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The Right Kind of Runner: How Avelyn Found Herself in 26.2 Miles · At Your Own Pace

• MikeRunsMarathons: And that is a wrap on this episode of At Your Own Pace. If there's one thing I hope you take with you it's this. There's no such thing as too slow, too late, or too far behind. This sport belongs to you exactly as you are, wherever you're starting from, whatever pace you're running. Every mile counts, and so do you. If this episode moved you, made you think, or made you want to lace up, just do me a favor and share it with someone who needs to hear it. Hey everybody and welcome back to At Your Own Pace. This is the show for runners who are showing up however they can on whatever week life is handing them. I'm Mike, and whether you're chasing a Boston qualifier, your first 5K, or just the next mile, you're in the right place. Every Wednesday we open up with a little real talk for my week on the run, and then we sit down with someone whose story is going to leave you a little bit more fired up than when you press play. So lace up, settle in, and let's run this one together. you spend any time on the running side of TikTok or Instagram, then you know who today's guest is. And I'm talking specifically about Aveline Castillo, who goes by the username, it's.aveline. She is from New York City, currently lives in Atlanta and she runs marathons. also has asthma and she is loud and proud about being a slow runner. She has built a community of over 55,000 people over on TikTok who show up because she is real and she is funny and she makes you feel like running is for you, which is one of the reasons why I decided to have her on as a guest today. she has, ⁓ she's marathons in and she just crossed the finish line at Boston a few weeks ago on the team that I ran with. Follow the show, leave a review, and come find me, Mike Runs Marathons, over on Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and YouTube, and now I have a Facebook page. I love to hear your story. If you're interested in being a guest on the podcast, feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram or email me at Mike at Mike Runs Marathons.com. Until next time, take care of yourself, be kind to the person running next to you, and keep showing up at your own pace. on Team Zeiss All. She co-hosts her own podcast, which is called Run and Tell That, and she runs for charity, And she runs with her people. And she does all of it being exactly unapologetically herself. So I describe the show as being about the miles that are lived ⁓ and not the mile splits. And is the definition of that. And I have been looking forward to this conversation for quite some time, especially since we both ran Boston. I'll see you on the road. Bye. with Team Zeiss all. So I want to bring in Aveline. Thank you so much for being here. Avelyn: That was such a good intro. Thank you. MikeRunsMarathons: I am so excited to speak with my guest today, Aveline, who funny enough was on Team Zizol with me when we ran the Boston Marathon back in April. ⁓ what a fantastic person, so inspiring, someone who advocates for runners of all backgrounds, experiences, body types, is someone that I think so many people listening to the show Of course, of course. Thank you so much for being on here. How are you? Avelyn: I'm doing good. Finally feeling like I'm recovered from Boston. MikeRunsMarathons: I was just gonna ask that because I am feeling the same exact way. So I feel you on that. usually I'm able to bounce back from marathons pretty quickly, but these last couple of weeks have been just so abysmal me when it comes to recovering. It's been crazy. So I'm glad that you are finally recovering. do you have anything lined up right now for the future when it comes to your running? Avelyn: Yeah, so well, just one tiny little race, but it was probably one of my most memorable races of last year. And I get to run it again this year. And so I'm running Boulder Boulder in Colorado Memorial Day weekend. It's a 10 K, but it was the most fun I've ever had on a 10 K. And I'm really excited to run it again at the end of the month. MikeRunsMarathons: Will find really motivating and inspiring because Her deals with managing so many obstacles that you can face as a runner, from managing asthma all the way to breaking down stereotypes surrounding runners and what they should look like, while also inspiring others to see themselves as runners. That is awesome. I've heard so many people talking about that race. I know that Herm runs is doing a ShakeOut run. Are you going to do that with him as well? ⁓ Is something that is the essence of what this podcast is all about. And she speaks strongly about body positivity and about how not even just running a marathon, but simply training for one can change your life. And so I'm so excited for you to hear her story about how she got started, what brought her into the the world of running, and then what has kept her in it. Because as she definitely let me know during our conversation. Avelyn: ⁓ maybe. Yeah, I had no idea. But probably, yeah, if he's doing a ShakeOut run, I would love to do that. MikeRunsMarathons: Awesome, yeah, definitely check that out. Because I've seen several people say that they are either running it or they want to run it. I have honestly never heard of it. So I'm going to have to check. Avelyn: No, incredible. It was, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. It's Colorado. The elevation is crazy. So the air is really thin. But it's either the whole town shuts down and either you're running it or you're spectating it. And so the entirety of Boulder, Boulder just shuts down for this race and everyone is outside cheering. I giving like away. I ate so much. I drank so much. MikeRunsMarathons: She may have just finished Boston, but that is not the final race for her. but before we get into Avaline, I want to start where we always start, which is with a check-in. So here's what's been on my mind for the week. Wow. Avelyn: I was maybe like a half a mile in and somebody with a water gun squirted fireball into my mouth. And then I ate everything from cotton candy to bacon. I was sad that I missed the hot dogs because there weren't any ready when I ran by. There are multiple slip-in slides, multiple opportunities to keg stand. There's people in costumes. I ran past the group of minions last year and I kept getting dusted by people as like the Mario Kart characters. Yeah. It went, you have to just look it up, watch some videos. It's There was a part that they were like mad scientists and you were a lab rat and so you ran through a cage and they had Gatorade vodka shots in test tubes ⁓ like you drank as you ran through the cage of the mad scientist. MikeRunsMarathons: That is, this sounds incredible. I'm gonna have to check this out. ⁓ my god. Whoa, okay, this sounds like more fun than a marathon. Avelyn: No, it was incredible. And then you finish off at the stadium in Boulder and you run a lap through the entire stadium and the stadium is full of people. So like you run, you get into the stadium to do your lap for your finish and just the stadium that all the stands are just full of people screaming and cheering you on is like you run your lap and finish. MikeRunsMarathons: Whoa. Saturday, I ran the Queen's Ten K, which is a really sentimental race for me. I've Okay, I'm gonna check this out definitely after the episode. I have to find out about this race. Run this race, I think now four times. it was my very first race I ran for New York Roadrunners. And my official road race that I ever signed up for, But I ran Queen's 10k for the first time. Avelyn: It's the second largest in the US. The first is the Pichu Road Race here in Atlanta, but this is the second largest. MikeRunsMarathons: Yes. Okay, awesome. Yeah, I'm gonna check this out. That sounds so much fun. But no, thank you so much for being on here today. So what I have for you are just a couple buckets of questions that I ask everyone based off the research that I do on their accounts. And because I people to hear about your story, I want people to know about just kind of who Avalin is and be able to people that will be able to connect with your story, which I know you've probably been able to find so far. ⁓ seven years ago, cannot believe that that is the race that kickstarted everything to where I am today with my marathon journey. That was my first qualifying race for the ⁓ was supposed to be the 2020 New York City Marathon. And is what kicked off really my love of racing ⁓ and want to continue in your social media journey with Instagram and with TikTok with the tens of thousands of followers you have in your own podcasts. So I'm really excited to jump into this get started. And where I want to start really is taking a step back and going before running, before you became a runner, who was Aveline? Because I want to know like what your relationship with fitness was or what movement was ⁓ then how you came into the sport. And see just how far and how fast I could go with my running. And so lining up for this race every year is is really personal to me because I just remember back to just what it felt like, what my goals were at the time, what I looked like. I still even have the singlet from that race because I I ran it with Team for Kids at the time, ⁓ since I was the only way to get in. And back then it was much easier to get into this race than it is today. Avelyn: I think before running I wanted to do and try everything except for running. Like I have actual memories of begging my mom to give me notes for gym class because I didn't want to run, I didn't want to do the physical fitness test. I just wanted to sit out and there were, actually failed gym one year and had to go to gym summer school, which it was, yeah, it's like, what do you do? So it was actually like written assignments about fitness all summer because there's not like a makeup class for gym in the summer. So I failed gym in high school because I was like, so I had just this like visceral reaction to like working out. MikeRunsMarathons: So I was able to sign up about a month prior to the race itself in order to get in, which today is just impossible. But finished in just 46 minutes and 30 seconds and was proud of that considering the finish times that I've had over the last couple months with the races that I've run. And I think that this is really the race that has kick started my ⁓ training for ⁓ New York, Philly at the end of the year, and is ⁓ the race I has been kind of my comeback. Avelyn: And I think part of it too was because I had asthma my whole life. I think my mom was always scared to let me work out or do sports or anything. So she'd always be like, no, you can't run. You have asthma or you can't do this. You have asthma. So then I thought, well, I can't run. I have asthma or I can't play. I have asthma. And so I picked up every hobby possible, which is still true. I'm still a hobby jumper as someone who lives with ADHD. I love a good hobby. MikeRunsMarathons: if you want to call it that. It made me feel a lot better after I crossed that finish line what I was capable of. Because after my last two finishes with the Brooklyn half and then with the Broad Street run in Philly, I was just I was defeated and I did not feel super proud of those finish times. Avelyn: whatever's interesting at the time. But I just, before I started running for real, I don't think I had tried running a few times and it just didn't feel something that was like attainable or doable or a space that I felt like I belonged in. So I didn't try it for very long. I just did it, know, dabbled a little bit, but it just was not on my radar or agenda at all. MikeRunsMarathons: then after that met up the New York City shock squad, which I'm a co-captain of. So if you do live in the tri-state area and you are looking for a group of runners to hang out with and celebrate other runners during races, we meet once a month and we've decided to meet during a New York Roadrunner race to cheer on runners and then to hang out a little bit afterwards, get some food, get some drinks. So did you do sports or was of like all of it kind of really off limits for you? I mean, you're just like me. Avelyn: No. I didn't do any sports. I did any hobby that had nothing to do with physical activity. MikeRunsMarathons: Yeah, yeah, that sounds like me. I didn't do any sports. I mean, I think I did baseball for a couple of seasons as a kid and then like little league soccer. But that was it. And yeah, I didn't do any sports in high school or anything like that. I was I was a theater kid. But what so you went this person who like legitimately hated sports so much that you failed gym class to someone who's run marathons. How did like what moment caused you to jump in with both feet into the running world? introduce ourselves to each other and and network and connect, which has been phenomenal these last two months. So I got to hang out with Bonnie, our other co captain, and a couple other people from the group. we cheered on runners for about the next hour, hour and a half. And was really great. The funny thing is, actually, I saw Aveline on the course during this race and ran on the course real quick and gave her a hug and then Avelyn: So every year of life, I pick a theme that I want for that year and then I just kind of live it out. And so year before I decided I wanted to be a runner, I just gotten out of a relationship that was emotionally and verbally abusive. And so I had said a lot of no's during that year prior and MikeRunsMarathons: ran back off because I wanted her to finish and I didn't want to bother her. So that was that I thought was serendipity because I did not tell her yet that her episode was coming out this Wednesday. I saw her and and just realized at that moment I was like, ⁓ my God, it's you. ⁓ so I thought that that was great. and then after the race I actually ran ⁓ back ⁓ to Woodside, which is where I was staying for the night. Avelyn: when I got out of that relationship, that new year came, I said, okay, this next year is gonna be my yes year. And so for a full year after that, I just said yes to all sorts of things, to friends, family, I didn't tell myself no, I just did it. And I was able to, I felt like I got my life back. And so then when my birthday was coming up again in 2024, in 2023, I told myself, okay, what's gonna be my theme for this next year? MikeRunsMarathons: So that was about another four and a halfish miles or so. So I got a good ten, ten and a half miles in for the day, which was great considering the amount of running that I have been doing, which has not been a lot. And so this is going to really kick start the extra mileage, pushing through the miles when I don't want to do it, and really trying to get myself back into the habit of running consistently. Because I have been Avelyn: And so my birthday is November 7th and that year the New York City Marathon was either the fifth or the sixth. I don't remember exactly what to say, but I remember sitting on my couch watching videos of people running the New York City Marathon, watching the final finishers, watching just all types. It feels like it was the first time that I'd ever watched a race like this and seen all different body types and all different types of people running. ⁓ it felt like for the first time I was like, wait a minute. MikeRunsMarathons: lack of a better word, exhausted these last couple months. There's been just a lot of stuff going on in my life. You know, job-wise, personal, family, just There's there's something going on in everything. And so I'm hoping that things are starting to die down. And I really want to jump back into my running because it's not just important for me with my training, but as many people Avelyn: Could I, like maybe could I do that? so I, I was very much one of those people that was like, can't, I could never run a mile. I could never run a 5k. And so I saw all those videos and I said to myself, okay, this next year of life, I'm going to run a marathon. And I my friend who's run over 40 marathons. And I said, Hey, Shane, I think I want to run a marathon this year. MikeRunsMarathons: Who follow me have probably heard it is very good for me from a mental perspective. It's one of the things that saved my life after my attempt in 2018. ⁓ ⁓ continue to run for as long as I possibly can. But I know that the running not only helps me be physically stronger, but also helps me helps me be mentally stronger at the same time. So I'm hoping ⁓ I can not hoping, I will be getting back into. Avelyn: he very quickly said, ⁓ you totally can run a marathon. Like no hesitation at all. He didn't say, why don't we try a 5K, ⁓ sign up for a half marathon. He was a hundred percent just straight believed in me straight out the gate. And I think if it weren't for him, I probably maybe would have had second thoughts or not, but he was just so confident that like, okay, yeah, you could totally do it. So suddenly I was filled with like this like confidence of like, wait, maybe I can actually do it. MikeRunsMarathons: my dedicated usual marathon training plan starting now, that is why if you are watching the video portion of this podcast, I am in running a tire because I actually just finished running on my dread mode because it is raining outside and decided to actually get ⁓ a training run in for the Avelyn: And so that was, um, that was in November of 2023. And so in February of 2024, I started training and I just started from scratch. just kind of thought to myself, all right, let's see how long it takes me to run one mile. And then my friend Shane helped me a little bit with like training. And then I started to use different apps to help me get there. Um, I did over train myself. MikeRunsMarathons: But if you're in New York City this upcoming weekend, which will be the twenty-seventh and the twenty-eighth, and you are running either the Pride Run with New York Roadrunners or you're running the Achilles run with New York Roadrunners, feel free. Hopefully I I would love to run into some of you, meet some of you, introduce myself to some of you. these two of my favorite races to do every year. I love the Pride Run. ⁓ it is, I think, the largest Pride Run ⁓ the At least it might be the world, I'm not sure. Avelyn: because I just didn't know any better. So I ended up like injuring my hip flexors along the way. so I had to take some time ⁓ I was scared that I wasn't gonna be able to make it, but I just kept pushing. I kept training and it took me, I went couch to marathon in 11 months. So that January of 2025 is when I ran the Walt Disney World full. then when I got to the end, I kind of thought to myself like, I think I could have done a better job at that. MikeRunsMarathons: That is crazy. Avelyn: And so I didn't think, I thought I was gonna be one and done and then I got to the end and I was like, I could have maybe tried better. maybe could have done a better job. MikeRunsMarathons: But a phenomenal race. So many people come out for it, so many people dress up for it. And actually it'll be my ninth race for the nine plus one program. So this will actually be the race that qualifies me for the 2027 New York City Marathon. And so I'm really excited to ⁓ not hit my ninth race, but for it to be at the Pride Run. I didn't plan for this to happen. I actually was supposed to get it at the Queens 10K. ⁓ That's how they get you is you think that you're done the first one. You're like, I did the same thing in 2021. ran New York city and I was like, I worked up so hard to get this and that's my goal. And that's the only thing I'm going to do. And then I will do something else afterwards. No, no, I finished and I said the same exact thing. I think I could do better next time. So I decided to do it again. So that that's how they get you. And, know, shout out to Shane for, being so supportive. But I had to skip one of my runs because I had a prior engagement with the Broad Street run as their ambassador. And so it ended up being the Pride Run. So I'm really excited because Pride is very important to me as a non-binary runner. I think that welcoming every single person into this community is ⁓ paramount building a and Avelyn: Yeah. Shout out to Shane. MikeRunsMarathons: And I mean, he's not wrong. mean, anybody can run a marathon if you train smart and properly, regardless of what your physical fitness looks like. And I love that what really drew you to this was seeing people of all body shapes, all experience levels, regardless of their finish times, the final finishers in the New York City Marathon are some of them, in my opinion, some of the most important people of marathon in general, because they finish long after dark because it's the day Avelyn: Yeah. MikeRunsMarathons: welcoming running community. If we don't ⁓ bring in, if we don't make this a welcoming community and we don't let people come in regardless of who they are, regardless of their body type, regardless of their gender identity, their sexuality, their gender, their experience level, what have you, then we're not a community. Right? we need to be able to allow That daylight savings time ends and they start at like 11 o'clock and they finish at like eight, nine, 10 o'clock at night. You're looking at 10 plus hours. And that is incredible. So I definitely completely agree with you 100 % on that. it's just so funny that you went from somebody who failed gym to somebody who's now run three marathons. I think that that's... Avelyn: Mm-hmm. MikeRunsMarathons: Anyone who wants to lace up their shoes and hit the trail or hit the road or the track call themselves a runner. And there's so many barriers that come up with individuals in these communities that are marginalized and are attacked, whether it's from a safety standpoint from a geographic standpoint or a standpoint. And right now. Incredible. It reminds me of when I was in high school because we were the only classes we were required to take all four years were English and gym. Why? I don't know. But if you if you failed gym, it was like you were required to go to summer school because of it because it was a requirement for the year. So I just I couldn't imagine what that and what that would be like. And especially since you were like, I don't want to do the sports and now you have to write about them. That's just. Many of these people are under attack just simply for being who they are. And it's a shame that our country has made such progress the last ten years, fifteen years, tremendous progress, which required decades of work and fighting, and is now feeling like it's regressing. And so I'm hoping that. That would make me go insane because I don't want to, I hate, I don't want to do that at all. I'd rather just make me do the thing and then I'll just get it done. But if you need to make me write like a five page paper on like, I don't know, tennis, I don't think I could do that. Avelyn: you It was interesting for sure. MikeRunsMarathons: Now you say you have asthma, right? ⁓ And you run marathons. Can you take me into what it was like from a practical standpoint? My wife has asthma. She's had asthma since she was a kid. She still has it. So I'm assuming that you still have it in some capacity. In terms of managing that asthma during training, during racing, what do you do to stay smart, stay on top of it, and things like Avelyn: Mm-hmm. MikeRunsMarathons: We can turn the tide on that because it's it's so upsetting to see. Avelyn: I think mean, I always carry my inhaler. I've had asthma since ⁓ birth. just have never not had it. ⁓ I when you have it for that long too, you get really familiar with your body and your body signals and what your body needs. I think lot of it has come down to I won't go on run without my inhaler. It has to be on my persons ⁓ at any given I've also walk run. So I think that that helps definitely with like VO2 max and like getting adjusted my heart rate, my breathing. think it took me the probably the longest to figure out how to breathe while running because if I lose my breath work, the is done. There's just no like recovering or no coming back from that. have to be so at first it was like something that I spent so much time focusing on because it just doesn't come natural to think like MikeRunsMarathons: And I know the running community is a is such a safe place for those runners who identify as LGBTQIA plus. and I wanna make sure that they have a place that they can come to when they feel like things get too difficult or too stressful or they feel like they have nowhere else to turn. Because being attacked for simply who you are, who you were born as, and ⁓ Avelyn: okay, I have to breathe in here and then breathe out. So it was just something that I spent so much time focused on at the beginning of when I first started running so that I just wouldn't lose my breathing. And then I think really is the balance of like when to push myself and when it's just not smart to push myself any further. MikeRunsMarathons: you know, the the incredible person that you are so painful and so upsetting. So Avelyn: So I just think I have this like rule of thumb that let's say I'm doing speed work and I start to feel that my chest is getting tired or I start to feel that I'm gonna need my inhaler. That's just not a line that I'm super willing to cross because it's hard to bring myself back from I need an inhaler, what that's what it's doing to my lungs in that moment or what's happening in my lungs in that moment. It's hard to scale back from that, but it's easier to keep myself from getting there. MikeRunsMarathons: ⁓ I'm really excited to run these races this weekend. I hope to see some of you there Speaking of races, if you are watching this, by the time you are watching this, the charity process for the Tokyo Marathon will already begun, which I believe began ⁓ Tuesday. Tuesday night, if you're on the East Coast. So if you are Avelyn: So either I have to like slow down or be conscious, but it just depends. If the seasons, if we're in the spring, forget it. That inhaler is getting used whether I like it or not, but it just has a lot to do with like getting to know my body, my body signals, talking to my doctors about it, making sure that what I'm doing is safe for my body. And if I'm having a flare up, I'm just probably not gonna run that day. And that's okay too. If I have to miss a training run, I'm missing a training run. MikeRunsMarathons: Looking to run the Tokyo Marathon and you are unsure of whether or not you're going to get into the lottery, you can always apply via the charity option, which is available through their website. It's very convoluted compared to how the other World Marathon majors set up their charity process. you essentially have to bid ⁓ and apply to one charity. You don't get to apply to multiple. And they the decision essentially based off of how much you are willing to to bid. Yeah. Now have you had anybody on social media reach out to you about asthma when it comes to running? Avelyn: Yeah, think have and I think mostly the questions are around breathing because, you we breathe naturally is something you don't think about. You don't think about like, ⁓ I have to take a breath in now. I have to take a breath out now. But when you start to that physical activity and you maybe don't have your full lung capacity, suddenly you're very, very like conscious that, my breathing not working the way it should be working. So I think that it's MikeRunsMarathons: So if you have questions, if you're not sure how to do it, or if you need help or assistance, feel free to reach out to me. I've run it twice and I plan on running it again next year. And I'm I'm more than happy to put you in the right direction or try to give you as many answers as I possibly can as I try to navigate through this as well. But ⁓ best of luck to all of you signing up for the Tokyo Marathon. I hope to see some of you there next year, and hopefully I can do another shakeout run like I did. Avelyn: it could be scary for some people to kind of start out running in that way and not know what's happening to your lungs or not know how to breathe properly. so when I lead, like when I lead my run club girls, I usually, I pace with a run club here in Atlanta. And so when I'm pacing my girls, I can hear it because it's now it's something that I'm hyper aware of because it's in my own body. So I can hear ⁓ when loo, when some of the girls, when I'm losing them to their breath work. MikeRunsMarathons: last year, which I was awesome. And I got to meet some some really great phenomenal runners. Avelyn: And so I always will like reset everybody's breath work. I'll make everyone take like a strategic like breath in, breath out. If we're doing walk, run intervals, have them reset their breathing during, you know, the walking breaks. And so I think people, ⁓ think, yeah, people have a lot of questions cause it's hard. Your body just doesn't do it naturally, especially if you have asthma, your body's kind of like, what we doing? MikeRunsMarathons: Before we get to our guest Aveline, I want to take a quick break just to talk about our sponsor for today's episode, which is Shox. And right now, if you are looking for a pair headphones for your running, your biking, or other endurance sport that you do outside or even in the pool, see my wife struggle sometimes with her breathing, especially actually during the winter, there's a lot of people here that use fireplaces. And so she struggles a lot with that at night when it comes through either from us out of the car into the house or just sometimes we can smell it inside the house. So that's awesome that you've helped people with their own when it deals with their own asthma they run. Because I think that that is Avelyn: Yeah. MikeRunsMarathons: I mean, I've seen and read about so many people who have had asthma attacks on the run. I can only imagine how, one, that is, and two, how scary it is. Because especially, I mean, I'm glad you carry your inhaler with you. Because I can only imagine people that think, I don't need it today, and then it happens. And then there's nothing that they can do. And how that is. Now, so you went this who hated Shox is actually doing their prime day sale right now from ⁓ the 23rd the 26th. You can save up to 35% off a number of headphones that they have ranging from the OpenMuns Pro 2 to the Open Dots 1, and kind of everything between. And the wonderful thing is, is if you use the Micruns Marathons, you can save an additional 5% off of your purchase. Shox headphones, if you ⁓ gym and exercise to somebody who ran. But at what point did you go from somebody who runs to somebody who is a runner or considers themselves a runner? Was there like a specific moment, maybe a finish line or run where this the identity kind of clicked? Avelyn: I think I struggled a lot with the identity of being a runner. I think it took me a really long time to call myself a runner. even I feel like I got around it for a long time by saying I run instead of I'm a runner. And I would say like I run sometimes instead of just saying I'm a runner, which sounds silly, but it just made it ⁓ felt official that, you know, I just said like I run. MikeRunsMarathons: If if you know me, you know that they are the only headphones I use for all of my training, all of my marathons themselves. And they are headphones that I recommend for any endurance athlete out there. They have great sound quality. Avelyn: so I think it took me quite a while to feel comfortable in the of being a runner and identifying myself as a did maybe like few, ⁓ a few months I think I'd been running for six or seven months. did ⁓ a interview a team they were doing some brand research and the person that was interviewing MikeRunsMarathons: The transparency with these headphones is incredible. They still allow you to hear your surroundings really well so that you can feel safe, whether you're on the trail or on the road, ⁓ on a bike path, away from other people. And cannot tell you how much peace of mind has brought me. Avelyn: referred to me as an athlete mid interview and i was like Who? And he, yeah, and he was like, he was like, you, like, you've, you're about to run a marathon. What do you mean? And I was like, oh, okay, yeah, I guess. And then around the same time, I went on vacation with my family and we were in Italy and I woke up early to go for a run. MikeRunsMarathons: ⁓ Avelyn: And then I remember, I feel like I had to have made like a TikTok and I was like, hey, just, I'm on vacation. I just went out for a run. At what point, you know, do I start calling myself a runner? And everybody in the comments were like, hey girl, I know how to tell you this, but you're there. MikeRunsMarathons: that's funny. That's funny. Well, I I I struggled too as well when I first started running because I initially out with my goal of just being able to run for 20 minutes without stopping. And that's all thought I was going to be able to do. And once I kind of started to work towards the I don't want to say the longer distances because I was really doing five case, maybe 10 case at most. I got in set out to run a marathon. I just. So definitely jump on ⁓ this ⁓ sale if you're looking for a new pair of Shox headphones. kind of wanted to see how far I could go eventually. Yeah, it was a big struggle. And I don't actually know for me when that clicked, when I consider myself a runner. It was probably when other people started to call me it, that I was like, you guys see me as that, so maybe I should see myself as that. Okay, I guess some sort of disconnect of me like on the outside, like looking through a window and you guys see something that I don't. So I guess now that's what I am. So no, that's to know though. and again, like runs marathons, all one word saves you 5% off on your purchase. But you know the drill, grab some water, find your stride, and meet me in the conversation because today's guest is someone that I've been so excited to introduce you to. I'm glad, I mean, I can only imagine sitting in a room full of people like that and they call you an athlete. I'd be like, who else is in this room? ⁓ Avelyn: Right. And I think too, just ⁓ in terms of like social media, when I started training for my marathon and I started posting, there weren't a lot of other women bodies like mine that were making running content. Like we have, we do have women that have been doing it for a long time and posting it like Latoya Snell, but there weren't, there weren't, wasn't a lot, you know? there was like, we had, like, I had Latoya to look up to, you know, and then I had my now peers that we were all kind of on this like journey together, out about to run our first marathons, figuring it out as women in bigger bodies or slow runners or run walkers, figuring it out. So that was another thing that it was just kind of like, ⁓ I don't really fit into the mold that all of these other running creators fit into. So then like, what am I? Because I'm slower or anytime I would see someone say, I'm a slow runner online and then they're running a 10 minute mile and I'm like, hello, so what am I? MikeRunsMarathons: you're very about the acceptance of all these different experience levels and body and things like that into the running world, which I think is incredible and phenomenal and ⁓ very much needed. But was this always easy for you to own publicly or did it take time for it to show up that way? Avelyn: I I started mostly making content for my own personal accountability. And then I started getting and comments where people were telling me, I up for a 5K because I didn't realize that I could be a runner. And when I saw you, I realized I could run and that I try it. so I think... the more people would reach out and tell me how I had just opened up this whole new world for them that they didn't see themselves represented in or they didn't see as a possibility, which seems crazy to think about, right? Like, what do you mean? Like anybody can go out and run, but there are certain, you know, spaces where there could be some hesitation because just don't see. people that look like you doing it. And especially if you think about running, like every part of your body is moving. So it's just, there's a lot of like self-consciousness that goes into it, that maybe you're just insecure about the way your body looks when you're running, or you think you're gonna look silly because you're breathing hard, or you don't want there to be people around when you're breathing. There's all of these things that like somebody who's in a bigger body is thinking about. And if you're not seeing other people do it and normalize it, then it's harder for you to conceptualize that it's something that you could do too. So I think, don't think I showed up online deciding I'm gonna make content as a slow runner. I showed up online as I'm a normal who's never ever run before and I I'm gonna run a marathon. So I'm making content because the way my personality works ⁓ is that that I've brought up all these strangers on board to on my story, now I have to do it. There's no backing out. So. That's how I started making content. And then as soon as I realized of these people reaching out and like telling me how much I had helped them or ⁓ they ran their first 5k or they ran their first half marathon and now having women reach out and tell me that they've run their first marathons or they're signed up for their first marathons because they, know, saw my videos and they realized that like we have the same body type and they can actually run a marathon. now I'm very very happy to take on the title of slow runner run walker midsize plus size literally, whatever whatever I'm just an average person showing other average people that they're capable of extraordinary things MikeRunsMarathons: Thank you. Yes, and I love that so much because there are so many people that think about getting into running. And I was one of those people as well, where they see influences out there or they see even elites that are out there and they look at the body types, they look at the paces, they look at everything. And they think, well, I can't do that. That's impossible for me. Or I'll never be able to get to that level. Why should I even try? I'm just gonna fail. Or they do start, they just, they compare themselves to those people and when they realize that they can't do it, then they quit. So being able to be that, quote unquote, ordinary person who is doing this is such a powerful thing to do because we need people in running. I know it's gonna be difficult to say that with everything that's going on right now with all the races selling out very quickly and the lotteries being millions of people, ⁓ you know, up, but the more people that we have involved in these types of sports, I guarantee you the happier that they're going to be because when I started running, you identify with something you said like really powerfully about like feeling judged for what you look like. I was like 60 pounds heavier than I am now when I first started running and I ran the first like six to eight miles or six to eight months of my running journey inside on a treadmill because I didn't want anybody to see me. I was afraid to run outside. I was afraid to run around like Central Park or on the street because I thought people were going to judge me. They're going to look at me and be like, look at this guy. He's not a runner. He's just trying to do this and like, he should just go back inside. And so, you know, being, I like, if I had seen, I mean, social media probably, was it around when I started running? It was, I'm not that old. But I wish that had probably seen newer content back then when I started running, it would have really helped me in terms of being able to like accept the fact that could be a runner. And it's something that I've learned for myself over the last couple of years of, you know, we idolized these Avelyn: Okay. MikeRunsMarathons: really strong people that, you know, have to be physically fit because of what they're doing. And always sense of imposter syndrome when you go and do one of these things, because you think that I, you know, no way I'll be able to quote unquote, do well in this race because of, you know, look at this person next to me, or, you know, I'm this letter corral back here. Well, you know, all these other people are up here. And I love the fact that people reached out to you and been like, I've signed up for my first race things like that because of what you've been able to teach them. Cause that is, that is powerful. So I, know, my hats off to you and massive kudos for that because that's, that's really what this is all about. Like I also do the same thing I post for like sometimes to hold myself accountable for what I do and to make sure that I'm still training. But I, I, I Avelyn: So, thank MikeRunsMarathons: try to also post to be able to try to help other people know that they can run if they want to and them not feel so judged by the running community, because it still happens, and I'm pretty sure you probably see it too. And as you pointed out, the running world has this very specific image of what a runner looks like. And you about it a little bit, but if you wanted to go into a little bit more detail of how have you navigated that, and has that ever made you feel like you had the prove something that just to be in the space or that you needed to show something extra that somebody else might not have needed to. Avelyn: I think I've just tried my hardest to really just stay authentic to myself. And I think that There's been, I've had a lot of like trial and error just like on my own and I just think, I think when I first started running, like I didn't really know what to wear and I didn't know what shoes to put on and I didn't know kind of where to start. And then I also, because I was self-conscious about my body, I'd wear different things or bigger things. And I think the more I started doing it, the more it was like, okay, well, I'm wearing a sports bra I'm going to wear shorts. And so I for me, like, It's just been this progression of getting more comfortable in my body and just more comfortable in the fact that like I am a runner and it may take me twice as long as someone to finish a marathon or a full marathon, but that 26 miles is 26 miles. I think, I think even in that there's a lot ⁓ like self-conscious and like these like thoughts of like time and pace or looking at someone else who's slower and being like, okay, well, long did it take them? I there's just like a lot of work that happens in that being ⁓ sure ⁓ who are and what bringing to the table and being sure of the fact that at the end of the day, I did my 26.2 miles just like somebody else. And if you even go way further back, the first, MikeRunsMarathons: Mm-hmm. Avelyn: man to run a marathon, didn't have a garment on, so we don't actually know. Did he walk? I don't know. How long did it take him? I don't know. And so, and that's just kind of the point that I always go back to is the races are measured in distance, not in time. And so if you're getting your distance in, you know, I'm not showing up to win the New York City Marathon or the Boston Marathon. I'm showing up to complete the Boston Marathon and complete the New York City Marathon. MikeRunsMarathons: Exactly. Avelyn: And that's what I intend on doing. So I think there's definitely a lot of doubt that happens. I think Boston in particular, I had an insane amount of anxiety going into Boston. had full like 20 minute session the night before just because I was just scared. It was uncharted ⁓ land, feels like a lot of slower runners. had seen other slower runners have really awful experiences at Boston. so I just was terrified. But I also knew that I worked really hard to build a community that empowers people to show up in every space, whether ⁓ space for us or not. And something that I thought about a lot, and I think I included in my run blog for Boston is it's to be in a room that wasn't built for you. And that's okay. And so if it has to be me who shows up and is uncomfortable to show other people that we can be in rooms like this, then that's okay. Then I'll be uncomfortable and that's fine. And so I think kind of set all that doubt aside and just one foot in front of the other and I'm just gonna do it, you know? MikeRunsMarathons: So actually I wanted to ⁓ tell you I actually wrote down what you said raises are measured measured in distance not time I love that much that I think that is so Powerful so important and so many people forget about it, especially at Boston. I I Ran Boston for the first time in 2024 with the charity and I was nowhere close to qualifying in terms of my time. So I felt very uncomfortable when I was at Boston. So I heavily with what you said about feeling like you didn't belong. And I'm pretty sure you've probably seen the discourse online that happens usually around every April about charity runners and slow runners and people that don't qualify and things like that. So can only imagine how that like made you feel because it made me feel terrible in 2024. I'm glad you were there and I'm glad you're able to finish and that you had a great time because that that's the important thing. And as you said, you did the 26.2 miles. Who cares what your time is you're going up there. Avelyn: 26.95 exactly. MikeRunsMarathons: mine was 26.4 or something like that. Now, you've talked about community. I want to jump into talking about that because you are deeply connected to the Atlanta running community. And you a lot about inclusivity in the sport. What does ⁓ Atlanta running look to you? And what is it still need? Avelyn: I the Atlanta running has a little bit of everything, I think. It has run clubs that feel a little bit more ⁓ on faster side. It has run clubs that feel a bit more on the slower side. I feel like a vibe for everyone. If you want, there's even like running communities that include like HIIT workouts and stuff like that. there's just, I feel Atlanta is a very city in general. So are lots of options. I think when, what I was just talking to my friends about on the same topic is that ⁓ everyone wants be inclusive, but like it's okay if everyone's not. Just be honest about what you're offering and what's available at your run clubs. So, you know, if your run club is not built for people who are run something slower than a 13, then that's okay. Just let people know that that's the deal so that people who do run a 13 are not showing up to your run club and getting run behind. some of the run clubs that I take part in, ⁓ our pace is an 11 minute mile. And we'll accommodate if someone shows up and they're faster than that. but I'm sure someone who's running an eight, nine minute mile would probably be happier with a group of people who run an eight, nine minute mile. So I think that there's this, everyone to appear inclusive and everyone wants to that we have room for everyone. But I think that it's okay to just be transparent so that the people that are coming know what they're getting themselves into and know if they belong with your group or not. And that's okay because there's another group right down the street probably. who has something to offer that would be better suited for that person. MikeRunsMarathons: Yeah, I used to go to Atlanta a couple of times a year for work and running the path that you guys have outside of Piedmont Park. my God, it's incredible. I love it so much. But I do remember at like a specific time, it would just be like crowded with Nike runners and would be all paced. And so I would see like five minute mile people just like zooming past me and I'd be like, what is happening right now? This is wild. But I Avelyn: the Beltline. MikeRunsMarathons: I agree with you. think there's a run company that's by me and there's a run club. I actually have never joined them because I'm primarily afraid of how they will judge people. Whether it's their pace or you got like different cliques of people within the group and get somebody new to come in and be like, who's this person? Like, I don't want to be around them. ⁓ So I think you hit money. You hit the, what's the statement? You hit the nail on the head. I think that's what it is. Avelyn: Mm-hmm. Yeah. MikeRunsMarathons: you know, all, so many people want inclusivity. think it, and I love, that's something that I really fight for. But as you pointed out, say you go to a run club and you run a 15 minute mile, but there's nobody there that's going to run a 15 minute mile with you. You were off running by yourself than kind of showing up there. And then, you know, Avelyn: Yeah, I'd rather transparency over inclusivity any day. MikeRunsMarathons: Yes, yes. And there are some clubs that are like, only like fast runners and that's okay. should tell them so that people don't show up and then get one of or laughed out of the room. Yeah, that's it's, it's weird how, man, I never really thought about that, that people want inclusivity, but they're just not honest about it. That's crazy. It just opened my mind up to so many things. ⁓ Wild. Avelyn: Yeah. Yeah. MikeRunsMarathons: So you run with a couple people, you know, you have your crew of people. I have your Tatiana and Sierra. Avelyn: Yeah, those are my people, those are my girls. MikeRunsMarathons: So what has having a community for you and around you changed about your running experience? Avelyn: I think I, so we all kind started running around the same time. We were all documenting our journeys online. And then we all saw that we lived in Atlanta and we were like perfect besties. And so we started running together. Tatiana ran her marathon first. She ran hers in November of 2024. And so Sierra and I went to and support her on her marathon. And was getting ready for mine in January and Sierra got to come to support me ⁓ in my marathon in January. And then found out that we all got into New York and that was Sierra's first marathon. ⁓ And so all, ran New York together, but separate. So Tatiana had the incredible opportunity to do first start at New York. And so yeah, so she had that really amazing opportunity. We were all gonna run together, but then she got that. then, Sierra and I stuck together. And my only goal in New York was to make sure Sierra crossed the finish line. And we did it, she made it. And it just has really changed just running for me in general. So confession, but I don't actually, I am a self-proclaimed running hater. Like I still don't actually think I like running. I, it's not fun for me. I'm not getting out there. I'm not having a fun time. I don't finish. I'm like, ⁓ what a great run. Like I just don't, I ⁓ high don't know her. Like I just, it just has not been my experience. I just like the person that running has turned me into. And that's kind of just heavily what I lean on because running has truly changed my life and how I operate in every other aspect of my life. And that's why I keep running. But there was one thing besides that, that would keep me. in it and would keep me running as the community and being able to do races with my friends and wear matching outfits with my friends to races. we ran, ⁓ think it was our first race that all three of us signed up for. We ran together. We did the Peachtree Polar opposite in January, right before my marathon and right after Tatiana's. And we decided we were going to dress up as the Powerpuff Girls. And so, it was cold. So we all had like headbands on. And we showed up thinking, we're the pop-off girls. And everybody was like, ⁓ my God, are you guys the Cheetah Girls? And we were just like, yeah. so that of stuck. And it's they just make everything better. It makes training easier. I trained for Ciara, the entire training block we trained for New York together. She did most of my training runs with me for Boston. Um, another one of my amazing friends from our run club, Damali. I had a lot of anxiety leading up to Boston that honestly made me feel like I didn't want to run at all. And it wasn't, if it wasn't for Damali being like, how many miles are you running this week? And then I would tell her and she'd be like, great. See you at the trail on Wednesday, 11 o'clock. And Damali ran my. my 18 mile run with me. ran my, she ran a 10K with me. She just, she showed up and she held me accountable and she made sure that I got my peak weekend and she didn't have to, you know, and she paced me and she made sure I was run walking the right way and fueling the right way. And her journey is incredible and getting to know her and having her as someone to lean on and as a friend has also been incredible. So just having that community just has really changed me liking running, I think. I'll definitely, I enjoy it when I'm with my friends for sure. MikeRunsMarathons: It's funny, every person for the most part that I've interviewed, when they talk about, especially the beginning of the running journey, and I can attest to this too, it sucks and you hate it. Doesn't matter whether you've been running since track or running since a kid or if you just started yesterday. Like everybody hates it in the beginning because it's just terrible. just, you don't know how to breathe properly. You don't really know the proper running form. You can get injured easily. The same thing, runner's high. What is that? I mean, I started running and I would make a bargain with myself. like, I'm going to run into that tree. and then I will walk. And then I will get to the tree and say, I'm gonna run to that tree and I will walk. And it just kind of kept playing games with my head like that. I wanna jump back to something you said about how running has changed so many other facets in your life. And that's what you love about running. It's not necessarily the running part, but what it's changed in you. What has running ⁓ you with and helped within you that's made you kind of who you are today? Avelyn: Yeah, so I am someone who struggled with depression and anxiety for a very long time. Like debilitating to the point where ⁓ my house looks a certain way, I'll say, depression house or depression hair, ⁓ you like whatever, whatever it is that I have not. been paying attention to and just didn't prioritize in to deal with my anxiety and with my depression. And about running miles and something about the training process to run a marathon, I truly rewired brain. Whatever wires were crossed up that would tell myself that like, I didn't have enough energy to get out of bed today or I didn't, you know, I didn't feel good today. So I wasn't going to get out of bed or I wasn't going to brush my teeth or whatever it was that day that I was really struggling with something in those wires were uncrossed when I was training for my marathon because it didn't matter that I didn't feel like it. I had still signed up for it. The date was still looming and I still had to do it. And so something in the process of getting up and running three to four times a week when I didn't feel like it and I didn't want to. And my 20 mile run, my peak week training for my first marathon, it was pouring rain, it was cold, and I had gotten my period that day. And so that was like the ultimate awful day for me. And I still was like, well, I know what this week looks like. I know that I'm not going to have another day this week to run these 20 miles. So I don't have a choice. So I'm going to go run my 20 miles. so something about building like ⁓ and building that discipline marathon training changed the way that I operate just in my day to day life. Because once you've tricked your mind and your body to going 26.2 miles. I think there's very little that is not within your grasp of being able to achieve. MikeRunsMarathons: I can definitely attest to that. After I ran my first marathon, was like, everything else doesn't seem as now that I've done this. Yeah, it's crazy because before then you're so worried about it and then once you do it, you're like, that's it. But then of course you sign up for the next one and you're like, I'm nervous all over again. ⁓ Avelyn: Yeah, it's true! ⁓ Yeah, I don't think it actually gets easier. ⁓ mean, I've done three and I don't think at any point I'd be like, another marathon. You know, it's fine. It's gonna, no problem. I'm fine. MikeRunsMarathons: have friends who say that to me all the time like ⁓ it's just another marathon for you. like Would you like to come you want to come run it with me? Cuz like I'll show you what ⁓ Avelyn: Right, right. And you're not the same person that you were the last time. You're not the same person. Your training cycle may have not gone the same. There were different factors. Your body's different. Something different hurts. Like, yeah, I someone say to me like, well, you've done it before. And I was like, not in this body. Like, not in today me. Me a few months ago did it. But that was a different me. MikeRunsMarathons: Exactly. Yeah. I mean, my running since Boston has been absolutely terrible. And it's made me feel like I'm literally back at day one of learning how to run again because I can't breathe. I can't run properly. I'm so winded and I'm so tired. I'm just like, what? I just ran 26.2 miles the other week. Like what happened? And I agree with you because every single cycle is so different no matter how many times you do it. you could have and also you could have the perfect training cycle each time. Perfect. Like on Avelyn: Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. MikeRunsMarathons: perfect nutrition, got all your runs done, hit all your marks, you your body could feel great at the starting line. Anything can happen when you cross the starting line. Anything at all. You could get sick, you could trip, somebody could run into you. I saw that happen to somebody when I was running Tokyo two years ago. was awful. when you cross that finish line, it doesn't matter how many times you've done it, you learn something new about yourself. And it's crazy when that happens because Avelyn: Yeah. Mm-hmm. MikeRunsMarathons: You know, I know people, there's somebody in December, I did like some 5K and there were people from the running club that I am scared of that were there and they were talking. And this one guy was like, yeah, you know, I'm about to run my, I think it was like his 50th marathon. And I was like, bam, 50th marathon. And I realized like, it doesn't matter whether it's your first or your 50th. Like each one is one completely separate from the last one and two. Avelyn: Thank MikeRunsMarathons: you figure something else out at the end of it that you didn't know before. Now, you ran New York with Ciara, but ⁓ and her run your podcasts, the run and tell right? So what made you wanna take what you love about running and build a show around it? And then if you wanna talk about it and what you guys, like the theme and things like that, it'd be great. Avelyn: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yes. Yeah, so, Sierra and I just from day one have had such a good dynamic, good banter, when every time we've ever posted any kind of video together, it just does really well. Like we have similar wavelengths of humor and cadence. And so we just always worked off of each other so well that we were like, why don't we do a podcast? And so we just booked it. We were like, okay, yeah, let's just go and yap. the first one, she was in charge of the topics. So she booked it, she was in charge of topics and ⁓ just kind of went in and did it and it went really well. We just kind of wanted to do it once. We didn't even think like, ⁓ we're gonna do it again. And we did one, it did really well. We got a really great response for it. And then we were like, you want to do that again? Maybe. think that was fun. And so we did it again. So we've only had two episodes so far. We're going to work on our third episode now. But figuring out like the cadence of the show and getting more track because it just kind of was ⁓ on a and it did well. And we were like, ⁓ yeah, let's do that again. That was fun. And so I we talk about running and we'll ask. ask on my stories and she'll ask on our stories, hey, what do you guys want to talk about? we get asked a lot of questions all the time about all different things. And it's just hard to share same response 100 times or go through this go through like I want to be able to give everyone the same amount of information. But sometimes I know that if I don't answer it right then I'm just gonna forget. And so I answer it really quick. So I can't give a more in depth response to something. So on the podcast, her and I can deep dive more. I think it allows people to get to know us better too, because being online is such a weird space. you only just get a few seconds of someone. But then being able for her and I to just be able to sit down and just go back and forth and have more banter and deep dive into different topics and share more about ourselves has given us a space for people to get to know us better. So we do touch on mostly running. toss in a little bit of our personal lives, what's going on in our personal lives, and just honestly a little bit of foolery in there as well. We just decided on, well I just decided on adding ⁓ this segment where I have pitch ⁓ a conspiracy to Ciara and she decides she's gonna put her tin-full hat on or not. Like if I've successfully convinced her to tin-full hat. And so we're just having fun. MikeRunsMarathons: I mean, that's what I love about podcasts. For the most part, there are some really bad ones, but we don't want to talk about, especially podcasts. I love running podcasts because there's so much banter that between the co-hosts things like that. But it's still like, as a runner, you still identify with it and you still connect with them in some way, or form. And I'm going to to your podcast and we're going start listening to it because I didn't know it was relatively new. The way that you... you were discussing it and things, sounds like it's been together for a while. I'm really excited to see it take off and I can't wait to see where goes. Avelyn: Thank you. MikeRunsMarathons: I want to talk about running for something bigger because one of the things that we were talking about for the show started was charity running. And raised money, though you were part of Team Zeiss All for the Boston Marathon, for Race Against Dimension. And I respect runners to the nth degree. They're, in my opinion, and I'm probably going get some hate for this, so much more important than me than qualified runners because of what you do. You raise money to give to a charity which provides either services or research or support to somebody, some group. And I think that that is so important in today's society with everything that's been going on. But I think that people that get into a race ⁓ their own in some way, but then still sign up to run with another charity at the same time and willingly decide to do it are even stronger in my opinion because ⁓ Avelyn: So you MikeRunsMarathons: You don't have to and you decided to. And I know that you decided to do this even though you were a part of Team Zeissall. Can you share why that cause that you decided to run for is personal to you and what it means to you for when you. Avelyn: Yeah, so I how important charity running is to the Boston Marathon. And didn't want to miss out on that because that felt so special to me that charity runners play such a big part in the Marathon. And the Boston Marathon not be the Boston Marathon without charity runners. raising millions of dollars charity year after year is such an incredible legacy for a race to have. So I wanted to be a part of that even though I had been given my bib through a brand. And so I chose run with a charity that supports research for dementia. And that has very recently, I think, become something that's very near and dear to me because my ⁓ girlfriend's has And so it's something that I see her deal with every single day and learn how to navigate. And there's just so many and lows and hard days and just watching how she has her entire life now to the care of her mom and how it's something is actually more common, I think, than we talk about and is a condition that affects many people and their could be so many advancements in this and so many tools to help people. And there's so many different types of dementia. so it's, with big of a disease it is, it's so severely under researched. And I think for a long time, it felt like it was just something that happened. It was just something that happened in the brain and it just was inevitable. But there's been so many advancements and so many research to show. that there ways where it can be preventable or there is research showing response to treatment ⁓ can help dementia patients. even right there's the two brothers have dementia that he doesn't know if he's live for another 10 years and he's running 30 marathons through Ireland right now to raise for that specific type of dementia. But there's just so many different types and it affects. so many families and I think for so long we just kind of let it be, you know, we thought it was just part of getting old but the truth is it's not part of getting old. It's a very specific like neurological condition that or even a deficiency condition that then leads to neurological complications and so something that recently in the last year has come into my life and just opened my eyes into how devastating. MikeRunsMarathons: Yeah. Avelyn: it can be and something that I wanted to be able to dedicate my to and raise money for. MikeRunsMarathons: That is incredible and I agree with you. I've had a people in my life who have been affected by the mention. So just thank you for raising those funds. means a lot, not just to, you other runners, especially other charity runners, but also to obviously the organization you're raising money for and the families and the individuals that you're helping with that. Now, are you ⁓ interested in funds for other world marathon majors or? Are you interested in running the world marathon majors and other ones in general? Because I know you've got New York now and not Boston. the six star medal on your mind? Avelyn: Yes, so I would I would love to run for another charity Have run for charities before I ran the Walt Disney World half marathon with no kid hungry which is incredible organization, especially with the with so food insecure families Losing access to like snap. It's such an incredible where for every $10 that you donate could be up to 100 meals for a food insecure child in the US. And so I've had the privilege to run with No Kid Hungry. And now having been able to raise for Race Against Dementia, I'm definitely open to it because The six star medal is on my radar. I know I've run two. So the thing is that I technically only have one star because I did not finish Boston in less than six hours. And so I do not have my second star for Boston. so now mentality is I'm gonna go off and get all my other stars and then I'm gonna come back for Boston on the backend. And that be like my Boston redemption arc. to make it my like six star metal finish. MikeRunsMarathons: I love that. Boston was actually the last race that I ran to get my six star medal. And I did that with a charity and I wanted that to be my last one because I know how much money you have to raise for it. And also, as you pointed out, prestigious charity runners are in Boston because of how important it is. speaking of Boston, you just ran it and kind of like tiptoed around it and talked about it a little bit. I want to know what your experience was like. what did it feel like crossing that finish line? Avelyn: Boston was my, out of the three marathons that I've run, Boston was the hardest physically and mentally. I think that I tried to push myself as hard as I could on the first end and I was keeping about like a 1330 pace for the first half of the marathon. And even in keeping a 1330 by the time I was approaching the 10K mark. I was watching them tear down trackers. so even though me, I was going fast, it was not fast enough to beat So I was literally I would run and then the pace car would pass me and then I would pass the pace car and then the pace car, like the course limit car. MikeRunsMarathons: Mm-hmm. Avelyn: We were just going back and forth. Me and the Coarse Limit car were just neck and neck for several miles. watched them tear all the water stations and the aid stations. ⁓ And everybody about the Wellesley scream Didn't meet her time around. Maybe next time. There were maybe 30 girls out at Wellesley by the time I got there. And it was a different experience for me. And think that I just kept telling myself, I just kept thinking to myself the day before I had heard Olympia and Alexi Pappas at a panel and she there was a poem that she had written on our bags and that we at the panel. And I just remember this one specific part of the poem that just, paraphrasing here, but said like, people, pain and moments will pass. but tomorrow you wish that you still had today, you so stop wishing for it to be over. And so I just remember that I kept telling myself, people and moments pass, like people pain and ⁓ moments tomorrow you'll wish that you were still running the Boston Marathon. And that like kind of what I kept telling myself to keep myself mentally in it it's just so hard. A marathon already is hard. but it's so much harder to push yourself when gone. And you knew that like an hour before there were crowds of people everywhere screaming and ⁓ were aid stations. And I ran past a med tent and I was like, ⁓ you guys have bio freeze? And they were like, yeah, but they had already packed up. So like, they couldn't find the bio freeze. And I just said, nevermind. And I kept running and I needed water. And I ran past a... done breaking down a water station and I asked for water and someone literally looked at me. I said, do you have water? And she like turned around and walked away. And so it was, was a very difficult experience. But also I felt ⁓ grateful because there were so many random groups of people that had for whatever reason, I don't know, stayed behind. And there were so many strangers along the way. that I would like, they'd be like, what do you need? And I'd be like, bio freeze. And I had so many strangers bio freeze my legs and so many strangers like dig in their bags for a water bottle and fill my water for me. And like, at one point this guy I was running and he was just literally just on the sidewalk and he looked at me and he said, please take my jacket, it's so cold. And I said, I'm okay. And he was like, please, it's very cold, please take my jacket. And I said, okay. I took this guy's jacket. I could cry about it now again because I literally cried about this for a mile ⁓ it was so cold. And so I took his jacket and I wore this man's jacket almost all the way to the finish line until I handed it to my friends. And think was equally challenging and beautiful. I think I had to really find those little pockets of goodness to keep me going. MikeRunsMarathons: Mm-hmm. Avelyn: because the trucks that were breaking down and the people, they were like moving the tables and I had to yell, excuse me. So someone didn't hit me with a table or like, you know, like the trucks weren't mindful that there were still runners. So like I had to jump onto the sidewalk at one point, cause the truck just kept moving closer to me and I was like still running there. or they were. Bleeding up and leaf blowing the streets and I had to run through clouds of dirt and dust because they, you know, there were, it was time to clean up and that was just part of the cleanup. And so I think I had so many challenging moments where I could have just given up because it was just, it was, it was hard. It was the hardest thing I think I've ever had to do mentally. And so many moments where it sucked and you know, my body's hurting and then they moved us to the sidewalks and mile, you know, 20. MikeRunsMarathons: Mm-hmm. Avelyn: 23 is hard enough, 24 is hard enough, but having to go up and down on curbs at 23 miles in, 24 miles in just it that more unbearable at that point where you just can't. And I just kept telling myself, ⁓ just have to stick to my intervals. So I, Jeff, all the way, I'm a big Jeff Galloway fan. And I just had my little timer and I just kept telling myself, just do what can. So we're running when we're running and we're walking. And I just kept pushing myself. I stayed true to my intervals. just kept telling myself people like people pain and moments will pass people pain moments will pass. I just kept telling myself like I'm so grateful. I'm running the Boston Marathon. I'm so grateful to be here. I'm so grateful to be running this race. I'm going to be a Boston Marathoner today. And just kept pushing and I'm insanely grateful the people of Boston for my friends that met me along the way and my friends that ran the entire last mile me because I was ugly crying for a solid like two and a half miles at the end of the race. Could not have done it without them. But yeah, it was, it was hard. was such a hard race. MikeRunsMarathons: Yeah, it is brutal. they like it doesn't matter how many times you run it or how much you train those, especially after the first half, those hills. Oh, my God. I remember getting to them and I was like I was doing well up until that point. And then I got to them and I said to myself, I'm tired. I'm exhausted. And I walk around the rest of the race because I was just like, I can't I can't do this. It's not worth it. Avelyn: Yeah. I was just saying like, so the Alexi Pappas also had said, so she runs as a guide, she runs Boston as a guide with an adaptive athlete. And she saying that she had had a tough race the year before and her legs were really hurting her. And she told her, how do your arms feel? And she said, my arms feel fine. And she said, great, you're just arms right now. And so in the morning we were getting ready to go to the race. And I saw this girl walking towards us and she had her bib and she said, good luck. said, ⁓ my God, are you running? And she said, yeah. said, let us drive you. She was going to go take the train to get to the start line. And I said, we're going that way anyways. Do you want to ride? she hopped in the car with us and we kind of talked about it a little bit. She was like, yeah, I've heard another athlete say that, except she said her ear lobes. was like, you're not feeling well, you're in pain, you're ear lobes. And so I can't tell you how many times during Boston I was just earlobes. I just kept thinking to myself, the breeze feels nice on my earlobes. Like my earlobes feel great. They don't hurt me. They're not bothering me. I am earlobes. MikeRunsMarathons: love that. Your perseverance and resilience is legitimately definition of what this podcast is all about. And the fact that you had so many moments where could have just walked off the course or been like, I don't want do this anymore. I'm tired. heard this is like you see everybody breaking everything down. probably would myself. I would have been like, I don't know if I could do this. but you pushed through and you got to that finish line, I'm so proud of you. And two, I imagine how many other people you inspired from what you during that race. You, I mean, I don't, as you pointed out, it's about miles, not times, know, with 26.2 regardless how many hours it takes you to do. And the fact that you did that and you didn't give up in the face of so much adversity is, incredible. So I'm just I'm so proud of you. I know you probably beat yourself up. Right? At least a little bit. Avelyn: Thank you. I'll be back. That's what I keep telling myself. I'll be back for my star, Boston. MikeRunsMarathons: Exactly. Exactly. will get that and I Avelyn: I think I mentioned earlier that I knew what I was getting myself into going to Boston. I knew that it wasn't a race that particularly friendly to slower runners. ⁓ And I knew what was signing up for, but I also know that I've ⁓ built this really incredible around showing people that they can still show up to places like that. And so I... it's okay, you know, I've, already made peace with the fact that I'm going to have to be in plenty of spaces that weren't built for me and that's uncomfortable. It's uncomfortable to be in a room in a space that wasn't built for you. And think that that's part of the responsibility I've assumed, right. And like building my platform as someone who's like exploring these new spaces as someone ⁓ who runs me and looks like me and talks like me. And, and so think that I knew I kind of knew what I was getting myself into. I could have never, I think, really quantified my brain how of how much it was actually going to affect me when I was like, ⁓ it in it. But I'm just so, it just like such a privilege to have been able to do that and represent my community in a space like Boston, that like, it's okay, it's okay that it was me, I would do it again. You know? MikeRunsMarathons: Mm-hmm. mean I mean to piggyback off of this with with one of my last questions for you because amount of people that you've impacted with your content and with your story and the things that you You persevere and that you show other people as possible If you have somebody right who's listening to either your podcast or list they're watching your videos or something like that and they have never run a mile before or They've thought about running, but they've been afraid to for a number of reasons that you've pointed out as well, right? What do you want them to take away from your story? Avelyn: I think I'd want them to take away that all of our journeys are different that all of our that just ⁓ it never be this linear perfect process and just to have grace with yourself and have with your journey the you're showing up and that's more than most people do. it's hard most times, ⁓ know, there'll be good times, but most of the time it doesn't feel great or it's, it's not easy. It's uncomfortable. And having grace with yourself in those situations to just continue to show up for yourself. I think that's really the win, the winner and the failure. Like ⁓ failing really deciding to not show up for yourself anymore. even if you're showing up and it looks different, even if, you know, maybe you could, you were faster and now you're slower or are coming back from an injury or you're coming back from having a baby or whatever it is, is having that grace with yourself that showing up as the win and being, you know, there for yourself and not giving up on yourself is, is ultimately the win. The, the medals are nice, but it's, it's that journey to really find yourself in this new space that is what matters the most. MikeRunsMarathons: is beautiful and I agree with you like 110 % above all else. Metals are shiny and beautiful. are a bag. I pretty much, I look at them and I put them in the bag. The only one I have out is my six star metal and that's just because I don't want it to get scratched. But what you learn from all of this process of getting the beginning of something never done before, like you pointed out with Jim and Avelyn: you MikeRunsMarathons: hitting sports and exercise and everything, to running three marathons changes who you are as a person. And it makes you stronger in so many ways besides just getting more physically fit and have stronger endurance to run for that long. So I just, yes, that is something that I hope my own platform helps people with too, because I can tell just from. Avelyn: Okay. Okay. MikeRunsMarathons: What I learned from you from being on Team Zeiss Hall with you and looking at your own and your content when I learned that you were on the team, you've helped me. So I want to thank you for that. And I can only only guess, not even guess. I could just only imagine how many people you've impacted in your story. So definitely, definitely keep keep doing what you're doing. the hot seat. These are just quick, fun questions that I ask everybody just to gauge kind of what your running story is like and what you prefer over certain other things. So they're very quick questions. Don't think too hard about them and just give me the first thing that comes to mind. So first question that I have is trail or road? Avelyn: road. MikeRunsMarathons: I like how you said that. What is your favorite running shoe brand right now? Avelyn: I different shoes for different distances. if I've run all three of my marathons in Brooks Ghost Max 3s, but if we're doing 5K, 10K half marathon, I do love the Nike Vamara Plus. MikeRunsMarathons: Nice, okay, awesome. That's good to know. Are you an early alarm runner or a late night runner? Avelyn: I'm like a midday. I like to have breakfast and then go. MikeRunsMarathons: Okay, okay. more of a late runner. I hate waking up in the morning. It's awful for me. I probably know the answer to this, but for your long runs, do you prefer them solo or with others? Avelyn: All with others, for sure. MikeRunsMarathons: That's what I What is your favorite post-marathon meal? Avelyn: Either pizza or a burger. MikeRunsMarathons: Good options. I like those. And on your easy runs, do you prefer music, a podcast or silence? Avelyn: think a little of both or an audiobook for sure. like audiobook, a good playlist, but on race day, no music. MikeRunsMarathons: Okay. Really? Wow. cannot run my race. Avelyn: I don't listen to anything on race day. MikeRunsMarathons: That's crazy. Wow. I give my hats off to you. I cannot run my races without my music. Now, what is one piece of running gear that you can't live without? Avelyn: Yeah. wear my headphones so I can hear people's rallies. MikeRunsMarathons: There we go. yes, I do the same thing. I love rally. Rally is incredible. Now, what is the one piece of running gear that you can't live without and you can't say your shoes? Avelyn: My hat, I've run every race in my, it's a dry fit, but I got it ⁓ Disney World, so it has Mickey on it, and I think I've worn it for almost every single race or training run. I it so much that I bought a second one of the same hat. MikeRunsMarathons: Okay. ⁓ wow, that's cool. do you have a dream race? Avelyn: don't think I have a dream race right now. New York was my dream race because I'm born and raised ⁓ I wanted to run the New York City Marathon and that was my dream. I have a dream race for this year. I really would love to run the Chicago Marathon this year. MikeRunsMarathons: Okay, okay. Well, we're gonna put that in the universe and you're either gonna, exactly, you're either gonna get chosen for a charity or you're get chosen by a brand. I will see you there. Now, if you could run the Chicago Marathon with anyone, who would it be? Avelyn: It's on my vision board. I think Chicago is sponsored by Nike. So I'll go with Nike as my number one choice because they are, I think they're the ones that put on the Chicago Marathon. But I have run all three marathons in Brooks. So I would love to literally run anything with Brooks. Or a really great charity. MikeRunsMarathons: Now, but if you could run that race with any person, who would it be? Avelyn: Oh, any person? I'm gonna have to say my girl, Sierra. We've run New York together. We ran our training runs together. If I could run Chicago with anybody, I would wanna run Chicago with Sierra for sure. MikeRunsMarathons: love you guys could do like a really awesome ⁓ episode while you're running it and record everything live while the marathons happening. That would be so cool. Now next two questions are these next two questions are things that I collect from every person that I interview. I there are that I kind of give out to other people to try to help them. One is called the motivation library. Avelyn: That'd be great. MikeRunsMarathons: So if you could pick one quote, a mantra or a line that gets you through the tough miles, what would that be? Avelyn: ⁓ my gosh, it would have to be, hate to paraphrase her again, but it was Alexi Pappas' poem. And just, if we could insert actual poem, that'd be great. But it's the that has the line that says, people, moments and will pass. But tomorrow you will wish that they still had today. You stop wishing for it to be over. MikeRunsMarathons: just wrote that down so that I can well, I thought I did unless my keyboard died ⁓ Avelyn: I can send you a screenshot of the actual poem. MikeRunsMarathons: You said people... Places in pain? We'll pass. Avelyn: It's people pain and moments. MikeRunsMarathons: Pain in moments, okay. Cool. Yeah, I'll find it I will make sure that I include it the episode. And then, so let's say you're running Chicago with Sierra this year, but you are listening to music. We're gonna say you're listening to music. And you see the finish line. What song would be blasting for Avelyn: Mm-hmm. Okay. It's very easy. Diva by Beyonce. MikeRunsMarathons: That's a good one. That's a good one. I like that. I like that. Now these two final questions that I have are kind of the questions that I ask everybody in terms of the essence of what this podcast is about. the first one is what running giving you that you didn't expect when you first started? Avelyn: I think running gave me new like sense of self. Like it really helped me explore the parts ⁓ of life and myself and it just has running has just given me, yeah, running has given me a new sense of self for sure. MikeRunsMarathons: I love that. And then my last question, and this is a really loaded question, but I like to find out this from people. Why do you run? Avelyn: I run because I like the person that I am as a runner. Running has changed my life and being able to continue and really lean that and determination and watch it overflow into other parts of my life has been such an incredible thing witness. But now also having built this really beautiful community around it, showing ordinary people that they're capable of really extraordinary things is another reason that ⁓ keep going because it's okay if it's me who's gonna have to be uncomfortable to be able to show others that they also can do the things that I'm doing. MikeRunsMarathons: I love that. love that. such an inspiration to so many people. I'm so happy that I was able to get you on the show today. So Aveline, I cannot thank you enough so much for being on the show today. You are exactly the show ⁓ is You're for the person that shows up anyway, regardless of what other things you could potentially hold you down or hold you back. You run with asthma. You're proud about the pace and the people that you run with ⁓ and the person who runs the ones that you love. And who does it all while somehow making everybody else feel like that they can also do it too. That's what I love about what you put out there onto social media and with your content is you provide support to anybody who feels like that they can't do what you're doing and you make it feel like it's possible. And is a real gift. And I hope that you know how many people that you have been reaching just by being exactly who you Avelyn: you MikeRunsMarathons: go find avalina everywhere. If you're not following her on social media on tik tok or Instagram She is at its dot avalina and you can catch and Sierra on their podcast run and tell that wherever you listen to your podcast. And if you want to support her fundraising for whatever race that she does in the future, feel free to check out her profile and check out the links that are in her bio. Amaline, I cannot thank you enough for your energy, your honesty, your humor, your laugh, and the fun that I feel like we had on this episode today. The running community is a much better place because you are in it. So I want to thank you so much for being here ⁓ on show today. Avelyn: Thank you for having me.