"This is the time in my life where I’m trying to do whatever I can to be the fastest I can and get the furthest in running that I can. So anything that is not working toward that goal just doesn’t make any sense." For the second year in row, professional marathoner Nell Rojas had a big day in Boston. She finished 10th overall at the 126th Boston Marathon, running a personal best (2:25:57), and finishing as the top U.S. woman in the field. In this conversation, Nell talks Boston beyond the number...
Apr 25, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 513
" When our smartphones are at 10 percent, we panic. We freak out… When our bodies are running on 10 percent, when our headspace is running on 10 percent, why don’t we have that same sense of urgency to look for an outlet, to recharge? We keep going. We allow ourselves to fully deplete before we ask to borrow a charger. " Peloton instructor — and newly published author — Tunde Oyeneyin returns to the Ali on the Run Show today. In this conversation, Tunde reflects on how her life has changed since...
Apr 22, 2022•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 512
“This weekend I was like, ‘I just want to be me, and see where I can go with that. I don’t want to conform. I don’t want to turn off who I am to fit into the existing landscape.’” After 1,099 days, the Boston Marathon was back on Patriots Day! And I was there! On this episode, I'm talking (for a very long time) all about my weekend in Boston, where I hosted a live show with Tracksmith (listen to it here ), was the post-race on-camera interviewer for the world feed broadcast (!!!), and made my Bo...
Apr 21, 2022•1 hr 38 min•Season 1Ep. 511
Boston is BACK! It was such a privilege to get to host a live recording of the Ali on the Run Show at the Tracksmith Trackhouse during the 2022 Boston Marathon weekend, with the ever-delightful recent podcast guests Anoush Arakelian and Emily Saul . This conversation was filled with great advice, hilarious stories, and — because why not? — dating talk. Thank you to Tracksmith for hosting us; thank you to Emily and Anoush for the wit, wisdom, and laughter; and thank you to everyone who joined and...
Apr 17, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 510
“The people who read my blog and supported me — whether we met in real life or from afar — they saved my life on my worst days.” Laura Green is a runner, a mom to two boys, and a dear friend — and today, she’s a podcast host! On this edition of Ask Ali, returning Ali on the Run Show guest Laura is here to do all the question asking, reading your questions from Instagram (and coming up with a few of her own). We do a chronological Ali deep dive, from the college days, to the pre-podcast blogging ...
Apr 15, 2022•58 min•Season 1Ep. 509
"Doctors said when I was born that I would be the last one to sit up, the last one to crawl, the last one to stand and walk. Well, I was the first to do all those things." Jenna Fesemyer was born with a birth defect called proximal femoral focal deficiency, where one leg is shorter than the other. At one year old, she had her foot amputated. And she immediately defied her doctors' expectations. As a teenager, she discovered wheelchair racing, and now, she's a Paralympian who represented Team USA...
Apr 14, 2022•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 508
"She’s my person." Silvana Morgan is a nurse, a runner, and a mom to two daughters. A few years ago, she was running a race when she saw a fellow runner up ahead wearing "a really cute outfit." But when the course split — half marathoners to the left, other race distances to the right — Silvana, who is from Brazil and says she's now living her dream with her family in New Hampshire, didn't get a chance to meet that runner and tell her she liked her outfit. That runner, it turned out, was commerc...
Apr 12, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 507
“What will get us to the finish line is nothing compared to what got us to the start.” In 2013, professional ballroom dancer Adrianne Haslet was walking near the Boston Marathon finish line when the bombs went off. She lost her leg that day, standing on Boylston Street. Then, in 2019, Adrianne — who had become a runner herself after her lower leg amputation — was walking on Commonwealth Ave. when she was hit by a car. Even in the face of so much unexpected adversity, Adrianne hasn't lost her fig...
Apr 08, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 506
“There was a moment where I looked at myself in the mirror and said, ‘Whoa, this is what you’re meant to do. This is it.’” Kirsten Ferguson is living her dream. She once wrote "Become a Peloton instructor" on a Post-It note, and today she's doing exactly that. (And she still has the manifestation-filled Post-It.) The Peloton Tread instructor is a single mom of two, and the road to this dream life hasn't been an easy one. Kirsten grew up with aspirations of working in the fashion industry. But wh...
Apr 07, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 505
"I’m tired. But I’m feeling pretty good. I’ve got a job to do and I need to do it and that’s kind of it. I’m on a mission. I just need to get it done." Jacky Hunt-Broersma is on a quest to run 100 marathons in 100 days. That's 26.2 miles every single day for 100 days straight, while raising money for Amputee Blade Runners . We recorded this episode together at 8 AM on Day 75. Jacky — a running coach and ultramarathoner whose next goal is the Moab 240 Endurance Run — had just gotten her two kids ...
Apr 05, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 504
“I said, ‘You definitely have this win. Don’t be so scared anymore.'” Last weekend, two-time Olympian Dominique Scott Efurd won the first-ever elite division at the Atlanta Women's 5K. And while it may have been her first time breaking the tape this year, Dom's 2022 is off to a solid start. In January, she finished third at the Houston Half Marathon. Then, she finished second at The TEN. And this weekend, she'll race the Cooper River Bridge Run. In this conversation — Dom's first time back on th...
Apr 01, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 503
“I’ve just been struggling to survive. To figure out how to survive. I want people to see me and say, ‘OK, let’s not look at what we think people are.’ Because everybody has their own struggles. Life is tough!” Earlier this month, I found myself glued to my phone, rabidly refreshing the Humans of New York Instagram account, waiting for updates in the 13-part story about a woman in Augusta, GA. The woman was Venus Morris Griffin. Today, she's a hugely successful realtor and mom of seven. But the ...
Mar 31, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 502
“I could tell he wasn’t mentoring me because he wanted it to be this public thing that made him look good. I wasn’t his charity case.” Dinée Dorame had a dream: to launch a podcast that would explore the intersection between running, land, community and culture. So she applied for the first-ever Tracksmith Fellowship program — and she won. Dinée was one of the first recipients of a Tracksmith Fellowship grant, which gave her the support she needed to bring the Grounded podcast into existence. Sh...
Mar 29, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 501
“It was pretty tough, I’m not gonna lie. I walked off the track pretty mad. I didn’t want to talk to any cameras, so I walked past the camera people because I knew they were just going to drill me with a bunch of questions that I didn’t want to talk about. And I hadn’t even had time to digest it myself. So I was about to say something I probably shouldn’t have on camera. So I said, ‘I’m making this boundary for myself,’ and I kept walking.” Elle Purrier St. Pierre is one of the fastest women in ...
Mar 25, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 500
“I got off the plane, looked out at the mountains, and just felt this sense of relaxation. Like this is where I’m supposed to be, this is where life is good. And it made no sense!” Laura Skladzinski was a dancer and theater kid growing up. She, like many of us, hated having to run the mile in gym class. Then, at 24 years old, Laura became the youngest person at the time to complete a marathon in all 50 states, and she has gone on to run more than 100 marathons and a few ultramarathons. So, what ...
Mar 24, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 499
“It’s just those people when you instantly connect, and they’re one of your people. She was one of those people. And it’s so hard to find those people as adults, as we all know. She was that easy connection, easy talking to. Everything just felt like it was meant to be and meant to happen.” Cara Enright Welsh and Cameron Erhardt are two of the nicest people on the planet — so it's no surprise this episode is warm fuzzy central. Cara and Cam met when they were both part of Nike's Project Moonshot...
Mar 22, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 498
"I've made it here. I'm good with that. I'm going to start this race as me. However I finish, I'm still me." I love a live show! The day before the United Airlines NYC Half (thanks to New Balance, New York Road Runners, and the 1 Hotel Central Park South), I had the pleasure of hosting a live recording of the Ali on the Run Show with returning podcast guests Becs Gentry and Nev Schulman . (Shout-out to the live audience: You were a great crowd, and you were so much fun! Thank you for being there...
Mar 21, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 497
"Even though I’ve been doing this for a while, and I’ve been working for myself for a long time, I still have a hard time making my own rules." Julia Berteletti is a runner, a mom, and a dear friend — and today, she's a podcast host! On this edition of Ask Ali, returning Ali on the Run Show guest Julia is here to do all the question asking, reading your questions from Instagram. We cover everything from favorite foods and "stranded on a desert island" scenarios, to podcasting, motherhood, runnin...
Mar 18, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 496
"That Saturday when I set the record and I was in the tent waiting for them to start the awards ceremony, dozens of people came up to talk to me, and they were from all over the United States! I couldn’t imagine why. I’m just doing what I like to do!" Betty Lindberg is a local legend in her hometown of Atlanta, GA. She started running at 63 years old, and now, at 97, she's breaking world records. Last month, Betty ran the USATF Master's 5K Championships in Atlanta, and set a new world record for...
Mar 17, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 495
"I don’t think I would’ve done it if Grace hadn’t. I remember saying two things: One, 'The data says you can do it.' And two, thinking about Grace." Jenny Grimshaw and Grace Keller have only been friends for a few years, but in that time, they've helped each other dream bigger and chase down exciting running goals. Their first endeavor together: to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials. On this episode, Jenny and Grace talk about meeting when they were both living, working, and running in...
Mar 15, 2022•1 hr 23 min•Season 1Ep. 494
“These women are stone-cold killers on the track, so you’re just like, ‘I can’t believe you feel that way!’ But it’s really helpful for anyone who’s dealing with that to know, ‘Hey, these women had to overcome that.’ It was hurting their performance for a while and they had to figure out a way.” Molly Huddle and Sara Slattery are incredible runners, incredible women, wonderful role models, and now, they can officially say they are published authors. Today, professional runner Molly Huddle and fo...
Mar 14, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 493
"I found myself when I found running." Stephanie Roth Goldberg is a psychotherapist, licensed clinical social worker, and certified eating disorder specialist in New York City. And when she offers a listening ear and advice for her clients, she's able to do that as both a trained professional and as someone who personally has been through it . In this conversation, Stephanie shares her experiences with substance abuse and addiction and disordered eating as a teen and young adult. She talks about...
Mar 11, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 492
"I was a complete mess. I was so emotional about it, so excited, so just…relieved to have come in, having a lot of momentum, knowing this was a possibility, and then completing a mission." Olivia Baker is on fire. The professional runner for Atlanta Track Club Elite just competed at the USATF Indoor Track & Field Championships where she finished second in the 800m, officially making her first senior world championship team. She'll head to Serbia later this month to represent Team USA at Indo...
Mar 10, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 491
"We have all become the women we are today because of other women." —Emma Bates It was a great privilege to get to host this virtual live show on International Women's Day with three UCAN-sponsored professional athletes: Sara Hall, Emily Sisson, and Emma Bates. All three of these women were fresh off three different races — the Tokyo Marathon for Sara, a win at the Gate River Run 15K for Emily, and The TEN on the track for Emma — so in addition to recapping their recent race experiences, we also...
Mar 09, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 490
"We’re track and field’s biggest hype people, and we want to share the joy of the sport with as many people as possible." You'll be hard-pressed to find anyone who loves track and field more than the dynamic duo ("the greatest bromance in track and field") of Chris Chavez and Kyle Merber. This week, we're turning our Friendship Fest attention to the guys. Chris is the founder of Citius Mag , host of the Citius Mag podcast, former Sports Illustrated journalist, director of the Magic Boost program...
Mar 08, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 489
“It could be two o’clock in the afternoon and the sun’s beating down on us, and I’m just smiling. I’m gritting my teeth through the afternoon sun, and still believing I can push through it.” On February 18, renowned ultra runner Camille Herron made history — again. The queen of the ultra scene ran and won the USATF 100-Mile Road Championships in Henderson, NV, and not only won the race outright (the first male finisher was half an hour behind her), she broke her own 100-mile world record by 89 s...
Mar 03, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 488
“When I met Aisha, I was like, ‘Oh, we’re gonna be friends forever.’” Emily Infeld and Aisha Praught Leer are professional runners and Olympians, and despite never sharing a coach, team, or hometown, they have the type of friendship that transcends all of that. On this episode, Aisha and Emily talk about how they met, share their first impressions of each other, and talk about how they bonded long-distance in the early days of their professional careers. We get some big life updates: Emily offic...
Mar 01, 2022•1 hr 16 min•Season 1Ep. 487
"I didn’t prepare for it. I wasn’t ready for it. It was very, very hard, and dark, and scary." Welcome to the second episode in the new Beyond the Run series on the Ali on the Run Show. Twice a month, we're checking in with industry experts, professional runners, and everyday runners to talk about the intersection of running and mental wellness. (The first episode in this series with Dr. Ian Nurse and Emily Saul was a must-listen.) Today, running and strength coach Jess Movold returns to the sho...
Feb 25, 2022•1 hr 20 min•Season 1Ep. 486
“My default is trusting and looking for the good. I want to believe that people are telling me the truth when I talk to them. I assume they are. I just generally find that I always give people the benefit of the doubt and assume they’re honest and well intentioned. Obviously that’s not true. But that sort of naïveté, if you will — which definitely led to me getting catfished — has strangely served me well. I’m so glad I got duped by that woman.” Nev Schulman is best known as the star of the 2010...
Feb 24, 2022•1 hr 27 min•Season 1Ep. 485
"I would declare war on all of your enemies." Welcome to Friendship Fest! Starting today and for the next seven weeks, we'll be hearing from runner friends about how they met, the role running plays in their friendship, and what big dreams and goals they share for the future. (Consider it Love on the Run, friendship-style!) We're kicking things off today with Boulder-based besties and professional marathon runners Nell Rojas and Hiruni Wijayaratne. Nell and Hiruni are both coached by Ric Rojas (...
Feb 22, 2022•1 hr 20 min•Season 1Ep. 484