Kara Woody is a veterinarian, mother of two, Navy wife, and a multiple sclerosis, She is also one heck of a runner who as run nine marathons with a PR of 3:32 and a three time Boston Marathon qualifier. A self described couch potato in her 20's, Kara started to run around the same time she was diagnosed with MS and she certainly made up for lost time. She has become one of the most inspirational people we've ever had on the Rambling Runner Podcast. In the last six months she has run the Boston M...
Apr 29, 2022•1 hr 5 min
There aren't many people in the world and thoughtful, caring, and inspiring as Phil Shin. It was an absolute honor to have Phil on the show. He has endured liver cancer twice, received a liver transplant, run multiple marathons, qualified for Boston, and that doesn't even come close to summarizing what this man has accomplished for himself and others. Phil ran the 2022 Boston Marathon along with his good friend and live liver donor Mark Murphy. It was a special weekend for both men as it was Mar...
Apr 25, 2022•1 hr 17 min
Rachel Gersten is a New York City therapist with a passion for helping people lead their healthiest lives possible. She completed her undergraduate degree at the Arizona State University where she double majored in psychology and human development. She attended Columbia University and earned two master’s degrees (Ed.M., M.A.) in Psychological Counseling. Rachel is also a dedicated amateur runner who has completed several marathons including the 2021 New York City Marathon. In this episode, we ta...
Apr 22, 2022•47 min
If you love a comeback story then get hyped to hear from the unconquerable Jon Rizzo. In the fall of 2020 Jon was flying high. This muscle bound endurance athlete was strong from another training cycle and looking to set some new personal bests. Then his legs stopped working. Literally. Soon it took this former military member and ultra runner a momentous amount of effort to simply climb the stairs. On the drive home from his MRI, an appointment he almost flaked on before his wife Jamie set him ...
Apr 18, 2022•1 hr 14 min
It's Boston Marathon weekend and what better way to celebrate than to listen to one of Boston's greatest champions - Des Linden. Des joins the show to breakdown her iconic victory at the 2018 Boston Marathon. She analyzes the race mile by rain soaked mile with the wit and candor we all appreciate from this running legend. She touches on every aspect of the race including her recovery from her disappointing 2017 Boston Marathon, the epic porta potty episode with Shalane Flanagan, and her conversi...
Apr 14, 2022•1 hr 14 min
Dr. Jess Mena DPT is back on the show by popular demand! And rightfully so. This PT expert and bundle of excitement will be making regular appearances on the show from here on out. In this episode we talk about her recently completed Speed Project - a relay race from L.A. to Las Vegas that seems like pure fun, drama, and insanity. In addition we also a topic that affects runners from all over - side stitches! Follow Jess at www.instagram.com/tempo_with_jess . Follow Matt: Instagram - @rambling_r...
Apr 11, 2022•42 min
Jackie Kirchner is a registered dietitian with years of experience and she is on the show to drop some serious knowledge. In this episode we discuss: Carbo loading Marathon taper nutrition Electrolyte/salt intake pre/during the run Food choices in the 5-45 minutes before a marathon We also play a new game called "Real or Fake" where I pitch outlandish supplement names and Jackie tries to guess if they are real. Jackie is a registered dietitian who works with enthusiastic, dedicated distance runn...
Apr 08, 2022•51 min
Samantha Roecker is a registered nurse and one of the best marathoners in the country. Her personal best is 2:29:59 which she set at the Marathon Project, she was on the 2018 CIM podium with Emma Bates and Stephanie Bruce, and she represented the United States at the 2019 Pan American Games in Peru where she finished fifth in 2:32. She is the rare elite athlete who works a full-time job in the same way as most dedicated amateur runners - despite being good enough to go all-in on pro running if s...
Apr 04, 2022•56 min
The 2022 Boston Marathon is around the corner and we are here to help you have the best race possible. James McKirdy, Founder and Head Coach of McKirdy Trained, is back on the show to share is considerable expertise. In this episode, James and I cover nearly detail in how to run Boston up to your capabilities, fitness, and talent. We discuss the days leading up to the race, weather, packing for the athlete's village, the course, race strategy, fueling, and maximizing the finish line feeling. Fol...
Apr 01, 2022•1 hr 10 min
Finally! Bodyweight strength training that focuses on power (with no gym or experience required)! Jason Fitzgerald from Strength Running here on the show to talk about his new offering Bodyweight Power. As Jason loves to say: Stronger Runners are Faster Runners. Strength train explosively and you’ll soon be able to run explosively. Other than delaying fatigue or preventing injuries, the other big benefit to strength training is that you’ll be able to sprint faster at the end of a race. Several p...
Mar 28, 2022•1 hr 1 min
Sam Noyce is on the show with a wonderful story to tell! Sam grew up on a Navajo Reservation in New Mexico and was immediately introduced into a running culture that has stayed with her to this day. Running has been part prayer, part athletic endeavor, since start started at age 10. Her father laid the groundwork for her practice in a touching way that Sam details on the show. Ever since she ran her first marathon at age 20, Sam has had an eye on Boston. Then, a mere either weeks before the star...
Mar 25, 2022•35 min
Ben Rosario, the head coach of the prestigious NAZ Elite and one of the best coach's in the country, is back on the show! In this episode we discuss his new book Run Like a Pro (Even if You're Slow) that he co-wrote with Matt Fitzgerald. They take a deep dive into mileage, running skill, running intensities, racing, recovery, nutrition, and mindset. Ben and Matt first started working together six years ago when Matt spend three months with NAZ Elite as Ben coached him to a huge PR at the Chicago...
Mar 21, 2022•50 min
In a few short years Emma Zimmerman has made a name for herself in the world of running media and has done so on her terms. I couldn't wait to have Emma on the show to learn more about her rapid rise. Emma is a Brooklyn-based writer and journalist who explores topics of women in endurance sports, sport and social change, and environmental justice. Her journalism has appeared in Outside, Runner’s World, Trail Runner, Women’s Running, and Taproot Magazine. She is also the founder and host of the S...
Mar 18, 2022•53 min
We've all done it. We've stalked the weather app on our phones as race day nears hoping that the terrible weather will somehow disappear. We hope and pray that we will have the race weather that we envisioned when we pressed submit on our race registration. Sometimes our prayers are answered the weather is on our side. Other times crazy weather is there to great us at the starting line no matter what interventions we have tried. What then? In this episode we take a deep dive into preparing for, ...
Mar 14, 2022•27 min
Coach's corner is back and we feature two stud coaches and athletes: Dr. Stefanie Flippin and Adam Merry. Stefanie is a professional runner for HOKA, specializing in ultrarunning. Stefanie was the 2021 USATF 100 Mile National Champion. Her 100 mile PR of 14:04, set at Tunnel Hill in 2021, is 5th all-time for an American woman. She is the 2020 and 2021 Tunnel Hill 100 female champion, and has raced dozens of ultras from 50k to 100 mile distances. She has come a long way since her first marathon i...
Mar 11, 2022•59 min
Jereny Rivera is back and she is absolutely crushing it! Jereny was first on the show for episode 276 back in October, 2020. At that time she had just set a 5k PR of 19:07 and had dreams of going for a sub-3:00 marathon. Heady stuff for someone who five years earlier had never run before and didn't grow up with an athletic background. Now Jereny is once again at a whole new level and she is continuing to shoot even higher. In this episode, Jereny details how and why she keep pushing herself to n...
Mar 07, 2022•59 min
In this episode Matt takes a deep dive into achieving aerobic breakthroughs, visiting the gray zone and the good that can come from easy+ pace, and introducing doubles into training. Follow Matt: Instagram - @rambling_runner Twitter - @rambling_runner YouTube - www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ83E0U8M4V7klqZB8BF3wA Rambling Runner Podcast Community Corner private Facebook group - www.facebook.com/groups/125544686229661 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Mar 04, 2022•28 min
Nicole Rauch is a certified personal trainer who's business took off over the last two years as she showed folks everywhere how to do challenging workouts in their own homes. A concept that became more relevant than ever. Her engaging videos, along with her positive and infectious attitude, propelled her following to 15x growth as Nicole helped folks alter their workout routines to fit the changing times. Then, in 2021, Nicole decided that she she was going to run her first marathon and what an ...
Feb 28, 2022•1 hr 4 min
Victoria Polk is speed personified. This dedicated amateur runner has reached a new stratosphere over the past year and I couldn't wait to get her on the show to hear all about it! Victoria was a strong high school runner and had dreams of running in college. Her plans changed after her freshman year when running didn't go as planned and she decided to leave school to get married. After giving birth to her third of four children she decided to give running another change and boy did she take off...
Feb 25, 2022•54 min
Marathon recovery is a topic that faces every marathoner but it can be a tricky situation. Many factors can influence how a runner's recovery may go. In this episode, Tanya Lerch and I talk through our wildly different California International Marathon training, races, and recoveries. Tanya smashed the race to the tune of running 3:05 and a PR. As fast as she is, she's an even better person who bring tons of insight and humor to the show. If you want to learn more about Tanya we cover her comple...
Feb 22, 2022•1 hr 12 min
The amazing Deirdre Keane is on the show! Deirdre is a pediatric ICU nurse practitioner at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She has run 35 marathons and 1 ultra-marathon (soon to be 2!). Deirdre loves to race but also uses running to support philanthropic causes. For example, during the peak of the pandemic in NYC, she ran 1000 miles in three months to raise money for food insecurity related to COVID. She ended up fundraising over $11,000. The money went to grocery store gift cards and gr...
Feb 18, 2022•49 min
Dr. Jess Mena DPT is on the show and she brings it! Jess is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, marathoner, and a super fun person. In this episode we talk about how she worked through her own injury prior to the 2021 Boston Marathon and bounced back to set a PR at the California International Marathon. Jess also gives us a preview of the upcoming Speed Project - a relay race from L.A. to Las Vegas. In addition we discuss training, the effects of increasing mileage, the limitations of a super busy sch...
Feb 14, 2022•1 hr 7 min
Although she spent her childhood with her nose in a book, ducking when any ball was thrown in her direction, Vanessa is now a 2-time Boston Marathon finisher, and has run over 100 road races. Currently an advising dean at Georgetown University, Vanessa earned her Ph.D. in medieval history from The Catholic University of America. Vanessa lives in Washington D.C. with her husband Patrick and their daughter, Lucy. When she began graduate school, Vanessa did not imagine that running would help her e...
Feb 11, 2022•52 min
Kiese Laymon, a southern writer born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi, is one of the best writers in the country and someone I got to know during my time as Vassar College. Recently there have been towns across America banning books by some of the country's greatest writers. Books by Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Kiese, and others have been removed from libraries and banned from schools. I'm re-airing this episode because his voice is powerful, inspiring, critical, authentic and vital for free-...
Feb 08, 2022•1 hr 8 min
Marc Quiñones is one of the best chefs in America. He has appeared on Hell's Kitchen, Chopped, and Cutthroat Kitchen, been named 2017 New Mexico Chef of The Year and three time Best Chef in Albuquerque, and been featured in Forbes and many other publications. He is also one heck of a runner. Just like in his cooking career, Marc built himself from the ground up as a runner. He did so in an unconventional way and with undeniable grit and determination. Prepare to be inspired by this amazing man w...
Feb 04, 2022•1 hr
We are back with another solo episode focused on reaching new levels in training. This episode dovetails with a recent drastic uptick in miles in my own training as I prepare for the Eugene Marathon. It's very exciting for me and there a lots of information to be gained by breaking it down. Here are some of the points that are covered: Believing 100% in an imperfect training plan is better than the perfect plan that you don’t embrace Getting past arguing for my limitations instead of embracing p...
Jan 31, 2022•27 min
So many of us have wanted to invest in a top of the line race shoe but aren't sure to start. With so many of these shoes only available online, we need to go to the experts for assistance on what shoes can work for us. And, which shoes to avoid. In this episode I'm joined by Tommie Runz and Aaron Barnett who break down their top five carbon plated races shoes. They also include a bonus "hell-no" to a pair they'd rather do without. Follow Tommie at - www.instagram.com/tommie_runz . Follow Aaron a...
Jan 28, 2022•1 hr 6 min
Cate Barrett is a star. Enormously talented, tough, and brilliant. It was an honor to speak with Cate about her post-college running life (she was a six time all-conference at Baylor University) during which she had a some amazing highs, like qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials, and several challenges. Cate was able to carve out a niche in the running world as an elite yet not quite professional runner. It's a tricky situation that required her to navigate many of the same obstacles ...
Jan 24, 2022•1 hr 23 min
Veronica Goebel started running in 2016 when her cousin, Aracely Richardson, convinced her to run a marathon. That's right, a conversion from non-runner to embarking on a marathon training cycle. Not only was that a big task to take on, when raceday came around she ran several weeks pregnant. By that point she had caught the running bug and it was there to stay. Six years later, Veronica has run a handful of marathons, over a dozen half-marathons, become a member of the Houston Harriers, and cut...
Jan 21, 2022•1 hr 9 min
Jocelyn Rivas from South Central Los Angeles is a 24 year old force of nature. She broke the Guinness World Record for the youngest woman to run 100 marathons at the 2021 Los Angeles Marathon. It was perfect symmetry as the LA Marathon was also her first when she was a mere high schooler. Jocelyn also broke the Record for Youngest Latina to run 100 marathons by four years. In 2013, Jocelyn decided to go see her friend run at the LA Marathon at Mile 18. She saw runners of all ages running from te...
Jan 17, 2022•1 hr 10 min
