Through Their Stride

McKay Nelson had never trained for a race in his life. His athletic background was in high school baseball and football — not exactly the resume of a marathoner. But armed with an unshakeable belief that the human body and mind are capable of more than we give them credit for, he set out to prove just that.

90 days. 26.2 miles. Under 3 hours.

In this episode, McKay takes us through the full journey — the training,...

If you're looking for a fun and beautiful destination race this spring, there's no place like running through the historic streets of Fredericksburg.

Hosted by Create Healthy, the 32nd Wildflower Run will take place in downtown Fredericksburg at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, April 25. Races include a 5K and 10K run, as well as an untimed 5K walk. There will also be a kids' fun run before the main event!

Do yo...

After years of suffering Achilles flare ups in track and cross country, high schooler Alberto Quintero Ayala was tired of feeling like he wasn't in control of his running journey. So, in 2025, he decided to commit fully recovering and shifted his focus to one hard thing: getting back in shape to run his first marathon at just 18.

Alberto documented his entire journey to the Austin Marathon on his YouTube Channel, Road To Marath...

A running influencer, a storyteller of running history, and oftentimes a comedian of the sport, Hillary Burgess has made a name for herself in the sport of running. And it all started with a bit of curiosity.

When Hillary started her Instagram channel, @running_up_that_hillary, she didn't even consider it could turn into a popular running page. But she kept posting content that was funny, true and authentic. No games....

After being diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder in 2021, made a choice. Instead of becoming a victim to her problems, she decided to get up and live her life to the fullest by taking on a new, scary sport: running.

Since then, she's run multiple half marathons — including the Galveston Half Marathon five times, several marathons, and has become an ambassador of the Houston Marathon.

Her main mission wit...

Carlos Sanchez began running marathons way back in 2008. At that time, he thought running one shouldn't be humanly possible. Little did he know he'd be towing the start line of the Boston Marathon with his own granddaughter one day.

Mia Sanchez, the aforementioned granddaughter, has been running competitively for a while now, most recently at St. Edward's University in Austin. It had always been a dream to r...

A marathon build doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful. And that is the story of Rafael Aguilar's journey to the Houston Marathon this past January.

He nearly got deported. He was broken up with by his girlfriend a week before race day. And through all of that adversity, he still pulled out a PR of 2:45:52 at the Houston Marathon in January.

Adversity isn't something Rafa is new too, though. In...

Brandy Hoffman had signed up for the Houston Marathon before. And every time, she found a reason not to start.

This year, she finally said yes, and toed the line as a first-time marathoner.

Brandy is a wellness coach with DLDNation, known for helping women do hard things and chase big goals. But this time, the work was personal. When the miles got heavy, she leaned on something unexpected: the voices of her family...

What if you didn’t start running until later in life — and still ran a 3:35 marathon? Well, this runner did just that.

In Episode 3 of the Strides Through H-Town series on Through Their Stride, I’m joined by Krystle Hodge, Houston Marathon Ambassador and three-time Houston Marathon finisher. Krystle ran a huge PR of 3:35:29, all without a background in competitive sports.

We talk about:

• Starting running later i...

From when she was a little girl, Adriana Rodriguez was told she'd never amount to much. Boy, were those doubters proven wrong.

On January 11, Adriana took on the Houston Marathon as her first-ever marathon... and shattered her Boston Qualifying-time with a finish of 3:03:21. Incredible, sure. But that's not the only success she's had in life.

At the age of 16, she was chosen to run cross country and...

In the first episode of Strides Through H-Town, I sit down with Taco (@tacoxrun), a Houston-based runner whose journey is rooted in patience, growth, and belief.

Taco is a two-time marathoner, with his first marathon taking place at the Mexico City Marathon and his second right here on home turf at the  Houston Marathon. In this conversation, we talk about how his approach to running has evolved step by step over the years...

In part 2 of my conversation with Kristian Warwick , he dives into his journey with running since hiring a coach, how taking the big, scary steps has led to The Marathon Podcast's success, and what he has planned for the podcast and for his training in 2026.

Thank you so much to Kristian for coming to the podcast and sharing your story. And thank you all for your continued support of Through Their Stride.

LIS...

​Kristian Warwick only recently started running marathons. But it didn't take long for him to fall in love with the sport.

After qualifying for the Boston Marathon in his first race with a time of 2:52, this former speed skater knew this was something he wanted to invest his time in. And that, he has.

But not only does he love chasing big goals for himself (he eventually wants to run a 2:25 marathon... or fas...

What starts as a single marathon can turn into something far bigger.

In this episode of Through Their Stride, I sit down with Carrie Fromme—a Canadian-born runner now living in Texas—whose journey into running quickly grew into a mission of purpose. After discovering her love for endurance, Carrie set her sights on using running as a force for good.

In 2025—and again in 2026—Carrie is taking on a 24-hour run as pa...

Some episodes stay with you long after you stop recording — and this is one of those.

In this episode of Through Their Stride, I sit down with Faith Husmann and her dad, Cody Stewart, to talk about what it meant for them to run the Marine Corps Marathon together.

Faith’s running journey began years earlier, inspired by watching her dad take on a 50K when she was younger. Cody had already been running for years bef...

Running didn’t start as a shared passion for Taylor and Tate Mauldin — in fact, it didn’t even start as a passion at all.

In this episode of Through Their Stride, Taylor shares how she first turned to running for wellness, structure, and mental clarity. Tate, admittedly reluctant at first, eventually joined her on the roads and trails… only to discover he was surprisingly good at it. What began as individual motivation qui...

In this episode of Through Their Stride, I sit down with my friend Harper Keihl to talk about what it really looks like to fall in love with running — and how quickly life can change when you commit to the process.

Just over a year ago, Harper struggled through a 3-mile group run. Today, he’s run a 1:44 half marathon in Austin and is fully immersed in the Austin running community, training with Goodpain Athletics and chasi...

Debuting in the new 910 Geist Ekiden Elite X racing shoes, two-time Olympic Trials qualifier and Illinois local Colin Mickow won the new San Antonio Marathon in a blazing 2:22:25.

In this episode of Through Their Stride, Colin joins host Sam Sutton to break down his race-day execution, his unique, high-mileage training regimen, and the path that brought him back to elite competition after taking several years away from run...