A Special Marathon Episode for Your Long Run - with Cory Wharton-Malcolm and Austin Curtis

races that are coming up. And so this is really for them and anybody who's training for a long, long race, or if you're just in the car for a long time or have a couple hours worth of errands to run and you want some good running talk to go along with you, we're going to go for about two hours today. We got more than one great guest

and we're so excited. So, we'll get to all that in just a second but this will be fun, I think, for us to have some longer conversations and give folks a chance to settle in for a while.

have on this long episode. So yeah, thanks for being here with us, but we have a lot to celebrate too, actually, Rob. We have a lot of fun coming. I feel like once April kicks off, it is truly spring and there's truly all of the magic starts happening, and that kicks off for us next week.

one of my favorites. And I'm not quite sure why Becs, but actually two years in a row, for me personally, this race has been my best pace race for New York Road Runners. Back- to- back years, it's been my best pace. I don't know if I'll be able to keep that streak going, but I've had two straight years of really great days. I just love the course, it's got a nice kind of downhill finish and you

love to run fast at the end. So that's coming up. And then a week after that, we've got the Retro Run, which has actually moved up from where it usually sits in the middle of the summer, because we

switched our calendar a bit this year. So the Retro Run where people are always invited to come and wear kind of the old school clothes from the '70s and the '80s, and we bring out some of the older New York Road Runners stuff, the signage and the logos and we have a lot of fun with that race. So, that'll be the weekend after that. So, a lot of great

stuff happening in the month of April. We're also going to have our women's half marathon later in the month, that's now sponsored by our friends at Maybelline. So, just a lot of great things coming up with Road Runners in the month of April. And then Becs, you were kind of alluding to it on the podcast front. We've got a big anniversary coming up on April 8th. We will have the 100th episode of Set The Pace.

Matt Singer, who was kind of there at the very beginning, our head of content at New York Road Runners. Lou Pellegrino, who came in with the company that his boss Spencer Brown works with, works for. Spencer was the first guy I called to say, " Hey, can you help us put a podcast together?" Spencer brought in Lou, who's our phenomenal editor and puts this show together every

single week. Catherine Jones joined as our producer, and then of course it was me and Meb for the beginning and now it's me and you, Becs, with Meb still involved. So, it feels like so much has happened in 100 episodes and it's been such a great ride. And we're going to celebrate that 100th episode with a live episode at the New York Public Theater, which-

Hamilton launched at the Public Theater. They've won 54 Tony Awards, five Pulitzer Prizes.

The Saturday before the Boston Marathon. That's going to be a special member only event, and my guest host that day will be ABC's Sam Ryan, who of course is an amazing broadcaster, well- known to everybody in New York. Her phenomenal job as a sports anchor for Eyewitness News, and she's a regular host of the studio production for our marathon and our other big races. So, so

excited to have Sam join us. And our guest for that episode is going to be the incredible Ed Eyestone, a two- time Olympian.

and you think about winter sports primarily in Utah. They're going to have another Winter Olympics out there after having one already, and suddenly it's a distance running mecca. So, can't wait to talk to Ed about what is happening out there with running in Utah and all these great runners. So, that's going to be great. But today, as I said, we're going long, a two- hour episode, as

folks get ready for Boston and London. So our guest today, first coming off of a relay run from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, is Apple Fitness Plus trainer and running coach, as well as author, Cory Wharton- Malcolm. And Becs, you and Cory go back a ways as our listeners will hear, you guys worked together at Nike, and I'm excited to have you guys reconnect because I know you guys have a lot of things to talk about.

London Marathon, which we're excited about. And we're going to see how Austin's feeling as he gets ready for London.

we mean the whole family. Sister and brother TFK members, Teresita and Luis Gonzalez are going to join us to talk about their training for both Boston and London, and how with every finish line they cross, more of their family members cross it with them. They're bringing the family along for these runs. So we'll talk to them, look

forward to that. And then in keeping with our spring marathon theme for today, today's Meb Minute is all about traveling for your run. So, stay tuned for that.

choose from and support the runner you are. Try the app for free for 30 days. Download it now from the App Store or Google Play. Terms apply. All Access membership not included. Peloton, the official digital fitness partner for New York Road Runners. Cory Wharton- Malcolm is a London- born running coach, whose journey began with a very simple

goal, just get to the end of the street. Since completing his first marathon back in 2007, he's gone on to coach thousands of runners with Apple Fitness Plus, and his own community, Track Mafia. Known for blending music, humor and honesty, Cory brings joy and inclusivity to a sport that can often feel very intimidating. His book came out in 2024, All You Need is Rhythm and Grit.

And it captures his philosophy that running is for everybody and every mind. Today, I am so excited that he is here to talk long runs, great vibes and why just getting to the bottom of the road is still his go- to mindset.

people, so the team was balanced. So it took us 50 hours and I'm overjoyed with it because when I did it last time, I think it took us 52 or 54 hours. But you just run, just run and run and run, and then when you can't run anymore, you have a nap, your teammate tags you in. So, I think I ran about 50K or so, really slow on a

bum hamstring, and I'm happy. But every night I think I got two hours sleep on the Thursday night, because you have to meet at 4: 00 AM. Then on Friday, I picked up a little bit of sleep, and the same on Sunday. And then because we arrived in Vegas at 6: 00 AM in the morning, you just go, check into your hotel, have an hour sleep, and then

go to the pool party. And then I ended up just partying all the way through till, I think 4: 45.

all out there as well. So to be with people that you kind of started Track Mafia with and to be with young people who you kind of met 10, 11, 12 years ago, and you gave them their first camera because they said they were interested in photography and now they're out in the desert shooting campaigns for different brands.

It was just this beautiful full circle moment, and inspiring for me and inspiring for other people because it's like, look at where we started. I couldn't get to the bottom of the road. And now we're here with our family running to the bottom of a very, very, very, very long road.

about someone that was running it. So when I watched them training, when I watched them run, I was like, oh wow, this is a normal everyday person that does this stuff. But when I went out on the street and I saw the diversity of people that were running, it was like different sexes, different sizes, completely different

races, religions, everyone was running together. And everyone on the city, everyone in the city came out to cheer them on. And I was like, I want some, this is crazy. I want some of this. I'm seeing people running in rhino seats, to running with fridges on their backs, and I'm like, this is beautiful. I want to do this. And I remember saying to my friends, "You know what? I might do this next

year," and everybody laughed, literally everyone laughed. They were like, " Dude, do you know how poorly you live?" They didn't say it as politely as that, but they were like, "Do you know how many poor habits you have? There's no way in the world you can do that." And I went, " Oh, okay. I bet I can." And that's literally when, even if I wasn't serious when I suggested it, I was doubling down on my seriousness when

you doubted me, and that's when the journey began. I just started looking into how one trains for a marathon and began. It was the hardest, back then that was the hardest thing that I had ever done. So, I just did it.

like, oh, this is cool. And I sat there and watched and watched and I was like, I got to do this. And right then and there I signed up for the New York Marathon that following fall.

to the bottom of the road. Now, where I used to live in (inaudible) , I mean, don't get me wrong, it's not a big incline. It's like a slight incline, maybe 0. 25%. So it wasn't a hill, but I was like, how can I not do this?

bottom of the road. And even if I can't get to the bottom of the road, pick something else which is my representation of the bottom of the road. So it's like, get to that yellow car, get to that dog, get to that row of bricks. And that's what I did throughout the run from LA to Vegas. It was like, get to the next equivalent of the bottom of the road. And that might have been a sign, it might

have been a rock, it might have been the RV. Just do what you can. And the whole point of that is to reframe everything that is in your head. In my head, I'm not saying I don't have negativity in my head, but everything is reframed. It's like, just get there. Not, I can't get any further, it's, I got there, and you just keep saying that over and over and

over again. And then you find out that by saying, just get to that next door or get to that next fridge or get to the bottom of the road, you've now hit so many different roads and you look at your watch and you'll be like, "Ah, I've run 26 miles just by looking at the end of the road." And yeah, that's what I try and instill in anyone that I work with, speak with, who has doubt

about anything. It's like, you can do this, you just got to reframe it.

who shows up for other people as well, massively. And I think I feel incredibly lucky to have been your colleague and your friend back in London in our Nike days. But everything that you do, whether it's giving back to the community, whether it's just the things you say about your mom and your family and all of the energy that you put out there, is so encouraging for people to actually look

into. There's a difference between people saying it and you're like, yeah, but do you really do that? You actually, you embody it. And I think to hear you talk about that first journey and just take us through how for you, that first marathon, how that hit your mindset to change, to become this person who's like, I've unlocked something for me. How am I going to share this for other people to feel too?

was. But I also learned that there were a lot of things that I was dealing with or hadn't dealt with, and I realized that it was running that could help me with that. And it felt like I had unlocked this secret little box with a bunch of tricks in it that the world wasn't telling people about. And I was like, if I didn't know about this, that means there's a bunch of

other people that don't know about this. And those people would benefit from knowing this because I know what this running thing did for me. It gave me cardio confidence, and that cardio confidence is, that instills this belief in you that because I can get to the bottom of the road, because I can accomplish anything that I set my mind to in the running space, I can probably

do anything outside of the running space that I set my mind to. And I wanted to share that gift with other people, but I also wanted people to be aware that everything that you may know about running, everything that you may have been told about running, I'm not saying it's not true, but you don't have to be intimidated. You don't have to be scared. You don't have to think about running fast. You don't have to

think about running far. You don't have to think about perfect form, perfect gait, perfect kit, all these things that we're kind of told. Just get out there and just keep winning. And when you lose, put your hands up in the air and be like, we're going to try and win again. And that is what I wanted people to realize. Running can and will change your life if

you believe in it, if you believe in yourself. And if you don't believe in yourself, I'm here to help you believe in yourself. And that's what I always wanted to do, it's like help people believe that they can achieve anything because that's a beautiful space to live in. And it just changes your life completely.

changed the way that I look. Someone said to me the other day, because you obviously spend lots and lots of time together in the van, we were looking through pictures of what we looked like 10 years ago, 15 years ago, 20 years ago. And everyone sort of, not laughed, but yeah, we were laughing. They were like, " Dude, you are 47 now. You look younger than when you did

when you were 27." Because I was living poorly. Running has given me lots and lots of friends. I met my wife there and it introduced me to a completely different world. I always laugh with people and I say, " Dude, before I started running, I'd never been to Shoreditch."

and they're like, " What do you mean you've never been to Shoreditch?" And for those of you who don't know where Shoreditch is, it's this sort of hipster- y, cool, if you want to use that word, area in East London. And going there, I met all of these people who were runners or into running. They wouldn't even refer to themselves

as runners at that time. And they just did all of these things that I'd never heard of. And I know that sounds really weird, but I used to work for the government, I used to work for the public sector, I worked in youth centers, community organizations, and then I go and meet these people and I'm like, " Oh, what do you do for a living?" And it's like, " Oh, I'm a videographer." And I was like, " A videographer?

As in you hold a video camera and you video stuff?" And they're like, " Yeah, I do that." You'd meet someone else and they're like, " I'm a music producer. I paint pictures, I do all of these things." So I met all of these creative people and I was

like, hold on. I've been slogging for years and I've met these people who appear with respect to not really do anything, and you're paying for your house, you're paying for your car, you're putting your kids through school. I was like, how come I haven't heard of any of these things? Why did no one tell me there was this life on the other side that I now have access to? And you meet other people and they

show you about another world. And this sort of relatively small focus that I had just expanded tenfold. And I was like, oh, I can actually- ... tenfold and I was like, oh, I can actually achieve even more than I thought I could have achieved. And then when you just start talking to yourself like that over and over and over again, now I'm like, so you want to go

to Mars? Cool. When? Tuesday or Wednesday? And that's what changed.

and run. And it was a concept that today is now super fashionable and super cool, but back in the early 2010s onwards was just life for us all in London, is what we did. You took over Paddington Rec, which was an unusual place. It wasn't the Shoreditch rub. It was a very different-

there with the team and the coach there. And then when we started RDC West and then TrackMafia, my now wife Jules, she used to do track and the other founder, Jeggy, he used to do track. So, we were like, " Do you know what? My office is upstairs," or used to be upstairs from Paddington Rec. We're like, " There's a track right there. Why don't we just go and do track?" So, the three of us just started doing track.

And we were real running nerds, so we would geek out on YouTube and just watch old running races, watch old- school Olympic workouts. And we were like, "We can do this, but just in a really small version." And the whole point of it was to democratize track but also show people that speed isn't just for the fast. And I know that sounds really weird, but loads of people believe that

track is only for people who run fast. You only go to track if you're going to be running in zone five, your VO2 max, where we wanted to switch that and basically say, " No. Running is a safe space for you to experiment with your body." Now, when we started doing track, we started doing ridiculous workouts and our

time started getting faster. And people noticed that and they were like, " What are you lot doing over there at the track?" And I was like, " We're just doing 400- meter reps. We're doing 200- meter reps, maybe some 800- meter reps, but we're taking it seriously." And we were the only group at the time who weren't an old- school running club that were doing speed in the space that we existed. So, people

were like, " What's this track thing? Isn't track scary?" And it was like, " Yeah, track can be scary, but come and do it with a smile." So, we would run 400- meter reps and be on the verge of throwing up, but we'd still be smiling. We'd still be happy. We'd still be overjoyed. Then we would go on long three, four hour runs, the three of us, and we'd

just talk. And I've always said that running fast tracks friendship, because if you think about it, if you just look at how long you are running with someone and then try and spend that amount of time just socially, you got one run, you've got to spend weeks or months, sometimes years with someone to get to know them that well. So, we just got to know each other really, really well. And that's how the friendship was

born. And then we just started bringing more people in, and then all of a sudden, you've just got this amazing group of people all from different backgrounds with a bunch of different skill sets that just want to be around each other. And that's when we started telling stories, which is what wasn't happening at that particular point in

time. That was what made us different. One, the fact that we were doing these hard track sessions, two, we were telling the stories. And back then, it wasn't about the beautiful shot, the wonderful light. It was really lo- fi back then and it was about, how hurt do I look right now? And I want to share this pain and anguish with people, but I also want to share the joy that it has brought. And that's what used

to bring people to us. It was the balance between pain and suffering and joy and happiness, camaraderie with friends. And it's like, " They look like they're having fun. How are they having fun? I just saw the time that they ran, but this... Okay, I'm going to go and I'll see if I can have fun." And that just snowballed.

connect with somebody over a run. I never thought of it in the terms you put it and how much time you spend with someone on a long run and how many coffee dates you'd have to put together to spend that much time with someone. You're right. An hour coffee is like, you got to do like 12 of those to do a half- marathon or whatever, or a long, long run. So, it's a lot. It's a lot of

time and it really does make an impact. Cory, I want to talk about your music side too. So, you have a bit of a background in the music world. You are an MC for DJs and a lot of the electronic dance music superstars that are out there, that whole world. How does that relate to your running? I'm curious, do you channel some of that? Do you- ... listen to a lot of music when you run?

job. My job is to dial into you personally and as a group of people and help you have the best time of your life in combination with the DJ. And it's the same thing when I speak to people about running. I sometimes explain it to them either like a DJ set or an entire evening of raving. It's like when you get to the rave or when you look at the first DJ, the first DJ isn't always

necessarily the best DJ of the night. It's the one that's going to get you warm, but you still have to go to that set. So, you go to that set and that first DJ is the one that gets you nice and warm, gets you hyped. Then the DJs in

the middle, the DJs in the middle, they're hit or miss. AKA, you might have a good time, you might have a bad time, but you still have to stay committed to that rave if you want to see the best DJ, which is normally the last person who closes out. So, you have to stay committed to that middle section. And then when you get to the end, it's going to

be hard. It's going to be tired because you've now been raving since midnight and it's now 6: 00 AM. But if you really love this DJ, you just got to keep raving. You just got to keep partying. You just got to keep going. And that's how I look at it, that's how I still treat runs to

this day. And because I'm a MC, anytime I'm out on a run and I find my head drifting off into spaces that I may not necessarily want them to, I'll just start spitting bars. And for people who don't understand spitting bars, I just mean I'll start freestyling about stuff. I'll talk about the rocks that are beside, I'll talk about the pigeons, I'll talk about the darkness

that's out there. It's just anything to take my mind off of that particular space point in time right there. And that's what I share with people. I was like when you run, you've got two choices. You either live in it or you live outside of it. And depending on where you are, you have to make your choice. And I love living in it, because living in it, I get to process a bunch of things that I may not necessarily have

processed. And it also teaches me that you can't control life, but what you can control is the stuff you can control. And that's how I react. I said a bunch of stuff there. I hope I answered the question.

totally get that. That's really cool.

And we were all flat in the room, and within minutes someone had a song on their phone and Cory's just singing and we're all up and we're like, " We've got this!" Just because he literally just probably had that thought in his own brain of, " We got to get through this. We got to get to that last DJ."

drills. So, the drum and bass would be on, its like... And I would have people just going, " One, two, three, four. Now, give me high knees, high knees, high knees, high knees. Now, give me a skip, a skip, a skip." And people would come to the class and be like, " Dude, I hate running, I hate drills, I hate all of these things, but I like this music." And they would just come and they would do it.

And I'd realize that if you just play some decent music, turn the lights off, and you're a nice person, people will come and dance and work out even if they don't like working out because they're not coming to work out. You fooled them into believing that they're coming to dance and it just so happens there might be some equipment in the area. And that's what I used

to tell people. I fool people into working out by getting them to dance and do ridiculous things.

thing that I found, it's still unbelievable. As a child,, you have these pipe dreams. I'm like, " Oh yeah, I'd love to write a book." And when people are like, " About what?" I was like, "I don't know. It's just a pretty cool thing to do." But then when I was given the opportunity to

do that, I was like, " This is unbelievable." And I'm going to share my story because I think people not necessarily need to know my story, and that's the thing, even though the book is about me, it's not about me. It's about people like me, and those are people who in the beginning didn't necessarily believe too much

in themselves. They weren't really happy in their skin, but there was just something that you couldn't quite put your finger on. And I couldn't put my finger on it until running. When I found running, I realized how unhappy I was, and I wanted to share that. And it was unhappy about how I looked, unhappy about my weight, unhappy about where I was in life. And you

spend hours with yourself, you can't but explore that. And that's what I wanted to share with people, that if you choose to, I guess, give yourself to the road or give yourself to the trails, it will give you back in tenfold. And that's what the book is about.

The book is about community. How I describe it is it's a love letter to running and to myself, thanking the running gods for blessing me and giving me an opportunity to bless my family, my community, with some of the lessons that I've learned that have changed my life. And it's changed a bunch of other people's lives. And that's

not on me. That's on them. I just shone the torch down into the cave and I was like, " Look in there. You can go in there if you want." And many people have chosen to. The book is about saying running is really hard, but you'll learn a lot if you engage.

daily runs to a completely different location. So, my job is to literally pick a location, go to that location, pick a route, run that route, take beautiful pictures that show up on people's Apple watches and their phones, and guide them through a workout. And I get to play

the music that I'd like to as well. So, I'm like, hold on, I've taken all of the things that I've been incredibly passionate about over the past couple of decades and I now get paid to do it in sunny Los Angeles. Every morning I wake up and I'm like, " How is this possible? How are we here?" But we are here. So, I do that as part

of my role. And then as you said, the other part of the role for Fitness+ is working in online workouts. So, I am either a modifier in workouts, so I will do yoga, strength, rowing, core, treadmill, cycling, all of those things. I basically work out and write and play music for a living and get to speak to, whether it's, I have no ideas about any figures, but it's hundreds of thousands or millions of people I get

to speak to. And I'm like, " How is this happening?" 20 years ago, I couldn't run to the bottom of the road, and now I'm telling people in countries all over the world how to get to the bottom of the road. I still pinch myself. I still pinch myself that I'm surrounded by such amazing people that many years ago I would've paid lots and lots of money

just to talk to, just to learn from. And now, I get to sit with these people and have coffee with them every morning and tap their brains. I've recently gone on another journey myself. Basically, I was supposed to run Berlin Marathon in September and I was injured. And I watched all of my friends run Berlin Marathon and I was like, " I'm not missing this again next year, so I'm going to

start training now a year out." And because I obviously work for Fitness+, I was like, " I'm just going to set up a program on Fitness+ and I'm going to do a strength and yoga workout every single day. Maybe I'll do a Pilates workout." And just Fitness+, and obviously monitoring my nutrition, I dropped 40 pounds in three months so that I could begin my running cycle proper at the

beginning of the year in January. And obviously, I knew that Speed Project was coming up and I was like, " You know what? I need to get back down to

race weight." Because I'd actually snuck back up for the first time to quite a weight that I didn't want to be at. And because of the book, All You Need is Rhythm and Grit, I just remembered everything that I had done previously and I was like, " All I'm going to do now is I'm going to do everything that I've done before, but now I have access to Fitness+, so

I don't necessarily have to go to a class." So, I'd wake up in the morning and I'd put on my teammates. So, there's a yoga workout that I've done, I think, 112 times because I would do it every morning to stretch my hammies or my quads or my back or wherever, and then I'd do a strength workout, then I'd go and do a cycling work and then a treadmill workout. And it's just easy. It just changed

my life. So yeah, that's all. It's just amazing.

we do the same thing essentially. And so we absolutely do have the best jobs in the world that we get to help people and ourselves move their bodies, feel grace and happiness, hopefully, on the journey, for want of a better word, that we can be part of, which is just nuts that we get to be part of these millions of different journeys that are happening simultaneously, but we also have no idea.

to, I guess, be as close to that change. But when you're trackside or when you're roadside, when you're on the trails, you only get access to those 20 people or to those 30 people, 40 people, or some of these running clubs or crews now 100 people or 1, 000

people. You can't have 1, 000 connections at once. So, let's just say you've got 30 people whereby all of these online platforms, and as Beck says, regardless of what platform it is that you work for, all of these people you're helping. You'll get emails. You'll get text messages. You'll get DMs, and it's just people that you wouldn't even think of. And some of these stories that we

get from Fitness+ are unbelievable. It's like, " I was suffering from this, but through your workouts, it's made me realize that I can do more. And I've changed my life. And now, I've got my daughter into running, my son into running. My whole family's into running. And now, we've changed our nutrition. Now, we go to different places on

holiday." And that's just from listening to my voice or to your voice or to someone else's voice, or seeing that embodiment. It's just beautiful how much change we can be part of. And not for selfish reasons. It's more like what you do feeds me. And that's what I love, just seeing all of that positivity out there, just seeing

someone smiling. There was one audio- guided run that I did in dc DC, so we went to DC, we ran the route, et cetera. It's actually happening in Puerto Rico as well, where people take the pictures that I have taken, they go to the location, they run the route, and then they take the pictures in the same place, but they'll Photoshop themselves in to make it look like we did it together. And I'm like, " This is wild."

This is how committed-

for runs. And then the old- school phrase, " Teach one, teach one." And I might have changed that, but that's what she did. I showed her how to run, and then she just gathered her own group and they started going for runs. They started going for walks. And my mom would come and cheer me on at cross country.

She would cheer me on when I would do 5Ks, 10Ks, half- marathons, marathons, and then she signed up for races without me even knowing that she was signing up for these races. So, she signed up for a race in Paris at a, what's it called? At an adventure park. I don't even know if we're allowed to say the name, but she went there to Paris. There's one in Orlando and other places.

remember me? I'm Cory's mum." Paula then invites her up onto the little bus on the finish line, and her and Paula Radcliffe are taking selfies and my mum is sending them to me. And I'm like, " Mum." I'm like, " Lynn, what are you doing? Why?" " No, it's Paula. She's fine." That's how deep my mum got into the running. And then I obviously bought her an Apple Watch, and now she's addicted

to that thing. She wants to close her rings every day. She wants to go for a walk.

now attempts to do the workouts. And when I say attempts to do the workout, she'll put it on and she'll have it in the background and she'll do a couple of the moves.

and my mom would cook all of the food. So you would have these ridiculous running event, and then my mom would come in and cook like rice and peas, jerk chicken curry chicken, roti, all the West Indian food.

community. I'm always up there with Hector and Rue Crew, Safe and Bridge Runners. Weirdly enough, New York is my second home. I can land in New York tomorrow and be like, " Yo, I've arrived." And they'll be like, "Come to this burger spot, come to this place, come to that place."

Set the Pace. And I've been thinking about you Austin a lot over the last six months as I am regaled by Becs, all of her incredible stories, her amazing adventure of running the Great World Race and seven marathons on seven continents in seven days, and all of the incredible training that had to lead up to that and the time that she had to put in to do

that. And I'm thinking to myself, of course in the back of my head that wow, Austin is a champ because clearly he is picking up the slack for so much of what had to happen at home with your daughter Tallulah and everything else that has to happen on the home front when someone is undertaking an adventure

like that. So what was it like from your perspective to see and be a part of Becs accomplishing this unbelievable adventure of the Great World Race?

going. And there were a lot of daddy daughter dates on the weekends and some of those longer runs. We tried to incorporate sharing some miles, some stroller miles together in the late summer before it got too cold. But yeah, I don't think people realize how much of a sacrifice it is to let alone train for a marathon, but then seven. And we talked about it going into it that there was going to be probably

some difficult conversations, times, et cetera. And we reached some of those bits towards the end and I think Becs was ready for the race to be done, but we were able to continue to find the best balance we could once we were getting close to the race start. And then it's just when you're trying to squeeze in a FaceTime between flights and continents and time changes, and just to wish Becs good luck and this is

what it was all for, it's all worth it. So yeah, I still can't comprehend. It's not like I'm not a runner. I run, I still can't comprehend a race of this magnitude. So yeah, still processing it.

three stars. And then Becs wanted to do Tokyo and I wasn't going to go all that way and not run. So there was four. So after Tokyo I had the idea just based on Tallulah's age, it would be nice to run Berlin in the fall of 2024

and then run London this year. And Tallulah, not that her memory is set in stone right now, but she would be able to kind of experience, and then also knowing Becs connection to the UK, it'd be nice to finish in London. And when Becs was training for the 7, 7, 7 I started to go for a few longer runs to just see what was in the tank and just based on our schedules, both also trying to balance

work too and being parents, I just didn't have that fire within me. And so Berlin was kind of scrapped for 2024 and just was like, let's just get through Becs' race and then I can refocus. But it was quickly reignited in Miami, seeing Becs finish with some of her friends and just like, " Okay, I want to have that

feeling again." Because I treat running quite... You learn so much about yourself each kind of training block, and I'm not one to just line up a multitude of races. I kind of like to just sit back for a little bit, and London couldn't come at a better time. So definitely excited to be in this training cycle. Becs is coaching me, which is the first time she's

coached me in a race. So there's that balance, but just feeling accomplished after each tough workout and rebuilding again.

and his tone. Like, uh- oh, maybe I should not go home for a minute and just let him calm down, or it's okay, he really crushed this workout. But as we're getting closer, I'm kind of sending him his workouts with trepidation.

you is trying to accomplish. And I think all runners who are people with kids and families, if you're out there running marathons, whether it's one or you're going for the six stars or you're going to next level stuff like what Becs did or Ultras or whatever it might be, you simply can't do it without some level of

support. And I've met all the kinds of couples. I've met the couples where one is running like crazy and the other one doesn't run and doesn't understand why anybody would run, which can be challenging because one's like, " Well what are you doing? Why are you doing this?" Although sometimes that works kind of like the, " Hey, whatever keeps

that person happy and calm makes me happy." Sometimes you've got the double runner couple, which you guys obviously are, and I think in some ways that's ideal because there's an understanding that each of you has as to what the other one's trying to do, and that question of why maybe doesn't exist because you each understand intuitively the why, and it makes it a little easier to support.

And then you guys are really next level because you're not just understanding, but you're coaching, especially Becs, you coaching Austin, or Austin you supporting Becs at the high level given what she had to do in November. So you

really are in a lot of ways a model. What do you think, and I'll ask Austin, since you're our guest, I'll ask you, what do you think other couples, other sets of partners out there who are trying to do these things can take from what you and Becs have learned about supporting each other through these races?

work, but I could train whenever I wanted to. And our life is much different now. Becs and our relationship, we have Tallulah, we have two dogs, we both have careers that we're trying to build. And more so I guess my career, I've stepped away from a typical 9: 00 to 5:00 job and out on my own. And so you're always asking yourself, " I could be working in this time, I could be doing this." And there have been runs

that have been very tough. If Tallulah's a little sick or under the weather, just fussy, she's a toddler, to just be like, " Becs, you got it? I got to go do this." And I know on the same side, Becs has had to step out for some runs

and it's just like, " Yeah, I got it." So advice? What works for Becs and I, and I don't know if it's advice but it's advice for us is, I know how much a workout can change our mindsets and just our energy for the day. So getting out there, I know it very much fills Becs' cup up. There's been times where I've just told her to go for a run. I said, " Hey, you need to just go out for a run."

at 20%. And there might be days that you're at 40 and they're at 40. And just to check in with each other and see where they're at and see what they need. And if you're both at an equal level and low, " Hey, how can we get ourselves back? How can we get through this next bit?" Whatever, it's the afternoon, the day, the week, whatever. So I think that helps quite a bit. But yeah, like you

said, there's relationship set. There's a runner in the family and the other person doesn't step on an exercise equipment, they get their fix from whether it be watching sports or playing sports, et cetera. But balance is certainly key for us, I think.

do. But when you have other responsibilities in life, it's knowing, okay, when Aus comes back from a run, it's, I'm going to get his rehydration stuff out and ready. The water is poured and there'll be a smoothie... If I had made a smoothie for Tallulah and I whilst he's out, make sure I've made enough and it's in the fridge. And if T and I are out, it's all on a post- it note of just like, " Hey babe, I got you.

This is going to help you recover and also help you get back onto parenting." In a way, because you don't want that guilt. I know I felt that guilt a lot and Aus did that for me last year. Was helping my recovery, helping my post- run lineup be efficient so I could get back to being mom. And I didn't have that guilt of extra time rolling through. So

I think that's a piece of advice. If you have dogs and not kids, get the dogs out for a walk and then you don't have to worry about them. You can go back to being a couple as soon as possible after the shower and then that person can get in the boots or whatever it is to get their recovery going and feeling back to their primary role, whatever that may be. But yeah, it's fun.

Boston as your first star. I think that's the stars that are most likely to be the last star someone gets, from what I've seen in my travels, and I think I've seen the data on this from the Abbott World Marathon Majors. Folks are Tokyo and Boston, those are the two that people generally struggle to get. So you got those in your pocket already. Now you're sweeping up the relatively easier ones to get. What is your

goal in London? Do you have a goal other than just to get that star? A PR or anything like that in your sights? So how are you thinking about it?

I felt a bit broken. Even going into Chicago, I was having achilles issues, but I had already had the bibs for New York and Tokyo. So at that point it was just kind of get through the races. And so Chicago, I actually had quite a bit of fun in Chicago. It wasn't until about mile 20- ish that I had some achilles issues that flared up. And then New York-

Yeah, we're done, we want to be done." But going into Chicago, I don't know if it was I got a bib quite late and tried to ramp up my mileage a little bit too quickly. Since Tokyo, I've started to get back into the gym to do some strength training. Again, though, before Tallulah, we were able to go to the gym for two, three hours and run for an hour and lift for an hour and recover,

but time is very crucial now. So I think I put the gym and the strength training on the back burner and I paid for it. So New York though was just a fun day celebrating in the city. I had a few friends that wanted to run. They had a goal time around like 3: 30, and I was like, " This is great. This should be a nice run." And we came in a little over that, but

just we had so much fun that day. And then Tokyo, I was so sick after the holidays in January and February. I think I had run less than 50 miles of training total before that race. So that was just a tough day and a tough course. We were talking about that for a second there in the pre- show, but it's a tough course. There's so many out and backs, its sensory overload. To go-

the gym, strength training and also the running. So I'm excited to see what London has. It's a city that I've grown to really love and spend a lot of time in. And from what Becs has shared with me, I haven't done too much research on the course, but you see a lot. It's a nice sightseeing tour as well. So yeah, very excited for London. We have some

friends that will be running it as well. I think my mom is coming out to support, and yeah, Becs and Tallulah will be on the sidelines.

drastic turn for the worst. So you finished it. There were some very notable elite runners who bailed on the day, understandably so. Their careers are kind of on the line and they didn't want to get sick ahead of certain things. But you and a friend battled the elements all the way. All the to Boston and finished like a

pair of drowned rats, but looking lovely. But what advice would you give to anyone, because at this point of recording, we're a long way from both races, so we can't really see the weather forecast. What advice would you give to anyone who's running London or Boston and the weather may take a turn, what would you say?

and a privilege to run it. So the Boston Strong motto just kind of resonated quite well. And I think that going into London, if the weather's poor, really just what a privilege it is to be able to run one of the six majors. And at that time, I just kind of threw out any goals or expectations for the race. It was more of just, " Hey, this is going to be a run to the finish line."

And I still ended up having a great day despite the weather. Duct taping on shoes and just kind of lowered the head and battled the winds and rains. So it was a very tough day in Boston that day, but I mean, winter training kind of gets you through and preps you the most for I think some of these spring races because there are plenty of cold. The wind in New York recently has been crazy strong.

You either have a nice tailwind going up or back, but at one point you're going to have to face it. So I think going into London, yeah, it's just like, " All right, I've been through this with the training." So just tapping back into that.

awful." I left my aunt's house head- to- toe in bin bags, covered, and I had my spare pair of shoes and my spare pair of socks bundled up inside. I was prepared for everything. By the time we started that race, it had dried, the rain had stopped,

but it was still wet underfoot. By the time we finished, I finished that race and then the continuation of that day, Rob, it got to mid- sixties in Boston, so it really was multi seasons in the day for Boston too. So it can be just this wild experience of waking up with dread and finishing with dehydration. Don't do that though, everyone. But yeah, London's going to

be very interesting I think. Let's talk a little bit about your running journey. So obviously having come from hockey to Ironman to running marathons, just road running, is there a part of you that after you complete the six stars, whenever that happens, do you think you're going to return to Ironman training or something else?

race. And she went from training just endurance. I was actually her coach on some of those long runs to slow her up actually for pace to just time on feet to now touching back into speed. And I think that's when, when you're training for a marathon and you do have a goal time, you are doing speed workouts. And they're tough workouts. It's putting you quite uncomfortable.

Where with an Ironman, I know a lot of athletes do have crazy goal times, and some of the times I can't even fathom how they are doing that for nine hours or eight hours.

bit time- consuming. So yeah, right now I'm focused on just getting these two done. I hit a goal ton in the marathon, I'm happy with that. If I never hit it again, I'm like, cool, that's what I set out to do.

London. I think London has that passion in the community for the event, the crowds are massive. And then the route and that incredible spectacular finish in the shadow of Buckingham Palace, nobody else can offer that obviously. It's a really special one. So I think you're going to have a great time. What are you most looking forward to in terms of going over there, being in London

and running that race, is it the race? Is it just being over there? What are you most excited about?

And I remember them saying that they had a beer, they were giving out beer on the course at the turnaround. And so the next year I was running it with my twin sister. And I was like, " I'm going to have a beer at the turnaround." And I remember passing that booth and just the smell of beer at that point I was just like, no way would I ever think of that. It's not until you're done, that post

drink celebratory feeling hit. So yeah, I have some good friends, Becs and I have some good friends in London. Two of them are running. And we've got some plans afterwards. I don't know, where are we going, Becs, there was some pub or something that they-

get that sense. If you're not from New York and run New York marathon, you see the different neighborhoods and can piece together what that is. So yeah, I'm excited for London very much.

Greenwich is a trek. The park is beautiful, but not everybody goes there on their first and maybe even second trip to London. But starting there and then winding through those really cute little villages into the city and then back out to Canary Wharf, which is our extended financial district in London, you get to see so much more

of this cool city. And the big mixture that I love the most about the route in London is the old and the new. So when you get to see Canary Wharf, is so new compared to Blackfriars and the areas that you run through on the last let's say five miles of the race are so old and historic. You're running alongside the Embankment with Big Ben and the Houses of

Parliament in front of you. As Rob said, finishing at Buckingham Palace where the king will be waving you on. It's such a magical place. I hope it's sunny because the year I ran London, which was 2016, oh my gosh, 2016, so long ago, and it was a spring day and there was crocuses and little flowers all over the park. And it was such a beautiful place to start that being from the UK, I hope that you get to see that.

some of our runs, but it's always stop- start. Hyde Park's not a huge park.

that we have along the waterfronts. I think next to Boston or along with Boston, these are the great places to run. Chicago too, along the lake front. We've got great places to run in these big running cities in the United States. And that just doesn't exist in a lot of these other places.

are pleased to present you that opportunity to run. So what do you think about that? No Cayman Islands this year. What do you think?

London and for your day there. And it's always great to have you and get a little look inside the world of Becs Gentry other than what she does on Peloton and in our podcast, the man who is behind all that.

of 65. But it doesn't stop there, keep your eyes out for this coming November 2nd, because in this year's 2025 TCS New York City Marathon, the Gonzalez family will be all in. Teresita, Luis, their mother and their youngest sister will all be on the start line together. Teresita and Luis are here with us today to talk about running, family and their upcoming spring marathons. Take it away, Meb.

next morning. And so then I had to wait until the year after and because I didn't have my 9+ 1, the only way I could sign up to run the New York City Marathon was fundraising through Team for Kids. So that's how it all came together.

crazy, 26 miles, I would never do this. And then you fast- forward 20 years later, there I am lining up at the start line.

to her was great. And then having our family along the course cheering us on, our nieces, our nephew, our cousins, the whole family out there was very exciting and was very heartwarming. And now I look forward to this November, sharing that experience now with my little sister.

got to make the time. So I think this is good for the whole family to kind of ... it's a good time to spend together. When we trained with my mom, we would take her with all our friends, introduce her to everybody and be like, " Hey Ma, you have to say hi to these people, these are our friends. These are the people that are helping you that

donated to your cause, you have to be polite." And then for my sister, we're trying to help her break out of her shell. And I feel like this will be fun for her, for her to get this mental aspect of her, build her resilience up, see what you're capable of. There is a lot more to do out there. And being able to, for us to travel 26.2

miles together, I think it'll be a great moment. And the pictures that we have from last year are forever.

York City of color. And this is very special to me. Since 2019, I've been mentoring with Team for Kids, so I've had friends and family pitch the idea that maybe I should take up being a running coach. But I just didn't have the time for it back then. And now with this cohort, things aligned for me.

And now I have the time to be able to dedicate myself to study, look up different ... just study and do lots of research on what it is to become a running coach. And I look forward to helping people step on the start line for their marathons.

headwind instead of a tailwind, it's a little rough. But it's always good, half the battle is just getting out there and then the rest just comes.

that can go wrong, it will go wrong. And on a direct flight from San Diego to New York, I had my first daughter, and we are going to travel. How can anything get lost on a direct flight? I did not have my carry- on. I just packed everything check in. And my luggage never made it. So be careful as you plan your travels. Carry- on is the way to go. Sometimes time zone, time zone accumulation or adaptation is

important. For me, I used to get up, when I was in the West Coast, get up really early, 5 AM my time, which is 8 AM in Eastern Standard Time. So you have to be really careful. And as you travel, gets on that plane, before the plane, you got a lot of things going on. But once you get on the plane, you are out of control. Do what you can, just now relax. As you travel, walk around. It's important

to move around in the plane. Sometimes you go where the flight attendants sit, go there and stretch a little bit. Tell them about yourself. You're getting ready for a half marathon, getting ready for a marathon. The flight attendant might be kind enough to give you water or snacks and things like that. So my thing is think ahead, travel well and run to win to the best

that you can on race day. And more importantly, have fun once you get to the destination. Think about the race, smell the air, feel the temperature, and soak in all the atmosphere because you are celebrating one of the great accomplishments you're going to achieve.

miles everybody. We'll see you for our special 100th edition of Set The Pace next week.