Several years ago Kim had two lives. One during the day where she helped athletes reach their full potential. Another that consisted of living the kind of life that was the polar opposite of the one she preached. Then she decided enough was enough. Today she is an accomplished multisport athlete, marathoner, lifter, and all-around badass. Kim is certified physical trainers with masters degree in kinesiology. She currently the Head Athletic Trainer for a high school in Hollywood, FL and the owner...
Mar 01, 2021•1 hr 22 min
We are back with Ramblings on the Run with Ali Feller and what a fun conversation this was. Per our usual conversation Ali, host of the amazing Ali on the Run podcast, and I start the show by discussing our current life on the run, what we are loving, and what we are excited about. In the second half of the show we try something new that we both were super excited about sharing. We each chose three TV shows that love and created a scenario for each if the cast were a running team instead of ther...
Feb 26, 2021•1 hr 13 min
Man, lot's of stuff going on this edition of Mastering 40. The last three weeks have seen some strong workouts, a few skipped miles, and a minor knee injury. In this episode, run coach James McKirdy and I have a blunt conversation on my need to step up the miles from the mid to high 30's well into the 40's. In his words, "if you aren't able to do this then you will not reach your goals." Then I speak with sport psychologist Adrienne Langelier about how I have been doing the "classic Matt Chittim...
Feb 22, 2021•1 hr 9 min
The Road to the Trials has returned for season two and we are fired up! We will be bringing you a behind the scenes look at the training and racing of some of America's best track athletes as they prepare for the Olympic Track Trials in June. Specifically, we will be following Keira D'Amato, Dana Giordano, Olivia Baker, Frank Lara, Tyler Day, and Abe Alvarado. In this episode we are joined by Lindsey Hein and Mario Fraioli, hosts of the highly rated I'll Have Another and Morning Shakeout podcast...
Feb 19, 2021•1 hr 8 min
There are certain people who choose to be a bright shining light and their impact on others becomes exponential because of that decision. That is exactly who Melissa Danehey has become. Melissa is a champion-level trail and ultra runner who started running in college and quickly grew to love the sport. Her evolution into a high-level runner took a turn when she was sexually assaulted over ten years ago. Running became an outlet for her and a way to help her deal with her pain and PTSD. Melissa c...
Feb 15, 2021•1 hr 6 min
Matt Fitzgerald is back for his third appearance on the Rambling Runner Podcast and this time he discusses his new book. A good comeback makes a great story. In The Comeback Quotient, sports journalist Matt Fitzgerald shares the stories of top athletic comebacks, to give you inspiration and tools for your own comeback in sport or life. Every sports fan loves a great comeback. Is there a special quality shared by top athletes who triumph over great challenges? And can anyone acquire it? In The Co...
Feb 12, 2021•1 hr 6 min
It is a widely held belief that runners get slower with age. Ingrid Walters, an actress and elite masters runner, has turned that belief on its head. At the age of 47 Ingrid won the female open division of the Los Angeles Marathon in a scorching fast 2:48 - 22 minutes faster than her first marathon nearly a decade earlier. Shortly after that race, as she was preparing for Grandma's Marathon, Ingrid was diagnosed with breast cancer. She attacked this new challenge with vigor and focus. After unde...
Feb 08, 2021•1 hr 12 min
Wow, things are getting real. In this episode we dive into the last three weeks which in which the workouts have been altered significantly. The mileage will stay in the 40-45 mile range for the next couple months but the workouts have were switched to longer segments and it has thrown me for a loop. In addition, day-after longer easy runs have been added to the weekend routine. In this episode, coach James McKirdy details why he made the changes and offers valuable advice about race shoes on wo...
Feb 05, 2021•1 hr 1 min
Kara Hepp is a mother of three, working full-time, taking an active role in her community, and training for a marathon in the freezing weather of a Minnesota winter. For these reasons, and several more, I've looked up to Kara for some time. In this episode, first dive into how she prepares herself to train during sub-zero temps at 5:00 a.m. and how she has worked with a running friend to ensure mutual success. Kara also discusses how she has had to adapt with her kids doing distance learning and...
Feb 01, 2021•51 min
Sabrina Little is a renaissance woman nearly every way. She runs at an elite level and has been selected to represent the United States on five national teams. She is also a full-time instructor of Philosophy and the Humanities at Morehead State University where she lives with her husband David and daughter Lucy. In 2020, she completed her PhD in Philosophy at Baylor University. Before Baylor, she studied Philosophy of Religion at Yale Divinity School and Philosophy and Psychology at The College...
Jan 29, 2021•1 hr 2 min
For Mariana Maldonado, 2020 was a year of amazing improvements in fitness with no races to test them. Several of her marathons were postponed and cancelled throughout the yeas as she continually altered her training and remained optimistic. It was a learning experience that she is hoping to capitalize on in 2021. As Mari continued to improve, she started to reach whole new levels of speed and fitness. As exciting as this was, it became hard for her to embrace those new levels. In this episode we...
Jan 25, 2021•54 min
So many runners are passionate about their running while also working hard to advocate for a cause/mission they believe in. When we combine these two passions to help raise awareness and philanthropic support it can be a remarkable experience. It can also change how we connect to our running. No one knows this better than Jordan Marie Daniel. Jordan Marie Brings Three White Horses Daniel – Kul Wičasa Lakota, a citizen of Kul Wicasa Oyate (Lower Brule Sioux Tribe) as well as a passionate and devo...
Jan 22, 2021•1 hr 5 min
In 2020, with road races all over being cancelled, many runners decided to transition to trail running where races were much more prevalent and easier to align with COVID restrictions. But many of these folks weren't quite sure where to start. This is exactly why I was excited to speak with elite coach and podcast host Mario Fraioli. Mario coaches some of the best trail runners in the country in addition to making this same transition when he moved to the Bay Area. In this conversation Mario cov...
Jan 18, 2021•1 hr 12 min
While I have been chronicling my own Mastering 40 journey, I was excited to talk with Brian White who has been actively pursuing his own. Brian, who turned 40 last spring, has big goals for the marathon, 10k, and un-broken pull-ups. So far he is crushing it but don't let that fool you - he hasn't always been a runner extraordinaire. He was big into lifting for years before starting running in his late 30's. Now, Brian is on the cusp of doing amazing things and It was a pleasure to hear him talk ...
Jan 12, 2021•58 min
In this episode we dive into the last three weeks which were supposed to be include an elevation of mileage into the 40's but turned out to be quite the opposite. As most of us know, craziness in our lives can sometimes supersede our running goals and require an even larger chunk of time and energy. With all of that coming to fruition, fortunately my fitness has continued to improve at a rapid rate and I am excited to test myself again in the near future. Mastering 40: I just completed the worst...
Jan 08, 2021•1 hr 10 min
We are back with Ramblings on the Run with Ali Feller and what a fun conversation this was. While 2021 is officially here, Ali and I decided to indulge ourselves in several of the off-beat things we enjoyed in 2020. Here are the categories we went with: Favorite podcast episode we listened to (sports and a non-sports) Favorite running performance Favorite person to follow on IG Favorite binge watch Surprising binge watch Favorite running shoe Favorite guilty pleasure Proudest Personal Running Ac...
Jan 04, 2021•1 hr 17 min
Meghan Matejka has had the kind of improvement and progression as a marathoner that so many strive for. Her first race after playing soccer and lacrosse in high school and college was a marathon. A huge challenge to say the least. From there, Meghan didn't formally engage with running for another six years, or so. Once she did, Meghan was able to bring her times down and qualify for the Boston Marathon - then just kept on improving. With the help of her coach, Heather McKirdy of McKirdy Trained,...
Jan 01, 2021•52 min
As the year comes to a close I am excited to bring you seven of the best and most impactful moments of the Rambling Runner Podcast in 2020. This was an incredibly hard episode to create. We have been blessed with so many amazing guests this year. Choosing a select few was incredibly difficult. Once that happened, selecting only one part of their episodes was no picnic, either. Here are the folks who are featured in the 2020 Best of... Mitch Ammons (ep. 207) Kiese Laymon (ep. 234) Bart Yasso (ep....
Dec 29, 2020•46 min
When you meet someone who goes after what they want with passion, energy, grace, and optimism is it beyond infectious. It is awe inspiring. There is no other way to describe Kristen Doornbos. This force of nature is an athlete, artist, entrepreneur, and defeater of challenges. After having little to no experience in athletics growing up, Kristen started running five years ago as a social outlet from a job that left her lonely and wanting more. Shortly thereafter she was told that her exocrine pa...
Dec 21, 2020•51 min
I’m am so excited to talk all things running shoes with the amazing Emily Heller of the Run Like Heller running show review channel on YouTube. We went deep into the running shoe game and it was a blast: • First favorite running shoe? • Favorite shoe that most people weren’t a fan of? • Shoe that people love that you just couldn’t get into? • Personal preferences versus reviewing for a broad audience? • Review of her favorite tempo day shoes and daily trainers of 2020. • What she is excited for ...
Dec 18, 2020•1 hr 1 min
From the amazing Corey Joyner: The only thing separating you from the goals you set is the work in between. I do not know who said that, but I know it rings true. The time frame of how long it takes to achieve the goal will vary, but the work has to be done. I started out as a 5 hour marathoner. You learn quickly to respect the 26.2mi distance! I worked a little harder for the 2nd attempt and was rewarded with a 32min improvement, but there was still more work to be done. Two weeks ago I was fin...
Dec 14, 2020•1 hr 2 min
The new Mastering 40 episode is out and we break down the first four months and what the next season of the journey has in store. First, coach James McKirdy explains how he was framing the fall season, the primary focus of that time, how my relative fitness level matters (and doesn't), and TONS of treadmill tips. In the second half of the episode, Adrienne Langelier, my sport psychologist, and I talk through talk through many of the things I discussed with James but from a psychological point of...
Dec 11, 2020•1 hr 14 min
Leah Jantzen is a self-help author, speaker, triathlete and performance coach living on Long Island. Leah is a firm believer in the infinite potential residing in every one of us, and has dedicated her life to helping others realize it. The creator of Train Your Brain—a system for boosting mental fitness—Leah instructs her clients to clearly see an athletic goal in their mind, then guides them through the process of training their bodies to achieve that goal, utilizing the same principles she us...
Dec 07, 2020•56 min
It was an honor to speak with the wonderous Lisa Mueller for this episode of the Rambling Runner Podcast. A year ago she listened to Mary Johnson and Lauren Floris detail their "Project: Breaking 3" women's program in episode 199. It inspired her to chase her own sub-3 goal. But, she was a bit unsure as the women in that program had already run close to 3:00, making her wonder whether a bigger improvement was possible. Lisa is a 35 years old political science professor at Macalester College. One...
Dec 04, 2020•1 hr 10 min
In 2013, Stefanie Flippin ran her first ultra. She didn't make the last cut-off and was pulled from the course with 6 miles to go. She cried herself to sleep that night and vowed to never be so unprepared for anything again. In 2015, she whined her way through my first 100 miler, begging her husband and parents to just let her drop. She came in DFL (dead f'ing last) but learned at the finish why no one would allow her to give up. During those years and beyond she watched in awe as the frontrunne...
Nov 30, 2020•1 hr 6 min
Elysha Omoomy is back, she was also featured in episode 126, after yet another paradigm shifting performance. I was going to write-up shownotes, per usual, for this show but decided to simply copy and past Elysha's Instagram post from November 16 because it hits her positivity, relentlessness, and dedication on the head: "From 5:21 12:17/mi to 3:04 7:03/mi, my message to you: NEVER GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS! I’m no different than you. I learned how to run back in 2010 and kept at it. It was so hard...
Nov 27, 2020•1 hr 7 min
Jay is one of the most remarkable people I have spoken with and I am sure you'll agree once you hear this episode. Jay is a pastor at Friends Church in southern California, husband, and father to a little girl, multiple brain tumor survivor. this was a trying moment for Jay and everyone who knew him. Jay and I spoke about his amazing athletic, health, and spiritual background in episode 252. These experience created a massive shift in Jay's perspective. He has a desire to enjoy a deep connection...
Nov 23, 2020•47 min
The new Mastering 40 episode is here and it details my wildest week yet. Last weekend I was able make up for my 10k DNF six weeks ago with a strong effort. In fact, the final 5k was faster than the 5k I ran three weeks ago. Yes! Then, mere hours later I was hobbled by an ankle injury. First coach James McKirdy breaks down 10k, the differences between racing scared or confident, and how the injury could dovetail nicely with a planned decompression in the training schedule. In the second half of t...
Nov 20, 2020•1 hr 12 min
Molly Gutt has one of the most unique athletic backgrounds that we've ever had on the show. Cheerleading and gymnastics as a teenager gave way to aerobic kickboxing in her 20's. From there, she was eager to test herself against other fighters and moved to Muay Thai - a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. A short time later, Molly proved herself as one of the best around. She is two-time national amateur Muay Thai Champion at 112 lbs. and 119 lbs. Dur...
Nov 16, 2020•1 hr 2 min
Unlike so many of us, Amanda Asaro just completed a fall race season as an elite amateur runner for Central Park Track Club. That's right, you read that correctly - a fall race season. Amanda is a New York City based personal trainer, group fitness instructor at Barry’s, and a decorated college runner. Barry's is an internationally-known HIIT workout gym that focuses on strength, speed, and aerobic exercise. At Gettysburg College, Amanda set several college records on the track. She is a NASM Ce...
Nov 13, 2020•47 min
