For years, veteran journalist and run coach Ashley Mateo was sitting on an idea to start a meaningful print publication covering all things women’s running—including meaningful stories and features. This week, that publication comes to life. In today’s episode of Hurdle, Mateo is talking about stepping outside of her comfort zone to start the publication from scratch, and what it took to bring the idea to life. Plus: What she’s learned from her own experience on the run, how injury has been one of her biggest teachers, and how she defines success now that Runher is in the wild.
IN THIS EPISODE
(5:08) The true inspiration behind starting Runher
(8:06) How creating a print magazine is different today than at the beginning of her career
(11:47) The hat that was most enjoyable for Ashley to wear in the creation of this magazine
(16:16) Ashley talks about the mental benefits that the sport of running has brought her
(21:00) What running 17 marathons has taught Ashley about life
(22:30) The tools that empower Ashley to keep the blinders on and focus on her own athlete journey, rather than falling into the comparison trap
(30:20) What a difficult injury taught Ashley about the importance of listening to her body
(35:25) How Ashley felt about pulling out of a race she had on the calendar this fall
(39:15) What Ashley thinks the impact of Runher can be in the media landscape
(45:00) How running clubs can be a helpful tool on your running journey
(52:40) How does Ashley celebrate her big wins, and what she anticipates it to look and feel like this time around
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I kept kind of waiting for it, and then I
was like, well, if nobody else is going to do it,
I'm going to do it.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Hey, everybody, Emilyavadi here.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
You are listening to episode three hundred and seventy four
of Hurdle a While on this focus podcast, where I
talk to inspirational people about everything from their highest ties
and toughest.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Moments to essential tips.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
On how to live a healthier, happier, more motivated life.
We all go through our fair share of hurdles. My
goal through these discussions is to empower you to better
navigate yours and move with intention so that you can
stride towards your own big potential and of course have
some fun along the way. She is back in Brooklyn. Baby,
(00:54):
I'm back with a special Wednesday release of the show
featuring a conversation with my good friend, editor in chief
of the new Runner magazine, Ashley Matteo. Ashley and I
have been running in the same circles for years now,
both coming up in media together here in New York.
Now based in Colorado, Ashley is the founder behind the
(01:16):
magazine dedicated to all things women's running, and that is
called Runner.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
R un h E.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
R Today, we're talking about where the idea came from
and how she decided it was finally time to step
outside of her comfort zone and create a new magazine
from scratch. We discussed her media background, the issues, if
you will, that are going on within the space today,
and rap about her personal running journey. She's run seventeen marathons,
(01:46):
She's dealt with her fair share of injuries, and we
talk about how persevering through those hurdles has made her
more resilient today. Of note, the inaugural issue of Runner
is currently on its way to mailboxes around the globe. However,
if you want to get in on the action, it
(02:07):
is not too late. The link to get your first
copy and sign up for a subscription is in the
show notes. Make sure you're following along with Hurdle over
on social It's at Hurdle Podcast. I'm over at Emily
a Body and with that, let's get to it. Let's
get it to hurdling. Today, I am sitting down with
(02:32):
Ashley Matteo. She is the editor in chief of Runner magazine. Ashley,
Welcome to Hurdle.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Thank you so much for having me. It's great to
be here.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
It's great to see you.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
I'm so happy to be here with you today, and
I'm you know, what's so crazy? I was thinking about
not only how long we've known each other, but I
remember when we met. You told me that you started
out thinking that you were going to be a music journalist.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
How the tides have changed.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Uh, you know they have and they haven't. Because I
was reminiscing, I actually found the magazine I made in
eighth grade that started me on this career path. And
I made a magazine, you know, that was how my
journalism career started. And yes, the focus was music. Back then,
I was obsessed with Blinkwin eighty two, and so the
(03:20):
entire magazine was focused on the band. But here we are,
you know, I'm not going to say how many years
later and I am making a.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Magazine, making a magazine.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
Don't pretend that your obsession with like emo music is gone.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Oh yeah, no, that's not gone at all. It's just expanded.
It's all the music that I listened to when I'm
running marathons.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Morphed a little bit, so obviously I mentioned runner. Why
don't you tell us a little bit about what it
was that inspired you to create a magazine focused on
woman's running.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
You have to look at the media landscape right now, right,
I mean we both come from a journalism background from
print magazines, and for the course of my career, print
magazines have really changed. I mean, traditional publishing is not
what it was when I decided I wanted to be
a magazine editor, however many years ago that was and
(04:14):
in that pivoting, it's kind of brought me further and
further away from what I loved about journalism, which was
telling real stories, like really diving into a topic, almost
getting a little bit obsessed about a topic, and sharing
that topic with people who either also appreciate it or
have never heard about it before and are open to
(04:34):
learning about it. And so I have felt myself being
frustrated by the traditional publishing industry over the past couple
of years. And I think there's a lot of opportunity
to really prioritize that kind of storytelling without the traditional
print model. So when I thought about what I wanted
(04:57):
out of my career, I kept coming back to print.
I kept seeing what other publications and other brands were
doing in that print space outside of the typical you know,
the hearst and the condeingnasts of the world, and I
just I thought there was an opportunity for a print
publication about women's running. There is no other publication at
(05:19):
this point about women's running, at least not beyond uh
the newsletter form, and women are driving this running boom.
We deserve a publication. And I kept kind of waiting
for it, and then I was like, well, if nobody
else is going to do it, I'm going to do it.
And here we are.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Yeah, let's talk about that. If nobody else is going
to do it, I'm going to do it because a
lot of people will have maybe those preceding thoughts that
you just outline, like I wish that this was a thing,
but don't have the inclination to be like, I'm going
to be the one that does the thing.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Did that scare you ash?
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Yes, Oh my god, yes, I mean that's I think
that's why it took me so long to do it.
I think a lot of people that I know in
the running industry would tell you, I've been talking about
this for a while, wouldn't this be a cool idea?
Somebody should do this? And I know how much work
print is, I know how much work owning a business is,
(06:19):
and I don't think I was really ready to take
that on at a certain point, but I eventually got
to a point with my career where I was just
so frustrated with the opportunities that were available that it
finally felt like making those opportunities was worth the stress
(06:41):
and fear that would come with it. And I don't know,
I mean, if you know exactly what you're getting into,
I don't think you'll do it a lot of the time.
And I didn't know one hundred percent what this would
entail and how hard certain parts of it would be.
But I am so proud of what we've made that
(07:02):
it was worth all of that. I mean, fear isn't
quite the right word, but just it was a lot
of stress, but I think good stress.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
A lot of stress, a lot of unknown and to
so many again, this idea of starting something from scratch
is so overwhelming. As you can certainly co sign for you,
Ash tell us a little bit foundationally about what it
takes to create a publication from scratch.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Oh my god, so much, so so much. I mean,
I think if if you look back at traditional publishing again,
this is the space that I grew up in right,
I grew up in companies that did a lot of
this for you, if that makes sense. So when I
worked at Self magazine, and that was my first job
(07:51):
out of college, I was an editorial assistant. We had
entire departments that did certain jobs. We had a photo department,
we had a creative director, had a fact checking department.
I mean remember that, we had a managing editor that
kept everything on track. We had editors in different apartments
with directors above them, and everybody had specific roles. I
(08:13):
had none of that with this. We had four people
on our team. We have me, a publisher, a managing editor,
and a designer. The four of us did everything. And
so when I say everything, I mean that means fact checking,
that means legal, that means all the design, it means
all the advertising. So there were days when I was
doing eight different jobs at once, and that kind of
(08:35):
multitasking is really difficult. It makes everything a lot harder. Obviously,
we also had freelancers too. I did not write the
whole magazine, so we had writers, but really the four
of us were wearing, you know, eight different hats on
any given day. And there was also a lot of
learning on the fly. You know, I've never worked with
a printer directly before, because, as I mentioned, those big
(08:58):
companies do that for you. I had to build our website.
I've been working on our social media plan, our marketing,
and so it's really fun and it's really fulfilling, but
at the same time, it is really scary, and you
just you don't want to mess up. I mean, these
are all full time jobs that people hold, and I'm
(09:19):
very nervous about messing something up in one of those
roles that is not my natural role. But I think
it's one of those things that people will recognize that
we are building something new from scratch, and hopefully there
will be a little bit of grace if there are mistakes.
But yeah, I mean, I feel like I'm going to
(09:39):
be an expert in a lot of different things after
a couple issues.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
I think what's really fun, regardless of whether you work
for yourself or you work for a bigger company, is
getting to a point in your career and that path
where you recognize the value and benefit to continually learning
(10:03):
from others. You said it, you've been a journalist for
your entire career since graduating, right, You've been around the
block now and you've found a new way to learn
that excites you, that fulfills you, and that is something
to be really proud of. To your point about well,
I hope that everyone has some grace with us as
(10:26):
this is the first time. That's what you need to
know for you, right, you need to know and have
that same grace with yourself because there's going to be critics.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
Of course, there are going to be critics. And I
don't even mind the critics. It's the little things that
I know I'll beat myself up about. You know, we
just proved the first the first hard copy of the magazine,
and you know it's the little typos or the grammatical
errors that honestly, most people probably wouldn't even notice. But
you know, it's it's your baby. I want it to
be perfect. And so I feel like we have put
(10:57):
a lot of pressure on ourselves to make sure that
we are hopefully delivering the best possible product that we
can within our capabilities. Like I said, there are only
four of us. You know, it's a lot to ask
of four people. But I think people are gonna be
really excited about the final product.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
You said that you're doing, you know, on any given
day seven to eight jobs, what would you say your
favorite job has been in the creation of this product.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
Oh, that's a good question. It's been really nice to
put the editor back on I have spent the last
I went freelance in twenty seventeen, and so I've really
been writing I would say ninety percent of the time
over those years, and so it's nice to step away
(11:49):
from the writing and work with other writers to decide
what stories make the most sense, how we bring those
stories to life, how we make a diverse line that
really represents kind of all sides and categories within the
women's running space. And so that felt really fulfilling to me.
(12:09):
In this issue. I still wrote stories, I still want
to write more stories, but it was just nice to
take a step back and get to work on the
bigger picture as opposed to just my one or two stories.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
So I want to give some more context and shed
some light on why you are such a great person
to be creating this publication. I know we talked about
how from the get go you started your career at
Self magazine, But what is it about women's sports and
specifically women's running that aligns with your skill set to
(12:45):
make this partnership marriage publication such a perfect avenue for you.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
I don't know if I'm the perfect person. I'm just
the person who decided to do it at this point.
I think there are a lot of really incredible people
in the women's running space right now. I like to
think that I know a lot of them, and so
I look at my job as providing a platform to
(13:14):
the women in this space. And I think given my career,
I have worked at self, I've worked at Shape, I've
written for Runners World and Women's Running and Outside and
literally any publication that covers health and fitness. So I
have a lot of connections within this industry, and I
think I've been able to use those connections to get
(13:35):
people to believe in and invest in a project like this.
I mean, and I'm not just talking about writers. We're
going to have a lot of writers whose bylines you
recognize in the first issue you included, And that was
one part that I think was really important. I really
wanted to have credible voices within the space, you know,
I didn't want to start totally from scratch with unknowns.
(13:58):
I wanted to bring in the people that that I
really admire and respect. While also bringing in new writers,
of course, but I think having those connections with writers
who were just as excited about this as I was
was really great. But then also the partners who came on,
the advertising partners. You know, I know a lot of
people in this industry, and I've covered different brands and
(14:21):
different capacities over the past decade. But getting somebody to
come on and invest in a project like this that
is totally unknown, you know, we don't have the same
kind of numbers to prove proof of concept beyond the
kickstarter at this point. So those conversations were that was
probably the scariest part. I think getting people to invest
(14:44):
in something that I think is a good idea but
don't have proof that it's a good idea yet. And
so I think the fact that I was able to
get those partners on board, and partners I'm really excited
about and really proud of, goes to show kind of
the depth of experience and connection I have within the industry,
and hopefully I was able to use that in a
(15:04):
way that's going to really just set this up to
be a huge success, not just on the page, but
eventually off the page for sure.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
Now you know, a thing or two about putting yourself
out there. Specifically, when we talk about it in the
context of you as an athlete, I know you grew
up as a gymnast and then later in life came
to running. Why would you say that being a runner,
how would you say that your running has provided you
with the framework to take risks and do hard things
(15:35):
like creating this magazine from scratch.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
I mean, running is a hard thing, Like I don't
think there's anything about running that's easy, even on the
easy days. I think you have to make a choice
every day to do it and put yourself in a
position where you are doing something that is harder than
just existing. And so in my journey through running, I
(16:00):
mean I've done a lot of hard things. I've run
seventeen marathons, Like, you don't do that if you're not
comfortable with being uncomfortable, And it's been a journey in
learning how to embrace that discomfort. I don't think I'm
one hundred percent there, you know, It's like you're still
always going to hit that wall at some point. But
I do think that the mental or psychological evolution I've
(16:25):
had through running has really helped me deal with more
difficult things in my life, whether those are personal things
or professional things. I just I think knowing that I
can push myself through those really uncomfortable physical moments has
made you know, some other things just seem not so bad.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
Yeah, I know just from our relationship that this year,
especially the top of this year, certainly presented some challenges that,
although we've both experienced in the past, we're a little
bit louder than usual. Give us some context on how
the landscape of media provided a few hurdles for you
(17:04):
leading into the Top of twenty twenty.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Five this year. Given a lot of external factors in
the world which we won't go into, the media industry
is kind of harder than ever, and I think a
lot of publications I've written for over the years have
really focused on certain strategies that I totally understand but
(17:27):
just aren't the most fulfilling to participate in. I mean,
I love writing service stories where runners will google a
topic and you know, I help write an answer to
that for runners world or outside, or whoever it is.
But I found that those kind of stories were taking
up one hundred percent of my time and I missed
(17:47):
the real storytelling and by real. I just mean that
deeper reported really like delving into an issue, whether it's
whether it's an issue or just uncovering somebody's story, or
looking at a side of the industry that somebody hasn't
really thought about, and really like starting a deeper conversation.
There just isn't a lot of space for that kind
(18:08):
of storytelling in traditional media right now.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
And provide some insight on why that is so, Why
have traditional publication straight away from more of the storytelling?
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Okay, when you think about traditional publishing, a lot of
the websites that you visit are making their money off
of affiliate dollars or advertising, which is driven by clicks,
and so that's why you're seeing these like I'm going
to say engagement baiting. They're not all engagement baiting, but
it's the kind of language we've become accustomed to on
(18:41):
social media. They want your click, they want you to
look at their products, they want you to buy those
products because this is how these companies stay in business.
There is nothing wrong with that. I one hundred percent
support SEO strategies. I one hundred percent support eCOM strategies.
But I just think that there's also space for storytelling,
and I think that has gotten a little bit lost
(19:03):
in recent years in media. I mean, my whole journalism
career has been defined by pivoting, and I think anybody
who graduated in the late two thousands, early twenty tens
can relate. We pivoted to video, we pivoted to social,
we pivoted to eCOM, we pivoted back to video, and again,
(19:23):
there's nothing wrong with any of those things. I just
think sometimes the media industry has gone a little too
deep on one strategy at a time without leaving room
for what we all got into journalism to do, which
is tell stories. And so I hope that Runner can
coexist with all these other outlets. I think we are
just doing something a little bit different, and we have
(19:46):
different goals. I mean, we're not going to scale the
way some of these traditional publishing sites or social media
properties have scaled. That's not our goal. We want to
build a really deeply engaged community. It may be smaller,
but I think we're going to serve them in a
different way.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
Yeah, that's really beautiful.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
I do want to go back and double click a
little bit more on your running journey. I loved how
you said that I keep doing this and showing up
because clearly I am okay with getting uncomfortable. Talk to
me about maybe that first time that you realized, Hey,
I really like this unsettled, challenging feeling that this sport
(20:27):
gives me.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
I mean, I think it was my first big race,
which was a half iron Man, which I signed up
for because I am competitive, and I got the email
while I was working at Shape and I deleted it
because I was like, that's dumb, who does that? And
a coworker was like, I got that email too. I
think I'm going to do it, And I was like, well,
if you're going to do it, then I can do it.
(20:51):
And I feel like that just kind of defines my
whole approach to any kind of physical thing. I have
a lot of competition in me. In more recent years,
I think I have redirected that competition back towards myself.
I'm only competing against myself as opposed to the coworker
or other people within the industry. But that has been,
(21:14):
you know, a back and forth. I think we all
play the comparison game in running. But anyway, back to
that first race, I did this iron Man, this half
iron Man, I thought I was going to drown in
the swim. I absolutely hated it. It was awful. The
bike I grew up cycling, my dad's a big cyclist.
I thought that was going to be a piece of cake.
I was so bored, and the running is what's stuck.
I did the run at the end and I was like, Oh, this,
(21:34):
this feels manageable. I could keep doing this. But when
I finished that race, I came through the finish line,
I met my parents and I said, I think I
could do that better. And here we are. You know,
I did my first marathon I think around six months later,
and it was the same kind of feeling. I was like, oh,
this I really like, but I think I could do
(21:55):
it better. And we have now done it seventeen times
and we at it. It's not a linear journey.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
It's definitely not a linear journey.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
I want to double click on this aspect of competition,
because I find that to be something that so many
people can both really relate to and also find challenging.
You said that now you're really looking to yourself as
your own competition rather than looking at those around you
and framing it in that way. How have you successfully
(22:25):
done that for yourself and what tools or tricks have
you implemented into your ecosystem that enable and empower you
to really keep the blinders on and focus on your
own journey.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
Well, I think it is a journey. It's definitely a
work in progress. I think it's probably something you can
relate to too. We are surrounded by a lot of
people who do the same things that we do in
terms of physical activity, the same races, the same kind
of training, similar time goals, and I think for a
long time I would compare myself to those people. I
(23:02):
wasn't necessarily competing against them, but oh, if somebody is
doing this, I should be doing this. If somebody's training
like this, that's how I should be training, or why
is my training not delivering the same result? And I
think a lot of that comes with living our lives
very online, and it's a necessary part of the job
right at this point. You kind of can't be a
(23:26):
writer or a creator without having some kind of public
facing brand. It helps you get work, it helps you
be more recognizable with in the industry, it opens up doors,
and so that is just a necessary part of the
job at this point. That was not a part of
the job when I first started, and so I think
it took me some time to learn how to navigate
(23:48):
that very public facing side of this job. And I
really I would say over time, that's been my biggest
hurdle in running, trying to separate running for me and
running for my job. And the best way that I've
found is by just setting boundaries. I mean, and that's
a result of therapy. Those those boundaries don't just apply
(24:09):
to you know, running in social media, but some things
are just for me. I don't share my pace on Instagram.
I mean, you can obviously find it if you go
on Strava, but for me, not sharing it on Instagram
helps me not look at what other people are posting.
I don't share goal races on Instagram. I just if
it's a goal race, it's my own. I keep that
(24:31):
to myself and I'll share it afterwards. I think just
separating some of the things that I do for me
from the work side of my life has really helped
just embrace like a better attitude about those things. I'm
not thinking about how am I going to spend this
on Instagram, you know, in the middle of a marathon,
(24:51):
I'm just thinking about like, how are you going to
get through this next mile, which like it's such it's
such a weird thing to be running at like mile
eighteen and being like, oh god, I'm not going to
hit my goal. Like one am the to tell people
nobody actually cares. I care, because I've put it out
there in the world. I know nobody else actually cares.
But if I'm thinking about it, that's a problem. And
so by removing that as an even possibility, it's helped
(25:15):
me kind of just keep certain things about running to myself.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
Put me in your shoes.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
The last time that you felt like you were psychologically
thinking in that performative way, when was that, And in
that moment did you realize that, Okay, I've got to
make a change.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
It was probably before I ran the Saint George Marathon
in twenty twenty three. I can't actually remember the exact
moment that made me decide not to share that I
was running Saint George, But afterwards I realized, I want
to do this for me. I want this race to
be about me and my friends who came to support me,
(25:55):
and an experience that I'm having in real time as
opposed to something i'm doing to share with some larger community.
I don't even know really what the motivations were in sharing.
It's not like, oh, I'm going to do this marathon
so I can grow my followers, Like that's not the motivation.
But I think at this point, we're just so conditioned
(26:16):
to share so much of our lives with strangers that
I was just doing it kind of unconsciously. And before
the Saint George Marathon, I thought, what if I just
like didn't tell anybody about this, what if I just
like did it for myself, And then in the race,
I don't have to think about anybody else. The only
person that I need to be thinking about is myself.
(26:37):
And that I mean, that's exactly what happened. I got
to the point in the race where I was like, well,
this is hard. I don't know why you ever try running,
you know, harder than whatever pace, Like maybe you're just
meant to go at this slower pace. And then I
was like, you know, we're going to just shuffle our thoughts,
pick the next thought, and keep going. And so I
literally instead of thinking about like anything to do with
(26:59):
the race itself or what I was feeling or anything,
I was just like I am in a beautiful place.
Look at where I am. This is so beautiful right now.
How lucky am I to be in this place? And
by kind of short circuiting those thoughts, I ended up
having just such a better race experience.
Speaker 3 (27:16):
The short circuiting of those thoughts and this idea that
you have the opportunity to short circuit your thoughts at
any time is also something that A is very commendable,
but B takes practice and takes work. I know that
that can be even more challenging when you're dealing with
something that feels bigger than you you personally, just like
(27:38):
all of us have navigated your fair share of injuries.
I know that a specific injury has been plaguing you
over the last couple of years. Now, talk to me
about what you've learned about yourself through navigating injury over
the last few years and what you've been dealing with.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
It's funny, this is actually the first real injury, and
I put injury in because it doesn't feel like a
typical injury, although it is something that has been impacting
me for over a year now, so I guess it
is an injury, and it's a tough injury. Because I
can still run through it, and I've still even pr
with it. It just feels awful. And so basically, it's
(28:18):
a diaphragm oblique side situation that affects my breathing when
I run. So when I hit race pace, it just
becomes deeply uncomfortable. And I think there is always a
certain level of discomfort that comes with racing, but this
is a different kind of discomfort. This is the kind
that you don't run through that it kind of stops
you in your tracks. And I think in dealing with
(28:40):
it, it's forced me to take a little bit of a
step back and look at some of the things that
I was lucky enough to not really have to pay
attention to for a long time, the basics of running,
how I hold my body, how I breathe when I run.
I've started working with pets for the first time specific
to Meviously, I interview peetees all the time and would
(29:02):
highly recommend that everybody connect with one, but it was
really interesting to just start working with some different pets
one on one and learn about my body in a
way that I really hadn't thought about before. And you know,
not just on the run, but I you know, was
encouraged to get a standing desk and change my position
throughout the day and get a computer monitor, and just
(29:23):
things that reminded me, Oh, it's not just about what
we do on the run. It's there's everything else in
your life comes into play here, including like how you
hold your body when you're stressed and how you breathe
when you're running and understress. So it's it's made me
confront some things that I probably should have dealt with
a while ago. And it's also really helped me realize
(29:47):
that like running through pain and discomfort is not always
like a flex you know, it is not an injury
in the sense that like it's not a stress fracture.
I don't I don't have a torn any but you
have to listen to your body and I acknowledge when
the discomfort is taking away the joy of running. And
(30:09):
I think that's been the biggest problem for me with
this injury. Like I said, I've still prred with this
going on. You know, it's happened. You know you were
there at Terry Blossom. I still ran faster than I
ever have, but I was miserable for you know, five
miles of that race because I was so angry at
my body and the fact that something was happening that
was outside of my control. And so it's helped me
(30:34):
kind of step back a little bit to be like,
why are you doing this? Do you want to do this?
Are you ready to do this? Is it going to
be worth it if you don't feel good during it?
And so I have said no to certain things this
year because it isn't worth it to me to be
in that situation where I know this is most likely
going to happen and I don't have the mental well
(31:00):
at this point to pull from to be angry about
it in the middle of the race.
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Speaker 2 (32:09):
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and I am focused on not making my sleep schedule
under control, but really just doing everything I can to
take care of my body right now, and ag one
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three K two and welcome kid with your purchase. I
don't think that there's anything wrong with that though, and
I think it's such a beautiful moment. Like we talked
about reclaiming running for you and doing these races and
(33:32):
keeping them for yourself. And so what is happening now
with this injury lbit being quite frustrating, is that you
are coming back to yourself and you're asking yourself, if
this journey isn't enjoyable, then no amount of prs are
going to make the journey worthwhile. And so if you
(33:54):
ask me, like, why is this happening right now? I
would argue that it gave you an opportunity to explore
things outside of yourself.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
I e. Now what you're doing with runner.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
Yeah, you know it's funny. I was dead set on
running a marathon this fall. I had all the plans
in place, I was training, and I just I had
this realization a couple weeks ago where I was like,
I don't want to do this. I don't want to
do it, not because I can't. You know, I could
definitely still run twenty six point two miles right now,
(34:31):
but if I did, I know it wouldn't be in
the way that I want to run it right now.
And that's not just because of the injury. I actually,
I mean, I don't know what would happen with the
injury at this point, but it was more the idea
that stress is stress, right, and even good stress is stress.
Your body can't tell the difference. This is something I've
talked about a million times on social media. I've written
(34:52):
multiple articles about it. Good stress is still stress, And
I think I came to the realization that this fall,
my marathon is Runner, bringing Runner into the world, and
I didn't want to take away from that experience, which
I'm really really excited about by adding another really stressful
physical experience on top of that. That might not go
(35:13):
the way that I want it to because I'm just
not in the headspace for that right now, and then
that would take away from the excitement around Runner. So
Runner is my marathon this fall.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
Runner is my marathon this fall for sure.
Speaker 3 (35:25):
And also of note, I mean, you're a twice certified
run coach as well. I know recently someone reached out
to me and they were asking me about my experience
pulling out if I had ever pulled out from a race.
I myself have pulled out previously because of an injury,
and I knew that I would only make it worse
by towing a starting line at that particular time. You're
(35:47):
speaking to something that I think is a really helpful conversation,
which is, if your head's just not in it.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
The question that.
Speaker 3 (35:54):
Was in my DMS is is it okay? You're the
only one that gets to make that decision, right right?
Speaker 1 (36:00):
No, I think it's so okay. I think I think
more people should think about that and have that conversation
with themselves because I think, you know, I've run a
lot of marathons. I love running the marathon. I really
enjoy pushing myself kind of past that limit and finding
where that limit is. But I have run marathons where
(36:21):
I've not been mentally in it, and that is so unfun. Like,
I don't want to do that again, because if you're
committing yourself to running twenty six point two miles, especially
if you have a goal in mind and you are
just not mentally ready to fight for that, you're then
stuck running twenty six point two miles. Yeah, without that motivation.
(36:43):
And I don't know. I just I think that at
this point in my life, if I'm going to run
a marathon, I want to be fully invested in that
marathon and do the best that I can, unless, of course,
it's a race for fun, I'm pacing a friend or
something like that. That is obviously a totally different approach
to a race. But I approached this fall thinking I
(37:04):
am going to go for a big goal, and then
I got to this ball and I was like, I
don't want.
Speaker 3 (37:10):
Toah, I don't want to. But again, this is so
much bigger than just sport.
Speaker 2 (37:15):
Right.
Speaker 3 (37:15):
We talked about how earlier you were saying that there
were certain projects or articles or items that you were
working on that just didn't really feel fulfilling for you.
And so what I'm really hearing you say is that
this is a lesson that just spans so many categories
in life as a whole.
Speaker 1 (37:31):
Yeah. No, I think it's so important. And I think
that's again where Runner was sort of born from. I
love my job as a journalist. I don't want to
change that job, you know. I have had many conversations
about the longevity and the sustainability of a journalism career
in this media landscape. And I think if you look
(37:57):
at it from where I looked at it ten years ago,
fifteen years ago, those jobs don't exist anymore. It's changed
so much. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, but
I think it's very hard in this media landscape to
make a full time living as a writer. It really is.
And I think any freelancer will agree with you on that,
will agree with me. But that doesn't mean there isn't
(38:20):
space for editorial and storytelling. We're seeing it in digital
first outlets. We're seeing it in this boom of social
media creators in the podcast world. I mean, there are
so many other ways to tell stories. And I think
coming back to this idea of an independent print magazine,
I think people are ready for that, you know. I
(38:42):
think they are tired of scrolling. It's always going to
be a part of our lives, but I think people
would welcome a break from that. I think these magazines
are very different from your traditional newsstand publication that you're getting,
you know, once a month or I mean, god, do
you remember when they were weekly? These are more like
luxury products, you know, It's something that you invest in
(39:05):
because you are a part of that community. And I
think people want to support things like that, and so,
like I said before, I don't think it's going to
be on the same scale as you know, a traditional
monthly magazine. But that's okay, you don't need to be
I think smaller publications can really thrive and be profitable
(39:28):
because they have a really, really deeply engaged community and
that's all you need.
Speaker 3 (39:33):
You've spoken so beautifully about so many of the challenges
and hurdles that are associated with creating a product from scratch.
It's also deeply important when you are building to make
sure that you're surrounding yourself with the right people who
give you this support. I can speak as someone who
used to be like very dialed in on like I've
got to do this on my own. I don't need you,
(39:54):
Like I've got this. I used to really feel like that,
and now I have integrated people into the bubble that
helped me stay sane. And Okay, what's your experience been
like with that as you've been getting this off the ground.
Speaker 1 (40:07):
Oh, this wouldn't be off the ground if I didn't
have people helping me. Literally, there are not enough hours
in the day. I mean, I probably would have had
to start like a year in advance if I didn't
have help. But even if I had started that early,
something like this, you absolutely need help. You need other
sets of eyes to be looking at the pages to
(40:27):
catch errors that you missed. You need people to bounce
ideas off of to make sure you have a diverse
and balanced lineup in the magazine. I mean, this would
not have happened without having a team of people, and
I think that's what makes it so special. I mean,
we are all women, we are all runners, and we
(40:48):
have all been around this community for so long that
we each sort of brought our own perspectives on the
industry and the community to this project. And I think
that it's better for it.
Speaker 3 (41:02):
Honestly, as someone who's great at pivoting, I'm going to
pivot a little bit with you here. Tell me a
little bit about where you stand, what your thoughts are,
your excitement about the state of women's running and women's
sports as a whole right now.
Speaker 1 (41:14):
I just think it's all so exciting. I mean, there's
just such a groundswell of support around women's sports in general.
And I'm not going to pretend that I know a
ton about women's sports as a whole. I mean, I'm
not the biggest sports fan in the world, but I'm
a huge women's running fan and a huge running fan,
and the fact that women are driving this boom is
(41:35):
just wild to me. I want to make sure that
women's running is included in that. And I think that
there are two sides of it, right Like there's the sport,
which is the results and the events and the real
time kind of race coverage. But then there's also sport
which is like wellness and health and the community that's
driving running, which, like when you look at running, running
(41:56):
is the biggest participatory sport out there and make up
the majority of runners right now. So the fact that
we're still approaching this sport from kind of a male
first lens feels outdated to me. And so I want
women's voices to be elevated and amplified, and I want
women to have a space within the running community that
(42:18):
is truly just theirs. I'm not saying that other places
aren't covering women's running, because there are places that do
a great job, but there are very very few that
are dedicated just to covering women's running and going beyond
just the race side of the sport into what makes
these runners so compelling and who's doing what within the industry,
(42:40):
And so I think there is a lot of room
to continue elevating these voices and amplifying the women who
are doing really incredible things within the community. And I
hope that Runner becomes a space where that is just
it's just part of the DNA of our men.
Speaker 3 (43:01):
As a coach and a veteran journalist, what would you
attribute the majority of the running boom being women to?
What do you think is the reason why women are
gravitating towards this sport specifically?
Speaker 1 (43:18):
I think there are two pieces of it. I think
it's empowerment. I think it's the feeling of strength and
freedom that you get from it. And I think it's
the community, the feeling of connection that you get from it.
And I think that is true for women at any
end of the spectrum, whether you are, you know, breaking
records at the highest level of the sport, or you
(43:39):
are showing up at a run club for the first
time and you've never run more than a mile since
pe class. I think that's kind of the beauty of it.
There are so many women from different paths in life
finding this sport and connecting with each other in a
way that like maybe we didn't really have before. And
I think it's also important that this comes at a
time when like women rights are being threatened to a
(44:01):
certain extent. Like, again, I don't want to go down
that road, but I think having this place and this
community where you can turn to to make you feel
good physically and emotionally is just really really important right now.
Speaker 3 (44:16):
Yeah, And I love what you're pointing out about that
you can be at any level. There is a lot
of frustration that comes hand in hand with feeling as
though maybe.
Speaker 2 (44:25):
You're not advanced enough to be part of a community.
Speaker 3 (44:28):
But we fall back on this concept that the community
you're after is yours to build, right or yours to seek,
And so there are so many different access points that
people can get into running at and I would say
that that's also something that attributes to the boom that
we're seeing.
Speaker 1 (44:45):
Yes, absolutely at this point in this running boom. If
we look at everything that's happened since twenty nineteen, if
you don't think there's a community for you, you're not
looking hard enough. You know, there are so many run clubs,
There are so many run stores that are welcoming people in.
There are so many online communities where you can find
(45:06):
a space. I mean that was part of what drew
me in. When I did that Iron Man back in
twenty fifteen. My friends thought I was insane. They were like,
You've never done anything like this in your life, Like
what we do not understand? And so I really I
turned to social media and was asking questions and was
sharing my experiences, and you know, people from like all
(45:26):
corners of the world were offering tips and sharing advice
with me on how to get through this iron Man journey.
And I think that's only exploded since twenty fifteen. I mean,
when I even look at New York, you know, I
lived in New York until twenty nineteen, the run club
scene there was so different. You know. It was either
the massive Nike run clubs, which were like four hundred
(45:48):
plus people and you never knew if you were going
to see the same people when you went back, or
the really small, you know, kind of intimidating I would say,
like good runners who were like pay faster than me,
and it's like that those are the only options you
had and now when I go back to New York
every year for the marathon, it's like, I mean, there
are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of run clubs that
(46:08):
are welcoming people of all different running backgrounds. Whether you're
brand new or you're you know, an OTQ runner, Like
it doesn't matter. There is a community for you. And
I think that is just like so so important and
I don't think that's going away anytime soon.
Speaker 3 (46:24):
What would you say, And there's so many ways that
this answer could go, but what would you say that.
Speaker 2 (46:32):
Running's biggest gifts have been to you?
Speaker 1 (46:37):
Hmm, Well, I wouldn't have a career at this point
if not for running. No, that's not true. I would
have a career, but my career would look very very different.
But I think more importantly community. I started running because
I was in that stage of life where you know,
I was going to boutique gym classes and I was
(46:59):
doing the cycling and the lifting and just like not
really meeting people, not connecting with people until I started running,
And all of a sudden, it was like this whole
world opened up to me in terms of both online
and real life communities. And I don't know where I
would be without those communities at this point, Like I
(47:20):
moved to a different state, you know, that was because
of running. And then mentally psychologically, I think what we
talked about before, just the mental strength that you develop
through running. If you really, you know, if you're committed
to running and you're doing hard things like training for
long distance races, like you have to be really mentally tough.
(47:42):
And I think over the past decade, the mental toughness
that I have developed through this sport has helped me
in so many other aspects of my life. And you know,
I've had to make some really hard decisions at certain points,
and I think I was able to make them not
just because of running, but because of some of the
things that I learned on the run.
Speaker 3 (48:03):
I really appreciate what you said about if you're looking
for a community and you feel like there's not one
for you, that you're not looking hard enough. For someone
who does feel really intimidated about just beginning on the run,
what advice do you have to offer to them?
Speaker 1 (48:19):
You just have to do it. I know that sucks
as advice. I know that is not necessarily what somebody
wants to hear when they're scared of something. But it's
what I have to tell myself. You just have to
start doing it. And if you start doing it by yourself,
you will eventually develop the confidence to show up at
a group. If you just show up at a group,
the people there are going to prove to you that
(48:41):
there is no reason to be afraid. It's very hard
to put yourself in a situation where you don't know
somebody and you feel like you might be the slowest
or the last. But like I promise that the majority
of runners are not out to make you feel bad.
I mean when I moved to Colorado, yes I was
our be an experienced runner at that point, but I
(49:02):
mean this was a whole different ballgame. The people who
live in Colorado are next level intense And I was
also learning to run an altitude while marathon training, and
I remember showing up for, you know, one of my
first run clubs, and I was so nervous about just
getting dropped. I didn't know the route I was doing,
like an eighteen mile run, and the one of the
women who had founded the run club was like, I
(49:23):
got you. I got two people ready to run with you.
They're going to run your work out with you, and
I was like, what, Like, I don't even know these people,
and they did. And the workout did not go well
by the way, Like I did not nail the workout.
I definitely walked a lot. I think I stopped go
to the bathroom at one point, and these two people
stayed with me the whole time, just so that nobody
would be left behind. I mean, it's not the run
club that I run with is not a no drop group,
(49:45):
but people don't get dropped, at least not in the
slower pace groups. And so I think if you do
your research and find a group that caters to the
type of running that you think you're capable of, then
you will be surprised by how we welcoming people are.
Nobody's trying to make anybody feel bad, nobody's trying to
make anybody feel less. Then you just have to show up.
Speaker 3 (50:06):
What would you say that success would feel like for
you with Runner?
Speaker 1 (50:15):
With Runner, I think success for Runner would be really
just creating that space for female runners. I want this
to be a safe place that really recognizes all aspects
(50:36):
of the running community. And when I think about success,
that really means just showing up on the page in
that way, but then bringing this brand to life off
the page as well. I hope that we can get
to a point where we are sort of a major
player in the conversations around women's running. You know, we're
(50:59):
showing up where runners are. And then at the end
of the day, I hope that we are able to
change some of the conversations around women's running and drive
real change in areas of the sport, whether it's representation
or you know, financial equality or I don't even know
(51:20):
what that looks like yet, but I hope that we
can get to a point where our stories are helping
shape a new conversation around women's running within the broader
running community.
Speaker 3 (51:31):
Yeah, and when you think about and this is a
common thing that happens here. But I'm like, Okay, this
is what it could look like. Right, what does it
feel like?
Speaker 1 (51:41):
Oh? It feels like an exhale. No, seriously, I remember
when we last week sent the first issue to the printer,
And that doesn't mean it's coming to your mailboxes, you know.
As soon as we do that, it means, you know,
we have finished every page of the magazine. We are
sending it to the printer. We have like one more
chance to kind of get it right. But it was
(52:03):
in that moment that I just felt this like weight
off my shoulders, Like I am so proud and excited
about it, and it might not be perfect, but we've
done the best that we can and now I can
just like relax a little bit, and I just I
don't know. I think it feels like something that has
(52:28):
driven me practically manic at times, but also feels so
fulfilling and so exciting that I like can't wait to
do it again.
Speaker 2 (52:37):
I love to hear that. How do you celebrate yourself?
Speaker 3 (52:40):
Ash, You're like, that's funny.
Speaker 2 (52:43):
What's that?
Speaker 1 (52:44):
I ran ten miles down two thousand feet of elevation
and destroyed my legs? That's how I celebrate No, that's
literally what I did the next morning. How do I
celebrate myself? I'm not very good at that, to be honest,
I think that is an area that I could definitely improve.
(53:06):
I celebrated this by just taking some time for some
self care. I took a bath. You know. I love that.
I would really like to celebrate this on a larger
level with the running community. I think that's when the
real celebration will happen, right, now it feels very like, well,
it's off to the printer and you'll see it in
your mailboxes in a couple of weeks. And so I
(53:28):
think I will really feel like celebrating when I have
it in my hands and when I see other people
have it in their hands, and then I will feel
like popping over a bottle of champagne. And I don't know,
treating myself to something.
Speaker 2 (53:40):
Else and a full sugar coke.
Speaker 1 (53:44):
I don't need an excuse to treat myself to a
full sugar.
Speaker 2 (53:47):
If anyone loves a full sugar coke, it's you.
Speaker 1 (53:51):
I do well.
Speaker 3 (53:52):
Right now, someone comes to your Instagram page, they see
you the editor in chief of Runner. They go to
your threads. You've got something like twenty four thousand people
over there. But when you look in the mirror, Ashley,
what is it that you see looking at you?
Speaker 1 (54:05):
Hmm? I see someone who's trying her best. I don't
have it all figured out. I don't always get it right.
But I think when I look at myself right now,
I see somebody who has created a space that fits
really well, and I'm really excited to see how I
can expand that space.
Speaker 3 (54:25):
I think it's so beautiful that you have that level
of recognition and appreciation for yourself. And I also I've
been having these conversations lately about intentions, and it's almost
like it starts with you when we talk about having
good intentions, Like, if you can have good intentions for
yourself and the work that you do, then you can
(54:46):
look in the mirror confidently and be like, I am
proud of who I am. And that also extends to
your relationships with other people. There are going to be
people in life that may not assume that you have
the best intentions. Well, if they you and they know
your heart and they still feel that way, they're probably
not your people. Yeah, So to hear that you look
(55:06):
in the mirror and you say, you know what, I'm
really doing my best and like genuinely believing that it's
something that's commendable.
Speaker 2 (55:13):
But it's also something that a lot of people struggle with.
Speaker 1 (55:15):
I mean, it's a work in progress for sure. If
you had asked me that six months ago, I don't
know if I would have said that answer. I think
you know, you go through seasons where you sometimes feel
good about yourself and sometimes you don't, and you could
be trying your best in all aspects of your life
and still not always feel great. And I've definitely had
(55:38):
those times. I think there's been a real roller coaster
emotionally at times. But I don't know. I think when
you find something that feels good and feels like you're
doing the right thing for you, it can change really quickly.
And so I just when I look at Runner, I
(55:58):
think this is what.
Speaker 3 (55:59):
Fits right now, hold on to the good right Yeah,
well right now, Ash, you have an opportunity to offer
yourself a piece of advice. I'm going to go back
and talk a little bit about that roller coaster that
is being your own boss, that is being a freelance journalist,
that is struggling to land pitches and find money and
asking yourself, what the hell am I doing here?
Speaker 2 (56:19):
Knowing what you know?
Speaker 1 (56:21):
Now?
Speaker 3 (56:21):
What advice would you give to yourself during these hurdle moments?
Speaker 1 (56:27):
Trust yourself. I think the nature of freelancing is kind
of feast or famine, and so when you are in
those famine periods, it's really hard to trust that it
will work out. And I think for me it came
down to trusting my resume and my portfolio and my
(56:48):
connections and my belief in this idea. You know, it's
it's really hard to take that leap of faith and
know that you're going to have to put earning an
income on the back burner for a little while in
order to bring a project like this to life. But
the way that I've gotten through it is really just
trusting the process. I believe that this is a good idea.
(57:10):
I believe that other people believe this is a good idea,
and you know, we'll see.
Speaker 3 (57:15):
I would be remiss if I let you go today
before I just at least get the backstory of where
you were when you decided that the name was Runner.
Speaker 1 (57:23):
Oh God, that was like one of those ideas that
just like came to me at night, like it just
it truly just popped into my head and I was like, oh,
if I start a magazine, that's the name, that's the name.
Speaker 3 (57:36):
Yeah, I love when it clicks like that.
Speaker 1 (57:40):
I know it was just one of them. I was like,
I can't let this go. This is too good to
pass up. So now I'm waiting for that inspiration to
strike me. I need a shirt.
Speaker 2 (57:48):
Oh a shirt. We need a woman's slogan shirt.
Speaker 3 (57:50):
So if you're listening, to this and you have an
idea for Ash, you can find her on the social
which we're going to get to you.
Speaker 2 (57:55):
Ash. So happy that we had this conversation today. For
those that.
Speaker 3 (57:58):
Aren't following along with you just yet, give us the info.
Where do we find you and where do we find Runner?
Speaker 1 (58:03):
You can find me on all platforms at Ashley Matteo
and same with Runner at Runner Mag. Find us on
Instagram threads. We've got all the other platforms. We'll get
to putting content up there eventually, and then runnermag dot
com is where you can subscribe.
Speaker 2 (58:21):
So excited for you.
Speaker 3 (58:22):
I'm over at Emily Body and at Hurdle Podcast another
Hurdle conquered.
Speaker 2 (58:26):
Catch you guys next time
I kept kind of waiting for it, and then I
was like, well, if nobody else is going to do it,
I'm going to do it.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Hey, everybody, Emilyavadi here.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
You are listening to episode three hundred and seventy four
of Hurdle a While on this focus podcast, where I
talk to inspirational people about everything from their highest ties
and toughest.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Moments to essential tips.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
On how to live a healthier, happier, more motivated life.
We all go through our fair share of hurdles. My
goal through these discussions is to empower you to better
navigate yours and move with intention so that you can
stride towards your own big potential and of course have
some fun along the way. She is back in Brooklyn. Baby,
(00:54):
I'm back with a special Wednesday release of the show
featuring a conversation with my good friend, editor in chief
of the new Runner magazine, Ashley Matteo. Ashley and I
have been running in the same circles for years now,
both coming up in media together here in New York.
Now based in Colorado, Ashley is the founder behind the
(01:16):
magazine dedicated to all things women's running, and that is
called Runner.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
R un h E.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
R Today, we're talking about where the idea came from
and how she decided it was finally time to step
outside of her comfort zone and create a new magazine
from scratch. We discussed her media background, the issues, if
you will, that are going on within the space today,
and rap about her personal running journey. She's run seventeen marathons,
(01:46):
She's dealt with her fair share of injuries, and we
talk about how persevering through those hurdles has made her
more resilient today. Of note, the inaugural issue of Runner
is currently on its way to mailboxes around the globe. However,
if you want to get in on the action, it
(02:07):
is not too late. The link to get your first
copy and sign up for a subscription is in the
show notes. Make sure you're following along with Hurdle over
on social It's at Hurdle Podcast. I'm over at Emily
a Body and with that, let's get to it. Let's
get it to hurdling. Today, I am sitting down with
(02:32):
Ashley Matteo. She is the editor in chief of Runner magazine. Ashley,
Welcome to Hurdle.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Thank you so much for having me. It's great to
be here.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
It's great to see you.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
I'm so happy to be here with you today, and
I'm you know, what's so crazy? I was thinking about
not only how long we've known each other, but I
remember when we met. You told me that you started
out thinking that you were going to be a music journalist.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
How the tides have changed.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Uh, you know they have and they haven't. Because I
was reminiscing, I actually found the magazine I made in
eighth grade that started me on this career path. And
I made a magazine, you know, that was how my
journalism career started. And yes, the focus was music. Back then,
I was obsessed with Blinkwin eighty two, and so the
(03:20):
entire magazine was focused on the band. But here we are,
you know, I'm not going to say how many years
later and I am making a.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Magazine, making a magazine.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
Don't pretend that your obsession with like emo music is gone.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Oh yeah, no, that's not gone at all. It's just expanded.
It's all the music that I listened to when I'm
running marathons.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Morphed a little bit, so obviously I mentioned runner. Why
don't you tell us a little bit about what it
was that inspired you to create a magazine focused on
woman's running.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
You have to look at the media landscape right now, right,
I mean we both come from a journalism background from
print magazines, and for the course of my career, print
magazines have really changed. I mean, traditional publishing is not
what it was when I decided I wanted to be
a magazine editor, however many years ago that was and
(04:14):
in that pivoting, it's kind of brought me further and
further away from what I loved about journalism, which was
telling real stories, like really diving into a topic, almost
getting a little bit obsessed about a topic, and sharing
that topic with people who either also appreciate it or
have never heard about it before and are open to
(04:34):
learning about it. And so I have felt myself being
frustrated by the traditional publishing industry over the past couple
of years. And I think there's a lot of opportunity
to really prioritize that kind of storytelling without the traditional
print model. So when I thought about what I wanted
(04:57):
out of my career, I kept coming back to print.
I kept seeing what other publications and other brands were
doing in that print space outside of the typical you know,
the hearst and the condeingnasts of the world, and I
just I thought there was an opportunity for a print
publication about women's running. There is no other publication at
(05:19):
this point about women's running, at least not beyond uh
the newsletter form, and women are driving this running boom.
We deserve a publication. And I kept kind of waiting
for it, and then I was like, well, if nobody
else is going to do it, I'm going to do it.
And here we are.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Yeah, let's talk about that. If nobody else is going
to do it, I'm going to do it because a
lot of people will have maybe those preceding thoughts that
you just outline, like I wish that this was a thing,
but don't have the inclination to be like, I'm going
to be the one that does the thing.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Did that scare you ash?
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Yes, Oh my god, yes, I mean that's I think
that's why it took me so long to do it.
I think a lot of people that I know in
the running industry would tell you, I've been talking about
this for a while, wouldn't this be a cool idea?
Somebody should do this? And I know how much work
print is, I know how much work owning a business is,
(06:19):
and I don't think I was really ready to take
that on at a certain point, but I eventually got
to a point with my career where I was just
so frustrated with the opportunities that were available that it
finally felt like making those opportunities was worth the stress
(06:41):
and fear that would come with it. And I don't know,
I mean, if you know exactly what you're getting into,
I don't think you'll do it a lot of the time.
And I didn't know one hundred percent what this would
entail and how hard certain parts of it would be.
But I am so proud of what we've made that
(07:02):
it was worth all of that. I mean, fear isn't
quite the right word, but just it was a lot
of stress, but I think good stress.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
A lot of stress, a lot of unknown and to
so many again, this idea of starting something from scratch
is so overwhelming. As you can certainly co sign for you,
Ash tell us a little bit foundationally about what it
takes to create a publication from scratch.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Oh my god, so much, so so much. I mean,
I think if if you look back at traditional publishing again,
this is the space that I grew up in right,
I grew up in companies that did a lot of
this for you, if that makes sense. So when I
worked at Self magazine, and that was my first job
(07:51):
out of college, I was an editorial assistant. We had
entire departments that did certain jobs. We had a photo department,
we had a creative director, had a fact checking department.
I mean remember that, we had a managing editor that
kept everything on track. We had editors in different apartments
with directors above them, and everybody had specific roles. I
(08:13):
had none of that with this. We had four people
on our team. We have me, a publisher, a managing editor,
and a designer. The four of us did everything. And
so when I say everything, I mean that means fact checking,
that means legal, that means all the design, it means
all the advertising. So there were days when I was
doing eight different jobs at once, and that kind of
(08:35):
multitasking is really difficult. It makes everything a lot harder. Obviously,
we also had freelancers too. I did not write the
whole magazine, so we had writers, but really the four
of us were wearing, you know, eight different hats on
any given day. And there was also a lot of
learning on the fly. You know, I've never worked with
a printer directly before, because, as I mentioned, those big
(08:58):
companies do that for you. I had to build our website.
I've been working on our social media plan, our marketing,
and so it's really fun and it's really fulfilling, but
at the same time, it is really scary, and you
just you don't want to mess up. I mean, these
are all full time jobs that people hold, and I'm
(09:19):
very nervous about messing something up in one of those
roles that is not my natural role. But I think
it's one of those things that people will recognize that
we are building something new from scratch, and hopefully there
will be a little bit of grace if there are mistakes.
But yeah, I mean, I feel like I'm going to
(09:39):
be an expert in a lot of different things after
a couple issues.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
I think what's really fun, regardless of whether you work
for yourself or you work for a bigger company, is
getting to a point in your career and that path
where you recognize the value and benefit to continually learning
(10:03):
from others. You said it, you've been a journalist for
your entire career since graduating, right, You've been around the
block now and you've found a new way to learn
that excites you, that fulfills you, and that is something
to be really proud of. To your point about well,
I hope that everyone has some grace with us as
(10:26):
this is the first time. That's what you need to
know for you, right, you need to know and have
that same grace with yourself because there's going to be critics.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
Of course, there are going to be critics. And I
don't even mind the critics. It's the little things that
I know I'll beat myself up about. You know, we
just proved the first the first hard copy of the magazine,
and you know it's the little typos or the grammatical
errors that honestly, most people probably wouldn't even notice. But
you know, it's it's your baby. I want it to
be perfect. And so I feel like we have put
(10:57):
a lot of pressure on ourselves to make sure that
we are hopefully delivering the best possible product that we
can within our capabilities. Like I said, there are only
four of us. You know, it's a lot to ask
of four people. But I think people are gonna be
really excited about the final product.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
You said that you're doing, you know, on any given
day seven to eight jobs, what would you say your
favorite job has been in the creation of this product.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
Oh, that's a good question. It's been really nice to
put the editor back on I have spent the last
I went freelance in twenty seventeen, and so I've really
been writing I would say ninety percent of the time
over those years, and so it's nice to step away
(11:49):
from the writing and work with other writers to decide
what stories make the most sense, how we bring those
stories to life, how we make a diverse line that
really represents kind of all sides and categories within the
women's running space. And so that felt really fulfilling to me.
(12:09):
In this issue. I still wrote stories, I still want
to write more stories, but it was just nice to
take a step back and get to work on the
bigger picture as opposed to just my one or two stories.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
So I want to give some more context and shed
some light on why you are such a great person
to be creating this publication. I know we talked about
how from the get go you started your career at
Self magazine, But what is it about women's sports and
specifically women's running that aligns with your skill set to
(12:45):
make this partnership marriage publication such a perfect avenue for you.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
I don't know if I'm the perfect person. I'm just
the person who decided to do it at this point.
I think there are a lot of really incredible people
in the women's running space right now. I like to
think that I know a lot of them, and so
I look at my job as providing a platform to
(13:14):
the women in this space. And I think given my career,
I have worked at self, I've worked at Shape, I've
written for Runners World and Women's Running and Outside and
literally any publication that covers health and fitness. So I
have a lot of connections within this industry, and I
think I've been able to use those connections to get
(13:35):
people to believe in and invest in a project like this.
I mean, and I'm not just talking about writers. We're
going to have a lot of writers whose bylines you
recognize in the first issue you included, And that was
one part that I think was really important. I really
wanted to have credible voices within the space, you know,
I didn't want to start totally from scratch with unknowns.
(13:58):
I wanted to bring in the people that that I
really admire and respect. While also bringing in new writers,
of course, but I think having those connections with writers
who were just as excited about this as I was
was really great. But then also the partners who came on,
the advertising partners. You know, I know a lot of
people in this industry, and I've covered different brands and
(14:21):
different capacities over the past decade. But getting somebody to
come on and invest in a project like this that
is totally unknown, you know, we don't have the same
kind of numbers to prove proof of concept beyond the
kickstarter at this point. So those conversations were that was
probably the scariest part. I think getting people to invest
(14:44):
in something that I think is a good idea but
don't have proof that it's a good idea yet. And
so I think the fact that I was able to
get those partners on board, and partners I'm really excited
about and really proud of, goes to show kind of
the depth of experience and connection I have within the industry,
and hopefully I was able to use that in a
(15:04):
way that's going to really just set this up to
be a huge success, not just on the page, but
eventually off the page for sure.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
Now you know, a thing or two about putting yourself
out there. Specifically, when we talk about it in the
context of you as an athlete, I know you grew
up as a gymnast and then later in life came
to running. Why would you say that being a runner,
how would you say that your running has provided you
with the framework to take risks and do hard things
(15:35):
like creating this magazine from scratch.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
I mean, running is a hard thing, Like I don't
think there's anything about running that's easy, even on the
easy days. I think you have to make a choice
every day to do it and put yourself in a
position where you are doing something that is harder than
just existing. And so in my journey through running, I
(16:00):
mean I've done a lot of hard things. I've run
seventeen marathons, Like, you don't do that if you're not
comfortable with being uncomfortable, And it's been a journey in
learning how to embrace that discomfort. I don't think I'm
one hundred percent there, you know, It's like you're still
always going to hit that wall at some point. But
I do think that the mental or psychological evolution I've
(16:25):
had through running has really helped me deal with more
difficult things in my life, whether those are personal things
or professional things. I just I think knowing that I
can push myself through those really uncomfortable physical moments has
made you know, some other things just seem not so bad.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
Yeah, I know just from our relationship that this year,
especially the top of this year, certainly presented some challenges that,
although we've both experienced in the past, we're a little
bit louder than usual. Give us some context on how
the landscape of media provided a few hurdles for you
(17:04):
leading into the Top of twenty twenty.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Five this year. Given a lot of external factors in
the world which we won't go into, the media industry
is kind of harder than ever, and I think a
lot of publications I've written for over the years have
really focused on certain strategies that I totally understand but
(17:27):
just aren't the most fulfilling to participate in. I mean,
I love writing service stories where runners will google a
topic and you know, I help write an answer to
that for runners world or outside, or whoever it is.
But I found that those kind of stories were taking
up one hundred percent of my time and I missed
(17:47):
the real storytelling and by real. I just mean that
deeper reported really like delving into an issue, whether it's
whether it's an issue or just uncovering somebody's story, or
looking at a side of the industry that somebody hasn't
really thought about, and really like starting a deeper conversation.
There just isn't a lot of space for that kind
(18:08):
of storytelling in traditional media right now.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
And provide some insight on why that is so, Why
have traditional publication straight away from more of the storytelling?
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Okay, when you think about traditional publishing, a lot of
the websites that you visit are making their money off
of affiliate dollars or advertising, which is driven by clicks,
and so that's why you're seeing these like I'm going
to say engagement baiting. They're not all engagement baiting, but
it's the kind of language we've become accustomed to on
(18:41):
social media. They want your click, they want you to
look at their products, they want you to buy those
products because this is how these companies stay in business.
There is nothing wrong with that. I one hundred percent
support SEO strategies. I one hundred percent support eCOM strategies.
But I just think that there's also space for storytelling,
and I think that has gotten a little bit lost
(19:03):
in recent years in media. I mean, my whole journalism
career has been defined by pivoting, and I think anybody
who graduated in the late two thousands, early twenty tens
can relate. We pivoted to video, we pivoted to social,
we pivoted to eCOM, we pivoted back to video, and again,
(19:23):
there's nothing wrong with any of those things. I just
think sometimes the media industry has gone a little too
deep on one strategy at a time without leaving room
for what we all got into journalism to do, which
is tell stories. And so I hope that Runner can
coexist with all these other outlets. I think we are
just doing something a little bit different, and we have
(19:46):
different goals. I mean, we're not going to scale the
way some of these traditional publishing sites or social media
properties have scaled. That's not our goal. We want to
build a really deeply engaged community. It may be smaller,
but I think we're going to serve them in a
different way.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
Yeah, that's really beautiful.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
I do want to go back and double click a
little bit more on your running journey. I loved how
you said that I keep doing this and showing up
because clearly I am okay with getting uncomfortable. Talk to
me about maybe that first time that you realized, Hey,
I really like this unsettled, challenging feeling that this sport
(20:27):
gives me.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
I mean, I think it was my first big race,
which was a half iron Man, which I signed up
for because I am competitive, and I got the email
while I was working at Shape and I deleted it
because I was like, that's dumb, who does that? And
a coworker was like, I got that email too. I
think I'm going to do it, And I was like, well,
if you're going to do it, then I can do it.
(20:51):
And I feel like that just kind of defines my
whole approach to any kind of physical thing. I have
a lot of competition in me. In more recent years,
I think I have redirected that competition back towards myself.
I'm only competing against myself as opposed to the coworker
or other people within the industry. But that has been,
(21:14):
you know, a back and forth. I think we all
play the comparison game in running. But anyway, back to
that first race, I did this iron Man, this half
iron Man, I thought I was going to drown in
the swim. I absolutely hated it. It was awful. The
bike I grew up cycling, my dad's a big cyclist.
I thought that was going to be a piece of cake.
I was so bored, and the running is what's stuck.
I did the run at the end and I was like, Oh, this,
(21:34):
this feels manageable. I could keep doing this. But when
I finished that race, I came through the finish line,
I met my parents and I said, I think I
could do that better. And here we are. You know,
I did my first marathon I think around six months later,
and it was the same kind of feeling. I was like, oh,
this I really like, but I think I could do
(21:55):
it better. And we have now done it seventeen times
and we at it. It's not a linear journey.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
It's definitely not a linear journey.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
I want to double click on this aspect of competition,
because I find that to be something that so many
people can both really relate to and also find challenging.
You said that now you're really looking to yourself as
your own competition rather than looking at those around you
and framing it in that way. How have you successfully
(22:25):
done that for yourself and what tools or tricks have
you implemented into your ecosystem that enable and empower you
to really keep the blinders on and focus on your
own journey.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
Well, I think it is a journey. It's definitely a
work in progress. I think it's probably something you can
relate to too. We are surrounded by a lot of
people who do the same things that we do in
terms of physical activity, the same races, the same kind
of training, similar time goals, and I think for a
long time I would compare myself to those people. I
(23:02):
wasn't necessarily competing against them, but oh, if somebody is
doing this, I should be doing this. If somebody's training
like this, that's how I should be training, or why
is my training not delivering the same result? And I
think a lot of that comes with living our lives
very online, and it's a necessary part of the job
right at this point. You kind of can't be a
(23:26):
writer or a creator without having some kind of public
facing brand. It helps you get work, it helps you
be more recognizable with in the industry, it opens up doors,
and so that is just a necessary part of the
job at this point. That was not a part of
the job when I first started, and so I think
it took me some time to learn how to navigate
(23:48):
that very public facing side of this job. And I
really I would say over time, that's been my biggest
hurdle in running, trying to separate running for me and
running for my job. And the best way that I've
found is by just setting boundaries. I mean, and that's
a result of therapy. Those those boundaries don't just apply
(24:09):
to you know, running in social media, but some things
are just for me. I don't share my pace on Instagram.
I mean, you can obviously find it if you go
on Strava, but for me, not sharing it on Instagram
helps me not look at what other people are posting.
I don't share goal races on Instagram. I just if
it's a goal race, it's my own. I keep that
(24:31):
to myself and I'll share it afterwards. I think just
separating some of the things that I do for me
from the work side of my life has really helped
just embrace like a better attitude about those things. I'm
not thinking about how am I going to spend this
on Instagram, you know, in the middle of a marathon,
(24:51):
I'm just thinking about like, how are you going to
get through this next mile, which like it's such it's
such a weird thing to be running at like mile
eighteen and being like, oh god, I'm not going to
hit my goal. Like one am the to tell people
nobody actually cares. I care, because I've put it out
there in the world. I know nobody else actually cares.
But if I'm thinking about it, that's a problem. And
so by removing that as an even possibility, it's helped
(25:15):
me kind of just keep certain things about running to myself.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
Put me in your shoes.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
The last time that you felt like you were psychologically
thinking in that performative way, when was that, And in
that moment did you realize that, Okay, I've got to
make a change.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
It was probably before I ran the Saint George Marathon
in twenty twenty three. I can't actually remember the exact
moment that made me decide not to share that I
was running Saint George, But afterwards I realized, I want
to do this for me. I want this race to
be about me and my friends who came to support me,
(25:55):
and an experience that I'm having in real time as
opposed to something i'm doing to share with some larger community.
I don't even know really what the motivations were in sharing.
It's not like, oh, I'm going to do this marathon
so I can grow my followers, Like that's not the motivation.
But I think at this point, we're just so conditioned
(26:16):
to share so much of our lives with strangers that
I was just doing it kind of unconsciously. And before
the Saint George Marathon, I thought, what if I just
like didn't tell anybody about this, what if I just
like did it for myself, And then in the race,
I don't have to think about anybody else. The only
person that I need to be thinking about is myself.
(26:37):
And that I mean, that's exactly what happened. I got
to the point in the race where I was like, well,
this is hard. I don't know why you ever try running,
you know, harder than whatever pace, Like maybe you're just
meant to go at this slower pace. And then I
was like, you know, we're going to just shuffle our thoughts,
pick the next thought, and keep going. And so I
literally instead of thinking about like anything to do with
(26:59):
the race itself or what I was feeling or anything,
I was just like I am in a beautiful place.
Look at where I am. This is so beautiful right now.
How lucky am I to be in this place? And
by kind of short circuiting those thoughts, I ended up
having just such a better race experience.
Speaker 3 (27:16):
The short circuiting of those thoughts and this idea that
you have the opportunity to short circuit your thoughts at
any time is also something that A is very commendable,
but B takes practice and takes work. I know that
that can be even more challenging when you're dealing with
something that feels bigger than you you personally, just like
(27:38):
all of us have navigated your fair share of injuries.
I know that a specific injury has been plaguing you
over the last couple of years. Now, talk to me
about what you've learned about yourself through navigating injury over
the last few years and what you've been dealing with.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
It's funny, this is actually the first real injury, and
I put injury in because it doesn't feel like a
typical injury, although it is something that has been impacting
me for over a year now, so I guess it
is an injury, and it's a tough injury. Because I
can still run through it, and I've still even pr
with it. It just feels awful. And so basically, it's
(28:18):
a diaphragm oblique side situation that affects my breathing when
I run. So when I hit race pace, it just
becomes deeply uncomfortable. And I think there is always a
certain level of discomfort that comes with racing, but this
is a different kind of discomfort. This is the kind
that you don't run through that it kind of stops
you in your tracks. And I think in dealing with
(28:40):
it, it's forced me to take a little bit of a
step back and look at some of the things that
I was lucky enough to not really have to pay
attention to for a long time, the basics of running,
how I hold my body, how I breathe when I run.
I've started working with pets for the first time specific
to Meviously, I interview peetees all the time and would
(29:02):
highly recommend that everybody connect with one, but it was
really interesting to just start working with some different pets
one on one and learn about my body in a
way that I really hadn't thought about before. And you know,
not just on the run, but I you know, was
encouraged to get a standing desk and change my position
throughout the day and get a computer monitor, and just
(29:23):
things that reminded me, Oh, it's not just about what
we do on the run. It's there's everything else in
your life comes into play here, including like how you
hold your body when you're stressed and how you breathe
when you're running and understress. So it's it's made me
confront some things that I probably should have dealt with
a while ago. And it's also really helped me realize
(29:47):
that like running through pain and discomfort is not always
like a flex you know, it is not an injury
in the sense that like it's not a stress fracture.
I don't I don't have a torn any but you
have to listen to your body and I acknowledge when
the discomfort is taking away the joy of running. And
(30:09):
I think that's been the biggest problem for me with
this injury. Like I said, I've still prred with this
going on. You know, it's happened. You know you were
there at Terry Blossom. I still ran faster than I
ever have, but I was miserable for you know, five
miles of that race because I was so angry at
my body and the fact that something was happening that
was outside of my control. And so it's helped me
(30:34):
kind of step back a little bit to be like,
why are you doing this? Do you want to do this?
Are you ready to do this? Is it going to
be worth it if you don't feel good during it?
And so I have said no to certain things this
year because it isn't worth it to me to be
in that situation where I know this is most likely
going to happen and I don't have the mental well
(31:00):
at this point to pull from to be angry about
it in the middle of the race.
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Speaker 2 (32:09):
But when I tell you, I.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
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I just got back from Tokyo for the World Athletics Championships,
and I am focused on not making my sleep schedule
under control, but really just doing everything I can to
take care of my body right now, and ag one
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three K two and welcome kid with your purchase. I
don't think that there's anything wrong with that though, and
I think it's such a beautiful moment. Like we talked
about reclaiming running for you and doing these races and
(33:32):
keeping them for yourself. And so what is happening now
with this injury lbit being quite frustrating, is that you
are coming back to yourself and you're asking yourself, if
this journey isn't enjoyable, then no amount of prs are
going to make the journey worthwhile. And so if you
(33:54):
ask me, like, why is this happening right now? I
would argue that it gave you an opportunity to explore
things outside of yourself.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
I e. Now what you're doing with runner.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
Yeah, you know it's funny. I was dead set on
running a marathon this fall. I had all the plans
in place, I was training, and I just I had
this realization a couple weeks ago where I was like,
I don't want to do this. I don't want to
do it, not because I can't. You know, I could
definitely still run twenty six point two miles right now,
(34:31):
but if I did, I know it wouldn't be in
the way that I want to run it right now.
And that's not just because of the injury. I actually,
I mean, I don't know what would happen with the
injury at this point, but it was more the idea
that stress is stress, right, and even good stress is stress.
Your body can't tell the difference. This is something I've
talked about a million times on social media. I've written
(34:52):
multiple articles about it. Good stress is still stress, And
I think I came to the realization that this fall,
my marathon is Runner, bringing Runner into the world, and
I didn't want to take away from that experience, which
I'm really really excited about by adding another really stressful
physical experience on top of that. That might not go
(35:13):
the way that I want it to because I'm just
not in the headspace for that right now, and then
that would take away from the excitement around Runner. So
Runner is my marathon this fall.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
Runner is my marathon this fall for sure.
Speaker 3 (35:25):
And also of note, I mean, you're a twice certified
run coach as well. I know recently someone reached out
to me and they were asking me about my experience
pulling out if I had ever pulled out from a race.
I myself have pulled out previously because of an injury,
and I knew that I would only make it worse
by towing a starting line at that particular time. You're
(35:47):
speaking to something that I think is a really helpful conversation,
which is, if your head's just not in it.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
The question that.
Speaker 3 (35:54):
Was in my DMS is is it okay? You're the
only one that gets to make that decision, right right?
Speaker 1 (36:00):
No, I think it's so okay. I think I think
more people should think about that and have that conversation
with themselves because I think, you know, I've run a
lot of marathons. I love running the marathon. I really
enjoy pushing myself kind of past that limit and finding
where that limit is. But I have run marathons where
(36:21):
I've not been mentally in it, and that is so unfun. Like,
I don't want to do that again, because if you're
committing yourself to running twenty six point two miles, especially
if you have a goal in mind and you are
just not mentally ready to fight for that, you're then
stuck running twenty six point two miles. Yeah, without that motivation.
(36:43):
And I don't know. I just I think that at
this point in my life, if I'm going to run
a marathon, I want to be fully invested in that
marathon and do the best that I can, unless, of course,
it's a race for fun, I'm pacing a friend or
something like that. That is obviously a totally different approach
to a race. But I approached this fall thinking I
(37:04):
am going to go for a big goal, and then
I got to this ball and I was like, I
don't want.
Speaker 3 (37:10):
Toah, I don't want to. But again, this is so
much bigger than just sport.
Speaker 2 (37:15):
Right.
Speaker 3 (37:15):
We talked about how earlier you were saying that there
were certain projects or articles or items that you were
working on that just didn't really feel fulfilling for you.
And so what I'm really hearing you say is that
this is a lesson that just spans so many categories
in life as a whole.
Speaker 1 (37:31):
Yeah. No, I think it's so important. And I think
that's again where Runner was sort of born from. I
love my job as a journalist. I don't want to
change that job, you know. I have had many conversations
about the longevity and the sustainability of a journalism career
in this media landscape. And I think if you look
(37:57):
at it from where I looked at it ten years ago,
fifteen years ago, those jobs don't exist anymore. It's changed
so much. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, but
I think it's very hard in this media landscape to
make a full time living as a writer. It really is.
And I think any freelancer will agree with you on that,
will agree with me. But that doesn't mean there isn't
(38:20):
space for editorial and storytelling. We're seeing it in digital
first outlets. We're seeing it in this boom of social
media creators in the podcast world. I mean, there are
so many other ways to tell stories. And I think
coming back to this idea of an independent print magazine,
I think people are ready for that, you know. I
(38:42):
think they are tired of scrolling. It's always going to
be a part of our lives, but I think people
would welcome a break from that. I think these magazines
are very different from your traditional newsstand publication that you're getting,
you know, once a month or I mean, god, do
you remember when they were weekly? These are more like
luxury products, you know, It's something that you invest in
(39:05):
because you are a part of that community. And I
think people want to support things like that, and so,
like I said before, I don't think it's going to
be on the same scale as you know, a traditional
monthly magazine. But that's okay, you don't need to be
I think smaller publications can really thrive and be profitable
(39:28):
because they have a really, really deeply engaged community and
that's all you need.
Speaker 3 (39:33):
You've spoken so beautifully about so many of the challenges
and hurdles that are associated with creating a product from scratch.
It's also deeply important when you are building to make
sure that you're surrounding yourself with the right people who
give you this support. I can speak as someone who
used to be like very dialed in on like I've
got to do this on my own. I don't need you,
(39:54):
Like I've got this. I used to really feel like that,
and now I have integrated people into the bubble that
helped me stay sane. And Okay, what's your experience been
like with that as you've been getting this off the ground.
Speaker 1 (40:07):
Oh, this wouldn't be off the ground if I didn't
have people helping me. Literally, there are not enough hours
in the day. I mean, I probably would have had
to start like a year in advance if I didn't
have help. But even if I had started that early,
something like this, you absolutely need help. You need other
sets of eyes to be looking at the pages to
(40:27):
catch errors that you missed. You need people to bounce
ideas off of to make sure you have a diverse
and balanced lineup in the magazine. I mean, this would
not have happened without having a team of people, and
I think that's what makes it so special. I mean,
we are all women, we are all runners, and we
(40:48):
have all been around this community for so long that
we each sort of brought our own perspectives on the
industry and the community to this project. And I think
that it's better for it.
Speaker 3 (41:02):
Honestly, as someone who's great at pivoting, I'm going to
pivot a little bit with you here. Tell me a
little bit about where you stand, what your thoughts are,
your excitement about the state of women's running and women's
sports as a whole right now.
Speaker 1 (41:14):
I just think it's all so exciting. I mean, there's
just such a groundswell of support around women's sports in general.
And I'm not going to pretend that I know a
ton about women's sports as a whole. I mean, I'm
not the biggest sports fan in the world, but I'm
a huge women's running fan and a huge running fan,
and the fact that women are driving this boom is
(41:35):
just wild to me. I want to make sure that
women's running is included in that. And I think that
there are two sides of it, right Like there's the sport,
which is the results and the events and the real
time kind of race coverage. But then there's also sport
which is like wellness and health and the community that's
driving running, which, like when you look at running, running
(41:56):
is the biggest participatory sport out there and make up
the majority of runners right now. So the fact that
we're still approaching this sport from kind of a male
first lens feels outdated to me. And so I want
women's voices to be elevated and amplified, and I want
women to have a space within the running community that
(42:18):
is truly just theirs. I'm not saying that other places
aren't covering women's running, because there are places that do
a great job, but there are very very few that
are dedicated just to covering women's running and going beyond
just the race side of the sport into what makes
these runners so compelling and who's doing what within the industry,
(42:40):
And so I think there is a lot of room
to continue elevating these voices and amplifying the women who
are doing really incredible things within the community. And I
hope that Runner becomes a space where that is just
it's just part of the DNA of our men.
Speaker 3 (43:01):
As a coach and a veteran journalist, what would you
attribute the majority of the running boom being women to?
What do you think is the reason why women are
gravitating towards this sport specifically?
Speaker 1 (43:18):
I think there are two pieces of it. I think
it's empowerment. I think it's the feeling of strength and
freedom that you get from it. And I think it's
the community, the feeling of connection that you get from it.
And I think that is true for women at any
end of the spectrum, whether you are, you know, breaking
records at the highest level of the sport, or you
(43:39):
are showing up at a run club for the first
time and you've never run more than a mile since
pe class. I think that's kind of the beauty of it.
There are so many women from different paths in life
finding this sport and connecting with each other in a
way that like maybe we didn't really have before. And
I think it's also important that this comes at a
time when like women rights are being threatened to a
(44:01):
certain extent. Like, again, I don't want to go down
that road, but I think having this place and this
community where you can turn to to make you feel
good physically and emotionally is just really really important right now.
Speaker 3 (44:16):
Yeah, And I love what you're pointing out about that
you can be at any level. There is a lot
of frustration that comes hand in hand with feeling as
though maybe.
Speaker 2 (44:25):
You're not advanced enough to be part of a community.
Speaker 3 (44:28):
But we fall back on this concept that the community
you're after is yours to build, right or yours to seek,
And so there are so many different access points that
people can get into running at and I would say
that that's also something that attributes to the boom that
we're seeing.
Speaker 1 (44:45):
Yes, absolutely at this point in this running boom. If
we look at everything that's happened since twenty nineteen, if
you don't think there's a community for you, you're not
looking hard enough. You know, there are so many run clubs,
There are so many run stores that are welcoming people in.
There are so many online communities where you can find
(45:06):
a space. I mean that was part of what drew
me in. When I did that Iron Man back in
twenty fifteen. My friends thought I was insane. They were like,
You've never done anything like this in your life, Like
what we do not understand? And so I really I
turned to social media and was asking questions and was
sharing my experiences, and you know, people from like all
(45:26):
corners of the world were offering tips and sharing advice
with me on how to get through this iron Man journey.
And I think that's only exploded since twenty fifteen. I mean,
when I even look at New York, you know, I
lived in New York until twenty nineteen, the run club
scene there was so different. You know. It was either
the massive Nike run clubs, which were like four hundred
(45:48):
plus people and you never knew if you were going
to see the same people when you went back, or
the really small, you know, kind of intimidating I would say,
like good runners who were like pay faster than me,
and it's like that those are the only options you
had and now when I go back to New York
every year for the marathon, it's like, I mean, there
are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of run clubs that
(46:08):
are welcoming people of all different running backgrounds. Whether you're
brand new or you're you know, an OTQ runner, Like
it doesn't matter. There is a community for you. And
I think that is just like so so important and
I don't think that's going away anytime soon.
Speaker 3 (46:24):
What would you say, And there's so many ways that
this answer could go, but what would you say that.
Speaker 2 (46:32):
Running's biggest gifts have been to you?
Speaker 1 (46:37):
Hmm, Well, I wouldn't have a career at this point
if not for running. No, that's not true. I would
have a career, but my career would look very very different.
But I think more importantly community. I started running because
I was in that stage of life where you know,
I was going to boutique gym classes and I was
(46:59):
doing the cycling and the lifting and just like not
really meeting people, not connecting with people until I started running,
And all of a sudden, it was like this whole
world opened up to me in terms of both online
and real life communities. And I don't know where I
would be without those communities at this point, Like I
(47:20):
moved to a different state, you know, that was because
of running. And then mentally psychologically, I think what we
talked about before, just the mental strength that you develop
through running. If you really, you know, if you're committed
to running and you're doing hard things like training for
long distance races, like you have to be really mentally tough.
(47:42):
And I think over the past decade, the mental toughness
that I have developed through this sport has helped me
in so many other aspects of my life. And you know,
I've had to make some really hard decisions at certain points,
and I think I was able to make them not
just because of running, but because of some of the
things that I learned on the run.
Speaker 3 (48:03):
I really appreciate what you said about if you're looking
for a community and you feel like there's not one
for you, that you're not looking hard enough. For someone
who does feel really intimidated about just beginning on the run,
what advice do you have to offer to them?
Speaker 1 (48:19):
You just have to do it. I know that sucks
as advice. I know that is not necessarily what somebody
wants to hear when they're scared of something. But it's
what I have to tell myself. You just have to
start doing it. And if you start doing it by yourself,
you will eventually develop the confidence to show up at
a group. If you just show up at a group,
the people there are going to prove to you that
(48:41):
there is no reason to be afraid. It's very hard
to put yourself in a situation where you don't know
somebody and you feel like you might be the slowest
or the last. But like I promise that the majority
of runners are not out to make you feel bad.
I mean when I moved to Colorado, yes I was
our be an experienced runner at that point, but I
(49:02):
mean this was a whole different ballgame. The people who
live in Colorado are next level intense And I was
also learning to run an altitude while marathon training, and
I remember showing up for, you know, one of my
first run clubs, and I was so nervous about just
getting dropped. I didn't know the route I was doing,
like an eighteen mile run, and the one of the
women who had founded the run club was like, I
(49:23):
got you. I got two people ready to run with you.
They're going to run your work out with you, and
I was like, what, Like, I don't even know these people,
and they did. And the workout did not go well
by the way, Like I did not nail the workout.
I definitely walked a lot. I think I stopped go
to the bathroom at one point, and these two people
stayed with me the whole time, just so that nobody
would be left behind. I mean, it's not the run
club that I run with is not a no drop group,
(49:45):
but people don't get dropped, at least not in the
slower pace groups. And so I think if you do
your research and find a group that caters to the
type of running that you think you're capable of, then
you will be surprised by how we welcoming people are.
Nobody's trying to make anybody feel bad, nobody's trying to
make anybody feel less. Then you just have to show up.
Speaker 3 (50:06):
What would you say that success would feel like for
you with Runner?
Speaker 1 (50:15):
With Runner, I think success for Runner would be really
just creating that space for female runners. I want this
to be a safe place that really recognizes all aspects
(50:36):
of the running community. And when I think about success,
that really means just showing up on the page in
that way, but then bringing this brand to life off
the page as well. I hope that we can get
to a point where we are sort of a major
player in the conversations around women's running. You know, we're
(50:59):
showing up where runners are. And then at the end
of the day, I hope that we are able to
change some of the conversations around women's running and drive
real change in areas of the sport, whether it's representation
or you know, financial equality or I don't even know
(51:20):
what that looks like yet, but I hope that we
can get to a point where our stories are helping
shape a new conversation around women's running within the broader
running community.
Speaker 3 (51:31):
Yeah, and when you think about and this is a
common thing that happens here. But I'm like, Okay, this
is what it could look like. Right, what does it
feel like?
Speaker 1 (51:41):
Oh? It feels like an exhale. No, seriously, I remember
when we last week sent the first issue to the printer,
And that doesn't mean it's coming to your mailboxes, you know.
As soon as we do that, it means, you know,
we have finished every page of the magazine. We are
sending it to the printer. We have like one more
chance to kind of get it right. But it was
(52:03):
in that moment that I just felt this like weight
off my shoulders, Like I am so proud and excited
about it, and it might not be perfect, but we've
done the best that we can and now I can
just like relax a little bit, and I just I
don't know. I think it feels like something that has
(52:28):
driven me practically manic at times, but also feels so
fulfilling and so exciting that I like can't wait to
do it again.
Speaker 2 (52:37):
I love to hear that. How do you celebrate yourself?
Speaker 3 (52:40):
Ash, You're like, that's funny.
Speaker 2 (52:43):
What's that?
Speaker 1 (52:44):
I ran ten miles down two thousand feet of elevation
and destroyed my legs? That's how I celebrate No, that's
literally what I did the next morning. How do I
celebrate myself? I'm not very good at that, to be honest,
I think that is an area that I could definitely improve.
(53:06):
I celebrated this by just taking some time for some
self care. I took a bath. You know. I love that.
I would really like to celebrate this on a larger
level with the running community. I think that's when the
real celebration will happen, right, now it feels very like, well,
it's off to the printer and you'll see it in
your mailboxes in a couple of weeks. And so I
(53:28):
think I will really feel like celebrating when I have
it in my hands and when I see other people
have it in their hands, and then I will feel
like popping over a bottle of champagne. And I don't know,
treating myself to something.
Speaker 2 (53:40):
Else and a full sugar coke.
Speaker 1 (53:44):
I don't need an excuse to treat myself to a
full sugar.
Speaker 2 (53:47):
If anyone loves a full sugar coke, it's you.
Speaker 1 (53:51):
I do well.
Speaker 3 (53:52):
Right now, someone comes to your Instagram page, they see
you the editor in chief of Runner. They go to
your threads. You've got something like twenty four thousand people
over there. But when you look in the mirror, Ashley,
what is it that you see looking at you?
Speaker 1 (54:05):
Hmm? I see someone who's trying her best. I don't
have it all figured out. I don't always get it right.
But I think when I look at myself right now,
I see somebody who has created a space that fits
really well, and I'm really excited to see how I
can expand that space.
Speaker 3 (54:25):
I think it's so beautiful that you have that level
of recognition and appreciation for yourself. And I also I've
been having these conversations lately about intentions, and it's almost
like it starts with you when we talk about having
good intentions, Like, if you can have good intentions for
yourself and the work that you do, then you can
(54:46):
look in the mirror confidently and be like, I am
proud of who I am. And that also extends to
your relationships with other people. There are going to be
people in life that may not assume that you have
the best intentions. Well, if they you and they know
your heart and they still feel that way, they're probably
not your people. Yeah, So to hear that you look
(55:06):
in the mirror and you say, you know what, I'm
really doing my best and like genuinely believing that it's
something that's commendable.
Speaker 2 (55:13):
But it's also something that a lot of people struggle with.
Speaker 1 (55:15):
I mean, it's a work in progress for sure. If
you had asked me that six months ago, I don't
know if I would have said that answer. I think
you know, you go through seasons where you sometimes feel
good about yourself and sometimes you don't, and you could
be trying your best in all aspects of your life
and still not always feel great. And I've definitely had
(55:38):
those times. I think there's been a real roller coaster
emotionally at times. But I don't know. I think when
you find something that feels good and feels like you're
doing the right thing for you, it can change really quickly.
And so I just when I look at Runner, I
(55:58):
think this is what.
Speaker 3 (55:59):
Fits right now, hold on to the good right Yeah,
well right now, Ash, you have an opportunity to offer
yourself a piece of advice. I'm going to go back
and talk a little bit about that roller coaster that
is being your own boss, that is being a freelance journalist,
that is struggling to land pitches and find money and
asking yourself, what the hell am I doing here?
Speaker 2 (56:19):
Knowing what you know?
Speaker 1 (56:21):
Now?
Speaker 3 (56:21):
What advice would you give to yourself during these hurdle moments?
Speaker 1 (56:27):
Trust yourself. I think the nature of freelancing is kind
of feast or famine, and so when you are in
those famine periods, it's really hard to trust that it
will work out. And I think for me it came
down to trusting my resume and my portfolio and my
(56:48):
connections and my belief in this idea. You know, it's
it's really hard to take that leap of faith and
know that you're going to have to put earning an
income on the back burner for a little while in
order to bring a project like this to life. But
the way that I've gotten through it is really just
trusting the process. I believe that this is a good idea.
(57:10):
I believe that other people believe this is a good idea,
and you know, we'll see.
Speaker 3 (57:15):
I would be remiss if I let you go today
before I just at least get the backstory of where
you were when you decided that the name was Runner.
Speaker 1 (57:23):
Oh God, that was like one of those ideas that
just like came to me at night, like it just
it truly just popped into my head and I was like, oh,
if I start a magazine, that's the name, that's the name.
Speaker 3 (57:36):
Yeah, I love when it clicks like that.
Speaker 1 (57:40):
I know it was just one of them. I was like,
I can't let this go. This is too good to
pass up. So now I'm waiting for that inspiration to
strike me. I need a shirt.
Speaker 2 (57:48):
Oh a shirt. We need a woman's slogan shirt.
Speaker 3 (57:50):
So if you're listening, to this and you have an
idea for Ash, you can find her on the social
which we're going to get to you.
Speaker 2 (57:55):
Ash. So happy that we had this conversation today. For
those that.
Speaker 3 (57:58):
Aren't following along with you just yet, give us the info.
Where do we find you and where do we find Runner?
Speaker 1 (58:03):
You can find me on all platforms at Ashley Matteo
and same with Runner at Runner Mag. Find us on
Instagram threads. We've got all the other platforms. We'll get
to putting content up there eventually, and then runnermag dot
com is where you can subscribe.
Speaker 2 (58:21):
So excited for you.
Speaker 3 (58:22):
I'm over at Emily Body and at Hurdle Podcast another
Hurdle conquered.
Speaker 2 (58:26):
Catch you guys next time
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