January 16, 2025 • 32 mins
In this heartfelt episode of Extraordinary Strides, we sit down with Tia Pettygrue—a coach, pacer, marathoner, and an inspiring force in the running community. Tia’s story is one of resilience, determination, and using her passion for running to make a difference.
Tia shares her ambitious goal of completing the Selma to Montgomery 51-Mile Relay, running the entire historic route alongside her husband, Johnnie. But this journey goes beyond personal achievement—Tia is championing a deeply personal cause: raising funds for her brother Marc and his wife Ellyn, who lost their home in the Eaton Fire.
🔑 In This Episode, We Explore:
- How Tia is preparing for the grueling 51-mile Selma to Montgomery Relay, both mentally and physically
- The powerful connection between running and civil rights history along this symbolic route
- Tia’s fundraising efforts for Marc and Ellyn and the incredible outpouring of support from the running community
- Reflections on Tia’s extraordinary running journey and what she is listening to on her long runs: she has some great recs!
- The advice Tia gives new runners and what motivates her to keep striving
🌟 Whether you’re looking for running inspiration, ways to give back, or insights into balancing ambitious goals with meaningful causes, Tia’s story will leave you feeling empowered.
💡 Support Marc and Ellyn:
Join the running community in helping Tia’s brother and sister-in-law rebuild after the Eaton Fire. Every donation makes a difference. Click here to donate.
Have questions or want to chat? Send me a text!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome back, friends , to Extraordinary Strides, a
podcast where we celebrateordinary people achieving
extraordinary feats throughmovement and running, and
today's guest is someone whotruly embodies what it means to
be extraordinary.
Coach Tia Pettigrew is, as Isaid, a run coach, a pacer, a
marathoner, and she's going toadd something else to her title
here, but we're going to hearall of that in just a minute.
(00:22):
Most of all, she's a trueshining light in the running
community and she comes to joinus once again and kind of give
us a little bit of an update.
She has an incredible storythat started with a 15K comeback
in 2009 and has blossomed overto get ready for this.
Friends, 175 half marathons, 13full marathons, a triathlon,
(00:42):
and she even dipped her toe intofigure competitive bodybuilding
.
Now today's Tia is training forthe Selma to Montgomery 51-mile
relay.
However, she's tackling thedistance with her husband,
johnny, and it may not be asmuch of a relay.
We're going to learn all aboutit.
Alongside this inspiringendeavor, she's also championing
a deeply personal causefundraising for her brother Mark
(01:11):
and his wife Ellen, who losttheir home in the Eden fire in
Altadena, california.
So Tia is here to share herjourney, her drive to give back
and how running continues toshape her life.
So let's go ahead and welcomeher on.
Coach Tia, welcome back.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Thanks so much for having me, Christine.
I always love being here withyou.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
I love chatting with you.
You truly are just a shininglight.
You exude so much warmth andyou really have brought so much
into this running community.
So I can't wait to catch up,because last we spoke was a
while ago and you were preppingfor Boston and a lot has
happened since then.
So for those who aren't asfamiliar with your story, do you
want to catch us up a littlebit as to how you got started
(01:46):
and what you've been up to sinceyour Boston training?
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Oh gosh, how I got started running, or how I got
started going to Boston.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Let's start with how you got started running.
For the folks that aren'tfamiliar with your story, Okay.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
So way back in 2008, I had just been really sedentary
for quite a while I hadn't runin about 13 years or so Ran into
somebody on a cruise that Ihadn't seen in a few years and
said she didn't recognize mebecause I gained so much weight,
and that was kind of my.
That propelled me to dosomething about it.
(02:21):
So I started back running.
After that did the Gasparilla15k and one year from that date
ran my first marathon and Irealized I love running, so I
absolutely loved it.
And then my husband actuallyran Gasparilla with me as well.
He hadn't run a race since 97,his first and only race, the
(02:42):
Disney Marathon and so we ranGasparilla together and kind of
got a bug in his ear abouttraining.
And that year he qualified forthe Boston Marathon in November
at Space Coast Marathon, andthat made me feel like, well, I
want to run Boston too.
So I set upon this quest to doit, and my best shot was in 2011
(03:07):
at Disney, when I did a 402.
I needed a 345 at the time andbut I didn't give up, gave a few
more tries, didn't make it andfinally made it March 5th 2023,
at the age of 54 um, and Iqualified for Boston and then I
was so excited to run it lastyear I can't believe I'm saying
(03:27):
last year already I knowCongratulations.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
I love that you hinted at a little bit of
competitiveness, that you thatdrives the really wonderful
relationship that you have withyour husband, johnny, who's also
been on the podcast as well.
So I do want to hear a littlebit about how was Boston for you
, after working so long and hardand diligently toward it?
Was it everything you hoped itto be, and more?
Speaker 2 (03:50):
It really was, christine.
I you know I've been theretwice with my husband, but being
there, just the fact that itwas for me, I could really see
that the city just makes youfeel like you're a rock star
when you're there.
And one of the things I alwayssaid is I feel like I hope to
dispel a lot of the body imageabout what you're supposed to
(04:13):
look like to qualify for theBoston Marathon.
You know, I'm not 100 pounds byany means.
You know, when my husband and Iare together they always say to
him oh, you look like a runner.
They never say that to me andwhile we were in Boston, even
two separate times somebody wewere maybe in an elevator or
somewhere, and they looked at myhusband and said, oh, are you
(04:33):
running?
And he's like, no, my wife is.
And you know, and I even gotthe oh, did you raise money for
charity?
Not that there's anything wrongwith that, but just assumed it.
You raise money for charity.
Not that there's anything wrongwith that, but just assumed it
like no, I qualified.
So there was that kind of partof it, but overall it was an
amazing experience.
(04:54):
And when I started the race, afriend of mine, beth, and I, we
ran together, we were twinsiesfor the race and because it was
both of our first time we had,you know, taken a she, I think
she was 60 and so we just hadthe best time.
And I will say it was warm thatday in the hills and I remember
thinking, oh my god, this is sohard, why do people want to
(05:15):
come back and do this?
But it was amazing and then Igot a muscle spasm at mile 14.
I had to walk a lot but Ienjoyed every cheer of the
crowds, every town we wentthrough.
It was so amazing.
And I set a very loose goal ofI said well, if I can just do
(05:37):
under five hours I'll be happy.
You know I wasn't really goingfor any specific time, but I
walked a lot.
And then, you know, as I'mgetting in the twenties miles
and I looked at my watch and Isaid, you know, I might be able
to still get under five hours,and I finished in four, 55.
So I made that little goal butI I allowed myself to enjoy
every moment of it and I did.
(05:59):
It was, it was so wonderful.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
I love to hear that.
I love most of all that you arehelping to just smell, dispel
the stereotypes that we haveassociated with a Boston
qualifier, because, as you'vealready talked about that,
you've busted past the myths ofgetting faster as we get older,
which we hear generally is notsomething that we associate, but
it's definitely true for youand I know you've got it.
(06:23):
You feel stronger than everbefore and obviously healthier,
and obviously we're starting tosee so much more so that runners
don't come in one size fits all.
So I love, love that.
Tia, I'm happy to hear you hadthat experience.
I'm surprised to hear you saythat Boston was your hardest,
though, because you have tackledNew York City and I feel like
those bridges are a little bittougher.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
No, I haven't run New York City.
I've run Chicago, but not NewYork.
I thought you were going to dothat for around every women's
marathon time, because you alsodid last year.
I didn't get in.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
I didn't even get in for the virtual oh okay, it's
become incredibly hard to getinto all of the world marathon
majors and New York City'salways been a tough one to get
into.
So you did this one for thememories and magic.
Then you went on to.
Obviously you trained tons ofindividuals for every woman's
marathon through Black Girls Runand you ran that as well.
(07:15):
Do you want to share a littlebit about that race experience
for everyone who's listening in?
Speaker 2 (07:20):
That was one of the best race weekends I've ever had
.
I will say I mean for aninaugural race.
I thought they did a phenomenaljob.
They do have some kinks to workout, yes, but they did such a
great job.
I had over 75 women completetheir first full marathon there,
which was awesome.
I did something I've never doneI paced a marathon.
(07:42):
I actually paced two of myclients JL, who's the CEO of
Black Girls Run, and her cousinAshley and JL had just run New
York two weeks earlier.
She fell one minute short ofher PR.
That was from Chicago the yearbefore, but when you think about
Chicago's course and New York'scourse, that was still a win,
(08:02):
yeah absolutely, yes, absolutely.
Yeah, so we had a strategy forevery woman's marathon and she
PR by about 30 minutes at everywoman and that was that was so
awesome to be able to do that.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Amazing.
She did it, but it was awesometo be there with her.
Yes, no, of course it is.
So again, folks, every Woman'sMarathon.
I know they're going to beopening up registration right
around the corner.
I would definitely say that itwas a stellar event.
For the first one out, Iactually had lowered my hopes
and bar quite low for a firsttime out and they exceeded them,
exceeded most of what I thoughtwould be there that entire
(08:41):
weekend.
Loved it, would love to go backagain.
Now this brings us to.
We get done with every women'smarathon in November.
When did you start to think youhad something else on the
horizon, specifically withtackling this 51 mile race?
Speaker 2 (08:58):
So my husband and I were looking for a race to do.
Our anniversary is January 26th, so we always kind of like to
do something around there.
So when we're in town we runthe celebration half.
So we'll be in town, so we'rerunning that this year.
But then I saw Mesa.
You know, it's a fairly youknow kind of a downhill course.
(09:19):
So I initially went into it totry to qualify again, and then I
kind of came to my senses thatI didn't want to train that hard
.
So I was like you know, I'mjust going to go in for fun.
And Johnny said well, you know,bump me up to the marathon,
I'll do it too.
But then in September at theBlack Girls Run conference I'm
talking to my friend Tarsha, andshe had run the Selma to
(09:41):
Montgomery 51 miler as a ultraand it was her first one and we
were talking about it and I toldher the biggest reason I hadn't
done it I'm not a trail runner,I'm not a run in the woods by
myself kind of person and wedon't have trails here in
Florida.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
I mean really, we really don't.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
We've got some.
We've got some decent races,but it's just not for me.
You so we've got some, we'vegot some decent races, but that
is just not for me.
You know, every time I've triedto run trail, I typically will
fall.
So but the biggest thing I loveabout the races, I love the
energy of the people around andthe trail is just a different
environment for that.
So she was telling me that wasone of the biggest reasons is
(10:23):
because it's not a trail, You'reon the road and it's a fully
supported course.
So you have most people arerunning anywhere from five to
nine person relay teams.
So you know.
So you always got people outthere with you, and it's all
during the day, so you get a 12hour limit.
And so I thought you know, whynot have another goal for this
(10:45):
year?
So I signed up for it andshortly before that, my husband
had joined a nine person teamand because they talked him into
it he's a big history buff, sohe joined the team.
And so then, when I decided todo the ultra, he said well, I
would have done the ultra withyou.
So what we did?
We found out he's going to takethe first leg of the team and
(11:08):
then he'll have a second chip sohe can run the rest with me.
So we'll both run the 51 miler.
So Mesa Marathon will be atraining run towards the Selma
to Montgomery 51 miler.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
OK, and then you're also going to be at Gasparilla.
You're going to be atCelebration as well, or no?
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Yeah, we're doing the half at Celebration because
it's our anniversary, so wecelebrate at Celebration.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Are you guys getting how we got to 175 half marathons
and over 13 marathons?
By the way, it's like this isevery other weekend, or maybe
even every weekend, kind of athing which I love to follow and
see all the places you go to.
But I do want to bring it backto this 51 miles because it has
a lot of historical significance.
What does it specifically meanfor you to train for this style
(11:54):
of race, where it does have somuch history and importance?
Speaker 2 (11:59):
It does.
This will be the 60thanniversary of the march and the
way that I look at my long runslike this weekend I'm running
20 miles and I don't have a halfmarathon I can run it in, I'm
just going to be running 20miles and it's just that time to
think and reflect of how hardit was then.
(12:19):
You know, this was just.
It was just a few years, threeyears before I was born, when
this happened.
So it's not that it's that farremoved from my lifetime.
So, and just thinking, you knowmy grandmother, who will be 103
in April, you know what shewent through, and just knowing
what people went through to beable to do that March, it just
(12:43):
it makes it really special foryou know, for me and for Johnny
as well.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
So incredibly powerful.
I can't wait to hear all aboutit and support you, and I know
that as we get closer to that,I'm sure folks are going to want
to learn how they can possiblyfollow you and cheer you along.
But during this training cycle,what's making this one, I think
, to me, stand out a little bitmore from our conversation
yesterday because we just jumpedon a phone call yesterday,
friends, and I'm like, oh mygosh, we need to, we need to
(13:08):
have a conversation for thepodcast is that you're also
training and staying steady anddiligent and faithful on your
training, but you're also reallybeing called on different
aspects of your life because,personally, there's a lot going
on in the world right now and,unfortunately, a lot going on
specifically with your family.
So do you want to bring us upto speed a little bit and make
(13:30):
us aware of what's going onthere with your brother?
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Yeah, so I will mention my.
You know my family has justgone through a lot over the last
few months.
First, my sister had majordamage to her home from
Hurricane Helene here in Tampa.
My sister had major damage toher home from Hurricane Helene
here in Tampa.
Her house took on 16 inches ofwater so she's had an unusable
first floor, including kitchen,for four months.
So we're hoping she will havethat.
(13:54):
So we've got that.
And then last Wednesday woke upto seeing the news Last Tuesday.
I'm looking at the news and Iso I texted my brother wh live
in Alta, dina, californ.
These fires are they near time?
They said well, we'r or thewind seems to be b way.
(14:17):
The next morning I'm showingout to Dina on fi running and he
calls me a.
He had just, they had just lefttheir home.
The house across the street wason fire and within three hours
their house had burned down.
Pretty much their whole streetneighborhood had burned down.
And it was a few hours beforewe heard from him.
(14:40):
So it was more of are they okay?
Are they okay?
Are they okay?
So everyone was okay.
So my brother, his wife.
His wife grew up in Altadena,so her mom lost their childhood
home.
Two of her sisters lost theirhome as well.
So there was a point where theywere all staying in one hotel
room 17 people, three dogs and aparrot together.
(15:02):
So thankfully someone hasdonated some rooms for them for
this week in a hotel.
But you got to realize, I think90% of the city burned out to
Dina.
It's a very middle income areaversus Pacific Palisades is a
more wealthy area.
So these are people justworking regular jobs, a lot of
retirees there.
(15:23):
So you know, so a lot is justgone and you have so many people
looking for places to stay.
There's so many people lookingfor places.
There's, you know, so fewplaces.
So they have to go so far outfrom their home.
So I've set up a GoFundMe formy brother and Ellen to just
(15:45):
help them with immediateexpenses.
They had insurance, thankfully,but anyone that's dealt with
that, especially here in Florida, we know how long it takes.
So just to help them cover someimmediate needs food, shelter.
They use my brothers, you knowyou said I had to go to Costco
and buy clothes.
He's like I didn't have anyclothes, you know, with the
Costco to buy food and clothes.
(16:05):
So you hear my brother shoppingat Costco for clothes.
You know, you know that's.
You know there was a disaster,okay.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Well, first of all, I'm so glad they're, they're
happy, I mean, they're healthyand they're okay physically, and
I know that your brother hasallowed his sense of humor and
his positivity that clearly is afamily trait to kind of come
into play to help him getthrough this.
But still it is I think Ireally want to draw attention to
.
There is no private jet foranyone here to take off and for
(16:33):
him to be able to just jet hisway over with the entire 17
people in tow to safety.
They are having to still, Iassume, navigate day-to-day life
, trying to do it in a placethat has been really just been
completely devastated, and Iknow that it's been really tough
too for folks to seek shelters,because there's a lot of price
(16:53):
gouging and a lot of things thatare personally out of our
control.
But one thing that's not out ofour control is that we can help
draw awareness to thisfundraiser that you have started
to help them with thoseimmediate expenses and donate if
it's at all possible.
So, friends, I want to callattention that we have that link
directly in episode notes.
If you're driving or you'rerunning and you can't do it
(17:14):
right here and now, that'sa-okay, just take a moment to
put a little mental note thatwhen you're done and you're
somewhere safe, that if you can,please make a donation and if
you cannot, sharing isabsolutely a wonderful way to
help us get the word out.
So we would love to see thathappen Now with that.
Does it impact your training?
Because I'm thinking you go out?
(17:35):
There's a lot of time on those20 milers to do some thinking.
How are you balancing theconcern and worry you may have
for your loved ones with yourtraining and your coaching in
your day-to-day life?
Speaker 2 (17:48):
You know I will say, prayer is powerful and my faith
definitely sustains me througheverything being.
I'm a Christian.
Being Christian doesn't meanbad things don't happen, but for
me it means that there is, youhave, a God that will help you
get through those things.
So I am very appreciative ofthat and that definitely
(18:12):
strengthens me.
And I consider running liketherapy, because when I go
running it's kind of, you know,taking the hat of the world off
and I listen, put an audio bookon or a podcast, and you know
just enjoy being outside andjust taking, you know taking a
moment for a couple hours, andduring that time I am reflecting
(18:37):
on things, I'm thinking ofthings.
That it is.
It is definitely something thatis very helpful for me mentally
.
It is definitely something thatis very helpful for me mentally
.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Do you feel like you have had to be more protective
over this time for yourself?
Right now, again, because it istherapeutic for you, is also
part of your discipline and yourtraining, but is it something
that you find any difficulty inmotivating yourself to lace up?
Sometimes, when we feel a bitpowerless with everything going
(19:06):
on around us, it could be alittle bit more difficult.
Or is it something where youare so ingrained that this is
something you look forward to amajority of the time?
Speaker 2 (19:11):
I think it's helped me look forward to it.
So I have enjoyed it.
A couple of weeks ago I had an18 miler and I couldn't find a
half marathon and before I waslike, oh my gosh, how am I going
to run 18 miles when I don'thave a race?
And it was such a great run.
(19:32):
So I think I've just I'vestayed focused on what the goal
is and I want to be there for myfamily.
I want to be there for themmentally, emotionally, but I
also know I have to be there forme too.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
So running gives me that.
I love to hear.
What I'm going to say isgratitude, and that's what's
kind of like allowing you to getout there and moving, because
there's the gratitude of havingthat time, the gratitude of
being able to move your body toknow that everyone is while
they're impacted, that they aresafe and healthy.
So I I love to hear that, but Iwant to delve a little bit more
into a couple of things thatyou talked about, which were not
in the list of questions, butbecause I can't help myself.
(20:11):
You said and this is somethingthat I think has changed quite a
bit in my own journey, so Iwant to draw attention to it
that back previously there wouldhave been a time where, if you
saw 18 miles on your trainingschedule, you would have
attached it to half marathon,which I think is something that
I know that I used to.
I was, I was really blingmotivated If there was not a
medal.
Um, I wasn't as excited to dothose double digit runs, and I
(20:31):
know that, as I've grown in myjourney, that's no longer the
case.
But I'm curious do you feellike you're evolving in your
running journey from when youfirst started to now as well?
Speaker 2 (20:41):
I would definitely say yes, because this is
probably my first marathon cyclein a long time that I haven't
run any of my long runs in arace and I've just been running
them.
And I will say my husband hasinspired me.
He's been running about 70miles a week.
So he runs about 10 to 12 milesfive days a week and then he'll
do a longer run one day andtake a day off, and so he's
(21:04):
definitely inspired me that hejust he goes to work.
You know he's out of the doorin the morning at three 30 in
the morning and then three 30 inthe afternoon he's running.
So he's inspired me because hedoes not take off, you know,
unless absolutely necessary.
And it's definitely made iteasier.
We rarely run together.
We might go out of the doortogether but we're usually
running different mileage, so hemight go one way, I'll go
(21:24):
another, but you know he's.
He's definitely been aninspiration for me.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
I love to hear that Tia has somebody who inspires
her instead, because I feel likeTia, you inspire so many of us
on a day to day basis, but, ofcourse, meeting Johnny, we can
totally tell why you both aresuch an incredible inspiration.
So I'm going to turn theconversation into a little bit
of how do you inspire your newrunners and again,
congratulations on all of thewomen that tackled their first
(21:53):
marathon together, and I knowyou have many, many more and
what are some of the tips thatyou tell them when they kind of
have to dig in a little deeperto get their training done and
life throws them some curveballs?
Speaker 2 (22:06):
I think a lot of it is.
There's a couple of thingsKeeping your eyes on the goal,
so that's number one.
So I'm like right now I'mtraining a group with Black
Girls Run for the Gate River Runin March.
So for some of them they neverrun a 15K 9.3 miles so this is
new for them.
So always having that goal ofthe finish line in sight, but
(22:29):
also having time management.
One thing I will say I amreally good at is time
management, because someone onthe outside looks at me.
They're like how do you doeverything that you do?
Because I'm very protective ofmy time.
It's our most preciouscommodity.
So that's one thing I try toinstill in my runners in just
making sure that they areprotective of their time,
(22:51):
because if you are that way whenthings come up you can manage
it better, because you're notfeeling like it's one more thing
on my plate, type of thing.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
So as I go along.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
I try to be that inspiration as a coach and you
know this, that sometimes youbecome a therapist a little bit
with your runners.
So you know I try to, you know,be there and listen, but I also
I don't feed in if there'ssomething where it's like okay,
we don't need to, we don't needto keep talking about this
because that's not productiveyou know, so let's, let's move
(23:22):
it towards what's positive,what's going to get you on your
goal and keep you on track.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
I think one thing that I'm hearing you say when
you talk about time managementwhich it is one of, like, the
most beautiful aspects of reallyhow we can get things achieved
but also is that it really setsus up for creating boundaries,
because I think that's where alot of women tend to have
difficulty is that we want to beable to tackle all of the
things that come our way, andthere's something to be said
(23:52):
about saying no to some of thethings that drain our time, so
that we can say yes to thesethings that bring us so much
community and life and thingsthat we enjoy, like running and
races and all of that.
Okay, you touched on a littlebit that you are big into your
audio books when you're out forthese super long runs that maybe
don't have a medal at the end,so tell us what have you been
listening to lately, and isthere something that we should
be listening to on our to beread list?
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Oh my gosh, I've been listening to so much you can
tell us genres.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
You can tell us genres if you don't have any
specific titles off the top ofyour head.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
So here's one of my favorite podcasts.
It's called Mr Ballin, like theword Alan, with a B in front of
it.
Mr Ballin, here's the tagline.
If you're a fan of the strange,dark and mysterious delivered
in story format, this is for you.
They're all about 30 minutes.
They come out twice a week.
(24:44):
There are things and they'reall true.
Ooh, they have a twist to them.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
It's clearly mystery and there are things and they're
all true, ooh, so it's like wehave a twist to them.
It's a little so it's clearlymystery, genre and a little bit
of suspense.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
A lot of suspense.
So just a couple of reallyquick examples.
So there'll be things like I'lllisten to one.
I'm like, oh, I remember thisfrom forensic file or dateline,
so there's one some like that.
But then there's these otherones.
There's like this whole segmentof um stay out, and it's like
three 10 minute stories ofplaces you shouldn't go.
So, like the guy who created it, mr Ballin, he's a Navy SEAL
(25:22):
and so he'll do a lot of theseunderwater stories where these
people went to this place wherethey shouldn't have gone and
they didn't have the rightequipment and then they, you
know, got stuck and you know.
So you're like, oh my gosh, andI mean it's amazing because it
really it keeps your attentionfor sure.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
Okay, I'm absolutely going to be adding that to my
next TV listen too, because itdoes sound intriguing.
I love me some a little bit oftrue crime, mystery and suspense
, and also, you guys know thatyou should not be going
someplace If a Navy SEAL istelling you not to go there,
then that's definitely somethingthat we should stay out of.
That sounds like it has alittle edge of humor as well.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Yes, there are some of them where, like my sister
and I are addicted to it, so wealways text each other if
there's one and there was one,we were just dying laughing
because you just you, reallycould not believe this one.
I mean, it was so funny.
I'm gonna send you the link,because if somebody wants to
listen, this is like the firstone to listen to.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
Okay, we got, we are excited about this, so we're
listening to Mr Ballin, but it'sit's just a couple times a week
in 30 minutes.
I'm feeling like you're outthere for a little bit longer
now that we're training for anultra, anything else that's kind
of coming through and you'relistening to on your headphones.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
Yes, I do.
Like James Patterson, theauthor, I just love mystery
suspense thrillers.
I'm not a horror or anythinglike that but.
I love.
You know that kind of thing.
I listened to a book calledPerfect Peace recently and that
was really interesting, by Ibelieve it's Dr Michael Black
(26:54):
and it was.
It was fascinating, you know.
Basically, you know the premiseof the story is it's a family
in the 50s in rural Arkansas.
It's a black couple with sixboys and the wife always wanted
a girl.
The husband says I'm nottouching you anymore because I
don't want any more kids.
She made him think he was inmenopause and so he touched her
(27:14):
and so she's pregnant again.
She's really hoping for a girland at this time the men weren't
around.
When she had the baby had amidwife.
So the midwife is in there, shedelivers the baby and it's a
boy.
She tells the midwife this is agirl and I'm going to raise her
as a girl.
The story it's a novel but itreads like you think it's a true
story.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
It was so good.
I'm literally like gaspinglistening to it, like it sounds
like oh, wow, okay.
So now you have added so muchto my list, I am going to
suggest, if you like a littlebit of mystery suspense.
Who I listened to when I wastraining for my ultra was a lot
of Frida McFadden, so if youhaven't heard her, I would
definitely check her out.
She's like a brain surgeon ofsome sort and I'm thinking, how
(27:56):
you have time must be that timemanagement.
You guys must have taken theexact same class.
How can you do brain surgeryand write like 48 novels?
But again, it's all about thattime management, about that time
management.
So bringing it back there.
Yeah Right, my friend.
So we have kind of just a weebit.
I feel like we're just touchinga little bit of where you're
going to be.
I know that friends that arehere in Florida we can go and
(28:17):
celebrate Tia and Johnny'sanniversary at Celebration and
you have a discount code forthat, because you still have
your discount codes for racesgroup, which is I don't even
know how many members you've gotin there at this point.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
One on 39,000, I think something like that.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Every single time I go to sign up for a race, that
is the first place I go just tocheck and do a quick search,
because I follow the rulesAlways do a search to see if
there's somebody who has alreadylisted a specific race with the
discount code and then, if not,I always kind of draw a little
shout out there for folks.
So, friends, if you are intoracing quite often and you want
(28:53):
to maybe look for some ways topinch those pennies, I would
very much suggest that you headon over to Tia's discount codes
for races Facebook group andthen, when you save all that
extra money, you can go to thefundraiser and, you know, make a
donation that way because we'resaving so much money.
But we're going to find youthere and I know that for
Celebration you have a code,even though that's coming up
(29:14):
very quickly.
Friends, if you do want to joinus, it's Tia10.
And then we're going to beseeing you at Gasparilla because
you're going to be pacing.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
That's the final weekend before you go off to do
your ultra.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
Uh, two weekends before, so that will be kind of
my last longer run.
I did a little over 30 milesthat weekend.
Where else do we find Tia andJohnny this spring, summer or
2025?
Speaker 2 (29:36):
I think the only other thing we're really
committed to where we're doing.
We always do Detroit every yearin October.
Obviously, yeah, but we're also, but we're going to check off
the state of Oregon in Augustwith the bridge of the gods, so
we're excited about that as well.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
Ah, that sounds incredible.
All right, I'm going to haveyou finish up with maybe just
one piece of advice that youwould give to somebody who's
considering changing up theirgoals and leaving from maybe the
more traditional road raceworld into the world of ultras,
(30:13):
something maybe you've learnedin this specific training cycle.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
One thing I am learning.
I feel like I haven't evengotten past my longest run yet,
so maybe that question should beasked after I do longer than 26
miles.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
What are you going up to for your training?
Speaker 2 (30:29):
I'll be going over 30 in one day, so I'll be doing a
pretty high volume you know ofit, but I think the mindset of
it it's still.
it's still a little overwhelmingfor me, a little intimidating
to me.
Thinking about it On paper.
I need to maintain an under 15minute mile, which on paper that
sounds easy, but over thecourse of you have 12 hours to
(30:52):
do it.
It's a lot.
So you know, it's one of thosethings where you know I'm just,
I'm happy my husband will bethere with me doing it.
I'll have several friends.
I think there's about 30 peopledoing it as a solo ultra this
year, which is the most they'veever had.
So it is, it's just.
You know, I'm just keeping mymind right with the goal.
I just I'm taking it bite bybite instead of just thinking
(31:15):
about 51 miles and just thinkingabout what I have to do.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
I think that's the perfect advice.
Whether you're tackling a 5k,10 miler, a half marathon, a
marathon or an ultra, friends,it literally does come down to
running the step and the milethat you're in, instead of
overwhelming with the entire bigoverarching goal.
So that is beautiful advice and, of course, we've got so many
wonderful links here and I can'twait to now check out Mr Ballin
(31:42):
and perfect peace is going on.
My must listen to like rightnow.
Tia, I wanna thank you so muchand I want to remind everybody
about this fundraiser that againis episode links, because it
really really is such awonderful way to give back to
someone who's given to ourrunning community in so many
powerful ways.
Thank you for joining me.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
Thank you so much for having me, christine, and thank
you so much for shining a lighton my brother, mark and Ellen,
and my brother and sister-in-lawand sharing the fundraiser.
So, like you said, any amounthelps and just even just sharing
it is so much appreciated.
So appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
Thank you so much.
So, friends, let's show her andher family the support that
makes the running community sotruly extraordinary.
And until next time, keepstriving, keep striding and keep
going the extra mile.
Welcome back, friends , to Extraordinary Strides, a
podcast where we celebrateordinary people achieving
extraordinary feats throughmovement and running, and
today's guest is someone whotruly embodies what it means to
be extraordinary.
Coach Tia Pettigrew is, as Isaid, a run coach, a pacer, a
marathoner, and she's going toadd something else to her title
here, but we're going to hearall of that in just a minute.
(00:22):
Most of all, she's a trueshining light in the running
community and she comes to joinus once again and kind of give
us a little bit of an update.
She has an incredible storythat started with a 15K comeback
in 2009 and has blossomed overto get ready for this.
Friends, 175 half marathons, 13full marathons, a triathlon,
(00:42):
and she even dipped her toe intofigure competitive bodybuilding
.
Now today's Tia is training forthe Selma to Montgomery 51-mile
relay.
However, she's tackling thedistance with her husband,
johnny, and it may not be asmuch of a relay.
We're going to learn all aboutit.
Alongside this inspiringendeavor, she's also championing
a deeply personal causefundraising for her brother Mark
(01:11):
and his wife Ellen, who losttheir home in the Eden fire in
Altadena, california.
So Tia is here to share herjourney, her drive to give back
and how running continues toshape her life.
So let's go ahead and welcomeher on.
Coach Tia, welcome back.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Thanks so much for having me, Christine.
I always love being here withyou.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
I love chatting with you.
You truly are just a shininglight.
You exude so much warmth andyou really have brought so much
into this running community.
So I can't wait to catch up,because last we spoke was a
while ago and you were preppingfor Boston and a lot has
happened since then.
So for those who aren't asfamiliar with your story, do you
want to catch us up a littlebit as to how you got started
(01:46):
and what you've been up to sinceyour Boston training?
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Oh gosh, how I got started running, or how I got
started going to Boston.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Let's start with how you got started running.
For the folks that aren'tfamiliar with your story, Okay.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
So way back in 2008, I had just been really sedentary
for quite a while I hadn't runin about 13 years or so Ran into
somebody on a cruise that Ihadn't seen in a few years and
said she didn't recognize mebecause I gained so much weight,
and that was kind of my.
That propelled me to dosomething about it.
(02:21):
So I started back running.
After that did the Gasparilla15k and one year from that date
ran my first marathon and Irealized I love running, so I
absolutely loved it.
And then my husband actuallyran Gasparilla with me as well.
He hadn't run a race since 97,his first and only race, the
(02:42):
Disney Marathon and so we ranGasparilla together and kind of
got a bug in his ear abouttraining.
And that year he qualified forthe Boston Marathon in November
at Space Coast Marathon, andthat made me feel like, well, I
want to run Boston too.
So I set upon this quest to doit, and my best shot was in 2011
(03:07):
at Disney, when I did a 402.
I needed a 345 at the time andbut I didn't give up, gave a few
more tries, didn't make it andfinally made it March 5th 2023,
at the age of 54 um, and Iqualified for Boston and then I
was so excited to run it lastyear I can't believe I'm saying
(03:27):
last year already I knowCongratulations.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
I love that you hinted at a little bit of
competitiveness, that you thatdrives the really wonderful
relationship that you have withyour husband, johnny, who's also
been on the podcast as well.
So I do want to hear a littlebit about how was Boston for you
, after working so long and hardand diligently toward it?
Was it everything you hoped itto be, and more?
Speaker 2 (03:50):
It really was, christine.
I you know I've been theretwice with my husband, but being
there, just the fact that itwas for me, I could really see
that the city just makes youfeel like you're a rock star
when you're there.
And one of the things I alwayssaid is I feel like I hope to
dispel a lot of the body imageabout what you're supposed to
(04:13):
look like to qualify for theBoston Marathon.
You know, I'm not 100 pounds byany means.
You know, when my husband and Iare together they always say to
him oh, you look like a runner.
They never say that to me andwhile we were in Boston, even
two separate times somebody wewere maybe in an elevator or
somewhere, and they looked at myhusband and said, oh, are you
(04:33):
running?
And he's like, no, my wife is.
And you know, and I even gotthe oh, did you raise money for
charity?
Not that there's anything wrongwith that, but just assumed it.
You raise money for charity.
Not that there's anything wrongwith that, but just assumed it
like no, I qualified.
So there was that kind of partof it, but overall it was an
amazing experience.
(04:54):
And when I started the race, afriend of mine, beth, and I, we
ran together, we were twinsiesfor the race and because it was
both of our first time we had,you know, taken a she, I think
she was 60 and so we just hadthe best time.
And I will say it was warm thatday in the hills and I remember
thinking, oh my god, this is sohard, why do people want to
(05:15):
come back and do this?
But it was amazing and then Igot a muscle spasm at mile 14.
I had to walk a lot but Ienjoyed every cheer of the
crowds, every town we wentthrough.
It was so amazing.
And I set a very loose goal ofI said well, if I can just do
(05:37):
under five hours I'll be happy.
You know I wasn't really goingfor any specific time, but I
walked a lot.
And then, you know, as I'mgetting in the twenties miles
and I looked at my watch and Isaid, you know, I might be able
to still get under five hours,and I finished in four, 55.
So I made that little goal butI I allowed myself to enjoy
every moment of it and I did.
(05:59):
It was, it was so wonderful.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
I love to hear that.
I love most of all that you arehelping to just smell, dispel
the stereotypes that we haveassociated with a Boston
qualifier, because, as you'vealready talked about that,
you've busted past the myths ofgetting faster as we get older,
which we hear generally is notsomething that we associate, but
it's definitely true for youand I know you've got it.
(06:23):
You feel stronger than everbefore and obviously healthier,
and obviously we're starting tosee so much more so that runners
don't come in one size fits all.
So I love, love that.
Tia, I'm happy to hear you hadthat experience.
I'm surprised to hear you saythat Boston was your hardest,
though, because you have tackledNew York City and I feel like
those bridges are a little bittougher.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
No, I haven't run New York City.
I've run Chicago, but not NewYork.
I thought you were going to dothat for around every women's
marathon time, because you alsodid last year.
I didn't get in.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
I didn't even get in for the virtual oh okay, it's
become incredibly hard to getinto all of the world marathon
majors and New York City'salways been a tough one to get
into.
So you did this one for thememories and magic.
Then you went on to.
Obviously you trained tons ofindividuals for every woman's
marathon through Black Girls Runand you ran that as well.
(07:15):
Do you want to share a littlebit about that race experience
for everyone who's listening in?
Speaker 2 (07:20):
That was one of the best race weekends I've ever had
.
I will say I mean for aninaugural race.
I thought they did a phenomenaljob.
They do have some kinks to workout, yes, but they did such a
great job.
I had over 75 women completetheir first full marathon there,
which was awesome.
I did something I've never doneI paced a marathon.
(07:42):
I actually paced two of myclients JL, who's the CEO of
Black Girls Run, and her cousinAshley and JL had just run New
York two weeks earlier.
She fell one minute short ofher PR.
That was from Chicago the yearbefore, but when you think about
Chicago's course and New York'scourse, that was still a win,
(08:02):
yeah absolutely, yes, absolutely.
Yeah, so we had a strategy forevery woman's marathon and she
PR by about 30 minutes at everywoman and that was that was so
awesome to be able to do that.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Amazing.
She did it, but it was awesometo be there with her.
Yes, no, of course it is.
So again, folks, every Woman'sMarathon.
I know they're going to beopening up registration right
around the corner.
I would definitely say that itwas a stellar event.
For the first one out, Iactually had lowered my hopes
and bar quite low for a firsttime out and they exceeded them,
exceeded most of what I thoughtwould be there that entire
(08:41):
weekend.
Loved it, would love to go backagain.
Now this brings us to.
We get done with every women'smarathon in November.
When did you start to think youhad something else on the
horizon, specifically withtackling this 51 mile race?
Speaker 2 (08:58):
So my husband and I were looking for a race to do.
Our anniversary is January 26th, so we always kind of like to
do something around there.
So when we're in town we runthe celebration half.
So we'll be in town, so we'rerunning that this year.
But then I saw Mesa.
You know, it's a fairly youknow kind of a downhill course.
(09:19):
So I initially went into it totry to qualify again, and then I
kind of came to my senses thatI didn't want to train that hard
.
So I was like you know, I'mjust going to go in for fun.
And Johnny said well, you know,bump me up to the marathon,
I'll do it too.
But then in September at theBlack Girls Run conference I'm
talking to my friend Tarsha, andshe had run the Selma to
(09:41):
Montgomery 51 miler as a ultraand it was her first one and we
were talking about it and I toldher the biggest reason I hadn't
done it I'm not a trail runner,I'm not a run in the woods by
myself kind of person and wedon't have trails here in
Florida.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
I mean really, we really don't.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
We've got some.
We've got some decent races,but it's just not for me.
You so we've got some, we'vegot some decent races, but that
is just not for me.
You know, every time I've triedto run trail, I typically will
fall.
So but the biggest thing I loveabout the races, I love the
energy of the people around andthe trail is just a different
environment for that.
So she was telling me that wasone of the biggest reasons is
(10:23):
because it's not a trail, You'reon the road and it's a fully
supported course.
So you have most people arerunning anywhere from five to
nine person relay teams.
So you know.
So you always got people outthere with you, and it's all
during the day, so you get a 12hour limit.
And so I thought you know, whynot have another goal for this
(10:45):
year?
So I signed up for it andshortly before that, my husband
had joined a nine person teamand because they talked him into
it he's a big history buff, sohe joined the team.
And so then, when I decided todo the ultra, he said well, I
would have done the ultra withyou.
So what we did?
We found out he's going to takethe first leg of the team and
(11:08):
then he'll have a second chip sohe can run the rest with me.
So we'll both run the 51 miler.
So Mesa Marathon will be atraining run towards the Selma
to Montgomery 51 miler.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
OK, and then you're also going to be at Gasparilla.
You're going to be atCelebration as well, or no?
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Yeah, we're doing the half at Celebration because
it's our anniversary, so wecelebrate at Celebration.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Are you guys getting how we got to 175 half marathons
and over 13 marathons?
By the way, it's like this isevery other weekend, or maybe
even every weekend, kind of athing which I love to follow and
see all the places you go to.
But I do want to bring it backto this 51 miles because it has
a lot of historical significance.
What does it specifically meanfor you to train for this style
(11:54):
of race, where it does have somuch history and importance?
Speaker 2 (11:59):
It does.
This will be the 60thanniversary of the march and the
way that I look at my long runslike this weekend I'm running
20 miles and I don't have a halfmarathon I can run it in, I'm
just going to be running 20miles and it's just that time to
think and reflect of how hardit was then.
(12:19):
You know, this was just.
It was just a few years, threeyears before I was born, when
this happened.
So it's not that it's that farremoved from my lifetime.
So, and just thinking, you knowmy grandmother, who will be 103
in April, you know what shewent through, and just knowing
what people went through to beable to do that March, it just
(12:43):
it makes it really special foryou know, for me and for Johnny
as well.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
So incredibly powerful.
I can't wait to hear all aboutit and support you, and I know
that as we get closer to that,I'm sure folks are going to want
to learn how they can possiblyfollow you and cheer you along.
But during this training cycle,what's making this one, I think
, to me, stand out a little bitmore from our conversation
yesterday because we just jumpedon a phone call yesterday,
friends, and I'm like, oh mygosh, we need to, we need to
(13:08):
have a conversation for thepodcast is that you're also
training and staying steady anddiligent and faithful on your
training, but you're also reallybeing called on different
aspects of your life because,personally, there's a lot going
on in the world right now and,unfortunately, a lot going on
specifically with your family.
So do you want to bring us upto speed a little bit and make
(13:30):
us aware of what's going onthere with your brother?
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Yeah, so I will mention my.
You know my family has justgone through a lot over the last
few months.
First, my sister had majordamage to her home from
Hurricane Helene here in Tampa.
My sister had major damage toher home from Hurricane Helene
here in Tampa.
Her house took on 16 inches ofwater so she's had an unusable
first floor, including kitchen,for four months.
So we're hoping she will havethat.
(13:54):
So we've got that.
And then last Wednesday woke upto seeing the news Last Tuesday.
I'm looking at the news and Iso I texted my brother wh live
in Alta, dina, californ.
These fires are they near time?
They said well, we'r or thewind seems to be b way.
(14:17):
The next morning I'm showingout to Dina on fi running and he
calls me a.
He had just, they had just lefttheir home.
The house across the street wason fire and within three hours
their house had burned down.
Pretty much their whole streetneighborhood had burned down.
And it was a few hours beforewe heard from him.
(14:40):
So it was more of are they okay?
Are they okay?
Are they okay?
So everyone was okay.
So my brother, his wife.
His wife grew up in Altadena,so her mom lost their childhood
home.
Two of her sisters lost theirhome as well.
So there was a point where theywere all staying in one hotel
room 17 people, three dogs and aparrot together.
(15:02):
So thankfully someone hasdonated some rooms for them for
this week in a hotel.
But you got to realize, I think90% of the city burned out to
Dina.
It's a very middle income areaversus Pacific Palisades is a
more wealthy area.
So these are people justworking regular jobs, a lot of
retirees there.
(15:23):
So you know, so a lot is justgone and you have so many people
looking for places to stay.
There's so many people lookingfor places.
There's, you know, so fewplaces.
So they have to go so far outfrom their home.
So I've set up a GoFundMe formy brother and Ellen to just
(15:45):
help them with immediateexpenses.
They had insurance, thankfully,but anyone that's dealt with
that, especially here in Florida, we know how long it takes.
So just to help them cover someimmediate needs food, shelter.
They use my brothers, you knowyou said I had to go to Costco
and buy clothes.
He's like I didn't have anyclothes, you know, with the
Costco to buy food and clothes.
(16:05):
So you hear my brother shoppingat Costco for clothes.
You know, you know that's.
You know there was a disaster,okay.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Well, first of all, I'm so glad they're, they're
happy, I mean, they're healthyand they're okay physically, and
I know that your brother hasallowed his sense of humor and
his positivity that clearly is afamily trait to kind of come
into play to help him getthrough this.
But still it is I think Ireally want to draw attention to
.
There is no private jet foranyone here to take off and for
(16:33):
him to be able to just jet hisway over with the entire 17
people in tow to safety.
They are having to still, Iassume, navigate day-to-day life
, trying to do it in a placethat has been really just been
completely devastated, and Iknow that it's been really tough
too for folks to seek shelters,because there's a lot of price
(16:53):
gouging and a lot of things thatare personally out of our
control.
But one thing that's not out ofour control is that we can help
draw awareness to thisfundraiser that you have started
to help them with thoseimmediate expenses and donate if
it's at all possible.
So, friends, I want to callattention that we have that link
directly in episode notes.
If you're driving or you'rerunning and you can't do it
(17:14):
right here and now, that'sa-okay, just take a moment to
put a little mental note thatwhen you're done and you're
somewhere safe, that if you can,please make a donation and if
you cannot, sharing isabsolutely a wonderful way to
help us get the word out.
So we would love to see thathappen Now with that.
Does it impact your training?
Because I'm thinking you go out?
(17:35):
There's a lot of time on those20 milers to do some thinking.
How are you balancing theconcern and worry you may have
for your loved ones with yourtraining and your coaching in
your day-to-day life?
Speaker 2 (17:48):
You know I will say, prayer is powerful and my faith
definitely sustains me througheverything being.
I'm a Christian.
Being Christian doesn't meanbad things don't happen, but for
me it means that there is, youhave, a God that will help you
get through those things.
So I am very appreciative ofthat and that definitely
(18:12):
strengthens me.
And I consider running liketherapy, because when I go
running it's kind of, you know,taking the hat of the world off
and I listen, put an audio bookon or a podcast, and you know
just enjoy being outside andjust taking, you know taking a
moment for a couple hours, andduring that time I am reflecting
(18:37):
on things, I'm thinking ofthings.
That it is.
It is definitely something thatis very helpful for me mentally
.
It is definitely something thatis very helpful for me mentally
.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Do you feel like you have had to be more protective
over this time for yourself?
Right now, again, because it istherapeutic for you, is also
part of your discipline and yourtraining, but is it something
that you find any difficulty inmotivating yourself to lace up?
Sometimes, when we feel a bitpowerless with everything going
(19:06):
on around us, it could be alittle bit more difficult.
Or is it something where youare so ingrained that this is
something you look forward to amajority of the time?
Speaker 2 (19:11):
I think it's helped me look forward to it.
So I have enjoyed it.
A couple of weeks ago I had an18 miler and I couldn't find a
half marathon and before I waslike, oh my gosh, how am I going
to run 18 miles when I don'thave a race?
And it was such a great run.
(19:32):
So I think I've just I'vestayed focused on what the goal
is and I want to be there for myfamily.
I want to be there for themmentally, emotionally, but I
also know I have to be there forme too.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
So running gives me that.
I love to hear.
What I'm going to say isgratitude, and that's what's
kind of like allowing you to getout there and moving, because
there's the gratitude of havingthat time, the gratitude of
being able to move your body toknow that everyone is while
they're impacted, that they aresafe and healthy.
So I I love to hear that, but Iwant to delve a little bit more
into a couple of things thatyou talked about, which were not
in the list of questions, butbecause I can't help myself.
(20:11):
You said and this is somethingthat I think has changed quite a
bit in my own journey, so Iwant to draw attention to it
that back previously there wouldhave been a time where, if you
saw 18 miles on your trainingschedule, you would have
attached it to half marathon,which I think is something that
I know that I used to.
I was, I was really blingmotivated If there was not a
medal.
Um, I wasn't as excited to dothose double digit runs, and I
(20:31):
know that, as I've grown in myjourney, that's no longer the
case.
But I'm curious do you feellike you're evolving in your
running journey from when youfirst started to now as well?
Speaker 2 (20:41):
I would definitely say yes, because this is
probably my first marathon cyclein a long time that I haven't
run any of my long runs in arace and I've just been running
them.
And I will say my husband hasinspired me.
He's been running about 70miles a week.
So he runs about 10 to 12 milesfive days a week and then he'll
do a longer run one day andtake a day off, and so he's
(21:04):
definitely inspired me that hejust he goes to work.
You know he's out of the doorin the morning at three 30 in
the morning and then three 30 inthe afternoon he's running.
So he's inspired me because hedoes not take off, you know,
unless absolutely necessary.
And it's definitely made iteasier.
We rarely run together.
We might go out of the doortogether but we're usually
running different mileage, so hemight go one way, I'll go
(21:24):
another, but you know he's.
He's definitely been aninspiration for me.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
I love to hear that Tia has somebody who inspires
her instead, because I feel likeTia, you inspire so many of us
on a day to day basis, but, ofcourse, meeting Johnny, we can
totally tell why you both aresuch an incredible inspiration.
So I'm going to turn theconversation into a little bit
of how do you inspire your newrunners and again,
congratulations on all of thewomen that tackled their first
(21:53):
marathon together, and I knowyou have many, many more and
what are some of the tips thatyou tell them when they kind of
have to dig in a little deeperto get their training done and
life throws them some curveballs?
Speaker 2 (22:06):
I think a lot of it is.
There's a couple of thingsKeeping your eyes on the goal,
so that's number one.
So I'm like right now I'mtraining a group with Black
Girls Run for the Gate River Runin March.
So for some of them they neverrun a 15K 9.3 miles so this is
new for them.
So always having that goal ofthe finish line in sight, but
(22:29):
also having time management.
One thing I will say I amreally good at is time
management, because someone onthe outside looks at me.
They're like how do you doeverything that you do?
Because I'm very protective ofmy time.
It's our most preciouscommodity.
So that's one thing I try toinstill in my runners in just
making sure that they areprotective of their time,
(22:51):
because if you are that way whenthings come up you can manage
it better, because you're notfeeling like it's one more thing
on my plate, type of thing.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
So as I go along.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
I try to be that inspiration as a coach and you
know this, that sometimes youbecome a therapist a little bit
with your runners.
So you know I try to, you know,be there and listen, but I also
I don't feed in if there'ssomething where it's like okay,
we don't need to, we don't needto keep talking about this
because that's not productiveyou know, so let's, let's move
(23:22):
it towards what's positive,what's going to get you on your
goal and keep you on track.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
I think one thing that I'm hearing you say when
you talk about time managementwhich it is one of, like, the
most beautiful aspects of reallyhow we can get things achieved
but also is that it really setsus up for creating boundaries,
because I think that's where alot of women tend to have
difficulty is that we want to beable to tackle all of the
things that come our way, andthere's something to be said
(23:52):
about saying no to some of thethings that drain our time, so
that we can say yes to thesethings that bring us so much
community and life and thingsthat we enjoy, like running and
races and all of that.
Okay, you touched on a littlebit that you are big into your
audio books when you're out forthese super long runs that maybe
don't have a medal at the end,so tell us what have you been
listening to lately, and isthere something that we should
be listening to on our to beread list?
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Oh my gosh, I've been listening to so much you can
tell us genres.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
You can tell us genres if you don't have any
specific titles off the top ofyour head.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
So here's one of my favorite podcasts.
It's called Mr Ballin, like theword Alan, with a B in front of
it.
Mr Ballin, here's the tagline.
If you're a fan of the strange,dark and mysterious delivered
in story format, this is for you.
They're all about 30 minutes.
They come out twice a week.
(24:44):
There are things and they'reall true.
Ooh, they have a twist to them.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
It's clearly mystery and there are things and they're
all true, ooh, so it's like wehave a twist to them.
It's a little so it's clearlymystery, genre and a little bit
of suspense.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
A lot of suspense.
So just a couple of reallyquick examples.
So there'll be things like I'lllisten to one.
I'm like, oh, I remember thisfrom forensic file or dateline,
so there's one some like that.
But then there's these otherones.
There's like this whole segmentof um stay out, and it's like
three 10 minute stories ofplaces you shouldn't go.
So, like the guy who created it, mr Ballin, he's a Navy SEAL
(25:22):
and so he'll do a lot of theseunderwater stories where these
people went to this place wherethey shouldn't have gone and
they didn't have the rightequipment and then they, you
know, got stuck and you know.
So you're like, oh my gosh, andI mean it's amazing because it
really it keeps your attentionfor sure.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
Okay, I'm absolutely going to be adding that to my
next TV listen too, because itdoes sound intriguing.
I love me some a little bit oftrue crime, mystery and suspense
, and also, you guys know thatyou should not be going
someplace If a Navy SEAL istelling you not to go there,
then that's definitely somethingthat we should stay out of.
That sounds like it has alittle edge of humor as well.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Yes, there are some of them where, like my sister
and I are addicted to it, so wealways text each other if
there's one and there was one,we were just dying laughing
because you just you, reallycould not believe this one.
I mean, it was so funny.
I'm gonna send you the link,because if somebody wants to
listen, this is like the firstone to listen to.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
Okay, we got, we are excited about this, so we're
listening to Mr Ballin, but it'sit's just a couple times a week
in 30 minutes.
I'm feeling like you're outthere for a little bit longer
now that we're training for anultra, anything else that's kind
of coming through and you'relistening to on your headphones.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
Yes, I do.
Like James Patterson, theauthor, I just love mystery
suspense thrillers.
I'm not a horror or anythinglike that but.
I love.
You know that kind of thing.
I listened to a book calledPerfect Peace recently and that
was really interesting, by Ibelieve it's Dr Michael Black
(26:54):
and it was.
It was fascinating, you know.
Basically, you know the premiseof the story is it's a family
in the 50s in rural Arkansas.
It's a black couple with sixboys and the wife always wanted
a girl.
The husband says I'm nottouching you anymore because I
don't want any more kids.
She made him think he was inmenopause and so he touched her
(27:14):
and so she's pregnant again.
She's really hoping for a girland at this time the men weren't
around.
When she had the baby had amidwife.
So the midwife is in there, shedelivers the baby and it's a
boy.
She tells the midwife this is agirl and I'm going to raise her
as a girl.
The story it's a novel but itreads like you think it's a true
story.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
It was so good.
I'm literally like gaspinglistening to it, like it sounds
like oh, wow, okay.
So now you have added so muchto my list, I am going to
suggest, if you like a littlebit of mystery suspense.
Who I listened to when I wastraining for my ultra was a lot
of Frida McFadden, so if youhaven't heard her, I would
definitely check her out.
She's like a brain surgeon ofsome sort and I'm thinking, how
(27:56):
you have time must be that timemanagement.
You guys must have taken theexact same class.
How can you do brain surgeryand write like 48 novels?
But again, it's all about thattime management, about that time
management.
So bringing it back there.
Yeah Right, my friend.
So we have kind of just a weebit.
I feel like we're just touchinga little bit of where you're
going to be.
I know that friends that arehere in Florida we can go and
(28:17):
celebrate Tia and Johnny'sanniversary at Celebration and
you have a discount code forthat, because you still have
your discount codes for racesgroup, which is I don't even
know how many members you've gotin there at this point.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
One on 39,000, I think something like that.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Every single time I go to sign up for a race, that
is the first place I go just tocheck and do a quick search,
because I follow the rulesAlways do a search to see if
there's somebody who has alreadylisted a specific race with the
discount code and then, if not,I always kind of draw a little
shout out there for folks.
So, friends, if you are intoracing quite often and you want
(28:53):
to maybe look for some ways topinch those pennies, I would
very much suggest that you headon over to Tia's discount codes
for races Facebook group andthen, when you save all that
extra money, you can go to thefundraiser and, you know, make a
donation that way because we'resaving so much money.
But we're going to find youthere and I know that for
Celebration you have a code,even though that's coming up
(29:14):
very quickly.
Friends, if you do want to joinus, it's Tia10.
And then we're going to beseeing you at Gasparilla because
you're going to be pacing.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
That's the final weekend before you go off to do
your ultra.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
Uh, two weekends before, so that will be kind of
my last longer run.
I did a little over 30 milesthat weekend.
Where else do we find Tia andJohnny this spring, summer or
2025?
Speaker 2 (29:36):
I think the only other thing we're really
committed to where we're doing.
We always do Detroit every yearin October.
Obviously, yeah, but we're also, but we're going to check off
the state of Oregon in Augustwith the bridge of the gods, so
we're excited about that as well.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
Ah, that sounds incredible.
All right, I'm going to haveyou finish up with maybe just
one piece of advice that youwould give to somebody who's
considering changing up theirgoals and leaving from maybe the
more traditional road raceworld into the world of ultras,
(30:13):
something maybe you've learnedin this specific training cycle.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
One thing I am learning.
I feel like I haven't evengotten past my longest run yet,
so maybe that question should beasked after I do longer than 26
miles.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
What are you going up to for your training?
Speaker 2 (30:29):
I'll be going over 30 in one day, so I'll be doing a
pretty high volume you know ofit, but I think the mindset of
it it's still.
it's still a little overwhelmingfor me, a little intimidating
to me.
Thinking about it On paper.
I need to maintain an under 15minute mile, which on paper that
sounds easy, but over thecourse of you have 12 hours to
(30:52):
do it.
It's a lot.
So you know, it's one of thosethings where you know I'm just,
I'm happy my husband will bethere with me doing it.
I'll have several friends.
I think there's about 30 peopledoing it as a solo ultra this
year, which is the most they'veever had.
So it is, it's just.
You know, I'm just keeping mymind right with the goal.
I just I'm taking it bite bybite instead of just thinking
(31:15):
about 51 miles and just thinkingabout what I have to do.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
I think that's the perfect advice.
Whether you're tackling a 5k,10 miler, a half marathon, a
marathon or an ultra, friends,it literally does come down to
running the step and the milethat you're in, instead of
overwhelming with the entire bigoverarching goal.
So that is beautiful advice and, of course, we've got so many
wonderful links here and I can'twait to now check out Mr Ballin
(31:42):
and perfect peace is going on.
My must listen to like rightnow.
Tia, I wanna thank you so muchand I want to remind everybody
about this fundraiser that againis episode links, because it
really really is such awonderful way to give back to
someone who's given to ourrunning community in so many
powerful ways.
Thank you for joining me.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
Thank you so much for having me, christine, and thank
you so much for shining a lighton my brother, mark and Ellen,
and my brother and sister-in-lawand sharing the fundraiser.
So, like you said, any amounthelps and just even just sharing
it is so much appreciated.
So appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
Thank you so much.
So, friends, let's show her andher family the support that
makes the running community sotruly extraordinary.
And until next time, keepstriving, keep striding and keep
going the extra mile.
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