July 9, 2025 • 50 mins
Ever wonder what it takes to run 300+ marathons in full costume? Meet Charlotte, the runner who's redefining what's possible in both endurance and race day fashion.
Charlotte brings a refreshing perspective to ultra running that blends serious mileage with joyful celebration. Unlike many elite runners, she didn't start until her mid-30s after making lifestyle changes for better health. What began with simple run-walk intervals around her hometown loop evolved into an extraordinary journey through every U.S. state and beyond. Her approach to marathons—seeing "America 26.2 miles at a time"—reflects her philosophy that the journey matters as much as the finish line.
What truly sets Charlotte apart is her unwavering commitment to costumed running. Her motto—"head to toe, start to finish"—means she never sheds costume pieces, no matter the distance. From a three-tiered birthday cake with PVC pipe infrastructure to a space shuttle costume developed with her mom (an accomplished seamstress), Charlotte transforms races into performance art. When fellow runners inevitably ask at the finish, "Did you wear that the whole race?" she takes pride in always answering "Yes."
Charlotte's signature move happens at the 100K mark of ultras: her "Fireball dance" complete with Pitbull music and shared shots has earned her the nickname "Fireball Fairy" in ultra running circles. This blend of endurance and celebration perfectly captures her approach to the sport. As an UESCA certified ultra coach, she emphasizes proper pacing and mental resilience over obsessing about speed.
Now with her sights set on joining the exclusive "100 100s Club" (only about 32 people worldwide who've completed one hundred 100-mile races), Charlotte continues to embody how extraordinary achievements can come from finding joy in the process. Follow her journey on Instagram @marathoncostumechic or join the community at Disney Day Drinkers Running Team to witness how sparkle and grit can coexist beautifully on the ultra running trail.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Coach Christine (00:01):
Welcome back to Extraordinary Strides, a
podcast that celebrates thesparkle in your stride and
everyday athletes doing trulyepic things.
I'm your host, coach Christine,and today we are going full
throttle into the world ofsequence, finish lines and
serious ultra marathon mileage.
My guest is someone who defiesdescription, but I'm going to
try anyway.
(00:21):
She's an UESCA certified ultrarunning coach, a beloved admin
of the Disney running team, therainy raining queen and running.
So it's a little bit of both ofrace day costuming and, oh yeah
, she's run over guys, seriously300 marathons, and I'm going to
ask her to clarify if it's over300 marathons and if that
(00:41):
includes her ultras.
But we'll, we'll find out, butthat's not a typo.
You didn't miss here Over 300and counting.
Charlotte knows how to chase biggoals while keeping the fun
dial turned all the way up.
So grab your sparkly visors,pour yourself a mimosa, or maybe
you're making a tailwindcocktail.
Settle in, because we're aboutto cover everything from pacing
(01:03):
plans to, of course, how tocostume on the run.
Charlotte, welcome on in, it'sso great to have you back.
Oh, thank you so much,christine.
I have so many questionsbecause I am absolutely
fascinated by your story.
I want to know a little bit ofa backstory first, but let's get
right to it.
Let's break the ice.
(01:23):
What's the most ridiculousthing you've ever run a race in
and did it survive all the wayto the finish line and beyond?
Coach Charlotte (01:32):
Well, I've got a few, and kind of my motto is
head to toe, start to finish.
So I always, when I'm going inwith a costume, I don't make any
plans on, you know, dropping aprop or maybe taking a layer off
I am committed for the fullrace, no matter the distance.
(01:53):
There have been a few timesthat things got a little
complicated or chafing startedto happen, so I always carry
extra like safety pins andthings like that where I can
pull something up, um, you know,but there's never been one that
I've been absolutely miserableabout.
Um, usually if it is, it's justbecause of the heat and
(02:14):
whatever I have on is too manylayers or too heavy and it just
weighs down on me.
Um, probably the one that reallyaffected my run was it was one
called um farm days.
It's on a farm and so I was ahorse and so I had this huge
horse head on top, not just ahat, just this huge horse head,
(02:34):
and, um, it was a 24-hour race,so over time, in the heat of the
day, that just kind of reallygot to my head, um made my
shoulders and back hurt, so so Ididn't get quite the mileage I
wanted on that one, but I stillcommitted and kept to the
costume the whole time.
Coach Christine (02:52):
Okay, I want to hear about this mantra, this
core belief of yours.
I feel like it's a superingrained in your, like your
psyche, as to if you're going tocommit.
You're going to commit all theway.
Is that how you do everything?
Is it full throttle all the way, or is it pretty much?
Coach Charlotte (03:07):
for your running, okay, yeah, pretty much
personality yeah, okay, yeahand so when I, you know, I'll
show up to a start line and andI'm ready, and the reason I do
this, you know, start line tofinish line is because people
are going to come up to me andsay at the finish line, did you
carry that the whole race or didyou wear that whole race?
So I know, going into it,that's going to be the question
(03:27):
I'm going to get.
So I'm prepared to say yes.
Uh, you know, show up to thestart line.
Are you going to carry that?
Are you going to?
Yes, I'll see you at the finishline.
Coach Christine (03:38):
I mean, I love your level of commitment to it.
There is no doubt I thoughtthat I was committed to running
sparkly, but you definitely takeit up a notch, which also you
have in your running journey aswell.
Before we dive into yourbackstory, though, I must know
is there a drink that you feelcaptures your running
personality specifically?
Coach Charlotte (04:01):
You know I love during a race.
I am am not shy, especiallywhen you get into the ultras
where it's you know longerdistances, longer times you're
out there.
You just get tired of water andgatorade.
So I love a good cold beer, andsometimes I don't care if it's
hot beer, just something that'sa different taste than water and
gatorade.
Um, also, kind of going intothe ultra world, especially with
(04:25):
the group I run, with a lot ofraces called Yeti Trail Runners,
it all seems to be the drink ofultra runners.
So, pretty much known as thefireball fairy, I always have
some fireball on me to sharewith everybody and I'm known for
doing my fireball dance at youknow a longer race.
When I hit the 100K mark, Ialways stop, play the song by
(04:49):
Pitbull and do a little danceand share some fireball to get
me the next little bit of therace.
Coach Christine (04:58):
So does this dance only happen at the 100K
mark?
Coach Charlotte (05:02):
Typically, yeah , I mean, if it's a shorter race
and I'm not going to get tothat, I'll find some way, you
know, in the race or somemonumental mile, or you know,
maybe I'll take a break and goback out and have some fireball
to get me going.
So but you know, it's the 100kmark usually on a lot of races
that I really like to hit thefireball.
Coach Christine (05:25):
Okay, so whoever wants to really see is
going to have to commit to Ithink that translates to about
64 miles.
Coach Charlotte (05:29):
Is that accurate 62.
Yeah.
Coach Christine (05:29):
Okay, that's wild.
Okay, how did this get started?
Like, how, how were you anathlete in school?
Did you start cross country?
Tell me where this all began.
You're, you're like runnerorigin story, essentially.
Coach Charlotte (05:47):
Well, you know, I was never the athlete in high
school.
You know I was.
You know I did somecheerleading, did some ice
skating, but nothing really.
You know where I considermyself an athlete.
Didn't really start runninguntil I was in my mid to late
30s.
I had put on those extra poundswell after college and just
(06:13):
decided I needed to make alifestyle change to be healthier
.
And I actually lost most of myweight doing other things, other
little workout routines.
But then when I lost the weight, I had confidence to get out
where I lived.
There's this little thing calledthe loop and it's just, you
know, it's kind of loop aroundthe city, as in Wrightsville
(06:34):
Beach, north Carolina, andstarted out, you know, just run,
walk a mile, walk a half mile,run a half mile, walk a half
mile, just doing some intervalslike that.
And as soon as you say, oh, I'mgoing out for a run, people are
like, oh well, there's a 5kcoming up next month, why don't
you do that?
Oh, you got to do this 10k.
So you know, as soon as youlabel yourself as a runner and I
(06:57):
believe that no matter yourpace, your speed, your distance,
if you're getting out there,you're a runner.
I don't believe in jogging.
It's all running, so once youkind of label yourself as a
runner, then you get drawn intothe actual race activities and
that's a good way to keepmotivated, keeping something on
the calendar and having a goalin sight.
Coach Christine (07:21):
Okay, so do you remember your very first
commitment to maybe a race thatscared you a little bit?
And do you, charlotte?
Are you a mere mortal?
Do you actually have fears whenit comes to running?
Coach Charlotte (07:33):
uh, yeah, I mean I started off just doing
some local 5ks and 10ks.
Uh, just south of me ischarleston, south carolina, and
they had the very infamousCooper River Bridge Run, which
is like the second largest 10Kin the US.
So that was kind of.
My first goal was I want to runover that bridge and you know,
being here on the coast, wedon't have a lot of hills, Our
(07:58):
bridges aren't quite that bigand you can't really run on them
here in Wilmington.
So you know I was very nervousabout running up that bridge.
But you know it was like one ofthose things just conquer your
fears.
You're not going to know ifyou're going to like it or not
until you go out and do it.
Coach Christine (08:13):
Okay.
So we went from that to.
I would say maybe it felt alittle bit more of I won't say
casual running yet, but we'redefinitely not in ultra
territory.
Where did it start to spiralinto your first marathon, your
first marathon turning into anultra?
And then tell us more aboutthis 300 plus club that you're
(08:33):
part of?
It's a lot there.
Coach Charlotte (08:36):
Yeah.
So again you're running thehalf marathons.
At this point Somebody's like,oh, when, when are you going to
run a marathon?
I'm like, oh, yeah, never.
But then I found the local teamand training program.
When are you going to run amarathon?
I'm like, oh, yeah, never.
But then I found the local teamand training program, which, as
you know, is a coaching programthat's a fundraiser for
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
So my first marathon was DisneyWorld 2006.
(08:58):
So I did that through the teamand training program and I just
became addicted.
You know that running for apurpose just became so much more
fun.
And you know the group ofpeople that we had here in our
area that continue to, you know,train for these events.
You know I spent severalsessions with them and did
(09:20):
several events, and so that'skind of where the marathon
addiction started.
Then, you know, you always findthat people are going to say,
when you hit a goal, what's next?
So I had to keep on thinking ofwhat's next.
So, traveling to races and doingsome of these races, I met a
lot of people in the 50 StatesMarathon Club like, oh, that's a
(09:42):
great goal, run a marathon inevery state.
And when I went into it.
I knew it was not going to besomething I wanted to crank out
fast, because a lot of thesestates I'd never been to so I
didn't want to just fly in, do amarathon and then fly back.
I wanted to go see North Dakota, go see what there is to see in
South Dakota and enjoy thestate.
(10:02):
Also, another one of my runningkind of catchphrases is seeing
America 26.2 miles at a time.
So I really wanted to enjoy thatjourney.
Coach Christine (10:14):
Okay, and, of course, you know when you're
wrapped up, go ahead.
Oh, I was going to ask.
So at this point, have you donethe 50 states or are you still
working on that?
Coach Charlotte (10:24):
I completed that in 2018.
Okay, so that's kind of whatled to the ultras was, you know,
I'm getting to this big goalthat I had been working on for
many years.
So what's next?
Many years, so what's next?
When I, at that point, I livein Charleston and there was a
(10:45):
great group of runners that Iran with and they're talking
about these ultras, I'm like,okay, I've heard of them and I'd
actually done one at that point, when I lived in the Florida
Keys, I ran the Florida Keys 50,but then focused on, you know,
doing the state.
So just like, okay, now I thinkthis is a new challenge, so
started running, you know, some50 Ks, 50 milers, and, of course
(11:08):
, somebody tosses out well,there's a great 100 miler in
Tennessee in August.
Don't you want to do that?
And that was the furthest thingon my mind up.
Are you kidding?
August, 100 miles, no, thankyou.
Coach Christine (11:20):
Exactly what I'm thinking.
Absolutely not Empathically.
Coach Charlotte (11:24):
But then of course, I signed up.
Coach Christine (11:27):
Okay, go ahead.
And for punishment, that mustbe the key, absolutely there,
okay.
So at this point, florida Keys50 is your first ultra.
You tapped into a couple ofothers before you made it your
way to your first hundred milerin Tennessee.
Is that true?
Am I following the story,florida?
Coach Charlotte (11:47):
Keys 50 was in 2015 and it kind of positioned
itself doing the 50 states.
We find that, you know, it'shard financially to get this
done, especially the way Iwanted to do it and be able to
travel.
So we would do things calleddoubles and triples.
So the first weekend in May Ihad a marathon in Wisconsin and
(12:10):
in Michigan on the same weekend,so that's a double weekend.
And then a couple of weekslater was when the Keys 50 was
happening.
And then a few weeks laterafter that was when the Bear
Lake Triple, so a marathon inIdaho, wisconsin and Utah in
three different days.
So the 50 kind of lined upperfectly for training.
(12:31):
But then I said, you know, as Isaid, I kind of sat back and
finished the States, said I kindof sat back and finished the
States and then in 2018, when Icompleted that again started off
with, you know, some 50 milersI think was my first one and
that would have been in February2018.
And then that one popped up inAugust of 2018 that I signed up
(12:53):
for, so you know, started doingsome ultras at that point just
to kind of to build up to thathundred miler doing some ultras
at that point, just to kind ofto build up to that 100 miler,
do you?
Coach Christine (13:03):
can you possibly pick a favorite on any
of the distances at this point?
Coach Charlotte (13:08):
uh, you know a favorite distance I love the 100
miler.
Um, a lot of them I'm findingthat I'm actually it's not a
hundred mile race.
I do a lot of fixed timed races.
So a couple of weeks ago I didone called Stevie's Roost, 48
hour, and 48 hour is the perfecttime frame, I think, for me to
(13:28):
be able to go enjoy, not becrushed by, you know, is the
clock chasing me.
Am I going to finish a hundredmiles?
I'm able to, since it's overtwo nights, you know, get two to
three hours of sleep maybe eachnight, and I know I can't say
it's.
There's a phrase, there's nosuch thing as an easy 100 miler.
They're all tough but you knowI go into that one a little bit
(13:52):
more confidence of I have thetime and if it gets hot or if it
starts raining or if I getsleepy, I can take a break and
still get the hundred miles in.
So you know that's what I'mreally kind of focusing on now
are, you know, hundred mileraces, but with ones that have a
generous time limit.
Coach Christine (14:09):
Okay, okay.
So I am curious because, againnow, so you're part of a very
elite club of folks that havedone over the 300 marathon
distance.
Does that are some of thoseultras as well, or are they
separate?
Do they have to be a sanction26.2 for it to count towards
that?
Coach Charlotte (14:28):
I do keep that 306 number which I hit as of
this past weekend.
It is total marathons andultras combined.
They are all organized races.
These aren't training runs.
They are organized races thatI've registered for, paid for,
trained for, traveled to andcommitted to the miles there.
So I think the split is about.
(14:50):
I think 126 of those are ultrasand the rest are just regular
marathons ultras and the restare just regular marathons.
Coach Christine (15:03):
Is there anything that you still see out
in the horizon when talkingabout the what's next that
you're still a little intriguedby you want to consider doing?
Coach Charlotte (15:11):
There is a plan .
It is a very loose plan and itmay not happen.
I mean, there's so many otherthings.
I used to always say I wantedmy six stars by the time I was
60.
I wanted seven continents bythe time I'm 70.
And you know a lot of that isjust the financial burden of you
(15:32):
know, the commitment to gettingthose in.
And then, as you know, you know,getting into some of those
races for the six stars, um,world majors, is complicated, um
, a lot of them, you know, arehard to get into, whether you um
either, even if you try tofundraise for, like Boston, for
example, that's a big commitment, um.
(15:53):
So I wanted something, let'ssay, a little bit more realistic
, but a little bit more my speed, as you mentioned.
So, with the 300 marathons,there's what's called the World
Mega Marathon List, and so theykeep a list of all the people in
the world that have submittedthat they have completed 300
(16:13):
marathons, and there's a NorthAmerica list as well, kept by
the same team.
So you know, that was a greatgoal to get to and I think, you
know, I wish I could rememberthe numbers off the top of my
head about how many people haveactually hit that.
Not a lot, you know, not a lotin the world and not a lot in
the US.
(16:34):
But there's this really reallysmall club that I want to get
into.
But there's this really reallysmall club that I want to get
into.
It's called the 100 100s cluband that is a list of the people
that have done 100, 100 milersand right now I think there's
just 30, you know kind ofchanges every month or so
(16:56):
because you know people arestarting to hit that and People
will hit it more frequently nowthat 100-milers have become more
popular and there are more ofthem.
But right now I think there'sonly about 32, 33 people in the
world that are on that list.
So doing the math, I think it'spossible.
(17:17):
I'm definitely going to have totake, you know, do more of
those 48-hour races.
Kind of the ruling is the 100miles has to be run within 48
hours.
So I'm at 34 right now, so I'ma third of the way there and
that took me about seven years.
So even if the last two take me10 years each or the last two
(17:41):
thirds take me 10 years each,another 20 years that'll push it
up there.
But you would be amazed, I goto some of these races and there
are upper seventies, 80 yearolds, they even you know there's
a gentleman who's 90 somethingyears old who still can crank
out those miles.
So that gives me hope that thatmay eventually be possible.
Coach Christine (18:00):
I have zero doubt of that.
I'll never forget my first racethat I did, where I thought
that I was going to let theolder gentleman kind of pace me,
where I was like if I just keepup with him for like maybe the
first half I'll be slow andconservative, I'll be able to
finish strong, blew me out ofthe water.
There is just we have so manyincredible athletes, especially
as we know more about nutritionand feeling and all those
(18:23):
different things, and just somepeople just have just incredible
genetics.
So that's amazing and I can seeyou tackling that.
So the next logical question isis there anything, charlotte,
that you wouldn't do?
Like you see an escape ofrunning and you're like, no, I'm
not doing that.
Like that's the one thing thatI will not cross.
I can't see that going hand inhand with your personality.
Coach Charlotte (18:45):
I'm limited, again, by my speed and my
ability to train on certainterrains.
As I said, I live at the coastso I don't have hills.
I can do parking decks or someother things, but I don't have a
very convenient place to trainon terrain.
You know rooty, rocky trails.
(19:05):
So that kind of hinders mycapability to do a lot of races.
And I said, my pace I'm fine, Ihave no qualms about being slow
, it doesn't bother me, I'mstill out there.
And you know, sometimes peoplesay it's actually harder to run
100 miler in 35 hours versusdoing it in 18 hours.
(19:28):
So you know I'm out there, justyou know same distance and now
I'm out there longer, right,yeah.
So there's a lot of races thatI would love to do but I just
don't think I would be able todo it in the time limit required
by the race.
30 hours is typically, you know,kind of the standard for ultra,
ultra marathons for 100 milers.
You know, so kind of what wecall the Super Bowl of 100
(19:51):
milers is Western Statesendurance run.
You have to run another race toqualify, to get in, and then
it's a really tough lottery.
I would love to run westernstates.
But I think you know I wouldknow going into that that I
don't.
I know I probably can't runthat race in the 30 hour time
limit.
So you know it's it's always agoal, and then I'm not saying
(20:15):
that I would never try it.
But you know I just I don'tthink I have.
You know the terrain and theways to train that and plus the
altitude out in California whereit's run.
You know I love that idea but Ijust got to be realistic that I
don't think it's in mywheelhouse.
Coach Christine (20:33):
So that leads me to the next question, and I
don't know how I'm going to stopthis interview, because I have
three gazillion questions thathonestly come into mind.
Do you consider yourself aroadrunner, a trail runner at
this point, because so manyultras are trail or they're
mixed in terms of the actualterritory or the terrain that
you cover, or do you justconsider yourself a runner and
that's it?
Coach Charlotte (20:54):
I think it's just a runner.
I think it's just a runner If Ihad to choose between the two.
I mean, I'm really good at roadrunning, even ultra distances.
There's several that I havedone that are all pavement, all
concrete, and I think I feelmore confident in that.
I have a nasty habit of falling.
(21:17):
I'm not the most gracious andgraceful runner.
I've had to drop out of a racebefore because I had to leave
and go get medical treatment.
So I love trail running.
It's just so much more fun.
But there's that, you know,those roots and those rocks that
make me nervous and so I tendto slow down my pace because of
(21:40):
that and again, that gets me in.
That backs me in that corner ofwhat's the time limit?
Am I going to be able to makeit, knowing what's going on out
there?
Coach Christine (21:49):
Yeah, I feel you on this specifically because
when I look at things that likeI want to tackle, I have to be
very careful of what I sign upfor in between, because an
injury could potentially takeout three, four, five, six
months worth of races that I'vealready planned or paid for.
And I'm more so for you becauseyou have practically a race
every single weekend, so I couldunderstand where there would be
(22:11):
a little bit more trepidationof anything that would consider
have that of a possibility foryou, which, of course, leads me
to the next question.
So I'm hearing that that was apotential did not finish due to
medical.
Have you actually started arace and thought, no, this is
just not it.
I just I'm not.
Today's not my day.
I'm going to have to have a DNFwithout the need because of
(22:34):
medical or injury.
Coach Charlotte (22:36):
No, I mean honest.
Honestly, I've.
I've been told that I have avery strong mental game.
Now, granted, 15, 20 miles in.
You're like, oh man, I am just15, 20 miles in, I got 80,
something to go.
Does it go through my mind?
Yes, of course, and I'm likebut I, I'm able to push through
(22:59):
and get past that mental wall.
It's not as much the physicalwall, it's the mental wall of
you know.
Yes, this is going to suck.
Running 100 miles is not easyand so, yeah, I've always
managed to push through.
Again, going to these fixedtime races, one of the benefits
(23:19):
is that there's no DNF.
You know like the 48 hour race Iran two weeks ago I could have
done one lap decided yep, not myday, I'm going to stop and
still be considered a finisher.
So that is the advantage of youknow the timed races, so a
little bit more mental comfortzone there that you know that
(23:40):
you're still going to get afinish.
But I still have my goal ofkind of the distance I want to
get.
There have been times that I've, you know, went in, went in
thinking okay, I'd love to get100k, only came out with 50
miles or you know any kind ofcombination of that.
But I still go out there andkeep trying.
Coach Christine (24:01):
So what came first?
Did Charlotte have a naturalgrittiness and resiliency, or is
that something you feel likeyou developed through your
process of running?
Coach Charlotte (24:11):
I think it's a little bit of a blend.
I mean, I've always been pretty.
You know, organized is the wordI like to use, but it's not as
really organized, it's just aplanner.
You know, I go into race with aplan and if it doesn't happen,
I'm always good.
You know, if it doesn't workout the way I want it to or the
way I planned it, I'm alwaysgood at spinning it and I'm like
(24:34):
okay, well, you know, now it'sraining, now what?
Okay, well, here's what I'mgoing to do if it rains.
So I always have planned somuch as far as you know what I
can do in life in general.
And I think that kind oftranslates to running to where
you know you go in with a plan.
You know you go in with a goal,but you always have your B goal
(24:55):
and your C goal just in case.
Coach Christine (25:00):
So I'm having difficulty of like pulling away
from this conversation because Ifeel like there's just so much
that I mean literally when, whencan we sign up to watch a full
documentary of your experiences,Cause there's just so much to
tap into.
But I definitely, for thelisteners, want to make sure
that we talk a little bit aboutyour costumes as well, because,
again, especially for folks thatare more into run Disney, we
see a lot of elaborate costumes,and I'm not taking away any of
(25:24):
those incredible folks that areout there running the marathons
or dopey or anything in all ofthose beautiful, incredibly
elaborate costumes.
But, my friend, you've taken ita step further with some of
your elaborate costumes andagain spanning some really
incredible distances.
So I need to know what's thatone costume and it's so hard
because you have so many thathas gotten the biggest reaction
(25:44):
from spectators or fellowrunners.
Coach Charlotte (25:48):
I think it was probably the birthday cake.
I was running the Little RockMarathon, I think, 2012.
It was on my birthday and mymom who is an amazing seamstress
and can make anything and shemakes a lot of my costumes she
made me this three-tieredbirthday cake and so it's a lot
(26:10):
of PVC involved, which led tocomplications when I needed to
take off my sweatpants becauseit got warmer or when I needed
to go to the porta potty Spoileralert.
That did not happen becausethat PVC was not fitting in the
porta potty.
Um, spoiler alert.
That did not happen becausethat pvc was not fitting in the
porta potty, so I just had tohold it.
Um, but yeah, so that wasprobably.
Um, that's one of my iconics.
(26:31):
I put it in the top five.
It's hard for me to pick a topcostume, but it's definitely one
of my top five favoritecostumes and the probably some
you know one I'm most known forokay.
Coach Christine (26:44):
So I'm hearing that your mom's not just a
seamstress.
It sounds like she has a littlebit of engineering in some of
these feats as well.
Would you say that your skillset has developed more, so as
you continue to learn from heras to when she develops this, or
do you kind of just start withthe concept and turn it over to
her?
Coach Charlotte (27:01):
It's definitely a partner project.
You know I come up with an ideaShe'll give me.
You know, here's how we couldprobably make this work.
Here's the material that weshould use to make this work.
You know there's been timeswhere like that's not what I
wanted, but okay, this is thebest we can do.
So, like my space shuttledesign for Space Coast Marathon.
(27:24):
That took me a while to getthat and it still has some
design flaws that if I ever wereto wear it again, I needed to
work out those kinks.
But yeah, it's definitely apartner project of you know,
here's what I want, here's whatI'm looking for and you know
here's what's in hercapabilities to make and you
know how can we get to thefinished product.
Coach Christine (27:46):
Are most of your costumes handmade, custom
made, or have you ever been like?
You know what?
I'm short on time.
Amazon to the rescue, or isthat not how you roll?
Coach Charlotte (27:55):
Amazon definitely is my, my savior.
Okay, just because you knowlike when I in in the Charleston
marathon I'd always wear aSouthern bell dress.
You know, like when I in theCharleston marathon I'd always
wear a Southern Belle dress.
You know the full hoop skirt,crinoline, everything.
And my mom could easily makeone of those, but the time and
effort to do that I could not.
(28:17):
She's you know I couldn't affordto pay her to do this.
Not that I'm paying her, but Ican't take her away from her
full-time job of making.
She makes window treatments andelaborate curtains and things
like that.
It would just be so timeconsuming and extensive that you
know that was a little bit toomuch of a project for me to ask
of her when I'm doing two tothree costumes a month.
(28:38):
So I've definitely.
You know we'll find things onAmazon A lot of times.
It's let me get those on Amazonbut let's tear it apart,
rebuild it so, like a lot of mydopey costumes from this past
year were basically buying onAmazon, tear it apart, make the
pattern, add the sparkles, sewit back together.
Coach Christine (29:01):
Okay.
So you're very efficient, Iwould say, with your time.
So if you have to tap into someof those things, you will
Efficient with your mom's time,of course.
What is like some advice you'dgive to folks that are starting
to tap into costume running,maybe have some trepidation
about it, something they shouldconsider, a few things maybe
they should consider aboutcostume running you know it's
(29:23):
just start out small.
Coach Charlotte (29:24):
I mean easy.
You know people, you know youcan add a tutu and tiara to
pretty much anything.
Um, even just you knowsomething small to carry.
You know, just practice what Ialways say practice what you are
planning on running in.
I never that myself, but Ialways suggest that you practice
in it.
And you know, as I said, juststart out small and it's like
(29:48):
okay, well, that wasn'tmiserable.
Um, now you know this, nexttime let me add another, you
know, element or another layerto just to see how comfortable
you can get, and also just bewary of, or be cognizant of the
weather.
You know it could be.
You know this race has alwayshad 60 degrees, 60 degrees, but
(30:11):
the day you show up it may bethat rare 80 degree day.
So you kind of have to have aplan of if it gets really hot,
what am I going to do?
Or the opposite, if it getsreally cold, what kind of layers
can I add on?
That aren't going to complicatethe costume.
Coach Christine (30:25):
And incredible advice here.
I love also and I feel likethis is a great time to pivot
into you started off with youshould try out the costume, but
I don't really ever do thatmyself, which leads us into our
coaching sometimes, which is doas I say, not as I do.
So as an USCA and I think Ipronounced that right USCA
certified ultra running, yep,which is the United Endurance
(30:46):
Sports Coaching Academy, soyou're an ultra running coach.
Tell us a little bit about howdo you blend your love of
running, because it feels likethere's.
You bring so much joy to thisaspect of movement and this
aspect of your life.
Well, you bring joy toeverything, I'm sure, but how do
you balance that for yourselfand your athletes with also
(31:09):
serious, smart training?
Coach Charlotte (31:12):
Well, the coaching, you know, getting my
coaching certificate was mostlydriven by me wanting to expand
my own personal knowledge.
You know, I wanted to learnmore about, you know, the
physicality of running and youknow just kind of what can I
learn to make my running better.
I'm kind of known as theenabler.
(31:34):
You know, I'm the one whoalways like, oh, here's a great
race, why don't you join me atthis?
So, you know, when I tend toconvince people to run their
first ultra, I'm, you know,tending to get a lot of
questions.
You know, well, how do you fuelfor this?
Or how do you, you know,prepare for different terrains?
And what about?
You know, the different thingsthat you're going to, you're
(31:54):
going to engage in or be exposedto with an ultra.
So, you know, I found that I wasgiving out a lot of advice and
sharing my experiences withpeople, and so I thought, well,
(32:25):
that's, you know, kind of thenatural progression is.
I want to have the confidencein what I'm talking to them
about and have it, you know, bebacked by.
You know, it's not the titlereally, you know, ultra running
coach, it's just the, you know,the knowledge of.
At least I have have someexperience in reading and other.
You know, just pulling theexperience from the US program
into what I'm sharing withanybody that I work with.
Coach Christine (32:37):
So I love to hear that and I'm curious does
your training plan include theofficial fireball celebratory
dance?
Like, do we get that in part ofour training plan?
It's like we run a training run.
It's always optional, it'salways optional.
Coach Charlotte (32:55):
You know I do toss in.
You know the things that I do.
Here's what works for me.
You know it doesn't work foreverybody, but you may want to
try this.
Coach Christine (33:04):
So let's talk about some of the advice that
you have given for folks thatare tapping into that ultra
running aspect of where theywant to go.
Maybe what's the one mistakethat you see runners make when
they go from marathon to theultra distance?
Coach Charlotte (33:20):
You know it's kind of one of the same things
that happens in regular roadraces is going out too fast.
I mean, when you're running a24 hour race you can go out at
breakneck speed.
You've got to learn to paceyourself and you need to not be
as concerned about your pace,your running pace, unless you
(33:41):
have a specific time goal.
If you've got a time goal andyou want to finish this 100
miler in 24 hours, then yeah,you need to know that overall
pace and you need to know whatthe time cutoff may be for a
race.
You know if it does have a 30hour time limit, you need to
know kind of what your overallpace needs to be.
But people just go into likebreaking down every single mile
of.
I need to be running this speed.
(34:04):
Yeah, it's just that ultrarunning seems to be a little bit
more relaxed for the averageaverage runner.
You know, not that podiumpeople, but just average runner
is a little bit more relaxed andlaid back.
So you know, going into it witha mindset of you know this is
going to be fun.
It may be painful at points butit's going to be fun and going
(34:26):
in with a relaxed attitude, notjust taking off and you know,
like banking time or whatever.
So it's totally a differentmental game than just regular
road running.
Coach Christine (34:37):
I love that advice.
I think that that's somethingthat actually, while it is a
different mental game thantraditional distances or road
running races, I would still saythat it does apply to so much
in life where don't always be insuch a rush.
Even like going back to yourpersonal experience of you
decided to tackle the 50 statesin a more leisurely pace, Cause
I know I have a friend whotackled it like a year and a
(34:57):
half and I thought the exactsame thing.
I was like I don't know that Iwould want to go to these states
and just tap in basically for arace and have to leave.
So I love that you appreciatelike kind of really enjoying the
journey of it, whether it'stackling goals or tackling the
ultra distance, and it soundslike to just having a bit of a
plan.
But being flexible with theplan is kind of what I'm hearing
(35:18):
you say as well.
Coach Charlotte (35:20):
Exactly, and that's kind of even going back
to the 50 states.
You know, nowadays there's amarathon in every state, on
every corner, every weekend.
When I started that journey, youknow there were only so many
marathons in South Carolina.
There were only so many.
I think there was literallyonly one in Rhode Island.
Because you know they weretrying to find one so people
(35:41):
could do the 50 states.
Because you know they weretrying to find one, so people
could do the 50 states.
So back then you know, ifthings happened which they do on
occasion, storms, snow in SouthCarolina, which put everybody,
you know, on alert, you have tobe able to pivot at that point.
So nowadays you know it's a loteasier to do the 50 states
quicker because you know thereare companies that put together
(36:02):
these strings of you know, fivestates, five days, six states,
six days.
So it's a lot easier to findthem than it was back when I was
doing it.
Coach Christine (36:11):
Yeah, same with seven continents.
It used to be again.
It was like an impossibilityand a hundred thousand dollars
to tackle Antarctica.
Now you can pretty much find atour company that will plan all
seven of them, put on a race foryou, kind of a thing.
So I definitely think thatthere's been an evolution of
making some of these goals alittle bit easier.
Also, some of the goals aregetting harder, as you mentioned
, with the world marathon majorsgetting more and more difficult
(36:32):
to get into.
What is before we tap into allof the silliness and fun,
because I definitely want tomake sure we talk about some of
the amazing aspects of DisneyDay Drinkers running team.
And then I want to have acouple more questions with you.
But what's the biggest changesyou've seen in running in your
time or the running community?
Coach Charlotte (36:52):
You know, over time again, people seem to be
like when I started running inthe early two thousands, you
know, I was really only exposedto the road, road running aspect
of it.
So it took me, you know, 15, 18years before actually not quite
that long um, before I gotexposed to the ultra world.
So just looking at, you know,road running back when I started
(37:16):
, I think now it's um, a lotmore it's.
It's.
I think it's not as hard of agoal as people think or meaning
a lot more people are willing tolike, yes, I want to run a
marathon, maybe I may be a oneand done, I may only do one.
So I think it seems to be moreof an accepting sport and people
(37:41):
of all paces, all shapes, allsizes and all ages.
I think a lot of people are, youknow, now thinking, you know.
You know marathon marathoningis not, you know that fast paced
running that you know you seeand think of when you think of
Boston and the Olympics.
It is more of a welcoming sportand a lot of races are making
(38:02):
accommodations, you know, forpeople with extended time limits
.
You know they understand thatsome people just can't run a
five hour, six hour marathon.
So some marathons are offering,you know, more accommodating
time limits, which is great,because even if you are trained
and if you are a fast runner,you can have a bad day and
things could go wrong and youmay need more time that day.
(38:25):
So I think that it's great tosee races that are very
welcoming to all forms ofrunners people that run walk,
people that just walk races so Ithink that's one of the great
things that I've seen in racessince I've started running.
So I think that's one of thegreat things that I've seen in
races since I've started running.
Coach Christine (38:43):
I agree wholeheartedly and I love that
welcoming inclusive energy which, of course, naturally segues
perfectly into the Disney DayDrinkers running team.
Coach Charlotte (39:00):
Tell me what you feel makes this running team
so special and how you gotinvolved with them.
Well, you know, I mean, what'snot fun about Disney and what's
not fun about enjoying somecocktails?
So, um, yeah, I mean it's.
It's been one of these umprojects that I'm so happy I got
involved in and it's going on.
I can't remember how many yearsnow, but so, if you are
familiar with the, the regularthe disney day drinkers club, it
(39:23):
is a facebook group and it'skind of built to promote people
going to disney world and youknow it's not about just
drinking around the world andgetting sloshed.
We know we are not the peopleshowing up on the videos that
you see of trying to climb, youknow the, you know the, the
tower in Mexico, and you knowgetting off in Small World
(39:45):
trying to take a bath orsomething like that.
You know our kind of the conceptis Disney World is an amazing
place All the parks, all theproperties and there are some
amazing cocktails, bartenders,restaurants, food experiences
there.
So it's all about going andenjoying that responsibly.
(40:06):
You know, kind of the conceptis let's you know, let's get to
know the bartender.
So in this social network ofyou know, oh, you know, my
favorite drink is a dark andstormy.
Who's got the best dark andstormy, you know, at Disney
properties or, you know, orDisney at the parks, so kind of
(40:28):
what naturally led into that.
It was my friend, skip Shearer,who started the Disney Day
Drinkers Club and I've known himfor years and you know, part of
the Disney world are the racesthat run Disney marathons, half
marathons and all the races atall the parks.
Well, of course, when I kind ofsaw that little subculture of
the Disney Day Drinkers starting, skip reached out and asked if
(40:49):
I would help support the team.
I'm like, of course, you know,anything to get me to talk about
running and drinking andrunning and drinking.
So it's been a great.
You know, we really expanded,as Christine knows, she is also
one of the admins there and wedo some fun stuff with the group
.
And you know it's more aboutDisney and drinking, it's about
(41:13):
running and just, you know,sharing that passion for both of
those topics with a group ofpeople.
Coach Christine (41:20):
I think what I love about it is it's like it.
It's a group of folks whoreally get you like a hundred
percent, because these arepeople who know what it's like
to be in the queue or decide toskip the madness of the queue
for the run Disney registrationwith charity we are familiar
with, definitely, definitelyaspects of the charities and, of
course, with what we do at theDisney Day Drinkers.
We're very closely aligned toKelsey's Hope and love them over
(41:43):
there and all of the incredibleaspects of what they do.
So it really is kind ofcombining our love of community
of running of Disney, becausethere is something a little
special about that 2 am wake upcall to go run the parks or even
just being in the Epcot parkinglot.
So I do think it is anincredible place.
I do think it is incrediblywelcoming.
(42:04):
I think another thing that whatI've seen changed so much in it
and even in the main club, isthat you don't have to consider
yourself a drinker to really bepart of it and enjoyable with
the different outings that wehave, because the outings are so
varied between the main cluband the running team as well.
But it does lead me to soknowing that Run Disney was your
(42:25):
very first marathon.
If you could sit down with thegreat folks at Run Disney and be
like you know what, it's timeCharlotte should plan this,
knowing that we are amidstsomebody who has such a great
planner.
What would your dream theme fora race weekend be?
Coach Charlotte (42:43):
Oh, you know, that's tough.
Because here's the thing I amOG Disney.
I mean, I grew up, I have toadmit you know, in the late
sixties.
I was born in the late sixties,you know.
So I'm a seven years old and Iam all about.
I just know the OG, you know thewho, and Eeyore and Tigger, you
know, and Donald and Daisy.
So it's funny because I reallyget intimidated when I go to
(43:07):
races because you know I'll seethese costumes or amazing
costumes and I'm like I have noidea who that is.
I mean, I have no clue.
You know, I haven't haven'tseen a lot of the you know more
recent movies as many times asI've seen the older ones.
So you know I'm an OG fan andso I love just going back old
school and I think they do thatenough, you know when.
(43:30):
You know like, especially whenlike princesses, you know
there's the OG princesses, snowWhite and Cinderella, and
there's the newer ones.
So you know, but I'm just an OGfan, I just love, you know, old
school.
You know kind of feel to Disney.
Coach Christine (43:45):
I love that about Marathon Weekend.
I feel like it is a really goodgreat like homage to the
classic characters, specificallywith Marathon Weekend, since we
do have more of the classicsthat weekend.
But you basically justdescribed my running experience
with any of my gal.
Pals will be running andthey'll want to stop at a
character and I'm like I have noidea who that character is.
And then, of course, there's alot.
There's a lot of shocks, gaspsand maybe some feelings of
(44:10):
disgust, but thankfully they'rewilling to accept me for all of
my flaws.
That's okay, though.
That's what's so great about,again, the D3 running team is
that we are welcoming andinclusive, and, hey, if you know
those characters that we don't,we would love a little mini
education on some of them.
Okay, my friend, a little rapidfire round, just a short one to
wrap things up.
What's harder?
Mile 90 of the 100 miler orwaiting in line for margaritas
(44:33):
at Epcot?
Coach Charlotte (44:35):
Oh, that's a tough one.
I mean mile 90 is, you knowit's what we call in that world
like 85 to 90 is what's calledthe pain cave.
I mean mile 90 is, you knowit's what we call in that world
like 85 to 90 is what's calledthe pain cave.
I mean, you feel like you're soclose, you're only, you know,
10, 15 miles away.
It's kind of the same thing.
Standing in line, it's like, oh, you feel like you're so close
(44:56):
to that counter to order thedrink.
So you know, I think that myphilosophy would be you know, at
mile 85 or 90, grab a beer and,you know, take a walk break,
and then same thing.
You know there's nothing wrongwith grabbing a beer and having
it drinking and standing in linefor your margarita.
Coach Christine (45:11):
You took my advice.
I was like I have no advice foranyone for the 100 miler, but
for the waiting in line inmargaritas, you come prepared
with a drink for that line.
Yes, oh, my gosh, again,brilliant.
This is the kind of reallypractical life advice that you
get when Charlotte's in yourcircle and truly all you have to
do is jump on into the DisneyDay Drinkers Facebook group
because she'll share all thiswith you.
(45:32):
Do you have a running mantra?
Coach Charlotte (45:36):
I do, and it's the same thing.
As you know, pry out everythingbefore you run in it.
I break this often, but it's noexcuses.
You know there's so many times,well, I don't want to run
because it's raining.
Or, you know, I want to stopnow because my hip hurts.
Or, you know, I'm just going tosleep in today because I need
(45:58):
the rest.
You know there are validexcuses out there.
You know there are things thatyou know sometimes you need that
mental break and you need thatsleep in day and you need to
experience running in the rain.
But you know, sometimes itcould be dangerous.
So you know it's kind ofloosely modified or, you know,
loosely modified but dependingon the situation, but it's no
(46:19):
excuses.
There's so many reasons thatyou could stop a run, that you
could not show up to a race,that you could quit early, but
you just got to get past that.
So you've got to get past theseexcuses of why it's not going
to happen.
So, yeah, no excuses.
Coach Christine (46:37):
I think this is where it starts to really get
into maturing as a runner and asa person and learning what to
extricate what's just BS andwhat's a valid for safety or a
necessity for mental health,physical health, whatever the
case may be.
So, yeah, I do love that.
I love that it's pretty again,short, sweet and to the point.
(46:57):
Just like Charlotte, I feellike everything in your life is
a little bit like that.
If you had to say that youwould be sponsored tomorrow by,
like, a food company, a sportscompany, who would that sponsor
be and why?
Coach Charlotte (47:14):
Oh well, I would love to get a shoe
sponsored, because you knowthat's a lot of money, that for
running shoes, and I do gothrough quite a few pairs every
year.
But I jokingly have um on myinstagram a video or reel that's
called why I never get a shoecontract, and it's because I
always tend to have my shoescovered up with, you know,
(47:34):
dinosaur feet or you knowmickey's feet or you know some
kind of unusual shoe covering.
So I know I'm never going toget a shoe contract.
Fireball would be ideal.
Coach Christine (47:46):
I mean why haven't they come calling yet?
Coach Charlotte (47:50):
Yeah, I would love it.
Coach Christine (47:52):
Okay, so we now know Fireball needs to come
calling.
I have to say, where are folksfollowing you?
Are we following you onInstagram?
Are we joining in the D3running team and connecting with
you there?
Where do folks find you?
Coach Charlotte (48:06):
Definitely.
I would love to inviteeverybody to join us on Facebook
and on Instagram at the D3running team.
So on Facebook it comes up asDisney Day Drinkers Running Team
and if you want to follow mepersonally, my Facebook is
Charlotte Corrier and I'm sureChristine will get my name out
there.
But the more fun stuffhappening is happening on my
(48:28):
Instagram.
Marathon Costume, chick C-H-I-C.
So you know that's where I postmy costumes.
After every race I do these kindof little fun reels about sneak
peeks into a costume.
If I've got a race coming up,I'll do a little reel that's
called what's it going to be,where I'll, you know, kind of
give you a little insight intothe making of the costume and
tell you what the race is.
(48:49):
So you see, if you can figureout the connection to the race,
all my costumes are themedtowards the race, whether it be
the name of the race, the mascotof the race, the city, the
state.
Sometimes it's seasonal, likearound the holidays it's, you
know, good to toss out some goodChristmas outfits.
So just love, you know, kind ofgiving people, because people
(49:12):
always ask what are you going towear or is it a secret?
So that's why I started thewhat's it going to be reels?
Coach Christine (49:19):
Those are a lot of fun.
They definitely add a lot oflike just a good little
connection with the guessing,and I'll have that in episode
notes, of course, so that youguys, if you are running or if
you're out there and you can'tstop, you definitely want to
give Charlotte a follow.
There's so much joy and levityas to as you can tell everything
she brings to the table.
Thank you so much for takingtime to chat with us.
(49:39):
I feel like I just like justtip of the iceberg with how much
knowledge you have and how muchgreat stories you have, but
thank you for joining us today.
Coach Charlotte (49:48):
Well, thanks so much.
As you know, I love talkingabout running, I love talking
about races, I love talkingabout Disney races.
So, yeah, maybe towards thefall, when the Disney races
start cranking up, we can do awhole episode just talking about
costumes and planning costumesfor the Disney season.
Coach Christine (50:03):
Yes, you have an open invite.
You just tell me when you wantme to be ready with the
microphone and I am with itbecause, again, you have so much
information to share with folks.
So, friends, if you want tolearn more about Charlotte's
coaching, her costuming tips orhow she keeps that crown so
straight while logging tripledigit miles Still absolutely
incredible Check out those shownotes for the links and, of
(50:25):
course, join us over in theDisney Daydreamers running team,
where the hydration is alwayspresent.
It's just maybe sometimes alittle questionable as to what's
going to be in there.
The vibes are always immaculate, though.
So until next time, keepstriding toward the
extraordinary and never forget alittle glitter goes a long way.
Welcome back to Extraordinary Strides, a
podcast that celebrates thesparkle in your stride and
everyday athletes doing trulyepic things.
I'm your host, coach Christine,and today we are going full
throttle into the world ofsequence, finish lines and
serious ultra marathon mileage.
My guest is someone who defiesdescription, but I'm going to
try anyway.
(00:21):
She's an UESCA certified ultrarunning coach, a beloved admin
of the Disney running team, therainy raining queen and running.
So it's a little bit of both ofrace day costuming and, oh yeah
, she's run over guys, seriously300 marathons, and I'm going to
ask her to clarify if it's over300 marathons and if that
(00:41):
includes her ultras.
But we'll, we'll find out, butthat's not a typo.
You didn't miss here Over 300and counting.
Charlotte knows how to chase biggoals while keeping the fun
dial turned all the way up.
So grab your sparkly visors,pour yourself a mimosa, or maybe
you're making a tailwindcocktail.
Settle in, because we're aboutto cover everything from pacing
(01:03):
plans to, of course, how tocostume on the run.
Charlotte, welcome on in, it'sso great to have you back.
Oh, thank you so much,christine.
I have so many questionsbecause I am absolutely
fascinated by your story.
I want to know a little bit ofa backstory first, but let's get
right to it.
Let's break the ice.
(01:23):
What's the most ridiculousthing you've ever run a race in
and did it survive all the wayto the finish line and beyond?
Coach Charlotte (01:32):
Well, I've got a few, and kind of my motto is
head to toe, start to finish.
So I always, when I'm going inwith a costume, I don't make any
plans on, you know, dropping aprop or maybe taking a layer off
I am committed for the fullrace, no matter the distance.
(01:53):
There have been a few timesthat things got a little
complicated or chafing startedto happen, so I always carry
extra like safety pins andthings like that where I can
pull something up, um, you know,but there's never been one that
I've been absolutely miserableabout.
Um, usually if it is, it's justbecause of the heat and
(02:14):
whatever I have on is too manylayers or too heavy and it just
weighs down on me.
Um, probably the one that reallyaffected my run was it was one
called um farm days.
It's on a farm and so I was ahorse and so I had this huge
horse head on top, not just ahat, just this huge horse head,
(02:34):
and, um, it was a 24-hour race,so over time, in the heat of the
day, that just kind of reallygot to my head, um made my
shoulders and back hurt, so so Ididn't get quite the mileage I
wanted on that one, but I stillcommitted and kept to the
costume the whole time.
Coach Christine (02:52):
Okay, I want to hear about this mantra, this
core belief of yours.
I feel like it's a superingrained in your, like your
psyche, as to if you're going tocommit.
You're going to commit all theway.
Is that how you do everything?
Is it full throttle all the way, or is it pretty much?
Coach Charlotte (03:07):
for your running, okay, yeah, pretty much
personality yeah, okay, yeahand so when I, you know, I'll
show up to a start line and andI'm ready, and the reason I do
this, you know, start line tofinish line is because people
are going to come up to me andsay at the finish line, did you
carry that the whole race or didyou wear that whole race?
So I know, going into it,that's going to be the question
(03:27):
I'm going to get.
So I'm prepared to say yes.
Uh, you know, show up to thestart line.
Are you going to carry that?
Are you going to?
Yes, I'll see you at the finishline.
Coach Christine (03:38):
I mean, I love your level of commitment to it.
There is no doubt I thoughtthat I was committed to running
sparkly, but you definitely takeit up a notch, which also you
have in your running journey aswell.
Before we dive into yourbackstory, though, I must know
is there a drink that you feelcaptures your running
personality specifically?
Coach Charlotte (04:01):
You know I love during a race.
I am am not shy, especiallywhen you get into the ultras
where it's you know longerdistances, longer times you're
out there.
You just get tired of water andgatorade.
So I love a good cold beer, andsometimes I don't care if it's
hot beer, just something that'sa different taste than water and
gatorade.
Um, also, kind of going intothe ultra world, especially with
(04:25):
the group I run, with a lot ofraces called Yeti Trail Runners,
it all seems to be the drink ofultra runners.
So, pretty much known as thefireball fairy, I always have
some fireball on me to sharewith everybody and I'm known for
doing my fireball dance at youknow a longer race.
When I hit the 100K mark, Ialways stop, play the song by
(04:49):
Pitbull and do a little danceand share some fireball to get
me the next little bit of therace.
Coach Christine (04:58):
So does this dance only happen at the 100K
mark?
Coach Charlotte (05:02):
Typically, yeah , I mean, if it's a shorter race
and I'm not going to get tothat, I'll find some way, you
know, in the race or somemonumental mile, or you know,
maybe I'll take a break and goback out and have some fireball
to get me going.
So but you know, it's the 100kmark usually on a lot of races
that I really like to hit thefireball.
Coach Christine (05:25):
Okay, so whoever wants to really see is
going to have to commit to Ithink that translates to about
64 miles.
Coach Charlotte (05:29):
Is that accurate 62.
Yeah.
Coach Christine (05:29):
Okay, that's wild.
Okay, how did this get started?
Like, how, how were you anathlete in school?
Did you start cross country?
Tell me where this all began.
You're, you're like runnerorigin story, essentially.
Coach Charlotte (05:47):
Well, you know, I was never the athlete in high
school.
You know I was.
You know I did somecheerleading, did some ice
skating, but nothing really.
You know where I considermyself an athlete.
Didn't really start runninguntil I was in my mid to late
30s.
I had put on those extra poundswell after college and just
(06:13):
decided I needed to make alifestyle change to be healthier
.
And I actually lost most of myweight doing other things, other
little workout routines.
But then when I lost the weight, I had confidence to get out
where I lived.
There's this little thing calledthe loop and it's just, you
know, it's kind of loop aroundthe city, as in Wrightsville
(06:34):
Beach, north Carolina, andstarted out, you know, just run,
walk a mile, walk a half mile,run a half mile, walk a half
mile, just doing some intervalslike that.
And as soon as you say, oh, I'mgoing out for a run, people are
like, oh well, there's a 5kcoming up next month, why don't
you do that?
Oh, you got to do this 10k.
So you know, as soon as youlabel yourself as a runner and I
(06:57):
believe that no matter yourpace, your speed, your distance,
if you're getting out there,you're a runner.
I don't believe in jogging.
It's all running, so once youkind of label yourself as a
runner, then you get drawn intothe actual race activities and
that's a good way to keepmotivated, keeping something on
the calendar and having a goalin sight.
Coach Christine (07:21):
Okay, so do you remember your very first
commitment to maybe a race thatscared you a little bit?
And do you, charlotte?
Are you a mere mortal?
Do you actually have fears whenit comes to running?
Coach Charlotte (07:33):
uh, yeah, I mean I started off just doing
some local 5ks and 10ks.
Uh, just south of me ischarleston, south carolina, and
they had the very infamousCooper River Bridge Run, which
is like the second largest 10Kin the US.
So that was kind of.
My first goal was I want to runover that bridge and you know,
being here on the coast, wedon't have a lot of hills, Our
(07:58):
bridges aren't quite that bigand you can't really run on them
here in Wilmington.
So you know I was very nervousabout running up that bridge.
But you know it was like one ofthose things just conquer your
fears.
You're not going to know ifyou're going to like it or not
until you go out and do it.
Coach Christine (08:13):
Okay.
So we went from that to.
I would say maybe it felt alittle bit more of I won't say
casual running yet, but we'redefinitely not in ultra
territory.
Where did it start to spiralinto your first marathon, your
first marathon turning into anultra?
And then tell us more aboutthis 300 plus club that you're
(08:33):
part of?
It's a lot there.
Coach Charlotte (08:36):
Yeah.
So again you're running thehalf marathons.
At this point Somebody's like,oh, when, when are you going to
run a marathon?
I'm like, oh, yeah, never.
But then I found the local teamand training program.
When are you going to run amarathon?
I'm like, oh, yeah, never.
But then I found the local teamand training program, which, as
you know, is a coaching programthat's a fundraiser for
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
So my first marathon was DisneyWorld 2006.
(08:58):
So I did that through the teamand training program and I just
became addicted.
You know that running for apurpose just became so much more
fun.
And you know the group ofpeople that we had here in our
area that continue to, you know,train for these events.
You know I spent severalsessions with them and did
(09:20):
several events, and so that'skind of where the marathon
addiction started.
Then, you know, you always findthat people are going to say,
when you hit a goal, what's next?
So I had to keep on thinking ofwhat's next.
So, traveling to races and doingsome of these races, I met a
lot of people in the 50 StatesMarathon Club like, oh, that's a
(09:42):
great goal, run a marathon inevery state.
And when I went into it.
I knew it was not going to besomething I wanted to crank out
fast, because a lot of thesestates I'd never been to so I
didn't want to just fly in, do amarathon and then fly back.
I wanted to go see North Dakota, go see what there is to see in
South Dakota and enjoy thestate.
(10:02):
Also, another one of my runningkind of catchphrases is seeing
America 26.2 miles at a time.
So I really wanted to enjoy thatjourney.
Coach Christine (10:14):
Okay, and, of course, you know when you're
wrapped up, go ahead.
Oh, I was going to ask.
So at this point, have you donethe 50 states or are you still
working on that?
Coach Charlotte (10:24):
I completed that in 2018.
Okay, so that's kind of whatled to the ultras was, you know,
I'm getting to this big goalthat I had been working on for
many years.
So what's next?
Many years, so what's next?
When I, at that point, I livein Charleston and there was a
(10:45):
great group of runners that Iran with and they're talking
about these ultras, I'm like,okay, I've heard of them and I'd
actually done one at that point, when I lived in the Florida
Keys, I ran the Florida Keys 50,but then focused on, you know,
doing the state.
So just like, okay, now I thinkthis is a new challenge, so
started running, you know, some50 Ks, 50 milers, and, of course
(11:08):
, somebody tosses out well,there's a great 100 miler in
Tennessee in August.
Don't you want to do that?
And that was the furthest thingon my mind up.
Are you kidding?
August, 100 miles, no, thankyou.
Coach Christine (11:20):
Exactly what I'm thinking.
Absolutely not Empathically.
Coach Charlotte (11:24):
But then of course, I signed up.
Coach Christine (11:27):
Okay, go ahead.
And for punishment, that mustbe the key, absolutely there,
okay.
So at this point, florida Keys50 is your first ultra.
You tapped into a couple ofothers before you made it your
way to your first hundred milerin Tennessee.
Is that true?
Am I following the story,florida?
Coach Charlotte (11:47):
Keys 50 was in 2015 and it kind of positioned
itself doing the 50 states.
We find that, you know, it'shard financially to get this
done, especially the way Iwanted to do it and be able to
travel.
So we would do things calleddoubles and triples.
So the first weekend in May Ihad a marathon in Wisconsin and
(12:10):
in Michigan on the same weekend,so that's a double weekend.
And then a couple of weekslater was when the Keys 50 was
happening.
And then a few weeks laterafter that was when the Bear
Lake Triple, so a marathon inIdaho, wisconsin and Utah in
three different days.
So the 50 kind of lined upperfectly for training.
(12:31):
But then I said, you know, as Isaid, I kind of sat back and
finished the States, said I kindof sat back and finished the
States and then in 2018, when Icompleted that again started off
with, you know, some 50 milersI think was my first one and
that would have been in February2018.
And then that one popped up inAugust of 2018 that I signed up
(12:53):
for, so you know, started doingsome ultras at that point just
to kind of to build up to thathundred miler doing some ultras
at that point, just to kind ofto build up to that 100 miler,
do you?
Coach Christine (13:03):
can you possibly pick a favorite on any
of the distances at this point?
Coach Charlotte (13:08):
uh, you know a favorite distance I love the 100
miler.
Um, a lot of them I'm findingthat I'm actually it's not a
hundred mile race.
I do a lot of fixed timed races.
So a couple of weeks ago I didone called Stevie's Roost, 48
hour, and 48 hour is the perfecttime frame, I think, for me to
(13:28):
be able to go enjoy, not becrushed by, you know, is the
clock chasing me.
Am I going to finish a hundredmiles?
I'm able to, since it's overtwo nights, you know, get two to
three hours of sleep maybe eachnight, and I know I can't say
it's.
There's a phrase, there's nosuch thing as an easy 100 miler.
They're all tough but you knowI go into that one a little bit
(13:52):
more confidence of I have thetime and if it gets hot or if it
starts raining or if I getsleepy, I can take a break and
still get the hundred miles in.
So you know that's what I'mreally kind of focusing on now
are, you know, hundred mileraces, but with ones that have a
generous time limit.
Coach Christine (14:09):
Okay, okay.
So I am curious because, againnow, so you're part of a very
elite club of folks that havedone over the 300 marathon
distance.
Does that are some of thoseultras as well, or are they
separate?
Do they have to be a sanction26.2 for it to count towards
that?
Coach Charlotte (14:28):
I do keep that 306 number which I hit as of
this past weekend.
It is total marathons andultras combined.
They are all organized races.
These aren't training runs.
They are organized races thatI've registered for, paid for,
trained for, traveled to andcommitted to the miles there.
So I think the split is about.
(14:50):
I think 126 of those are ultrasand the rest are just regular
marathons ultras and the restare just regular marathons.
Coach Christine (15:03):
Is there anything that you still see out
in the horizon when talkingabout the what's next that
you're still a little intriguedby you want to consider doing?
Coach Charlotte (15:11):
There is a plan .
It is a very loose plan and itmay not happen.
I mean, there's so many otherthings.
I used to always say I wantedmy six stars by the time I was
60.
I wanted seven continents bythe time I'm 70.
And you know a lot of that isjust the financial burden of you
(15:32):
know, the commitment to gettingthose in.
And then, as you know, you know,getting into some of those
races for the six stars, um,world majors, is complicated, um
, a lot of them, you know, arehard to get into, whether you um
either, even if you try tofundraise for, like Boston, for
example, that's a big commitment, um.
(15:53):
So I wanted something, let'ssay, a little bit more realistic
, but a little bit more my speed, as you mentioned.
So, with the 300 marathons,there's what's called the World
Mega Marathon List, and so theykeep a list of all the people in
the world that have submittedthat they have completed 300
(16:13):
marathons, and there's a NorthAmerica list as well, kept by
the same team.
So you know, that was a greatgoal to get to and I think, you
know, I wish I could rememberthe numbers off the top of my
head about how many people haveactually hit that.
Not a lot, you know, not a lotin the world and not a lot in
the US.
(16:34):
But there's this really reallysmall club that I want to get
into.
But there's this really reallysmall club that I want to get
into.
It's called the 100 100s cluband that is a list of the people
that have done 100, 100 milersand right now I think there's
just 30, you know kind ofchanges every month or so
(16:56):
because you know people arestarting to hit that and People
will hit it more frequently nowthat 100-milers have become more
popular and there are more ofthem.
But right now I think there'sonly about 32, 33 people in the
world that are on that list.
So doing the math, I think it'spossible.
(17:17):
I'm definitely going to have totake, you know, do more of
those 48-hour races.
Kind of the ruling is the 100miles has to be run within 48
hours.
So I'm at 34 right now, so I'ma third of the way there and
that took me about seven years.
So even if the last two take me10 years each or the last two
(17:41):
thirds take me 10 years each,another 20 years that'll push it
up there.
But you would be amazed, I goto some of these races and there
are upper seventies, 80 yearolds, they even you know there's
a gentleman who's 90 somethingyears old who still can crank
out those miles.
So that gives me hope that thatmay eventually be possible.
Coach Christine (18:00):
I have zero doubt of that.
I'll never forget my first racethat I did, where I thought
that I was going to let theolder gentleman kind of pace me,
where I was like if I just keepup with him for like maybe the
first half I'll be slow andconservative, I'll be able to
finish strong, blew me out ofthe water.
There is just we have so manyincredible athletes, especially
as we know more about nutritionand feeling and all those
(18:23):
different things, and just somepeople just have just incredible
genetics.
So that's amazing and I can seeyou tackling that.
So the next logical question isis there anything, charlotte,
that you wouldn't do?
Like you see an escape ofrunning and you're like, no, I'm
not doing that.
Like that's the one thing thatI will not cross.
I can't see that going hand inhand with your personality.
Coach Charlotte (18:45):
I'm limited, again, by my speed and my
ability to train on certainterrains.
As I said, I live at the coastso I don't have hills.
I can do parking decks or someother things, but I don't have a
very convenient place to trainon terrain.
You know rooty, rocky trails.
(19:05):
So that kind of hinders mycapability to do a lot of races.
And I said, my pace I'm fine, Ihave no qualms about being slow
, it doesn't bother me, I'mstill out there.
And you know, sometimes peoplesay it's actually harder to run
100 miler in 35 hours versusdoing it in 18 hours.
(19:28):
So you know I'm out there, justyou know same distance and now
I'm out there longer, right,yeah.
So there's a lot of races thatI would love to do but I just
don't think I would be able todo it in the time limit required
by the race.
30 hours is typically, you know,kind of the standard for ultra,
ultra marathons for 100 milers.
You know, so kind of what wecall the Super Bowl of 100
(19:51):
milers is Western Statesendurance run.
You have to run another race toqualify, to get in, and then
it's a really tough lottery.
I would love to run westernstates.
But I think you know I wouldknow going into that that I
don't.
I know I probably can't runthat race in the 30 hour time
limit.
So you know it's it's always agoal, and then I'm not saying
(20:15):
that I would never try it.
But you know I just I don'tthink I have.
You know the terrain and theways to train that and plus the
altitude out in California whereit's run.
You know I love that idea but Ijust got to be realistic that I
don't think it's in mywheelhouse.
Coach Christine (20:33):
So that leads me to the next question, and I
don't know how I'm going to stopthis interview, because I have
three gazillion questions thathonestly come into mind.
Do you consider yourself aroadrunner, a trail runner at
this point, because so manyultras are trail or they're
mixed in terms of the actualterritory or the terrain that
you cover, or do you justconsider yourself a runner and
that's it?
Coach Charlotte (20:54):
I think it's just a runner.
I think it's just a runner If Ihad to choose between the two.
I mean, I'm really good at roadrunning, even ultra distances.
There's several that I havedone that are all pavement, all
concrete, and I think I feelmore confident in that.
I have a nasty habit of falling.
(21:17):
I'm not the most gracious andgraceful runner.
I've had to drop out of a racebefore because I had to leave
and go get medical treatment.
So I love trail running.
It's just so much more fun.
But there's that, you know,those roots and those rocks that
make me nervous and so I tendto slow down my pace because of
(21:40):
that and again, that gets me in.
That backs me in that corner ofwhat's the time limit?
Am I going to be able to makeit, knowing what's going on out
there?
Coach Christine (21:49):
Yeah, I feel you on this specifically because
when I look at things that likeI want to tackle, I have to be
very careful of what I sign upfor in between, because an
injury could potentially takeout three, four, five, six
months worth of races that I'vealready planned or paid for.
And I'm more so for you becauseyou have practically a race
every single weekend, so I couldunderstand where there would be
(22:11):
a little bit more trepidationof anything that would consider
have that of a possibility foryou, which, of course, leads me
to the next question.
So I'm hearing that that was apotential did not finish due to
medical.
Have you actually started arace and thought, no, this is
just not it.
I just I'm not.
Today's not my day.
I'm going to have to have a DNFwithout the need because of
(22:34):
medical or injury.
Coach Charlotte (22:36):
No, I mean honest.
Honestly, I've.
I've been told that I have avery strong mental game.
Now, granted, 15, 20 miles in.
You're like, oh man, I am just15, 20 miles in, I got 80,
something to go.
Does it go through my mind?
Yes, of course, and I'm likebut I, I'm able to push through
(22:59):
and get past that mental wall.
It's not as much the physicalwall, it's the mental wall of
you know.
Yes, this is going to suck.
Running 100 miles is not easyand so, yeah, I've always
managed to push through.
Again, going to these fixedtime races, one of the benefits
(23:19):
is that there's no DNF.
You know like the 48 hour race Iran two weeks ago I could have
done one lap decided yep, not myday, I'm going to stop and
still be considered a finisher.
So that is the advantage of youknow the timed races, so a
little bit more mental comfortzone there that you know that
(23:40):
you're still going to get afinish.
But I still have my goal ofkind of the distance I want to
get.
There have been times that I've, you know, went in, went in
thinking okay, I'd love to get100k, only came out with 50
miles or you know any kind ofcombination of that.
But I still go out there andkeep trying.
Coach Christine (24:01):
So what came first?
Did Charlotte have a naturalgrittiness and resiliency, or is
that something you feel likeyou developed through your
process of running?
Coach Charlotte (24:11):
I think it's a little bit of a blend.
I mean, I've always been pretty.
You know, organized is the wordI like to use, but it's not as
really organized, it's just aplanner.
You know, I go into race with aplan and if it doesn't happen,
I'm always good.
You know, if it doesn't workout the way I want it to or the
way I planned it, I'm alwaysgood at spinning it and I'm like
(24:34):
okay, well, you know, now it'sraining, now what?
Okay, well, here's what I'mgoing to do if it rains.
So I always have planned somuch as far as you know what I
can do in life in general.
And I think that kind oftranslates to running to where
you know you go in with a plan.
You know you go in with a goal,but you always have your B goal
(24:55):
and your C goal just in case.
Coach Christine (25:00):
So I'm having difficulty of like pulling away
from this conversation because Ifeel like there's just so much
that I mean literally when, whencan we sign up to watch a full
documentary of your experiences,Cause there's just so much to
tap into.
But I definitely, for thelisteners, want to make sure
that we talk a little bit aboutyour costumes as well, because,
again, especially for folks thatare more into run Disney, we
see a lot of elaborate costumes,and I'm not taking away any of
(25:24):
those incredible folks that areout there running the marathons
or dopey or anything in all ofthose beautiful, incredibly
elaborate costumes.
But, my friend, you've taken ita step further with some of
your elaborate costumes andagain spanning some really
incredible distances.
So I need to know what's thatone costume and it's so hard
because you have so many thathas gotten the biggest reaction
(25:44):
from spectators or fellowrunners.
Coach Charlotte (25:48):
I think it was probably the birthday cake.
I was running the Little RockMarathon, I think, 2012.
It was on my birthday and mymom who is an amazing seamstress
and can make anything and shemakes a lot of my costumes she
made me this three-tieredbirthday cake and so it's a lot
(26:10):
of PVC involved, which led tocomplications when I needed to
take off my sweatpants becauseit got warmer or when I needed
to go to the porta potty Spoileralert.
That did not happen becausethat PVC was not fitting in the
porta potty.
Um, spoiler alert.
That did not happen becausethat pvc was not fitting in the
porta potty, so I just had tohold it.
Um, but yeah, so that wasprobably.
Um, that's one of my iconics.
(26:31):
I put it in the top five.
It's hard for me to pick a topcostume, but it's definitely one
of my top five favoritecostumes and the probably some
you know one I'm most known forokay.
Coach Christine (26:44):
So I'm hearing that your mom's not just a
seamstress.
It sounds like she has a littlebit of engineering in some of
these feats as well.
Would you say that your skillset has developed more, so as
you continue to learn from heras to when she develops this, or
do you kind of just start withthe concept and turn it over to
her?
Coach Charlotte (27:01):
It's definitely a partner project.
You know I come up with an ideaShe'll give me.
You know, here's how we couldprobably make this work.
Here's the material that weshould use to make this work.
You know there's been timeswhere like that's not what I
wanted, but okay, this is thebest we can do.
So, like my space shuttledesign for Space Coast Marathon.
(27:24):
That took me a while to getthat and it still has some
design flaws that if I ever wereto wear it again, I needed to
work out those kinks.
But yeah, it's definitely apartner project of you know,
here's what I want, here's whatI'm looking for and you know
here's what's in hercapabilities to make and you
know how can we get to thefinished product.
Coach Christine (27:46):
Are most of your costumes handmade, custom
made, or have you ever been like?
You know what?
I'm short on time.
Amazon to the rescue, or isthat not how you roll?
Coach Charlotte (27:55):
Amazon definitely is my, my savior.
Okay, just because you knowlike when I in in the Charleston
marathon I'd always wear aSouthern bell dress.
You know, like when I in theCharleston marathon I'd always
wear a Southern Belle dress.
You know the full hoop skirt,crinoline, everything.
And my mom could easily makeone of those, but the time and
effort to do that I could not.
(28:17):
She's you know I couldn't affordto pay her to do this.
Not that I'm paying her, but Ican't take her away from her
full-time job of making.
She makes window treatments andelaborate curtains and things
like that.
It would just be so timeconsuming and extensive that you
know that was a little bit toomuch of a project for me to ask
of her when I'm doing two tothree costumes a month.
(28:38):
So I've definitely.
You know we'll find things onAmazon A lot of times.
It's let me get those on Amazonbut let's tear it apart,
rebuild it so, like a lot of mydopey costumes from this past
year were basically buying onAmazon, tear it apart, make the
pattern, add the sparkles, sewit back together.
Coach Christine (29:01):
Okay.
So you're very efficient, Iwould say, with your time.
So if you have to tap into someof those things, you will
Efficient with your mom's time,of course.
What is like some advice you'dgive to folks that are starting
to tap into costume running,maybe have some trepidation
about it, something they shouldconsider, a few things maybe
they should consider aboutcostume running you know it's
(29:23):
just start out small.
Coach Charlotte (29:24):
I mean easy.
You know people, you know youcan add a tutu and tiara to
pretty much anything.
Um, even just you knowsomething small to carry.
You know, just practice what Ialways say practice what you are
planning on running in.
I never that myself, but Ialways suggest that you practice
in it.
And you know, as I said, juststart out small and it's like
(29:48):
okay, well, that wasn'tmiserable.
Um, now you know this, nexttime let me add another, you
know, element or another layerto just to see how comfortable
you can get, and also just bewary of, or be cognizant of the
weather.
You know it could be.
You know this race has alwayshad 60 degrees, 60 degrees, but
(30:11):
the day you show up it may bethat rare 80 degree day.
So you kind of have to have aplan of if it gets really hot,
what am I going to do?
Or the opposite, if it getsreally cold, what kind of layers
can I add on?
That aren't going to complicatethe costume.
Coach Christine (30:25):
And incredible advice here.
I love also and I feel likethis is a great time to pivot
into you started off with youshould try out the costume, but
I don't really ever do thatmyself, which leads us into our
coaching sometimes, which is doas I say, not as I do.
So as an USCA and I think Ipronounced that right USCA
certified ultra running, yep,which is the United Endurance
(30:46):
Sports Coaching Academy, soyou're an ultra running coach.
Tell us a little bit about howdo you blend your love of
running, because it feels likethere's.
You bring so much joy to thisaspect of movement and this
aspect of your life.
Well, you bring joy toeverything, I'm sure, but how do
you balance that for yourselfand your athletes with also
(31:09):
serious, smart training?
Coach Charlotte (31:12):
Well, the coaching, you know, getting my
coaching certificate was mostlydriven by me wanting to expand
my own personal knowledge.
You know, I wanted to learnmore about, you know, the
physicality of running and youknow just kind of what can I
learn to make my running better.
I'm kind of known as theenabler.
(31:34):
You know, I'm the one whoalways like, oh, here's a great
race, why don't you join me atthis?
So, you know, when I tend toconvince people to run their
first ultra, I'm, you know,tending to get a lot of
questions.
You know, well, how do you fuelfor this?
Or how do you, you know,prepare for different terrains?
And what about?
You know, the different thingsthat you're going to, you're
(31:54):
going to engage in or be exposedto with an ultra.
So, you know, I found that I wasgiving out a lot of advice and
sharing my experiences withpeople, and so I thought, well,
(32:25):
that's, you know, kind of thenatural progression is.
I want to have the confidencein what I'm talking to them
about and have it, you know, bebacked by.
You know, it's not the titlereally, you know, ultra running
coach, it's just the, you know,the knowledge of.
At least I have have someexperience in reading and other.
You know, just pulling theexperience from the US program
into what I'm sharing withanybody that I work with.
Coach Christine (32:37):
So I love to hear that and I'm curious does
your training plan include theofficial fireball celebratory
dance?
Like, do we get that in part ofour training plan?
It's like we run a training run.
It's always optional, it'salways optional.
Coach Charlotte (32:55):
You know I do toss in.
You know the things that I do.
Here's what works for me.
You know it doesn't work foreverybody, but you may want to
try this.
Coach Christine (33:04):
So let's talk about some of the advice that
you have given for folks thatare tapping into that ultra
running aspect of where theywant to go.
Maybe what's the one mistakethat you see runners make when
they go from marathon to theultra distance?
Coach Charlotte (33:20):
You know it's kind of one of the same things
that happens in regular roadraces is going out too fast.
I mean, when you're running a24 hour race you can go out at
breakneck speed.
You've got to learn to paceyourself and you need to not be
as concerned about your pace,your running pace, unless you
(33:41):
have a specific time goal.
If you've got a time goal andyou want to finish this 100
miler in 24 hours, then yeah,you need to know that overall
pace and you need to know whatthe time cutoff may be for a
race.
You know if it does have a 30hour time limit, you need to
know kind of what your overallpace needs to be.
But people just go into likebreaking down every single mile
of.
I need to be running this speed.
(34:04):
Yeah, it's just that ultrarunning seems to be a little bit
more relaxed for the averageaverage runner.
You know, not that podiumpeople, but just average runner
is a little bit more relaxed andlaid back.
So you know, going into it witha mindset of you know this is
going to be fun.
It may be painful at points butit's going to be fun and going
(34:26):
in with a relaxed attitude, notjust taking off and you know,
like banking time or whatever.
So it's totally a differentmental game than just regular
road running.
Coach Christine (34:37):
I love that advice.
I think that that's somethingthat actually, while it is a
different mental game thantraditional distances or road
running races, I would still saythat it does apply to so much
in life where don't always be insuch a rush.
Even like going back to yourpersonal experience of you
decided to tackle the 50 statesin a more leisurely pace, Cause
I know I have a friend whotackled it like a year and a
(34:57):
half and I thought the exactsame thing.
I was like I don't know that Iwould want to go to these states
and just tap in basically for arace and have to leave.
So I love that you appreciatelike kind of really enjoying the
journey of it, whether it'stackling goals or tackling the
ultra distance, and it soundslike to just having a bit of a
plan.
But being flexible with theplan is kind of what I'm hearing
(35:18):
you say as well.
Coach Charlotte (35:20):
Exactly, and that's kind of even going back
to the 50 states.
You know, nowadays there's amarathon in every state, on
every corner, every weekend.
When I started that journey, youknow there were only so many
marathons in South Carolina.
There were only so many.
I think there was literallyonly one in Rhode Island.
Because you know they weretrying to find one so people
(35:41):
could do the 50 states.
Because you know they weretrying to find one, so people
could do the 50 states.
So back then you know, ifthings happened which they do on
occasion, storms, snow in SouthCarolina, which put everybody,
you know, on alert, you have tobe able to pivot at that point.
So nowadays you know it's a loteasier to do the 50 states
quicker because you know thereare companies that put together
(36:02):
these strings of you know, fivestates, five days, six states,
six days.
So it's a lot easier to findthem than it was back when I was
doing it.
Coach Christine (36:11):
Yeah, same with seven continents.
It used to be again.
It was like an impossibilityand a hundred thousand dollars
to tackle Antarctica.
Now you can pretty much find atour company that will plan all
seven of them, put on a race foryou, kind of a thing.
So I definitely think thatthere's been an evolution of
making some of these goals alittle bit easier.
Also, some of the goals aregetting harder, as you mentioned
, with the world marathon majorsgetting more and more difficult
(36:32):
to get into.
What is before we tap into allof the silliness and fun,
because I definitely want tomake sure we talk about some of
the amazing aspects of DisneyDay Drinkers running team.
And then I want to have acouple more questions with you.
But what's the biggest changesyou've seen in running in your
time or the running community?
Coach Charlotte (36:52):
You know, over time again, people seem to be
like when I started running inthe early two thousands, you
know, I was really only exposedto the road, road running aspect
of it.
So it took me, you know, 15, 18years before actually not quite
that long um, before I gotexposed to the ultra world.
So just looking at, you know,road running back when I started
(37:16):
, I think now it's um, a lotmore it's.
It's.
I think it's not as hard of agoal as people think or meaning
a lot more people are willing tolike, yes, I want to run a
marathon, maybe I may be a oneand done, I may only do one.
So I think it seems to be moreof an accepting sport and people
(37:41):
of all paces, all shapes, allsizes and all ages.
I think a lot of people are, youknow, now thinking, you know.
You know marathon marathoningis not, you know that fast paced
running that you know you seeand think of when you think of
Boston and the Olympics.
It is more of a welcoming sportand a lot of races are making
(38:02):
accommodations, you know, forpeople with extended time limits
.
You know they understand thatsome people just can't run a
five hour, six hour marathon.
So some marathons are offering,you know, more accommodating
time limits, which is great,because even if you are trained
and if you are a fast runner,you can have a bad day and
things could go wrong and youmay need more time that day.
(38:25):
So I think that it's great tosee races that are very
welcoming to all forms ofrunners people that run walk,
people that just walk races so Ithink that's one of the great
things that I've seen in racessince I've started running.
So I think that's one of thegreat things that I've seen in
races since I've started running.
Coach Christine (38:43):
I agree wholeheartedly and I love that
welcoming inclusive energy which, of course, naturally segues
perfectly into the Disney DayDrinkers running team.
Coach Charlotte (39:00):
Tell me what you feel makes this running team
so special and how you gotinvolved with them.
Well, you know, I mean, what'snot fun about Disney and what's
not fun about enjoying somecocktails?
So, um, yeah, I mean it's.
It's been one of these umprojects that I'm so happy I got
involved in and it's going on.
I can't remember how many yearsnow, but so, if you are
familiar with the, the regularthe disney day drinkers club, it
(39:23):
is a facebook group and it'skind of built to promote people
going to disney world and youknow it's not about just
drinking around the world andgetting sloshed.
We know we are not the peopleshowing up on the videos that
you see of trying to climb, youknow the, you know the, the
tower in Mexico, and you knowgetting off in Small World
(39:45):
trying to take a bath orsomething like that.
You know our kind of the conceptis Disney World is an amazing
place All the parks, all theproperties and there are some
amazing cocktails, bartenders,restaurants, food experiences
there.
So it's all about going andenjoying that responsibly.
(40:06):
You know, kind of the conceptis let's you know, let's get to
know the bartender.
So in this social network ofyou know, oh, you know, my
favorite drink is a dark andstormy.
Who's got the best dark andstormy, you know, at Disney
properties or, you know, orDisney at the parks, so kind of
(40:28):
what naturally led into that.
It was my friend, skip Shearer,who started the Disney Day
Drinkers Club and I've known himfor years and you know, part of
the Disney world are the racesthat run Disney marathons, half
marathons and all the races atall the parks.
Well, of course, when I kind ofsaw that little subculture of
the Disney Day Drinkers starting, skip reached out and asked if
(40:49):
I would help support the team.
I'm like, of course, you know,anything to get me to talk about
running and drinking andrunning and drinking.
So it's been a great.
You know, we really expanded,as Christine knows, she is also
one of the admins there and wedo some fun stuff with the group
.
And you know it's more aboutDisney and drinking, it's about
(41:13):
running and just, you know,sharing that passion for both of
those topics with a group ofpeople.
Coach Christine (41:20):
I think what I love about it is it's like it.
It's a group of folks whoreally get you like a hundred
percent, because these arepeople who know what it's like
to be in the queue or decide toskip the madness of the queue
for the run Disney registrationwith charity we are familiar
with, definitely, definitelyaspects of the charities and, of
course, with what we do at theDisney Day Drinkers.
We're very closely aligned toKelsey's Hope and love them over
(41:43):
there and all of the incredibleaspects of what they do.
So it really is kind ofcombining our love of community
of running of Disney, becausethere is something a little
special about that 2 am wake upcall to go run the parks or even
just being in the Epcot parkinglot.
So I do think it is anincredible place.
I do think it is incrediblywelcoming.
(42:04):
I think another thing that whatI've seen changed so much in it
and even in the main club, isthat you don't have to consider
yourself a drinker to really bepart of it and enjoyable with
the different outings that wehave, because the outings are so
varied between the main cluband the running team as well.
But it does lead me to soknowing that Run Disney was your
(42:25):
very first marathon.
If you could sit down with thegreat folks at Run Disney and be
like you know what, it's timeCharlotte should plan this,
knowing that we are amidstsomebody who has such a great
planner.
What would your dream theme fora race weekend be?
Coach Charlotte (42:43):
Oh, you know, that's tough.
Because here's the thing I amOG Disney.
I mean, I grew up, I have toadmit you know, in the late
sixties.
I was born in the late sixties,you know.
So I'm a seven years old and Iam all about.
I just know the OG, you know thewho, and Eeyore and Tigger, you
know, and Donald and Daisy.
So it's funny because I reallyget intimidated when I go to
(43:07):
races because you know I'll seethese costumes or amazing
costumes and I'm like I have noidea who that is.
I mean, I have no clue.
You know, I haven't haven'tseen a lot of the you know more
recent movies as many times asI've seen the older ones.
So you know I'm an OG fan andso I love just going back old
school and I think they do thatenough, you know when.
(43:30):
You know like, especially whenlike princesses, you know
there's the OG princesses, snowWhite and Cinderella, and
there's the newer ones.
So you know, but I'm just an OGfan, I just love, you know, old
school.
You know kind of feel to Disney.
Coach Christine (43:45):
I love that about Marathon Weekend.
I feel like it is a really goodgreat like homage to the
classic characters, specificallywith Marathon Weekend, since we
do have more of the classicsthat weekend.
But you basically justdescribed my running experience
with any of my gal.
Pals will be running andthey'll want to stop at a
character and I'm like I have noidea who that character is.
And then, of course, there's alot.
There's a lot of shocks, gaspsand maybe some feelings of
(44:10):
disgust, but thankfully they'rewilling to accept me for all of
my flaws.
That's okay, though.
That's what's so great about,again, the D3 running team is
that we are welcoming andinclusive, and, hey, if you know
those characters that we don't,we would love a little mini
education on some of them.
Okay, my friend, a little rapidfire round, just a short one to
wrap things up.
What's harder?
Mile 90 of the 100 miler orwaiting in line for margaritas
(44:33):
at Epcot?
Coach Charlotte (44:35):
Oh, that's a tough one.
I mean mile 90 is, you knowit's what we call in that world
like 85 to 90 is what's calledthe pain cave.
I mean mile 90 is, you knowit's what we call in that world
like 85 to 90 is what's calledthe pain cave.
I mean, you feel like you're soclose, you're only, you know,
10, 15 miles away.
It's kind of the same thing.
Standing in line, it's like, oh, you feel like you're so close
(44:56):
to that counter to order thedrink.
So you know, I think that myphilosophy would be you know, at
mile 85 or 90, grab a beer and,you know, take a walk break,
and then same thing.
You know there's nothing wrongwith grabbing a beer and having
it drinking and standing in linefor your margarita.
Coach Christine (45:11):
You took my advice.
I was like I have no advice foranyone for the 100 miler, but
for the waiting in line inmargaritas, you come prepared
with a drink for that line.
Yes, oh, my gosh, again,brilliant.
This is the kind of reallypractical life advice that you
get when Charlotte's in yourcircle and truly all you have to
do is jump on into the DisneyDay Drinkers Facebook group
because she'll share all thiswith you.
(45:32):
Do you have a running mantra?
Coach Charlotte (45:36):
I do, and it's the same thing.
As you know, pry out everythingbefore you run in it.
I break this often, but it's noexcuses.
You know there's so many times,well, I don't want to run
because it's raining.
Or, you know, I want to stopnow because my hip hurts.
Or, you know, I'm just going tosleep in today because I need
(45:58):
the rest.
You know there are validexcuses out there.
You know there are things thatyou know sometimes you need that
mental break and you need thatsleep in day and you need to
experience running in the rain.
But you know, sometimes itcould be dangerous.
So you know it's kind ofloosely modified or, you know,
loosely modified but dependingon the situation, but it's no
(46:19):
excuses.
There's so many reasons thatyou could stop a run, that you
could not show up to a race,that you could quit early, but
you just got to get past that.
So you've got to get past theseexcuses of why it's not going
to happen.
So, yeah, no excuses.
Coach Christine (46:37):
I think this is where it starts to really get
into maturing as a runner and asa person and learning what to
extricate what's just BS andwhat's a valid for safety or a
necessity for mental health,physical health, whatever the
case may be.
So, yeah, I do love that.
I love that it's pretty again,short, sweet and to the point.
(46:57):
Just like Charlotte, I feellike everything in your life is
a little bit like that.
If you had to say that youwould be sponsored tomorrow by,
like, a food company, a sportscompany, who would that sponsor
be and why?
Coach Charlotte (47:14):
Oh well, I would love to get a shoe
sponsored, because you knowthat's a lot of money, that for
running shoes, and I do gothrough quite a few pairs every
year.
But I jokingly have um on myinstagram a video or reel that's
called why I never get a shoecontract, and it's because I
always tend to have my shoescovered up with, you know,
(47:34):
dinosaur feet or you knowmickey's feet or you know some
kind of unusual shoe covering.
So I know I'm never going toget a shoe contract.
Fireball would be ideal.
Coach Christine (47:46):
I mean why haven't they come calling yet?
Coach Charlotte (47:50):
Yeah, I would love it.
Coach Christine (47:52):
Okay, so we now know Fireball needs to come
calling.
I have to say, where are folksfollowing you?
Are we following you onInstagram?
Are we joining in the D3running team and connecting with
you there?
Where do folks find you?
Coach Charlotte (48:06):
Definitely.
I would love to inviteeverybody to join us on Facebook
and on Instagram at the D3running team.
So on Facebook it comes up asDisney Day Drinkers Running Team
and if you want to follow mepersonally, my Facebook is
Charlotte Corrier and I'm sureChristine will get my name out
there.
But the more fun stuffhappening is happening on my
(48:28):
Instagram.
Marathon Costume, chick C-H-I-C.
So you know that's where I postmy costumes.
After every race I do these kindof little fun reels about sneak
peeks into a costume.
If I've got a race coming up,I'll do a little reel that's
called what's it going to be,where I'll, you know, kind of
give you a little insight intothe making of the costume and
tell you what the race is.
(48:49):
So you see, if you can figureout the connection to the race,
all my costumes are themedtowards the race, whether it be
the name of the race, the mascotof the race, the city, the
state.
Sometimes it's seasonal, likearound the holidays it's, you
know, good to toss out some goodChristmas outfits.
So just love, you know, kind ofgiving people, because people
(49:12):
always ask what are you going towear or is it a secret?
So that's why I started thewhat's it going to be reels?
Coach Christine (49:19):
Those are a lot of fun.
They definitely add a lot oflike just a good little
connection with the guessing,and I'll have that in episode
notes, of course, so that youguys, if you are running or if
you're out there and you can'tstop, you definitely want to
give Charlotte a follow.
There's so much joy and levityas to as you can tell everything
she brings to the table.
Thank you so much for takingtime to chat with us.
(49:39):
I feel like I just like justtip of the iceberg with how much
knowledge you have and how muchgreat stories you have, but
thank you for joining us today.
Coach Charlotte (49:48):
Well, thanks so much.
As you know, I love talkingabout running, I love talking
about races, I love talkingabout Disney races.
So, yeah, maybe towards thefall, when the Disney races
start cranking up, we can do awhole episode just talking about
costumes and planning costumesfor the Disney season.
Coach Christine (50:03):
Yes, you have an open invite.
You just tell me when you wantme to be ready with the
microphone and I am with itbecause, again, you have so much
information to share with folks.
So, friends, if you want tolearn more about Charlotte's
coaching, her costuming tips orhow she keeps that crown so
straight while logging tripledigit miles Still absolutely
incredible Check out those shownotes for the links and, of
(50:25):
course, join us over in theDisney Daydreamers running team,
where the hydration is alwayspresent.
It's just maybe sometimes alittle questionable as to what's
going to be in there.
The vibes are always immaculate, though.
So until next time, keepstriding toward the
extraordinary and never forget alittle glitter goes a long way.
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