September 30, 2025 • 43 mins
RED Episode 317- Part 2 of a A Runcation Recap with Cheri Whitt
SHOUTOUTS
Thanks to Cheri Whitt who recorded a Runcation Recap with us. There are so many nuggets of wisdom in that chat, and we can’t wait to share it with you all!
If you want a shout out for you or someone else you love on the show, email us at info@runeatdrink.net or call us and leave a message at 941-677-2733.
Part 2 of a Runcation Recap with Cheri Whitt
This week we talk to an amazing member of the Runcation Nation, Cheri Whitt. We get tips, advice, and inspiration from this Galloway Pacer and certified running coach.
THAT’S A WRAP!
Please give us feedback about the topics from today’s show, so we can share them on upcoming shows! Email us at info@runeatdrink.net or call us and leave a message at 941-677-2733.
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Transcript
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 (00:20):
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.
(00:43):
On your next runcation.
Hey, welcome back.
This is episode 317 of the RunEat Drink podcast and I'm your
host, amy.
This is part two of ourfantastic conversation with
(01:04):
Sherry Witt.
So say, on race morning for themajor races that you have done,
for you just got back fromSydney, you've done Chicago what
, what insider info do you havefor race morning in these big
races, when it can be chaoticand feel overwhelming for
somebody?
Speaker 1 (01:23):
So what I always tell people is plan your route.
How are you getting to thestart line?
Walk it the day before or twodays, whatever.
Figure out from where you're at, how you're getting to the
start line, what trains, whatare you taking and that's with
any race, Because if you decideyou're going to rely on Uber and
they cancel on you at the lastminute, you got to still get to
(01:45):
the race right.
So most places like WashingtonDC, Tokyo, all those places they
all have mass transit systems.
So as long as you understandhow those work and you do a dry
run, you'll be fine, especiallyif it's your first time.
It also alleviates nerves.
The worst thing that can happento a runner is they're so
nervous on race day that allcommon sense goes out the window
(02:07):
and they get on the wrong train, go in the wrong direction,
because they thought it was onething and they didn't do a dry
run.
So I always recommend a dry runlike walk to the start line,
see where it is from your hotel.
Can you walk it or would yourather take some form of
transportation?
Do they have a shuttle?
If so, what's the distance toget to the shuttle, Things like
(02:29):
that?
So, and at the expo, ask thequestions If they have an
information booth.
If you don't know, ask someone,They'll.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
They're very helpful, yeah, and so you got to build
in that time before the race too.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
It's also a good little shakeout, honestly, if
you're.
I know a lot of people lovedoing those shakeout runs the
day before the race.
I do not, no, because, too no,too many people will go too fast
on those things.
They can cause some injuries,and I'm not going to.
I don't.
The three miles or whatever itis I'm going to do the day
before a race is not going tohelp me one bit.
(03:04):
All my training leading up tothat point is what's going to
help me.
That three miles could harm me,but what I do recommend is I'll
go out and walk, walk to seewhere you need to be and call
that your shakeout.
That's my take on it, the onlytime I've done shakeout runs.
We are pacers for this amazingrace called the Donna Love it.
(03:26):
Yeah, and it's a breast cancersupport race, and myself and a
lot of my friends have dealtwith breast cancer issues.
That's an amazing course, and Istay at a hotel that's right
outside the start line, so it'seasier for me to get there.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Yeah, I think it just depends.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
you just have to you got to know where you're going
if you're in a strange settingyeah, yeah, and that rehearsal
is going to alleviate the nervesto your point now of all of the
races they all have their ownunique challenges.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
I would say say would you say which one would you
characterize as the hilliestthing from London and Tokyo and
Boston, which, by the way, whatit basically is.
It feels like you're always ona boat, so you lose your
equilibrium and if I lay down onthe bed I would get super dizzy
like vertigo and getting up inthe middle of the night.
(04:44):
You can't hardly keep yourbalance, and it's a weird thing
which I didn't even know was athing until I got it.
Wait, I lost track.
What was the question again?
Oh courses hilly versus flatversus which one's a?
Speaker 2 (04:59):
good first time.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
So I love Sydney A hilly course.
I would say Big Sur super hilly, but it's a beautiful course.
And San Francisco super hilly,but I got one of my better times
there.
I live in a h Rebel races.
I think they're amazing.
However, the screamingdownhills are a whole other
(05:30):
challenge in and of themselves.
So I'm not a fan of those asmuch anymore, but during COVID
they were the only races youcould run, so I learned
appreciation for them.
But they're hard.
Downhill races are super hardand it doesn't make them faster
because they even it out.
Mount Charleston has we call itquicksand miles.
The last five miles are uphilland after you've been screaming
(05:51):
downhill to have to go reversethat and go uphill, it just
feels, yeah, it's horrible.
So I think I would say Big Sur,san Francisco, and those are
the two hilliest courses, butalso the Big Sur being very
beautiful because you run allalong the California coast.
(06:14):
My favorite race is the MarineCorps Marathon because I am a
veteran and so I run that withpride every year and the Blue
Mile gets me every time.
Yeah and then.
But my bucket list race wasrunning the Athens Marathon with
Jeff and Barb, because I got torun that original route with an
(06:36):
Olympian how cool is that.
A race I'm looking forward toright now is obviously Hawaii,
because we're going to get torun with Jeff again and yeah, so
excited about that.
And Triumph Sports put thatpackage together.
I tapped them and said, heyguys, I love Tokyo, I loved the
(07:01):
travel packages you put togetherand how basically top-notch it
was, which is what Jeff likes.
And so Weston, jeff, myself andTamara and Jeff because there's
Jeff Lacks works for Triumphand so we all got together and
we said let's put this packagetogether and they did a stand-up
(07:22):
job.
We're going to have over 90people going.
Oh yeah, so it's everybodywanted to go because everybody
loves Jeff.
So we're all going to be thereand we're going to do a dopey
simulation there for people whoare running dopey and it's going
to be really fun because it'sin December.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
So yeah, and it's right before that.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
Right, right before Dope.
It's basically aligned thatweekend is the Dopey Sim weekend
, so the marathon will be themarathon run and they have the
Mahalo thing, which means youcan finish whenever.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
I love that yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
We're going to do a 12-mile run on Saturday, which
is the new simulation is 12miles, not 13.
And then we'll do the 5K.
I think there's a 5K race, orwe'll do a 5K the day before
that.
And they've cut out the 10K andthe training.
Now, as far as the Gallowayofficial training, they do the
5K, the 12 miles and then themarathon, and that's your
(08:17):
simulation, yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Interesting.
Oh, wow, Okay.
Okay Now, which races do youfavor for having the best course
support like aid stations?
Speaker 1 (08:46):
I've had three situations that come to mind and
it had nothing to do with theofficial aid stations, it had to
do with the people.
So rock and roll.
San Diego some person at likemile 20 or 21 had ice cold
Coca-Cola.
Oh my gosh, that was amazing.
And I was like I discovered mynew crack cocaine with ice cold
Coca-Cola, and because I'm aDiet Coke person.
(09:07):
But when you are tired, hot,thirsty, nothing and that's what
Jeff uses is DeFiz Coke.
Air Force Marathon these littleBoy Scouts, man, they had their
Freezy Pops and those, oh mygoodness, and that's a hot race.
And those, oh, my goodness.
(09:38):
And that's a hot race and thosewere amazing.
I think for the most part, witha few exceptions, I could tell
you which races I've run'll takethem over anyone, because they
are.
That's the fun group.
All the fun is happening backthere and it's just such a joy
to run with them.
But what happens is by the timethey get to the aid stations,
all the volunteers have let allthe people in front of them take
too much and there's nothingleft and so they're out.
(10:01):
So I always tell peopleDisneyland was a prime example I
had a young gal.
She ran out of her hydration,had nothing, it was hot and she
looked bad.
So I had my hydration.
So I was carried.
I said take mine and use it,drink it and use it, drink it.
(10:21):
And so I told my pacing partnerEva, when you go and grab water
, get me one every time now,because I don't have hydration.
So I think people shouldn'trely on the course so much.
If you're fast and you're up inthe front, you're fine, but if
(10:41):
you're let's say you're a fiveplus hour marathoner, you may
run into problems.
Tokyo prime example.
They ran out of cups and waterand not at the same time.
Really yeah, and they Tokyowould not allow you to bring
reusable bottles.
Really, yeah, they didn't wantit.
So I didn't understand that,because they were using a lot of
(11:02):
paper cups.
That, to me, was a waste, whenwe could have just used our
refillable bottles.
What they did allow and I readthe fine print, so I bought some
on Amazon were these littlelike aluminum pouches Capri Sun
juice boxes or something likethat aluminum pouches with a
screw top, and so I filled thosewith my hydration and had them
(11:22):
in my pack, and so it didn'taffect me and anyone who was
running with me.
I gave them to them, so theyeach had, because it came in a
pack of 50, so I was passingthem out like candy, and so it
didn't affect me because I keptrefilling those.
So I think it's more about whenthey don't have enough versus
(11:43):
when they do.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
Yeah, and for back of the Packers, to your point, it
is more of an issue yeah, goahead, but you have to be like
did that add weight?
Speaker 1 (11:58):
what you carried.
I don't carry that, so the onlytime I wear running vests- is
if I'm running ultras.
Okay, and yeah, it adds weight,but we usually so.
When I first started running, Icarried too much water.
I carried too much everything,because you never want to run
out.
As I've done more races andI've done a lot of them, I know
(12:19):
what works now because I'vetried it and what I found is
like I can carry a 16 ouncebottle of water and that's all I
need, because if I drink it all, I'll refill it along the
course.
Like I can add water as I getit If I know I'm going to run
low and my hydration in there.
Chris Twiggs taught me thistrick about mix it heavy, which
(12:40):
means you want it to be overlysweet at the beginning, or
overly because you can add waterto it and that makes your
hydration last longer.
Okay, okay, yeah, you're usingtailwind.
I don't use tailwind, but Iknow he does, and so he.
If it calls for one scoop,he'll add two and then, okay,
the first couple sips are goingto be really strong, but it'll
(13:05):
the front half.
Your first half of your racesets up your second half and
people don't understand this.
So most people don't.
They don't use their hydrationor the water, or their goos and
their gels and their fuel untilthey need it.
And by the time you need itit's too late.
So if you mix your hydrationsuper strong, you're getting it
(13:26):
at the beginning when you needit.
So it actually has a doublerole, right?
So you're getting the extra inthe beginning, and then, as
you're watering it down, you'regetting water later on, so it's
not that big of a deal.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Interesting.
That's a good tip.
Yeah, that's a good tip.
Okay, and you can thank ChrisTwiggs when you have him on this
podcast.
Well, there you go.
Shout out to you, coach, yeah,okay.
So you've given us a lot oftips so far.
Let's talk about the finishlines.
What have been some of yourfavorite finish lines and why?
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Oh gosh, I love a finish line when there's a lot
of us finishing together, Ithink that's, or if I can finish
, if I've run a whole race witha friend of mine and we can
finish with our arms up in theair.
To me that's like the bestphoto op.
Good race announcers make agreat finish.
Carissa's an amazing raceannouncer, so I love all the
finish lines.
My favorite finish line wasagain the Athens Marathon.
(14:23):
Jeff, barb, myself, a coupleother people we were all running
together and Jeff and Barb hadtheir hands.
They were holding in theirhands raised their hands.
Jeff grabs my hand.
I grab the gal's hand next tome.
She grabs the hand.
So we all raise our hands.
We're crossing the finish lineand she says I just didn't think
you'd grab my hand.
I'm so amazed that I'm part ofthat picture.
(14:45):
She was so excited.
I'm like you ran with us.
Why wouldn't we?
Why wouldn't we celebratetogether?
I think the finish line is allabout the celebration.
Yes, yes, and the celebrationis while I pace most races, I'm
pacing someone.
They don't.
The dirty little secret thereis that they're helping me just
(15:07):
as much as I'm helping them,because while I'm helping them,
I'm not thinking about how muchthis sucks for me, because, as
many marathons as I've done, itstill hurts.
Mile 24 is still painful.
I want to be done by then.
So I don't think about thatwhen I'm helping someone else.
So when I help people at theseraces, it helps me, yeah.
(15:29):
So I don't tell them that, butI'm like, yeah, sure, I'll be
the hero.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
That's so good, that's and it's smart and it's
sweet.
You're focusing on somethingelse.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Yeah, like Disneyland , I had several people come up
just in tears because this wastheir first half marathon.
They didn't think they couldfinish.
We got them to the finish line.
They were so grateful and to methat makes it all worth it.
Finish line they were sograteful and to me that makes it
all worth it.
Driving to Anaheim and runningin 85 degree weather isn't fun,
but the finish line and all thepeople make it fun.
(16:06):
It really does.
It's so important and I thinkwhen you're running for time
goal and you're running byyourself, it's not as fun.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
So now, if people are not, they look at pace groups
and they're thinking, oh, Ididn't do that ratio in my
training.
What would you say to that?
Speaker 1 (16:26):
So most and Chris is really working on this as the
pace coordinator most people whouse run-walk do not use the
official run-walk ratio.
Sydney had some weird ratioswhich were interesting, but I
had I probably had.
I think at some points I had 50people running with me at
Sydney.
We finished.
I think there was like eight ornine or ten of us that finished
(16:47):
.
A couple people ran with mealmost the entire time Because I
did very so.
I did 20-30, 20-second run, 30second walk, cause I told
everybody that wanted to runwith me and I was there with the
tour group so anybody in thetour group could run with me
that we would finish between 545and six hours using 20 second
(17:08):
run, 30 second walk.
And then towards the end we hada couple of people who started
struggling because the hills areon the back half of that race,
so we switched to 1530.
We still finished in 548.
So not a bad day.
I got them in and I knew I'dalready factored in the fact
that people were probably goingto want to slow down because
(17:31):
most people haven't done thetraining correctly whatever.
So what I recommend to people isJeff, gives you a wide range of
ratios within that timeframe ofyour finish on his website.
Try them all, try differentratios, and if you want to run
with the pace group, look andsee what ratios they do.
(17:53):
The race director will know, orthe pace coordinator for that
race will know, and then if youcan't run those ratios, you know
you're not going to run withthat group.
So if their ratios are soobscure that you can't do it,
then don't run with them, justkeep them in your line of sight.
Yeah, and so if you want tofinish in 530, keep the 530
group in your line of sight andthen just pass them at the end,
(18:13):
right?
Speaker 2 (18:14):
now.
Okay, so that's some.
We have some good tips we haveabout it's.
It is about I don't justfinishing.
Sometimes with completestrangers or with people who
mean so much to you, it can arange of emotions can be there
now.
Are you bling driven?
Oh, dana is.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
Absolutely, he's bling driven 100%.
Yeah, I've got, I love themedals.
Yeah, that's what.
Originally Disney, I was like,ooh, you can get like 10 medals
in one weekend, like themarathon weekend.
If you do dopey, you're gettingdopey goofy, plus all four
medals.
You're getting like six medalsplus all the shirts.
It's amazing, yeah, and I wouldsay I am definitely bling
(18:58):
driven because that's your likesome.
I had someone.
You always get those people whodon't run.
They're like did you win?
And I'm like, yes, and I got amedal.
Yes, I got a medal.
So I crossed the finish line, Iwon.
I think my favorite fit, my twofavorite most emotional finish
lines, was my first time I ranBoston in person.
(19:18):
And you're coming around thatcorner and you see that amazing
finish line and you're like, ohmy gosh, I just did this race
that everybody wants to do andthe finish line is right there
and my very first marathon,which that's a whole story of
how I got to run.
I have this friend who, after Ihad gotten sick, I said I
wanted to run a marathon.
She said let's do it, let's goback home.
(19:40):
I'm from Fargo, North Dakota.
I'm from that area, Moorhead,Minnesota, Fargo, North Dakota.
She said let's go back home andrun the Fargo Marathon.
Let's go run the streets weused to run around in.
So I said let's do it.
And I started training and I gotto about six miles and I was
just like, oh, there's no way,there's no way I can do this.
I can't get past six miles.
This is ridiculous.
I was.
(20:00):
I just I couldn't do it.
And I said to her I go, I don'tknow what.
I was thinking, I can't do this.
And she goes hey, sure, there'sthis guy and his name is Jeff
Galloway and he does this thingand it's called run walk.
So let's try it, let's do30-second run, 30-second walk,
See if you can do that.
And I was able to complete mytraining using that ratio, so it
(20:23):
immediately doubled my distance.
Just by using run-walk, mydistance immediately doubled as
far as how far I could go,because I knew I could run six
miles, so if I added the walkbreaks I could now do 12.
So it really helped.
I wish I'd embraced his entiretraining program early on
instead of just the ratios, butI didn't know and I think a lot
(20:45):
of people are there they don'tknow.
But so those were my twofavorite finish lines.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
So when you say embrace his whole program, what
do you mean?
Talk about what you mean, Jeffit's not just about the ratios.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Run-walk is about doing all the training, as with
any program.
What do you mean?
Talk about what you mean, jeff.
It's not just about the ratios.
Run walk is about doing all thetraining, as with any program,
which means you run to thedistance, you do the drills.
His acceleration gliders andhis cadence drills are key to
running, and I don't care ifyou're a three-hour marathoner
or if you're a six-hourmarathoner.
(21:17):
All these drills help right.
And then you have to decide amI going to run just to finish or
do I want to go for time,because there's other training
that gets involved in that.
But really, when I firststarted running, I did the
ratios.
My first year I ran twomarathons the Bargo, and then I
went back and ran Minneapolis,and by Minneapolis I started
(21:39):
having Achilles problems and Iwas like, oh gosh, this is
horrible.
And then we had already signedup for Dopey, so we had to go do
Dopey and by the time I wasdone with Dopey I ran Dopey with
complete bronchitis, I had theflu, I was throwing up the
morning of the marathon andafter that race I was just like
this is not fun, this is justhorrible.
(22:05):
Maybe the half is the perfectdistance.
And then I got to go back.
Then Jeff had a retreat inCarmel and it happened to come
across my computer and it was onmy birthday weekend and I said
to my husband I want to go dothat and I thought I'm going to
be in this auditorium.
I had not met Jeff at thispoint and this was my first
meeting.
I had seen him from afar at aDisney, but I was too afraid to
go up and talk to him.
I was a fangirl.
(22:26):
I called Jeff.
My husband and Barb both knowthat I'm totally in love with
Jeff because he saved he reallysaved my life and I it's like my
running boyfriend, right, andBarb said that's creepy, right,
and I'm like I don't care.
I don't care, barb, but hereally did, because we're not.
His method brings running to somany people that would not be
(22:50):
doing it and I don't care whatsize, shape, whatever your thing
is.
Physical fitness is so key tolongevity and it's really true,
I want to run till I'm 100.
And I wouldn't have been ableto do that without his method
and once I embraced all of it,which includes slowing down for
(23:11):
my long runs, fueling, doing thesmall stuff, doing the drills,
not going nuts on the weekdayson my shorter runs, doing all
the stuff, pool running, allthese things.
They're important and this allmakes for a good, solid runner.
Just doing bits and pieces iswhy people get injured, and I
(23:32):
was on that road to injury andso I didn't want to do that.
I also didn't want to run anymore marathons, and that was
after three.
I'm not doing this again.
I'm not doing this again.
I'll run halves.
But then I found out thathalves were just as hard.
If that's your distance,whatever distance you're running
is just as hard, whether it'sultras, marathons, 10ks.
(23:56):
If that's your distance andthat's what you're training for,
it's going to be hard, yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
Yeah, yeah, okay, so you said people can do some
damage after crossing the finishline as far as nutritionally
and I can eat whatever I want.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
Yeah, that's a fun topic right there.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Yeah, it can be dangerous.
However, we're into the postrun celebration.
Has there been?
Speaker 1 (24:29):
a meal.
It was one of your topic points.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
Yes, we are like the run and we run, and then we eat
and drink, yes.
So where have you gotten thebest post-race meal?
Where's been some good eats foryou?
Speaker 1 (24:45):
My best.
Okay, first off, I'm going totell you that usually after
marathon, I'm not hungry.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
It's weird, but I'm going to tell you that usually
after a marathon, I'm not hungry.
Yeah, it's weird, but I'm not.
And as far as you can't like.
For instance, I only burn about2,800 calories when I run a
marathon, according to Garmin,and Garmin is mean.
That doesn't make sense.
That doesn't seem right.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
No.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
But yet, and then you've got to take in all the
calories you're eating anddrinking on the course, and so
you subtract that from the.
Then you've got to take in allthe calories you're eating and
drinking on the course, and soyou subtract that from the
calories you've burned and let'ssay, maybe you only have 1,600
left, or whatever it is right.
2,000, let's say 2,000 caloriesis not a whole lot for a
post-meal celebration, withoutgoing back into a calorie
(25:30):
overload.
And then you get so manyrunners who say when I was
training for a marathon, Igained weight.
It's calories in and caloriesout for the most part.
There's other little thingsthat happen, but you can't eat
4,000 calories after doing an800 calorie burn run and expect
to come off because that's not adeficit.
My, of course, favoritepost-race meal, surprisingly
(25:54):
enough, is pizza.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
I love pizza, good pizza, yeah, but.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
I normally can't eat it, but after a race, because my
body has sweated usually andburned up more sodium than I've
given it, I can have that pizzaand maybe it has like sausage or
pepperoni on it or something,and it's okay in that moment for
me because my body will use itto regenerate what I've lost and
(26:19):
so it's perfect.
I cannot think of where.
I'm sure that there is a meal.
I really tried to rack my brainand what meal after a race.
That was super amazing, and theonly thing I can think of is
pizza.
And my post-race beverage Ithink I already discussed with
(26:41):
you was ice cold Coca-Cola.
Yes, that's perfect, because Ialso don't drink alcohol,
because I have kidney and liverdamage, so there's a lot.
So, like I always say, I caneat cardboard, so I really enjoy
I run, so I can eat candy.
Yeah, I can eat candy.
It's like I can bring jellybeans, I can bring gummy bears
(27:02):
on my run because I'm workingthrough that, and so there isn't
going to be anything left overthat my body cannot filter out.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Yeah, yeah, okay.
So the overall experience, theoverall race experience, what
are your top three?
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Top three.
Top three races that I liked.
Yeah, it's like that course wiseor let's say, top three courses
, yeah, okay.
So my very first PR happened atGrandma's Marathon.
Oh, we've heard this was good,but I'm not a fan.
I'm not a fan.
(27:37):
I grew up in Minnesota and I'mnot a fan of Duluth, and I'll
tell you why.
They charge so much for thehotel rooms and everything, and
it's Duluth.
You shouldn't have to pay $700a night for a hotel room to go
run a marathon.
It's ridiculous.
It's expensive to run thatmarathon, for whatever reason,
and I think they do themselves agreat disservice.
But they sell out every year,so they can.
(27:59):
I got my very first PR.
I think I finished that in a442.
And that was the first timewhere I thought I might, I could
actually do this thing, I couldget faster, and I had run five
marathons five weekends in a rowand I was training with Jeff at
this point because I wasbecoming a program director and
each race I got faster tograndma's being the fifth race,
(28:23):
the fifth weekend, and Ifinished in a 4.42.
And I got some interestingcomments from Jeff about that.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
Oh really.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
Oh yeah, he said this is all great and fine until
it's not so you've got to pickyour PRs.
Don't try and get faster onevery race, especially with as
many as you're running, becauseif you don't pick the races
you're going to end up hurtingyourself or burning out.
So I got schooled there.
I was so excited and I was tolddon't do that.
So I was like okay, oh no, yeah, I think Marine Corps, I love
(28:57):
our nation's capital, I loverunning through that, I love the
Marine.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Support Everybody says it's amazing.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
Boston.
Obviously Boston is amazing.
The crowds are amazing.
Have you ever done?
Speaker 2 (29:11):
New York, no, no.
So I'll be interested after youdo that in November, to see
crowd support Where's the best,because they rival each other.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
I've heard, and we have a huge Galloway group there
.
So I know and that's anotherthing In Marine Corps we have a
group in Washington DC and theyhave an aid station at like mile
20, 21 or 23.
It's a bus stop, I know exactlywhere it is on the course, and
so Floyd, our director there,will say what do you want in the
cooler?
And I'll be like a mini coatand whatever.
(29:44):
So I'll tell him what, and sowhen I get there, they're like I
got your stuff, so it's yourdrug deal, right?
Yes, yes.
And then I feel the Donna samething.
We have a huge Jacksonvillegroup.
So they have a cooler.
They ask you what you want,they stick it in the cooler and
when you get to that point yougrab your stuff and it's so
refreshing, you have somethingto look forward to.
(30:05):
New York, I feel, is going to bethe same thing, because Karen
has an amazing program there andI feel like we're going to have
huge support because of herprogram for those who aren't
running.
So that is why one of thethings I do is I try and help
Chris and Jeff with new programs.
I think they're so importantand the more boots on the ground
(30:25):
programs we have.
It's like your first defense,right?
So you want to dip your toes inthe run, walk water.
Go find a local group.
That's a great way to do it.
It's not expensive, it's greatcommunity.
You get running friendsinstantly.
No one's left behind.
It's amazing and anyone can doit.
Speaker 2 (30:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:43):
So, yeah, those are my.
I think my favorite courses aresimply because of the Galloway
support we have on the course,right, so I look forward to that
.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Yes, like Donna, is nobody's business, is just the
community.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
And when the community comes out like even at
Air Force the community,because you run mainly on
Wright-Patterson base thecommunity is amazing.
So, even though it's a horrible, horribly hot race because
they're doing it on theanniversary of the Air Force,
right?
So they're doing it in theanniversary of the Air Force,
right?
So they're doing it inSeptember they're never going to
change the date.
It's always going to bestinking hot.
It's probably going to be redor black flagged every year.
(31:19):
But the people out there withthe sprinklers and the freezy
pops and they're cheering you onand they're handing you sponges
, they really do make the coursewonderful.
All the people who show up tocheer you on Fargo's an amazing
race because they're like worstparade ever and they're not
kidding, because they're allsitting in their lawn chairs
(31:40):
watching you run by, cheeringyou on.
That's just.
They sit out there with theircoffee, their beer, they have
bands, but they're all out.
It's a huge event there.
And so it's really fun Likeseeing these kids trying to get
high fives from you and stuffand you run over there to give
them the high five and maybe amiss sometimes because they
raised their arm or whatever.
(32:01):
But it really is aboutcommunity support, because the
volunteers and whatnot can onlydo so much.
So it's getting the communitiestogether for a race.
It's really makes the race.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
So now, ok, so you've done high fives with kids along
the course, and have you?
Is there some?
How can you not talk aboutAthens and running with Jeff and
Barb?
But are there other inspiringrunners or experiences?
You have that come to mind?
Speaker 1 (32:33):
Yeah, there's a lot we deal with.
We have runners who are dealingwith cancer, going through
treatment, and they're stillrunning, they're still out there
.
We have, I mean, runners whohave come back from tragedies,
runners who have lost theirspouses.
It's such a supportivecommunity and, like I'm sure you
(32:54):
, you see it in your community.
You band together and you cansay whatever you want about
runners.
We're weird, whatever you wantto say about us, but we really
do band together.
We don't agree politically.
We are not in the same, we'renot all in the same demographics
, we're not the same color, wedo not make the same money,
(33:15):
we're all over the place, butour commonality is what makes us
family.
We're all runners.
And so, you see we this year atBoston, the Liver Foundation, we
had a living liver donor.
She donated, like, I think,like seven, 80% of her kidney,
maybe to her mother and within ayear she was a college student
(33:37):
who, I believe she had a soccerscholarship where she was on the
soccer team.
She had to take time off fromthat to do this surgery.
She came and ran Boston and Idon't remember what mile it was,
maybe eight or something.
I see her out of the corner ofmy eye because her shirts are
green, so you can spot thepeople throwing up over there on
the side of the road and Ithought, ooh, that's not good,
(33:58):
because I know that she had justrecently donated the majority
of her liver.
So I ran over to her to see ifshe was okay.
What could I do to help?
I didn't know if she was likerejecting if she was, you don't
know.
So I didn't know if she waslike rejecting.
If she was, you don't know.
So I just was there for support.
I handed her some lifesaversbecause I knew she just threw up
and I'm like here, this willhelp with your breath.
What more can I right?
(34:19):
What can I do?
But when we see someone go down,runners will gather around them
.
They'll protect that person,they will help them.
What do you need?
And I think that's also why Ilove the Back of the Pack
community, because they're theones who are going to stop, the
ones who are going for their PR.
They're not going to stop andmost of them they're in the
(34:40):
front, so most of that stuffisn't happening up there, but in
the back is where people arefalling and tripping, and
through no fault of their own,and we're all there to support
them and help them.
I have a bandaid, I hear sometissue.
What do you need?
And this is what we do.
We're runners.
Speaker 2 (34:55):
Like here's some Biofreeze.
I mean, yeah, I don't haveillicit drugs.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
But here's what I do have, and I firmly believe that
the Galloway community is at thetop of that level of people who
are all of my friends, ourclose friends, are runners that
I have met because of my program.
I love my running group,they're family to me and I
(35:21):
wouldn't have that without Jeff.
So that's, I think, why I keepdoing it, because I just love
the community.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
It's some of the most wonderful people that I've
never met.
I've met on a race course.
Yeah, and become bonded withand just.
Speaker 1 (35:39):
Yep, yeah, and you're just in that moment your best
friends.
Yeah, so, as you're helpingsomeone, or you're helping each
other, or you're runningtogether, because you found this
random stranger on the course,now you're friends and now you
see him at other races.
Because you have this commonthing on the course, now you're
friends and now you see him atother races, because you have
this common thing which isrunning these races, and every
time I run a race, I meet a newbest friend.
Speaker 2 (35:59):
Yeah, yeah, you can't now, ok.
So, speaking of next races,what's next for you All?
Speaker 1 (36:07):
right, so I have five races left this year.
Speaker 2 (36:10):
You have a packed agenda, yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
So I have five races left.
Speaker 2 (36:11):
this year you have a packed agenda.
Speaker 1 (36:13):
Yeah, so I do Marine Corps.
Then the next weekend I go doNew York and I have this
Philadelphia which I've wantedto run but I've been deferred
for two years.
I have a dear friend who hadthe BRCA gene and I had to go
back to DC and she had foursurgeries.
(36:35):
So I was there.
She doesn't have, she's notmarried, doesn't have kids, and
so I went back and luckily Icould, luckily I can do this,
but I went back and took care ofher for every surgery.
We decided to run this raceafter her final surgery and we
were very ambitious and so shewasn't ready.
(36:56):
The surgeries you don't realizehow hard these surgeries are
until you've gone through them.
And so the last surgery was theimplant.
So the first surgery wasovaries, the second surgery was
reduction, because she was verylarge.
The third surgery was removalof all the tissue, and then the
fourth surgery was the implants.
And so all that surgery takes alot out of you every time, and
(37:20):
you're doing this within aperiod of what like a year to
two years, depending on how longyour recovery is.
So we had to defer the firstyear and then last year
something happened and wedeferred, so it's on the
calendar this year.
So Marine Corps New york, thenphilly is, I don't know, the
14th or something, and that onemay not happen, but I don't like
to pay for races, and then I'llrun them, yeah, and I can't
(37:42):
defer.
And then after that I havehawaii, oh, and then I have a
race in two weeks big surmarathon, trail race.
Big sur trail race marathon.
It's a long weekend and so Idecided to go up to Carmel and
run this race because it lookedlike fun, yeah.
Speaker 2 (38:00):
A trail race.
Speaker 1 (38:01):
Yeah, because next year I want to get more into
ultras and 100 milers.
I want to start doing more ofthose and using the marathon as
a training run for those.
Speaker 2 (38:11):
You're going to do the Hard Rock 100?
No, I'm not that crazy.
Okay, I'm just asking.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
Hard Rock 100, number one.
Okay, don't get me wrong, Iwould probably do it, but I'd
probably never qualify for it.
Because even Chris Twiggs,who's done it, what?
17, 18 times?
He doesn't get in every yearand he qualifies for it every
year and he goes into thelottery and he's got a lot of
like tickets or whatever youwant to call them, and he still
doesn't get to go every year andhe trains for it as if he's
(38:39):
going, he's on the board there,he goes, he spends like a month
or whatever in Orey.
I've been saying it wrong.
So, anyways, colorado, yeah,and he does their podcast, he
does their trail, he does allthe stuff I'm just looking to do
, like maybe the C&O 100, or Idon't even, not even Western
(39:01):
States, because I think thatmight be a lot, a lot.
But let me dip my toes.
I've done two 100 milers andthey were very easy, flat.
I need to dip my toes in thiswater and see where what happens
.
Yeah, I'll get back to you onthat, okay.
Okay, I'm probably thinking no,because I live at sea level and
(39:26):
I'm and this is at altitude andclearly I have vertigo issues
now because of the whole.
I get motion sickness, I getvertigo, blah, blah, blah and I
don't know.
It's like getting old is notfor the faint of heart, because
stuff just starts happening tous.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
You have to deal with it.
Yeah, you got to deal with it.
Man, yeah, we cannot thank youenough for sharing your time and
sharing your expertise and justyour passion for the Galloway
Method, because we truly believein that.
Yeah, on all of your marathonmajors too, and we just love
(40:17):
that you took time to be hereand be a part of the Runcation
Nation and share your experienceand your stories and your
laughter, and we just can't waitto accomplish, explore and
indulge with you at a racereally soon.
Speaker 1 (40:30):
That would be so much fun.
It's been a pleasure, and thankyou for inviting me on your
show.
Speaker 2 (40:35):
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (40:38):
This was wonderful, it was fun it was fun, I
appreciate it and I have.
This has been a verypleasurable Saturday after run
experience.
Speaker 2 (40:48):
So that's a wrap.
Thank you for joining us onyour long run, your commute to
work around the house.
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 (00:20):
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.
(00:43):
On your next runcation.
Hey, welcome back.
This is episode 317 of the RunEat Drink podcast and I'm your
host, amy.
This is part two of ourfantastic conversation with
(01:04):
Sherry Witt.
So say, on race morning for themajor races that you have done,
for you just got back fromSydney, you've done Chicago what
, what insider info do you havefor race morning in these big
races, when it can be chaoticand feel overwhelming for
somebody?
Speaker 1 (01:23):
So what I always tell people is plan your route.
How are you getting to thestart line?
Walk it the day before or twodays, whatever.
Figure out from where you're at, how you're getting to the
start line, what trains, whatare you taking and that's with
any race, Because if you decideyou're going to rely on Uber and
they cancel on you at the lastminute, you got to still get to
(01:45):
the race right.
So most places like WashingtonDC, Tokyo, all those places they
all have mass transit systems.
So as long as you understandhow those work and you do a dry
run, you'll be fine, especiallyif it's your first time.
It also alleviates nerves.
The worst thing that can happento a runner is they're so
nervous on race day that allcommon sense goes out the window
(02:07):
and they get on the wrong train, go in the wrong direction,
because they thought it was onething and they didn't do a dry
run.
So I always recommend a dry runlike walk to the start line,
see where it is from your hotel.
Can you walk it or would yourather take some form of
transportation?
Do they have a shuttle?
If so, what's the distance toget to the shuttle, Things like
(02:29):
that?
So, and at the expo, ask thequestions If they have an
information booth.
If you don't know, ask someone,They'll.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
They're very helpful, yeah, and so you got to build
in that time before the race too.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
It's also a good little shakeout, honestly, if
you're.
I know a lot of people lovedoing those shakeout runs the
day before the race.
I do not, no, because, too no,too many people will go too fast
on those things.
They can cause some injuries,and I'm not going to.
I don't.
The three miles or whatever itis I'm going to do the day
before a race is not going tohelp me one bit.
(03:04):
All my training leading up tothat point is what's going to
help me.
That three miles could harm me,but what I do recommend is I'll
go out and walk, walk to seewhere you need to be and call
that your shakeout.
That's my take on it, the onlytime I've done shakeout runs.
We are pacers for this amazingrace called the Donna Love it.
(03:26):
Yeah, and it's a breast cancersupport race, and myself and a
lot of my friends have dealtwith breast cancer issues.
That's an amazing course, and Istay at a hotel that's right
outside the start line, so it'seasier for me to get there.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Yeah, I think it just depends.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
you just have to you got to know where you're going
if you're in a strange settingyeah, yeah, and that rehearsal
is going to alleviate the nervesto your point now of all of the
races they all have their ownunique challenges.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
I would say say would you say which one would you
characterize as the hilliestthing from London and Tokyo and
Boston, which, by the way, whatit basically is.
It feels like you're always ona boat, so you lose your
equilibrium and if I lay down onthe bed I would get super dizzy
like vertigo and getting up inthe middle of the night.
(04:44):
You can't hardly keep yourbalance, and it's a weird thing
which I didn't even know was athing until I got it.
Wait, I lost track.
What was the question again?
Oh courses hilly versus flatversus which one's a?
Speaker 2 (04:59):
good first time.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
So I love Sydney A hilly course.
I would say Big Sur super hilly, but it's a beautiful course.
And San Francisco super hilly,but I got one of my better times
there.
I live in a h Rebel races.
I think they're amazing.
However, the screamingdownhills are a whole other
(05:30):
challenge in and of themselves.
So I'm not a fan of those asmuch anymore, but during COVID
they were the only races youcould run, so I learned
appreciation for them.
But they're hard.
Downhill races are super hardand it doesn't make them faster
because they even it out.
Mount Charleston has we call itquicksand miles.
The last five miles are uphilland after you've been screaming
(05:51):
downhill to have to go reversethat and go uphill, it just
feels, yeah, it's horrible.
So I think I would say Big Sur,san Francisco, and those are
the two hilliest courses, butalso the Big Sur being very
beautiful because you run allalong the California coast.
(06:14):
My favorite race is the MarineCorps Marathon because I am a
veteran and so I run that withpride every year and the Blue
Mile gets me every time.
Yeah and then.
But my bucket list race wasrunning the Athens Marathon with
Jeff and Barb, because I got torun that original route with an
(06:36):
Olympian how cool is that.
A race I'm looking forward toright now is obviously Hawaii,
because we're going to get torun with Jeff again and yeah, so
excited about that.
And Triumph Sports put thatpackage together.
I tapped them and said, heyguys, I love Tokyo, I loved the
(07:01):
travel packages you put togetherand how basically top-notch it
was, which is what Jeff likes.
And so Weston, jeff, myself andTamara and Jeff because there's
Jeff Lacks works for Triumphand so we all got together and
we said let's put this packagetogether and they did a stand-up
(07:22):
job.
We're going to have over 90people going.
Oh yeah, so it's everybodywanted to go because everybody
loves Jeff.
So we're all going to be thereand we're going to do a dopey
simulation there for people whoare running dopey and it's going
to be really fun because it'sin December.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
So yeah, and it's right before that.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
Right, right before Dope.
It's basically aligned thatweekend is the Dopey Sim weekend
, so the marathon will be themarathon run and they have the
Mahalo thing, which means youcan finish whenever.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
I love that yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
We're going to do a 12-mile run on Saturday, which
is the new simulation is 12miles, not 13.
And then we'll do the 5K.
I think there's a 5K race, orwe'll do a 5K the day before
that.
And they've cut out the 10K andthe training.
Now, as far as the Gallowayofficial training, they do the
5K, the 12 miles and then themarathon, and that's your
(08:17):
simulation, yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Interesting.
Oh, wow, Okay.
Okay Now, which races do youfavor for having the best course
support like aid stations?
Speaker 1 (08:46):
I've had three situations that come to mind and
it had nothing to do with theofficial aid stations, it had to
do with the people.
So rock and roll.
San Diego some person at likemile 20 or 21 had ice cold
Coca-Cola.
Oh my gosh, that was amazing.
And I was like I discovered mynew crack cocaine with ice cold
Coca-Cola, and because I'm aDiet Coke person.
(09:07):
But when you are tired, hot,thirsty, nothing and that's what
Jeff uses is DeFiz Coke.
Air Force Marathon these littleBoy Scouts, man, they had their
Freezy Pops and those, oh mygoodness, and that's a hot race.
And those, oh, my goodness.
(09:38):
And that's a hot race and thosewere amazing.
I think for the most part, witha few exceptions, I could tell
you which races I've run'll takethem over anyone, because they
are.
That's the fun group.
All the fun is happening backthere and it's just such a joy
to run with them.
But what happens is by the timethey get to the aid stations,
all the volunteers have let allthe people in front of them take
too much and there's nothingleft and so they're out.
(10:01):
So I always tell peopleDisneyland was a prime example I
had a young gal.
She ran out of her hydration,had nothing, it was hot and she
looked bad.
So I had my hydration.
So I was carried.
I said take mine and use it,drink it and use it, drink it.
(10:21):
And so I told my pacing partnerEva, when you go and grab water
, get me one every time now,because I don't have hydration.
So I think people shouldn'trely on the course so much.
If you're fast and you're up inthe front, you're fine, but if
(10:41):
you're let's say you're a fiveplus hour marathoner, you may
run into problems.
Tokyo prime example.
They ran out of cups and waterand not at the same time.
Really yeah, and they Tokyowould not allow you to bring
reusable bottles.
Really, yeah, they didn't wantit.
So I didn't understand that,because they were using a lot of
(11:02):
paper cups.
That, to me, was a waste, whenwe could have just used our
refillable bottles.
What they did allow and I readthe fine print, so I bought some
on Amazon were these littlelike aluminum pouches Capri Sun
juice boxes or something likethat aluminum pouches with a
screw top, and so I filled thosewith my hydration and had them
(11:22):
in my pack, and so it didn'taffect me and anyone who was
running with me.
I gave them to them, so theyeach had, because it came in a
pack of 50, so I was passingthem out like candy, and so it
didn't affect me because I keptrefilling those.
So I think it's more about whenthey don't have enough versus
(11:43):
when they do.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
Yeah, and for back of the Packers, to your point, it
is more of an issue yeah, goahead, but you have to be like
did that add weight?
Speaker 1 (11:58):
what you carried.
I don't carry that, so the onlytime I wear running vests- is
if I'm running ultras.
Okay, and yeah, it adds weight,but we usually so.
When I first started running, Icarried too much water.
I carried too much everything,because you never want to run
out.
As I've done more races andI've done a lot of them, I know
(12:19):
what works now because I'vetried it and what I found is
like I can carry a 16 ouncebottle of water and that's all I
need, because if I drink it all, I'll refill it along the
course.
Like I can add water as I getit If I know I'm going to run
low and my hydration in there.
Chris Twiggs taught me thistrick about mix it heavy, which
(12:40):
means you want it to be overlysweet at the beginning, or
overly because you can add waterto it and that makes your
hydration last longer.
Okay, okay, yeah, you're usingtailwind.
I don't use tailwind, but Iknow he does, and so he.
If it calls for one scoop,he'll add two and then, okay,
the first couple sips are goingto be really strong, but it'll
(13:05):
the front half.
Your first half of your racesets up your second half and
people don't understand this.
So most people don't.
They don't use their hydrationor the water, or their goos and
their gels and their fuel untilthey need it.
And by the time you need itit's too late.
So if you mix your hydrationsuper strong, you're getting it
(13:26):
at the beginning when you needit.
So it actually has a doublerole, right?
So you're getting the extra inthe beginning, and then, as
you're watering it down, you'regetting water later on, so it's
not that big of a deal.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
Interesting.
That's a good tip.
Yeah, that's a good tip.
Okay, and you can thank ChrisTwiggs when you have him on this
podcast.
Well, there you go.
Shout out to you, coach, yeah,okay.
So you've given us a lot oftips so far.
Let's talk about the finishlines.
What have been some of yourfavorite finish lines and why?
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Oh gosh, I love a finish line when there's a lot
of us finishing together, Ithink that's, or if I can finish
, if I've run a whole race witha friend of mine and we can
finish with our arms up in theair.
To me that's like the bestphoto op.
Good race announcers make agreat finish.
Carissa's an amazing raceannouncer, so I love all the
finish lines.
My favorite finish line wasagain the Athens Marathon.
(14:23):
Jeff, barb, myself, a coupleother people we were all running
together and Jeff and Barb hadtheir hands.
They were holding in theirhands raised their hands.
Jeff grabs my hand.
I grab the gal's hand next tome.
She grabs the hand.
So we all raise our hands.
We're crossing the finish lineand she says I just didn't think
you'd grab my hand.
I'm so amazed that I'm part ofthat picture.
(14:45):
She was so excited.
I'm like you ran with us.
Why wouldn't we?
Why wouldn't we celebratetogether?
I think the finish line is allabout the celebration.
Yes, yes, and the celebrationis while I pace most races, I'm
pacing someone.
They don't.
The dirty little secret thereis that they're helping me just
(15:07):
as much as I'm helping them,because while I'm helping them,
I'm not thinking about how muchthis sucks for me, because, as
many marathons as I've done, itstill hurts.
Mile 24 is still painful.
I want to be done by then.
So I don't think about thatwhen I'm helping someone else.
So when I help people at theseraces, it helps me, yeah.
(15:29):
So I don't tell them that, butI'm like, yeah, sure, I'll be
the hero.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
That's so good, that's and it's smart and it's
sweet.
You're focusing on somethingelse.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Yeah, like Disneyland , I had several people come up
just in tears because this wastheir first half marathon.
They didn't think they couldfinish.
We got them to the finish line.
They were so grateful and to methat makes it all worth it.
Finish line they were sograteful and to me that makes it
all worth it.
Driving to Anaheim and runningin 85 degree weather isn't fun,
but the finish line and all thepeople make it fun.
(16:06):
It really does.
It's so important and I thinkwhen you're running for time
goal and you're running byyourself, it's not as fun.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
So now, if people are not, they look at pace groups
and they're thinking, oh, Ididn't do that ratio in my
training.
What would you say to that?
Speaker 1 (16:26):
So most and Chris is really working on this as the
pace coordinator most people whouse run-walk do not use the
official run-walk ratio.
Sydney had some weird ratioswhich were interesting, but I
had I probably had.
I think at some points I had 50people running with me at
Sydney.
We finished.
I think there was like eight ornine or ten of us that finished
(16:47):
.
A couple people ran with mealmost the entire time Because I
did very so.
I did 20-30, 20-second run, 30second walk, cause I told
everybody that wanted to runwith me and I was there with the
tour group so anybody in thetour group could run with me
that we would finish between 545and six hours using 20 second
(17:08):
run, 30 second walk.
And then towards the end we hada couple of people who started
struggling because the hills areon the back half of that race,
so we switched to 1530.
We still finished in 548.
So not a bad day.
I got them in and I knew I'dalready factored in the fact
that people were probably goingto want to slow down because
(17:31):
most people haven't done thetraining correctly whatever.
So what I recommend to people isJeff, gives you a wide range of
ratios within that timeframe ofyour finish on his website.
Try them all, try differentratios, and if you want to run
with the pace group, look andsee what ratios they do.
(17:53):
The race director will know, orthe pace coordinator for that
race will know, and then if youcan't run those ratios, you know
you're not going to run withthat group.
So if their ratios are soobscure that you can't do it,
then don't run with them, justkeep them in your line of sight.
Yeah, and so if you want tofinish in 530, keep the 530
group in your line of sight andthen just pass them at the end,
(18:13):
right?
Speaker 2 (18:14):
now.
Okay, so that's some.
We have some good tips we haveabout it's.
It is about I don't justfinishing.
Sometimes with completestrangers or with people who
mean so much to you, it can arange of emotions can be there
now.
Are you bling driven?
Oh, dana is.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
Absolutely, he's bling driven 100%.
Yeah, I've got, I love themedals.
Yeah, that's what.
Originally Disney, I was like,ooh, you can get like 10 medals
in one weekend, like themarathon weekend.
If you do dopey, you're gettingdopey goofy, plus all four
medals.
You're getting like six medalsplus all the shirts.
It's amazing, yeah, and I wouldsay I am definitely bling
(18:58):
driven because that's your likesome.
I had someone.
You always get those people whodon't run.
They're like did you win?
And I'm like, yes, and I got amedal.
Yes, I got a medal.
So I crossed the finish line, Iwon.
I think my favorite fit, my twofavorite most emotional finish
lines, was my first time I ranBoston in person.
(19:18):
And you're coming around thatcorner and you see that amazing
finish line and you're like, ohmy gosh, I just did this race
that everybody wants to do andthe finish line is right there
and my very first marathon,which that's a whole story of
how I got to run.
I have this friend who, after Ihad gotten sick, I said I
wanted to run a marathon.
She said let's do it, let's goback home.
(19:40):
I'm from Fargo, North Dakota.
I'm from that area, Moorhead,Minnesota, Fargo, North Dakota.
She said let's go back home andrun the Fargo Marathon.
Let's go run the streets weused to run around in.
So I said let's do it.
And I started training and I gotto about six miles and I was
just like, oh, there's no way,there's no way I can do this.
I can't get past six miles.
This is ridiculous.
I was.
(20:00):
I just I couldn't do it.
And I said to her I go, I don'tknow what.
I was thinking, I can't do this.
And she goes hey, sure, there'sthis guy and his name is Jeff
Galloway and he does this thingand it's called run walk.
So let's try it, let's do30-second run, 30-second walk,
See if you can do that.
And I was able to complete mytraining using that ratio, so it
(20:23):
immediately doubled my distance.
Just by using run-walk, mydistance immediately doubled as
far as how far I could go,because I knew I could run six
miles, so if I added the walkbreaks I could now do 12.
So it really helped.
I wish I'd embraced his entiretraining program early on
instead of just the ratios, butI didn't know and I think a lot
(20:45):
of people are there they don'tknow.
But so those were my twofavorite finish lines.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
So when you say embrace his whole program, what
do you mean?
Talk about what you mean, Jeffit's not just about the ratios.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Run-walk is about doing all the training, as with
any program.
What do you mean?
Talk about what you mean, jeff.
It's not just about the ratios.
Run walk is about doing all thetraining, as with any program,
which means you run to thedistance, you do the drills.
His acceleration gliders andhis cadence drills are key to
running, and I don't care ifyou're a three-hour marathoner
or if you're a six-hourmarathoner.
(21:17):
All these drills help right.
And then you have to decide amI going to run just to finish or
do I want to go for time,because there's other training
that gets involved in that.
But really, when I firststarted running, I did the
ratios.
My first year I ran twomarathons the Bargo, and then I
went back and ran Minneapolis,and by Minneapolis I started
(21:39):
having Achilles problems and Iwas like, oh gosh, this is
horrible.
And then we had already signedup for Dopey, so we had to go do
Dopey and by the time I wasdone with Dopey I ran Dopey with
complete bronchitis, I had theflu, I was throwing up the
morning of the marathon andafter that race I was just like
this is not fun, this is justhorrible.
(22:05):
Maybe the half is the perfectdistance.
And then I got to go back.
Then Jeff had a retreat inCarmel and it happened to come
across my computer and it was onmy birthday weekend and I said
to my husband I want to go dothat and I thought I'm going to
be in this auditorium.
I had not met Jeff at thispoint and this was my first
meeting.
I had seen him from afar at aDisney, but I was too afraid to
go up and talk to him.
I was a fangirl.
(22:26):
I called Jeff.
My husband and Barb both knowthat I'm totally in love with
Jeff because he saved he reallysaved my life and I it's like my
running boyfriend, right, andBarb said that's creepy, right,
and I'm like I don't care.
I don't care, barb, but hereally did, because we're not.
His method brings running to somany people that would not be
(22:50):
doing it and I don't care whatsize, shape, whatever your thing
is.
Physical fitness is so key tolongevity and it's really true,
I want to run till I'm 100.
And I wouldn't have been ableto do that without his method
and once I embraced all of it,which includes slowing down for
(23:11):
my long runs, fueling, doing thesmall stuff, doing the drills,
not going nuts on the weekdayson my shorter runs, doing all
the stuff, pool running, allthese things.
They're important and this allmakes for a good, solid runner.
Just doing bits and pieces iswhy people get injured, and I
(23:32):
was on that road to injury andso I didn't want to do that.
I also didn't want to run anymore marathons, and that was
after three.
I'm not doing this again.
I'm not doing this again.
I'll run halves.
But then I found out thathalves were just as hard.
If that's your distance,whatever distance you're running
is just as hard, whether it'sultras, marathons, 10ks.
(23:56):
If that's your distance andthat's what you're training for,
it's going to be hard, yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
Yeah, yeah, okay, so you said people can do some
damage after crossing the finishline as far as nutritionally
and I can eat whatever I want.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
Yeah, that's a fun topic right there.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Yeah, it can be dangerous.
However, we're into the postrun celebration.
Has there been?
Speaker 1 (24:29):
a meal.
It was one of your topic points.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
Yes, we are like the run and we run, and then we eat
and drink, yes.
So where have you gotten thebest post-race meal?
Where's been some good eats foryou?
Speaker 1 (24:45):
My best.
Okay, first off, I'm going totell you that usually after
marathon, I'm not hungry.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
It's weird, but I'm going to tell you that usually
after a marathon, I'm not hungry.
Yeah, it's weird, but I'm not.
And as far as you can't like.
For instance, I only burn about2,800 calories when I run a
marathon, according to Garmin,and Garmin is mean.
That doesn't make sense.
That doesn't seem right.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
No.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
But yet, and then you've got to take in all the
calories you're eating anddrinking on the course, and so
you subtract that from the.
Then you've got to take in allthe calories you're eating and
drinking on the course, and soyou subtract that from the
calories you've burned and let'ssay, maybe you only have 1,600
left, or whatever it is right.
2,000, let's say 2,000 caloriesis not a whole lot for a
post-meal celebration, withoutgoing back into a calorie
(25:30):
overload.
And then you get so manyrunners who say when I was
training for a marathon, Igained weight.
It's calories in and caloriesout for the most part.
There's other little thingsthat happen, but you can't eat
4,000 calories after doing an800 calorie burn run and expect
to come off because that's not adeficit.
My, of course, favoritepost-race meal, surprisingly
(25:54):
enough, is pizza.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
I love pizza, good pizza, yeah, but.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
I normally can't eat it, but after a race, because my
body has sweated usually andburned up more sodium than I've
given it, I can have that pizzaand maybe it has like sausage or
pepperoni on it or something,and it's okay in that moment for
me because my body will use itto regenerate what I've lost and
(26:19):
so it's perfect.
I cannot think of where.
I'm sure that there is a meal.
I really tried to rack my brainand what meal after a race.
That was super amazing, and theonly thing I can think of is
pizza.
And my post-race beverage Ithink I already discussed with
(26:41):
you was ice cold Coca-Cola.
Yes, that's perfect, because Ialso don't drink alcohol,
because I have kidney and liverdamage, so there's a lot.
So, like I always say, I caneat cardboard, so I really enjoy
I run, so I can eat candy.
Yeah, I can eat candy.
It's like I can bring jellybeans, I can bring gummy bears
(27:02):
on my run because I'm workingthrough that, and so there isn't
going to be anything left overthat my body cannot filter out.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Yeah, yeah, okay.
So the overall experience, theoverall race experience, what
are your top three?
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Top three.
Top three races that I liked.
Yeah, it's like that course wiseor let's say, top three courses
, yeah, okay.
So my very first PR happened atGrandma's Marathon.
Oh, we've heard this was good,but I'm not a fan.
I'm not a fan.
(27:37):
I grew up in Minnesota and I'mnot a fan of Duluth, and I'll
tell you why.
They charge so much for thehotel rooms and everything, and
it's Duluth.
You shouldn't have to pay $700a night for a hotel room to go
run a marathon.
It's ridiculous.
It's expensive to run thatmarathon, for whatever reason,
and I think they do themselves agreat disservice.
But they sell out every year,so they can.
(27:59):
I got my very first PR.
I think I finished that in a442.
And that was the first timewhere I thought I might, I could
actually do this thing, I couldget faster, and I had run five
marathons five weekends in a rowand I was training with Jeff at
this point because I wasbecoming a program director and
each race I got faster tograndma's being the fifth race,
(28:23):
the fifth weekend, and Ifinished in a 4.42.
And I got some interestingcomments from Jeff about that.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
Oh really.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
Oh yeah, he said this is all great and fine until
it's not so you've got to pickyour PRs.
Don't try and get faster onevery race, especially with as
many as you're running, becauseif you don't pick the races
you're going to end up hurtingyourself or burning out.
So I got schooled there.
I was so excited and I was tolddon't do that.
So I was like okay, oh no, yeah, I think Marine Corps, I love
(28:57):
our nation's capital, I loverunning through that, I love the
Marine.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Support Everybody says it's amazing.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
Boston.
Obviously Boston is amazing.
The crowds are amazing.
Have you ever done?
Speaker 2 (29:11):
New York, no, no.
So I'll be interested after youdo that in November, to see
crowd support Where's the best,because they rival each other.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
I've heard, and we have a huge Galloway group there
.
So I know and that's anotherthing In Marine Corps we have a
group in Washington DC and theyhave an aid station at like mile
20, 21 or 23.
It's a bus stop, I know exactlywhere it is on the course, and
so Floyd, our director there,will say what do you want in the
cooler?
And I'll be like a mini coatand whatever.
(29:44):
So I'll tell him what, and sowhen I get there, they're like I
got your stuff, so it's yourdrug deal, right?
Yes, yes.
And then I feel the Donna samething.
We have a huge Jacksonvillegroup.
So they have a cooler.
They ask you what you want,they stick it in the cooler and
when you get to that point yougrab your stuff and it's so
refreshing, you have somethingto look forward to.
(30:05):
New York, I feel, is going to bethe same thing, because Karen
has an amazing program there andI feel like we're going to have
huge support because of herprogram for those who aren't
running.
So that is why one of thethings I do is I try and help
Chris and Jeff with new programs.
I think they're so importantand the more boots on the ground
(30:25):
programs we have.
It's like your first defense,right?
So you want to dip your toes inthe run, walk water.
Go find a local group.
That's a great way to do it.
It's not expensive, it's greatcommunity.
You get running friendsinstantly.
No one's left behind.
It's amazing and anyone can doit.
Speaker 2 (30:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:43):
So, yeah, those are my.
I think my favorite courses aresimply because of the Galloway
support we have on the course,right, so I look forward to that
.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Yes, like Donna, is nobody's business, is just the
community.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
And when the community comes out like even at
Air Force the community,because you run mainly on
Wright-Patterson base thecommunity is amazing.
So, even though it's a horrible, horribly hot race because
they're doing it on theanniversary of the Air Force,
right?
So they're doing it in theanniversary of the Air Force,
right?
So they're doing it inSeptember they're never going to
change the date.
It's always going to bestinking hot.
It's probably going to be redor black flagged every year.
(31:19):
But the people out there withthe sprinklers and the freezy
pops and they're cheering you onand they're handing you sponges
, they really do make the coursewonderful.
All the people who show up tocheer you on Fargo's an amazing
race because they're like worstparade ever and they're not
kidding, because they're allsitting in their lawn chairs
(31:40):
watching you run by, cheeringyou on.
That's just.
They sit out there with theircoffee, their beer, they have
bands, but they're all out.
It's a huge event there.
And so it's really fun Likeseeing these kids trying to get
high fives from you and stuffand you run over there to give
them the high five and maybe amiss sometimes because they
raised their arm or whatever.
(32:01):
But it really is aboutcommunity support, because the
volunteers and whatnot can onlydo so much.
So it's getting the communitiestogether for a race.
It's really makes the race.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
So now, ok, so you've done high fives with kids along
the course, and have you?
Is there some?
How can you not talk aboutAthens and running with Jeff and
Barb?
But are there other inspiringrunners or experiences?
You have that come to mind?
Speaker 1 (32:33):
Yeah, there's a lot we deal with.
We have runners who are dealingwith cancer, going through
treatment, and they're stillrunning, they're still out there
.
We have, I mean, runners whohave come back from tragedies,
runners who have lost theirspouses.
It's such a supportivecommunity and, like I'm sure you
(32:54):
, you see it in your community.
You band together and you cansay whatever you want about
runners.
We're weird, whatever you wantto say about us, but we really
do band together.
We don't agree politically.
We are not in the same, we'renot all in the same demographics
, we're not the same color, wedo not make the same money,
(33:15):
we're all over the place, butour commonality is what makes us
family.
We're all runners.
And so, you see we this year atBoston, the Liver Foundation, we
had a living liver donor.
She donated, like, I think,like seven, 80% of her kidney,
maybe to her mother and within ayear she was a college student
(33:37):
who, I believe she had a soccerscholarship where she was on the
soccer team.
She had to take time off fromthat to do this surgery.
She came and ran Boston and Idon't remember what mile it was,
maybe eight or something.
I see her out of the corner ofmy eye because her shirts are
green, so you can spot thepeople throwing up over there on
the side of the road and Ithought, ooh, that's not good,
(33:58):
because I know that she had justrecently donated the majority
of her liver.
So I ran over to her to see ifshe was okay.
What could I do to help?
I didn't know if she was likerejecting if she was, you don't
know.
So I didn't know if she waslike rejecting.
If she was, you don't know.
So I just was there for support.
I handed her some lifesaversbecause I knew she just threw up
and I'm like here, this willhelp with your breath.
What more can I right?
(34:19):
What can I do?
But when we see someone go down,runners will gather around them
.
They'll protect that person,they will help them.
What do you need?
And I think that's also why Ilove the Back of the Pack
community, because they're theones who are going to stop, the
ones who are going for their PR.
They're not going to stop andmost of them they're in the
(34:40):
front, so most of that stuffisn't happening up there, but in
the back is where people arefalling and tripping, and
through no fault of their own,and we're all there to support
them and help them.
I have a bandaid, I hear sometissue.
What do you need?
And this is what we do.
We're runners.
Speaker 2 (34:55):
Like here's some Biofreeze.
I mean, yeah, I don't haveillicit drugs.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
But here's what I do have, and I firmly believe that
the Galloway community is at thetop of that level of people who
are all of my friends, ourclose friends, are runners that
I have met because of my program.
I love my running group,they're family to me and I
(35:21):
wouldn't have that without Jeff.
So that's, I think, why I keepdoing it, because I just love
the community.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
It's some of the most wonderful people that I've
never met.
I've met on a race course.
Yeah, and become bonded withand just.
Speaker 1 (35:39):
Yep, yeah, and you're just in that moment your best
friends.
Yeah, so, as you're helpingsomeone, or you're helping each
other, or you're runningtogether, because you found this
random stranger on the course,now you're friends and now you
see him at other races.
Because you have this commonthing on the course, now you're
friends and now you see him atother races, because you have
this common thing which isrunning these races, and every
time I run a race, I meet a newbest friend.
Speaker 2 (35:59):
Yeah, yeah, you can't now, ok.
So, speaking of next races,what's next for you All?
Speaker 1 (36:07):
right, so I have five races left this year.
Speaker 2 (36:10):
You have a packed agenda, yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
So I have five races left.
Speaker 2 (36:11):
this year you have a packed agenda.
Speaker 1 (36:13):
Yeah, so I do Marine Corps.
Then the next weekend I go doNew York and I have this
Philadelphia which I've wantedto run but I've been deferred
for two years.
I have a dear friend who hadthe BRCA gene and I had to go
back to DC and she had foursurgeries.
(36:35):
So I was there.
She doesn't have, she's notmarried, doesn't have kids, and
so I went back and luckily Icould, luckily I can do this,
but I went back and took care ofher for every surgery.
We decided to run this raceafter her final surgery and we
were very ambitious and so shewasn't ready.
(36:56):
The surgeries you don't realizehow hard these surgeries are
until you've gone through them.
And so the last surgery was theimplant.
So the first surgery wasovaries, the second surgery was
reduction, because she was verylarge.
The third surgery was removalof all the tissue, and then the
fourth surgery was the implants.
And so all that surgery takes alot out of you every time, and
(37:20):
you're doing this within aperiod of what like a year to
two years, depending on how longyour recovery is.
So we had to defer the firstyear and then last year
something happened and wedeferred, so it's on the
calendar this year.
So Marine Corps New york, thenphilly is, I don't know, the
14th or something, and that onemay not happen, but I don't like
to pay for races, and then I'llrun them, yeah, and I can't
(37:42):
defer.
And then after that I havehawaii, oh, and then I have a
race in two weeks big surmarathon, trail race.
Big sur trail race marathon.
It's a long weekend and so Idecided to go up to Carmel and
run this race because it lookedlike fun, yeah.
Speaker 2 (38:00):
A trail race.
Speaker 1 (38:01):
Yeah, because next year I want to get more into
ultras and 100 milers.
I want to start doing more ofthose and using the marathon as
a training run for those.
Speaker 2 (38:11):
You're going to do the Hard Rock 100?
No, I'm not that crazy.
Okay, I'm just asking.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
Hard Rock 100, number one.
Okay, don't get me wrong, Iwould probably do it, but I'd
probably never qualify for it.
Because even Chris Twiggs,who's done it, what?
17, 18 times?
He doesn't get in every yearand he qualifies for it every
year and he goes into thelottery and he's got a lot of
like tickets or whatever youwant to call them, and he still
doesn't get to go every year andhe trains for it as if he's
(38:39):
going, he's on the board there,he goes, he spends like a month
or whatever in Orey.
I've been saying it wrong.
So, anyways, colorado, yeah,and he does their podcast, he
does their trail, he does allthe stuff I'm just looking to do
, like maybe the C&O 100, or Idon't even, not even Western
(39:01):
States, because I think thatmight be a lot, a lot.
But let me dip my toes.
I've done two 100 milers andthey were very easy, flat.
I need to dip my toes in thiswater and see where what happens
.
Yeah, I'll get back to you onthat, okay.
Okay, I'm probably thinking no,because I live at sea level and
(39:26):
I'm and this is at altitude andclearly I have vertigo issues
now because of the whole.
I get motion sickness, I getvertigo, blah, blah, blah and I
don't know.
It's like getting old is notfor the faint of heart, because
stuff just starts happening tous.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
You have to deal with it.
Yeah, you got to deal with it.
Man, yeah, we cannot thank youenough for sharing your time and
sharing your expertise and justyour passion for the Galloway
Method, because we truly believein that.
Yeah, on all of your marathonmajors too, and we just love
(40:17):
that you took time to be hereand be a part of the Runcation
Nation and share your experienceand your stories and your
laughter, and we just can't waitto accomplish, explore and
indulge with you at a racereally soon.
Speaker 1 (40:30):
That would be so much fun.
It's been a pleasure, and thankyou for inviting me on your
show.
Speaker 2 (40:35):
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (40:38):
This was wonderful, it was fun it was fun, I
appreciate it and I have.
This has been a verypleasurable Saturday after run
experience.
Speaker 2 (40:48):
So that's a wrap.
Thank you for joining us onyour long run, your commute to
work around the house.
Wherever you are, I'm your host, amy.
Stay safe and well and we willtalk to you really soon.
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