Shaunta-Mae Alexander: One of the things that Tunde kept repeating to me
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: while on this course was, " Pick your head up. I
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: want you to see the beauty around you." Every time
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: she said that, it took my mind off of the
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: pain and on the moment that I was actually doing
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: something that I never imagined for myself. I never saw
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: myself running 13. 1 miles.
Becs Gentry: Welcome to Set the Pace, the official podcast of New
Becs Gentry: York Roadrunners presented by Peloton. I'm your host, Peloton instructor,
Becs Gentry: Becs Gentry, and I am here today doing the show
Becs Gentry: solo while Rob is busy CEOing. Yep. Well, I think
Becs Gentry: it is kind of payback because I sort of left
Becs Gentry: him solo for a couple of weeks there whilst I
Becs Gentry: was busy vacationing and visiting my family in the Canary
Becs Gentry: Islands and having some, I'm going to say it, self-
Becs Gentry: professed, well- deserved time away from New York City. I
Becs Gentry: have to say, the running there was absolutely phenomenal. I've been
Becs Gentry: going there since I'm two years old. It looks like
Becs Gentry: Mars when you land. Okay, I'm going to tell you
Becs Gentry: that because if anyone ever chooses to go to Fuerteventura
Becs Gentry: in the Canary Islands, as you come in to land,
Becs Gentry: it is like the scape of Mars that you see
Becs Gentry: in movies. The running is dry, windy; terrain is trail,
Becs Gentry: sand, rocks, volcanic lava. It is challenging and divine. It
Becs Gentry: threw everything my way, from tantrums and tears to absolutely
Becs Gentry: fantastic strong runs on rolling hills, and most of them
Becs Gentry: ended up either at my favorite juice bar or in
Becs Gentry: the ocean with Tallulah. It was what the soul needed.
Becs Gentry: And now we're back in New York and busy trying
Becs Gentry: to crack away at a few more weeks of training,
Becs Gentry: before Grandma's, which is going okay. I'm not going to
Becs Gentry: go into it. It's going okay. It's not going as
Becs Gentry: well as I'd like it to be going, so we
Becs Gentry: might have to readdress some goals, but that's okay, because
Becs Gentry: that's what goals are. You can address them, you can
Becs Gentry: assess them, and you can reset them. Anyway, enough about me.
Becs Gentry: We have a fantastic show here today. We have a
Becs Gentry: lot of emotion and a lot of information for all
Becs Gentry: humans on today's show. First up, we are going to
Becs Gentry: hear the incredible story of Shaunta- Mae Alexander. She's an
Becs Gentry: athlete, author, and speaker who has relearned how to walk
Becs Gentry: and then run after being paralyzed twice. Yeah, I'll let
Becs Gentry: that settle in. If you want to check out her
Becs Gentry: Instagram and see a deep dive detail on her life
Becs Gentry: story, please do so after the show. It will just
Becs Gentry: enlighten you and a hundred percent it will inspire you
Becs Gentry: in whatever you are doing in your life. After Shaunta-
Becs Gentry: Mae, we have the dual board- certified dermatologist, Jane Yoo.
Becs Gentry: She's going to be here to talk with Rob about
Becs Gentry: everything you didn't know you needed to know about skincare
Becs Gentry: for runners. Yeah, there's a lot there. A lot to
Becs Gentry: unpack there, and critical information, as we said. You all
Becs Gentry: need to be looking after your skin when we're doing
Becs Gentry: those miles. Okay? So take notes. And then for those
Becs Gentry: of you who might be coming off a recent marathon
Becs Gentry: or half- marathon, Meb will be here with some advice
Becs Gentry: on how to overcome your post- race blues, specifically half-
Becs Gentry: marathon blues. I know, from coming back from London, there's
Becs Gentry: definitely some post- marathon blues for Austin, although he didn't
Becs Gentry: have the greatest of races; the weather, he had a
Becs Gentry: back injury that sparked the night before the race, so
Becs Gentry: he's definitely got some post- marathon redemption blues coming his
Becs Gentry: way. So I cannot wait to listen to that part
Becs Gentry: of the show myself as well. Try the Peloton app
Becs Gentry: for free and access classes for every type of runner,
Becs Gentry: whether you're training for your first race or you're a seasoned
Becs Gentry: pro. From outdoor runs and intervals to strength yoga and
Becs Gentry: stretching, you'll find the perfect fit for every part of
Becs Gentry: your routine. Whether it's a long run day or you
Becs Gentry: just need a quick five- minute reset, the Peloton app
Becs Gentry: meets you where you are and helps you become a
Becs Gentry: stronger, faster runner, because it's designed for someone like you.
Becs Gentry: Try the app free for 30 days and download it
Becs Gentry: now from App Store or Google Play. Terms apply. Peloton,
Becs Gentry: the official digital fitness partner for New York Roadrunners. Shaunta-
Becs Gentry: Mae Alexander is a disabled adaptive athlete. She is also
Becs Gentry: a children's book author, an actress, and an advocate. Diagnosed
Becs Gentry: with Crohn's disease as a teenager, she has survived countless
Becs Gentry: medical setbacks including two episodes of paralysis, and now uses
Becs Gentry: a feeding tube to stay alive. But this past March,
Becs Gentry: a mere two years after relearning how to walk, she
Becs Gentry: completed the United Airlines NYC Half with my fellow Peloton
Becs Gentry: instructor, Tunde Oyeneyin, by her side. Shaunta- Mae is the embodiment
Becs Gentry: of purpose and perseverance, and she is here today to
Becs Gentry: talk to us about what is possible when you run
Becs Gentry: your own race. Shaunta- Mae, I am beyond honored to
Becs Gentry: have you here as a guest on Set the Pace
Becs Gentry: today. Thank you for sharing your time with us and
Becs Gentry: for sharing your story with us. You are unbelievable. I
Becs Gentry: love seeing your smiling face in the studio. I love
Becs Gentry: seeing Tunde coming in after class saying, " That girl does
Becs Gentry: not know chill." How are you today?
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I am well. I'm well. I'm feeling good. Yeah, I'm
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: grateful to be here. I'm grateful to share space with
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: you all and to continue to share my story and
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: encourage so many people.
Becs Gentry: You do. You truly, truly do with everything you do,
Becs Gentry: and I'm sure there's been many times in your life
Becs Gentry: where you have thought, " There's no way anyone else is
Becs Gentry: going through this. There's no way my story can help
Becs Gentry: anyone else." And then you come to another part in
Becs Gentry: your journey and realize that there are hundreds and thousands
Becs Gentry: and more faces who are watching out for you, to
Becs Gentry: see your smile, to see you get through. Let's dive
Becs Gentry: into that. Let's dive into you. Who is Shaunta- Mae
Becs Gentry: Alexander and what was your relationship to moving, in any
Becs Gentry: capacity that you desire to talk about. As a kid,
Becs Gentry: you grew up in foster care. Is that correct?
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Yes.
Becs Gentry: Yeah. Was there movement in your life? What was it like?
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Growing up in foster care was not easy at all.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I had a very, very rough childhood. My foster homes
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: were not the best, and that's putting it lightly. I used
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: movement as it related to sports as one of my
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: outlets. I also used acting as one of my outlets.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I started acting when I was about five years old in little
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: school plays and things, and running, probably around the same
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: time. As a kid, running was a way for me
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: to ... Running and playing basketball was a way for me to just expel all of
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: the negative energy and all of the trauma and pain
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: that I was enduring in these homes that I could
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: not express inside the home. So being viewed at school,
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: on the playground with other kids sometimes and then other times
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: just by myself, I was able to run and get
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: that all out. I was able to do the same
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: thing with acting. Acting was a way for me to take on another person,
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: another character's life as my own. It was a way for me to escape
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: my own reality. And so I fell in love with
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: all of it. Basketball as well. Basketball, I like to
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: say basketball was my first taste of self- advocacy as
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: a kid, because growing up as a little girl, especially
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: back in the nineties, playing basketball was technically a boys
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: sport. Girls can't play basketball. They don't know how to
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: play basketball. And so for me, I was like, " That's
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: fine. I'll show you." And so I would sit and I would
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: watch the boys play basketball and I would play the
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: little games on the Sega Genesis and all of that, so
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: that I could learn the techniques. And then I'd get back
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: out there and I'd ball out and I'd hoop and
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: they'd have no choice but to accept me. So that
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: was a way for me to not only advocate for
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: myself and make space and have a voice for myself
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: that I didn't have within these homes, but it was also
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: a way to show other girls. I didn't know it
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: then, but it gave other girls at the time permission
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: to do the same, " Well, if she's out there playing
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: basketball when all these boys say it's not for girls,
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: then I want to do it too." So that was
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: my first taste, first taste in that. Movement has always
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: been a part of my life. As far as the
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: actual fitness aspect and weight training and lifting and all
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: of those things, I was not a fan of that. I was not a fan of that.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Just give me the ball so I can shoot it, so I can
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: run up and down the court. Just give me my 100-
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: meter hurdles, my 200s, my 400s, my long jumps, just
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: give me that and I'm good. All of this weight
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: training stuff, I'm not interested. Distance running, I'm not interested.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Just give me the meat. But it wasn't until I
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: lost my mobility, after having a colonoscopy for severe Crohn's
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: flare that I was in and developed a rare reaction
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: to the anesthesia that was used, that I found a
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: new respect, a new, I guess you could say, gratitude
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: for movement. When we have the ability of our limbs
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: and the ability to speak and to think in our
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: right minds and be able to do little things like
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: picking things up and setting things down, tying your shoes,
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: you take all of that for granted and you don't
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: realize how special that really is, how privileged you really
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: are to have those movements and those abilities until it's
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: taken from you. And so when I lost my movement
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: and I lost my ability to speak, and I lost
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: my ability to form real tangible thoughts and not be
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: able to articulate those the way that I wanted to,
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I just developed this gratitude. Specifically when it came to
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: walking, I made a promise to God. I said, " God,
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: if you restore my walking, if you restore my movement,
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I'll run like I've never ran before, I'll walk like
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I've never walked before, and I will dance like I've
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: never danced before." That was the bow that I made
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: to God, and He kept his end of the bargain
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: and I kept mine. But what I was not ready
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: for, what I was not prepared for, was falling in
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: love with the sport and the process. This was just
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: a vow that I originally made. I was just going to
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: do that, but I actually fell in love with movement.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I fell in love with running. I fell in love
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: with cycling, which I didn't even know existed until 2022.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: And picking up weights?
Becs Gentry: Nah.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: You couldn't get me to do it. You couldn't get
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: me to do it. You couldn't bribe me. So this is
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: not just a vow to God, it's a vow to myself. It's
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: a way of saying thanks to my body every single
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: day. It's a way for me to be the voice
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: for so many people who are out there with disabilities
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: and different abilities and children all over the world who have
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: also had hard lives, whether in foster care, battered (inaudible)
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: , being sick themselves. This is just a way for
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: me to say, " Hey, you're not in this alone. I'm
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: here with you." It's just a sum of everything working
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: together for my good.
Becs Gentry: Everything coming together and it all being sealed with that
Becs Gentry: vow is so beautiful and so strong. Shaunta- Mae, just
Becs Gentry: for our listeners who may not understand the severity of
Becs Gentry: Crohn's and Crohn's disease, I feel like in this transient
Becs Gentry: world we live in, many disease names are thrown around
Becs Gentry: and people nod their heads as though they know exactly
Becs Gentry: what it is. And then it doesn't affect them, so
Becs Gentry: they don't really know what it is. Just explain to
Becs Gentry: our audience quickly what Crohn's disease is and how your
Becs Gentry: situation took the turn, not how but why, let's say,
Becs Gentry: why it took the turn it did. Do you mind
Becs Gentry: going into that?
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Sure, yeah. Crohn's disease is an autoimmune disease under the umbrella called
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: IBD, which stands for inflammatory bowel disease. That is Crohn's
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: disease, ulcerative colitis. Those are the sister conditions. Basically what
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Crohn's disease does is, your immune system attacks your digestive
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: system anywhere from your mouth to your behind. Everything attached to
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: your digestive system is attacked. So it causes stomach pain,
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: internal bleeding, ulcers, nausea, malnutrition, lack of bowel control, all
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: kinds of different nitty- gritty symptoms that basically aren't fun.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: It is debilitating. It's not fun. It's very excruciating. I
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: got sick at the age of nine, but wasn't diagnosed
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: until, I believe, I was 14 or 15 years old.
Becs Gentry: Oh my gosh.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: So I went through middle school and high school sick.
Becs Gentry: Oh my God.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: At that time, I didn't have the support, which is
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: another reason why I advocate and do what I do
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: now, because I felt alone in my process, as a
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: kid, as a teen, in middle school and high school.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: You can only imagine how hard that can be, especially
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: when kids don't understand.
Becs Gentry: (inaudible) the pain and-
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Yeah. And so for me, what that looked like for
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: me was having to bring an extra bag of clothes
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: in case I used the bathroom on myself. I was
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: in diapers in middle school and high school. Medication, having
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: to pack my own food and then having to deal with
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: the questions and the jokes and all the things about
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: being small. I was very tiny, and at the time
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I didn't know it, but I was severely malnourished. And so,
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: again, I just wish I'd had the me that I
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: am now when I was going through this process. I
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: think it's a beautiful time to share this and to
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: share this journey and to share about Crohn's disease, especially
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: because yesterday was World International IBD Day, Crohn's Disease Day,
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: which I think is also crazy as well because it
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: was also my birthday. I think it was kind of kismet.
Becs Gentry: No.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Yeah.
Becs Gentry: Happy belated birthday.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Thank you. Thank you. I think it was kismet. I think this was just part of something
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: that was always going to be a part of my journey.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: But for those of you that are dealing with the symptoms and dealing
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: with family members or friends or just know somebody that
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: struggles with stomach issues, I just implore you, one, to
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: make sure that you're advocating for yourself. Make sure that
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: you're getting in with a GI team, not accepting no for
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: an answer. That was a big part of my process
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: because it took so long for me to be diagnosed.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: And that affected my mental state. There was a lot
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: of times when these doctors would say that it was
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: in my head or that it was stress related, and that's
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: daunting, especially as a kid who is suffering. So I
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: want you guys to advocate for yourselves. Don't give up.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Know that this is not the end of your journey
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: and that you can still have a beautiful and meaningful
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: life with this condition.
Becs Gentry: Absolutely. Look at your story.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Yeah.
Becs Gentry: So you had this terrible flare- up that ended up
Becs Gentry: with you being hospitalized. Let's fast- forward a little bit
Becs Gentry: to January 1st, 2022. That was after your second paralysis,
Becs Gentry: and you've already kind of fought for your life. You've
Becs Gentry: already fought to restart, to reset, to put every teeny
Becs Gentry: tiny teeniest tiniest ounce of energy into standing up and
Becs Gentry: saying no, or being like, "Uh- uh. I've got this. I've
Becs Gentry: got this back." And then that's taken away from you
Becs Gentry: again. What was going through your mind? You've already said
Becs Gentry: it was so hard for you to talk, to explain
Becs Gentry: your thoughts in your head. When you were alone in
Becs Gentry: those moments of thinking, like, " Please God, this is the
Becs Gentry: second time I'm going through this," how? How did you
Becs Gentry: get that strength to just say, " I'm going to do
Becs Gentry: this again"?
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: It was extremely difficult. I went through ... especially the second
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: time, I went through this deep, deep depression. At this
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: point, I'm not quite 33 yet, and all I've known was
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: trauma and pain and sickness and illness. When I relapsed
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: with this condition for the second time, and I did
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: not recover as quickly as I did the first time,
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I didn't get to my baseline as quickly as I
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: did the first time, I was ready to fold in the towel.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I was like, " I don't want this anymore. I don't
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: want to fight anymore." I say often that people make
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: New Year's resolutions and they declare new things for their
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: new year and all of this, and I think that's
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: beautiful. I love that people set intentions for themselves ahead
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: of time. They see something and they want to go
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: for it, and they do the work to make those
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: intentions happen. For myself, I don't want to say I've
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: never done it, but I don't necessarily subscribe to New
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Year's resolutions. For me, if I want to make a
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: change, I'm going to make it now. As soon as
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I think it and I say I want to do something different,
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: immediately I'm going into action on how I can put
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: this forward, how I can set this forward. It just
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: so happened that this thought process of, " I'm done allowing
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: my disabilities to determine my quality of life. I'm done
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: allowing my disabilities to rule my life for me," it
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: just so happened that it happened to fall on January 1st of 2022.
Becs Gentry: Wow.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Crazy. I was, " Okay, well."
Becs Gentry: Crazy.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: " Let's do it."
Becs Gentry: Yeah.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: So I had-
Becs Gentry: 33 years of, " No, I'm not doing that." And then all of a sudden
Becs Gentry: you're like, " Oh, this is the biggest one yet."
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Yeah. This is enough. Enough. Enough. I want to make my dreams a
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: reality. I want to enjoy my life. I don't want
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: to live suffering anymore. I don't want that anymore. So
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: if that means that I have to act from my wheelchair,
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: then I will act from my wheelchair. If that means
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: that I am going to be on big stages and I have to do
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: that from my wheelchair, I will do that. If that
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: means I have to be an author from my chair,
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I'm going to do that. I'm going to be the
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: strongest actress, author, motivational speaker from my wheelchair. Let's do
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: it. I'm done. My disabilities ... And that is my motto.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I live by it daily. I profess it daily. My
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: disabilities do not disqualify me for my purpose. They don't.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I have to do things differently, and that's okay. And
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I think when people begin to understand that there are
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: different ways and different avenues to getting to your goals, to reaching
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: your dreams, and knowing that your possibilities are endless despite
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: what you're going through, despite your conditions, despite your life's
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: circumstances, you really become unstoppable. And so I was doing
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: this search on how I can become stronger, and I'm
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: a huge fan of Cynthia Erivo. I've been a fan
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: of hers since The Color Purple on Broadway, and I
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: would see her getting on this thing called a Peloton
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: bike. I'm like, " What is that? I want to do it. I want to do that. I like that. I like that. I
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: want it. I need it." And so I did all the
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: research and finding out what this thing called Peloton was and
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: what it does and how I can use it to
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: become a better, stronger version of myself, disabled and all.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: My god- sister had a Peloton as well. So I
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: reached out to her and I was like, " Okay, so
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: you have a Peloton. Tell me all about it. I'm
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: thinking about getting one." She was just like, " Do it."
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: That was all I needed.
Becs Gentry: Without a thought.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Without a second thought. Okay. So I downloaded the app and
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I was like, "Okay. So I don't have the bike. I can't
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: do heavy weights or anything like that. I can't run.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: What can I do that's going to help build my
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: strength?" Light weights. I can do those. I can do
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: those from my chair. I can do a couple one,
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: two, three pounds from my wheelchair. And so I went
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: through the instructor list, all the instructors, and I said, "
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I want somebody that looks like me, that looks like
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: they've been through some things and have come out on the other
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: side." And I saw Tunde's picture and I was like, "
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Her." It was something about the light in her eyes.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: You could just see it. You could just see it.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: And so I hit start on that app and I
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: would train every day. I would literally take three to
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: five arms and lightweight classes a day.
Becs Gentry: We know those are not easy classes from Ms. Oyeneyin. Thank you.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: They're not. They're not. I don't know.
Becs Gentry: Uh-uh.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I don't know.
Becs Gentry: How she does it?
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I have no idea. I don't know. But I knew
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: that every time I got into this class, her words
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: were encouraging, and it just encouraged me to continue the fight.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I felt stronger doing it. I felt the strongest I've
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: ever felt.
Becs Gentry: Absolutely.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I haven't turned back since.
Becs Gentry: We love it. We love it. Okay, but tell me
Becs Gentry: though, with no matter what, no matter how many steps
Becs Gentry: forward you get to take, you know, as a human,
Becs Gentry: that your health is fragile. We all do. I hope
Becs Gentry: that we all understand life is fragile, and from having
Becs Gentry: the setbacks that you had with your health, I'm sure
Becs Gentry: in the back of your mind you were thinking, " My
Becs Gentry: health is more fragile than some other people, so I
Becs Gentry: have to protect my power as it grows." How did
Becs Gentry: you know that it was the right time to take
Becs Gentry: all the steps you did? So you just talked about
Becs Gentry: the steps with Tunde that encouraged you to do the arms
Becs Gentry: and lightweights from your chair, and then the next step
Becs Gentry: for you, well, not the next step, but a few
Becs Gentry: steps later, but the next really big one was ... Shaunta- Mae,
Becs Gentry: you decided to run. You believed you could and you
Becs Gentry: did. But talk us through how you, not just physically,
Becs Gentry: but mentally got to a place where you believed so
Becs Gentry: powerfully that you could trust your body again to do this.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: There's this feeling that I get right before a big leap
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: in my movement and my life. It's hard to describe, but
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: it's just this inkling that I get inside. Every time
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I make a huge leap, I feel it, not days,
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: not weeks, literally moments before I do it. I received my tread in
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: December of 2023, so I started learning how to walk
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: December 12th of ... Nope, I'm lying. December 2022. I started learning
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: how to walk on the tread December 12th, 2022. Beautiful numbers.
Becs Gentry: I was going to say I remember as well. I was away on maternity
Becs Gentry: leave and I came back, and I'd seen you take
Becs Gentry: some of my classes while I was away on maternity. And then we connected when
Becs Gentry: I came back. So I was like, " It must've been 2022."
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Absolutely. Yeah. And so this specific day, I want to
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: say it was in February, I was on the tread
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: and I was walking. And I got that same feeling. I said, "
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I think I can run. I'm going to try it. I'm
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: going to try it." Now, as I'm learning how to
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: walk, my speeds are very, very slow on the tread. 1.5 to 2.0
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: speed. So for me, a run was literally 2. 7, 3. 0.
Becs Gentry: Speed is irrelevant, isn't it? It's the movement.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: It's the movement.
Becs Gentry: Mm-hmm.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: And so I hit that button. I hit it twice. And
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I'm getting faster. My legs are moving a little bit
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: faster. I'm like, " Oh my God." I have the post
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: somewhere on my Instagram page where I'm actually doing it.
Becs Gentry: Hang on, I can see it.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: This is literally what happens every time. The same with the
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: bike. I got on the bike and I was training
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: every day for anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours. But there was
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: this specific day. When I was on my bike, I'd
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: have to use my hands to pedal my legs. That's
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: how I'd be able to move my legs. And I
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: did this daily until one day I was like, " I
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: think I'm going to take my hands off. I just want to see." The same feeling. "I just want to see if I can do it." And I pedaled. And I was like, "
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Wait a minute." And I did it again, and again, and again. It's
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: just this-
Becs Gentry: Oh, I have chills.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: It's just this God wink, I'll call it a God
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: wink, that says, " Mae, you're ready. Mae, you're ready. Mae,
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: you're ready." I think the hardest part in that is
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: trusting that God wink while denouncing the doubt that you
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: have in your head. It's a balance being like, what
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: are you going to trust more? Are you going to trust
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: the doubt or are you going to trust the God wink that
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: has never felt you? Every time you lean into that
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: God wink, it happens for you. That's just been my
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: journey. I trust the God wink every time.
Becs Gentry: So strongly. From the minute, I'm sure, that you stood
Becs Gentry: up for the first time after paralysis to taking those
Becs Gentry: steps of running on your tread, hands off the thighs
Becs Gentry: on the bike, lifting those heavier weights, to crossing the
Becs Gentry: finish line at the United Airlines NYC Half, every God
Becs Gentry: wink has been a really, really beautiful one with a
Becs Gentry: big smile as well. It's like a cheeky wink. It's
Becs Gentry: not just-
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.
Becs Gentry: Okay. Let's have a look at the adaptive training that
Becs Gentry: you've gone through, because I think it's so important for
Becs Gentry: people, you said this earlier, to understand that ... You said, "
Becs Gentry: Your disabilities does not disqualify you." And it needs to
Becs Gentry: be said louder. It needs to be said louder every
Becs Gentry: single day in every single way that people are training
Becs Gentry: around the world, that there are multiple ways of doing
Becs Gentry: things; though, the way, the one way, is not the
Becs Gentry: right way at all, because it's not right for everybody.
Becs Gentry: It might be right for that person. It's just not
Becs Gentry: right, period.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Yeah.
Becs Gentry: When we look at all of the adaptive training that
Becs Gentry: you've done, it's vast.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Yeah.
Becs Gentry: So where are you at now? You're obviously not just doing
Becs Gentry: one, two, three- pound weights from your chair. Where are
Becs Gentry: we now? What's your training like now?
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Actually, I just finished week three of Tunde's upper body program.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: So I'm lifting.
Becs Gentry: Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry for you. Do you
Becs Gentry: need me to send a masseuse or something for you?
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: All of the things. Because the woman is nuts.
Becs Gentry: The woman is just nuts.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: And this is my second time going through the program.
Becs Gentry: Okay.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I'm a glutton for growth.
Becs Gentry: Yes. I've done it once and that was fine. Thank
Becs Gentry: you very much.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: So I'm definitely lifting a lot heavier. I find so
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: much joy in doing lower body, and that may just
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: be because I didn't have the functionality of my lower
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: body for quite some time, and so being able to use
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: those same legs and those same muscles and joints that
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: were immobile at one point, and being able to press
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: heavy weights is just something that just rocks my mind
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: every time. I feel so strong doing it. I'm just
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: getting back into running again. I was sick for some
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: time, which kind of comes with the territory. I have
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: a suppressed immune system, so things take much longer. But
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I'm getting back into running. I have my next race
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: on the 1st.
Becs Gentry: Which race? What?
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: It is the Women's Fitness Festival that I do every
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: year. This is actually the very first race that I
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: did back in 2023, so this is a way that
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I pay homage. I do this every year. This year,
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I will be running the 10K, so I'm playing catch-
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: up with training for that, and then also doing a
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: lot of cycling. As far as having to adapt, I
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: adapt a lot. A lot of the things that I have to do,
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I pay attention a lot to my body. I just
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: have to. As someone who-
Becs Gentry: Of course.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: ... lives with multiple conditions and disabilities, I have to
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: pay attention. Because the moment I choose not to pay
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: attention can be the defining moment of whether I go
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: from being in a stable condition to making myself critically
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: sick, or in an emergency situation, life- threatening situation. For
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: me, the way I care for myself when I get
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: into any workout is making sure that my heart meds
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: are on deck. I have to make sure that my
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: heart rate is at a pretty low level before I
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: get into my exercises, my routine, my training. Because if
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I don't, I get really sick. At times, if I'm
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: flaring with Crohn's disease or the gastroparesis, I have to
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: do my workouts on all my feeds, which you guys
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: have probably seen a few times. Managing to spin or
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: lift weights or run attached to my feeding tube is
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: an adjustment, but it's something I need to do. And
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: the days that I'm flaring from my neurological condition, what
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: does that look like in my training? That means I
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: may have to slow down. That means I may have
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: to do workouts from my floor. That means instead of
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: running, I may have to walk. It means no inclines
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: at times. It means having to go at a much slower pace.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: But all of this, all of this is just an indicator
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: that things may just have to be different. It doesn't
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: mean that you can't do them. It doesn't mean that
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: you're less qualified to do them. It doesn't mean that you're
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: not worthy of doing them. It just means that you
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: have to lean into the pivot a little bit. When
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: you lean into the pivot, you realize that you're not
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: limited. You're not limited. You can do it all.
Becs Gentry: Absolutely. You can. You can. Doing it all for you,
Becs Gentry: recently, or this year let's say, culminated in such a
Becs Gentry: magical day in March where ... I mean, I saw you,
Becs Gentry: was it the day before or two days before? I
Becs Gentry: don't remember whether it was the Friday or the Saturday.
Becs Gentry: You were in studio. You took a cycling class with
Becs Gentry: Tundes. You were exhausted. You said to me like, "Becs, I'm
Becs Gentry: tired. I'm really tired. I'm not feeling a hundred percent."
Becs Gentry: Tunde and I were like, " Chill. Just take this class
Becs Gentry: as easy as you want. This is your shakeout moment." And
Becs Gentry: then the next morning, there you were, shining so bright
Becs Gentry: with the biggest smile. I'm not going to take away
Becs Gentry: from the fact that I know it was ... You had
Becs Gentry: some tough moments. Every single runner has tough moments when
Becs Gentry: they go through race day. It's not just you. But
Becs Gentry: let's think about the positives and the amazingness. Is there a
Becs Gentry: moment from that day that you still think back to
Becs Gentry: that gives you the chills of like, " Oh my gosh. Wow."
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: There's a couple of them for me. Yeah. I'd probably
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: say one of the biggest ones for me, and I'd
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: say maybe for Tunde as well, we're on the FDR and
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: we see a runner who's not looking the best. Tunde
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: spots her first, and she grabbed my attention, and I
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: noticed her as well. We're just watching to see how
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: she's doing, see if she kind of picks things up.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Tunde is fine, I'm fighting for my life, but seeing
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: her kind of took my mind off of the pain
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: that I was experiencing, right?
Becs Gentry: Distraction. Right. Mm- hmm.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Her wellbeing, her safety became a priority for the both
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: of us. So we continued to watch her, and she
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: just continued to go downhill, and at one point, she
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: had gone off to the side and it wasn't good.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: It looked like she was going to topple over. We
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: ran over and we grabbed her and we got her
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: to safety. We got her to the medics. I think
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: the beautiful thing about that that I love so much
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: is, it is a reflection of what the running community looks like.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: It's selfless. You want to see everybody win. You want
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: to see everybody well. And to be able to take
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: not necessarily the pressure off of ourselves and our race,
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: but to take our thoughts out of doing our own
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: thing, to lend a hand, to help somebody else in
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: need more than wanting to finish this race at a
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: certain time or in whatever capacity, was just a beautiful
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: moment. That's one I will never forget. She did end
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: up reaching out to us after the race and said
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: that she got the help that she needed, and she
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: was actually able to get back on the course and
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: finish the race.
Becs Gentry: Yay. Perfect.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: So that was absolutely beautiful.
Becs Gentry: Yes.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Another, which actually happened a lot. One of the things
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: that Tunde kept repeating to me while on this course was, "
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Pick your head up. I want you to see the
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: beauty around you." Every time she said that, it took
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: my mind off of the pain and on the moment
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: that I was actually doing something that I never imagined for
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: myself. I never saw myself running 13. 1 miles. Even
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: up to the beginning of starting the race, I was like, "
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I'm really about to do this? This doesn't feel real."
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: So every time she told me to " pick my head
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: up, I want you to see the beauty around you,"
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: it gave a new perspective. It gave a new light
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: about running this race, and I got to see so
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: many people on their own journeys running their own race
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: at their own pace. It was absolutely beautiful. Running with
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Team for Kids, so that the kids could see somebody
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: like myself and so many other people that are out
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: there running the race, disabled and all, in pain and
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: all, was absolutely beautiful. And had she not taken me
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: out of my pain by telling me to simply pick
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: my head up and see all the beauty around me,
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I would've missed it. Those are probably the two most pivotal
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: moments for me in that race. Oh, wait, one more.
Becs Gentry: (inaudible) . Of course, please.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Finish the race. Finishing.
Becs Gentry: Well, yes.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Finishing the race. Crossing that finish line. Crossing that finish
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: line was ... yeah. I came home from that and I've
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: literally been living like this ever since. You really can't
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: tell me anything now.
Becs Gentry: Yeah, you can't. I'm fine.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: If I want to do it, I'm going to do it.
Becs Gentry: Yes, you are. You are. I'm sure every step of that 13.1,
Becs Gentry: that young, tiny nine- year- old girl in you who
Becs Gentry: struggled for five years, feeling alone, suddenly had this joyous
Becs Gentry: moment of love, of understanding, of probably a ton of
Becs Gentry: frustration and anger, but release. And you used the word
Becs Gentry: reclamation, reclamation, however you want to pronounce it, English versus American.
Becs Gentry: But it's true. And it takes ... I'm sure. Two paralyses,
Becs Gentry: years of fighting for your life, not just in the
Becs Gentry: hospital, literally before; living your life day to day, fighting
Becs Gentry: for yourself. It takes someone, in your instance, Tunde, to
Becs Gentry: take you out of a tough moment, to distract you,
Becs Gentry: to let all of those things for a moment just
Becs Gentry: be reclaimed by beauty and love and allow you to
Becs Gentry: see through, and a door that is just there for
Becs Gentry: you of goals and strength and inspiration because you share
Becs Gentry: it. I see another book coming for you because, I
Becs Gentry: mean, oh my gosh. How many kids out there who ...
Becs Gentry: Yeah, she's looking at me like, " Yes, Becs. You know." I mean, you
Becs Gentry: know I have a two and a half year old,
Becs Gentry: and it shocks me every single day the things that
Becs Gentry: she picks up in my words, of course, but my
Becs Gentry: mannerisms. And to have somebody like you inspire a kid
Becs Gentry: who was you? You know? That child needs you. That
Becs Gentry: child needs to see this beautiful smile that you have,
Becs Gentry: this strength upon strength upon strength that you have held
Becs Gentry: on to. So thank you for inspiring. Not just inspiring
Becs Gentry: kids like you, but you will inspire Tallulah to be
Becs Gentry: a stronger and more beautiful human in what you do.
Becs Gentry: So take those challenges, everybody. Take them, because life is
Becs Gentry: precious, but boy, can we? Can we? Because as you
Becs Gentry: said to those boys, " Who can't? Who can't? Uh- uh."
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I'm going to show you.
Becs Gentry: "Not me. I can. Thank you." And here you are today,
Becs Gentry: still, taking the hoops and shooting your shot, my girl.
Becs Gentry: You're utterly astounding. You're awe- inspiring. All of the brain
Becs Gentry: people, doctors out there, tell you to find awe in
Becs Gentry: life every day. So today, my friends, if you are
Becs Gentry: struggling to find awe, go on Shaunta- Mae's page, see
Becs Gentry: her face, and there's your awe, inspiration for today. Thank
Becs Gentry: you so much for sharing your story. Thank you for
Becs Gentry: sharing it with us, with the world. I can't wait to
Becs Gentry: see what ... You're giving me the winks and the nods
Becs Gentry: of what's coming for you. I can't wait to see
Becs Gentry: you and squeeze you in the studio when you're next
Becs Gentry: here. But thank you for being you, and just everything
Becs Gentry: you do.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Thank you. Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't thank
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: you also because you've played a pivotal role in my
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: journey as well. When I started taking your classes on
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: the tread, when I first started, I was so intimidated.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I was so intimidated because I was like, " Do y'all
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: know who Becs is? Do y'all know? Do y'all know who this woman is? She's a beast. She's a beast on the track. I don't know if I can do this." But getting
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: into your classes, honestly, I think you're one of the
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: most challenging tread instructors there is. Because, one, again, you
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: know who Becs is. But because you challenge us to
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: push ourselves past our limits, but you inspire us in
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: the process, which I think is beautiful because oftentimes, especially
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: when it comes to me, being on the tread is
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: hard. Running is hard for me daily. It is a
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: constant battle in my head of, if I can actually
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: do this still. I've run a half- marathon. But when
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: I get in your classes and I choose these hard
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: classes, knowing that you're there and that you're inspiring, and you're doing
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: it with such love and compassion and empathy for the
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: people that you are instructing and teaching, not just on
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: the tread, but off the tread as well, is something
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: that I'll hold dear to. I absolutely adore you. I
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: do. You're so special to me. I did not forget
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: the message that you sent to Tunde, while I was
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: on the course, for me, as I was fighting the
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: last, I think it was like the last 5K. I think it was the last
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: three miles. And that helped me run a little bit
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: faster. It actually brought me to tears. So I want to say
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: thank you for all that you do. Thank you for
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: inspiring so many of us. Thank you for your love
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: and your heart, not just for the sport, but for the
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: people. I'm glad I get to experience you in this
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: way, and I definitely can't wait to get back to
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: New York to hug your face again. And hopefully be
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: in your classes, because I need that. I need to have no chill in your class.
Becs Gentry: You better. You better. You better. We're getting you in. Amazing.
Becs Gentry: All right, lots of love, and I will see you soon.
Shaunta-Mae Alexander: Thank you so much.
Rob: New York Roadrunners is a nonprofit organization with a vision
Rob: to build healthier lives and stronger communities through the transformative
Rob: power of running. The support of members and donors like
Rob: you helps us achieve our mission to transform the health
Rob: and well- being of our communities through inclusive and accessible
Rob: running experiences, empowering all to achieve their potential. Learn more
Rob: and contribute at nyrr. org/ donate. Dr. Jane Yoo is
Rob: a dual board- certified dermatologist, a surgeon and an assistant
Rob: professor at Mount Sinai, and she wants every runner, especially
Rob: runners of color, to take sun protection seriously. A decades-
Rob: long New York Roadrunners member, Jane just completed her Abbott
Rob: Six Star Journey at the 2024 Berlin Marathon, and she's
Rob: in training now for Sydney. In addition to her work
Rob: as a researcher and a public policy advocate, Jane is
Rob: a spokesperson for the Skin Cancer Foundation helping shape national
Rob: sun protection standards. She joins us today to share her
Rob: practical advice for fall marathon training, especially when it comes
Rob: to sunscreen and skin health. Dr. Yoo, it is great
Rob: to see you. You and I have had a chance to chat a couple
Rob: of times in the past about your passion on this
Rob: topic, so thank you so much for joining us.
Dr. Jane Yoo: Thank you.
Rob: Okay. I have a lot of questions about this. Let's
Rob: just start with the basics. When a runner is out
Rob: there training through the spring and the summer months, getting
Rob: ready for whatever their race is, a half- marathon, a
Rob: marathon, maybe they're in races over the summer, how much
Rob: is sun protection a factor they should be thinking about?
Rob: How much time in the sun does it require to
Rob: really potentially do damage to your skin?
Dr. Jane Yoo: Well, that's a great question because I think when we
Dr. Jane Yoo: think about running marathons, we're thinking about the long game.
Dr. Jane Yoo: Our training typically starts in the summer, goes through November,
Dr. Jane Yoo: and so we see all different seasons. We should be
Dr. Jane Yoo: thinking about sunscreen actually every single day of the year
Dr. Jane Yoo: because we have sun exposure that comes from two different
Dr. Jane Yoo: types of rays; the UVA rays, which cause premature skin
Dr. Jane Yoo: aging, as well as the UVB rays or burning. But we
Dr. Jane Yoo: still also have visible light that affects us, so every
Dr. Jane Yoo: day, we should be thinking about sun protection.
Rob: Jane, if I can call you Jane, you and I know
Rob: each other, I should call you Dr. Yoo. Dr. Yoo,
Rob: we run in the morning a lot of the time.
Rob: Oftentimes our races are at 8: 00 a. m. sometimes 7:
Rob: 00 a. m. How big a factor is that? I'm
Rob: not often going out for a run at noon or 2:00 in
Rob: the afternoon. I'm usually early in the morning, sometimes late
Rob: in the evening. Does that matter a lot? If you're
Rob: running before 9: 00 a.m., do you have to worry about this
Rob: less or is the sun really dangerous any time of day?
Dr. Jane Yoo: I think you really have to worry about the sun during the
Dr. Jane Yoo: prime times, during noon and when it's really, really hot
Dr. Jane Yoo: out, but I would recommend folks to run either early
Dr. Jane Yoo: in the morning or in the evening, so they get
Dr. Jane Yoo: less of that exposure and less of the burning. I
Dr. Jane Yoo: have to say that most people think that skin cancer
Dr. Jane Yoo: is caused by just the sun, but there's genetic and
Dr. Jane Yoo: there's environmental factors that play a role. The most important
Dr. Jane Yoo: thing that we can do is protect ourselves and make
Dr. Jane Yoo: sure that we have hats as well as sunglasses and
Dr. Jane Yoo: UV clothing.
Rob: So it's not just about sunscreen. It's obviously about the
Rob: things, the physical things that block the sun. I'm a
Rob: huge fan of running with a hat on, baseball cap
Rob: sort of thing when the sun's out, and sunglasses to
Rob: protect the eyes as well, right?
Dr. Jane Yoo: Exactly. The more you can protect yourself on sun exposed
Dr. Jane Yoo: areas, the better. If you want to get into sun protection,
Dr. Jane Yoo: well, first of all, this is May, Skin Cancer Awareness
Dr. Jane Yoo: Month. Let me start off with that. Skin cancer is the
Dr. Jane Yoo: most common form of cancer in the US, and one
Dr. Jane Yoo: in five people will be diagnosed by age 70. So
Dr. Jane Yoo: everyone needs sunscreen and everyone is at risk regardless of
Dr. Jane Yoo: their skin color. What the American Academy of Dermatology recommends
Dr. Jane Yoo: is that everyone wear sunscreen that's broad spectrum, protecting you
Dr. Jane Yoo: against the UVA as well as UVB rays, SPF30 or higher, as
Dr. Jane Yoo: well as something that's water resistant. Most people ask, " Well,
Dr. Jane Yoo: what is SPF?" That's the number that just tells you
Dr. Jane Yoo: how long the sun's UVB rays would take to redden
Dr. Jane Yoo: the skin when you're using a particular sunscreen compared to
Dr. Jane Yoo: the amount of time without the sunscreen. Basically, using a
Dr. Jane Yoo: sunscreen with SPF30 blocks 97% of the sun's UVB rays.
Dr. Jane Yoo: The higher number SPFs block slightly more of the sun's
Dr. Jane Yoo: UVB rays, but no sunscreen can block a hundred percent
Dr. Jane Yoo: of the sun's UVB rays. Again, it's really, really important
Dr. Jane Yoo: to reapply, and what I recommend is reapplying every two hours.
Rob: What about sunblocks, Dr. Yoo? Those are different because they're,
Rob: as I understand, you tell me, are they physical blocks?
Rob: Zinc and things like that, that actually you can still
Rob: see on someone's face, they don't rub in the same way?
Dr. Jane Yoo: There's two different types of sun protectors. There's the chemical
Dr. Jane Yoo: as well as physical sunscreens. The primary difference between the
Dr. Jane Yoo: sunscreens is the active ingredients that they contain. If the
Dr. Jane Yoo: active ingredient in your sunscreen is titanium dioxide or zinc
Dr. Jane Yoo: oxide or both, you have a physical sunscreen. That basically
Dr. Jane Yoo: consists of a layer that's on your skin. Dermatologists often
Dr. Jane Yoo: will recommend this for people with sensitive skin or people
Dr. Jane Yoo: with acne. If the sunscreen doesn't contain the titanium dioxide
Dr. Jane Yoo: or zinc oxide, you have a chemical sunscreen. Some sunscreens
Dr. Jane Yoo: can even be hybrid of them, so they contain something
Dr. Jane Yoo: that is a chemical as well as a physical sunscreen, and so
Dr. Jane Yoo: they will be labeled that way.
Rob: Unless someone has a sensitivity, do you recommend the physical
Rob: over the chemical?
Dr. Jane Yoo: Well, if they have a sensitivity, they're more likely to
Dr. Jane Yoo: be utilizing a physical sunscreen because they'll be less reactive
Dr. Jane Yoo: to the chemicals.
Rob: Got it. But is one more effective than the other, Dr.
Rob: Yoo, or they're both as effective?
Dr. Jane Yoo: Well, the physical sunscreens will protect against UVA as well as
Dr. Jane Yoo: UVB, so you're guaranteed by that. I would go with
Dr. Jane Yoo: a physical sunscreen if you're always on the fence.
Rob: Got it. Got it. Now, what about the factor, obviously,
Rob: that a runner's dealing with, Dr. Yoo, of the sweating?
Rob: You're out there, you're running with the sunscreen on, and
Rob: a lot of the time you'll sweat. I've had experiences
Rob: where I can feel the sweat dripping into my eyes
Rob: after putting on a sunscreen and it stings a little
Rob: bit. Are there either certain types of sunscreens or certain
Rob: ways to apply them or times to apply them that
Rob: might make it easier for a runner to run and
Rob: sweat and still tolerate having sunscreen on?
Dr. Jane Yoo: Definitely. I think the best sunscreen is the one that you're
Dr. Jane Yoo: going to use every day. That being said, try out
Dr. Jane Yoo: a lot of different sunscreens, and I've tried many, and
Dr. Jane Yoo: so I know which ones are going to sting and
Dr. Jane Yoo: burn in my eyes. I typically like to go for
Dr. Jane Yoo: a stick because the stick is easy to carry. It's
Dr. Jane Yoo: portable. Creams are best for people who have dry skin
Dr. Jane Yoo: and applying around the face. Gels are good for people
Dr. Jane Yoo: who have oily complexion and hairy areas such as the
Dr. Jane Yoo: scalp, or the males and the chest. Spray, this is
Dr. Jane Yoo: the thing that I have to say about sprays. You
Dr. Jane Yoo: really have to rub it in. If you just let
Dr. Jane Yoo: it aerosolize, it's just going to go in the air.
Dr. Jane Yoo: It's not going to protect you. I always tend to just
Dr. Jane Yoo: keep the stick on hand and reapply every hour just
Dr. Jane Yoo: to make it easier. Basically when I take a gel,
Dr. Jane Yoo: I'll also do the sunscreen stick.
Rob: Got it. Now I'm really interested in what you say
Rob: about people of color because, okay, I, as an African-
Rob: American, I will be perfectly honest in this conversation. I
Rob: have always believed that while it's good to wear sunscreen,
Rob: especially if I know I'm going to be in the
Rob: sun for long periods of time, that I don't need
Rob: it as much because I have melanin in my skin
Rob: that is kind of serving as a natural sunscreen and
Rob: that I'm less susceptible to skin cancer. Tell me why
Rob: this is wrong, why I've been laboring under this false
Rob: belief all these years.
Dr. Jane Yoo: All skin tones have melanin, not only dark skin. There
Dr. Jane Yoo: is a misconception that darker skin tones provide natural sun
Dr. Jane Yoo: protection, but that's not actually true. The darkest skin tone
Dr. Jane Yoo: only provides up to an equivalent of SPF13. Since skin
Dr. Jane Yoo: cancer happens to everyone, right? Typically, skin cancer in skin
Dr. Jane Yoo: of color happens where the sun don't shine and areas
Dr. Jane Yoo: where you get very little sun exposure. So skin cancer,
Dr. Jane Yoo: like melanoma in African- Americans as well as Asians, happens
Dr. Jane Yoo: on the hands and feet; basically on the palms of
Dr. Jane Yoo: the hands, the soles of the feet, under the nail
Dr. Jane Yoo: areas. Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common in Black people,
Dr. Jane Yoo: and 1 to 2% of all cancers happen in African- Americans,
Dr. Jane Yoo: 2 to 4% in Asians, and 4 to 5% of skin cancers in
Dr. Jane Yoo: Hispanic people. So it could happen, and I've seen it
Dr. Jane Yoo: in my office.
Rob: That's really interesting. So really, your advice applies to everyone
Rob: no matter who they are.
Dr. Jane Yoo: And you can get a sunburn. Just don't think that
Dr. Jane Yoo: because you're darker skinned, you can't get a sunburn. People
Dr. Jane Yoo: of color may not show the visible redness that other
Dr. Jane Yoo: people do, like our Caucasian counterparts, but in fact, our
Dr. Jane Yoo: skin can also burn in the sun, and the skin
Dr. Jane Yoo: can darken and feel warm to the touch and crack
Dr. Jane Yoo: and eventually blister.
Rob: That is true. I have had that experience. When I
Rob: was younger especially, getting way too much sun in hot
Rob: places like the Caribbean and feeling the burn, both in
Rob: terms of the way I felt and then how hot
Rob: it was to the touch. So that's true. Really interesting.
Rob: Another thing that's interesting to me, as a person of
Rob: color in particular, is this balance between protecting my skin
Rob: and protecting from skin cancer, but also getting enough vitamin
Rob: D, Dr. Yoo, because it's very common for people of
Rob: color to have vitamin D deficiencies because they don't process
Rob: the sun the same way that someone who's lighter skinned does.
Rob: I've actually had that myself and have to take vitamin
Rob: D supplements because of that.
Dr. Jane Yoo: Yeah, I think that's also a fallacy. I think we all get
Dr. Jane Yoo: enough of vitamin D from our natural exposure, just like walking
Dr. Jane Yoo: outdoors. I don't think that you can say like, " Oh,
Dr. Jane Yoo: I need more sun exposure for vitamin D purposes," is
Dr. Jane Yoo: necessarily the truth. In all reality, most of us are
Dr. Jane Yoo: not construction workers. We get enough sun exposure just ambiently. So
Dr. Jane Yoo: I would say that's definitely false.
Rob: All right. So the advice is simple, Dr. Yoo. Wear sunscreen. Is
Rob: it for any run? Is it just for longer runs?
Rob: It sounds like you are in the camp of, if
Rob: you're going outside and you're going to see the sun,
Rob: have something on.
Dr. Jane Yoo: Exactly. So every day, no matter what, rain or shine,
Dr. Jane Yoo: you still have ambient UV exposure out there. And do
Dr. Jane Yoo: it, if not for skin cancer, for anti- aging. You
Dr. Jane Yoo: don't want those wrinkles and you don't want to look
Dr. Jane Yoo: like an old person out there. You want to look nice and young.
Rob: I think we can all agree with that. Absolutely. Speaking of looking young,
Rob: feeling young, you must be feeling young and great after
Rob: completing your Six Star Journey. Congratulations on getting the Six
Rob: Stars in Berlin. That's huge. Tell us about your running
Rob: journey. When did you first start to run?
Dr. Jane Yoo: Oh gosh, this is probably more than 20 years ago.
Dr. Jane Yoo: I started running because my sorority sister passed away from
Dr. Jane Yoo: brain cancer, and so I ran for Dana- Farber. I
Dr. Jane Yoo: ran the Boston Marathon and I was scared because I had
Dr. Jane Yoo: never run more than three miles in my entire life. But
Dr. Jane Yoo: through Dana- Farber's excellent training program with Jack Fultz, I
Dr. Jane Yoo: was able to complete that marathon. I said, " Wow, this
Dr. Jane Yoo: is incredible." It was such a great feeling, the training,
Dr. Jane Yoo: and just having so many people around me do it
Dr. Jane Yoo: at the time. I think it just stirred this feeling that, "
Dr. Jane Yoo: Okay, I can do it again. And I can do it
Dr. Jane Yoo: again." And it just became that long journey.
Rob: How many years did it take you to get through
Rob: all six?
Dr. Jane Yoo: Oh gosh, it took quite a while. I'll have to
Dr. Jane Yoo: say Berlin took a couple of tries because I had
Dr. Jane Yoo: some injuries. First time, I had a stress fracture because
Dr. Jane Yoo: I ramped up my training too quickly. Another time, I
Dr. Jane Yoo: tore my medial meniscus, and so I had an injury
Dr. Jane Yoo: there. So I'm really, really concerned about just staying healthy
Dr. Jane Yoo: and just making sure that I train properly and get to
Dr. Jane Yoo: the start line without any significant injuries.
Rob: As a dermatologist, as someone who's an expert in skin,
Rob: I'm just curious what your regimen is, Dr. Yoo. Take
Rob: us through before a run, during a run, and then maybe
Rob: after the run. Are there things you're doing as well
Rob: after the run? What are all the things and the steps
Rob: you take to keep your skin healthy?
Dr. Jane Yoo: Just like you, Rob, I'm a normal person. I'm not
Dr. Jane Yoo: fast. I would say I'm more of a back of
Dr. Jane Yoo: the pack runner, so I need more sunscreen.
Rob: Because you're out there longer, yeah. The longer you're out there.
Dr. Jane Yoo: (inaudible) . Longer. I'm the person that they're waiting until the cows come home.
Rob: And the later waves actually, which tend to be when
Rob: the sun is higher in the sky. It really is
Rob: actually a really good point that the slower runners are
Rob: out there longer and usually when it's hotter and more
Rob: intense sun.
Dr. Jane Yoo: Exactly. And I'm not in my twenties anymore, like when
Dr. Jane Yoo: I started running. As we get older, our pace also
Dr. Jane Yoo: gets slower too. But in any case, it's just enjoying
Dr. Jane Yoo: the process and doing everything that other people do; making
Dr. Jane Yoo: sure you get plenty of rest, drinking plenty of fluids,
Dr. Jane Yoo: don't do anything differently on race day, knowing what they
Dr. Jane Yoo: have at the different fueling stations. I knew that they
Dr. Jane Yoo: had Pocari Sweat in Japan, and I had loved that
Dr. Jane Yoo: drink as a young child, so I was very familiar with it,
Dr. Jane Yoo: but I was not going to take anything that didn't
Dr. Jane Yoo: look like a banana or an orange in Tokyo. Okay?
Dr. Jane Yoo: I know that they had some radishes and other things
Dr. Jane Yoo: out there, but I was not about to try anything new.
Rob: I was the exact same way, Dr. Yoo. I saw baked goods and all kinds
Rob: of things that I had no idea what was in these
Rob: things. I was like, " Not today. I'm curious what this
Rob: tastes like, but not today."
Dr. Jane Yoo: Yeah, don't do anything different. I'm a little bit of an oddball
Dr. Jane Yoo: too. As my running coaches know, I run on the
Dr. Jane Yoo: treadmill just so I get less sun exposure, and I like
Dr. Jane Yoo: to have very much controlled environments. And I'm a huge
Dr. Jane Yoo: fan of Becs Gentry. She is someone I listen to
Dr. Jane Yoo: when I train, and I'll do some of the 30- minute, one-
Dr. Jane Yoo: hour runs and different types of workouts listening to her.
Dr. Jane Yoo: And forward is a pace, I have to say. She
Dr. Jane Yoo: says that too, right?
Rob: That's right.
Dr. Jane Yoo: You just keep moving one foot across another and just
Dr. Jane Yoo: doing it.
Rob: All right. The message from Dr. Jane Yoo, wear sunscreen, reapply
Rob: too. I know that's important. You got to bring it out there
Rob: with you and reapply. How do you reapply in the
Rob: middle of a race, by the way? Do you actually
Rob: stop and go over to the side and reapply? Do
Rob: you just try to do it while you're running?
Dr. Jane Yoo: You have to do it a little surreptitiously, right?
Rob: Yeah.
Dr. Jane Yoo: You're going to attract attention. No. I actually will do
Dr. Jane Yoo: it again, like when I'm taking in the gels. I'll
Dr. Jane Yoo: do it at the same time. It's kind of like
Dr. Jane Yoo: a no- brainer to me. When you look at your
Dr. Jane Yoo: Garmin and the time is up, so you'll just reapply
Dr. Jane Yoo: during that time. Some people can do it when they
Dr. Jane Yoo: take a break getting water. So it just depends. I'll
Dr. Jane Yoo: say in all reality, it's not the easiest, and sometimes
Dr. Jane Yoo: I do forget to reapply. Or you're really thinking, " Okay,
Dr. Jane Yoo: is this a day for the PR? Is the sunscreen
Dr. Jane Yoo: going to ..."
Rob: Yeah, to have the sunscreen keep you from getting that
Rob: PR, I imagine that would be a little frustrating, but
Rob: not as bad as having skin cancer, I guess, right?
Rob: That's the message.
Dr. Jane Yoo: Exactly.
Rob: All right. Dr. Jane Yoo, I appreciate your joining us.
Rob: I know this is obviously your job, so you know
Rob: it better than anyone, and it's great advice for all
Rob: of our runners to hear. Congratulations on your Six Stars.
Rob: It's amazing. Sydney as well is coming up. So you're going to run Sydney this fall?
Dr. Jane Yoo: It's coming up, yes. I'm just starting off my training,
Dr. Jane Yoo: doing a lot of squats and all the foam rolling,
Dr. Jane Yoo: all the stretching and things that I'm supposed to do,
Dr. Jane Yoo: because otherwise, Amy Sitar would get really mad at me.
Dr. Jane Yoo: She's the head coach for the New York Flyers. So
Dr. Jane Yoo: I'm just appreciative of all of you guys. The New
Dr. Jane Yoo: York Roadrunners, you've been so supportive along the way during
Dr. Jane Yoo: this 20- plus- year- old journey. Because it's been that
Dr. Jane Yoo: long, and you learn along the way what to do and
Dr. Jane Yoo: what not to do. And listen to your body, most
Dr. Jane Yoo: of all.
Rob: Absolutely.
Dr. Jane Yoo: (inaudible) develop good skin habits, year long.
Rob: Well, thank you so much, Dr. Yoo. It's great to
Rob: see you. This is actually a great reminder for me
Rob: now going into the summer, to get a little more
Rob: serious about my skin regime and my protection. I've definitely
Rob: been just riding the dark skin thing, so I'm going
Rob: to stop doing that and start using more sunscreen. Dr.
Rob: Yoo, thank you very much. Thanks for being a member
Rob: of New York Roadrunners. Appreciate you.
Dr. Jane Yoo: Thank you.
Becs Gentry: Thank you for joining us, Jane, and for being a member
Becs Gentry: of New York Roadrunners. Now to the final part of
Becs Gentry: our show, our Meb Minute.
Meb: Marathon Blues. We all go through it. After a marathon
Meb: or half- marathon, it is normal to feel a sense
Meb: of emptiness. Set new goals and stay motivated. Prioritize recovering
Meb: with rest, cross- training and light running to avoid post-
Meb: race burnouts. Reflect on your accomplishment and find ways to
Meb: give back, such as mentoring new runners. Plan your next
Meb: race or fitness challenge to maintain momentum. For me, after
Meb: a race, I sometimes immediately to sign up, and other
Meb: times you are questioning, " Why did I do this?" But
Meb: give it time. Give time to recover. Three weeks later,
Meb: you're going to miss running. And then a month or so
Meb: within the race, you're going to be like, " Oh, I
Meb: miss running. I need to sign up for a race."
Meb: Just make sure you are in the right mental phase to be able
Meb: to just say, " Hey, I'm ready for another challenging goal,"
Meb: and work toward that goal.
Becs Gentry: That does it for another episode of Set the Pace.
Becs Gentry: Thank you so much to today's guests, Shaunta- Mae Alexander
Becs Gentry: and Dr. Jane Yoo. If you like this episode, please
Becs Gentry: go ahead and subscribe, rate, or leave a comment for
Becs Gentry: the show on whatever platform you're listening on. This not
Becs Gentry: only helps us, but it helps others find out about
Becs Gentry: the show too. Take care.