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#134 - Are you struggling to stay motivated with your running routine? The secret might not be a new training plan or fancy gear, but rather the power of community. In this episode, we sit down with Kayla and Jarrod Zwirko, founders of H2gO Run Club, to explore how running communities can transform your running journey and help you achieve goals you never thought possible.
From their transformation from non-runners to marathoners to building an inclusive running community that welcomes "all paces and faces," Kayla and Jarrod share valuable insights about the importance of connection, accountability, and support. This conversation highlights how finding your running community might be the most critical step in your running journey.
Topics Covered:
- How community accountability helps runners stay consistent and push beyond their perceived limitations
- The importance of avoiding comparison with other runners
- Building an inclusive running space that welcomes everyone from complete beginners to experienced marathoners
- How running communities provide both the initial inspiration to start and the ongoing motivation to continue
Today’s Guests
Kayla Zwirko
Kayla's running journey began in 2020, inspired by her husband, Jarrod. After an unexpected opportunity to run the 2022 Boston Marathon—she returned in 2023, cutting over an hour from her time. This ignited a passion that led to multiple marathons, a 50-mile ultramarathon, and a run coaching certification. Now, she coaches with NYRR, provides 1:1 coaching, emcees for the Hartford Marathon Foundation, and co-founded H2gO to inspire and connect runners.
Jarrod Zwirko
Jarrod started running in 2020 after being inspired by The Hole in the Wall Gang’s NYC Marathon team. A former swimmer, he took on marathon training as a new challenge and has since completed seven marathons, now aiming for the World Marathon Majors. Seeking a running community, he and Kayla founded H2gO Life to connect and inspire fellow runners.
H2gO
H2gO is built on inclusivity, welcoming all paces and faces, and since 2023, has quickly grown through local collaborations and a wider meetup radius, showcasing our dedication to building a strong running community. Whether you're training for a marathon or just getting started, it’s a supportive space for runners and walkers of all levels.
Follow H2gO:
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one thing that can significantlyimprove your running experience
the power of a runningcommunity.
You'll also hear inspiringstories from a husband and wife
who recently started their ownrunning journey and set out to
help others do the same.
Hope you enjoy.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Welcome to Inspire to
Run Podcast.
Here you will find inspiration,whether you are looking to take
control of your health andfitness or you are a seasoned
runner looking for community andsome extra motivation.
You will hear inspiring storiesfrom amazing runners, along
with helpful tips from fitnessexperts.
Now here's your host, richardConnor.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Hi, my friend,
Welcome to Inspire to Run
podcast.
I have the pleasure of sittingdown with Kayla and Jared Zwerko
, runners and founders of H2GoRun Club.
H2go is built on inclusivity,welcoming all paces and faces,
and, since 2023, has quicklygrown through local
collaborations and a widermeetup radius, showcasing their
(01:05):
dedication to building a strongrunning community.
Welcome to the show, kayla andJared.
Thanks, richard, thanks forhaving us.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
We're so excited.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Absolutely, and just
for the listeners, I met Kayla
and Jared just about a month ortwo ago and attended one of the
run clubs, which was super funand I'm a bit of an introvert
and just in general, butespecially when I'm running, I
generally run alone and unlessI'm running races, and it was
just really a cool experienceand cool to see what you know
(01:34):
you guys have built.
So you know, really love tolearn more about you and learn
more about the run club and justkind of running in general to
help, kind of, our listeners asthey, you know, progress in
their running journey.
Speaker 4 (01:49):
So you know, with
that Jared, I'd love to just
start with you and just hear alittle bit about you and your
journey.
Cool, thanks, and thanks forthat nice compliment.
We loved having you and I'mglad that you had a good time
meeting up with us.
As you said, I started, youknow, running somewhat kind of
on a really weird journey.
I was never a runner, I was aswimmer my entire life and I had
run one 5k before.
(02:11):
But I went to the 2019 New Yorkcity marathon.
I worked for the hole in thewall gang camp and I went to
cheer on our charity group and Iwas so inspired by just
watching all of these peoplecome from all walks of earth and
are out there trying to do thisawesome feat.
(02:32):
And I came home to Kayla and Isaid I don't know what this
means, but I'm going to do thisnext year.
I'm going to run the New YorkCity Marathon and that really
kind of just started my journey.
And I remember getting on thetreadmill on January 1st of 2020
and trying to really like runthree miles and it was painful
(02:53):
but I just kept with it.
And now we're seven marathonslater and kind of just working
towards the world marathons andthat was a that kind of that
kind of that was a littleimpetus in kind of our running
journey and I'll let Kayla tellabout her her running journey
and then a little bit about howH2Go came about.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Yeah, so you know,
very similarly, I didn't start
running until 2020 either.
I grew up, my parents are bigrunners and so it's always been
something that's been around me,but my dad used to just tell us
to like go out, go run, and itjust never seemed like something
I was interested in, so I wouldnever considered myself a
runner at all until 2020.
(03:33):
Jared comes home with thiscrazy idea I'm going to run the
New York City Marathon.
I said you have barely run a 5K, what do you think you're doing
?
And he's like I don't know, Ijust have to do this.
And so he, uh, he, he signs up.
And you know, I thought, well,he's going to be out there
training for something.
I guess like, I'll, I'll signup for something and we'll just
(03:56):
see how I do.
And so I started running and itwas painful and hard and, as you
know, you know you're startingout and you're like what?
What even am I doing?
I can't consider myself arunner.
I'm run, walking, there's somany different layers to it and,
uh, you know, we, being in 2020, kept having these races that
were postponed and then theywere canceled and finally I'm
(04:17):
like I'm just running.
I don't even know what I'mrunning for anymore, and so that
quickly snowballed.
We were given an opportunity torun Boston.
That ended up being my firstmarathon, which was just a wild
time.
And now for me, six marathonslater, I am, you know, I'm
definitely in the if you do it,I'll do it camp.
(04:38):
So we have plenty of people whowill approach us and say, hey,
I want to do this this weekendand I never thought I would ever
be the person to drop of a hatsign up for a half marathon.
So, Jared's right, we're on ourjourney for the you know, the
six world majors that that we'reattempting, and so we're well
on our way there.
(04:58):
We're both running Chicago inOctober, so I'm really excited
about that.
Hopefully we can both get anice, nice little PR.
So we'll see.
But the fact that I even amthinking about those things is
just so wild to me in the longrun.
So that's a little bit about usand like the journey of how we
got here In terms of H2Go youknow that was something that I
(05:22):
had in my brain is like thisidea of I wanted to be able to
get back to different races.
I think that was the initialprecipice of it and being this
cool group that maybe was adedicated aid station at all
these different races locallyand I wanted to call us
Hydration Station and Jared saidno, I wanted to call us
(05:45):
hydration station.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
And Jared said no,
cool for a water stop, but not
necessarily for like a run club.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
Yeah, the community
was not.
So for anyone who's listening,who also is part of H2Go, know
that we could have been calledhydration station, so imagine
that on the sweatshirts.
But yeah, so we kind of playedaround with this idea.
I thought I was crazy.
Jared was super supportive ofit and we came up with H2Go.
(06:11):
We had this idea of like waterand endurance and like making
sure that you're hydrated in atime where, like, you deplete
the tank pretty regularly,whether you are just starting
and you have no idea what you'redoing, or you're training for
something really epic and huge.
So we had that piece of it andwe wanted that like go mentality
, that movement that you knowjust have that forward momentum.
(06:34):
And so that's really how H2Gowas born.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
Yeah, and I think one
of the other things that we
that we kind of came to theconclusion is meeting people as
adults is tough, and so we moveddown to Connecticut about eight
years ago from New Hampshireand we were trying to meet
people.
And when you're a kid you goout and play and it just kind of
(06:58):
comes naturally, and so we kindof thought of this as like a
combination of, like Kayla said.
So we kind of thought of thisas like a combination of, like
Kayla said, you know, givingback to the community, inspiring
you know other people andmotivating other people, really
inspiring and motivating us sothat we could run with other
people other than each other orourselves, but also to actually
get to meet some people.
(07:18):
So it really kind of broke theice for that to be able to have
meet people that are like minded.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Yeah, I agree with
that, and the flip side of that
is the rare and unique case ofmeeting somebody during your
travels.
That then connects you guyswith me right.
Yeah, right my coach met youguys during your travels
together and that's just reallyrare and excellent that that
happened, but that's not commonright?
(07:46):
So, like you said, it's noteasy to meet folks as adults and
I kind of love what you'vebuilt and, yeah, I think you've
made the right choice in termsof your name and branding I do
agree there.
So that's kind of cool to hearthe backstory.
You definitely made the rightdecision.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
Yeah, it's fair.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Thanks, so that's
cool and congratulations on all
the races that you've done andthe paths and the marathons.
And you know, I had that dreamat one point in time of like,
hey, I'm going to run my firstmarathon last year and I thought
it was going to be New Yorkcity.
And then for a brief moment I'mlike, well, I'm going to run
New York city, I might as welldo the rest of the majors, and I
can do that over the next fiveyears, of course.
(08:23):
And so then I was quicklybrought back down to earth and
I'm like you know what, let mejust see this one out first and
figure out the rest, which youknow.
You may know my story.
I didn't get into New York City, which which is fine, but I ran
my first marathon last year andit was just an amazing
experience.
So I totally get what you wentthrough the kind of the first
time around, but you stuck withit and I think that's awesome,
(08:44):
yeah, thanks.
And then you built this amazingcommunity and you know I've been
thinking about this a lot,right?
So we talk about mindset,movement and motivation on the
show, like there are threepillars.
And motivation is reallyinteresting because you know,
you're not always motivated todo your workouts or, you know,
do your runs or really kind ofhave that kind of fitness
mindset for a variety of reasons.
(09:04):
But if you have a race on thecalendar, you know that kind of
motivates you to stay on plan.
Or, you know, maybe a friend ofyours gets you into fitness in
the beginning so that kind ofgets you going.
But I love what you builtaround like community because I
feel like maybe we come becausesomeone gets us into it but then
we stay for the community.
I feel like that's the vibethat I got from you know, at
(09:26):
least whenever I attended yourrun club.
So you know, maybe we could talka little bit about that and
your kind of perspective on that.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Absolutely.
I mean, jared knows I say itpretty regularly and it was
something that, a concept thatwe came up at the very beginning
, when, I think, we had ourfirst meetup and like three
people showed up.
But what we really wanted to beable to do is, you know, we
wanted to provide a space thatallowed, you know, the
inspiration for people to getstarted but then that motivation
(09:53):
for people to keep going, soreally encompassing everything
that you're talking about,because it can be really
intimidating and you know, thereare a lot of people out there
who haven't been running theirwhole lives, who just decided to
pick it up or wants to get intoit.
So I think that there'ssomething really special there,
and our community is built ofpeople who are just that.
(10:14):
They might have never runanything before.
We've seen plenty of people comeand show up on, you know, their
first day and feel like, okay,I might be a run walker, I might
be a walker and like, withaspirations to run, I might have
run something a long time ago,but I'm just getting back into
it.
Or, hey, I'm out here becauseI'm training for a marathon, I
(10:35):
just don't want to do it alone.
You know, we kind of run thegamut of all the different
personalities and people that wehave, and it's allowing that
opportunity for people to gettogether.
And we always like to say tooyou know, it doesn't matter for
us if there's been someone who'sbeen with us since day one or
this is their day one.
We want them to feel like theyare part of that community.
(10:58):
I think that's super importantto us.
Overrunning, we laugh and sayyou know, we're a run club with
a social agenda, because thatsocial piece and being able to
communicate outside of run clubwhether it's through our social
channels or whether it's juststicking around after the run
for a coffee or a beer or dinner, whatever that looks like it's
(11:20):
allowed for people to really getto know each other.
And we've seen, we've seenfriendships form, we've seen
relationships form.
Speaker 4 (11:26):
So it's really cool
to see how it went from this
inception and this concept allthe way through what it is today
the community the people thatshow up that allow other people
to feel comfortable and tocontinue to come back and I say
(11:50):
that jokingly, that I'm like, no, you're the reason that this
community works.
I don't think it's because ofus.
I think that we kind of hadthis idea, but it's the people
that are there that makeeveryone else feel so
comfortable when they're, when anew person shows up or they're
coming back and they rememberyour name and they're excited to
(12:11):
hear how your week was, or theyknew that you had something,
you know that you were, that youwere working towards.
So it really just kind of likefulfills itself.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
Yeah, yeah, well,
yeah, I think you guys need to
give yourselves a little bit ofcredit, Like you're the catalyst
and you created thisenvironment where runners feel
welcome, they feel safe, theyfeel like, hey, this is exciting
and something to look forwardto, and you guys created that
Right, and of course it's a,it's a team effort, so they
contribute and they help that,you know, spread that to others.
(12:43):
But I started with you, which Ithink is incredible ourselves.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
So we understand a
little bit about like are you
training for something or areyou just out here training for
life?
What kind of pace do you liketo stick around?
Because then we can also helpmaking introductions with other
people that we know are roughlyaround the same.
So Jared likes to say we have alot of Gatsby moments where
we're like oh, richard, welcome,it's your first day, what kind
(13:24):
of pacing do you like to stickaround?
You're like oh, richard, youknow, welcome, it's your first
day.
What do you know?
What kind of pacing do you liketo stick around?
You might say oh, I'm, you know,I'm really between that like
930, 10 minute mile, and we'llsay, oh, let me introduce you to
Sarah, and we just introduce.
And then we're like oh, sarah,have you met Richard?
Vice versa, oh no.
And they start talking.
And then Jared and I just likeslowly back away because you
know we're out here.
(13:45):
As much as I want to think that, like all 500 plus, you know
people who show up to differentevents and like the you know,
1300 followers we have onInstagram are all my own
personal friends, but at thesame time it's not.
It's not for me, it's not forus, it's for the community and
we, we thrive on that.
I mean you can probably hear itin my voice Like actually is
(14:08):
something that means so so muchto us I could cry.
Anyone who knows me now I couldcry just talking about it.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
That's awesome.
So let's talk about a littlebit about first the community,
and then I'd love to focus theconversation on you two for a
little bit.
So for the community, what arethe top three things that you've
learned, observed or coachedpeople on as they've come to the
run clubs and again, they'rekind of on their journey?
But I'd love to hear are thereany trends or themes that you've
(14:36):
seen that you think would behelpful for other runners to
kind of hear?
Speaker 4 (14:40):
Yeah, I think my
cousin used to say this all the
time and I hear people that kindof just you alluded to it
earlier is just like sometimesyou just need that little
accountability of like I needsomething that's just going to
make me go and do it.
(15:02):
Ever regrets working out.
You can find a million and oneexcuses on why you don't want to
work out, but when that workoutis done you feel so good.
No one, no one, ever regrets it.
And um, I I hear that a lotfrom people that are like I
wasn't going to come today oryou know, like it it really was
hard to get myself moving, butlike I'm so glad I'm here and um
(15:25):
, I think not only for theirphysical movement but also that
socialization of just gettingout and talking to someone and
meeting people and I think it'sjust allowing themselves to have
some time in their day forthemselves.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
Yeah, my thing that I
tend to say to people a lot is
it's all relative With running.
It's all relative.
You have somebody who shows uptheir first day.
Maybe they don't like to run,maybe they aren't even sure if
this is something that they wantto be doing, and then all of a
sudden you see that front packgo out and they are, you know,
going out at a decent pace andthey sit there and they're like
(16:03):
I don't know if I can be a partof this, I'm not this fast, I'm
not this, I'm not that, and Ispent a lot of time really
talking with people to let themunderstand like it's all
relative.
Half of those people wereexactly where you are today, and
that comes from consistency andthat comes from showing up not
only for your friends but foryourself, and so you can't
(16:25):
compare yourself of where youare today with someone who's
been doing this for years ormight have been doing this just
for the last six months, and soI think that's a really
important thing to think aboutwhether you are fresh starting
your journey and you have noidea, like, how you're even
going to run one mile, let alonehow you're going to do the you
(16:46):
know three miles that we havelaid out for you for the day, or
if you have run before andyou're taking a step back, or
you're a mom who's coming, youknow, back to get in shape again
, or maybe you're, um, you know,uh, a marathoner from two years
ago who you know.
Let yourself fall off a littlebit and you're looking to get
back into it.
You're like I used to be ableto run X, and we hear that quite
(17:11):
a bit, and I think it's allrelative.
Where you are at today, meetyourself where you're at and
know that pace doesn't matter.
It's consistency that mattersover everything and that's going
to get you where you need andwhere you want to be at the end
of the day.
I think that's one of thebiggest pieces of advice I'm
constantly telling people, weekover week.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
I love that, I love
that.
So you know, first off, I wouldsay, you know, if I was to
summarize kind of what youshared is, if you don't feel
like doing it, like life gets inthe way, you're not in the
right mindset, like just do itanyway and you'll feel better.
You know, afterwards you'llfeel great that you did it and
you'll just kind of build upthat habit Right.
(17:55):
So the next time where you'remaybe you're feeling a little
down, well, you have that habitand that routine and you get to
the point where you'll miss itif you don't.
Right, absolutely.
So the top of mind, like no, Ihave to do this.
This is part of my routinewhere I get to do this.
And then you know, I always tryto share sayings, although I
always get them wrong.
But I guess, kayla, what Iwould say is comparison is a
(18:16):
thief of joy, right?
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Oh my God, true words
have never been spoken.
Okay, I got it right.
I feel better about myself.
I love that one.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Yeah.
So, like you know, don'tcompare yourself.
Who is that kind of six minute,you know per mile runner, or
someone who you know just seemslike they're that much farther
ahead.
Like you are where you are andyou know whatever your goals are
, you can work towards those andit's going to take time like it
did for anybody else.
Right?
Oh yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 4 (18:43):
And I think that it's
a really supportive community
of wherever you are.
I mean, we have an awesomegroup of people that come and
walk every single meetup and wehave some people that are run
walkers and everything inbetween, and they are so
supportive.
You're not feeling like I'm theonly person that's doing it,
(19:05):
and I think that that's.
That's pretty amazing, and ifyou have aspirations to go from
a walker to a walk runner, thereare people that will get you
there.
If you just want to go outthere to walk and socialize and
move, then awesome, we're herefor you.
Yeah, and we do that you know.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
we, you know we're
people who are avid runners.
We might be training forsomething in the moment, but at
the end of the day, you know,there's still a Friday morning
and Jared's out there walking,because he'd rather be out there
moving his body walking thandoing anything else.
And so it's really great wealways have.
We have people who areconstantly, you know, I think,
(19:45):
cheering each other on.
You hear a lot of words ofaffirmation being thrown around.
A lot of you got this and a lotof great job and a lot of you
look great and we all see a lotof high fives, like if we have
some out backs, we have someareas where we have loops and
the high fives are high fivingLike we see, we see people who
(20:06):
just want to make sure that theyare being the encouragement
that other people need, becauseit's probably what they need too
, and so we we see a lot of that, and it brings me a lot of joy,
I know it brings you joy
Speaker 1 (20:17):
too, that's awesome,
I love it.
So you know I'd love to.
Well, first I'll just share alittle bit about my story,
because I really resonated with.
You know the point that youmade, kayla, about.
You know everything is relative.
So if I think back like six,seven years ago, I remember
telling my coach like I wouldnever run a half marathon or
like I never run a marathon, andhe's always pushing me to do,
(20:39):
you know, do better, do more.
And he's coaching me andhelping me, which has been
awesome because I've been onthis kind of journey to do
things I've never done beforeand overcome fears, and like
he's been a big part of that,which I'm truly grateful for.
But wouldn't you know, likeover time, like a year or two
into it, I'm like all right, Iguess I'm running a half
marathon and I got to train forit.
And then you know, last year, asI mentioned, I ran my first
(21:01):
marathon.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
I'm like, okay, you
know at one point in time I
never thought I could do it.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
And here I am, so I
definitely can resonate kind of
with what you shared there,caitlin.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
Yeah, no.
And, to be honest, like we,well, we resonate with that too,
because the amount of times Iwould say I'm never running a
half marathon, I'm never runningthem.
And then when I finally did runa half, actually I was like,
okay, but I'm never running amarathon, right.
And then you know, you'represented a bib to Boston.
(21:30):
You're like I can't pass thisup, I'd be, I'd be crazy.
And then, uh, actually one ofmy favorite stories, even for
myself, was the fact that Icompleted the Boston marathon,
my a great story about that is Idecided to run with Jared.
We did not train properly for it, shocker, you know, your first
marathon, you don't really knowwhat you're doing.
(21:51):
And so we went out.
We were, you know, we decidedwe're going to stick together
the whole time.
And so he and I are out thereand I am hurting, I'm hurting
hard.
And what is Jared doing?
Waving, having the best time,high-fiving every kid, because
my all-out pace is Jared's easypace.
(22:13):
And so we'd be out thererunning and Jared would just go
oh, where's Kayla?
And he'd kind of slow down.
I was like, oh, get away fromme, I can't deal with this.
And so I was really emotionalat multiple different points.
No matter if you're running a 5kfor the first time or you're
running a you know a marathonfor the first time, you're like
(22:35):
what did I get myself into?
Why am I out here?
What am I doing?
So we crossed the finish lineand Jared's like, let me guess
you're never doing that again.
And I said, oh no, I'm comingback next year and I'm going to
have the most ultimateredemption.
And I did.
I came back to Boston.
I found a charity bib.
I committed, I trained all yearand I ended up cutting an hour
(22:58):
and seven minutes off of my timefrom the year before.
That probably just goes to showhow much I was struggling.
But, at the same time, thededication that you put in, and
when you have a community ofpeople who are encouraging you
whether it's the person you livewith or whether it's a
community from you know run clubyou know I am that person who
(23:18):
went from I'm never running morethan my turkey trot to all of a
sudden being like, no, no, gotto come back for redemption on
that marathon.
So I think too, if people arelistening and they're like, yeah
, okay, I just want to run inbetween the different workout
classes that I do.
I get it.
(23:39):
It's not for everybody, butonce you dip your toe in.
Speaker 4 (23:43):
The bug gets you.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
Yeah, there's
something about it.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
I love that, I love
that and you know I was going to
ask you.
You know, one of the questionsI love to ask guests that come
on the show is what is like theone thing that you're proud of,
kind of in your journey.
It kind of feels like the storyyou just shared might be that
one.
So if it is, I'll ask you adifferent question Probably what
(24:07):
was the biggest obstacle youfaced in your journey and how'd
you overcome it?
Speaker 3 (24:10):
Oh, I feel like
you've got obstacles.
Speaker 4 (24:16):
Yeah, my journey's
been really bumpy along the way,
starting with registering forNew York to do it in 2020 in the
pandemic.
Stopping that, stopping that.
Uh, in hindsight, you know, nothaving a race really for a year
and a half because everythingwas canceled was great Cause it
allowed me to just keep trainingand, and you know, getting
(24:38):
better.
Um, and, my first marathon wasthe Damar marathon in uh Keene,
new Hampshire, and I didn't knowany better.
I went out way too fast.
Speaker 3 (24:51):
Classic right.
Speaker 4 (24:52):
And I hit a wall so
hard it hurt so bad.
I finished the marathon.
I did not look good.
It took a little coaxing fromthe medical team there just to
take a little you know, coaxingfrom you know like the medical
team there just to like take alittle chill pill and relax
(25:13):
Probably three hours.
It took me to eat half of aburger after because I was just
like in so much pain.
But I was determined, like Kayla, to have like, I'm gonna do it
better next time.
And then I went on a string ofhaving the hottest marathons on
record at each of my next three.
And so they were.
They were just complete badraces, you know.
(25:37):
You just there's nothing youcan do about it.
Um, but I think through all ofthat I I learned, really, uh, a
couple of things.
One is, um, about perseverance,not only in those races
themselves but through thetraining process, and I think
with that I've also learned thatand it sounds very cliche, but
(26:00):
it really is about the journey,like.
I enjoy the 18 weeks oftraining and I think that that
is what like is what marathonsare all about, in that one day
that you get to race is thecelebration of all the hard work
that you put into it.
Speaker 3 (26:20):
Yeah, you're not the
same person.
You're not the same person youwere when you started this
training 18, 20, 23 weeks ago.
So it is an important thing toremember.
Speaker 4 (26:30):
Yeah, and so I think,
like, but I don't think you get
those without having those roadbumps along the way and
allowing you to, kind of like,take a step back and look at the
work, the body of work thatyou've done.
And you're not defined by thatone race on that one day.
You are defined by the work andthe dedication that you put in
to getting yourself to thatstart line.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
Absolutely.
I love it and I appreciate yousharing that because you know,
for some folks and we're talkingabout this before, about, like,
comparing themselves to othersthey don't see what's happening
kind of behind the scenes, right.
You don't see what it took forthat runner to get to where they
are and the obstacles that theyface and the injuries and the
learnings that they had alongthe way, the mental battle that
(27:15):
they probably face.
So you really gave a greatexample of that and I appreciate
you sharing that, becausethat's not always easy even to
talk about, right.
Speaker 4 (27:22):
Yeah, yeah, it's it,
but it's a reality and I think
it's um, and it's okay, cause I,you know, I think to your point
like no one does get to seethat part of it.
You get to see the the likecrossing the finish and whether
it's on social media or you knowwhatever, but there's so much
that happens behind and, uh, um,I think that that's, that's the
(27:44):
cool stuff.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
And fingers crossed
that your next marathon won't be
so hot.
Speaker 4 (27:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (27:48):
If, unless you're, I
don't know if anyone listening
is running on the Newport fullin a couple of weeks, but let's
all pray.
Speaker 4 (28:01):
It was.
It's literally been a crazystreak.
I streak, I, I five, I think,of my seven marathons have been
like extreme heat and humidityevents so they shouldn't have
been on the dates that they were.
Speaker 1 (28:09):
But I have no control
over that well, we'll have to
do an instagram live orsomething after your race I'll
give you a weather report toothat's's really funny, so.
So thank you for sharing that.
You know what?
What I love to hear you knownow is you know, as kind of as
we wind down, I really love toask, like what is the one thing
(28:30):
that you would say to kind ofinspire someone to run but I'll
qualify that given theconversation around community so
, like, what would be the onething you would say to inspire
someone to run and be part of arunning community as part of
their journey?
Speaker 3 (28:44):
Such a good question
because I think there are so
many layers to it.
You know, I think a lot of thetime we're all on social media
in some way shape or form.
You know whether we, whether wewant to be or not, and see
these groups getting together,and I know it can seem really
intimidating when you're like,oh my gosh, there's only 10
(29:05):
people at this meetup, are thesepeople going to even like me,
versus there's 50 people at thismeetup.
Am I even going to have a placehere?
And so I think it's yes, it'sthe act of just showing up and
doing it, but also feel free tobring a buddy to find more
people, because you know itreally doesn't matter your pace
(29:29):
and whether this is the groupthat you decide to join, or you
know, or there's there's, youknow, a million other run clubs,
walk clubs, you know, whateverit looks like, it's the act of
getting there and puttingyourself out there that's going
to help you grow, whether it'sthe group you stick with or not.
What I think is great and Ithink a lot of the time, when we
tell people that we have a runclub, they're like, oh my God,
(29:51):
there's so many run clubs outthere right now, and I think
sometimes that is from asomewhat of a you know, negative
connotation approach of like,oh my God, they're just
everywhere this influx.
But what I think is so specialis, you know, the reason people
are creating run clubs acrossthe country and beyond is
(30:14):
because they're not finding whatthey're looking for.
And so, whether or not we'rethe group that you show up with
and it sticks, or it doesn'tstick, or you decide to start
your own, there's a little bitof something out there for
everybody.
So grab a buddy and come andtry it out and see if this is
what works for you and if it'snot, you're not married to this
(30:37):
decision.
You know, and I think if, ifyou even have this inkling of
like that could be cool, I said,go for it.
Seriously, you, you have noidea who you might meet, and I I
think that you know our group,even for me, has given me some
of my best friends that I nowhave just because of taking that
(30:59):
one step.
Pun intended, yeah, nice.
Speaker 4 (31:03):
Yeah, and I think to
your point earlier, richard,
that I think people are lookingfor kind of that inspiration,
motivation just to move and getout there, and I think we're
also all really kind of lookingfor that sense of community.
And I think it's something thatyou know we've all been trying
(31:25):
to figure out over, you know,the last couple of years, and
you know there's I think there'sa book about like the third
space.
You know a lot of people havetheir work community and some,
you know, have their theirchurch communities.
And then what is that othercommunity that you know want,
want to help you, whether it'swalk better or run faster or
(32:05):
whatever, um, but it's also tobe there to support you and hear
about your, your life and hearabout your own journey and hear
about your day, um, and so Ithink that that's cool, and for
for us it's also equally asimportant that we get to support
local businesses in thecommunity, and so we're really
(32:27):
excited about that.
But to Kayla's point, there areso many run clubs that are out
there and I think it just takesthat little self-courage to say
today's the day I'm going to goout there and try this run club
and I'm doing it for myself.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
I also think, too, we
see so many people who've just
been able to find their spacewithin our group.
Just a couple of differentexamples are we've had people
who have gotten really sick orreally injured and have gone
from hey, maybe running 10 milesevery week to now only being
(33:04):
able to walk and needing to worktheir way back up.
You know people who've beeninjured.
We've had people who couldnever even run a mile before and
had no idea where to start andjust started showing up and
slowly getting further andfurther in the process.
And now you know she's running,you know, two plus miles
(33:25):
without stopping and that's, youknow, this huge accomplishment.
We have people who neverthought that they would run you
know, 5k or a half marathon, andwe are seeing these people,
just you know, sign up forsomething and commit and then
having the support system behindthem.
So you know, those are threereal examples of people who are
(33:47):
in our community who, just bydeciding to show up, regardless
of where they were at, justmaking that move to be there.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
Love it, love it.
Kayla Jared, thank you so muchfor sharing your insights, your
journey, the work you've donewith your run club and the
importance of being part of acommunity and how that can help
a runner in their journey.
So really appreciate you comingon the show and sharing all
those things.
And, just before we go, how canour listeners find you and
(34:20):
follow your incredible journeyonline?
Speaker 3 (34:22):
Yeah, absolutely so.
Um, we have our website, whichis h2golife, um, our Instagram,
which is h2golife, and, uh, Ithink that's it.
Yeah, like we, we really triedto to make it as easy as
possible.
Speaker 4 (34:39):
I'm like you know and
our yeah, our all our
information is there in ourweekly schedule of our meetups
and times and locations arethere.
And, yeah, we're, we're alwaysavailable to through the the
chat if anyone has any questionsand, you know, is just curious
about what, what it's like.
Speaker 3 (34:58):
Yeah, ask questions
before you show up, if that's
what.
That's what you need.
Speaker 1 (35:02):
Awesome, awesome.
Okay, so I will put thatinformation in the show notes to
make it easy for our listenersto find you again.
Thank you so much for coming onthe show and thank you for all
that you do to support therunning community and and with
that, have a great day, can'twait to see you again and good
luck
Speaker 4 (35:17):
on your races and
with that, have a great day.
Yeah, ditto.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
Can't wait to see you
again and good luck on your
races.
That's it for this episode ofInspired to Run Podcast.
We hope you are inspired totake control of your health and
fitness and take it to the nextlevel.
Be sure to click the subscribebutton to join our community and
also please rate and review.
Thanks for listening.