205: Rise and Run With Meb. Miles, Medals, and Motivation

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Expo lights and cheering lines, costumes, bright
and hopeful signs.
We're not alone.
This path is wide, with everylistener by our side, from
training tips to tales thatshine inspiration in every line.
We may fall, but we rise again,fueled by community and friends
.
The road is long, but we belongin this rhythm, in this song.
Rise and run from start to therun.

(00:26):
Together we shine like themorning sun.
Rise and run.
We rise and run.
We rise and run.

Speaker 2 (00:45):
Hey everybody, we rise and run.
Hey everybody, it is time torise and run.
This is Andrew in Atlanta, outto do a Sunday afternoon
training run in 94 degree heat,getting ready for Marathon
Weekend.

Speaker 3 (01:00):
Andrew from a hot and steamy Atlanta with this week's
introduction.
Thank you, andrew, forintroducing episode 205 of the
Rise and Run podcast.
I'm Bob and I'm here this weekwith Alicia.
Hello With John how you doingWith Greg.
Hey, hey, hey.

(01:20):
And with Lexi.
Hello, Good to see you, myfriends.
Exciting episode this week,friends, One we've been talking
about for a while, One we'vebeen looking forward to for a
while.
This week we spend about 45minutes with American racing
legend Meb Kovleski.
You won't want to miss it.
It was a great interview.

(01:42):
We had a wonderful time.
What a great interview.
We had a wonderful time.
What a good guy and a lot ofthings that you and I can take
from that interview.
So I think that it was quiteworthwhile.
In our spotlight.
Our friend Megan ran a 10K andMegan's been doing great and
she'll share her story with you.

Speaker 4 (02:04):
If you enjoy the Rise and Run podcast, please share
us with your friends andintroduce them to the Rise and
Run family.
We want to share in their RunDisney journey.
Please remember to follow us onFacebook at Rise and Run
Podcast, Instagram at Rise andRun Pod.
Check out our YouTube channeland visit our webpage at
riseandrunpodcastcom.
If you have a question, comment, comment, race report or want
to introduce an upcoming episode, call us at 727-266-2344 and

(02:29):
leave us a recorded message weneed them, friends.

Speaker 5 (02:32):
That was the last one , so we need new intros, please
we also want to thank ourpatreons, whose support keeps
the rise and run podcast risingand running, and we would like
to welcome two new Patreons.
We have Amy at the how you Doand level and Adrian and Emily
at the Mandalorian level.

(02:53):
If you would like to join thePatreon team, you can check out
patreoncom slash rise and runpodcast.

Speaker 6 (03:01):
The Rise and Run podcast is sponsored by our
friends over at Magic BoundTravel and I know there's a lot
of excitement in the Disneycommunity because Disney IT
finally got their act togetherand finally figured out how to
make reservations available forthe new tavern in Magic Kingdom,
the Beak and Barrel, oh yeahright.

(03:23):
So if you fancy a alcoholicbeverage in the Magic Kingdom
with the beak and barrel oh yeah, right.
So if you fancy a alcoholicbeverage in the Magic Kingdom
with a octopus tentacle hangingout of it, you'll want to head
over to the Magic Kingdom anddown to Walt Disney World.
And if you need any assistancein those travel planning needs,
our friends at Magic Bound cansurely help you out.
Be sure to visitmagicboundtravelcom for all of

(03:47):
your Disney vacation planningneeds.

Speaker 3 (03:50):
All right, Thank you guys.
A quick apology and alibisection.
I want to update some of therace report from last week.
Our friend Tracy did the TrackShack race over in Orlando and I
missed that In the Race ReportSpotlight.
Last week we had our friendswho did the relay race in

(04:13):
Snow-Homish, Washington, andVanessa contacted me.
She wanted to make sure tocredit.
We did mention it, but shewanted to single out Renee again
, who the relay was really heridea.
She wanted to single out Reneeagain, who the relay was really
her idea.
She was integral to all thelogistics and she hosted a
pre-race pasta dinner for all ofthem.
So I think that by itself isworth mentioning and we did.

(04:36):
Again.
We talked about the halfmarathon in Ouray, Colorado.
We mentioned Victoria's mom hadactually done back-to-back PRs
because this was her second halfmarathon.
So PR on the first one, PR onthis one.
But we didn't have mom's name.
Mom's name is Erin.
So there we go.
Clean all that up.

(04:57):
Let's take a look at thetraining schedule.
We're here, kids.
Disney Halloween weekend is oneweek away.
Seven days from today is theExpo.
We're in training week 17.
As Greg likes to say, the hayis in the barn Not that he made

(05:17):
that up, but he likes to say it.
That's cool.
So you've just got four miles onyour training schedule this
week.
If you're working for the Wineand Dine Challenge, it's eight
weeks away.
Now, Boy, that's going to behere before we know it.
We're in training week eight.
It's a double up a one milewalk and an eight mile run walk,

(05:38):
and we're 19 weeks away frommarathon weekend.
We're in training week nine.
If you're on the experiencemarathon schedule, it's a four
miler goofy and dopey challenges, three miles, and I haven't
mentioned it for a while, butwe're getting here to bird

(05:58):
enhance next week.
So we'll be seeing a bunch ofour friends in the Amish country
in Pennsylvania this time nextweek also.
All right, let's take a lookand let's chat about training.
Guys, we're getting heavilyinto the training schedule now.

(06:19):
How is your training going?

Speaker 6 (06:22):
I will say I had a.
How is your training going?
I will say I had a unique longrun this past weekend, so I had
one of those specialized,customized workouts that Coach
Twiggs gives us just to help mixthings up here or there.

(06:47):
Uh, exercise required the ideaof not looking at your watch and
trying to see if you caninternalize the paces that
you've been working on.
And it's really the only time,or I should say the only workout
in the, the galloway method ofvarious runs and and and
training and such, where you aregoing race pace the entire time
.
But again, the trick is not tolook at your watch and try to

(07:11):
get back to your starting pointin 60 minutes.
And I was doubly disappointedbecause, number one, I got back
to my car 90 seconds late.
So that means either I justwent out a little bit too fast

(07:32):
or my.
You know I was just strugglingon that, you know the back half
of that.
But then I think the more quasidepressing thing for me was I
was about 45 to 50 seconds offof my race pace.
I would like I would have beenokay if it was like 10 to 15

(07:54):
seconds here or there, and youknow accounting for.
You know it's the summertimestill.
You know there's still a littlebit of humidity in the air and
such, but the fact that therewas that much I I kind of got
down on myself a little bit, butthen I was like, okay, I I need
to find the good in this, andthe good was is that my average

(08:17):
pace for almost six miles was atan average pace that I have not
seen in a very, very long time,yeah, greg and it was, you know
, it was just over 11 minutesper mile and I was like, okay, I
haven't, you know, I haven'tseen that you know kind of
number for that long not for sixmonths, not for an

(08:38):
hour.
Yeah, correct, and so it's.
It's a situation where I waslike okay, you, okay, maybe I'm
a unicorn in the sense that theconcept of the magic Mile works
well if you're in pristinerunning conditions and you're on
a relatively flat course.
What I was on this past weekendwas relatively flat, a few

(09:19):
rolling hills here or there, butby the time I went out it was
still in the mid-70s andobviously, as we all talk about,
in terms of the slowing down,those ideal conditions are
anything below 60 degrees.
So I have to just do a littlebit better job of not beating
myself up as much, finding thegood.
I'm glad that I did.

(09:40):
I got over it very, veryquickly.
You know, I threw myself a, youknow, a 10 minute pity party
and then, and then I moved onand I know it will get there.
You know, just because you geta new set of paces when you run,
a magic mile doesn't meanyou're immediately going to be
able to comfortably run thosemiles immediately.
It's going to take time, it'sgoing to take practice and I

(10:01):
just got to learn to be a littlebit more patient with myself,
sounds good to take practice andI just got to learn to be a
little bit more patient withmyself.

Speaker 4 (10:09):
Sounds good.
So I'm still a little bitbehind because I was dealing
with my back.
But this last weekend I hadseven miles on my training plan
and usually what I've been doingis just taking it slower on the
long runs, like we usually do.
But I wanted to see where myrace space kind of was for a
little bit of a longer distanceand just see how everything was
feeling.
And I went out and my paceswere a lot better than they have

(10:31):
been in a number of years and Ifelt absolutely fantastic on
that run and so I mean I waspushing a little bit, not like
all out, but overall it wentreally really well.
My back was okay, so I wasreally happy with the
progression that I've made.
Um, and I know I'm a runner andobviously I'm a run coach, but

(10:51):
I haven't really felt like arunner in a little bit, and so
that run really gave me theself-esteem that I needed to get
back out there and feelmotivated.

Speaker 3 (11:00):
So that's a good point.
That's a good point.

Speaker 5 (11:29):
Yeah, even when we're not at our best, we're still
runners, absolutely.
We're committed to the runningfamily and committed to
finishing our runs and if yourun you're a runner.
Started training for springtimeyet as far as running goes, but
I was able to do an exercisewith my trainer that I was not
able to do a month ago, nice,the.
I don't know if y'all arefamiliar with the roman chair at
the gym where, like it has likearm things and you're trying to
hold yourself up and lift yourknees up to your chest, but like
holding your weight with yourelbows.
I was not able to do that amonth ago and I was able to do

(11:52):
three sets of five, nice.

Speaker 6 (11:53):
Good job, lexi.
I got to ask you are there anymachines at a gym that terrify
you?

Speaker 5 (12:03):
I mean with my trainer now we don't do much of
the machines.
We stay in the like personaltraining area and do more like
functional things, because we'renot really focusing on weight
lifting as much as we are onstrengthening my core and my

(12:25):
hips and like that kind of stuff.
Um, we do like battle ropes andlike pushing weights on a cart
and like that kind of stuff.
Um, I mean, honestly, the Romanchair terrified me because I
failed at it and like I couldn'thold my weight.

(12:48):
Whenever I first tried it, Islipped off and my trainer was
super nice about it the firsttime and he was like we'll just
try something else, and he likepivoted immediately.
But I still felt embarrassed,um, and so when he said we were
doing it again, I'm like are yousure about that?

Speaker 6 (13:08):
Because I don't know if I want to go over there, but
yeah, I was going to see if youwere going to say the same thing
I was thinking of, because inmy strength training that I've
been trying to focus on just asequally as my running for these
past couple of months.
I've been trying to focus onjust as equally as my running
for these past couple of months.
The one machine there thatterrifies me is that assisted

(13:29):
chin-up machine and I'm like Iwant to get on that thing so
badly so I can work on my chestand my shoulders, because I love
machines or exercises that arelike a great bang for your buck,
where you're working all sortsof muscles as opposed to just,
you know, isolating something.
And I want to get on that thingso bad and I'm like terrified

(13:51):
that like I'm gonna get on thereand I'm gonna do it wrong and
then either I'm gonna like flyup over and do a flip over the
thing or something like that.

Speaker 5 (13:59):
so I don't know about you guys, but like I feel like
everybody's watching me wheneverI cause I'm like I'm going to
do it wrong and I'm just with mytrainer and nobody's paying
attention.

Speaker 3 (14:10):
They're not.
Yeah, they're not.

Speaker 5 (14:12):
Because I know I'm not paying attention to anybody
else, right?

Speaker 3 (14:15):
Right, that's right.

Speaker 5 (14:16):
But like it's that mental struggle of like I don't
want to try this and fail, soI'm just not going to do it.

Speaker 8 (14:25):
So, Greg, to give you a little advice.
I don't know if it's the sameone that I have at my gym.
It's an assisted pull-upmachine.

Speaker 6 (14:35):
It's also an assisted dip machine.

Speaker 8 (14:36):
Yes, Yep, start with the dips first.
So you're, so that you're goingdown and you can figure out
what kind of counterbalance youneed to do what you need to do
okay and then.
So if you know you're goingthere that way, it's just a
pull-up, so you're not goinglike oh, let me just put on.
Like you know, all this weightypin the thing up, bang greg's

(15:00):
to the ceiling launch.

Speaker 6 (15:01):
I'm picturing myself now as like wiley coyote and
there's just a a shape of me inthe ceiling Launch.
I'm picturing myself now aslike Wile E Coyote, and there's
just a shape of me in theceiling of my local gym.
No, that's some really goodadvice, John, because if there's
one thing that I am gettingvery frustrated with, because
I'm excited like I'm starting toget some definition in my
biceps and in my shoulders, but,boy, when I put my arms up and

(15:23):
I just see my flabby triceps,I'm like God, I got to work
these more and more and more.
So dips will definitely helpwith that.
Yes, they will.

Speaker 8 (15:32):
It must be a good week for us because I went out
there and I got a better pacethan I have gotten in a while.
I went out later in the daybecause I had a lot of stuff
going on in the morning.
I couldn't just get out in themorning.
Unfortunately, I went out laterin the day when it was a little
warmer.
I said I'll just go out, do myrun and just take my time and do

(15:53):
it.
I wasn't paying attention to mywatch.
Then I get home I look ateverything.
Wow, I did this.
This was better.
I wasn't trying to go faster,but I was like almost a lot
faster than I was last week andI'm like this is pretty cool.

(16:13):
I go, I wasn't thinking aboutit.
Maybe that's what I got to do,Not think, Just go, you know,
turn the watch off.
Maybe, but maybe, and I knowthat one loop now is how many
miles it is, so I can almost doit without like running, running
with a piece of paper over thewatch.
Who knows that?
That's.

(16:33):
That was my big thing, summertraining fall PRS.

Speaker 3 (16:37):
There's a little bit of that going on.
I don't know if it's cooled offfor you guys yet.
It's cooled off in Floridabecause we're getting a lot of
rain right now.

Speaker 8 (16:47):
We're getting a lot of cool mornings and we're still
getting up there in theafternoon.

Speaker 5 (16:53):
We're having fake fall right now.

Speaker 6 (16:56):
No, that's a perfect representation, Lexi.
The dew points here in thenortheast right now are
wonderful and I keep praying tothe weather.
Gods, I'm like please hold foranother week and a half so we
can have these dew points andthese temperatures for Bird in
Hand.

Speaker 8 (17:12):
I know they were talking about 40-something dew
points.

Speaker 6 (17:15):
Yes.

Speaker 3 (17:17):
Oh please, that's nice, that's really nice that
will also help keep the Italianice cool on.

Speaker 8 (17:24):
Mile 9 during birdie hand.

Speaker 3 (17:26):
Yes, Training update.
I had zero miles of trainingthis week, but the good news is
it's Thursday and my surgery'sover.
Everything went great.
Hooray, it's not really Thursday, is it, gang?
It's Thursday when you'relistening.
It's not really Thursday, it'sTuesday when we're recording.
So I had procedures set forThursday.

(17:47):
I've been down this road before.
This is a little bit different.
Since the surgeries on my back,I never had that before.
The last couple have been onthe legs.
But this process of recovery isthe same.
Take it easy, we'll go throughit together, and I mean that my
friends, we'll go through ittogether, and I mean that my
friends, we'll go through ittogether.
I'll pour that, dickens, out ofyou telling you what's going on

(18:09):
.
I yeah.
I don't have much else to add,except I want to acknowledge all
of the wonderful well wishesI've received so far and I want
you to know whether youcontacted me personally or
whether you didn't.
I know you're there.
I know you're there.
I know you got my back, and italmost sounds silly for me to

(18:33):
say this, because I didn't growup this way.
I didn't feel this way before,but I feel this way now.
It makes a difference to me.
Just knowing that you're theremakes a difference.
With all of you in my corner, Icannot possibly fail.
So I'm looking forward togetting this out of the way and
getting back on the road, andwe'll see you soon, and I
absolutely expect to be atBurden Hand, and, of course, I'm

(18:56):
not going to be running, but Isure want to see you there.

Speaker 6 (19:00):
Well, I think you can work on your cheering training,
though.
I remember a while back, alialways gave us updates on the
number of woo-hoos and claps andcowbell shakes and stuff like
that, so you should startworking on that.

Speaker 8 (19:13):
And, like I did say, you have that Whoopie Pie
Festival right down the roadfrom the Verdon Ant Place.

Speaker 3 (19:20):
Oh, that's right, that's right.
I figure I got two hours to gocheck that thing out.

Speaker 6 (19:25):
If Bob mysteriously disappears, we know he's at the
Whoopie Pie Festival.

Speaker 3 (19:28):
Yeah, show up for the start, come back two hours
later, I'll be in good shape.

Speaker 6 (19:34):
Actually, no, bob.
What I really want you to do isI want you to cheer.
As long as the weather holdsout and it's good, I want you to
be cheering from the hot airballoon as we're coming across
the finish line.

Speaker 3 (19:45):
Wouldn't that be cool ?
Yeah, I would love to do that.
I don't think it's going tohappen, greg, but that would be
really neat.

Speaker 9 (19:51):
If I can do it, I'll do it.
Caution runners.
Change of topic ahead.

Speaker 3 (19:58):
Hey, a new segment on the Rise and Run podcast.
We call it.
What Would Alicia Do?

Speaker 4 (20:10):
So my hope for this is I think a lot, I am an
overanalyzer.

Speaker 3 (20:16):
You got to stop that.
I get headaches when.

Speaker 4 (20:18):
I do that and I think of topics all the time.
Sometimes I think of littlequestions that I want to ask you
guys and sometimes they're moredeep topics, but for this week
I have a question for you guys.
That kind of goes with whatwe're talking about with Meb and
our spotlight this week.
So I was curious what yourfavorite motivational quote is.

Speaker 3 (20:42):
Okay, I'll start for you if you'd like.
I'm not sure this is whereyou're going, but at one of
Jeff's early well, like hissecond or third Jeff Galloway
half marathon in Atlanta used tobe a bigger production.
He had guest speakers there andhis guest speaker was Billy

(21:05):
Mills.
Billy Mills is a NativeAmerican and the only American
to win the Olympic gold medal inthe 10K.
He was not the favorite, hewasn't the favorite American,
but he pulled it off and he toldus this very compelling story.

(21:26):
And, as he said, he's in therace he got us.
If you get a chance, youtubeI've said this before YouTube
Billy Mills wins Olympic 10 K.
He gets jostled off and he'stelling himself I may not finish
first, but today I'm a winner.
And I use that sometimes I maynot finish first, but today I'm

(21:51):
a winner.
And then there's one more samerace the announcer if I want jet
fuel, if I want to just getfired up and I have to use this
sparingly because it's really anadrenaline kick.
As they're turning the lastcorner and heading down the home
stretch, there's an announcerwho starts screaming look at
Mills, look at Mills.

(22:13):
That'll get me going.
That'll really get me going.
So I think those are mine.

Speaker 4 (22:19):
John, you got one.

Speaker 8 (22:21):
Actually there's one.
I'm going to kind of paraphraseit.
You got one.
Actually there's one.
I I'm gonna kind of paraphraseit.
Michael jordan had a quote.
I failed over and over again inlife.

Speaker 6 (22:30):
That's why I succeed.
Yeah, for me my favorite comesum from the uh the great fake
professional quarterback, uh,shane falco of the Washington
Sentinels from the movie theReplacements.
I wish I could say somethingclassy and inspirational, but

(22:51):
that just wouldn't be our style.
Pain heals chicks dig scars.
Glory lasts forever.
I do love that quote, but I'mactually silly with that one.
The quote I really like and andI cannot remember where I heard
it first, but it is alwaysresonated with me and that is

(23:13):
shoot for the moon because evenif you miss, you'll land among
the stars.
And and that has always thatthat one has always had a
profound impact on me that youknow, even if maybe you don't
reach that a goal, there'sopportunities for other goals in
in that conquest that you wenton.

(23:34):
So yeah.

Speaker 4 (23:35):
So to our listeners.
Hopefully those were somemotivational quotes for you.
Like I said, I hope that we'llhave some deeper topics and some
fun topics that you all can getinspired.
Get in on the topic with us andI will leave you with mine.
My favorite quote is you can doanything you put your mind to.

Speaker 3 (23:54):
And that was what would Alicia do.

Speaker 6 (24:01):
There is one thing I do want to bring up, and I know
she's not here tonight, but dowe think Jack is going to get
upset that Alicia gets a segment, even though for years we have
always teased the segment ofinsert your own word here, stuff
that Jack says?

Speaker 3 (24:20):
but they hear what she says that's a weekly feature
yeah that's a regular, alsointerspersed throughout the
episode yes, hey, friends,that's a regular, also
Interspersed throughout theepisode.
Hey, friends, we had a chance.
Your Rise and Run friends had achance to visit with the Ducks.

(24:41):
Disney, with the Ducks podcast,came calling and we are on
their latest episode.
It was fun.
They're a great group of people.
So if you're looking forsomething else to listen to
after you listen to Meb, who'scoming up right now, go visit
with the Ducks.

(25:03):
Caution runners.
The topic is about to changeright now.
Friends in the sports world,you know you've made it big when
you're known by one name.
Baseball fans know who the Babeis, international football fans
know Pele and Maradona, and inAmerican distance running,
there's only one Meb.
Let me go through some, justsome of the highlights of this

(25:27):
amazing career.
Let's start in 2004, the AthensOlympics, where Meb wins the
silver medal, the first US medalin the Olympics since 1976.
In 2009, becomes the firstAmerican to win the New York
City Marathon since 1982.

(25:48):
2012, finished fourth in hissecond Olympics, the London
Olympics, in what may be and I'msure we'll talk about this more
his most dramatic win the 2014Boston Marathon, first American
to win Boston since 1985.
That made him the only personto win Boston, new York and an

(26:12):
Olympic marathon medal.
And then in 2016,.
In Rio, meb qualified for andfinished his third Olympic
marathon, putting a unique spinon the way to finish an Olympic
marathon.
From his inspiring journey as ayoung immigrant to his work
with the Meb Foundation, meb'sjourney and story is about

(26:34):
perseverance, purpose and thejoy of running, and we are so
excited and happy to welcome MebKovleski to the Rise and Run
podcast.

Speaker 10 (26:45):
Thanks, bob, for that wonderful introduction.
It means a lot for me to be onyour podcast, rise and Run
podcast.
I hope to share some of mystories.
Some of them are funny, some ofthem I have not, some serious,
but hopefully we'll be able tojust share those moments.
And thanks for that wonderfulintroduction.

Speaker 3 (27:02):
Well, absolutely my pleasure.
I've been looking forward to it.
You know I did get a chance tomeet with Meb in Tampa.
He's got an annual runningevent to benefit the Meb
Foundation, which we will talkabout as we go along.
But one of the first thingsthat you did there, meb, you
opened the event by telling thisgreat story about how you got

(27:23):
started running in high school.
Could you, let's start there.
Could you share that please?

Speaker 10 (27:26):
So yeah, bob, when I came here to the United States
in 1987, I was in sixth gradeand I had no idea running was a
sport.
The only thing you play a sportor run is chase the soccer ball
.
And at one point in fact, youknow, I live in San Diego and we
just dribble the soccer ball onthe sidewalk, go to the park

(27:47):
it's called Morley Field and wesee people running.
I'm like what's going on?
What are they running from?
What's?

Speaker 7 (27:54):
going on.
They're crazy.

Speaker 10 (27:55):
Where's the ball?
And then, a year later, coachDick Lord from San Diego, pe
teacher at Roosevelt Junior High, said if you run hard you're
going to get an A or B, if youmess around or goof around
you're going to get a D or F.
But my parents want us tostrive to get an A, e, e as an
excellent citizenship.
So I have 12 brothers that ranthat wore the shirt that says

(28:18):
Roosevelt my club t-shirt and Iwanted to be like them.
And when I heard Coach DukeLord's direction, I just ran as
hard as I could to get an A.
And it was a seventh grader.
You have to run 615 for theboys and eight minutes for the
girls.
And to his surprise and mineand everyone else's, I ended up

(28:39):
running a five minutes and 20seconds.
And that's when my God giventalent was discovered.
And he goes.
You're going to go to theOlympics.
But I grew up in Eritrea for thefirst 10 years of my life, in
Horn of Africa, east Africa,that we didn't have electricity,
we didn't have running water ortelevision.
So that's the first time I everheard the word Olympics and I

(29:01):
went to that afternoon to ask mydad what is the Olympics and he
explained to me what happened.
Explained to me, he's like.
He said I ran 520.
He's like that's faster thanyour brother's.
Tell the truth, I said I ran520.
He's like that's faster thanyour brother.
He says tell the truth, I saidI ran 520.

(29:21):
And he explained to me how theOlympic there were five rings,
different colors, the continents, and then able to peace and
harmony, to get together theworld every four year for a
friendly competition.
That's how I was introduced torunning.
And, yes, I got an A.
And eventually Coach got an A.
And eventually Coach Dick Lordwas right, I was a four-time
Olympian, down the road andwinning a silver medal.

Speaker 3 (29:39):
Yeah, awesome that first memory.
Did you fall in love withrunning at the time, or did it
take a little while?

Speaker 10 (29:47):
No, since I was a soccer player before that.
I didn't run, but I love sports.
And Pele, as you mentionedearlier by first name, that's
the first athlete my dad told uswhen we I was separate.
My family and I were separatedfrom my dad for about five years
, from the age of five to 10.
We didn't see our father.
He was.
You know, he has to walk fromEritrea to Sudan to save his

(30:11):
life from the war that was goingon in Eritrea versus Ethiopia
and he was wanted by theEthiopian soldiers so he was
going to get prison or killed.
So my mom just encouraged himto escape but to not forget us.
And so from age 5, 10, I didn'tsee him.
But when we went to Italy, hiswhole dream was can I see my
kids one day?
Can I play soccer with them onthe weekend?
So, and when we got connectedafter five years, he told us

(30:35):
about pele.
How was?
He was playing barefoot, andthen he got discovered and he
wanted us to be an athlete.
He always encouraged us to dopush-ups, sit-ups and drills and
all those things.
And then, uh, the rest ishistory.
But even when he came to theunited states, that did the same
thing, just encouraged us to dosports, and you know soccer
mainly.
We didn't know running was asport yet.

(30:56):
But you know that was how myrunning started.
But I fell in love with it.
I started making friends.
I didn't speak English so I waskind of a very timid, shy kid.
And once I started runningthough when I ran that 520, I
was known as the fastest seventhgrader People running, though

(31:21):
when I ran that 520, I was knownas the fastest seventh grader
people give me thumbs up andhigh five in the gym.
So yeah, that's how that's howI'm.

Speaker 4 (31:25):
Typically.
I'm a shy person, but sportshave helped me overcome that
timidness or shyness.
So, speaking of that, 520obviously that's.
That's really fast.
Did you automatically assumethat you would be going into
that elite level or did it justkind of happen naturally as you
went on in your running career?

Speaker 10 (31:41):
Alicia, I was just running to get an A and a
t-shirt.
I didn't know there wasanything beyond that, I just
wanted to get that A and at-shirt.
And yeah, I mean, mean peoplekind of saw, when I was in ninth
grade I was that said, that was520, improved by 10 second by
the end of the year.
And I was short.
So even though we were inseventh grade, we had the tall

(32:03):
people compete against the tallpeople, the short people run
against the short people, andthere was another guy that ran
517.
I ended up running 510 by theend of the year.
So I improved and uh, but no, Ifell in love with it and I
didn't know.
I didn't know what was gonnatake me.
I really didn't.
And in ninth grade is when Istarted competing cross country
and then eventually just get Iwant to be on the cross country

(32:25):
team to all those brothers whowere on it and I was.
In fact, when I was in eighthgrade I was behind a tree hoping
that one day I can be in theirshoes.
And then in eighth grade Iself-coached myself.
I just went.
I got up at 5 am in the morning, just ran as hard as I could.
I didn't have the GPS oranything like that at the time.

(32:45):
I just had my Sony Walkman or adisc player, a CD player and
all that stuff.
I'm with you.
I'm with you, you know whatit's skips and all that stuff.
That's how I run.
But San Diego is a hilly course.
So the question was do I do thehill at the beginning or at the
end, and counterclockwise orclockwise?
That's the only two.

(33:05):
And until probably last year Ihave no idea how far that run
was, but I would try to beatyesterday.
That's all I tried to do.
And then eventually, ninth grade, I started running cross
countries.
My time started improving andpeople, by my senior year or so,
people knew that I was going togo to the Olympics, had it
foreshadowed.
And then they saw, you know, inmy yearbook they signed you're

(33:28):
going to go to the Olympics,you're going to win a medal, you
can write, you can go to anycollege you want.
I'm like, what do you mean?
I just I mean, I was a goodstudent.
I was really good student.
My sat were not great, but Iwas willing to work as hard as I
can.
And then I said don't forgetthis.
They said don't forget thesmall people.
You're gonna make it big, iswhat they said, but hopefully I
haven't.
Uh, I got a lot ofaccomplishment, but I'm still a

(33:50):
little person.

Speaker 3 (33:52):
Can we step back just a minute, Meb, because
obviously your father is a hugeinfluence in your life.
Can you talk a little bit abouthis and your journey that
eventually got you to the UnitedStates?

Speaker 10 (34:06):
Absolutely.
Both my parents are my rolemodels.
I was with Ashbet, he and RusumKafleski.
You know my mom, god bless her.
You know, when my dad left shehad five kids born and then one
on the way.
But they promised each otherthat if I make it a safe land, I
will save after you and thenname the kid because there's no

(34:27):
way of telling the gender.
If it's a boy, call him theMnet.
If it's a boy, call her themnet.
If it's a girl, call her.
I mean, I was.
It means we trust um, we havetrust each other and I'll save
you to a better place.
And then he did um, but shewalked, you know, 15k.
I ran it.
When I went back to eritrea Iran it.
Say what she was doing.
It was nine and a half milesfrom the capital to adrugambola,

(34:49):
which is my dad's village, tomake a phone call, because the
wagon you know the wagon theytook their way of transportation
.
It costs 25 cents but the wagonis not going to leave until it
gets packed.
So you know, but she would walkon her foot to be able to make
a phone call with our dad so shecan assemble the paperwork and
all that's what needs to be doneand, if you know, and then she

(35:12):
would go to 98 kilometers, maybein two days, with my brothers
and her taking oxen to her, mymom's village.
It was incredible story and mydad did his part as much as he
could to be able to.
You know, he worked extremelyhard as a janitor landscaper in
Italy in the snow, shoveling thesnow, and he got acquainted
really well with his boss, drBrindisi, and, yeah, they became

(35:37):
friends.
And Dr Brindisi asked him oneday he's like why you work so
hard?
And my dad said I got to workhard so I can collect enough
money to save my family.
And as they became friends, oneday my dad asked if Dr Brindisi
could do him a favor.
And Dr Brindisi said what is it?
I need you if you could lend memoney to save my family.

(35:58):
And Dr Brindisi asked how muchdo you need?
My dad says I need about 10million lira.
In 1986, that was about 6,000 USdollars and Dr Brindisi said
come back.
On Wednesday, when my dadreturned, he gave him 10 million
lira and an envelope of cashand he said this is not a loan,
this is a gift.
Oh, my goodness.
But also we have a secondmother, leta Michael-Towelde,

(36:20):
who also I have a sister.
My dad had a daughter from her,ruth, and they worked together
to help us escape from Eritrea.
So it's an incredible story Runto Overcome my autobiography.
It's been published so peoplecan read that, whether through
audio, or you can get it onAmazon or through my website,

(36:43):
marathonmibcom, and I couldpersonalize it.
But that's the story, that'sthe synopsis.
Short and to the point, butthat's the story of the family.

Speaker 3 (36:52):
Thank you for sharing that.
And I haven't read Marathon Mib.
I've read Mib for Mortals and26 Marathons.

Speaker 10 (36:58):
Marathon Mib is my website.
Run to Overcome is out of ourway.
Run to.

Speaker 3 (37:01):
Overcome.
Thank you, okay, right, okay,thank you, yeah, all right, so
that's next on my list.

Speaker 10 (37:07):
All right, appreciate it.
No, it's a.
It's a.
I mean, like I said, it's abeautiful.
God was with us through all thetrial and tribulation and the
you know we can talk about later.
But the run to overcome, thereason that did that is I
accomplished a lot in my running, but my brothers and sisters
have equally accomplished intheir own fields.
And the story came after I wonthe New York city marathon

(37:28):
because I did not go to Beijingand I'm skipping the head
probably, but you know I didmake the Beijing Olympics where
I won a silver in 04, trying tomake a comeback win another
medal for our country.
But due to a stretch fracture,I didn't have to reset my goals,
reassess my body, get a lot ofadvice and then that's why the
reason is called Run to Overcome.

Speaker 8 (37:48):
Okay so, Meb, you raced at the very highest levels
of this sport, but you've alsobeen a fixture at community
races.
What's your favorite part aboutinteracting with everyday
runners like us?

Speaker 10 (38:00):
With everyday runners.
I have a lot of respect becauseI know we talked about earlier
my God given talent and runningcomes easy.
It's not easy.
It comes easier to me, but toothers it does not.
And it comes easy, it's noteasy.
It comes easier to me, but toothers it does not.
But my dad, the reason I'mempathetic or have a feeling for
those middle of the pack or theback of the pack runners are
because they wake up so early tolog in miles before they go for

(38:22):
a run or, excuse me, betweenlunchtime or work you know doing
in the evening after work.
And my dad woke us up,similarly at 4 30 am to learn
english as the dictionary beforegoing to 7 30 o'clock, o'clock.
So we have a lot of parallelthere that I worked extremely
hard to learn english and youguys work extremely hard to

(38:43):
finish half marathon or fullmarathon or even sometimes 5k
and 10k.
So that's where the mutualrespect comes in, because, man,
I was working hard to get theyou know, to learn English, the
vocabularies English andTigrinya.
And I know you know everydayrunners work also extremely hard
to stay fit, to stay healthy,trying to be an example for

(39:04):
others.

Speaker 3 (39:05):
I remember Alberto Salazar writing and saying he
couldn't imagine running forseven hours.
That's about how long it takesme to finish a marathon these
days, and there are a lot of usout there like that, so I
appreciate that.

Speaker 10 (39:22):
Absolutely.
I mean, I think it's importantto understand.
You know everybody havedifferent gifts, different
talent, different motivation.
But as long as you set yourgoals to say I'm going to get to
the finish line, it doesn'tmatter how long it takes you,
it's all about even.
We'll talk about Rio, but Istruggled in Rio.
I stopped seven times, butpeople encourage you.
I've done other races where IDNF or did not finish.

(39:44):
It's heartbreaking for all ofus, no matter what level you are
.
But getting to that finish lineis magical, for all of us are.
But getting to that finish lineis magical for all of us.
It doesn't matter if you'retrying to win or top 10 or top
three or just getting the bestSPR or you know, some people,
the everyday runner, neverimagined doing a marathon, and
then tears fall off when comeacross the finish line.

(40:07):
So it's magical for everyone.

Speaker 8 (40:09):
It's wonderful.
Yeah, thanks.
That's great when you're in themiddle of a race and things
aren't going according to plan.
What mental tools do you relyon to stay focused?

Speaker 10 (40:20):
When I'm in the middle of the race, I try to be
focused on what I'm doing andthe beauty of running is you
know if it's not, you know, youhave prediction.
I think I can hold this pace.
Maybe I cannot hold this pace,so the beauty is you can hit the
brakes a little bit and collectyourself.
But I do a lot of prayers,whether it's in a little bit of
Italian, a little bit of Tigrina, a little bit of an English,

(40:41):
whatever works.
I'm willing to say God, help meget to that next step, next
mile, and sometimes, like, forexample, new York 2013, my mind
says lift your right leg.
And I was going for a win.
I was not the best conditionI've been, but the race
organizer asked me to come and,as a competitor that I am, I
gave all that I have for the 19miles and then 19.2,.

(41:03):
My body just says you're notgoing anywhere and it was the
weirdest feeling ever.
So basically, it just says okay, I didn't fall, I didn't hurt
myself.
I feeling ever.
So basically he just says okay,I didn't fall, I didn't hurt
myself.
I know how it feels to be inthe top 10.
I know how it feels to win, butI'm going to get to that finish
line and a lot of things cometo your head and saying
motivation my dad, walking over225 miles, saved his life.

(41:25):
Or the cancellation ofHurricane Sandy in 2012,.
New York city marathon.
Or the bombing in the Bostonmarathonathon 2013, people who
would not get able to finish.
I put that on myself.
I say you know what, I'm gonnaget that finish line, no matter
how long it takes me.
But I struggle.
You know, sometimes I talkabout the 520 when I was seventh
grade and I usually run aboutunder five minutes for per mile

(41:48):
for 26.2 miles.
But that mile from 19 to 20, ittook me twice as long.
It was like 958 or 957.
But what is the wheels is a way.
I said I'm going to walk, seewhat it is, and people encourage
you, support you and cheer youon and then eventually walk, run
, walk, run, walk and run.
And then eventually I ran intoMike Cassidy from Staten Island.

(42:11):
I met him that morning morningand then we encouraged each
other with 5k to go and he wasstronger than I was but he could
have left me in the dust, buthe encouraged me, he ran every
step with me and we finishedhand in hand and that's what the
connection with everydayathlete is.
That's what you have to thinkin the moment.
Why, why not me?
Sometimes, and then the othertimes is like you know what?

(42:33):
I'm just going to get to thatfinish line, no matter what,
because people to the front ofyou, to the back of you, to the
side of you are giving you athumbs up or word of
encouragement, and that keepsyou going.

Speaker 3 (42:43):
This this is what I'm sorry.
This is what I think is uniqueabout running in the running
community.
I am here speaking with one ofthe greatest distance runners of
all time and I get it.
Meb, I understand what you'retalking about.
Your five minute miles are my11 minute miles, but I get it
and I think that's what ourfriends who are listening today

(43:08):
will appreciate I mean, Iremember reading 26 marathons
will appreciate.
I mean, I remember reading 26Marathons.
You had an injury problem.
You broke a hip.
I believe in the what was it?
The 2007 trials, correctNovember of 2007.
And you were talking aboutrecovering and the trials and
tribulations you went throughand I went.

(43:28):
I know what that's like.
It's such a thrill to hear fromyou and it's so motivational.
I appreciate it.

Speaker 10 (43:36):
And I think, the unique thing about us we share
the same road, whether it's 5k,10k, half marathon, full
marathon, like you said.
The paces might be different,but the journey itself is the
same.
The training is similar.
Some of us, we do it forprofession and try to be as
efficient, as quick as possibleby the end of the day.
When I say I ran four miles,you know exactly how far a mile

(43:59):
is.
Oh, I did that yesterday.
Or I did it last week.
Or when you say I did a halfmarathon, you know exactly what
pain you went through, the achesand pains and the exhaustion
that goes into it.
And the next day we're walkingbackward.
It doesn't matter when you'rein the front of the pack or the
middle of the pack or the backof the back.
You're struggling, going.
You know, the day before you dostrides and the next day barely

(44:22):
going through the security ofthe airport, struggling.
You know we all relate to thatand I think you know our sport,
with respect, is mutual and andthe understanding of how hard it
is, because you know, withouttraining we would not know.
But I I know I can't like, ifyou ask me to do a marathon
tomorrow, there's no way I cando it, but I respect the

(44:44):
training, I respect theperseverance, and then
eventually give me eight weeks,or 10, 12 weeks, and then I'll
be there and hopefully in abetter shape than I was.
But everyone can relate to that.
And then the thing is we pavethe road for the middle of the
pack, the back of the pack, butat the end of the day we all are
marathoners.

Speaker 8 (45:03):
There was something you said in that last thing.
You walked during a marathon.
You walked during a marathon.
But a lot of our listeners dothe run-walk method.
So we run a little bit, we walka little bit, but people say,
well, I'm not a real runnerbecause I walk in a race.
I mean you saying that I don'tthink anyone out there is going
to say you're not a real runner.

(45:24):
So I think that was great forour listeners to hear.

Speaker 10 (45:27):
No, it's important.
Jeff Galloway thing program isthe, where you know got to
respect, give, respect is dueand he has a chance for more of
the sport to be able to do therun walk.
He sure has have walkedmarathons.

(45:49):
I try to walk half marathon butI can do the injury or get
ready for a race.
I couldn't do it.
But yeah, I mean Rio.
I walked seven times and thenthe fall at the end is a
surprise, but I struggle.
So whenever you can, if you canget ahead of the game.
I do coaching online now and Itell people sometimes you got to
start with walking and thenhalf a mile walk and then you go
a mile, so whatever it is toget you to fitness.

(46:10):
But also I tell peoplesometimes you got to start with
walking and then half a milewalk and then you go a mile, so
whatever it is to get to thefitness.
But also I have people who usedto walk in the marathon and
they shaved off 45 minutetraining with my program, run
Dot, and be able to say you gotus to not run, I mean to run
throughout the whole thing andit's a magical thing.
I tell them jokingly.

(46:31):
I I said you were running 28miles before.
I'm ranking you around 26points miles because now you
saved up 40 minutes or 30 sec,30 minutes or things like that
is it's magical, but it is goodfor everybody.
Depends where you are,sometimes even in training.
I have walked toward the finishbecause my body just kind of
gave up on me I was, I was goingto save, but you brought it up.

Speaker 3 (46:51):
I remember watching the Rio Marathon and the finish.
It was wet, right, and itrained, and well, look, you tell
us how the finish went.

Speaker 10 (47:00):
So the finish, you know, to the great John Bonoy,
the great legend, first woman toever win the gold medal in LA
1984.
So you know, we talked.
I didn't take my hat off at thetrials, which was in la, and
then at the rio olympics.
I'm like this is finally mylast olympics, I'm gonna be like
her, take my, have my hat here,actually, so my 26 hat.

(47:24):
I was going like this, I'mrunning.
I said that guy in front of me,I can't catch him.
The guy behind me, he's notgonna catch me, I'm gonna in.
And then all of a sudden I'mlike, okay, let me just tip my
hat off for everybody, likeJohnny did.
And then as soon as I went formy hat, I slipped my left knee,
went straight down, my right legwent straight out.

(47:44):
Like a gymnast, I'm like, Ialways went.
I'm fascinated how the gymnastcan be so flexible.
But that day, unexpectedly,right before the finish line,
and I dragged myself I'm a bigfootball fan dragged myself to
the finish line and I did.
It was dead quiet, everybodyjust saw me fall.
It was like ooh, I'm like I gotto let them.

(48:05):
I'm okay, I got to let them.
Okay, I'm going to do threepush-ups for my girls One, two,
three.
Push up for my girls, one, two,three.
And then, literally, I knowthat the timing chip is on my
foot, so you know.

(48:26):
I learned that later on, but sothat's what happened, and a lot
of people.
By the way, I was running whenthat year in chicago, by the um
lake shore, was a person we'rerunning and he stopped and then
he did.
I thought he had hamstringissue.
He did the push-up.
He goes in your honor.
And then a lot of peoplehaven't done.
I didn't want to met on Rio,but the push-up went viral and,
uh, even at the Air ForceMarathon I was there and I had a
lot of the people in theuniform.

(48:47):
All 26 of us were in thepush-up.
So it it was pretty cool.

Speaker 3 (48:51):
It is.
It's classic.
If you haven't seen it, friends, look for it.
It's just, it is so cool.
It is such a cool, calm andcollective way to take what's a
little mini adversity and turnit into triumph.

Speaker 10 (49:04):
You know, sometimes life gives you a lemonade and
lemon.
And you got to make a lemon.

Speaker 4 (49:08):
You did it, you did it and you got to make it right.
So, speaking of that you'vealluded to it a couple of times
of like races not going exactlyhow you wanted them to, or even
runs not being great.
So for our friends who arepreparing for their first
marathons, what piece of advicewould you give them to not get
frustrated with those bad runs,or maybe a string of bad runs?

Speaker 10 (49:28):
You know, life is a progress and work in progress
and injuries are part of sportand disappointment is part of
life.
So when you are getting readyfor a marathon, don't bank on it
that every run is going to benice and pleasant.
It's going to be ups and downsand trial and tribulation, but
the key is to stay healthy, tostay prehab instead of rehab.

(49:52):
Try to stay healthy, stretch.
Back in the days in the 80s oreven 90s, people used to say go
that extra mile, go harder, goharder, go harder.
That's not the case anymore.
You got to be smart.
I'd rather see people run oneless mile and then use that time
, whether it's that 11 minute,12 minute mile.
Use six minute, five minute tostretch and then the same thing
afterward and do it consistently.

(50:13):
And you know, as we struggle inthe middle of the run,
sometimes it's not going to beyour day.
Just cut your losses and andrecover for next week, because
you want to keep the momentumgoing and consistency is the
name of the game.
You know it's not like oh, Ihad that great race pace or that
great long run, but it'scumulative of blocks.
You know the hardest partaround running is whether it's

(50:35):
cold or or hot is lacing yourshoes up.
Get out the door.
Once you do that, you're gonnaget inspired by seeing other
people run and it's like youknow what.
I'm glad I came out today andand then, if you're struggling,
just find somebody who can bemeeting you there, because it
makes you accountable to be ableto be there speaking of
recovery, is there one like forsure recovery thing that you

(50:59):
would always want people to do?
ice bath.
I do it for all of you guys,whether you're in the middle of
the pack or the back of the pack.
Ice bath.
Don't do it, because I did forall of us I do cold showers
every day, even some functions.
people say, hey, you want to dothe ice bath?
I really retire, for I don'tretire from running, but I
retire from certain things likeice bath.

(51:19):
I'm doing blood testing and allthat stuff 7 am and that I
don't miss any of that stuff.
But what do you have?
A good one is, I think that Ibelieve stretching is important,
and the one I live by is UCAN.
Ucan is an amazing product.
I don't endorse it anymoreright now, but I still use it
now to this day.

(51:40):
It's a great product, somethingthat you can have powder and
then water and then the firstthing that goes into your system
and it's going to give you twohours of just non-crushing
energy, and so you can go to themarket or you can hang out with
friends and then come home havea real meal.

Speaker 8 (51:56):
Going back to some training.
If someone only has three orfour days a week to train, what
should they focus on for themost benefit?

Speaker 10 (52:05):
allocated for training.
I really think spread them outand then just do maybe one far
leg or one intervals and theother one recovery and then the
other one.
Uh, you know six, evensometimes six, seven mile long

(52:26):
run is long run, it dependswhere you are at in the season.
But I said, you know, spreadout into seven days, don't try
to do three days in a row orwhatever it is so every two days
, every two days, I think, isthe best way to do it, like I in
my 20th marathon ormethamortals.
I talk about the nine day cycle.
If you can do that, I think it'dbe good if say, hey, one day is

(52:47):
going to be, you know, starteasy and then intervals.
You know start easy and thenintervals.
You know it could be fart leg,it could be 800 or one mile, one
mile on one mile off, one mileon one mile off, up to four
miles or five miles, and thenalso save one for long run.
Depends what you're gettingready for.
If I have to choose, eliminateone of them it would be probably
the recovery is important.

(53:08):
I would eliminate the intervalsand just do long runs or
semi-long runs twice a week.

Speaker 3 (53:14):
Let's talk about the long run for a moment, because I
remember reading in 26Marathons and also you brought
up the name Jeff Galloway.
We use Jeff Galloway's trainingmethods and he always talks
about you cannot do the long runtoo slowly, that the long run
is for endurance, about youcannot do the long run too
slowly, that the long run is forendurance.
But the question we get asked,meb, is if I train so slowly in

(53:36):
the long run, how am I going tobe able to increase my pace come
race day?

Speaker 10 (53:41):
My long run's always been slow long runs.
I don't believe combiningtempos with long runs.
Only if you are playing catchup.
Maybe you need to do that, butthat's a little bit risky.
Because you're on a catch up,maybe you need to do that, but
that's a little bit risky.
But because you play, yeah, andat deadline, so you need to do
what you need to do to get.
But if you can allocate of longruns gonna be long run.
Mine is typically about aminute to a minute and 15 second

(54:02):
per mile slower.
But the other one we talkedabout, maybe if you have three
days, is a tempo run.
What is a tempo run is anywherefrom 20 minutes to an hour or
more to an hour and 15 maybe ofrace pace.
I would do a good warm-up, amile warm-up, a mile cool-down
and then if you can go fourmiles, six miles race pace,

(54:25):
eight mile race pace and if youcan make it to 10 miles or 12
mile race pace, you will be ableto do okay in a marathon or
accomplish your goal.
Because you're doing acombination of race pace or
faster and then combine it witha slow run, you're going to
cover the distance as efficientas possible.
It depends on how many days youhave available.

(54:46):
But if you can add a little bitof fart legs or progressive run
on some days, be ready toalternate.
Don't have to be like Sundayevery long run, don't say that,
just change it sometimes tointervals or sometimes to tempo
and things like that.
But as long as you have enoughtime of cushion, it's good to be

(55:07):
able to vary a little bit.
And then long run should alwaysbe, personally for me, slower
than run race pace.
And then if you can make it to18, you can make it 21, 22,
you'll be ready because even ifyou do 22 mile or 20 miles, you
will be, you already been on thetime on your feet for the
direction yeah, yeah, thank you.

Speaker 3 (55:29):
I mean we talk about quite a bit again when our
friends hear it coming from you.
It just carries more weight andwe appreciate it.

Speaker 4 (55:36):
So, looking back, is there a race that you feel most
defined your career?
Not necessarily the most famousone, but the one that meant the
most personally to you?

Speaker 10 (55:44):
You know, as Bob mentioned earlier in the
introduction, is to be the firstperson to ever win the silver
medal, which was huge RightListen for everyday runners.
Just making the cross countryteam was a big day for me.
And then when league was evenbigger, and then it's like can I
qualify for state?
So there've been so many in mycareer that I'm blessed to have,

(56:06):
or winning a state title, orwinning NCAA titles, or winning
my first USA national title.
They were the biggest at thetime but in hindsight now,
winning the silver medal was bigand that was kind of that in
the scene in the world.
And then new york it was evenbigger than the silver medal.
And then the most memorable,the most meaningful is for me,

(56:27):
is the boston.
And now it can confirm that myGod-given talent was running.
And on April 21st 2014, I know Iwas on this earth to inspire
and influence people to thesport of running and, like all,
the odds were against me lessthan 1% chance, even though I
was silver medal.

(56:47):
In New York people didn't thinkI was going to win, but I was
15th person in the startingfield and I was two weeks out of
my 39th birthday, but I had thevictim's name on my bib Martin,
sean, crystal and Lindsey todraw inspiration, it was bigger
than ourselves.
And Lindsay to draw inspiration, it was a bigger than than
ourselves.
And to carry that all the waythrough.
And God had a favor in me to beable to, just, you know, come

(57:10):
across the finish line.
And when I heard, you know,36,000 people wanted something
positive to the running, runthrough from Hopkinton to Boston
, to be able to just hey, toshow resilience, to show unity,
to show that the camaraderie ofour runners and I just was
happened to be the fortunateenough to lead them all the way
through and become the firstAmerican to win in 31 years.

(57:30):
And when they announced BostonMarathon champion, with Greg
Myers right there, he, when Ihad to talk to him that morning,
and and and just you know itwas goosebumps.

Speaker 3 (57:43):
So am I right here, right now.
So am I yeah.

Speaker 10 (57:47):
You know it was.
You know USA, usa fist bumping,that's what the bombing was.
It was just a three-hourlifetime.
You know there was a movie,Miracle on the Ice, and that was
Miracle on the Road.

Speaker 3 (57:59):
Yes, yes.

Speaker 10 (58:01):
That was the most solidifying of my career and,
even though the others were huge, that one stands the most and
that was your personal best.
Right it is, and it's at theBoston Marathon course, and
that's before super shoes andall that.
My goal was to win top three orrun a personal best, and
sometimes we kill three birdswith one stone and that is the

(58:25):
most epic race.
And, yes, 208, 37, my pr andwill be my PR forever.
So it's kind of interesting.
It's not and it's not an easycourse, but you know, you know,
uh, I felt very blessed, a verydramatic day in in running
history.

Speaker 3 (58:43):
I said I remembered you doing the push-ups, but but
by golly I sure remember thatBoston finish too.

Speaker 10 (58:48):
Yeah, I mean, I think you know I have great
friends in Alabama and you knowthey prayed for me and as many
people do, you know, I had thetomatoes with me that night, I
believe that day, and they worethem.
It's like, well, let's havehealthy race for everybody.
And uh, and you know, and theypray for me, to just say, hey,

(59:08):
you know, this is uh, we'll prayfor a healthy race for
everybody.
It would be nice if meb couldget that third medal.
And I remember the airsmith orsomething had a song about
boston and he said david khan,also my friend.
He sent me, uh, six and a halfor so marathon runner from
Alabama Sent me, if you wintomorrow, a text that says your

(59:31):
name is going to be plasteredeverywhere.
And boy was he right.
And then for my 40th birthdayhe gave me the three big
articles, the three magazines onthe front Not the sports
section, but the front of thepapers, and it was just such a
blessing, yeah.

Speaker 3 (59:48):
I mean, it was an American story, it was it
transcended racing.

Speaker 10 (59:52):
Thank you, thank you , yeah, and it was.
I mean, it was it was, it wasspecial for all of us.

Speaker 8 (59:56):
We've heard your stories, your migration from
Eritrea to Italy, to San Diego.
So what principles from yourrunning career have helped you
face challenges off the course?

Speaker 10 (01:00:08):
You know from my journey opportunities when they
come, hold on to them and try tomaximize it the best you can.
I could be in Europe and I'mlike I can't believe I came all
the way for a 5K.
But it's not about the 5K, it'sthe people that help you get to
be healthy, from the physicaltherapists, from the coaches,
from the training partners orfrom people pacing.

(01:00:30):
You invested in you so youcan't let them disappointment.
So from athletics I learnedthat there's surround yourself
with good people at the end ofthe day, and and and work hard
and not give up.
You know, sometimes runninglike you know it's, it's not
like every marathon that I ran.
At one point or another I saidwhy am I doing this again?

(01:00:50):
I want to.
You want to give up because somany people have invested in you
and in life.
The same thing, you know,whether it's in college or
whether it's a high school ortutoring and so many people want
to help you be a better personand and you don't take it
lightly you want to.
You know you want to excel, butpeople want to help you be a
better person, and you don'ttake it lightly.
You want to excel, but you wantto excel for everybody.
I might run the marathons, butthere's so many people like my

(01:01:11):
wife, my brother and coaches whoare able behind to make sure I
have the opportunity to excel tothe best that I can, but I do
represent everybody who I sharemy journey with, and that's
where the run to win comes.
It doesn't necessarily meangetting first place, but getting
the best out of yourself.
So the sport teaches us that,even though sometimes things

(01:01:33):
happen in life, it isdisappointing and somehow you
have to have the grit and themindset to be able to say you
know what that was.
Yesterday, I got to start freshand make better choices, just
like a race sometimes.
Before I won the BostonMarathon in 2013, I had a very
disappointing 2013 New York CityMarathon, but you've got to
believe in yourself.
You've got to believe in yourtraining, you've got to believe

(01:01:54):
in the team that you'resurrounded with.

Speaker 4 (01:01:56):
So, Meb, what do you see for your future?

Speaker 10 (01:02:00):
Ooh, that's a I used to ask.
People used to ask me that whenI was in college and I used to
always said I hope to be a goodperson.
And then I also said whateverGod has planned for me.
I mean it's hard for me If youask me, did I have dreams,
ambitions to win Boston,ambitions to win metal or New
York?
I do, but I try to be in themoment and try to do the best

(01:02:24):
that I can and I know alreadyGod has planned for me, whether
it is into the coaching business.
I've been doing this for alittle bit, or never thought I
had the idea of writing a bookand people are still asking for
another book now that they haveread the three of them.
But coaching, I think, isinterest of mine and business is
always, has been and.
But I want to know I'm gratefulfor new balance, for giving me

(01:02:47):
this opportunity to be a, be anambassador, even though I don't
came, not competing.
But I hope to be part of thesport for many, many, many more
years to come and I love thesport.
It has done so many things forme and I'm grateful for the
sponsors in the past and presentto be able to, but especially
new balance, because they didn'thave to do this and I feel I
think meeting and greetingpeople has always been my

(01:03:11):
passion and to be able to dothat, you know, like role model.
Bill Rogers and others that havedone that are really you know,
frank Schroeder and others whowho've been in there.
I said you know what theyshould have a shoe sponsor and
they should be able to do thosethings.
And I felt very fortunate andmy hats off to my brother also,
howie Management who worked withNew Balance and New York to be

(01:03:32):
able to make this happen for me.
I'm grateful for theopportunities that have provided
still been provided, for me.
I don't take them lightly orfor granted, but I am always
humbled.
And to be 50 years old and tobe an ambassador for the sport
that has done so much for me andmy family and continue to do
for others, I want to be part ofthat journey, to be able to be

(01:03:53):
the best, the best ambassador Ican be.

Speaker 3 (01:03:55):
And the running community is fortunate to have
you.
One thing I think is part ofyour future I'd like to talk
about a little bit before we letyou go, and that's the MEB
Foundation.
Can you tell us about themission of the MEB Foundation
and the kind of work you do withthat?

Speaker 10 (01:04:10):
Yeah, the MEB Foundation is Maintain X
Unbalanced through Health,education and Fitness for Kids.
You know, just like when I wasin ninth grade, I did not.
I could not afford shoes.
So this is a time for toempower youth and families to
maintain excellent balance,because sometimes the kids want
to run and the parents' job isto bring the good nutrition to
take them out and be part ofthat.

(01:04:31):
But I think I really believethat exercise and fitness kind
of helps you be a better studentand I want to encourage people
to provide that, whether it'sduring PE class or after school
or before school, to be able tohelp them be the best themselves
.
Yes, sometimes it's challenging,it's difficult to get up early,

(01:04:53):
but I think the mindset ofcommitment, perseverance, hard
work and time management arecrucial.
As we know, we're in the frontof the pack, we're in the middle
of the pack, we're at the backof the pack.
Later on in our life we see howmuch benefit we get out of the
sport of running and this is aperfect way to introduce that to
young kids and even at the highschool level.

(01:05:14):
Sometimes you know you're latefor baseball, sport of baseball,
basketball, football.
They're like go give me a lap.
You know it's a punishment,punishment, and we want to
change that perception.
Every sport running is afundamental of all sports, you
know, and that's what.
But we don't realize that untillater on, whether you are later
after high school or college orlater on, and I think that's

(01:05:37):
very important for me tointroduce that at a young age,
and whether it's middle schoolor high school.
With the met foundation, whichyou know, gives back, give back
a lot, a lot to existing clubsthat have to do with youth, but
all in Tampa and San Diego.
We have done some work in NewYork, boston, atlanta and, you
know, especially empoweringyoung girls or young men.

(01:06:01):
That's what it did for me, youknow, when I was in seventh
grade.
If it wasn't for sport, Iwouldn't be here talking to you.
For that, I think that's a lifechanging experience.

Speaker 3 (01:06:08):
How can our friends who are listening get involved
or maybe support the foundation?

Speaker 10 (01:06:12):
Yeah, you can support the Meb Foundation
through the mebfoundationorg.
You can donate there.
But our main way of fundraisinghas been through the New York
City Marathon, boston Marathonand now Chicago Marathon, and
sometimes they've been verygenerous people who just
contribute to the website.
But also some generous peoplehave given, you know, hosting

(01:06:35):
functions at their houses and beable to do fundraising.
So that's how we've done agreat job, I think, and it's
thriving.
We're doing really well and youknow we gave out 60,000 last
year and continue to do thatthis year to different clubs to
help them.
You know there's alreadyexisting youth programs.

(01:06:56):
We just try to help them asmuch as we can, not all at one,
but to different part of thecities.
Well, you're welcome over hereAnytime.

Speaker 3 (01:07:01):
Well, you're welcome over here anytime.
I'm just across the bridge andmy wife makes great cookies.
All right, that's good.
Listen, this has beendelightful.
Before you go, we love to hityou up with a couple of quick,
quick answer.
Closing questions.
Okay, Guys, you ready?
Mm-hmm.

Speaker 10 (01:07:20):
Favorite post-race meal, first post-meal after a
generation.
You can For me it's omelet.
I like to have omelet or eggs.
That's my first recovery.

Speaker 4 (01:07:30):
What is your go-to pump-up song for a race?

Speaker 10 (01:07:34):
There's two of my pump-up songs.
They're Empire State of Mind ofNew York.
New York is great and I loveEminem's One Shot, one
Opportunity.
So when you're at the startingline, you got to get it done
because a marathon, you got towait six months.
Otherwise.
Yeah right.
Most scenic place you've everrun and that I've been around
the world and, honestly, mammothLake is probably one of the

(01:07:57):
scenic in terms of, but I lovebeing by the water.
When I'm by the water, I loveSan Diego and to be able to be
in the water and be in thebridges and things like that.
Those are things, but there'splenty other places.
That's the beauty of being adistance runner you can go where
there's no cars, not evensometimes bikes, and going about
your two own feet can go andsee an amazing things what is

(01:08:18):
one piece of gear you can't runwithout does shoe counting count
?
You're going to shoes, there yougo.
Yeah, one other thing is youguys probably know is I always,
always, carry this thing here,chapstick.
I got to have it before my run,before I go to races.
I get dry lips, so that's theone thing that I got to have it

(01:08:42):
before I leave.
In fact, I leave it on myracing flats and you're a calf
sleeves guy too, aren't you?
I it before I leave.

Speaker 3 (01:08:45):
In fact, I leave it on my racing flats, and you're a
calf sleeves guy too, aren'tyou?

Speaker 10 (01:08:48):
I do, I do.
I do have compression socks.
A CEP.
For a long, long time, andprobably 21 years before CEP, I
used to wear compression socks.
It helps, it just minimizes,because you can stumble on a lot
of cracks on the pavement roadand you know we get fatigued, we
get tired.

(01:09:08):
So elite athlete for manyreasons.
One reason is because theysponsor head to toe.
They can't have other shoes,socks, things, so.
But I've been fortunate enoughto be able to do that over the
years and last your dreamrunning partner, Pastor Preston.
That's a tough one.
There's been great ones.

(01:09:28):
I mean you can go to Jim Ryanand you can go to a lot of
Rambler Rogers, but growing upmy hero was Haile Gebrselassie.
It really was.
You know the variety he hasfrom the versatility he had,
from the 1500 meter indoor worldchampion all the way to the
marathon.
I wanted to be like him.

(01:09:50):
I and I got to meet him.
We have one race together, acouple of races on the track,
even including the 2000 Olympicepic finish with him.
But I never really ranrecreational run with him and it
would be fun.
I think he's done a great thingfor the sport and
internationally that's what Iwould do and nationally I think
Bill Rogers would be the one.

(01:10:10):
And I've done numerous of BillRogers' runs together, which has
been fun.

Speaker 3 (01:10:15):
Well, Meb Kovleski, running champion.
I have been looking forward tothis for a long time, sir, Thank
you so, so much for giving yourvaluable time sharing with it
here on the podcast.
I know our friends who listengot a lot out of this.
Thanks again and I'll see you.
I'll probably see you atGasparilla.

Speaker 10 (01:10:37):
That'd be great.
Gasparilla Distance Classicwill be great and Bob and Alicia
and John great to be with youguys on your Rise and Run
podcast.
All those people that listen tothis hope to see you meet you
some ways.
If I have, keep on runningstrong.
You know run to win doesn'tmean get first place, but
getting the best out of yourself, and I know you guys do that

(01:10:58):
every time.
Every mile counts and sometimeswe go to tough challenges in
life.
But at the end of the day,running is a therapy.
You go out there, a camaraderiethat brings friendship.
That brings runners are alwayskind and gentle and inclusive
for many parts.
So hats off to you guys.
Keep on running and keep onbeing the best you can be.
Caution runners Change of topicahead.

Speaker 3 (01:11:23):
That was every bit as much fun as it sounded.
Meb was an amazingly graciousguest.
It couldn't have been nicer.
We all chatted beforehand.
We showed up early because wedidn't want him waiting on us
and we all chatted.
You know, a little nervous, buthe put us at ease right away

(01:11:45):
and it was.
It was fantastic.
So I really hope you gotsomething out of that.
I know that I did just talkingwith him and golly, we're just,
you know, we're just regularrunners, but we're all runners
and that was.
That was fantastic.
Hey, disneyland roll call willbe next week.
So Disneyland roll call will benext week.

(01:12:07):
Our buddy Rob sent me thenumbers.
They're still off a little bit,although actually for the
Disneyland Halloween raceweekend our race report numbers
are up, but for all the otherraces they're off a little bit.
So you've still got a chance.
If you want to be in theDisneyland roll call, put your
name into the race report.

(01:12:27):
If you don't know how to do it,we can do it for you.
You just got to put your namein the comments.
That race report is in thefeatured section on the Facebook
group, which I know is a loteasier to find if you're on a
laptop than on your phone, butyou can find it on your phone
too, so let us know.
We'll do the roll call nextweek.
Hey, when you get to the expo Imentioned this every year, I

(01:12:51):
haven't brought it up yet Don'tforget to drop by and visit our
buddy, jeff.
He'll be at a booth, jeff willbe there, chris will be there,
but it is well, well, well worthyour time to visit with Mr
Galloway.
He'll make you feel like partof his family when you see him

(01:13:12):
there.
So if you're looking for a nicebreaker, tell him.
You heard him on the Rise andRun podcast.
Jeff's just one of our morefrequent guests and a big fan of
the podcast and what all of youdo for the running community,
the spirit that you have.
That's right in line withJeff's philosophy.

(01:13:33):
I want to remind you there is ameetup at Disneyland two o'clock
on Saturday in the picnic area.
I've talked about it before.
That's right in front of theentrance to Disneyland, which
what we call Magic Kingdom herein Florida, but the original
Disneyland is just to the leftof the entrance.
There You'll find it Shouldhave a pretty good turnout.

(01:13:55):
Alan was texting me earlier.
I think he said 30 or 40 peoplehad said they were coming, so
that's good.
They're a lot of fun friends.
They are a lot of fun and ifyou've got time, that's a good
place to meet up.
There's some question Are wehaving a meetup at Wine and Dine
?
Yes, of course we will.
It'll be at three o'clock onSaturday, but I'm going to wait

(01:14:17):
to put that on the Facebook pageso that I don't confuse people
with the two different meetupsone at two o'clock, one at three
o'clock.
So the Disneyland meetup is onthe Facebook group page already
and the Wine and Dine meetupwill go up there in a couple of
weeks.
Caution Runners.

(01:14:40):
The topic is about to changeright now.
Hey friends, I've talked aboutit a little bit in previous
episodes.
We've got a new affiliate.
Mona Ockenden is with us, headof Mona Moon Naturals.
She's got some products that wethink will fit our friends in
this listening audience verywell, so we've invited her to

(01:15:02):
join us and tell us about them.
Mona, welcome to the Rise andRun podcast.

Speaker 11 (01:15:06):
Thanks, Bob.
I'm excited to be here with allof you today.

Speaker 3 (01:15:10):
Well, thanks for sharing your time.
So this site of yours, thiscompany of yours, mona Moon
Naturals, has kind of acompelling story on how it got
started.
How about, I think, let's startoff by sharing that story,
please.

Speaker 11 (01:15:26):
Oh sure.
A number of years ago, mysister, unfortunately, was
diagnosed with breast cancer andit was during her diagnosis we
learned about the many chemicalsthat are found in our skincare
products, food, clothing.
The list goes on and on.
I know many know about that,and it was during that
transition.
I personally couldn't findnatural deodorant to work for

(01:15:50):
myself and a friend introducedme to a formula like a homemade,
you know, do it yourselfformula, and I started making it
for myself, modifying it for myown skin type and for I made it
for friends and family for anumber of years and it was

(01:16:10):
catching on with gaining alittle bit of popularity amongst
friends and introducing otherfriends, and I was highly
encouraged to start a business,which we did in 2019.
So we rolled out online, beenaround a little while yeah,
we've been around a little bit.
Then, obviously, covid hit,which was, you know, always good

(01:16:32):
and bad for everybody, but wehave a really nice line of
products.
Everything is made with naturalingredients that are
recognizable, you know what theyare, you can read them, and we
work with some local cancergroups.
I was obviously involved withthe Breast Cancer Coalition here

(01:16:54):
locally and the PellutaFoundation, which is one of the
cancer centers here locally andlearned more about what products
people are asking for andneeding.
So that's kind of how we'veadded products to our line and a
portion of our profits arealways donated to cancer
charities.

Speaker 3 (01:17:14):
Oh, that's, significant yeah.
Yeah.
Just a little bit, the nuts andbolts, the idea of, hey, I
think this is a good idea, I'mgoing to make a little in my
kitchen or something, I guess.
And then we moved to a factory.

Speaker 11 (01:17:31):
That's the goal.
One day we, um my husbandactually built, we have a uh
like a, a separate kitchen herein our home that's fully just uh
, dedicated to Mona Mune.
So that's, we do everythinghere, locally here.

Speaker 3 (01:17:48):
I love it.
Entrepreneur, good for you.

Speaker 4 (01:17:50):
Yeah, all right.
Mona, you talked a little bitabout your natural deodorants.
Why don't you tell our friendskind of what goes along with
that and why they might beinterested in those products?
Sure, so just overall.

Speaker 11 (01:18:05):
People have to understand and learn that a lot
of what you put on your skinactually gets absorbed into your
body.
So what you put underneath yourarms, in your armpit area, the
bottom of your feet, under youreyes and your lips, 100% of that
gets absorbed into your system.
So it's really important thatyou're looking for clean,

(01:18:27):
natural products that don't havechemicals in there.
So and people also have tounderstand we need to sweat.
It's you know, it's a bodilyfunction.
You need to sweat.
So just finding a good productthat your body likes and that
helps you manage through the day.
So our original first deodorantis a deodorant paste that you

(01:18:48):
actually apply with your fingers.
It's a solid in a jar or a tin.
You scrape off a little bit andthen rub it with your fingers.
Because of the breast cancer,we say it's paste with purpose,
so we encourage you to check forlumps and bumps.
I love that.
And from there we also have adeodorant stick.

(01:19:09):
So it's a solid, you know, in asolid tube.
It's compostable, which isgreat.
So you can, when you're donewith it, you can, you know,
either recycle it in your curbbox or you can compost it, and
then we have a deodorant spray,so it's kind of like on the go.
A lot of people like that forusing the gym.

(01:19:30):
It's a full body spray, so it'swe have something that caters
to everybody.

Speaker 3 (01:19:35):
What are some of the other products?
Mona?

Speaker 11 (01:19:36):
So we have body butters, which is always a great
treat for your body.
We also have lip balms.
We have six different kinds oflip balms.
We have body powders, which isanother important product that
people like to have.
We have dry shampoo.
We have paw balm for those whohave dogs for their paw puppies,

(01:19:59):
their paws.
We have hand balms.
And then we have essential oilrollers uh, for a number of
products or a number of umailments, for you know, we have
ones that help you sleep.
We have some for headaches, wehave some for upset stomach Um,
we have if you're getting veryanxious, it helps you calm down.

(01:20:22):
Um one if you need to rev upduring your day, we also have a
great chill out spray.
So when you're hot, you justgive yourself a couple of sprays
.
Whether you're at the beach oryou finished a run or you're
walking around Disney World, itjust helps you cool down.
And then we also have a spraythat you use at nighttime to

(01:20:43):
spray in your bed or your roomto help you relax and get ready
for the night.

Speaker 4 (01:20:47):
Speaking of those essential oils, for our friends
that may not be familiar withwhat essentials are, can you
tell a little bit about that andmaybe share a couple of your
favorites and what the benefitsof them are?
Sure, sure.

Speaker 11 (01:20:59):
So essential oils are oils that they come from the
natural plant.
So there's a distilling processthat actually you know it goes
through a process and youactually with the plant, whether
it's a flower or a leaf,depending on the product.

(01:21:19):
So if a lavender, there's alavender, you know the purple
part of the lavender, um, and aprocess, and then you you
actually have an oil.
Um, lavender is um, it's greatto help you relax and sleep.
Um, it's a very calming.
It is.
You'll find um lavender.
We have a lavender version ofevery one of our products.

(01:21:42):
That's in there, the oil, allof our products.
If there is a scent or a flavor, we only use essential oils.
So for our lip balms we havevanilla very, very popular
flavor.
We have tangerine.
We have vanilla mints, sospearmints, peppermints, and we

(01:22:02):
have vanilla mints, sospearmints, peppermints all
those kinds of oils are in there.
Also, in our deodorant we havea tea tree blend, which is tea
tree, lime and grapefruit, soit's a nice blend.

Speaker 8 (01:22:18):
I know a lot of these essential oils.
Some of this stuff sounds likeit might be more for the women,
but what do you have for men outthere, like the deodorant or
the lip balms?
Are those good for us?

Speaker 11 (01:22:31):
Yep, we have everything for everybody, so we
have a lot of male customers.
In addition, we have unscentedversions of everything.
So if you wanted an unscenteddeodorant versus the lavender,
you have that option.
Tea Tree is unisex for anybody.
The lip balms are for anybody,the body butters same.

(01:22:52):
I have a lot of male customersbuying our hand balms.
They're really good.
They buy unscented or they buyour gardener scent, which is
patchouli and orange androsemary.
So there's something foreverybody.

Speaker 3 (01:23:08):
Mona, how do our friends find you?
And you've got a deal for theRise and Run family too, right?

Speaker 11 (01:23:14):
We do, yes.
So you visit our website andit's monamoonaturalscom and
everybody in the Rise and Runfamily.
When you are at checkout, usecode RRUNFAM, so R-R-U-N-F-A-M,
and you'll receive 10% off yourpurchase.

Speaker 3 (01:23:35):
Sounds great.
Well, hey, we look forward toworking with you.
We look forward to trying theproducts and getting some
feedback, and thanks for takingthe time to visit with us.

Speaker 11 (01:23:45):
Sounds great.
Thanks for the opportunity.
Caution runners.
Change of topic ahead.

Speaker 3 (01:23:52):
So Mona moon, natural our our newest affiliate, not
to forget or overlook our olderaffiliate, pamela.
Pamela has is working on.
She has brand new towels.
She sent me a bunch.
I took them with me to DisneyWorld this week.
They all smell great.

(01:24:12):
But I promised Pamela I'd puttogether a video.
Then I'm going to send her abunch of raw video film and see
if she can make something out ofit.
But Pamela's got those.
Those are at her Zen Grove site.
We need to get Pam back on herein a little bit, but she's still
out there.
And Fluffy Fizzy's is still outthere.

(01:24:33):
Guys, the Fluffy Fizzy site isstill out there.
Still has the Happy Runningdiscount, I believe.
Hey, still a chance to orderyour Alien shirt.
I think we had a couple orderedthis week.
Alien shirt for marathonweekend for the 5K.
That's going to be fun.
Judy shipped out a bunch of Riseand Run shirts this week, so

(01:24:56):
you should be getting themshortly.
In fact, I suspect most peoplehave already received theirs.
Hey, thanks to our leaguecommissioners in fantasy
football.
They've really taken the ball,no pun intended, and moved it
forward and got the league setup.
I think there may still be oneor two people they haven't heard

(01:25:16):
from.
So if you said you wanted toplay, you need to sign into the
league.
If you don't do it by Fridaythat's tomorrow day after
release we're going to have toreplace you because it's time to
start drafting for this year'sFantasy Football League, our
episode next week.
I put this in our Facebook group.

(01:25:37):
Our friend, andre Vargas, madea documentary about running his
first marathon at Walt DisneyWorld and I got to tell you I'm
really impressed with it.
I really like it.
I think it's worth your time.
It's very professionally done.
The link that's on the Facebookpage is to the full doc.

(01:26:01):
It's, I think, page is to thefull doc.
It's, I think, an hour and 15minutes.
But if you go into YouTube Ithink I'm pretty sure I'm not
positive I think you can find itin four separate sections.
So you may want to watch itthat way, but it's worth
watching.
And then, if you'd like,andre's going to be with us next
week.
You can.
After you've watched it, youcan put some questions for him

(01:26:23):
in the comment section.
But I think there's a lot ofgood stuff there for first
timers and a lot of stuff that Ienjoyed, having done Gosh.
If I get to do it this January.
This will be my seventh Disneymarathon, and now Please stand
clear of the door.

(01:26:43):
It's time for a race report.

Speaker 5 (01:26:47):
Por favor, manténganse alejado de las
puertas.

Speaker 3 (01:26:52):
Hey friends, race reports sponsored by Thomas
Stokes of Stokes MetabolicTraining, Stokesfit slash rise
and run coaching is the site togo to.
His group and individualtraining plans are still
available.
As his eight-week and I think Isaid eight-month last week his
eight-week summer challenge iswinding up as we get into the

(01:27:18):
race report.
All right, got an honorablemention.
Our buddy, kevin, is asking ifhe can get a PR bell for shaving
47 minutes off of his 10K PR.
But he did it on a cruise ship.
The ship was moving forward.

Speaker 6 (01:27:39):
I mean, kevin, you ask for a lot.
First you ask for a 200-hourepisode.
Now you want a PR bell for this.
But I'll be more than willingto give you a PR bell over a
200-hour episode, that's forsure.

Speaker 3 (01:27:52):
Okay.

Speaker 8 (01:27:54):
You got to give him a foghorn like the boat horn
there we go.

Speaker 3 (01:27:59):
I used to have.
I don't have any more.
I used to have the DisneyCruise Line steamboat chimes
when you Wish Upon a Star.
That used to be my message tone.
I don't do that anymore, butthat's cool.
All right, let's get into thereport and start.
On Saturday Got a couple ofraces here.
First in New York, greta'sGreat Gallop 10K.

(01:28:22):
Grace ran that one and Amy outin Western New York, niagara
Falls, did the Runway 5K.
First race report for Divya Ihope I'm pronouncing that right
my friend D-I-V-Y-A, divya.
She did the PennsylvaniaDairyman's Association YCA

(01:28:45):
Milkshake Mile in HarrisburgFirst race report.
She managed to convince someco-workers to join in this thing
since it was only a mile.
She had 14 by 800s on hertraining schedule.
Did about half of them beforethe race.
Stuck around.
Stuck around so she could runthe race in her age group.

(01:29:07):
Finished in the middle of thepack.
That's pretty cool for a firstrace ever Wait.
First race report and firstrace, that's a PR.
Afterwards appropriately got afree milkshake Then finished the
rest of her 800.
Such dedication, good job andthanks for the report.

(01:29:30):
Mary was in Sanford, northCarolina, for the Carolina
Animal Rescue Association 15K.
This is a challenge event.
You run the 5K.
They give you 45 minutes to doit, to be back back at the start
so that you can start the 10kwith the 10k runners.
Now mary had never run a sub 455k before, but she took it on

(01:29:55):
anyway and got close enough thatwhen she finished she was able
to start.
Then she finished the 10K alittle tough, cried a little bit
, almost gave up halfway, butshe called her running mentor
who helped her through the restof the race.
Not the best, but she did hit anew race distance and that, of

(01:30:19):
course, my friends, is a PR, isa PR.
Carol was in Augusta, kentucky,for the Baker Bird Winery Run.
5k Begins by the Ohio River,runs past the Beehive Tavern and

(01:30:49):
the Rosemary Clooney House andMuseum.
Hilly course ended at the BakerBird Winery, again,
appropriately enough, with awine tasting If you're out there
, great side trip.
If you're in the Cincinnatiarea, excellent run.
So let's go ahead and go toStratford, connecticut, for the
Shore to the Poor 5k.
Stephanie did it.
5k Stephanie did it.
First half of the course feltgreat.
Second half, entirely on sand.
That's tough Challenge to keepa pace, but you push through,

(01:31:14):
earned that finish line,celebrated with two free drinks
at 10 o'clock in the morning.
Medals pretty cool.
Doubles as a bottle opener.
A great nod to the brewery thathosted the race.
We've seen some bottle opener,uh, race medals.
That's uh, that's classic ofbroad street.

Speaker 6 (01:31:37):
I think broad street yeah, apparently this past year
they did not have a bottle.
Yeah, so hopefully that, uh,that that trend comes back yeah,
that was a trend.

Speaker 3 (01:31:45):
There are, but that was the one that came to mind.
Over the weekend our friendLori did two races.
She started on Saturday inCanton Ohio with a 6K.
She wanted to push it but tookit easy.
She's, of course.
We've talked with Lori beforeabout Lori before.
She's a knee replacementpatient.
She is still one.
She's a knee replacementpatient.

(01:32:05):
She is still one.
She's still short of her oneyear x-ray.
Best part of this one was aftershe finished she went back on
course to help her friendValerie finish and Valerie doing
a 5K six weeks post kneereplacement.
You see, friends, let me, letme finish with this.
This was an NFL weekend.
She had to kick off 6K.

(01:32:26):
Then on Sunday, the FootballHall of Fame half.
There was a series of raceshere, the half being the last
one, and when you add them allup they equaled a marathon.
Lori's running 27-30 intervals,which is something she invented
and found it worked best forher.
Intervals, which is somethingshe invented and found it worked

(01:32:49):
best for her.
Uh, about mile seven.
All of a sudden she picked up afew runners in a group that
started running intervals withher and she became a pacer.
That has that happened.
That's happened to me on a race.
That's ever happened to youguys on a race?

Speaker 8 (01:33:00):
yes, yes, it has.
We've all, we've all been there.

Speaker 3 (01:33:03):
Yeah, let's see she finished with a lori, finished
with a runner from arkansas whowas the last one to keep up with
.
Yes, it has, We've all beenthere.
Yeah, let's see Lori finishedwith a runner from Arkansas who
was the last one to keep up withher.
I'm sure if Jack was here shewould tell you.
That's normal for pacers.
At the finish line they hadpopsicles and pizza.
Lori's legs were kind of toastat the end, but this was the
fastest she's done a half sinceknee replacement.
And golly.

(01:33:26):
I think we are lucky to beliving in a time it wasn't that
long ago, and I'm talking maybefive, maybe eight years ago
where if you had a total kneereplacement, you were not
running anymore because the fitwas not precise enough and you
would wear it out and have tohave it replaced.
Now, with robotic surgery, thefit is perfect and you are able.

(01:33:48):
There is running after kneereplacement.
So I'm grateful for that, asare Valerie and Lori.
But speaking of Valerie, we'vegot another Valerie who ran the
half in this race and thisValerie did PR her half marathon
.
And this Valerie did PR herhalf marathon.
Let's move to Sunday and startin Youngstown, Ohio, for the

(01:34:12):
Panarathon 10K Megan Ranit.
Megan joins us this week in theRace Report Spotlight Hiya.
Megan, Hello, Thanks forjoining us.
I'm glad you're here.
We're happy to see you.
You had a good story, Megan.
Hello, Thanks for joining us.
I'm glad you're here.
We're happy to see you.
You had a good story, Megan.
I think I was really.
I found your story compellingand attractive to a lot of our

(01:34:36):
friends who think oh gosh, I'mat the back of the pack, I'm too
slow and I love the.
I don't want to steal yourthunder, but I love the story of
the progress you made and howthings.
I think it's just a great storythat we want to share this week
.
But let's start at thebeginning, as we typically do.
And when did you start runningand what got you involved in

(01:35:00):
doing it?

Speaker 7 (01:35:01):
Okay.
So I had to think about that.
Last night when we decided todo this, I was like, okay, what
story do I go with?
I was one of those.
I loved running at recess when Iwas in elementary school.
By middle school I hatedrunning because they made us do
it in gym class and I wasoverweight and not good at it.

(01:35:21):
And then even in high school, Iwas actually the stat for our
local track team.
So like I went to all the trackmeets, I knew all the things
about running.
I just didn't run.
I ran a little bit in college,just for fitness At least I
think I was running I could.
And then I got an elliptical in2006.

(01:35:43):
And as I was doing that, I waslike, huh, this feels a lot like
running.
I wonder if I could actually dothis outside.
And so for a couple of years Iwent out and ran a couple races
and I was not fast, which ofcourse right now I'd love to be
back at that, but it was, youknow, but it was okay.

(01:36:10):
And then, a couple of raceslater, I was dead last in a
local race and I think that sortof killed the motivation right
there and just so put it awayfor a while and then in 2018, I
saw like I had one of thosepictures that you just look at
and you're like, yeah, we needto do something.
So I started running just onthe treadmill at home and my
actual first like kind of raceback, I did the Chewbacca half

(01:36:35):
virtual half marathon.
That was supposed to be part ofthe Kessel Run challenge thing,
but I didn't know anythingabout the Kessel Run part.
I just saw it was virtual andChewbacca and so I tried.
It Took me four sessions and itwas like over four and a half
hours to do that half marathon.
But then I signed up for StarWars 2021.

(01:36:56):
And, of course, that one wascanceled.
We know what happened.

Speaker 3 (01:37:00):
Right.

Speaker 7 (01:37:00):
Yeah, and so then when the springtime themes came
out that said those sounded cool, so that was.
I signed up for those andpretty much became addicted to
run disney and being in the moreinclusive like being out there
and knowing there were lots ofpeople, my speed and that I
wasn't dead last.
I wasn't the very, very back ofthe pack, although I do have a

(01:37:24):
race where the balloons hit mein the face on the way to the
finish line.

Speaker 3 (01:37:27):
So I have one of those.
There's nothing wrong with that.

Speaker 7 (01:37:31):
That means you finished, true?
Yeah, that was that one.
That one was like the thatballoon part was about right.
Uh, it was still in epcot, likeusually about right, where the
last character stop is.
It was kind of right throughthere going over that speed bump
.
The balloons like passed me andI was like freaking out trying
to catch up.

Speaker 3 (01:37:52):
But yeah, so I've been back there but but you did,
you did do it and you havecontinued to do it, and that's
that's really why I wanted tograb you and put you on this
episode, because I find thisvery motivating.
You nailed it.
This is what Run Disney isabout.
It's about everybody.
It's about those four and ahalf Well, I don't know if we

(01:38:15):
have any four and a half milersat Disney, four and a half
minute milers, but the fiveminute milers and the 15 minute
milers, and even the 17 and 18minute milers, if they can stay
ahead of the balloon, ladies, Ithink it's.
I think it's, I think it'sterrific.

Speaker 4 (01:38:26):
So, megan, why don't you tell us about the race that
you did this past weekend?

Speaker 7 (01:38:30):
Panerathon.
It's been going on for about 16years and I looked this up
because I assumed I alwaysassumed Panerathon was local.
But it's not.
But our local guy, sam Covelli,has the largest Panera
franchise in the country and heis local to us.
We have, like, our arena localarena is called the Covelli
Center and so it's been saidthat our area is one of the

(01:38:54):
worst areas in the nation as faras breast cancer mortality
rates and so all the money fromPanerathon goes to the Joni Abdu
Comprehensive Breast CareCenter that they started to try
and raise awareness and helppeople get testing done to try
and mitigate that.
This year they raised $700,000.
So, like their total in 16years is almost 6 million and so

(01:39:20):
and this year was the biggestyear ever they had over 6,000
people sign up.
And this year was the biggestyear ever, they had over 6,000
people sign up.
The 10K had about 841 finishers.
There's a two-mile race alsoWell, a two-mile walk that most
people do.
So this was my first year doingthe 10K.
The last two years I've donethe two-mile.
So how did it go for you?

(01:39:41):
So it went good and I think myfamily breast cancer runs
through my family.
My mom is a 42 year survivorand so a lot of my family was
there.
Um, but for me, like I went inwith the the mindset of I could
very well be dead last, andthat's okay, this is a training

(01:40:02):
run for Halloween, I can do thisand it was a 10 o'clock start,
so it was already 72 degrees andbut I just started running and
I don't know my legs felt heavy,like I really thought I was
going slow and like I lookeddown at my watch and it was
green, which I have an app thatI have the pace set for 16

(01:40:25):
minute miles and so I don't eversee green, like never.
And I glanced down and I was inthe green and I was like, oh
well, that'll change, you know alittle bit, and but I just kept
going and every mile I hit Iwas in the 16s and I just was
like kind of astonished by that.
That, because I mean that's I'musually up until this summer

(01:40:46):
I've been the 18 minute milerkind of person 17 if it's a good
day, but you're getting better.
Yes, at least I'm hoping thatthat holds through.
True, I think the training'spaying off?

Speaker 3 (01:41:00):
I hope so.

Speaker 7 (01:41:00):
Still a little nervous for two weeks from now.

Speaker 4 (01:41:04):
And tell us about what happened during that race,
because it wasn't just gettingthose 60 minute miles, what what
else happened?

Speaker 7 (01:41:10):
That was great, okay, well so I thought so this was
an out and back and it was threemiles that I had run in a race,
at a half marathon earlier inthe summer.
So I also wanted a little bitof redemption because those
three miles didn't go so wellthe first time.
So in my head, you know, Irefuse to look back because
that's never a good thing.

(01:41:30):
And I know, like on that halfmarathon this summer I know I
was at the very back for a whileand we made so we made the
turnaround.
As I'm looking and like I'mjust watching, like people, and
then there's more people andthere's more people.
I mean I think in the end therewere at least 90 people behind
me.
Oh, that's cool.

(01:41:51):
So I was like, okay, I amdefinitely not last and I'm not
tired and I'm going, and so Iended up.
When I finished, I ended upwith an over a nine minute and
10 second PR.

Speaker 8 (01:42:06):
That's awesome.
That's great.
Where are you going next?
When are we going to see you atany Disney races or anything?

Speaker 7 (01:42:13):
else Pretty much every Disney race.
I am attempting my own perfectseason this year, kind of a
redemption run, doing at leastone race in every weekend on
both coasts so good deal.
I will be pretty mucheverywhere.

Speaker 8 (01:42:27):
And your next race will be Halloween.
Yeah, the.

Speaker 7 (01:42:29):
Halloween half.

Speaker 8 (01:42:31):
You're doing the half , all right, yes, yeah, and I'm
re-attempting Dopey again.

Speaker 7 (01:42:36):
So that's the next big one after the half.

Speaker 3 (01:42:39):
Megan.
That's a big deal.
Megan, we're proud of you,thank you.
You are run Disney.
I think what you're doing isjust great and I think it's very
motivational.
I hope a bunch of our friendswho are listening and thinking
the same oh, I'm too.
So we'll get a littlemotivation out of it and go.
That's not just me, there areothers out there just like me

(01:43:01):
and I can do it.
If she can do it, I can do it.
I think that's fantastic.
So thanks for joining us andsharing this story and we'll see
you soon.
All right, thank you.
Okay, back in Philadelphia forthe Philly 10K.
A couple people there.
Sarah started out a little toofast in the first two miles but

(01:43:23):
eventually evened out, pacedvery nicely, really got a kick
out of running through the city.
Being in Philadelphia wascaptivating.
For her Running down 9th Streetwas particularly special, so
nice that one of her friends wasable to film her crossing the
finish line.
Her first official 10K is inthe books.

(01:43:43):
That's a PR, let me see.
Yvette was there, as was Sean.
Sean also PR'd today, pr'd thePhilly 10K, clocking in at 43.57
.
Smoking, great weather for aperfect run.

Speaker 6 (01:44:11):
Way to go.
This is outside of disney.
This is my favorite 10k thatI've ever run, because it's one
of the very few runs in inphilly that, like it, doesn't go
on the scugle river trail orstarts and ends at the ph Museum
of Art and all that jazz.
You get to run through SouthPhilly and the best part about
it is that just past the 5K mark, bob, you run by Pat's and

(01:44:36):
Gino's.

Speaker 3 (01:44:36):
Yeah, I've seen the pictures.

Speaker 6 (01:44:38):
And I got to tell you they're open then and it's
really tempting not to stop toget a cheesesteak.

Speaker 3 (01:44:44):
Yeah, yeah, that's like Peachtree goes by Krispy
Kreme and Krispy Kreme is-.

Speaker 6 (01:44:49):
Oh, that's right, yeah.

Speaker 8 (01:44:51):
I always heard that Pat's and Gino's aren't the oh
no, they're not.

Speaker 6 (01:44:55):
They are the top tourist cheesesteaks.
Right.
But if you had a gun to yourhead and you had to pick one of
those two?
I am a Pats fan through andthrough.

Speaker 3 (01:45:05):
I never got to either .

Speaker 6 (01:45:07):
You're not missing much.

Speaker 3 (01:45:08):
No, that's what I understand, but that's the
Philly legend.
They're corner to corner acrossthe street from one another yes
yep.
And there's always a line.
I was in LA years ago at Pink'sHot Dogs and there was about a
45-minute line at Pink's HotDogs.
And there was about a 45-minuteline at Pink's Hot Dogs and
people in the line were talkingabout standing in line at Pat's

(01:45:31):
or Gino's.

Speaker 6 (01:45:32):
Yeah, yeah, we would always go there after our
fraternity initiations and thenI would have some fraternity
brothers and they would get acheesesteak at Pat's and then
would walk right across thestreet and go to Gino's and I'm
like that's a lot of meat andcheese in one evening.

Speaker 3 (01:45:49):
Hardcore.
All right, let's continue up.
In Wellston Michigan, the NorthCountry Trail, 50k.
An Ultra Glada Again hope I'mpronouncing that right.
Glada did it Her first trailrace, so why not make it a 50K?
Good aid stations, 10 of themon the course, very well marked

(01:46:13):
that always helps.
Cooler temperatures that helpstoo.
She had a little bit of troublewith dizziness towards the end
of the race, but she was able togut it out and finish.
Nice post-race buffet, greatswag, including what really may
be the world's largest racemedal.
I've seen some big ones, butthis you could serve pizza on

(01:46:36):
this thing.
This was huge, a great placefor a first-time trail run.
And, of course, if we haven'talready done it, here's a PR
bell for your first 50K In NorthBend, washington, the Iron
Horse Half Marathon.
She set out on this half.

(01:46:56):
She had several goals, made themistake that a lot of us do,
going out too fast.
This was supposed to be a fulldownhill race, but it went flat
around mile eight or nine.
I've never run one of thoseadvertised downhill races.
I do understand, though, ifyou're doing it.
When you get to flat you feellike you're climbing, so it gets

(01:47:16):
a little tough.
Not a bad time for her.
She limped her body across thefinish line in 208 for a proof
of time, which is excellent.
That'll last her a couple moreyears.
Beautiful course, cupless racemeant no trash on the course,
great support, good signage anda fun time.

(01:47:37):
In Orlando, jared did the LakeNonona Triathlon Sprint Distance
Tri Down.
In Buenos Aires, argentina,where they're just coming out of
wintertime, our buddy JJ didthe 21K.
Buenos Aires run, grand Rapids,michigan.

(01:47:59):
David did the MillenniumMeadows Marathon.
Millennium Meadows Marathon.
After training in Florida, 60degrees with almost no humidity,
felt just great.
Normally doesn't like loops,but there were three loops in
this gorgeous setting.
He finished first in his agegroup, got a mug as a prize and

(01:48:20):
set a PR.
Summer training fall PR.
It's still a little early butsome of them are starting to
come around.
We wrap it up in Seattle,washington, where Vanessa, who
was with us last week on therace report, race report
spotlight, did the NorthwestTrails Runs, Paradise Valley

(01:48:44):
Half Marathon.
She ran with her friend Renee.
They had a great time on thebeautiful trail Lots of tree
roots, so she tripped a coupletimes.
A run walk is challengingbecause the trails get narrow
and sometimes they're only onewide and that makes it tough if

(01:49:05):
people behind you want to keeprunning.
Nevertheless, she carried onGood support, lots of
electrolytes and snacks at theaid stations.
It was hot in Seattle, Heatadvisory, extreme heat advisory
in Seattle.
Nevertheless, she finished andVanessa recommends this one and

(01:49:25):
my friends.
That is it for the race report,for episode 205.
My friends and if you run, youknow you are our friends this is
a Zoom Thursday, so if you'relistening today, take a look on
the Facebook page.
Instructions for logging intothe Zoom are there.

(01:49:46):
If you've got a chance, comevisit with us.
It's the last one before we getback into the run Disney season
out in California.
We'd love to see you.
We'd love to see people therefor the first time.
We hope you enjoy it.
We hope you come back.
So we'll be there for that andmost of the country is going to
start to cool a little bit as weget into September.

(01:50:08):
That'll feel better.
So your training miles go up,but the conditions get a little
easier.
Still a lot of work to do tillwe get to that big run in
January.
All right, my friends, have fun.

Speaker 6 (01:50:37):
And until we meet again, happy running.
The Rise and Run podcastdiscusses general information
about Run Disney and is in noway affiliated with Run Disney
or the Walt Disney Company.
Any information or advicediscussed on this podcast should
not be considered medicaladvice and should always consult
with your health care provideror event organizer.

Speaker 1 (01:50:58):
Rise and run.
Let the anthem be spun forevery heart that runs for fun,
for every heart that runs forfun.
Rise and run, from start to therun.
Together we shine like themorning sun.
Rise and run, we rise and run,we rise and run.

All Episodes

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

Stuff You Should Know

The Joe Rogan Experience

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}205: Rise and Run With Meb. Miles, Medals, and Motivation

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}On Purpose with Jay Shetty

Stuff You Should Know

The Joe Rogan Experience

All Episodes

205: Rise and Run With Meb. Miles, Medals, and Motivation

On Purpose with Jay Shetty