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From Former Smoker to Boston Qualifier

By on September 21, 2014 in Guest Perspective, Health and Wellness, Interview

767953-1011-0010sPittsburgh resident dropped the cigarette habit for greater rewards, including a BQ and dozens of finishes in half and full marathons.

By Henry Howard

Kristy Brown’s running journey has come a long way.

The Pittsburgh resident has reformed herself from a pack-a-day smoker to a Boston qualifier. She has run 16 full marathons and 27 halfs. And she’s not stopping there.

But to know Brown’s full story one must go back to the first days when she laced up the running shoes, back in late 2007. She had been a gymnast while growing up, but running was something she took up in adulthood. And not just running but setting and achieving goal after goal. Up first: Brown knew she wanted to finish a marathon by the time she was 30 so she started training.

She accomplished that feat on May 18, 2008, as a smoker. In fact, she did another half-dozen marathons as a smoker. But she wasn’t satisfied with her performances. Eventually she quit smoking on June 8, 2010, “because I wanted to be able to run faster, so I could qualify for Boston.” She took Chantix for two weeks. “It made me feel weird, so I quit taking it, but never smoked again.” Continue Reading →

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Interview with Traci Falbo – 242 Miles in 48 Hours

By on September 19, 2014 in Interview, Podcasts, Ultramarathon

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Traci Falbo recently set the World Indoor 48 hour record by running just over 242 miles at an event called Six Days Under the Dome.

Traci is a pediatric physical therapist. She belongs to all 3 of the 50 states clubs and is a Marathon Maniac. She lives in Charlestown, IN, with her husband Mike and two teenage children.

Ten years ago Traci decided to lose weight and train for her first marathon. She lost 80 pounds and completed her first marathon and has since run a marathon in every state and many 100 milers.

See the before and after picture: Continue Reading →

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14-Time Marathon Finisher Won’t Let Cancer Win

By on September 9, 2014 in Guest Perspective, Health and Wellness, Interview

the_alexLos Angeles runner serves as inspiration to others as he undergoes chemo, trains and completes marathons.

By Henry Howard

Alex Magdaleno learned he had cancer on Dec. 22, 2008. As the diagnosis of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia continued to sink in on New Year’s Day 2009, Magdaleno set a goal for himself.

His goal? Run and finish the Los Angeles Marathon that May “to prove to myself that I could finish a marathon despite undergoing chemotherapy.”

Not only did he finish the Los Angeles Marathon six months after the initial diagnosis, Magdaleno has completed 14 overall marathons including the Ventura County Marathon on Sept. 7, the day before this interview. For him, it’s the marathon or bust. No 5Ks, half-marathons or theme races. Continue Reading →

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Harnessing the Power of Habit in Your Marathon Training

By on September 6, 2014 in Motivation, Podcasts

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We recently read the book The Power of Habit—Why we do what we do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg.

It’s an excellent book that I’d highly recommend. In fact while I was reading it I thought of numerous examples how developing the right habits can help us achieve our running goals.

You may also be trying to implement positive habits (like running and healthy eating) in your life and working on cutting out bad habits.

This post will help you understand how to make habits work to your favor! Continue Reading →

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Mental Toughness – Lisa Smith-Batchen on Completing a Badwater Quad

By on August 15, 2014 in Interview, Podcasts, Ultramarathon

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She did it! In July of this year Lisa Smith-Batchen became the first woman to complete a Badwater Quad.

That’s four back to back Badwater Ultra Marathons, 584 miles through Death Valley where temperatures reached as high as 127 degrees.

Lisa is an accomplished ultra-marathoner and coach and lives with her family in Driggs, Idaho. The first time we spoke with her was on podcast episode #78.

In this interview we talk with Lisa about her record setting run, her training, mental toughness, hallucinations, her money raising efforts to provide clean water to villages and much more. Continue Reading →

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Q and A with Dean Karnazes

By on August 1, 2014 in Elite Runner, Interview, Podcasts

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Dean Karnazes is author of the NY Times best selling book Ultra-Marathon Man –Confessions of an all Night Runner.

He is known for pushing the limits of human endurance, like when he ran 350 continuous miles without sleep, or the time he ran 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days.

Dean is also an accomplished entrepreneur and motivational speaker. He has succeeded in convincing millions of people that they can go far beyond their perceived limitations.

List of questions Continue Reading →

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Race Recap: Portland’s Foot Traffic Flat + Angie Qualifies for the Boston Marathon

By on July 25, 2014 in Podcasts, Race Recap

Trev and I at the Pumpkin Patch, Sauvie Island, OR.

Trev and I at the Pumpkin Patch, Sauvie Island, OR.

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On our recent trip to the Washington coast to visit Trevor’s parents we had the opportunity to run a marathon in the State of Oregon.

Since I’m always looking for ways to knock off a new state I started researching races a few months ago. We considered around four marathons during the summer and settled on the Foot Traffic Flat near Portland.

My in-laws and Trevor’s brother all came down to Portland with us and we rented a house in the Hollywood district and made a fun weekend out of it.

There were just over 422 registered for the full marathon and a total of 346 finished: 181 males and 165 females. The half marathon was obviously the most popular option with around 1,800 runners and 240 participated in the 5k. Continue Reading →

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Tips For Improving Your Sleep

By on July 19, 2014 in Health and Wellness

In a previous post I talked about the importance of getting quality sleep during your marathon training.

If you have not read this post or heard the accompanying podcast episode, the main take-a-way is this: Sleep has a huge impact on your athletic performance!

Now I want to give you nine tips on how to improve the quantity and quality of your sleep so you can be a stronger, happier runner. Continue Reading →

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Interview with Stephanie Howe -Western States 100 Mile Champion

By on July 14, 2014 in Interview, Podcasts, Ultramarathon

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In this episode we talk with Stephanie Howe the winner of this year’s Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run.

Stephanie finished in 18:01:42 -the fourth fastest female finishing time recorded in WS history.

She is also a running coach, a North Face sponsored athlete and a PhD student at Oregon State University with a minor in nutrition and major in exercise physiology.

Continue Reading →

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Getting Quality Sleep During Your Marathon Training

By on July 5, 2014 in Health and Wellness, Podcasts

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I must admit that I love to sleep. I was this way even as a child where I could sleep nearly anywhere. Even in my teenage years I would happily sleep 10 hours a night.

This started to change when I had to work 12 hour night shifts in my early years as a nurse. Then, unfortunately our oldest son did not share my sentiments about sleep and his babyhood was literally a rude awakening for me.

The first year of his life made me doubt if I’d ever sleep through the night again. Parents of young children can probably relate to this.

Now maybe you’re not as fixated on sleep as I am but most people underestimate its importance and many struggle with sleep difficulties. Continue Reading →

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