September 23, 2025 • 43 mins
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, my name is Sherry Witt.
My Instagram handle isSherryBerry101.
Most people know me by thehashtag WittSyndrome.
You're listening to the Run EatDrink podcast, part of the
Runcation Nation.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Welcome to the Run Eat Drink podcast.
We feature destination racesfrom across the country and
after the race, we take you on atour of the best local food and
beverage to celebrate.
So, whether you are an eliterunner or a back of the packer
like us, you'll know the bestplaces to accomplish, explore
and indulge on your nextRuncation, dana.
(00:46):
It's time for another Runcationrecap.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Yeah, we have a very special and well-traveled guest
joining us today.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Yes, a world traveler , a marathoner, an Abbott
Marathon majors pursuer, if youwill, and a pacer for Galloway
and also sometimes a fill-incoach for Coach Twigs on
customized Galloway training.
We are so happy to have on ourshow and welcome you.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Sherry Witt, thank you for having me and, by the
way, when I do fill in for Chris, they call me fun coach.
They call you the fun coach.
You're the fun coach, fun coach, because if they want to do
something that maybe Chriswouldn't let them, I'll say,
sure, go for it.
So let's take yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Good cop, bad cop.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
I love it.
I knew you were going to saythat.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
What we like to do.
First and foremost, we like toask this of all of our guests
For those who don't know you,can you please introduce
yourself to the Runcation Nation?
Tell us who you are, a littlebit about your life outside of
running, where you're locatedand, if you have a beverage in
front of you, what you'redrinking while we're chatting?
Speaker 1 (01:54):
My name is Sherry Witt.
I am, outside of running, achief financial officer, but
that does not mean that I can dorunning math.
So do not expect me to go on arun with you and then understand
what your splits need to be.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
And converting miles to kilometers.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Yeah, it's not my fun , it's my job.
I started running marathonsjust under 10 years ago.
I did so after I got very sick.
I had a stroke, I was sepsis.
They deemed me brain dead.
There was a lot going on Renalfailure and I had to learn to
(02:32):
walk and talk all over again,and one of the things that I had
never done was run a marathon.
So I thought you need to dothis thing, and that's what
started what we now call Wittsyndrome.
And what am I drinking?
I am drinking this weird thing,and it is a lot of vitamins.
So there's AG1.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
It looks like green.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
There is a dose which kind of give it a smoothie.
So like liver and cholesterol,the dose is that drink, and then
I have some pillar vitamin C inhere, some ice and water and
it's like drinking a smoothie.
But it's how I get down.
Some of the Part of running isdoing all the stuff, and so all
(03:16):
the stuff means vitamins,supplements, recovery, things
like that.
So that is what I'm drinking,not because I'm a really good
person, but because I have toget this down, since I ran with
my group this morning that's adisciplinary drinking.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
That's not recreational drinking, right?
No?
Speaker 1 (03:35):
it is definitely discipline.
It's like taking all thosevitamins.
It's a discipline becausenobody likes taking horse pills
no, oh lord, yeah, they're justyou do what you have to do and
I'm in california, like I said,ventura california, which is
halfway between santa barbaraand la.
Yeah, so I actually have a jeffgalloway.
(03:57):
I run a local program here forhim.
We have them all over the world.
We would love to have more butwe don't have enough.
But I have one here and myrunning group.
They keep me sane and they keepme accountable and they make
running fun.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
I always wanted to be a part of a running group, but
I'm always like I'm so slow, I'mafraid to be.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
We do not.
Look, it's so easy to slow down.
I never want to hear someonetell me they're so slow.
I can slow down.
I can run a 15 second run, 30second walk.
That is one of the funnestratios out there.
You can be fast, you can beslow, but you can never be too
slow on your long runs, becauseit's just time on your feet,
(04:42):
right.
So why wouldn't I slow down tohang out with you Because you
seem like you'd be a fun personto chat with for six hours on a
long run.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
So even the most expert runners are going to slow
down, for me that's good.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Yeah, why not Look when we're out there pacing?
We're slowing down to pace.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
So why wouldn't we?
I think it's kind of like, asyou're going to find out as we
go through, it's what I do.
I love helping other runnersand because I run so many I run,
this year I'll have runs by theend of the year 17 marathons.
I run about one to two a month.
(05:22):
Wow, and yeah, and that's notincluding the training runs.
Yeah, like I said, I have JeffGalloway saved my life because I
could have never run a marathonwithout him, but he made it so
much fun it became an addiction.
They call it wit syndrome.
So I just sign up for randomraces.
It's like I get bored at nightand I look for races and I'm
(05:43):
like, ooh, squirrel, that onelooks good.
And then I got all these races.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
So, speaking of signing up, for races like
running.
You said you've run so manythis year 17.
, 17.
17.
Running one marathon ischallenging.
What made you decide to go,after all the Abbott Marathon
majors, which I now I guessincludes Sydney?
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Eva who said I'm signing up for Chicago and
Berlin, run them with me.
So I was like, sure, don'ttempt me with a good time.
(06:32):
So I signed up for those racesin Berlin I got in the lottery,
and Chicago I ended up having torun with a charity I think it
was Paws for Chicago, which isfor animals, and I love animals
and I volunteer animal rescueshelters and I have four German
shepherds because I'm a fosterfail on the highest level and I
am now no longer allowed tofoster dogs because my husband
(06:53):
said we have enough.
But I said great, I'll runthese with you.
And then I thought I've got two, so why not go for the rest of
them?
And if you can?
So I'm always in marathon shape, so why not?
If you get a chance to run amarathon, go do it.
That's how it started.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
That's a good reason, and I am a completionist at
heart myself, so I understand.
If I had two there's six ofthese I need to have the other
four, obviously, so that to memakes total sense.
That would be a brain itch Icouldn't scratch.
It's kind of like the Disney.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Infinity Gauntlet Challenge.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
That's out of our control.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
But I feel like we were going to be completionists
and get all the stones, all theInfinity Stones, and we're
missing like one.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
I have that gauntlet.
I ran those races and then theyadded they're going to add
three more, so that just makesit.
So.
That's why I had to run Sydney,because that's number seven.
So I'll run New York inNovember and that'll be my sixth
star.
I'll finish my six stars withNew York and I'll have done the
six stars in a couple of years.
And then I did Sydney.
I've signed up for Cape Townand I did Tokyo, sydney and Cape
(08:03):
Town with Triumph Sports, whichis a great.
They do these races and theytake care of your hotel and
everything and you don't have todo any.
It's amazing.
And so I'm like what other onesare you doing?
Because you make it so easy.
I don't have to do anything butshow up.
I'm also kind of lazy in thataspect, because I want to put my
energy into the run, not thetravel plans.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Sure, and they can both take a lot out of you.
But I want to talk for just aminute about the training and
how you prepare for a marathon.
We've trained for one.
Back in, I want to say 07, 08.
No, a little later than that.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
We did all the training.
We were doing the Gallowayprogram for training.
We got up to 25 miles in ourtraining runs and then we got
the flu and the flu was a fullbore case of the influenza that
knocks you on your butt and youcan't do anything and we ended
up not being able to run therace and after that I was like
(09:00):
I'm out.
This is not a bucket list itemfor me.
I have never consistently hurtand been as tired as I've been
when I did them, when I trainedfor the marathon.
But I said, but I will be yourcheer squad, but that said, the
training that we did.
It was a traditional Gallowaytraining method.
(09:20):
But I'm curious for somebodylike yourself who runs so many
and has these big races coming,what does your training look
like?
Speaker 1 (09:30):
So this is interesting because I have Chris
Twiggs as my main coach andthen, of course, you have Jeff.
Jeff, he gives me a lot ofinformation and tips and also
Jeff is the one who tells mewhen I'm screwing up.
He's perfectly fine with thatand he's so nice about it.
You can't.
You're like, yeah, okay, but mytraining is very simply every
(09:52):
so I do my two shorter runsduring the week, I do weight
training, I do only leg weightson running days, and on
non-running days I do upper bodyor core, because I feel like
your whole body is important,and most of us that run do it,
for we're not like super eliteathletes and so we have to do
(10:15):
the best we can with what wehave.
So we run, like about everythree weeks, every four weeks
we're going to run 26 or 29miles, depending on the program.
So why not sign up for race andhave a catered training run?
Yeah, yeah.
So what I do is I'll go paceMost of the races I run because
(10:37):
my coaches Chris Twiggs willbang his head against the desk
or Jeff will be like don't dothat, but you can't go and run
for time.
You either have to pick runningall these races or having a
time goal.
You can't do both and I loverunning too much.
It's my happy place and,honestly, my husband appreciates
my running because he says thatwhen I don't run I can get a
(10:59):
little crazy and maybe a littlemean.
I'm not sure I disagree, butwhatever.
So running is my happy placeand if I don't get to run I'm
miserable, I don't even likemyself.
I don't even like myself.
(11:20):
So that is for me, it's like itgets all that.
I've got a lot of energy and itgets it all out when I run and
if I don't, then it's bottled upinside of me and then I start
getting like snippy.
So it looks like that and everyonce in a while like today I
had a one hour prediction run,which was a nice, pretty easy
run you go out 30 minutes andyou turn around and you've got
to end up exactly where youstarted or as close as possible,
and so what that is is likepace work.
(11:42):
You're trying to keep an evenpace and that helps you if
you're pacing an official pacer.
So that's really what I mean.
Honestly it's I have my group,we all I have at least one
person who runs the long runswith me.
So basically what it is, it's abig gab fest for six hours, or
however long it takes us.
(12:03):
We don't even listen to musicanymore, we just talk the whole
time.
So it's pretty fun.
My group keeps me accountableand they keep me running.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
I was going to ask you yeah, like having a group is
great.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
My question, though, relates to being a pacer.
What made you want to become apacer and how is your training
different?
Because you're a pacerofficially was Air Force
Marathon, and it's in Dayton,ohio, and it's hot and it's in
September, and so I paced thatfor several years.
And the really so.
When you're a pacer, you have tolearn how to run the pace
(12:49):
you're going to pace.
So if you're pacing a six-hourmarathon, you have to learn to
consistently run at 1344 or 1345pace.
But the pace this is where itgets a little weird.
The pace is not based on yourdistance, it's based on the mile
markers.
So your mile pace is usuallygoing to be faster than the mile
(13:16):
marker pace, because mostpeople can't run the tangents,
and so they're running longer.
So you have to know that when Ihit that mile marker, that mile
marker is my 1345 pace, notwhat my watch says.
And then moving down the lineat mile 10, what it is and all
those things.
And then moving down the lineat mile 10, what it is, and all
(13:36):
those things.
So you have to practice it, andyou should pace under someone
who's done it before you decideto just go out and do it on your
own.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
It seems like it would be very stressful to pace
in a race.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
Also very rewarding and fun Disneyland half prime
example.
We had 80 plus people, amazinggroup, so energizing.
Everybody was wonderful.
We didn't have any Adam Henry'sin the group, we had just
people who were having a goodtime and like I would raise my
(14:08):
hand and I'd say three, two, oneand everybody would yell
walking.
You know, I'd say three, two,one and everybody would yell
running and I tell these stupidjokes and people actually
laughed at them.
They're just to keep.
They're supposed to keep youout of your head, because
usually you're starting to hurtand you don't want to think
about it.
Jeff calls it your monkey brain, but you want to stay outside
(14:30):
of that.
I'm in a lot of pain and I justwant to quit.
So sometimes jokes or thinkingabout something else will get
you to stop thinking about whatyou're doing right now.
So that's it's stressful.
At first it was stressful, Ithink, but when you just settle
in and have fun with it, it'snot.
It's really not.
It's just it's so rewarding tohelp people and especially
(14:53):
whether they appreciate it ornot, or whether they share their
appreciation or not.
They appreciate it because theyfinished something hard.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Yeah, yes, now, okay.
So you've talked about Triumphas an agency that takes care of
all the travel, so you don'thave to worry about that.
You've talked a little bitabout the training, the
registration process.
Is that stressful for you?
Speaker 1 (15:19):
So Run Disney.
When I was registering forthose back in the day, they
didn't have you didn't have toget in there within 15 minutes
or they were going to be soldout.
I don't now because I pace.
Usually if I'm pacing I don'thave to worry about it.
If I'm not pacing, I just don'tdo it because at the end of the
(15:41):
day I don't travel to.
I don't.
I know this sounds weird andit's, but I don't necessarily
travel for halves because I runultras and marathons and so the
half distance unless it's asuper half or something like
that is it's fine, but I'mtraveling for fulls, right.
So I'm not going to go toFlorida for all the halves, but
(16:02):
I'll do the Disney Worldmarathon weekend in January.
As far as travel goes, and likethe world majors and the cost
because I know that was one ofyour questions oh yeah, I think
it's all pretty relative, right?
So I'm going to say Sydney wasmore expensive.
Your questions oh yeah, I thinkit's all pretty relative, right
.
So I'm going to say Sydney wasmore expensive than Boston.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
And I run with the American Liver Foundation for
Boston and I've run with themfor the last two years.
I have liver and kidney damagefrom being sick, and so it's a
charity near and dear to myheart.
And even with having to raise$10,000 to $15,000, of which
most of it is my money, becausevery few people donate to my
heart, and even with having toraise $10,000 to $15,000, of
which most of it is my money,because very few people donate
to your charities, it's realhard.
(16:41):
So I have friends who matchfunds, but just the plane ticket
to get to Sydney and back was$13,000.
So because my husband has had adouble knee replacement, I
don't, I can't sit back and genpop, we sit up in the pods and
they're expensive, and so it's13000 times two.
(17:02):
So that was the most expensiverace because of the airfare.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
And where Boston is the most expensive because the
amount of money you have toraise, but New York I didn't get
in with the lottery of moneyyou have to raise but New York.
I didn't get in with thelottery, so I had to raise
$4,000 for New York because Idid that with the American Liver
Foundation.
So it's pretty relative.
People go.
Which is the most expensiverace?
I guess it depends.
Now you can run any race on abudget, but I'm 60 years old and
(17:30):
I don't want to sit on a planein a little tiny seat for 15
hours.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
I work too hard for that.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
So I'm going to, I'm going to pay for the pod, yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
I don't blame you one bit, we do.
We fly up to Atlanta for Jeff'srace and I'm like I don't even
want to be in you.
You call it gen pop, I call itcomfort minus, because Delta has
comfort plus.
I'm like that's comfort minus,it's awful.
So I'm right there with you onthat.
I can't even imagine doing thatkind of a flight.
We've done Alaska at theAnchorage Run Fest twice and we
(18:00):
didn't do coach on either one ofthose, because you're just 14
hours in a plane.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Yeah, and even for us because Alaska is closer.
I did the Anchorage Run Fest asHumvee's Marathon right, yeah,
that's what they call it now.
Yeah, and I got to run that,what they call it now and I ran,
I got to run that.
So that's a funny story.
I got to run that with Jeff andBarb and another friend of mine
and this other friend of mineand I'm not going to name names
because she'll probably listento this, but she'll recognize
(18:26):
the story so she was reallystruggling and was having some
really bad shoulder musclespasms to the point where it was
really affecting her runningbecause her bra strap was
digging in.
There was a lot going on and soJeff is trying to.
Jeff is like wow, he goes sowhat do you like to eat on your
(18:47):
pizza?
Or he said what do you likeafter a marathon?
And I go oh, pizza's good.
And this person's just oh, mygoodness, I can't believe you're
talking about food.
And Jeff, he's got thatQuaalude voice.
So Jeff is just what do youlike on your pizza?
And I go oh, I love pineappleon my pizza and black olives.
And he goes ooh, that soundsgood.
(19:08):
So we're talking like theremember the sweaty balls thing
Saturday Night Live.
So we're talking in that supersoft voice because we're trying
not to scare the cat away, thewild cat, and this person throws
up their arms, they're justlike, oh, my goodness, I can't
even talk to you right now, andjust storms off.
So I was like, wow, now I wantpizza, jeff.
(19:29):
And he's like, yeah, me too,you know pizza.
So we just you go out there andyou have fun, and what happens
on a race stays on a race,unless it's funny.
Then you can share the story,but you change the names to
protect the innocent, of course.
Yes, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
With all the travel that you've done, I have to
imagine that you've gotten ridof the things that don't work
for you.
You've grabbed onto the thingsthat do work for you.
Are there any tips, tricks,hacks, things that you could
recommend for runners that aregoing to be doing any of these
races, things that you wouldrecommend that would come to
mind to make their travel alittle bit easier?
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Travel or training Travel.
Just find a good.
So you get to me the easiesttravel I've done is finding a
good tour group.
I've run with bad tour groupsand I've run with great tour
groups, and so I alwaysrecommend the great ones, and I
don't talk about the bad ones,because I may have just had a
(20:31):
bad experience with it, it mayjust be me have just had a bad
experience with it, it may justbe me, but I think when you're
going somewhere with a tourgroup, it should be exactly what
they're offering, which meansthat they're going to take care
of you as a runner.
They're going to get you to thestart and the finish line
they're going to take care of,let you see the city, get your
breakfast and whatnot, not justhere's your bib, here's your
(20:53):
breakfast coupons.
Have fun, good luck.
I think that number one, if youcan do it with a tour company
and you've got a good one dothat, because otherwise you're
making all the travel plans andI think my biggest tip would be
check where the start and thefinish line are and try and get
something somewhere in between,because people think I don't
(21:14):
want to walk to the start, butyou also don't want to walk back
from the finish, and what youhave to remember is all those
roads are closed because of therace itself.
So getting traveling within thecity or wherever you're at is
going to become very difficult.
So either to if usually thestart and finish are within a
couple miles of each other, andwalking a mile after the
(21:35):
marathon is not that big of adeal it's a great way to cool
down and it's a nice form ofrecovery.
Most people don't want to, butand walking the mile to the race
is also a great little warmup,right.
So I think those are my twobiggest tips as far as traveling
and running, because when youhave to do it yourself it's hit
(21:56):
or miss, but at least, least ifyou know look at the course
should give you where thestreets are, so you can pick
something that's in betweensomewhere and that's a good
place to be now let me ask you.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
You said when I initially asked the question.
You said travel or training.
What training tips would yougive?
Speaker 1 (22:14):
So I would tell people the biggest thing I see,
because I am also a certifiedrunning coach.
I'm a Galloway program, I'mcertified with Galloway and also
with RCA Slow down.
Too many people are runningtheir training runs at their
marathon pace or too fast.
They're injured or why there's.
(22:39):
This is not fun because you'renot slowing down.
And then I get the.
I don't want to be out there allday.
You're already out there allday.
You, you're planning on running26 miles.
How long do you think it'sgoing to take?
You, you've already blocked offthat day.
So just slow down and take anextra half hour an hour, and
that way you're ready, you're I.
Just we just have so manypeople who don't want to.
(23:00):
I can't run that slow.
Yes, you can, we all can, wecan all slow down.
And so I think my biggest tipwould be for people your long
run pace should be about twominutes slower than your race
pace.
So if your race pace is 10,your long run pace should be 12.
And that's I like what ChrisTwigg says.
That's a maximum speed limit.
So no faster than two milesslower, which means that you can
(23:24):
go slower than that.
You can walk.
Like Jeff says walk the wholedistance.
You'll get all the enduranceand the added benefit is you
have more time on your feet andI've never been injured.
I've never been injured andI've run over 120 marathons and
my schedule's crazy and I'venever been injured.
So I might know a little bitabout what I'm talking about,
(23:45):
but I did learn from the masters, chris and Jeff.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
So you have no, no pun intended, but you have
street cred, street, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
I listened and I did the work, and when I did it
wrong, I got told to stop doingthat and I listened.
If you've got a coach, listento them.
If you are a coach, don't coachyourself.
That'd be like an attorneyrepresenting themselves, because
you'll it might.
So get the coach.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Get the coach, get the coach.
So now, of all the majors thatyou've done so far and we get
through, where's your favoriteexpo experience, your favorite
(24:32):
pre-race experience, and why?
Or it could be a favorite for avariety of different reasons.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
I think expos.
Lately the expos have gotten soridiculous as far as too many
people coming in and trying tograb up all the merch and then
reselling it, so it's reallymade expos not fun.
I will say the best run expothat I have ever seen to date
(25:01):
was Chicago, and I'm not a fan.
I don't, I'm not a fan of Nikegear.
It just doesn't suit me, itdoesn't fit me.
Many reasons right.
But I appreciated the fact thatwas a well-oiled machine.
They had merchandise, theydidn't run out of stuff, they
had people there willing to helpyou.
Sydney had a lot of merchandiseand it was great.
(25:24):
But they had some problems inthe beginning which had to do
with standing in line to pay.
We stood in line for over twohours just to pay because they
didn't have any queues andpeople were just cutting into
line because they didn't seethat the line was all the way
back to the entrance.
So they were just coming rightup to and then cutting in and
there was nobody there to stopthem.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
No management of the line.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
No management, but by day two or three I don't know,
because I didn't go day two butthey fixed it.
They put in cues because theyheard people and this was their
first year as a world major, soI respect that they took care of
it.
But by the time they took careof it there was no merch left.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
You might get a car magnet if you're lucky that kind
of thing or the extra smallshirt.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
Marine Corps puts on a good expo.
I think that after COVID exposhave gotten, they're not as good
as they used to be.
Right, Most of the vendors losttheir behinds on a lot of the
COVID races because they didn'tget their money back and they're
gun shy.
They don't want to go pay for abooth anymore.
So the expos have gotten reallysmall and that's sad, because I
(26:32):
like shopping.
I love shopping for stuff Idon't need and I can do that
very good at an expo.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
And they're like they're taking all the fun out
of it for me.
They'll buy like 10,000 raceshirts that I don't need and
I'll never wear, but I stillhave that option.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
We also.
We like expos.
You have the opportunityoccasionally to run across a
small company that's got a newproduct or item or training tool
or piece of clothing orwhatever and they don't have a
big national footprint.
Maybe they got a website, maybethey've got some manufacturing
going.
They're trying to get some wordof mouth advertising by getting
(27:09):
out to these expos and we'vepicked up a few things over the
years that have been really goodand like that.
And it's a shame to see thatbecause, like you said, they
lost their shirts in thepost-COVID and a lot of these
expos require these insanecertificate of insurance for all
the vendors as well and theycan't afford that.
They can't make that back onsales.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
It's funny because I use this product called Pillar
and I was using it for magnesiumto drink at night to help,
because magnesium is anelectrolyte that we need, but if
you drink it at night it helpsyou sleep.
So we were in Sydney and theyhad a booth and I had no idea
how many other products they had.
(27:49):
And so of course the guys hey,and I go oh yeah, I use your
magnesium.
He's, did you see all the otherstuff?
And I'm like, no, what otherstuff?
And so I walked out of therewith probably five pounds worth
of they have the glass jars,right.
So I bought the B complex, Ibought the immunity C, I bought
the shoot.
What else did I buy?
(28:09):
I bought six different thingsfrom them because I love the
magnesium and I didn't know,because I ordered magnesium on
Amazon, so I don't.
I never ordered magnesium onAmazon, so I don't.
I never went to their website.
I could have seen it, but I waslike cool and I got to taste it
there and I think the exposgive you the opportunity to try
the product yes, yeah, I've thispillar you.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
Just I, just I was interested so I went to the
website.
How did you get the five poundsof gear home from Sydney?
Speaker 1 (28:39):
the good thing about traveling in the pod is they do
not have a max on your luggageweight.
Interested, so I went to thewebsite.
How did you get the five poundsof gear home from Sydney?
The good thing about travelingin the pod is they do not have a
max on your luggage weight.
Oh, here's another tip forpeople who are traveling.
I have this duffel bag.
We affectionately call itMonster and it's a Vera Bradley
which I found from Run Disney.
Right, it's called the Dog Show, so it's got all these dogs, so
all my luggage has dogs on them.
(29:00):
But this big duffel folds upvery nicely and fits in my
suitcase.
So then when I buy stuff I havea bag that I can put it in so I
can check that extra bag versus.
Yeah.
So I put the Pillar stuff in myhard side suitcase and then I
move, like my running shoes andmy dirty laundry, into Monster.
(29:21):
But Pillar is a great productfor anyone who's they have.
I love their I think it'scalled Immune C.
I love their magnesium.
Their energy, which is Bvitamins, is great.
I bought in.
Their magnesium is amazing.
And if you're going to try themagnesium, I like the pineapple
coconut one, which is reallytasty, the other one, the
watermelons.
(29:42):
It's iffy for me anyways, butyeah.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
Wow, are you shopping ?
It's the first time that Iheard about it, and what I
normally do during interviews iswhen somebody says the name of
a product or something that Imight oh I might want to go
shopping for that I'll try andfind the website and have it up
for later.
So now I, just now, I just needto.
They have a whole bunch ofstuff.
Seriously, sleep, recovery,immunity, injury, all yes, so
(30:16):
anyway.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
It's all great stuff and oh and yeah, that's right.
I bought the Omega, the fishoil stuff, from them because you
did, oh yeah, Because they'relike it's burpless, and I'm like
, oh great, because I have yetto find a product.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
That is truly burpless right.
Speaker 2 (30:40):
Where you don't feel like you're tasting fish, and so
I usually take it at night, butI do.
So far, so good.
Fingers crossed.
I like it, wow, okay, that'ssomething I have to look at then
later and so okay, so, speakingof products and everything like
that, do you have free race ortraining must-haves in terms of,
like your food and hydrationoptions, and then does that
change during, like on race day,or is it nothing new on race
(31:01):
day?
Speaker 1 (31:02):
I might be a little different than most, but I don't
nothing new on race day.
Whatever I eat for breakfastevery day is what I eat.
I don't really.
The carb up principle is allfine and you got to do it, not
the day before the race.
So usually, even when I'mrunning, two days before I run,
I have a big carb meal.
So it's always part of myroutine because I'm always
(31:26):
running marathons.
So it's a little different forme.
What I drink, my hydration I usethis product called Prime
because I can't eat a lot ofsalt, which is a very
interesting place to be as arunner eat a lot of salt, which
is a very interesting place tobe as a runner.
My body doesn't process saltand so therefore I can't have a
lot of it.
So Prime has 90 milligrams ofsodium, but it has the other
(31:48):
electrolytes.
So I offset that with thepotassium and the calcium,
magnesium and things like that.
But they have like cherry bomband firecrackers.
They have great flavors andthey're super tasty and I think,
as far as fuel goes, I usegoose and dates.
(32:09):
I like dates.
Wintergreen lightsabers areamazing because not only do they
help your runner's breath, butthey give you the amount of
sugar you need in that mile, sothey're great little.
And the, whether it'speppermint or wintergreen, it
helps with your breathing right.
So one of the things that kindof opens up your nasal passages
(32:29):
while you're chomping on it.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
So it's a cool little yeah, that's why somebody else
in our in the Runcation Nation,jessica Harley Running Gal, she
says she chews gum for thatreason, yeah, yeah, that's
interesting.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
It's important because we, as runners, we're
overusing our lungs in thatwhole system and it can cause us
to have breathing issues whichcan come from restricted airways
, and so opening them up inevery way we can imaginable is
really helpful.
When we're out there suckingair, we're like I can't breathe.
(33:06):
So I got to tell you though myfavorite fuel and you can't get
it anymore.
But I think it was back whenBoston had an anniversary I
don't know if it's 25 or what itwas like probably right before
COVID, they had this goo cameout with this Boston Eclair and
I took that with the chocolateoutrage, and I got one of those
(33:29):
bottles and I put Boston Eclair,chocolate outrage, boston
chocolate.
So I layered it up and so itwas like eating a Eclair, it was
like the chocolate frostingwith the middle.
It was such a treat, and now Ican't do that anymore because
they don't make that oh yeah,but so goo, if you're listening,
come out with that productagain there you go, they're not
(33:51):
a sponsor, but they could be.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
I'm just saying reach out to us, they, they could be.
And also here's some positivefeedback for a product that
could work for you here again.
Yeah, that.
Speaker 1 (34:03):
Boston Eclair was delicious.
Why did you?
Speaker 2 (34:05):
take it away from us, and then do you hydrate with
anything specific, pre-race orduring race?
Pre-race for, like, race dayand then during race, what do
you do?
Speaker 1 (34:17):
So I don't drink water before the race.
On race day I have my, maybe myhalf a cup of coffee or
whatever.
So I don't want it because Idon't want to be peeing on the
race course and it just fallsout sometimes and I don't want
that Pre.
So I normally I had a situationhappen where I had to really be
(34:38):
better about not being cocky,right.
So we get into this habit of Ido this all the time, I'm good,
I don't need to do any fueling,I don't need to do any of that.
I got this.
My body knows what to do.
My body only knows what to dobecause I'm giving it the stuff
it needs to do.
(34:58):
And Jeff, I was doing a long runand about half a mile into it I
had some other stuff going onbecause it was after travel and
I had this like disembarkmentsyndrome.
I guess I found out later thatthis is what it was, but half a
mile into the run I thought Iwas going to pass out and I just
could not recover and I'm likewhat are you?
What's going on?
(35:19):
You're, you know what to do,body, why aren't you doing it?
And so I was talking to Jeffand Chris and Jeff was like oh,
I know exactly what happened.
You went into that withcomplete glycogen depletion.
And I was like, oh, when youget schooled, you can't, you
can't go.
No, you're like, oh, yeah, Idid.
And so one of the things I havelearned to do is you've got to
(35:42):
do all the small stuff, whichmeans every day I drink my amino
acids.
Every day I do.
I don't use my hydration exceptfor on race day, but I'm always
drinking my amino acids.
I'm always doing hydrating withwater and you know, I take my
vitamins so that if I and I trynot to overhydrate so I don't
(36:05):
have that opposite hyponatremiahappen where I'm peeing out all
my vitamins.
And I discovered CarissaGalloway.
She wrote a book and does thisclass that I took.
It's a nutrition class.
I love her take on thingsbecause she says the best diet,
the best exercise, is the onethat works for you, and so I had
to find what worked for me andthen do it and then not go.
(36:30):
Oh, I don't have time to drinkthis thing or take these
vitamins.
You have to make the time.
That's where I'm at, becauseyou can only go so long on an
empty tank before you run out ofgas, and when you run out of
gas it's a costly fill up whichI think you may have experienced
when you were training for yourfirst marathon.
Yes, that's what I think thatwas a costly error because you
(36:51):
never finished.
Speaker 2 (36:52):
No.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
One thing Jeff likes to talk about is let's not run
out of gas.
Yeah, you talk to him, or youhear him talk or you go to one
of his retreats.
That's the biggest thing Slowdown and let's not run out of
gas.
We had Jenny Simpson, who'sjoined the Galloway team,
three-time Olympian world recordholder.
(37:15):
She says the same thing.
Jeff says slow down on yourlong runs.
I agree with 100% of what he'ssaying, and so it's nice to hear
that, because I think thatpeople over time, because Jeff
has been around for so long,disregard him as new people come
up with new stuff.
What Jeff's telling us is stilltrue for what we're doing.
(37:38):
If you only run an eight milelong run, it's going to be
miserable.
The biggest pushback we get ison the long run.
We run the distance before thedistance, because nothing new on
race day includes the distance.
Why go to just 20?
Why not do the extra six whenpeople do that?
But those are all the people wepass, because that last 10K is
a big distance.
(37:59):
I think those are just keypoints.
Speaker 2 (38:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (38:03):
For any successful runner, if you want to run a
marathon, your body has to knowwhat you're getting it into
before you do it right.
Speaker 2 (38:09):
It's all about going the distance and it's the book.
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff.
I think you have to do thesmall stuff in training.
Speaker 1 (38:17):
You have to sweat the small stuff in marathon
training.
Yeah, Because maybe not sweatthe small stuff but just do it.
Yeah, if you have a job and youget up and go to work, you just
do it.
Same with training you just doit.
Just do it.
Your race day self will thankyou.
Yes, it will.
When you travel and run, youhave to use what is available at
(38:39):
that hotel.
So I'll do oatmeal or toast sothat when you're there on race
day you know that what they havewill work for you.
If they don't have that, Ialways bring a backup with me.
I have these Hammer NutritionRaw Energy Bars and they've got
enough carbs and calories to getyou going to run the race.
(39:02):
I always carry those with me incase the hotel doesn't have
oatmeal, which is my go-to.
Speaker 2 (39:06):
Yeah, we know a local runner.
She recently retired from therun shop where we got our shoes
after we made mistakes running.
That's how you learn.
She takes everything with herin terms of nutrition and
doesn't trust anything locally.
You have to have a couple ofdifferent options or come
prepared with backups.
Speaker 1 (39:28):
And I think that most places you travel, most
countries, have some commonalityMcDonald's is everywhere.
So if you have issues withgoing to Tokyo was really hard
because they don't have.
So I have a real tough timewith salt and everything was
carbs and broth because it's alllike noodles stuff, high sodium
(39:49):
, they don't.
They right on the window.
No special orders, no specialrequests.
It is what it is, cash onlykind of thing.
It really messed up mydigestive system.
Thankfully it didn't mess it upon race day.
Prior to race day, I had my barsand I was able to pick the
(40:11):
stuff out.
The sodium was my biggestproblem, because whenever you're
dealing with soups or brothsit's a lot of salt.
After the race you're like okay, I can do whatever, whether you
should or not, and then you paythe consequences later.
It's always interesting whenyou're traveling, especially
when you go to a foreign country.
Maybe you don't eat what theyeat, but certain chains are
(40:34):
there.
My recommendation would be toyou know, go to McDonald's.
If they still have the chickensandwich, at least you can get a
piece of chicken.
There's some French fries withno salt, so you got a piece of
chicken and French fries and atleast that's what you would
normally kind of potato front.
You got to work with what yougot.
Speaker 2 (40:50):
Sherry gave us fantastic information and it was
such a fun conversation that wehave split it into two episodes
.
Make sure you come back nextweek to hear part two of our
Runcation Recap with Sherry Witt.
That's a wrap.
Thank you for joining us onyour long run, your commute to
work around the house.
(41:11):
Wherever you are, I'm your host, amy.
Stay safe and well and we willtalk to you really soon.
Hi, my name is Sherry Witt.
My Instagram handle isSherryBerry101.
Most people know me by thehashtag WittSyndrome.
You're listening to the Run EatDrink podcast, part of the
Runcation Nation.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Welcome to the Run Eat Drink podcast.
We feature destination racesfrom across the country and
after the race, we take you on atour of the best local food and
beverage to celebrate.
So, whether you are an eliterunner or a back of the packer
like us, you'll know the bestplaces to accomplish, explore
and indulge on your nextRuncation, dana.
(00:46):
It's time for another Runcationrecap.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Yeah, we have a very special and well-traveled guest
joining us today.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Yes, a world traveler , a marathoner, an Abbott
Marathon majors pursuer, if youwill, and a pacer for Galloway
and also sometimes a fill-incoach for Coach Twigs on
customized Galloway training.
We are so happy to have on ourshow and welcome you.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Sherry Witt, thank you for having me and, by the
way, when I do fill in for Chris, they call me fun coach.
They call you the fun coach.
You're the fun coach, fun coach, because if they want to do
something that maybe Chriswouldn't let them, I'll say,
sure, go for it.
So let's take yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Good cop, bad cop.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
I love it.
I knew you were going to saythat.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
What we like to do.
First and foremost, we like toask this of all of our guests
For those who don't know you,can you please introduce
yourself to the Runcation Nation?
Tell us who you are, a littlebit about your life outside of
running, where you're locatedand, if you have a beverage in
front of you, what you'redrinking while we're chatting?
Speaker 1 (01:54):
My name is Sherry Witt.
I am, outside of running, achief financial officer, but
that does not mean that I can dorunning math.
So do not expect me to go on arun with you and then understand
what your splits need to be.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
And converting miles to kilometers.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Yeah, it's not my fun , it's my job.
I started running marathonsjust under 10 years ago.
I did so after I got very sick.
I had a stroke, I was sepsis.
They deemed me brain dead.
There was a lot going on Renalfailure and I had to learn to
(02:32):
walk and talk all over again,and one of the things that I had
never done was run a marathon.
So I thought you need to dothis thing, and that's what
started what we now call Wittsyndrome.
And what am I drinking?
I am drinking this weird thing,and it is a lot of vitamins.
So there's AG1.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
It looks like green.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
There is a dose which kind of give it a smoothie.
So like liver and cholesterol,the dose is that drink, and then
I have some pillar vitamin C inhere, some ice and water and
it's like drinking a smoothie.
But it's how I get down.
Some of the Part of running isdoing all the stuff, and so all
(03:16):
the stuff means vitamins,supplements, recovery, things
like that.
So that is what I'm drinking,not because I'm a really good
person, but because I have toget this down, since I ran with
my group this morning that's adisciplinary drinking.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
That's not recreational drinking, right?
No?
Speaker 1 (03:35):
it is definitely discipline.
It's like taking all thosevitamins.
It's a discipline becausenobody likes taking horse pills
no, oh lord, yeah, they're justyou do what you have to do and
I'm in california, like I said,ventura california, which is
halfway between santa barbaraand la.
Yeah, so I actually have a jeffgalloway.
(03:57):
I run a local program here forhim.
We have them all over the world.
We would love to have more butwe don't have enough.
But I have one here and myrunning group.
They keep me sane and they keepme accountable and they make
running fun.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
I always wanted to be a part of a running group, but
I'm always like I'm so slow, I'mafraid to be.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
We do not.
Look, it's so easy to slow down.
I never want to hear someonetell me they're so slow.
I can slow down.
I can run a 15 second run, 30second walk.
That is one of the funnestratios out there.
You can be fast, you can beslow, but you can never be too
slow on your long runs, becauseit's just time on your feet,
(04:42):
right.
So why wouldn't I slow down tohang out with you Because you
seem like you'd be a fun personto chat with for six hours on a
long run.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
So even the most expert runners are going to slow
down, for me that's good.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Yeah, why not Look when we're out there pacing?
We're slowing down to pace.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
So why wouldn't we?
I think it's kind of like, asyou're going to find out as we
go through, it's what I do.
I love helping other runnersand because I run so many I run,
this year I'll have runs by theend of the year 17 marathons.
I run about one to two a month.
(05:22):
Wow, and yeah, and that's notincluding the training runs.
Yeah, like I said, I have JeffGalloway saved my life because I
could have never run a marathonwithout him, but he made it so
much fun it became an addiction.
They call it wit syndrome.
So I just sign up for randomraces.
It's like I get bored at nightand I look for races and I'm
(05:43):
like, ooh, squirrel, that onelooks good.
And then I got all these races.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
So, speaking of signing up, for races like
running.
You said you've run so manythis year 17.
, 17.
17.
Running one marathon ischallenging.
What made you decide to go,after all the Abbott Marathon
majors, which I now I guessincludes Sydney?
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Eva who said I'm signing up for Chicago and
Berlin, run them with me.
So I was like, sure, don'ttempt me with a good time.
(06:32):
So I signed up for those racesin Berlin I got in the lottery,
and Chicago I ended up having torun with a charity I think it
was Paws for Chicago, which isfor animals, and I love animals
and I volunteer animal rescueshelters and I have four German
shepherds because I'm a fosterfail on the highest level and I
am now no longer allowed tofoster dogs because my husband
(06:53):
said we have enough.
But I said great, I'll runthese with you.
And then I thought I've got two, so why not go for the rest of
them?
And if you can?
So I'm always in marathon shape, so why not?
If you get a chance to run amarathon, go do it.
That's how it started.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
That's a good reason, and I am a completionist at
heart myself, so I understand.
If I had two there's six ofthese I need to have the other
four, obviously, so that to memakes total sense.
That would be a brain itch Icouldn't scratch.
It's kind of like the Disney.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Infinity Gauntlet Challenge.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
That's out of our control.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
But I feel like we were going to be completionists
and get all the stones, all theInfinity Stones, and we're
missing like one.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
I have that gauntlet.
I ran those races and then theyadded they're going to add
three more, so that just makesit.
So.
That's why I had to run Sydney,because that's number seven.
So I'll run New York inNovember and that'll be my sixth
star.
I'll finish my six stars withNew York and I'll have done the
six stars in a couple of years.
And then I did Sydney.
I've signed up for Cape Townand I did Tokyo, sydney and Cape
(08:03):
Town with Triumph Sports, whichis a great.
They do these races and theytake care of your hotel and
everything and you don't have todo any.
It's amazing.
And so I'm like what other onesare you doing?
Because you make it so easy.
I don't have to do anything butshow up.
I'm also kind of lazy in thataspect, because I want to put my
energy into the run, not thetravel plans.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Sure, and they can both take a lot out of you.
But I want to talk for just aminute about the training and
how you prepare for a marathon.
We've trained for one.
Back in, I want to say 07, 08.
No, a little later than that.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
We did all the training.
We were doing the Gallowayprogram for training.
We got up to 25 miles in ourtraining runs and then we got
the flu and the flu was a fullbore case of the influenza that
knocks you on your butt and youcan't do anything and we ended
up not being able to run therace and after that I was like
(09:00):
I'm out.
This is not a bucket list itemfor me.
I have never consistently hurtand been as tired as I've been
when I did them, when I trainedfor the marathon.
But I said, but I will be yourcheer squad, but that said, the
training that we did.
It was a traditional Gallowaytraining method.
(09:20):
But I'm curious for somebodylike yourself who runs so many
and has these big races coming,what does your training look
like?
Speaker 1 (09:30):
So this is interesting because I have Chris
Twiggs as my main coach andthen, of course, you have Jeff.
Jeff, he gives me a lot ofinformation and tips and also
Jeff is the one who tells mewhen I'm screwing up.
He's perfectly fine with thatand he's so nice about it.
You can't.
You're like, yeah, okay, but mytraining is very simply every
(09:52):
so I do my two shorter runsduring the week, I do weight
training, I do only leg weightson running days, and on
non-running days I do upper bodyor core, because I feel like
your whole body is important,and most of us that run do it,
for we're not like super eliteathletes and so we have to do
(10:15):
the best we can with what wehave.
So we run, like about everythree weeks, every four weeks
we're going to run 26 or 29miles, depending on the program.
So why not sign up for race andhave a catered training run?
Yeah, yeah.
So what I do is I'll go paceMost of the races I run because
(10:37):
my coaches Chris Twiggs willbang his head against the desk
or Jeff will be like don't dothat, but you can't go and run
for time.
You either have to pick runningall these races or having a
time goal.
You can't do both and I loverunning too much.
It's my happy place and,honestly, my husband appreciates
my running because he says thatwhen I don't run I can get a
(10:59):
little crazy and maybe a littlemean.
I'm not sure I disagree, butwhatever.
So running is my happy placeand if I don't get to run I'm
miserable, I don't even likemyself.
I don't even like myself.
(11:20):
So that is for me, it's like itgets all that.
I've got a lot of energy and itgets it all out when I run and
if I don't, then it's bottled upinside of me and then I start
getting like snippy.
So it looks like that and everyonce in a while like today I
had a one hour prediction run,which was a nice, pretty easy
run you go out 30 minutes andyou turn around and you've got
to end up exactly where youstarted or as close as possible,
and so what that is is likepace work.
(11:42):
You're trying to keep an evenpace and that helps you if
you're pacing an official pacer.
So that's really what I mean.
Honestly it's I have my group,we all I have at least one
person who runs the long runswith me.
So basically what it is, it's abig gab fest for six hours, or
however long it takes us.
(12:03):
We don't even listen to musicanymore, we just talk the whole
time.
So it's pretty fun.
My group keeps me accountableand they keep me running.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
I was going to ask you yeah, like having a group is
great.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
My question, though, relates to being a pacer.
What made you want to become apacer and how is your training
different?
Because you're a pacerofficially was Air Force
Marathon, and it's in Dayton,ohio, and it's hot and it's in
September, and so I paced thatfor several years.
And the really so.
When you're a pacer, you have tolearn how to run the pace
(12:49):
you're going to pace.
So if you're pacing a six-hourmarathon, you have to learn to
consistently run at 1344 or 1345pace.
But the pace this is where itgets a little weird.
The pace is not based on yourdistance, it's based on the mile
markers.
So your mile pace is usuallygoing to be faster than the mile
(13:16):
marker pace, because mostpeople can't run the tangents,
and so they're running longer.
So you have to know that when Ihit that mile marker, that mile
marker is my 1345 pace, notwhat my watch says.
And then moving down the lineat mile 10, what it is and all
those things.
And then moving down the lineat mile 10, what it is, and all
(13:36):
those things.
So you have to practice it, andyou should pace under someone
who's done it before you decideto just go out and do it on your
own.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
It seems like it would be very stressful to pace
in a race.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
Also very rewarding and fun Disneyland half prime
example.
We had 80 plus people, amazinggroup, so energizing.
Everybody was wonderful.
We didn't have any Adam Henry'sin the group, we had just
people who were having a goodtime and like I would raise my
(14:08):
hand and I'd say three, two, oneand everybody would yell
walking.
You know, I'd say three, two,one and everybody would yell
running and I tell these stupidjokes and people actually
laughed at them.
They're just to keep.
They're supposed to keep youout of your head, because
usually you're starting to hurtand you don't want to think
about it.
Jeff calls it your monkey brain, but you want to stay outside
(14:30):
of that.
I'm in a lot of pain and I justwant to quit.
So sometimes jokes or thinkingabout something else will get
you to stop thinking about whatyou're doing right now.
So that's it's stressful.
At first it was stressful, Ithink, but when you just settle
in and have fun with it, it'snot.
It's really not.
It's just it's so rewarding tohelp people and especially
(14:53):
whether they appreciate it ornot, or whether they share their
appreciation or not.
They appreciate it because theyfinished something hard.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Yeah, yes, now, okay.
So you've talked about Triumphas an agency that takes care of
all the travel, so you don'thave to worry about that.
You've talked a little bitabout the training, the
registration process.
Is that stressful for you?
Speaker 1 (15:19):
So Run Disney.
When I was registering forthose back in the day, they
didn't have you didn't have toget in there within 15 minutes
or they were going to be soldout.
I don't now because I pace.
Usually if I'm pacing I don'thave to worry about it.
If I'm not pacing, I just don'tdo it because at the end of the
(15:41):
day I don't travel to.
I don't.
I know this sounds weird andit's, but I don't necessarily
travel for halves because I runultras and marathons and so the
half distance unless it's asuper half or something like
that is it's fine, but I'mtraveling for fulls, right.
So I'm not going to go toFlorida for all the halves, but
(16:02):
I'll do the Disney Worldmarathon weekend in January.
As far as travel goes, and likethe world majors and the cost
because I know that was one ofyour questions oh yeah, I think
it's all pretty relative, right?
So I'm going to say Sydney wasmore expensive.
Your questions oh yeah, I thinkit's all pretty relative, right
.
So I'm going to say Sydney wasmore expensive than Boston.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
And I run with the American Liver Foundation for
Boston and I've run with themfor the last two years.
I have liver and kidney damagefrom being sick, and so it's a
charity near and dear to myheart.
And even with having to raise$10,000 to $15,000, of which
most of it is my money, becausevery few people donate to my
heart, and even with having toraise $10,000 to $15,000, of
which most of it is my money,because very few people donate
to your charities, it's realhard.
(16:41):
So I have friends who matchfunds, but just the plane ticket
to get to Sydney and back was$13,000.
So because my husband has had adouble knee replacement, I
don't, I can't sit back and genpop, we sit up in the pods and
they're expensive, and so it's13000 times two.
(17:02):
So that was the most expensiverace because of the airfare.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
And where Boston is the most expensive because the
amount of money you have toraise, but New York I didn't get
in with the lottery of moneyyou have to raise but New York.
I didn't get in with thelottery, so I had to raise
$4,000 for New York because Idid that with the American Liver
Foundation.
So it's pretty relative.
People go.
Which is the most expensiverace?
I guess it depends.
Now you can run any race on abudget, but I'm 60 years old and
(17:30):
I don't want to sit on a planein a little tiny seat for 15
hours.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
I work too hard for that.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
So I'm going to, I'm going to pay for the pod, yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
I don't blame you one bit, we do.
We fly up to Atlanta for Jeff'srace and I'm like I don't even
want to be in you.
You call it gen pop, I call itcomfort minus, because Delta has
comfort plus.
I'm like that's comfort minus,it's awful.
So I'm right there with you onthat.
I can't even imagine doing thatkind of a flight.
We've done Alaska at theAnchorage Run Fest twice and we
(18:00):
didn't do coach on either one ofthose, because you're just 14
hours in a plane.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Yeah, and even for us because Alaska is closer.
I did the Anchorage Run Fest asHumvee's Marathon right, yeah,
that's what they call it now.
Yeah, and I got to run that,what they call it now and I ran,
I got to run that.
So that's a funny story.
I got to run that with Jeff andBarb and another friend of mine
and this other friend of mineand I'm not going to name names
because she'll probably listento this, but she'll recognize
(18:26):
the story so she was reallystruggling and was having some
really bad shoulder musclespasms to the point where it was
really affecting her runningbecause her bra strap was
digging in.
There was a lot going on and soJeff is trying to.
Jeff is like wow, he goes sowhat do you like to eat on your
(18:47):
pizza?
Or he said what do you likeafter a marathon?
And I go oh, pizza's good.
And this person's just oh, mygoodness, I can't believe you're
talking about food.
And Jeff, he's got thatQuaalude voice.
So Jeff is just what do youlike on your pizza?
And I go oh, I love pineappleon my pizza and black olives.
And he goes ooh, that soundsgood.
(19:08):
So we're talking like theremember the sweaty balls thing
Saturday Night Live.
So we're talking in that supersoft voice because we're trying
not to scare the cat away, thewild cat, and this person throws
up their arms, they're justlike, oh, my goodness, I can't
even talk to you right now, andjust storms off.
So I was like, wow, now I wantpizza, jeff.
(19:29):
And he's like, yeah, me too,you know pizza.
So we just you go out there andyou have fun, and what happens
on a race stays on a race,unless it's funny.
Then you can share the story,but you change the names to
protect the innocent, of course.
Yes, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
With all the travel that you've done, I have to
imagine that you've gotten ridof the things that don't work
for you.
You've grabbed onto the thingsthat do work for you.
Are there any tips, tricks,hacks, things that you could
recommend for runners that aregoing to be doing any of these
races, things that you wouldrecommend that would come to
mind to make their travel alittle bit easier?
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Travel or training Travel.
Just find a good.
So you get to me the easiesttravel I've done is finding a
good tour group.
I've run with bad tour groupsand I've run with great tour
groups, and so I alwaysrecommend the great ones, and I
don't talk about the bad ones,because I may have just had a
(20:31):
bad experience with it, it mayjust be me have just had a bad
experience with it, it may justbe me, but I think when you're
going somewhere with a tourgroup, it should be exactly what
they're offering, which meansthat they're going to take care
of you as a runner.
They're going to get you to thestart and the finish line
they're going to take care of,let you see the city, get your
breakfast and whatnot, not justhere's your bib, here's your
(20:53):
breakfast coupons.
Have fun, good luck.
I think that number one, if youcan do it with a tour company
and you've got a good one dothat, because otherwise you're
making all the travel plans andI think my biggest tip would be
check where the start and thefinish line are and try and get
something somewhere in between,because people think I don't
(21:14):
want to walk to the start, butyou also don't want to walk back
from the finish, and what youhave to remember is all those
roads are closed because of therace itself.
So getting traveling within thecity or wherever you're at is
going to become very difficult.
So either to if usually thestart and finish are within a
couple miles of each other, andwalking a mile after the
(21:35):
marathon is not that big of adeal it's a great way to cool
down and it's a nice form ofrecovery.
Most people don't want to, butand walking the mile to the race
is also a great little warmup,right.
So I think those are my twobiggest tips as far as traveling
and running, because when youhave to do it yourself it's hit
(21:56):
or miss, but at least, least ifyou know look at the course
should give you where thestreets are, so you can pick
something that's in betweensomewhere and that's a good
place to be now let me ask you.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
You said when I initially asked the question.
You said travel or training.
What training tips would yougive?
Speaker 1 (22:14):
So I would tell people the biggest thing I see,
because I am also a certifiedrunning coach.
I'm a Galloway program, I'mcertified with Galloway and also
with RCA Slow down.
Too many people are runningtheir training runs at their
marathon pace or too fast.
They're injured or why there's.
(22:39):
This is not fun because you'renot slowing down.
And then I get the.
I don't want to be out there allday.
You're already out there allday.
You, you're planning on running26 miles.
How long do you think it'sgoing to take?
You, you've already blocked offthat day.
So just slow down and take anextra half hour an hour, and
that way you're ready, you're I.
Just we just have so manypeople who don't want to.
(23:00):
I can't run that slow.
Yes, you can, we all can, wecan all slow down.
And so I think my biggest tipwould be for people your long
run pace should be about twominutes slower than your race
pace.
So if your race pace is 10,your long run pace should be 12.
And that's I like what ChrisTwigg says.
That's a maximum speed limit.
So no faster than two milesslower, which means that you can
(23:24):
go slower than that.
You can walk.
Like Jeff says walk the wholedistance.
You'll get all the enduranceand the added benefit is you
have more time on your feet andI've never been injured.
I've never been injured andI've run over 120 marathons and
my schedule's crazy and I'venever been injured.
So I might know a little bitabout what I'm talking about,
(23:45):
but I did learn from the masters, chris and Jeff.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
So you have no, no pun intended, but you have
street cred, street, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
I listened and I did the work, and when I did it
wrong, I got told to stop doingthat and I listened.
If you've got a coach, listento them.
If you are a coach, don't coachyourself.
That'd be like an attorneyrepresenting themselves, because
you'll it might.
So get the coach.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Get the coach, get the coach.
So now, of all the majors thatyou've done so far and we get
through, where's your favoriteexpo experience, your favorite
(24:32):
pre-race experience, and why?
Or it could be a favorite for avariety of different reasons.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
I think expos.
Lately the expos have gotten soridiculous as far as too many
people coming in and trying tograb up all the merch and then
reselling it, so it's reallymade expos not fun.
I will say the best run expothat I have ever seen to date
(25:01):
was Chicago, and I'm not a fan.
I don't, I'm not a fan of Nikegear.
It just doesn't suit me, itdoesn't fit me.
Many reasons right.
But I appreciated the fact thatwas a well-oiled machine.
They had merchandise, theydidn't run out of stuff, they
had people there willing to helpyou.
Sydney had a lot of merchandiseand it was great.
(25:24):
But they had some problems inthe beginning which had to do
with standing in line to pay.
We stood in line for over twohours just to pay because they
didn't have any queues andpeople were just cutting into
line because they didn't seethat the line was all the way
back to the entrance.
So they were just coming rightup to and then cutting in and
there was nobody there to stopthem.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
No management of the line.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
No management, but by day two or three I don't know,
because I didn't go day two butthey fixed it.
They put in cues because theyheard people and this was their
first year as a world major, soI respect that they took care of
it.
But by the time they took careof it there was no merch left.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
You might get a car magnet if you're lucky that kind
of thing or the extra smallshirt.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
Marine Corps puts on a good expo.
I think that after COVID exposhave gotten, they're not as good
as they used to be.
Right, Most of the vendors losttheir behinds on a lot of the
COVID races because they didn'tget their money back and they're
gun shy.
They don't want to go pay for abooth anymore.
So the expos have gotten reallysmall and that's sad, because I
(26:32):
like shopping.
I love shopping for stuff Idon't need and I can do that
very good at an expo.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
And they're like they're taking all the fun out
of it for me.
They'll buy like 10,000 raceshirts that I don't need and
I'll never wear, but I stillhave that option.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
We also.
We like expos.
You have the opportunityoccasionally to run across a
small company that's got a newproduct or item or training tool
or piece of clothing orwhatever and they don't have a
big national footprint.
Maybe they got a website, maybethey've got some manufacturing
going.
They're trying to get some wordof mouth advertising by getting
(27:09):
out to these expos and we'vepicked up a few things over the
years that have been really goodand like that.
And it's a shame to see thatbecause, like you said, they
lost their shirts in thepost-COVID and a lot of these
expos require these insanecertificate of insurance for all
the vendors as well and theycan't afford that.
They can't make that back onsales.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
It's funny because I use this product called Pillar
and I was using it for magnesiumto drink at night to help,
because magnesium is anelectrolyte that we need, but if
you drink it at night it helpsyou sleep.
So we were in Sydney and theyhad a booth and I had no idea
how many other products they had.
(27:49):
And so of course the guys hey,and I go oh yeah, I use your
magnesium.
He's, did you see all the otherstuff?
And I'm like, no, what otherstuff?
And so I walked out of therewith probably five pounds worth
of they have the glass jars,right.
So I bought the B complex, Ibought the immunity C, I bought
the shoot.
What else did I buy?
(28:09):
I bought six different thingsfrom them because I love the
magnesium and I didn't know,because I ordered magnesium on
Amazon, so I don't.
I never ordered magnesium onAmazon, so I don't.
I never went to their website.
I could have seen it, but I waslike cool and I got to taste it
there and I think the exposgive you the opportunity to try
the product yes, yeah, I've thispillar you.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
Just I, just I was interested so I went to the
website.
How did you get the five poundsof gear home from Sydney?
Speaker 1 (28:39):
the good thing about traveling in the pod is they do
not have a max on your luggageweight.
Interested, so I went to thewebsite.
How did you get the five poundsof gear home from Sydney?
The good thing about travelingin the pod is they do not have a
max on your luggage weight.
Oh, here's another tip forpeople who are traveling.
I have this duffel bag.
We affectionately call itMonster and it's a Vera Bradley
which I found from Run Disney.
Right, it's called the Dog Show, so it's got all these dogs, so
all my luggage has dogs on them.
(29:00):
But this big duffel folds upvery nicely and fits in my
suitcase.
So then when I buy stuff I havea bag that I can put it in so I
can check that extra bag versus.
Yeah.
So I put the Pillar stuff in myhard side suitcase and then I
move, like my running shoes andmy dirty laundry, into Monster.
(29:21):
But Pillar is a great productfor anyone who's they have.
I love their I think it'scalled Immune C.
I love their magnesium.
Their energy, which is Bvitamins, is great.
I bought in.
Their magnesium is amazing.
And if you're going to try themagnesium, I like the pineapple
coconut one, which is reallytasty, the other one, the
watermelons.
(29:42):
It's iffy for me anyways, butyeah.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
Wow, are you shopping ?
It's the first time that Iheard about it, and what I
normally do during interviews iswhen somebody says the name of
a product or something that Imight oh I might want to go
shopping for that I'll try andfind the website and have it up
for later.
So now I, just now, I just needto.
They have a whole bunch ofstuff.
Seriously, sleep, recovery,immunity, injury, all yes, so
(30:16):
anyway.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
It's all great stuff and oh and yeah, that's right.
I bought the Omega, the fishoil stuff, from them because you
did, oh yeah, Because they'relike it's burpless, and I'm like
, oh great, because I have yetto find a product.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
That is truly burpless right.
Speaker 2 (30:40):
Where you don't feel like you're tasting fish, and so
I usually take it at night, butI do.
So far, so good.
Fingers crossed.
I like it, wow, okay, that'ssomething I have to look at then
later and so okay, so, speakingof products and everything like
that, do you have free race ortraining must-haves in terms of,
like your food and hydrationoptions, and then does that
change during, like on race day,or is it nothing new on race
(31:01):
day?
Speaker 1 (31:02):
I might be a little different than most, but I don't
nothing new on race day.
Whatever I eat for breakfastevery day is what I eat.
I don't really.
The carb up principle is allfine and you got to do it, not
the day before the race.
So usually, even when I'mrunning, two days before I run,
I have a big carb meal.
So it's always part of myroutine because I'm always
(31:26):
running marathons.
So it's a little different forme.
What I drink, my hydration I usethis product called Prime
because I can't eat a lot ofsalt, which is a very
interesting place to be as arunner eat a lot of salt, which
is a very interesting place tobe as a runner.
My body doesn't process saltand so therefore I can't have a
lot of it.
So Prime has 90 milligrams ofsodium, but it has the other
(31:48):
electrolytes.
So I offset that with thepotassium and the calcium,
magnesium and things like that.
But they have like cherry bomband firecrackers.
They have great flavors andthey're super tasty and I think,
as far as fuel goes, I usegoose and dates.
(32:09):
I like dates.
Wintergreen lightsabers areamazing because not only do they
help your runner's breath, butthey give you the amount of
sugar you need in that mile, sothey're great little.
And the, whether it'speppermint or wintergreen, it
helps with your breathing right.
So one of the things that kindof opens up your nasal passages
(32:29):
while you're chomping on it.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
So it's a cool little yeah, that's why somebody else
in our in the Runcation Nation,jessica Harley Running Gal, she
says she chews gum for thatreason, yeah, yeah, that's
interesting.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
It's important because we, as runners, we're
overusing our lungs in thatwhole system and it can cause us
to have breathing issues whichcan come from restricted airways
, and so opening them up inevery way we can imaginable is
really helpful.
When we're out there suckingair, we're like I can't breathe.
(33:06):
So I got to tell you though myfavorite fuel and you can't get
it anymore.
But I think it was back whenBoston had an anniversary I
don't know if it's 25 or what itwas like probably right before
COVID, they had this goo cameout with this Boston Eclair and
I took that with the chocolateoutrage, and I got one of those
(33:29):
bottles and I put Boston Eclair,chocolate outrage, boston
chocolate.
So I layered it up and so itwas like eating a Eclair, it was
like the chocolate frostingwith the middle.
It was such a treat, and now Ican't do that anymore because
they don't make that oh yeah,but so goo, if you're listening,
come out with that productagain there you go, they're not
(33:51):
a sponsor, but they could be.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
I'm just saying reach out to us, they, they could be.
And also here's some positivefeedback for a product that
could work for you here again.
Yeah, that.
Speaker 1 (34:03):
Boston Eclair was delicious.
Why did you?
Speaker 2 (34:05):
take it away from us, and then do you hydrate with
anything specific, pre-race orduring race?
Pre-race for, like, race dayand then during race, what do
you do?
Speaker 1 (34:17):
So I don't drink water before the race.
On race day I have my, maybe myhalf a cup of coffee or
whatever.
So I don't want it because Idon't want to be peeing on the
race course and it just fallsout sometimes and I don't want
that Pre.
So I normally I had a situationhappen where I had to really be
(34:38):
better about not being cocky,right.
So we get into this habit of Ido this all the time, I'm good,
I don't need to do any fueling,I don't need to do any of that.
I got this.
My body knows what to do.
My body only knows what to dobecause I'm giving it the stuff
it needs to do.
(34:58):
And Jeff, I was doing a long runand about half a mile into it I
had some other stuff going onbecause it was after travel and
I had this like disembarkmentsyndrome.
I guess I found out later thatthis is what it was, but half a
mile into the run I thought Iwas going to pass out and I just
could not recover and I'm likewhat are you?
What's going on?
(35:19):
You're, you know what to do,body, why aren't you doing it?
And so I was talking to Jeffand Chris and Jeff was like oh,
I know exactly what happened.
You went into that withcomplete glycogen depletion.
And I was like, oh, when youget schooled, you can't, you
can't go.
No, you're like, oh, yeah, Idid.
And so one of the things I havelearned to do is you've got to
(35:42):
do all the small stuff, whichmeans every day I drink my amino
acids.
Every day I do.
I don't use my hydration exceptfor on race day, but I'm always
drinking my amino acids.
I'm always doing hydrating withwater and you know, I take my
vitamins so that if I and I trynot to overhydrate so I don't
(36:05):
have that opposite hyponatremiahappen where I'm peeing out all
my vitamins.
And I discovered CarissaGalloway.
She wrote a book and does thisclass that I took.
It's a nutrition class.
I love her take on thingsbecause she says the best diet,
the best exercise, is the onethat works for you, and so I had
to find what worked for me andthen do it and then not go.
(36:30):
Oh, I don't have time to drinkthis thing or take these
vitamins.
You have to make the time.
That's where I'm at, becauseyou can only go so long on an
empty tank before you run out ofgas, and when you run out of
gas it's a costly fill up whichI think you may have experienced
when you were training for yourfirst marathon.
Yes, that's what I think thatwas a costly error because you
(36:51):
never finished.
Speaker 2 (36:52):
No.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
One thing Jeff likes to talk about is let's not run
out of gas.
Yeah, you talk to him, or youhear him talk or you go to one
of his retreats.
That's the biggest thing Slowdown and let's not run out of
gas.
We had Jenny Simpson, who'sjoined the Galloway team,
three-time Olympian world recordholder.
(37:15):
She says the same thing.
Jeff says slow down on yourlong runs.
I agree with 100% of what he'ssaying, and so it's nice to hear
that, because I think thatpeople over time, because Jeff
has been around for so long,disregard him as new people come
up with new stuff.
What Jeff's telling us is stilltrue for what we're doing.
(37:38):
If you only run an eight milelong run, it's going to be
miserable.
The biggest pushback we get ison the long run.
We run the distance before thedistance, because nothing new on
race day includes the distance.
Why go to just 20?
Why not do the extra six whenpeople do that?
But those are all the people wepass, because that last 10K is
a big distance.
(37:59):
I think those are just keypoints.
Speaker 2 (38:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (38:03):
For any successful runner, if you want to run a
marathon, your body has to knowwhat you're getting it into
before you do it right.
Speaker 2 (38:09):
It's all about going the distance and it's the book.
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff.
I think you have to do thesmall stuff in training.
Speaker 1 (38:17):
You have to sweat the small stuff in marathon
training.
Yeah, Because maybe not sweatthe small stuff but just do it.
Yeah, if you have a job and youget up and go to work, you just
do it.
Same with training you just doit.
Just do it.
Your race day self will thankyou.
Yes, it will.
When you travel and run, youhave to use what is available at
(38:39):
that hotel.
So I'll do oatmeal or toast sothat when you're there on race
day you know that what they havewill work for you.
If they don't have that, Ialways bring a backup with me.
I have these Hammer NutritionRaw Energy Bars and they've got
enough carbs and calories to getyou going to run the race.
(39:02):
I always carry those with me incase the hotel doesn't have
oatmeal, which is my go-to.
Speaker 2 (39:06):
Yeah, we know a local runner.
She recently retired from therun shop where we got our shoes
after we made mistakes running.
That's how you learn.
She takes everything with herin terms of nutrition and
doesn't trust anything locally.
You have to have a couple ofdifferent options or come
prepared with backups.
Speaker 1 (39:28):
And I think that most places you travel, most
countries, have some commonalityMcDonald's is everywhere.
So if you have issues withgoing to Tokyo was really hard
because they don't have.
So I have a real tough timewith salt and everything was
carbs and broth because it's alllike noodles stuff, high sodium
(39:49):
, they don't.
They right on the window.
No special orders, no specialrequests.
It is what it is, cash onlykind of thing.
It really messed up mydigestive system.
Thankfully it didn't mess it upon race day.
Prior to race day, I had my barsand I was able to pick the
(40:11):
stuff out.
The sodium was my biggestproblem, because whenever you're
dealing with soups or brothsit's a lot of salt.
After the race you're like okay, I can do whatever, whether you
should or not, and then you paythe consequences later.
It's always interesting whenyou're traveling, especially
when you go to a foreign country.
Maybe you don't eat what theyeat, but certain chains are
(40:34):
there.
My recommendation would be toyou know, go to McDonald's.
If they still have the chickensandwich, at least you can get a
piece of chicken.
There's some French fries withno salt, so you got a piece of
chicken and French fries and atleast that's what you would
normally kind of potato front.
You got to work with what yougot.
Speaker 2 (40:50):
Sherry gave us fantastic information and it was
such a fun conversation that wehave split it into two episodes
.
Make sure you come back nextweek to hear part two of our
Runcation Recap with Sherry Witt.
That's a wrap.
Thank you for joining us onyour long run, your commute to
work around the house.
(41:11):
Wherever you are, I'm your host, amy.
Stay safe and well and we willtalk to you really soon.
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