm wicked pumped about 2026 I have a ton of running goals um my other passion is public speaking so if I was ever forced to never run again I would just go to as many people that would listen and just tell my story and really and that's the thing like it especially in recovery I can talk all day about my story but if I'm not trying to impact and help others then I'm not doing the right work.
48:22
SPEAKER_03: So to answer that question if I couldn't run at all ever again then the speaking and the positivity would remain I was really fortunate that um you know Marathon Sports backed me and I had an another panda uh community event and I was in the the walking boot but they gave me the megaphone they gave me the store they gave me the shirts and the and everything and I had an awesome event and all my friends showed up and people were like we still love you like this is still awesome.
48:49
SPEAKER_03: We're gonna run three miles for you like we know you can't run we know you miss it but like you're still there and and that helped because I'll tell you it was tough leading up to it thinking how am I going to be pumped up and excited about this when I can't run but to see everybody out there um that the community community community community is like the lifeline of what I do um I talk about myself all the time but if I didn't have awesome people around me to inspire me motivate me encourage me and lift me up then I I wouldn't be here yeah it's definitely important not just in running just in life to have like people around and you got the whole community out there.
49:26
SPEAKER_01: Well tell me about the running community out there.
49:29
SPEAKER_01: What's it like?
49:29
SPEAKER_01: You know uh obviously it gets cold over there really cold uh how do you guys stay stay going?
49:36
SPEAKER_03: So I used to have this mantra um I still do no treadmill on race day and that's what started so the the run streak started with a 100 day challenge.
49:50
SPEAKER_03: My son's stepdad were at Thanksgiving dinner one year and he's like you know you should you should do a 100 day run streak um it really holds you accountable the days that you don't want to do it you're gonna go out you have to go out and do it.
50:02
SPEAKER_03: So I'm thinking to myself I already do that but I didn't want to sound arrogant and say like I've already run for 100 days in a row.
50:08
SPEAKER_03: So I I wanted to make it better.
50:11
SPEAKER_03: So I said on January 1st I'm gonna start running every day outside no matter what.
50:18
SPEAKER_03: So the immediate feedback I got was well how are you going to do it outside if it snows or if it rains or if it's windy and I'm like well anybody can jump on a treadmill and run a few miles in bad weather.
50:27
SPEAKER_03: I'm gonna run outside in bad weather and there's a ton of people out there that do this but I did it back in 2016 and the hundred days turned to 200 turned to 300 turned to years and years and years and the mantra of no treadmills on race day just means you have to get outside and run no matter what because on race day if it's raining snowing sleeting perfect example the 2018 Boston Marathon the worst weather ever recorded I was the guy walking around Athletes Village like why aren't you smiling?
50:59
SPEAKER_03: Like the whole city shut down for us like yes it's the most horrible weather but that doesn't mean it's not Marathon Monday.
51:05
SPEAKER_03: And I'm not the only one in a positive mood but there was a lot of down faces that day and I felt like it was my duty to cheer people up and just like kind of put a smile on it on everybody's face and I remember bumping into like a couple of Boston police officers and they were like you're in such a good mood like it's a pretty crappy day out here.
51:21
SPEAKER_03: And I'm like but we're running the Boston marathon like the whole city shut down just for us and um the community out here I know a lot of friends that love to get out there in the bad weather and it gets really cold here in in the winter but you embrace the fact that like you can have the right gear you can do it smart.
51:41
SPEAKER_03: As long as you're doing it smart you can make it happen.
51:43
SPEAKER_03: And I have matured and embraced the fact that like treadmills are very beneficial.
51:48
SPEAKER_03: If there's sheets of black ice on the road and you have to do speed work you probably shouldn't do it on the black ice you should probably go to the treadmill so if you want to run outside be safe um wear the right clothes but treadmills are great for benefits of training but you can't use them on the race day.
52:08
SPEAKER_03: Okay you talked about Maurice mantras right so is this one of your mantras personal records aren't sold at the corner store it is so I I try to come up with all these with all these uh these rhymes and I was like they and I think it's the the roots my favorite uh rap band they um they say do you want more so one day I'm running and I'm like do you want more well if you want more then do more and and it applies to anything not just marathon training like if you want to be better at work then just just work harder you know what I mean if you want to be better with your your relationship with your investments with anything especially marathon training if you want more then then do more you know what I mean train harder recover harder strength train harder you know do do more speed work do more hill work and they don't just give away everybody wants the PR everybody wants the metal and the buckle and I mean you can technically buy them online now but that's cheesy but we what the whole point is like the whole point is I just came up with the cheesy rhyme one day and I was like if you want more then do more personal records aren't sold at corno saurs and some of them get a ton of positive feedback and I love it like if somebody comes up to me on race day and they're like there's no PR in snooze like I'm like oh you get it you get it you're listening you're following along and that that fires me up when I get that kind of positive feedback I absolutely I absolutely love it like one one time I'm at a race and this young kid he had just started running he was there with his dad his uncle his mom and he like he he called me Rhode Island's David Goggins because he followed my whole story about running across the state of Rhode Island and here I am I'm like here's this young kid that like thinks I'm like cool for what I'm doing and it fires me up and it and it fuels me up.
53:56
SPEAKER_03: So shout out to Judah because he made my day that day and I hooked him up with like a positivity always sweatshirt and stuff and that's what I do it for like there's so many people that inspire and motivate me.
54:06
SPEAKER_03: So if I can be inspiring and motivate um a handful of people it's super super rewarding and I want to grow with it.
54:13
SPEAKER_03: I want to grow with it.
54:13
SPEAKER_01: I want the panda posity to grow I want the community to grow so yeah so follow me on Instagram follow Maurice I will tag it on the show notes of course and honestly man I think it's gonna grow man you're doing amazing things obviously a lot of positivity but what I love most is you also putting in the work in the work gotta put in the work you can talk all day but you also gotta put in the work and you do that and more man which is which is freaking awesome did I hear you right and you just said you ran the state of Rhode Island?
54:43
SPEAKER_03: Yes I think we picked the shortest possible route um it was for a really cool organization called Run to Respond.
54:50
SPEAKER_03: They start in Maine and go all the way down to like Virginia or DC and I was inspired once again by my run coach Lori who her and her um now husband one year took on every leg in Rhode Island and ran from the border of Rhode Island in Massachusetts to the border of Rhode Island in Connecticut.
55:09
SPEAKER_03: So the entire length of the state which was over 56 miles.
55:13
SPEAKER_03: And the first year I did it I did one leg.
55:16
SPEAKER_03: I ran from Pawtucket, Rhode Island to Providence, Rhode Island whatever it was so it was like seven or eight miles.
55:24
SPEAKER_03: And I was like oh that was great.
55:26
SPEAKER_03: I could definitely do another leg.
55:27
SPEAKER_03: So the following year me and my buddy Jay we signed up for every leg and you have a support vehicle that drives along and can meet you and give you hydration and snacks and stuff and we had friends and family that would drive along and meet us at the at the firehouses because we were raising money for first responders for their mental health and PTSD awareness and so forth.
55:51
SPEAKER_03: So really really great cause and it gave me an opportunity to do something crazy to say that I ran across the entire state of Rhode Island.
56:01
SPEAKER_03: I ended up getting lost um towards the end.
56:04
SPEAKER_03: I only had a few miles left I got lost and part of me wanted to stop because it was hot I was tired I didn't know where to go I knew I was only a few miles away from from the border and from the next firehouse and from the finish but I didn't know how to get there and I was going in circles in like a suburban neighborhood and I said you could go home with the story of I almost ran across the state of Rhode Island but I got lost at the end.
56:33
SPEAKER_03: And who wants to hear the story you know um so in my head I'm like you got to get out of this and immediately I thought you need to go home with a result like you need to go home with the finish not an excuse so I immediately started saying results are greater than excuses and I say it all the time I don't know how many people like it I like it um but results are greater than excuses and that fuels me because on days that I don't feel like doing something no matter what it is work related or or training related you get up you get it done and the end result is that you finished and you didn't come up with an excuse so I like it more so love it.
57:13
SPEAKER_01: You know to use a cliche that people often just say to say but people always say hey your life is you know chapters of a book and it sounds cool but when you think about it kind of how you just worded it right now like what do you want that chapter to be and that's up to you like are you gonna finish the chapter or okay book one came out but book two never finished the trilogy or whatever you know I often think about that in like big endeavors like did I finish the goal the task what do I want the story to be when it's done and if it's not done we gotta go get it done.
57:45
SPEAKER_01: Exactly so Maurice if someone was listening to this man and and you know they they want to make a change they feel stuck they're hitting rock bottom where would you tell them to start?
57:57
SPEAKER_03: With the smallest step possible this and celebrate it.
58:00
SPEAKER_03: So um with me it was with addiction and I knew I would hit these nasty nasty rock bottoms and be in homeless shelters, prisons, kicked out of apartments you you name it.
58:12
SPEAKER_03: I've been there I say I've been in the doctor's corners of addiction and I would look at myself and say I'm the reason I'm the one that got me here I'm the only one that can get me out.
58:22
SPEAKER_03: So in my situation the first step was to stop using so I made the decision to the first day to not use alcohol not use drugs and it was hard and the next day was harder.
58:33
SPEAKER_03: But by day three I'm like okay you just made it three days without doing the thing that was holding you back.
58:39
SPEAKER_03: Like now what are you gonna do?
58:41
SPEAKER_03: Now you got to get a job.
58:42
SPEAKER_03: You know what I mean?
58:43
SPEAKER_03: So and that wasn't easy.
58:45
SPEAKER_03: But every single step you celebrate it.
58:48
SPEAKER_03: So I gave myself all the credit in the world that I had made it three days.
58:52
SPEAKER_03: I gave myself all the credit in the world that I had made it one week.
58:55
SPEAKER_03: When I went to the job fair and found my first job when I got serious about recovery um I celebrated that and it was being this sounds cliche but it's what it's who you surround yourself with.
59:07
SPEAKER_03: So I stopped hanging in those bad places and I started hanging in the right places and I got motivated by people that were doing the right thing.
59:15
SPEAKER_03: So the to answer that question celebrate the small celebrate the small wins and take every make the next best right decision.
59:26
SPEAKER_03: So if you're struggling make one small step whether if it's with losing weight if it's with fitness if it's with work if it's with the relationship if you're trying to overcome grief like just make the next step whether it's going to a meeting whether it's being around people that care about you that maybe the phone calls you didn't answer because you didn't feel like going out to dinner or you didn't feel like going out to this community event answer the phone go out go out to that event don't drink don't use don't feel bad about yourself focus on the positives like I have the the mantras never end.
1:00:01
SPEAKER_03: Like if it's not steak and potatoes if it's peanut butter and jelly you're still doing okay um and that that the metaphor of that is like things could always be way way worse like it your worst day is somebody's best day and I know that sounds like corny and cliche but it it's true it's it's really true.
1:00:19
SPEAKER_03: There's other people looking at your bad situation like I could make it out of that I could do something with that.
1:00:25
SPEAKER_03: And all the stuff that you see online and the and the motivational speakers and everything and like the nobody cares work harder there's somebody with less resources doing more you have to apply that you have to own the fact that you already have everything within you to make the next best choice and to make the next best decision.
1:00:47
SPEAKER_03: So sorry if I'm going all over the place with that but I want to deliver a message of hope.
1:00:51
SPEAKER_03: One time somebody asked me to record like a 20 second motivational thing and I just I was put on the spot I didn't know what to say and I was just like if I can wake up in a homeless shelter with my cell phone stolen and bed bug bites and still be positive that I could make my day better and I could get out of that situation then imagine what you could do in your situation right now.
1:01:13
SPEAKER_03: If you woke up today and you're breathing like you're doing okay.
1:01:17
SPEAKER_03: So and I don't get me wrong I put myself in that situation but the point is like if I can stay positive and find something to be grateful for that day then you have to be grateful today.
1:01:28
SPEAKER_03: You have to see the positives of tomorrow's going to be better.
1:01:32
SPEAKER_01: And no matter what you're going through the season is only it's temporary man powerful message um Maurice thanks for sharing uh that's a perfect way to leave it on man for those of you listening you must have gotten a lot out of this episode Maurice crushing it man I appreciate you for hopping on the the show thanks I appreciate it thank you so much for having me and thank you everybody for listening until next time guys this has been the People Run podcast thanks for tuning in