Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Because I know what this running thing did for me,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: it gave me cardio confidence. And that cardio confidence, is
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: that instills this belief in you, that because I can
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: get to the bottom of the road, because I can
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: accomplish anything that I set my mind to in the
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: running space, I can probably do anything outside of the
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: running space that I set my mind to.
Speaker 3: Thank you, New York. Today we're reminded of the power
Speaker 3: of community and the power of coming together. Athletes,
Speaker 3: on your mark.
Speaker 1: The first woman to finish for the second straight year here
Speaker 1: in the New York City Marathon is Miki Gorman, a
Speaker 1: smiling Miki Gorman, and why not? 2: 29: 30, the time for Grete Waitz.
Speaker 2: Look at the emotion of Shalane Flanagan as she comes
Speaker 2: to the line. Pointing to his chest, pointed to the
Speaker 2: USA he so proudly wears across his chest. A great
Speaker 2: day for Matt (inaudible) .
Rob Simmelkjaer: Hey everybody, and welcome to a special long edition
Rob Simmelkjaer: of Set the Pace, the official podcast of New York
Rob Simmelkjaer: Road Runners, presented by Peloton. I'm your host, Rob Simmelkjaer,
Rob Simmelkjaer: the CEO of New York Road Runners. And with me,
Rob Simmelkjaer: my co- host and birthday girl this week, Peloton instructor,
Rob Simmelkjaer: Becs Gentry. Becs, happy birthday, belated. How are you?
Becs Gentry: Thank you. I'm good. Year older, feeling a lot
Becs Gentry: wiser, and all of that joy. I had a wonderful
Becs Gentry: week, celebrate... Well, not week, I'm not the queen, but
Becs Gentry: a wonderful couple of days of celebration. Rodan, it was
Becs Gentry: my father- in- law's 70th birthday as well, so we
Becs Gentry: had a big family party this weekend for him. So,
Becs Gentry: it's been a lot of joy and good memories being made.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I love it. You're not getting any older, I don't care what
Rob Simmelkjaer: the calendar says. You keep doing what you do and
Rob Simmelkjaer: you're clearly aging in reverse. So, happy reverse birthday. Absolutely, yes.
Becs Gentry: Thank you, I appreciate it.
Rob Simmelkjaer: You're welcome, you're welcome. And Becs, we're going long today
Rob Simmelkjaer: with today's episode of Set the Pace. This is something
Rob Simmelkjaer: that was actually in response to a lot of requests
Rob Simmelkjaer: we've gotten from listeners who want a long episode to
Rob Simmelkjaer: go with the long run. And so, we know a
Rob Simmelkjaer: lot of folks right now are out there getting ready
Rob Simmelkjaer: for the Boston Marathon, the London Marathon, the spring
Rob Simmelkjaer: races that are coming up. And so this is really
Rob Simmelkjaer: for them and anybody who's training for a long, long
Rob Simmelkjaer: race, or if you're just in the car for a
Rob Simmelkjaer: long time or have a couple hours worth of errands
Rob Simmelkjaer: to run and you want some good running talk to
Rob Simmelkjaer: go along with you, we're going to go for about
Rob Simmelkjaer: two hours today. We got more than one great guest
Rob Simmelkjaer: and we're so excited. So, we'll get to all that in
Rob Simmelkjaer: just a second but this will be fun, I think,
Rob Simmelkjaer: for us to have some longer conversations and give folks
Rob Simmelkjaer: a chance to settle in for a while.
Becs Gentry: Absolutely, and we are so honored if you are taking
Becs Gentry: us out for that long run, we're honored that we
Becs Gentry: are here with you and we hope that you have some
Becs Gentry: fun with us over these miles and maybe some of
Becs Gentry: these conversations might shake out some nerves. There's definitely a
Becs Gentry: lot of tips and tricks and moments in these conversations,
Becs Gentry: all of the conversations, all of the guests that we
Becs Gentry: have on this long episode. So yeah, thanks for being
Becs Gentry: here with us, but we have a lot to
Becs Gentry: celebrate too, actually, Rob. We have a lot of fun
Becs Gentry: coming. I feel like once April kicks off, it is
Becs Gentry: truly spring and there's truly all of the magic starts
Becs Gentry: happening, and that kicks off for us next week.
Rob Simmelkjaer: April is so much fun at New York Road Runners
Rob Simmelkjaer: and in New York. We'll talk about the running for
Rob Simmelkjaer: a second, and then we'll talk about the podcast. Some
Rob Simmelkjaer: of my favorite races of our year are in
Rob Simmelkjaer: the month of April, because we do a lot of
Rob Simmelkjaer: these kind of four- mile runs and I love the four-
Rob Simmelkjaer: mile distance. So, this coming Sunday we've got the Run
Rob Simmelkjaer: as One four- miler in Central Park, which is always
Rob Simmelkjaer: one of my favorites. And I'm not quite sure why
Rob Simmelkjaer: Becs, but actually two years in a row, for me
Rob Simmelkjaer: personally, this race has been my best pace race for
Rob Simmelkjaer: New York Road Runners. Back- to- back years, it's been
Rob Simmelkjaer: my best pace. I don't know if I'll be able
Rob Simmelkjaer: to keep that streak going, but I've had two
Rob Simmelkjaer: straight years of really great days. I just love the course,
Rob Simmelkjaer: it's got a nice kind of downhill finish and you
Rob Simmelkjaer: love to run fast at the end. So that's coming
Rob Simmelkjaer: up. And then a week after that, we've got the
Rob Simmelkjaer: Retro Run, which has actually moved up from where it
Rob Simmelkjaer: usually sits in the middle of the summer, because we
Rob Simmelkjaer: switched our calendar a bit this year. So the Retro
Rob Simmelkjaer: Run where people are always invited to come and wear
Rob Simmelkjaer: kind of the old school clothes from the '70s and the '80s, and
Rob Simmelkjaer: we bring out some of the older New York Road
Rob Simmelkjaer: Runners stuff, the signage and the logos and we
Rob Simmelkjaer: have a lot of fun with that race. So, that'll
Rob Simmelkjaer: be the weekend after that. So, a lot of great
Rob Simmelkjaer: stuff happening in the month of April. We're also going
Rob Simmelkjaer: to have our women's half marathon later in the month,
Rob Simmelkjaer: that's now sponsored by our friends at Maybelline. So, just
Rob Simmelkjaer: a lot of great things coming up with Road Runners
Rob Simmelkjaer: in the month of April. And then Becs, you were
Rob Simmelkjaer: kind of alluding to it on the podcast front. We've
Rob Simmelkjaer: got a big anniversary coming up on April 8th. We
Rob Simmelkjaer: will have the 100th episode of Set The Pace.
Becs Gentry: Wow, wow.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I can't believe it. I mean, I'm sure for you
Rob Simmelkjaer: it's amazing, for me it's insane because I still think
Rob Simmelkjaer: back to the first kind of beginnings of this podcast, and
Rob Simmelkjaer: the meetings that we had at New York Road Runners
Rob Simmelkjaer: and the people who I said, " Let's do this so
Rob Simmelkjaer: we can have a different way of talking to our
Rob Simmelkjaer: members and to our audience," and we've had so many
Rob Simmelkjaer: great people involved in the podcast over that 100 episodes.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Matt Singer, who was kind of there at the
Rob Simmelkjaer: very beginning, our head of content at New York Road
Rob Simmelkjaer: Runners. Lou Pellegrino, who came in with the company that
Rob Simmelkjaer: his boss Spencer Brown works with, works for. Spencer was
Rob Simmelkjaer: the first guy I called to say, " Hey, can you
Rob Simmelkjaer: help us put a podcast together?" Spencer brought in Lou,
Rob Simmelkjaer: who's our phenomenal editor and puts this show together every
Rob Simmelkjaer: single week. Catherine Jones joined as our producer, and
Rob Simmelkjaer: then of course it was me and Meb for the beginning and
Rob Simmelkjaer: now it's me and you, Becs, with Meb still involved.
Rob Simmelkjaer: So, it feels like so much has happened in 100
Rob Simmelkjaer: episodes and it's been such a great ride. And we're
Rob Simmelkjaer: going to celebrate that 100th episode with a live episode
Rob Simmelkjaer: at the New York Public Theater, which-
Becs Gentry: Wow.
Rob Simmelkjaer: ... Becs, if you know the history of the New York Public
Rob Simmelkjaer: Theater, it's an iconic place in New York. It's a
Rob Simmelkjaer: theater, we call it the Public, that's really a
Rob Simmelkjaer: New York institution since the 1950s, just like New York
Rob Simmelkjaer: Road Runners, and so many unbelievably successful shows have launched
Rob Simmelkjaer: there. Hair, A Chorus Line, and of course most recently,
Rob Simmelkjaer: Hamilton launched at the Public Theater. They've won 54 Tony
Rob Simmelkjaer: Awards, five Pulitzer Prizes.
Becs Gentry: What?
Rob Simmelkjaer: 55 productions have gone on to Broadway from there.
Becs Gentry: Unreal.
Rob Simmelkjaer: And Set the Pace is going to be on the stage at
Rob Simmelkjaer: the public theater. It's bananas.
Becs Gentry: We'll be the 56th production that goes to Broadway.
Becs Gentry: I'm kidding.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Let's not get crazy.
Becs Gentry: I cannot wait. I love it when we have our
Becs Gentry: live shows. It is always so inspiring to meet our
Becs Gentry: listeners, to meet the runners, and just have this one- to-
Becs Gentry: one interaction with people. So, I cannot wait to see
Becs Gentry: everybody next Tuesday at this beautiful event.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I'm going to see if we can drag Lou Pellegrino
Rob Simmelkjaer: to show up in person for that episode and get
Rob Simmelkjaer: some of the people behind the scenes.
Becs Gentry: 100% pick her, yes.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Matt and Catherine to actually stand up on stage-
Becs Gentry: On stage, yes.
Rob Simmelkjaer: ... for a second.
Becs Gentry: They should.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Just so they can get some love for helping this
Rob Simmelkjaer: show get to where it is with 100 episodes. So
Rob Simmelkjaer: we'll work on that offline.
Becs Gentry: We'll work on that, yep.
Rob Simmelkjaer: But I think if you come to the Public theater, we're going
Rob Simmelkjaer: to make sure you meet some of the people behind
Rob Simmelkjaer: the show.
Becs Gentry: You might meet them.
Rob Simmelkjaer: But it's been so great. Thank you to everybody who's been listening
Rob Simmelkjaer: all this time and we hope you'll stay with us
Rob Simmelkjaer: for many episodes to come. And then Becs, we've
Rob Simmelkjaer: got another live episode happening on April 19th. For the
Rob Simmelkjaer: second year in a row, we're going to be recording,
Rob Simmelkjaer: Set the Pace live from the Citizens House of Blues
Rob Simmelkjaer: in Boston. This is our second year of doing this.
Rob Simmelkjaer: The Saturday before the Boston Marathon. That's going to be
Rob Simmelkjaer: a special member only event, and my guest host that
Rob Simmelkjaer: day will be ABC's Sam Ryan, who of course is
Rob Simmelkjaer: an amazing broadcaster, well- known to everybody in New York.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Her phenomenal job as a sports anchor for Eyewitness
Rob Simmelkjaer: News, and she's a regular host of the studio production
Rob Simmelkjaer: for our marathon and our other big races. So, so
Rob Simmelkjaer: excited to have Sam join us. And our guest for
Rob Simmelkjaer: that episode is going to be the incredible Ed Eyestone,
Rob Simmelkjaer: a two- time Olympian.
Becs Gentry: Wow.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Sometime broadcaster, and of course famously, coach to both Conner
Rob Simmelkjaer: Mantz and Clayton Young, out there in Utah. So, cannot
Rob Simmelkjaer: wait for that episode.
Becs Gentry: Cannot wait, I am so envious. I need to
Becs Gentry: get myself back up to Boston after, I haven't been
Becs Gentry: up for a couple of years. So, I'm going to
Becs Gentry: be tuning in and cannot wait to hear this wonderful
Becs Gentry: episode and cheer Sam and all the other runners on
Becs Gentry: at the race as well.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I can't wait to, I've got so many questions for Ed Eyestone,
Rob Simmelkjaer: in terms of how he's been able to do what he's done with Conner, with Clayton,
Rob Simmelkjaer: with this incredible pack of fast, fast runners out there
Rob Simmelkjaer: in Utah. It's really become a hotbed of running
Rob Simmelkjaer: in the United States, which isn't necessarily what you'd naturally
Rob Simmelkjaer: would think would happen in Utah. You think about skiing,
Rob Simmelkjaer: and you think about winter sports primarily in Utah. They're
Rob Simmelkjaer: going to have another Winter Olympics out there after having
Rob Simmelkjaer: one already, and suddenly it's a distance running mecca. So,
Rob Simmelkjaer: can't wait to talk to Ed about what is happening
Rob Simmelkjaer: out there with running in Utah and all these great
Rob Simmelkjaer: runners. So, that's going to be great. But today, as
Rob Simmelkjaer: I said, we're going long, a two- hour episode, as
Rob Simmelkjaer: folks get ready for Boston and London. So our
Rob Simmelkjaer: guest today, first coming off of a relay run from
Rob Simmelkjaer: Los Angeles to Las Vegas, is Apple Fitness Plus trainer
Rob Simmelkjaer: and running coach, as well as author, Cory Wharton- Malcolm.
Rob Simmelkjaer: And Becs, you and Cory go back a ways as our
Rob Simmelkjaer: listeners will hear, you guys worked together at Nike, and
Rob Simmelkjaer: I'm excited to have you guys reconnect because I know
Rob Simmelkjaer: you guys have a lot of things to talk about.
Becs Gentry: Oh yeah, you are all in store for a truly
Becs Gentry: magnificent conversation with Cory. He's one of a kind.
Rob Simmelkjaer: He is an incredible person, incredibly inspiring and just sums
Rob Simmelkjaer: up so many of the things we talk about when
Rob Simmelkjaer: it comes to running and the power of running. So, it's
Rob Simmelkjaer: a great conversation and Cory will join us in just
Rob Simmelkjaer: a minute. Then Becs, we're going to go back to
Rob Simmelkjaer: the in- family portion of our broadcast and check in
Rob Simmelkjaer: with your partner, Austin, as he prepares to run the
Rob Simmelkjaer: London Marathon, which we're excited about. And we're going
Rob Simmelkjaer: to see how Austin's feeling as he gets ready for London.
Becs Gentry: Absolutely, can't wait to hear about his whole journey to
Becs Gentry: this infamous race. And there might be a little surprise in
Becs Gentry: store for Austin as well, so stay tuned to find
Becs Gentry: out what that might be.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Maybe so, maybe so. Austin's got aspirations, for sure. That six-
Rob Simmelkjaer: star journey, we all want to get that six- star.
Rob Simmelkjaer: And then we've got a great member moment as well, as
Rob Simmelkjaer: we were going to keep it in the family, and
Rob Simmelkjaer: we mean the whole family. Sister and brother TFK members,
Rob Simmelkjaer: Teresita and Luis Gonzalez are going to join us to
Rob Simmelkjaer: talk about their training for both Boston and London, and
Rob Simmelkjaer: how with every finish line they cross, more of their
Rob Simmelkjaer: family members cross it with them. They're bringing the family
Rob Simmelkjaer: along for these runs. So we'll talk to them, look
Rob Simmelkjaer: forward to that. And then in keeping with our spring
Rob Simmelkjaer: marathon theme for today, today's Meb Minute is all about
Rob Simmelkjaer: traveling for your run. So, stay tuned for that.
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Becs Gentry: push your current routine to the next level and track
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Becs Gentry: 5K or full marathon, Peloton has thousands of classes from
Becs Gentry: outdoor runs, strength for runners, to yoga and stretching to
Becs Gentry: choose from and support the runner you are. Try the
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Becs Gentry: from the App Store or Google Play. Terms apply. All
Becs Gentry: Access membership not included. Peloton, the official digital fitness partner
Becs Gentry: for New York Road Runners. Cory Wharton- Malcolm is a London-
Becs Gentry: born running coach, whose journey began with a very simple
Becs Gentry: goal, just get to the end of the street. Since
Becs Gentry: completing his first marathon back in 2007, he's gone on
Becs Gentry: to coach thousands of runners with Apple Fitness Plus, and
Becs Gentry: his own community, Track Mafia. Known for blending music,
Becs Gentry: humor and honesty, Cory brings joy and inclusivity to a
Becs Gentry: sport that can often feel very intimidating. His book came
Becs Gentry: out in 2024, All You Need is Rhythm and Grit.
Becs Gentry: And it captures his philosophy that running is for everybody
Becs Gentry: and every mind. Today, I am so excited that he
Becs Gentry: is here to talk long runs, great vibes and why
Becs Gentry: just getting to the bottom of the road is still
Becs Gentry: his go- to mindset.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Cory, it is great to have you here on
Rob Simmelkjaer: Set the Pace. Welcome.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Thank you, Rob. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm very happy to be here. A
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: little bit sleepy but overjoyed.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah, the sleep thing. So you were telling us before
Rob Simmelkjaer: we started, and by the way, I'm happy to reunite
Rob Simmelkjaer: you and Becs. I know you guys go back a long way.
Becs Gentry: Big side note.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah, your days together at Nike.
Becs Gentry: Pretty much everything we talk about today, we'll be like, "
Becs Gentry: Oh yeah, we did that, but 10 years ago. Oh yeah, Cory and I did that, 10 years
Becs Gentry: ago." Yeah, yep, yep, yes.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah, that's right. Becs and Cory were colleagues for a long time
Rob Simmelkjaer: at Nike Run Club, so we'll talk about that at
Rob Simmelkjaer: some point. But so I'm going to stay out of the way for
Rob Simmelkjaer: the most part so you guys can catch up on
Rob Simmelkjaer: this podcast.
Becs Gentry: Perfect.
Rob Simmelkjaer: But I just want to start with the sleep thing.
Rob Simmelkjaer: So Cory, you just did an incredible thing, participating in
Rob Simmelkjaer: this run from Los Angeles to Vegas.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Yes.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Is that why you haven't slept or what's going on?
Rob Simmelkjaer: Why haven't you slept at all?
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Yeah, so you are 100% correct, Rob. I did a
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: run from Santa Monica to the Welcome to Las Vegas
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: sign, with some wonderful friends, family and teammates. And you
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: start off at 4: 00 AM and you get to
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Vegas when you get to Vegas. So, we were a
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: mixed team, some incredibly fast people, some incredibly easy running
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: people, so the team was balanced. So it took us
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: 50 hours and I'm overjoyed with it because when I did
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: it last time, I think it took us 52 or 54 hours.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: But you just run, just run and run and
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: run, and then when you can't run anymore, you have
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: a nap, your teammate tags you in. So, I think
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I ran about 50K or so, really slow on a
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: bum hamstring, and I'm happy. But every night I think
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I got two hours sleep on the Thursday night, because you
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: have to meet at 4: 00 AM. Then on Friday,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I picked up a little bit of sleep, and the same
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: on Sunday. And then because we arrived in Vegas
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: at 6: 00 AM in the morning, you just go,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: check into your hotel, have an hour sleep, and then
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: go to the pool party. And then I ended up
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: just partying all the way through till, I think 4: 45.
Becs Gentry: Oh, boy.
Rob Simmelkjaer: As one does in Vegas. That's why you were running
Rob Simmelkjaer: there, isn't it? So, kind of understandable.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Of course, but yeah.
Becs Gentry: Dude, I have done this thing multiple times, as Cory
Becs Gentry: has. Cory did it back in, I think 2017 was your first
Becs Gentry: time doing it?
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Yes, yes.
Becs Gentry: Back with Run Dem, and Track Mafia. Well, this is your first time doing it with a
Becs Gentry: full Track Mafia team though this year?
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Yes, so that's why it felt even more special than
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: it has done previously, because yep, everyone is my family,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: but this is the first time I've done it with
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: my core family. So my wife and her dear friend,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Xandria, they organized the entire trip, and then they were
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: all out there as well. So to be with
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: people that you kind of started Track Mafia with and
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: to be with young people who you kind of met 10, 11,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: 12 years ago, and you gave them their first camera
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: because they said they were interested in photography and now
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: they're out in the desert shooting campaigns for different brands.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: It was just this beautiful full circle moment, and inspiring
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: for me and inspiring for other people because it's
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: like, look at where we started. I couldn't get to
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: the bottom of the road. And now we're here with our
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: family running to the bottom of a very, very, very,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: very long road.
Becs Gentry: Very, very, 340 miles, depending on which route you take. Might be 300.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Yes, exactly.
Becs Gentry: Could go into it, that's amazing. And we'll go into the who's
Becs Gentry: and the what's of Track Mafia, because I think that's
Becs Gentry: an important part of who you are and where your
Becs Gentry: personal and your running life has come from. But let's
Becs Gentry: go back almost 20 years, since your first London Marathon finish line.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Yes, which is crazy.
Becs Gentry: Holy moly. London Marathon is around the corner. This episode
Becs Gentry: will drop as a long run prior to the two
Becs Gentry: big spring marathons that are on our doorstep.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Amazing.
Becs Gentry: And it's just unreal for me. I've known Cory for
Becs Gentry: 12 plus years now, and to think you were such a runner
Becs Gentry: when I met you. I looked up to you
Becs Gentry: as like, he knows everything about running, this dude.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: No way.
Becs Gentry: And it was 2026... It is 2025, Rebecca, yes, but 2026, that'll
Becs Gentry: be your 20 years since you first ran London Marathon.
Becs Gentry: What happened at that finish line that made you go,
Becs Gentry: bam, this is it?
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Do you know what? I'd lived in London my entire
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: life and I'd seen the race on television and I'd
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: spoken to people who had done it. They weren't
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: like my friends, they were friends of friends, so I'd
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: just stumbled upon them. But the London Marathon that I went
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: to go and see for the first time, it was
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: the first time I actually really knew someone and cared
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: about someone that was running it. So when I watched
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: them training, when I watched them run, I was like,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: oh wow, this is a normal everyday person that does
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: this stuff. But when I went out on the street
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: and I saw the diversity of people that were running,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: it was like different sexes, different sizes, completely different
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: races, religions, everyone was running together. And everyone on the
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: city, everyone in the city came out to cheer them
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: on. And I was like, I want some, this is
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: crazy. I want some of this. I'm seeing people running
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: in rhino seats, to running with fridges on their backs,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: and I'm like, this is beautiful. I want to do this. And I
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: remember saying to my friends, "You know what? I might do this next
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: year," and everybody laughed, literally everyone laughed. They were like, "
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Dude, do you know how poorly you live?" They didn't
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: say it as politely as that, but they were like, "Do you know how
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: many poor habits you have? There's no way in the
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: world you can do that." And I went, " Oh, okay. I bet I can." And
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: that's literally when, even if I wasn't serious when I
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: suggested it, I was doubling down on my seriousness when
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: you doubted me, and that's when the journey began. I
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: just started looking into how one trains for a marathon
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: and began. It was the hardest, back then that
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: was the hardest thing that I had ever done. So,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I just did it.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I love stories like that. First of all. I love
Rob Simmelkjaer: it, Cory, because the same thing really happened to me.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I had not thought about running a marathon. I had
Rob Simmelkjaer: been a runner, so I had running experience, but when
Rob Simmelkjaer: I was 25 years old, I kind of stumbled upon
Rob Simmelkjaer: the finish line of the Boston Marathon on my way home
Rob Simmelkjaer: from a Red Sox baseball game. And I was
Rob Simmelkjaer: like, oh, this is cool. And I sat there and
Rob Simmelkjaer: watched and watched and I was like, I got to
Rob Simmelkjaer: do this. And right then and there I signed up
Rob Simmelkjaer: for the New York Marathon that following fall.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Oh, wow.
Rob Simmelkjaer: So it happened to me very similar. Now, I've heard
Rob Simmelkjaer: that you, when you made this pledge to run the
Rob Simmelkjaer: London Marathon, your first run, you didn't even make it
Rob Simmelkjaer: down the street.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Nope, I did not. I did not, I didn't. That's kind of where one
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: of my mantras comes from, which is, just get
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: to the bottom of the road. Because when I stepped
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: out of the house and I looked down to the bottom
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: of the road, I was like, ah, nope, this will
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: be easy. I understood it was going to be a
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: challenge, but I didn't think that I was so unhealthy,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: so unfit that I wouldn't literally be able to run
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: to the bottom of the road. Now, where I used
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: to live in (inaudible) , I mean, don't get me wrong, it's not
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: a big incline. It's like a slight incline, maybe 0.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: 25%. So it wasn't a hill, but I was like,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: how can I not do this?
Rob Simmelkjaer: You were going down, you were going down the hill?
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: No, no. I started going up ever so slightly.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Okay, got it.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: And then it would start going down, and I was
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: like, how is this hurting? How is my back hurting? How are my quads hurting? How are my calves hurting? How are
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: my legs hurting? And all I've run for is like
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: three minutes and I was like, how the hell am I going
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: to run for four hours, for five hours for six
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: hours? And that's when I realized, huh, all I have
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: to do for right now is just get to the
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: bottom of the road. And even if I can't get to the
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: bottom of the road, pick something else which is my
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: representation of the bottom of the road. So it's like,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: get to that yellow car, get to that dog, get
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: to that row of bricks. And that's what I did
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: throughout the run from LA to Vegas. It was like,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: get to the next equivalent of the bottom of the
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: road. And that might have been a sign, it might
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: have been a rock, it might have been the RV. Just do
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: what you can. And the whole point of that is
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: to reframe everything that is in your head. In
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: my head, I'm not saying I don't have negativity in my
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: head, but everything is reframed. It's like, just get there.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Not, I can't get any further, it's, I got there,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: and you just keep saying that over and over and
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: over again. And then you find out that by saying,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: just get to that next door or get to that
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: next fridge or get to the bottom of the road,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: you've now hit so many different roads and you look
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: at your watch and you'll be like, "Ah, I've run 26
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: miles just by looking at the end of the
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: road." And yeah, that's what I try and instill in
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: anyone that I work with, speak with, who has doubt
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: about anything. It's like, you can do this, you just got
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: to reframe it.
Becs Gentry: Absolutely, and that's how you've always been. For as long
Becs Gentry: as I've known you, for sure. It's, you've just got
Becs Gentry: to try, you've just got to give it a go. Don't be afraid
Becs Gentry: to give it a go and show up. And you
Becs Gentry: are somebody who, for as long as I've known
Becs Gentry: you and since we've both been in different countries and
Becs Gentry: same country but now different companies, is you are somebody
Becs Gentry: who shows up for other people as well, massively. And I think
Becs Gentry: I feel incredibly lucky to have been your colleague and
Becs Gentry: your friend back in London in our Nike days. But
Becs Gentry: everything that you do, whether it's giving back to the
Becs Gentry: community, whether it's just the things you say about your
Becs Gentry: mom and your family and all of the energy that you put
Becs Gentry: out there, is so encouraging for people to actually look
Becs Gentry: into. There's a difference between people saying it and you're
Becs Gentry: like, yeah, but do you really do that? You actually, you embody
Becs Gentry: it. And I think to hear you talk about that
Becs Gentry: first journey and just take us through how for you,
Becs Gentry: that first marathon, how that hit your mindset to change,
Becs Gentry: to become this person who's like, I've unlocked something
Becs Gentry: for me. How am I going to share this for
Becs Gentry: other people to feel too?
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: So, when I finished that first run, when I finished
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: that first marathon, that six hours, nearly seven hour journey
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: was just, it was like free therapy. And I'm not saying that
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: you shouldn't go to a therapist because you run, but
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: at that point it was free therapy for me, and
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I learned so much about myself. I learned that
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I was a lot stronger than I ever thought I
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: was. But I also learned that there were a lot
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: of things that I was dealing with or hadn't dealt
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: with, and I realized that it was running that could help
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: me with that. And it felt like I had unlocked this secret
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: little box with a bunch of tricks in it that the world
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: wasn't telling people about. And I was like, if I
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: didn't know about this, that means there's a bunch of
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: other people that don't know about this. And those people
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: would benefit from knowing this because I know what
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: this running thing did for me. It gave me cardio
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: confidence, and that cardio confidence is, that instills this belief
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: in you that because I can get to the bottom
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: of the road, because I can accomplish anything that I
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: set my mind to in the running space, I can probably
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: do anything outside of the running space that I set
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: my mind to. And I wanted to share that gift
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: with other people, but I also wanted people to be
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: aware that everything that you may know about running, everything
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: that you may have been told about running, I'm
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: not saying it's not true, but you don't have to
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: be intimidated. You don't have to be scared. You don't
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: have to think about running fast. You don't have to
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: think about running far. You don't have to think about
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: perfect form, perfect gait, perfect kit, all these things that
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: we're kind of told. Just get out there and just
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: keep winning. And when you lose, put your hands up
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: in the air and be like, we're going to try
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: and win again. And that is what I wanted people
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: to realize. Running can and will change your life if
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: you believe in it, if you believe in yourself. And if
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: you don't believe in yourself, I'm here to help you
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: believe in yourself. And that's what I always wanted to
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: do, it's like help people believe that they can achieve
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: anything because that's a beautiful space to live in. And
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: it just changes your life completely.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Wow. Can we just stop the podcast right now? Is
Rob Simmelkjaer: there anything left to say, ever, on a running podcast
Rob Simmelkjaer: than that? Cory, you kind of just summed up
Rob Simmelkjaer: everything we ever talk about at New York Road Runners
Rob Simmelkjaer: in a beautiful way. So, we got to have you
Rob Simmelkjaer: around more often, man.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Okay, thank you, Rob.
Rob Simmelkjaer: You're really good at talking about the transformative power of running, as we like to
Rob Simmelkjaer: say in New York Road Runners, it's pretty amazing. And
Rob Simmelkjaer: how has it transformed you? How are you different? This
Rob Simmelkjaer: cardio confidence you talk about, obviously you're different as a
Rob Simmelkjaer: runner, you're different physically, your fitness level obviously has
Rob Simmelkjaer: changed dramatically. Now you're running from LA to Vegas. You
Rob Simmelkjaer: couldn't run down the street.
Becs Gentry: (inaudible) got nothing.
Rob Simmelkjaer: This is bananas, right? But how has it changed you,
Rob Simmelkjaer: the person? If I talk to the person you're closest
Rob Simmelkjaer: to in your life, I don't know who that might
Rob Simmelkjaer: be, Cory, your mother or partner or brother, whoever. How
Rob Simmelkjaer: would they say it's changed you?
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I would say I stand taller in who I
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: am and I have less regard for the thoughts and
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: feelings about me that aren't positive. I think that's the
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: best way to articulate and synthesize it. And I guess
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: the long version of it is, running told me that I
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: can do anything. And because running told me that I
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: can do anything, I'm now going to do anything. It's
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: changed the way that I look. Someone said to me the
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: other day, because you obviously spend lots and lots
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: of time together in the van, we were looking through
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: pictures of what we looked like 10 years ago, 15
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: years ago, 20 years ago. And everyone sort of, not
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: laughed, but yeah, we were laughing. They were like, " Dude,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: you are 47 now. You look younger than when you did
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: when you were 27." Because I was living poorly. Running
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: has given me lots and lots of friends. I met
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: my wife there and it introduced me to a completely
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: different world. I always laugh with people and I say, "
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Dude, before I started running, I'd never been to Shoreditch."
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: and they're like, " What do you mean you've never been to
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Shoreditch?" And for those of you who don't know where Shoreditch
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: is, it's this sort of hipster- y, cool, if you
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: want to use that word, area in East London. And
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: going there, I met all of these people who were
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: runners or into running. They wouldn't even refer to themselves
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: as runners at that time. And they just did all
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: of these things that I'd never heard of. And
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I know that sounds really weird, but I used to
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: work for the government, I used to work for the
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: public sector, I worked in youth centers, community organizations, and then I go and
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: meet these people and I'm like, " Oh, what do you
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: do for a living?" And it's like, " Oh, I'm a videographer." And I was like, " A videographer?
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: As in you hold a video camera and you video stuff?"
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: And they're like, " Yeah, I do that." You'd meet someone else and they're like, "
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I'm a music producer. I paint pictures, I do all of
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: these things." So I met all of these creative people and I was
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: like, hold on. I've been slogging for years and
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I've met these people who appear with respect to not
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: really do anything, and you're paying for your house, you're
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: paying for your car, you're putting your kids through school.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I was like, how come I haven't heard of any
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: of these things? Why did no one tell me there
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: was this life on the other side that I now
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: have access to? And you meet other people and they
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: show you about another world. And this sort of relatively
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: small focus that I had just expanded tenfold. And I was
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: like, oh, I can actually-
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: ... tenfold and I was like, oh, I can actually
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: achieve even more than I thought I could have achieved.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: And then when you just start talking to yourself like
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: that over and over and over again, now I'm like, so you want to go
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: to Mars? Cool. When? Tuesday or Wednesday? And that's what changed.
Becs Gentry: Yep, that's how it goes.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Wait, but I just want to say though, I've never been
Rob Simmelkjaer: to Shoreditch. I've never even heard of Shoreditch. Becks, when
Rob Simmelkjaer: were you going to tell me about Shoreditch? Shouldn't
Rob Simmelkjaer: I go hang out in Shoreditch when I'm in London
Rob Simmelkjaer: next time?
Becs Gentry: Maybe.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Am I hip enough? No? Maybe I'm not hip enough.
Becs Gentry: Once you have a discussion-
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Oh, no, you are.
Becs Gentry: ... with Kwesi you'll be fine. Okay. In the moment we're in
Becs Gentry: of change and of meeting new people and of you coming from
Becs Gentry: that, London, the social sector in London, heading into your
Becs Gentry: social sector. So, 2012, is that right, is when TrackMafia
Becs Gentry: was founded? Around then?
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Yes, yeah. So, 2012 was when we started RDC West, and
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: then RDC West became TrackMafia probably two years after that. Maybe
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: two years after that.
Becs Gentry: So, RDC, for our listeners, rundown, crew, it was one of
Becs Gentry: the biggest and probably one of the most formative run
Becs Gentry: crews in London. Still to this day I think it's
Becs Gentry: probably one of the first names that people think of
Becs Gentry: when it comes to run crews in London.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Charlie Dark, my mentor.
Becs Gentry: Sir Charlie Dark.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Yeah, sorry. Sir Charlie Dark.
Becs Gentry: Sir Charlie Dark. Beautiful, beautiful human. And between he and
Becs Gentry: Cory, they really did change the landscape for runners in
Becs Gentry: London and created a safe space for runners, whoever they
Becs Gentry: were, wherever they were from, whether they were locals or
Becs Gentry: whether they were visiting, to come and move their bodies
Becs Gentry: and run. And it was a concept that today is
Becs Gentry: now super fashionable and super cool, but back in
Becs Gentry: the early 2010s onwards was just life for us all in London,
Becs Gentry: is what we did. You took over Paddington Rec, which
Becs Gentry: was an unusual place. It wasn't the Shoreditch rub. It
Becs Gentry: was a very different-
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: It's very different.
Becs Gentry: ... other side of London. But it worked and it
Becs Gentry: really was truly this unassuming park in London that didn't
Becs Gentry: have the hipster cool vibe that Cory was talking
Becs Gentry: about of Shoreditch, but it had a certain something.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Charm.
Becs Gentry: Charm. Perfect. And your TrackMafia, the inner crew has always
Becs Gentry: been the inner crew. It's like you really do have
Becs Gentry: the core of the apple and it stayed together.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Yes.
Becs Gentry: Even though you're now in different countries, like I saw,
Becs Gentry: I think it was on your or Jules's Instagram last week
Becs Gentry: where I was like, " What is happening? Everyone's congregating at
Becs Gentry: Cory's house." And then I just hadn't looked at
Becs Gentry: the date and was like, " Oh, Speed Project."
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Exactly.
Becs Gentry: But it's just what you've done. So, talk to us
Becs Gentry: about like what is TrackMafia to you in your heart from
Becs Gentry: then to today?
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Oh, wow. Becks is trying to make me cry. TrackMafia
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: is my real family. We bonded over miles and miles
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: and miles of just joy, pain, suffering, talking to
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: each other. How it worked was we were obviously running
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: RDC West and then TrackMafia was born. And TrackMafia was
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: born because I used to run at a run club
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: called Dulwich Runners and I used to do track sessions
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: there with the team and the coach there. And then
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: when we started RDC West and then TrackMafia, my now wife
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Jules, she used to do track and the other founder,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Jeggy, he used to do track. So, we were like, "
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Do you know what? My office is upstairs," or
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: used to be upstairs from Paddington Rec. We're like, " There's
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: a track right there. Why don't we just go and do
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: track?" So, the three of us just started doing track.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: And we were real running nerds, so we would geek
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: out on YouTube and just watch old running races, watch old-
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: school Olympic workouts. And we were like, "We can do this, but just
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: in a really small version." And the whole point of
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: it was to democratize track but also show people that
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: speed isn't just for the fast. And I know
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: that sounds really weird, but loads of people believe that
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: track is only for people who run fast. You only
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: go to track if you're going to be running in
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: zone five, your VO2 max, where we wanted to switch
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: that and basically say, " No. Running is a safe space
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: for you to experiment with your body." Now, when we
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: started doing track, we started doing ridiculous workouts and our
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: time started getting faster. And people noticed that and they were like, "
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: What are you lot doing over there at the track?" And
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I was like, " We're just doing 400- meter reps. We're doing 200-
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: meter reps, maybe some 800- meter reps, but we're taking
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: it seriously." And we were the only group at the
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: time who weren't an old- school running club that were
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: doing speed in the space that we existed. So, people
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: were like, " What's this track thing? Isn't track scary?" And it
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: was like, " Yeah, track can be scary, but come and
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: do it with a smile." So, we would run 400-
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: meter reps and be on the verge of throwing
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: up, but we'd still be smiling. We'd still be happy.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: We'd still be overjoyed. Then we would go on long
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: three, four hour runs, the three of us, and we'd
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: just talk. And I've always said that running fast tracks
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: friendship, because if you think about it, if you just
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: look at how long you are running with someone and
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: then try and spend that amount of time just socially,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: you got one run, you've got to spend weeks or
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: months, sometimes years with someone to get to know
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: them that well. So, we just got to know each
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: other really, really well. And that's how the friendship was
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: born. And then we just started bringing more people in,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: and then all of a sudden, you've just got this
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: amazing group of people all from different backgrounds with a
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: bunch of different skill sets that just want to be
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: around each other. And that's when we started telling stories,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: which is what wasn't happening at that particular point in
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: time. That was what made us different. One, the fact
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: that we were doing these hard track sessions, two,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: we were telling the stories. And back then, it wasn't
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: about the beautiful shot, the wonderful light. It was really lo-
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: fi back then and it was about, how hurt do
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I look right now? And I want to share this pain
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: and anguish with people, but I also want to share
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: the joy that it has brought. And that's what used
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: to bring people to us. It was the balance between
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: pain and suffering and joy and happiness, camaraderie with
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: friends. And it's like, " They look like they're having fun.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: How are they having fun? I just saw the time
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: that they ran, but this... Okay, I'm going to go
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: and I'll see if I can have fun." And that
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: just snowballed.
Becs Gentry: It really did. And all the friendliest people. And I will never forget
Becs Gentry: Cynthia being the first person I ever was like, " That
Becs Gentry: girl runs with red lipstick on? That's so cool." And
Becs Gentry: then the first time-
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: And she stills does.
Becs Gentry: ... I went to Peloton and was like, " I'm channeling my
Becs Gentry: inner Cynthia," when I wore red lipstick for the first
Becs Gentry: time. And to this day, if I wear-
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Amazing.
Becs Gentry: ... red lipstick, I think of Cynthia and I'm just like, "
Becs Gentry: It's so..." Yeah, it truly, I'm just trying to get
Becs Gentry: across how wonderful all of it. They really, truly are. Even
Becs Gentry: from an outsider who was never somebody who ran with
Becs Gentry: TrackMafia because I was always doing Nike things, but-
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: The space was there for you.
Becs Gentry: Exactly. But you always all held space when we were
Becs Gentry: in other countries and other cities doing races together.
Becs Gentry: I felt like I was part of the family, even
Becs Gentry: though I was never essentially at the track meets all
Becs Gentry: the time. And that is something that definitely helped me
Becs Gentry: personally in running and falling in love with running. So,
Becs Gentry: thank you, guys.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: No, thank you. And you're still always welcome at track as it
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: still goes on. Even though we've moved, it's still there.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Thursday at 6:30.
Becs Gentry: I'd definitely pull a hammy these days.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Guys, it sounds like so many of the run
Rob Simmelkjaer: clubs we have in New York. We've got clubs, we've
Rob Simmelkjaer: got crews, we've got super competitive, super social, a mix.
Rob Simmelkjaer: This really is so much a part of what has
Rob Simmelkjaer: driven this boom in running over the last several years
Rob Simmelkjaer: since the pandemic is all that you said, Cory, about
Rob Simmelkjaer: the way it brings people together, the way you can
Rob Simmelkjaer: connect with somebody over a run. I never thought of
Rob Simmelkjaer: it in the terms you put it and how much
Rob Simmelkjaer: time you spend with someone on a long run and
Rob Simmelkjaer: how many coffee dates you'd have to put together
Rob Simmelkjaer: to spend that much time with someone. You're right. An hour
Rob Simmelkjaer: coffee is like, you got to do like 12 of those
Rob Simmelkjaer: to do a half- marathon or whatever, or a long,
Rob Simmelkjaer: long run. So, it's a lot. It's a lot of
Rob Simmelkjaer: time and it really does make an impact. Cory, I want
Rob Simmelkjaer: to talk about your music side too. So, you have
Rob Simmelkjaer: a bit of a background in the music world. You
Rob Simmelkjaer: are an MC for DJs and a lot of the
Rob Simmelkjaer: electronic dance music superstars that are out there, that
Rob Simmelkjaer: whole world. How does that relate to your running? I'm
Rob Simmelkjaer: curious, do you channel some of that? Do you-
Becs Gentry: Can I answer that?
Rob Simmelkjaer: ... listen to a lot of music when you run?
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I want to hear what Becks is going to say because
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I most definitely do channel that on my runs.
Becs Gentry: Oh my gosh, no, you go for it. But trust me, he is the good vibes, the
Becs Gentry: good energy, and he is the kind of... You think
Becs Gentry: I don't shut up when you're running. I learned
Becs Gentry: from him, put it that way.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: So, when I used to MC in clubs or on
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: radio over garage, house, drum and bass, all of that
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: music, you realize that you are the vibe controller. You
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: are the mood controller, and you have to lead with
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: your energy. And that's what I take to my running
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: space. I have to lead with my good energy and
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: that's what will bring the crowd up. That's my
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: job. My job is to dial into you personally and
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: as a group of people and help you have the
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: best time of your life in combination with the DJ.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: And it's the same thing when I speak to people
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: about running. I sometimes explain it to them either like
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: a DJ set or an entire evening of raving. It's
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: like when you get to the rave or when you
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: look at the first DJ, the first DJ isn't always
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: necessarily the best DJ of the night. It's the one
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: that's going to get you warm, but you still
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: have to go to that set. So, you go to
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: that set and that first DJ is the one that
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: gets you nice and warm, gets you hyped. Then the DJs in
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: the middle, the DJs in the middle, they're hit or miss. AKA,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: you might have a good time, you might have a
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: bad time, but you still have to stay committed to
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: that rave if you want to see the best DJ,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: which is normally the last person who closes out. So,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: you have to stay committed to that middle section. And
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: then when you get to the end, it's going to
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: be hard. It's going to be tired because you've
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: now been raving since midnight and it's now 6: 00
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: AM. But if you really love this DJ, you just
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: got to keep raving. You just got to keep partying.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: You just got to keep going. And that's how I
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: look at it, that's how I still treat runs to
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: this day. And because I'm a MC, anytime I'm out
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: on a run and I find my head drifting off
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: into spaces that I may not necessarily want them to,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I'll just start spitting bars. And for people who don't
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: understand spitting bars, I just mean I'll start freestyling
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: about stuff. I'll talk about the rocks that are beside,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I'll talk about the pigeons, I'll talk about the darkness
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: that's out there. It's just anything to take my mind
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: off of that particular space point in time right there.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: And that's what I share with people. I was like when you run, you've
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: got two choices. You either live in it or you
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: live outside of it. And depending on where you are,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: you have to make your choice. And I love living
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: in it, because living in it, I get to process
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: a bunch of things that I may not necessarily have
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: processed. And it also teaches me that you can't control
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: life, but what you can control is the stuff you can control.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: And that's how I react. I said a bunch of
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: stuff there. I hope I answered the question.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I loved it. Cory, this is a new metaphor for
Rob Simmelkjaer: me. I have a lot of marathon and running metaphors,
Rob Simmelkjaer: but I have not had the marathon rave metaphor before.
Rob Simmelkjaer: This is huge. You may be surprised to hear
Rob Simmelkjaer: this, I don't go to a lot of raves, but
Rob Simmelkjaer: I know what a rave is. And the idea that it's that last DJ
Rob Simmelkjaer: that you're holding out for and you do have to keep the
Rob Simmelkjaer: vibe going that whole time, I totally see that. I
Rob Simmelkjaer: totally get that. That's really cool.
Becs Gentry: Really nice.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Thank you.
Becs Gentry: I will attest to he does keep you going. He does. I have
Becs Gentry: this real memory of you on a beanbag in,
Becs Gentry: it's either going to be Amsterdam or Berlin, I can't
Becs Gentry: remember which city it was. We were exhausted. We were on
Becs Gentry: a 90 tour of some sort and we'd been going
Becs Gentry: for weeks. And Cory's just on this beanbag and he got
Becs Gentry: his shoes off, and I can just see you, I
Becs Gentry: literally can just see you, and you just started singing.
Becs Gentry: And we were all flat in the room, and within
Becs Gentry: minutes someone had a song on their phone and Cory's just
Becs Gentry: singing and we're all up and we're like, " We've
Becs Gentry: got this!" Just because he literally just probably had that
Becs Gentry: thought in his own brain of, " We got to get
Becs Gentry: through this. We got to get to that last DJ."
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: And I actually built a class out of that. We
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: used to call it Forge and it was all about
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: drum and bass music, which is anywhere between, I think
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: it's 175, 180, or 185 bpm. I can never remember. And it is fast. It's like bam, bam, bam. But it's the
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: perfect pace for running drills. The perfect pace. So, I
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: would do a full class anywhere between 45 minutes and
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: an hour and it would just be hit and running
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: drills. So, the drum and bass would be on, its like... And I would have people just going, "
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: One, two, three, four. Now, give me high knees, high
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: knees, high knees, high knees. Now, give me a skip,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: a skip, a skip." And people would come to the
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: class and be like, " Dude, I hate running, I hate
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: drills, I hate all of these things, but I like
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: this music." And they would just come and they would do it.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: And I'd realize that if you just play some decent
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: music, turn the lights off, and you're a nice person,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: people will come and dance and work out even if
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: they don't like working out because they're not coming to
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: work out. You fooled them into believing that they're coming
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: to dance and it just so happens there might be
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: some equipment in the area. And that's what I used
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: to tell people. I fool people into working out
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: by getting them to dance and do ridiculous things.
Becs Gentry: Perfect. And that leads it on very nicely to talk
Becs Gentry: about your incredible book that has just come out.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Ah, yes. All You Need is Rhythm and Grit.
Becs Gentry: Oh my gosh, this book. You can't quite see all
Becs Gentry: of Cory right now, but Cory is a pink and
Becs Gentry: blue guy in my mind. Yeah, from forever you've had
Becs Gentry: pink and blue as your colors.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Always.
Becs Gentry: And I just love the book. Just, it's straight
Becs Gentry: up like, " That's Cory's book." That's Cory's book.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: When they showed me that design, I was like, " Wow."
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Because Cindy, which is my publisher, she just messaged me
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: and she was like, " Oh, Cory, what do you want your book
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: cover to look like?" And I said to her, "I don't know." I was like, " Anything but
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: this." I don't want a-
Becs Gentry: Didn't want a closeup.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Yeah, I didn't want a portrait of me leaning in.
Becs Gentry: Awkwardly in a suit, in a linen suit.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Yeah. I didn't want that. And she was like, " We've got a
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: few ideas. The designer has worked on this. Let me
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: know what you think of this." And when she sent me the PDF,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I was blown away. I was like, " This is me.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: The artist has literally captured me in color. You fully
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: understood the assignment." I was overjoyed. And to be able to write
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: a book, like what? From where I started about this
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: thing that I found, it's still unbelievable. As a child,,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: you have these pipe dreams. I'm like, " Oh yeah, I'd
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: love to write a book." And when people are like, " About
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: what?" I was like, "I don't know. It's just a pretty cool thing to
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: do." But then when I was given the opportunity to
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: do that, I was like, " This is unbelievable." And
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I'm going to share my story because I think people
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: not necessarily need to know my story, and that's the
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: thing, even though the book is about me, it's not
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: about me. It's about people like me, and those are
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: people who in the beginning didn't necessarily believe too much
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: in themselves. They weren't really happy in their skin, but
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: there was just something that you couldn't quite put
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: your finger on. And I couldn't put my finger on
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: it until running. When I found running, I realized how
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: unhappy I was, and I wanted to share that. And
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: it was unhappy about how I looked, unhappy about my
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: weight, unhappy about where I was in life. And you
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: spend hours with yourself, you can't but explore that. And that's
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: what I wanted to share with people, that if you
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: choose to, I guess, give yourself to the road or
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: give yourself to the trails, it will give you
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: back in tenfold. And that's what the book is about.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: The book is about community. How I describe it is
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: it's a love letter to running and to myself, thanking
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: the running gods for blessing me and giving me an
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: opportunity to bless my family, my community, with some of
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: the lessons that I've learned that have changed my life. And
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: it's changed a bunch of other people's lives. And that's
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: not on me. That's on them. I just shone
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: the torch down into the cave and I was like, " Look in
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: there. You can go in there if you want." And
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: many people have chosen to. The book is about saying
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: running is really hard, but you'll learn a lot if
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: you engage.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Amazing. Love it. The book is called All You Need
Rob Simmelkjaer: is Rhythm and Grit. I love everything you just said
Rob Simmelkjaer: about it, so got to pick that up. Got
Rob Simmelkjaer: to check it out. Another thing that folks can check
Rob Simmelkjaer: out that you're a part of, Cory, is your role
Rob Simmelkjaer: with Apple and Apple Fitness+.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Yes.
Rob Simmelkjaer: This must be the culmination for you of all of
Rob Simmelkjaer: this journey you've had, now you are part of a
Rob Simmelkjaer: fitness and running product, which is incredible.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Which is.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Right?
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: It's unbelievable.
Rob Simmelkjaer: You must pinch yourself sometimes and be like, " Now, I'm
Rob Simmelkjaer: here? I'm bringing other people to this." Talk about
Rob Simmelkjaer: what you do for Apple Fitness+ and what that experience
Rob Simmelkjaer: is like.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: So, I say to people, Becks, we might battle about
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: this, but I say to people, " I have the best job
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: in the world." And the reason why I say I
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: have the best job in the world is I predominantly
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: work on something called Time to Run. And Time to
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Run is a immersive audio- guided experience where the whole
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: point of it is to transport people on their
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: daily runs to a completely different location. So, my job
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: is to literally pick a location, go to that location,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: pick a route, run that route, take beautiful pictures that
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: show up on people's Apple watches and their phones, and
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: guide them through a workout. And I get to play
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: the music that I'd like to as well. So, I'm
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: like, hold on, I've taken all of the things that
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I've been incredibly passionate about over the past couple of
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: decades and I now get paid to do it
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: in sunny Los Angeles. Every morning I wake up and
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I'm like, " How is this possible? How are we here?"
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: But we are here. So, I do that as part
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: of my role. And then as you said, the other
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: part of the role for Fitness+ is working in online
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: workouts. So, I am either a modifier in workouts, so
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I will do yoga, strength, rowing, core, treadmill, cycling, all
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: of those things. I basically work out and write and
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: play music for a living and get to speak to,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: whether it's, I have no ideas about any figures, but
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: it's hundreds of thousands or millions of people I get
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: to speak to. And I'm like, " How is this happening?"
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: 20 years ago, I couldn't run to the bottom of
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: the road, and now I'm telling people in countries all
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: over the world how to get to the bottom
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: of the road. I still pinch myself. I still pinch
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: myself that I'm surrounded by such amazing people that many
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: years ago I would've paid lots and lots of money
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: just to talk to, just to learn from. And now, I get to sit
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: with these people and have coffee with them every morning and
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: tap their brains. I've recently gone on another journey
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: myself. Basically, I was supposed to run Berlin Marathon in
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: September and I was injured. And I watched all of
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: my friends run Berlin Marathon and I was like, " I'm
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: not missing this again next year, so I'm going to
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: start training now a year out." And because I obviously
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: work for Fitness+, I was like, " I'm just going to
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: set up a program on Fitness+ and I'm going to
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: do a strength and yoga workout every single day.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Maybe I'll do a Pilates workout." And just Fitness+, and obviously monitoring
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: my nutrition, I dropped 40 pounds in three months so
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: that I could begin my running cycle proper at the
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: beginning of the year in January. And obviously, I knew
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: that Speed Project was coming up and I was like, "
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: You know what? I need to get back down to
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: race weight." Because I'd actually snuck back up for the
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: first time to quite a weight that I didn't
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: want to be at. And because of the book, All
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: You Need is Rhythm and Grit, I just remembered everything that I
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: had done previously and I was like, " All I'm going
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: to do now is I'm going to do everything that
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I've done before, but now I have access to Fitness+, so
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I don't necessarily have to go to a class." So,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I'd wake up in the morning and I'd put on
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: my teammates. So, there's a yoga workout that I've done,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I think, 112 times because I would do it every
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: morning to stretch my hammies or my quads or my
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: back or wherever, and then I'd do a strength
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: workout, then I'd go and do a cycling work and then
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: a treadmill workout. And it's just easy. It just changed
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: my life. So yeah, that's all. It's just amazing.
Becs Gentry: It really is.
Rob Simmelkjaer: What a journey.
Becs Gentry: I'm not going to batter you because I think no
Becs Gentry: matter what the companies we both work for are called,
Becs Gentry: we do the same thing essentially. And so we
Becs Gentry: absolutely do have the best jobs in the world that
Becs Gentry: we get to help people and ourselves move their bodies,
Becs Gentry: feel grace and happiness, hopefully, on the journey, for want
Becs Gentry: of a better word, that we can be part of,
Becs Gentry: which is just nuts that we get to be part
Becs Gentry: of these millions of different journeys that are happening simultaneously,
Becs Gentry: but we also have no idea.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Yes. That's the hard part.
Becs Gentry: Yeah.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: That's the hard part. That, for me, is the
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: hardest part, not knowing as in... Because I've gone from
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: standing in the rain with an umbrella, a clipboard, and
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: a whistle-
Becs Gentry: To a coach.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Yeah. And you see change week after week after week
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: right in front of you, right there, but then when
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: you're in a predominantly digital space, you don't necessarily get
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: to, I guess, be as close to that change. But
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: when you're trackside or when you're roadside, when you're
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: on the trails, you only get access to those 20
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: people or to those 30 people, 40 people, or some of
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: these running clubs or crews now 100 people or 1, 000
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: people. You can't have 1, 000 connections at once. So, let's
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: just say you've got 30 people whereby all of these
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: online platforms, and as Beck says, regardless of what platform
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: it is that you work for, all of these people
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: you're helping. You'll get emails. You'll get text messages. You'll
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: get DMs, and it's just people that you wouldn't
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: even think of. And some of these stories that we
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: get from Fitness+ are unbelievable. It's like, " I was suffering
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: from this, but through your workouts, it's made me realize
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: that I can do more. And I've changed my life.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: And now, I've got my daughter into running, my son
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: into running. My whole family's into running. And now, we've
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: changed our nutrition. Now, we go to different places on
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: holiday." And that's just from listening to my voice or
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: to your voice or to someone else's voice, or
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: seeing that embodiment. It's just beautiful how much change we
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: can be part of. And not for selfish reasons. It's more like
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: what you do feeds me. And that's what I love,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: just seeing all of that positivity out there, just seeing
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: someone smiling. There was one audio- guided run that I did
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: in dc DC, so we went to DC, we ran the
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: route, et cetera. It's actually happening in Puerto Rico
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: as well, where people take the pictures that I have
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: taken, they go to the location, they run the route,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: and then they take the pictures in the same place,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: but they'll Photoshop themselves in to make it look like
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: we did it together. And I'm like, " This is wild."
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: This is how committed-
Rob Simmelkjaer: Wow.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: ... these people-
Becs Gentry: That's so cool.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: ... are to remapping what we did. Look at my face.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I'm just smiling. I'm like, this is ridiculous.
Becs Gentry: But that's because you created that connection for them, and
Becs Gentry: that's their way of feeling the gratitude towards you showing
Becs Gentry: it and just understanding that this guy, because you did
Becs Gentry: it, they did it.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Yeah.
Becs Gentry: It's so beautiful.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Yeah, it's beautiful.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Well, Cory, I could talk to you all day. It's just-
Becs Gentry: Wait, I want to know one more thing, though-
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yep.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Yeah, please.
Becs Gentry: ... about connection.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yep.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Go ahead.
Becs Gentry: Are your mom and your sister still running?
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Oh, yes, yeah.
Becs Gentry: Yeah!
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: So, it's funny, my mum actually, so she started running...
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Let me start from the beginning. She started walking, and
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: then when she saw that I was running, she was
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: like, "Do you think I can run too?" And I was like, " You saw me
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: when I started running, right?" And then we both laughed
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: and she was like, " I can do it. I can run."
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: So, we just started going for walks and then going
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: for runs. And then the old- school phrase, " Teach one,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: teach one." And I might have changed that, but that's
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: what she did. I showed her how to run, and
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: then she just gathered her own group and they started
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: going for runs. They started going for walks. And my
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: mom would come and cheer me on at cross country.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: She would cheer me on when I would do 5Ks, 10Ks, half-
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: marathons, marathons, and then she signed up for races
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: without me even knowing that she was signing up for
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: these races. So, she signed up for a race in
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Paris at a, what's it called? At an adventure park. I
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: don't even know if we're allowed to say the name,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: but she went there to Paris. There's one in Orlando
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: and other places.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Disney.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: And she did this-
Becs Gentry: The Disney, yeah.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Disney. The Disney race.
Becs Gentry: The Disney challenges.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I didn't know if I could say it.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Of course.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: The Disney race. So, she did the 5K, the 10K, and
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: the half- marathon.
Becs Gentry: Wow, she did the whole Dopey Challenge.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: She did the whole challenge.
Becs Gentry: Whoa.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: But this is the best part. Our dear friend Paula
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Radcliffe, she was at the finish line. And obviously, we've
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: done a lot of work with Paula and my mum
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: has met Paula, so my mum is stood at the
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: finish line waving and screaming at Paula Radcliffe. " Go ahead, do you
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: remember me? I'm Cory's mum." Paula then invites her up
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: onto the little bus on the finish line, and her
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: and Paula Radcliffe are taking selfies and my mum is sending them
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: to me. And I'm like, " Mum." I'm like, " Lynn, what are
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: you doing? Why?" " No, it's Paula. She's fine." That's how
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: deep my mum got into the running. And then I
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: obviously bought her an Apple Watch, and now she's addicted
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: to that thing. She wants to close her rings every
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: day. She wants to go for a walk.
Becs Gentry: Great.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: And she wants to share activity. She's like, "Is the new
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: one out? When can I get that? I hear there's
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: this new strap." The other day, like she chipped it.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: She said, " Oh, will it still work if it's chipped?
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Can you get me another one?" And I also
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: bought her one of the little Apple TVs, so she
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: now attempts to do the workouts. And when I say attempts
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: to do the workout, she'll put it on and she'll
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: have it in the background and she'll do a couple
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: of the moves.
Becs Gentry: That's fine. She's moving.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Exactly.
Becs Gentry: She's moving. She's engaging and she's moving.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Exactly.
Becs Gentry: That is beautiful. Wow, Lynn.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: See, you even remember her name.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Aw.
Becs Gentry: Well, she came to a lot of Nike events.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Exactly.
Becs Gentry: We got to know her. She'd always bring us food too.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: So, that is also a thing. Sorry, Rob. That's
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: also a thing. I-
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: So that is also a thing. Sorry, Rob. That's also
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: a thing. At all of the events that we used
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: to organize, I always used to try and make sure
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: that it was full circle, so it was a running event
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: and my mom would cook all of the food. So
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: you would have these ridiculous running event, and then my
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: mom would come in and cook like rice and peas,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: jerk chicken curry chicken, roti, all the West Indian food.
Becs: And roti.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: And roti.
Becs: And people would be like, " Dude, what is this? Do
Becs: I have to pay for this?" And I'm like, " No,
Becs: this is our way of giving back my friend.
Becs: Eat, be merry, be happy." And yeah, that's what we
Becs: used to do.
Rob Simmelkjaer: So cool. And you influence people all over the world,
Rob Simmelkjaer: but when it's your mom, that's where it's at. That's where it's at.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: One more thing about my mom. We did a Kevin
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Hart run and she was the person-
Becs: She will never forget that.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Never forget Kevin Hart running towards my mom to
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: try and help her. " That's your mom. That's your mom."
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I'm like, " Yeah, that's my mom, Kevin."
Becs: That's superb.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: And I'm like, " Why are you making a scene?" Me and Becs are running
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: this thing and you have to take the limelight."
Becs: She took it, she was fine.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I'm like, "You're a ridiculous person." But that's why I'm a ridiculous
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: person. So I have to thank my mom for making
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: me who I am.
Rob Simmelkjaer: That sounded just like Kevin Hart, by the way. I totally see that.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Could totally see Kevin Hart doing that.
Becs: I can. I can snowball from Secret Life of Pets because
Becs: I have a two- year- old who is addicted to
Becs: watching it and Kevin Hart is the voice of Snowball
Becs: the rabbit. But yeah.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: He's hilarious. Please.
Becs: He's brilliant.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I love it.
Becs: So good. Well, Cory-
Rob Simmelkjaer: Well Cory, you are ridiculously inspiring. It's unbelievable everything that you are
Rob Simmelkjaer: doing and just phenomenal having a chance to talk to
Rob Simmelkjaer: you. Congratulations on the runs, on the book, on
Rob Simmelkjaer: the Apple Fitness Plus and everything else you're doing. And
Rob Simmelkjaer: when are we going to see you in New York?
Rob Simmelkjaer: You got to get to New York for a race. When
Rob Simmelkjaer: are we going to see you here?
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Dude, I have been coming to New York for the
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: New York Marathon every year. Probably, I think I've missed
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: two years in the last decade or so. I'm always
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: there cheering or taking photographs or just hanging out because
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: we haven't spoken about the BTG movement. But the
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: whole reason I was able to meet all of these
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: things was because Mike Safe started it in New York.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: So I'm always in New York giving back to that
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: community. I'm always up there with Hector and Rue Crew,
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Safe and Bridge Runners. Weirdly enough, New York is my
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: second home. I can land in New York tomorrow and
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: be like, " Yo, I've arrived." And they'll be like, "Come to this burger spot, come to this place, come to
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: that place."
Becs: And he is the guy in the middle of the
Becs: course up there too. I mean, there was no way Cory was
Becs: not letting me know that he was right there.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I was like, "Yeah. Yeah. Yeah."
Becs: Camera confetti.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: I was screaming.
Becs: Yeah, that crew is the best on race day. It's
Becs: such a great area.
Rob Simmelkjaer: All right, well we got to make sure we connect
Rob Simmelkjaer: with you this year.
Becs: Yes.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Oh, definitely.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Hopefully you'll be back.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Yes, I will.
Rob Simmelkjaer: And love to have you show up at some things
Rob Simmelkjaer: and just get you-
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Dude, definitely.
Rob Simmelkjaer: ... up and in front of some people because-
Becs: 100%.
Rob Simmelkjaer: ... it's so great listening to you and hearing your
Rob Simmelkjaer: story. So let's get you out there, even more
Rob Simmelkjaer: in New York this year.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Oh, amazing.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I would love to do that.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Thank you, Rob. Thank you Becs.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Absolutely. Cory Wharton- Malcolm, amazing conversation, amazing guy. Thank you
Rob Simmelkjaer: so much for being with us today. I appreciate you.
Cory Wharton-Malcolm: Thank you for having me. Such a pleasure.
Rob Simmelkjaer: New York Roadrunners is a nonprofit organization with a
Rob Simmelkjaer: vision to build healthier lives and stronger communities through the
Rob Simmelkjaer: transformative power of running. The support of members and donors
Rob Simmelkjaer: like you helps us achieve our mission to transform the
Rob Simmelkjaer: health and well- being of our communities through inclusive and
Rob Simmelkjaer: accessible running experiences, empowering all to achieve their potential. Learn
Rob Simmelkjaer: more and contribute at NYRR. org/ donate.
Becs: All right, one of today's guests is somebody very, very
Becs: important in my world. He's a fantastic father, he's
Becs: a pretty darn good athlete all around, and he is here
Becs: for a second time on Set the Pace today. It
Becs: is Mr. Austin Curtis.
Austin: Thank you for having me back.
Becs: Well this time you get the duo, you actually get
Becs: Rob and myself here to talk to you about all
Becs: things running. But thank you for coming back.
Austin: We weren't too bad last time. I don't think we need
Austin: a mediator, but it's nice to have Rob on.
Rob Simmelkjaer: We're not going to do therapy here. We're just going to talk about running. Hello
Rob Simmelkjaer: Austin, how are you?
Austin: I'm doing well, thank you.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Nice to have you on. Set the Pace, I guess
Rob Simmelkjaer: you kind of have to say yes, right? I mean,
Rob Simmelkjaer: when the request comes from Becs, there's not really much
Rob Simmelkjaer: much of a conversation to be had. We knew you'd
Rob Simmelkjaer: come on. But we're thrilled to have you back on
Rob Simmelkjaer: Set the Pace. And I've been thinking about you Austin
Rob Simmelkjaer: a lot over the last six months as I
Rob Simmelkjaer: am regaled by Becs, all of her incredible stories, her
Rob Simmelkjaer: amazing adventure of running the Great World Race and seven
Rob Simmelkjaer: marathons on seven continents in seven days, and all of the
Rob Simmelkjaer: incredible training that had to lead up to that and
Rob Simmelkjaer: the time that she had to put in to do
Rob Simmelkjaer: that. And I'm thinking to myself, of course in the
Rob Simmelkjaer: back of my head that wow, Austin is a
Rob Simmelkjaer: champ because clearly he is picking up the slack for
Rob Simmelkjaer: so much of what had to happen at home with
Rob Simmelkjaer: your daughter Tallulah and everything else that has to happen
Rob Simmelkjaer: on the home front when someone is undertaking an adventure
Rob Simmelkjaer: like that. So what was it like from your perspective
Rob Simmelkjaer: to see and be a part of Becs accomplishing this
Rob Simmelkjaer: unbelievable adventure of the Great World Race?
Austin: I mean, nothing short of incredible to see Becs
Austin: accomplish it. We were down in Miami for the final
Austin: finish line of the seven and we had friends, family, some
Austin: of Becs' colleagues, and I always find races to be
Austin: the celebration in many ways. But what you don't see
Austin: is the behind the scenes, the runs that Becs doesn't
Austin: want to leave because Tallulah is asking again where mommy's
Austin: going. And there were a lot of daddy daughter
Austin: dates on the weekends and some of those longer runs.
Austin: We tried to incorporate sharing some miles, some stroller miles
Austin: together in the late summer before it got too cold.
Austin: But yeah, I don't think people realize how much of
Austin: a sacrifice it is to let alone train for a
Austin: marathon, but then seven. And we talked about it
Austin: going into it that there was going to be probably
Austin: some difficult conversations, times, et cetera. And we reached some
Austin: of those bits towards the end and I think Becs
Austin: was ready for the race to be done, but we
Austin: were able to continue to find the best balance we
Austin: could once we were getting close to the race
Austin: start. And then it's just when you're trying to squeeze
Austin: in a FaceTime between flights and continents and time changes,
Austin: and just to wish Becs good luck and this is
Austin: what it was all for, it's all worth it. So
Austin: yeah, I still can't comprehend. It's not like I'm not
Austin: a runner. I run, I still can't comprehend a
Austin: race of this magnitude. So yeah, still processing it.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I will never ever comprehend what Becs did and others who
Rob Simmelkjaer: accomplished that feat, with her others who have done it before
Rob Simmelkjaer: and since then, it boggles the mind.
Austin: It surely does. I have one long run a week
Austin: at the moment and that is circled on the
Austin: calendar each week. I'm just like, all right, I've got
Austin: to build myself up. And that was almost every day
Austin: for what Becs was training, and she was able to
Austin: meet a lot of now close friends through that race
Austin: and everyone has their own story of how they got
Austin: to that start line and to the finish line. So yeah,
Austin: it was quite special.
Becs: I work to inspire even that, but you definitely did
Becs: hold down the fort and allowed me the time on
Becs: my feet, which got me to the finish line. So
Becs: it was a team effort. I want to know though,
Becs: did my training in many ways, seeing as you were
Becs: so close to it first hand, inspire you or change
Becs: your mindset at all going into your current block of training?
Rob Simmelkjaer: Which is for the London Marathon, right Austin?
Austin: For London, yeah. Which will be the fifth star,
Austin: chasing the sixth and-
Rob Simmelkjaer: Nice.
Austin: ... a couple more after that. Yeah, it did. I
Austin: think there was always a talk, that the stars conversation
Austin: came quite quickly after I had run Boston, and that
Austin: was my first major. I qualified for that. I ran
Austin: it. It was a terrible year weather- wise, and I had
Austin: heard about the stars, but it was not anything I
Austin: had thought of. And then in 2023, Chicago and New York
Austin: just came up quite quickly and suddenly I was at
Austin: three stars. And then Becs wanted to do Tokyo and
Austin: I wasn't going to go all that way and not
Austin: run. So there was four. So after Tokyo I had
Austin: the idea just based on Tallulah's age, it would be
Austin: nice to run Berlin in the fall of 2024
Austin: and then run London this year. And Tallulah, not that
Austin: her memory is set in stone right now, but she
Austin: would be able to kind of experience, and then also
Austin: knowing Becs connection to the UK, it'd be nice to
Austin: finish in London. And when Becs was training for the
Austin: 7, 7, 7 I started to go for a few longer runs
Austin: to just see what was in the tank and
Austin: just based on our schedules, both also trying to balance
Austin: work too and being parents, I just didn't have that
Austin: fire within me. And so Berlin was kind of scrapped
Austin: for 2024 and just was like, let's just get through Becs'
Austin: race and then I can refocus. But it was quickly reignited
Austin: in Miami, seeing Becs finish with some of her
Austin: friends and just like, " Okay, I want to have that
Austin: feeling again." Because I treat running quite... You learn so
Austin: much about yourself each kind of training block, and I'm
Austin: not one to just line up a multitude of races.
Austin: I kind of like to just sit back for a
Austin: little bit, and London couldn't come at a better
Austin: time. So definitely excited to be in this training cycle.
Austin: Becs is coaching me, which is the first time she's
Austin: coached me in a race. So there's that balance, but
Austin: just feeling accomplished after each tough workout and rebuilding again.
Becs: We go through phases of I will give him his
Becs: training plan for the week and he will just
Becs: sit in silence, and especially before the speed workout days,
Becs: I can feel him glaring at me over the counter
Becs: in the kitchen of like, " I don't want to talk
Becs: to you right now because this is a horrible workout."
Becs: And then I can tell whether it's been a good workout or
Becs: not of how quickly he text me after it's done
Becs: and his tone. Like, uh- oh, maybe I should not
Becs: go home for a minute and just let him calm down,
Becs: or it's okay, he really crushed this workout. But
Becs: as we're getting closer, I'm kind of sending him his
Becs: workouts with trepidation.
Rob Simmelkjaer: What's interesting to me in listening to you guys talk
Rob Simmelkjaer: about your respective running challenges is the way that you
Rob Simmelkjaer: do have to support each other in what each of
Rob Simmelkjaer: you is trying to accomplish. And I think all runners
Rob Simmelkjaer: who are people with kids and families, if you're out
Rob Simmelkjaer: there running marathons, whether it's one or you're going
Rob Simmelkjaer: for the six stars or you're going to next level
Rob Simmelkjaer: stuff like what Becs did or Ultras or whatever it might
Rob Simmelkjaer: be, you simply can't do it without some level of
Rob Simmelkjaer: support. And I've met all the kinds of couples. I've
Rob Simmelkjaer: met the couples where one is running like crazy and
Rob Simmelkjaer: the other one doesn't run and doesn't understand why anybody
Rob Simmelkjaer: would run, which can be challenging because one's like, "
Rob Simmelkjaer: Well what are you doing? Why are you doing this?" Although
Rob Simmelkjaer: sometimes that works kind of like the, " Hey, whatever keeps
Rob Simmelkjaer: that person happy and calm makes me happy." Sometimes you've
Rob Simmelkjaer: got the double runner couple, which you guys obviously are,
Rob Simmelkjaer: and I think in some ways that's ideal because there's
Rob Simmelkjaer: an understanding that each of you has as to what
Rob Simmelkjaer: the other one's trying to do, and that question of
Rob Simmelkjaer: why maybe doesn't exist because you each understand intuitively the
Rob Simmelkjaer: why, and it makes it a little easier to support.
Rob Simmelkjaer: And then you guys are really next level because you're
Rob Simmelkjaer: not just understanding, but you're coaching, especially Becs, you coaching
Rob Simmelkjaer: Austin, or Austin you supporting Becs at the high level
Rob Simmelkjaer: given what she had to do in November. So you
Rob Simmelkjaer: really are in a lot of ways a model. What
Rob Simmelkjaer: do you think, and I'll ask Austin, since you're our
Rob Simmelkjaer: guest, I'll ask you, what do you think other couples, other
Rob Simmelkjaer: sets of partners out there who are trying to
Rob Simmelkjaer: do these things can take from what you and Becs
Rob Simmelkjaer: have learned about supporting each other through these races?
Austin: Going back to what you just said about having a
Austin: support system. And I had a specific goal that I
Austin: wanted to hit on a time and I achieved that,
Austin: but I look back at that and you always hold
Austin: a PR close to you and you say, " Will I
Austin: ever hit it again? And my life was very
Austin: different. I was single. I didn't have a dog, I
Austin: could train. Really the only thing in my way was
Austin: work, but I could train whenever I wanted to. And
Austin: our life is much different now. Becs and our relationship,
Austin: we have Tallulah, we have two dogs, we both have
Austin: careers that we're trying to build. And more so I
Austin: guess my career, I've stepped away from a typical 9:
Austin: 00 to 5:00 job and out on my own. And so you're
Austin: always asking yourself, " I could be working in this time,
Austin: I could be doing this." And there have been runs
Austin: that have been very tough. If Tallulah's a little sick
Austin: or under the weather, just fussy, she's a toddler, to
Austin: just be like, " Becs, you got it? I got to
Austin: go do this." And I know on the same side,
Austin: Becs has had to step out for some runs
Austin: and it's just like, " Yeah, I got it." So advice? What
Austin: works for Becs and I, and I don't know if it's advice
Austin: but it's advice for us is, I know how much
Austin: a workout can change our mindsets and just our energy
Austin: for the day. So getting out there, I know it
Austin: very much fills Becs' cup up. There's been times
Austin: where I've just told her to go for a run.
Austin: I said, " Hey, you need to just go out for
Austin: a run."
Rob Simmelkjaer: I can imagine what kind of circumstances might've caused you to say
Rob Simmelkjaer: that. Yeah, just like, " You know what sweetheart, maybe you
Rob Simmelkjaer: should just go for a run maybe, like now."
Austin: And then I see her Strava or something, it's like 18 mile run, six-
Austin: minute phase. You're just like, " Okay, I think that was a
Austin: good shout on my part." I don't know where
Austin: I came across this bit of information, it was more
Austin: related to parenting, but I think we've applied this into
Austin: other aspects of our relationship is, there's days that you're
Austin: going to be at 80% and your partner might be
Austin: at 20%. And there might be days that you're at
Austin: 40 and they're at 40. And just to check
Austin: in with each other and see where they're at and
Austin: see what they need. And if you're both at an
Austin: equal level and low, " Hey, how can we get ourselves
Austin: back? How can we get through this next bit?" Whatever,
Austin: it's the afternoon, the day, the week, whatever. So I
Austin: think that helps quite a bit. But yeah, like you
Austin: said, there's relationship set. There's a runner in the
Austin: family and the other person doesn't step on an exercise
Austin: equipment, they get their fix from whether it be watching
Austin: sports or playing sports, et cetera. But balance is certainly
Austin: key for us, I think.
Becs: I think finding out also what helps each other on
Becs: the flip side to recover is key as well. Because
Becs: you know that any strenuous exercise is going to
Becs: take energy from a human. That's just what happens. But
Becs: knowing how each person can come back from that, because
Becs: as you train, you get stronger and you don't maybe
Becs: necessarily need to spend the rest of the afternoon on
Becs: the couch after your long run, which is fine to
Becs: do. But when you have other responsibilities in life, it's
Becs: knowing, okay, when Aus comes back from a run, it's,
Becs: I'm going to get his rehydration stuff out and ready.
Becs: The water is poured and there'll be a smoothie...
Becs: If I had made a smoothie for Tallulah and I whilst
Becs: he's out, make sure I've made enough and it's in
Becs: the fridge. And if T and I are out, it's all on a post-
Becs: it note of just like, " Hey babe, I got you.
Becs: This is going to help you recover and also help
Becs: you get back onto parenting." In a way, because you
Becs: don't want that guilt. I know I felt that guilt
Becs: a lot and Aus did that for me last year. Was helping
Becs: my recovery, helping my post- run lineup be efficient so
Becs: I could get back to being mom. And I didn't
Becs: have that guilt of extra time rolling through. So
Becs: I think that's a piece of advice. If you have
Becs: dogs and not kids, get the dogs out for a
Becs: walk and then you don't have to worry about them.
Becs: You can go back to being a couple as soon as
Becs: possible after the shower and then that person can get
Becs: in the boots or whatever it is to get their
Becs: recovery going and feeling back to their primary role, whatever
Becs: that may be. But yeah, it's fun.
Rob Simmelkjaer: No doubt about it.
Becs: It's very fun.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Recovery is part of the run. It's a big part of
Rob Simmelkjaer: the run. So Austin, let's talk about London. First of
Rob Simmelkjaer: all, excited for you. That's going to be your fifth
Rob Simmelkjaer: star you said. By the way, starting in Boston is
Rob Simmelkjaer: unusual. That's amazing that you qualify and obviously you're a
Rob Simmelkjaer: very good runner to start out with a qualifying run in
Rob Simmelkjaer: Boston as your first star. I think that's the stars
Rob Simmelkjaer: that are most likely to be the last star someone
Rob Simmelkjaer: gets, from what I've seen in my travels, and I
Rob Simmelkjaer: think I've seen the data on this from the
Rob Simmelkjaer: Abbott World Marathon Majors. Folks are Tokyo and Boston, those
Rob Simmelkjaer: are the two that people generally struggle to get. So
Rob Simmelkjaer: you got those in your pocket already. Now you're sweeping
Rob Simmelkjaer: up the relatively easier ones to get. What is your
Rob Simmelkjaer: goal in London? Do you have a goal other than
Rob Simmelkjaer: just to get that star? A PR or anything like
Rob Simmelkjaer: that in your sights? So how are you thinking about it?
Austin: Yeah, I do have a time kind of goal and
Austin: it's not a PR, it's just I think a pretty solid
Austin: effort. My PR is, I broke three hours, I ran 2:
Austin: 57 and that's what qualified me for Boston. And I
Austin: would like to think that I can do that again.
Austin: But Chicago, New York and Tokyo were three marathons in,
Austin: it's called six months from 2023 to 2024. And
Austin: I felt a bit broken. Even going into Chicago, I
Austin: was having achilles issues, but I had already had the
Austin: bibs for New York and Tokyo. So at that point
Austin: it was just kind of get through the races. And
Austin: so Chicago, I actually had quite a bit of fun
Austin: in Chicago. It wasn't until about mile 20- ish that
Austin: I had some achilles issues that flared up. And
Austin: then New York-
Rob Simmelkjaer: Those are tough, by the way, the achilles thing is
Rob Simmelkjaer: a really tough thing to deal with.
Becs: Very tough.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I've been lucky never to have had that. It's scary
Rob Simmelkjaer: because you know that thing goes and you're going to
Rob Simmelkjaer: be sitting for a long time.
Austin: Yeah. I think the last race I had done before
Austin: Chicago was actually an Ironman, and it was like the
Austin: last two miles I felt my achilles and calf
Austin: kind of starting to, and this wasn't issues I was
Austin: having with my achilles, it was just the end of
Austin: a long day, that my body was just trying to say, "
Austin: Yeah, we're done, we want to be done." But going
Austin: into Chicago, I don't know if it was I got
Austin: a bib quite late and tried to ramp up my
Austin: mileage a little bit too quickly. Since Tokyo, I've started
Austin: to get back into the gym to do some
Austin: strength training. Again, though, before Tallulah, we were able to
Austin: go to the gym for two, three hours and run
Austin: for an hour and lift for an hour and recover,
Austin: but time is very crucial now. So I think I
Austin: put the gym and the strength training on the back
Austin: burner and I paid for it. So New York
Austin: though was just a fun day celebrating in the city.
Austin: I had a few friends that wanted to run. They
Austin: had a goal time around like 3: 30, and I
Austin: was like, " This is great. This should be a nice
Austin: run." And we came in a little over that, but
Austin: just we had so much fun that day. And then
Austin: Tokyo, I was so sick after the holidays in January
Austin: and February. I think I had run less than 50
Austin: miles of training total before that race. So that
Austin: was just a tough day and a tough course. We
Austin: were talking about that for a second there in the pre-
Austin: show, but it's a tough course. There's so many out
Austin: and backs, its sensory overload. To go-
Rob Simmelkjaer: The jet lag, everything is hard.
Austin: Yeah, all of it.
Rob Simmelkjaer: It really is a hard race, for Americans. For people coming from this side of
Rob Simmelkjaer: the world. Yeah.
Austin: Very much. But then you think someone in that part
Austin: of the world that wants the six stars, they're
Austin: coming over for three races in the US and two
Austin: in Europe. So yeah, but just going into London, I
Austin: wanted to see if I could touch back into some
Austin: of that lower threes. And right now training is going
Austin: pretty well. I think both the coaching has helped tremendously
Austin: from Becs, and then also finding a balance in
Austin: the gym, strength training and also the running. So I'm
Austin: excited to see what London has. It's a city that
Austin: I've grown to really love and spend a lot of
Austin: time in. And from what Becs has shared with me,
Austin: I haven't done too much research on the course, but
Austin: you see a lot. It's a nice sightseeing tour as
Austin: well. So yeah, very excited for London. We have some
Austin: friends that will be running it as well. I think
Austin: my mom is coming out to support, and yeah, Becs
Austin: and Tallulah will be on the sidelines.
Becs: Yeah we will. All right, let's get to the nitty- gritty though. The
Becs: thing that everybody talks about for London and Boston, especially
Becs: over here and in the UK, Europe, is the training
Becs: through winter. So quick fire question. Summer training guy
Becs: or winter training guy?
Austin: Summer. After coming out of this winter, summer training.
Becs: Yeah.
Rob Simmelkjaer: You and me both my friend. Absolutely.
Becs: It is brutal if you don't have access-
Rob Simmelkjaer: Dark, cold, windy.
Becs: ... to a treadmill, it's terrible. Yeah, daylight hours are
Becs: minimal. It's tough. And I think going into these spring
Becs: races, that is an extra element of congratulatory love to
Becs: send to all of our runners going into London and
Becs: Boston this year. But you mentioned earlier you ran
Becs: Boston in the famous year that the weather took a
Becs: drastic turn for the worst. So you finished it. There
Becs: were some very notable elite runners who bailed on the
Becs: day, understandably so. Their careers are kind of on the
Becs: line and they didn't want to get sick ahead of
Becs: certain things. But you and a friend battled the elements
Becs: all the way. All the to Boston and finished like a
Becs: pair of drowned rats, but looking lovely. But what
Becs: advice would you give to anyone, because at this point
Becs: of recording, we're a long way from both races, so we
Becs: can't really see the weather forecast. What advice would you
Becs: give to anyone who's running London or Boston and the
Becs: weather may take a turn, what would you say?
Austin: I would say experiencing Boston that year, I think it
Austin: was 2019, 2018 maybe. But yeah, the famous year of just
Austin: brutal weather. And at that time, I really didn't
Austin: know how much of a privilege it was to run
Austin: Boston and the six stars, it being like most people's
Austin: last, that or Tokyo. What I did know and felt was
Austin: this was a few years past the bombings and the
Austin: terrible finish line, there was this sense of community
Austin: and a privilege to run it. So the Boston Strong
Austin: motto just kind of resonated quite well. And I think
Austin: that going into London, if the weather's poor, really just
Austin: what a privilege it is to be able to run
Austin: one of the six majors. And at that time, I
Austin: just kind of threw out any goals or expectations for
Austin: the race. It was more of just, " Hey, this is
Austin: going to be a run to the finish line."
Austin: And I still ended up having a great day despite
Austin: the weather. Duct taping on shoes and just kind of
Austin: lowered the head and battled the winds and rains. So
Austin: it was a very tough day in Boston that day,
Austin: but I mean, winter training kind of gets you through
Austin: and preps you the most for I think some of
Austin: these spring races because there are plenty of cold.
Austin: The wind in New York recently has been crazy strong.
Austin: You either have a nice tailwind going up or back,
Austin: but at one point you're going to have to face
Austin: it. So I think going into London, yeah, it's just like, " All right,
Austin: I've been through this with the training." So just tapping
Austin: back into that.
Rob Simmelkjaer: What the winter training does not always prepare you that
Rob Simmelkjaer: well for is a 70 degree day, which is what
Rob Simmelkjaer: we had in Tokyo. And you never know, you
Rob Simmelkjaer: could certainly have in London. It's not known for warm,
Rob Simmelkjaer: sunny days per se, especially not in April. But I
Rob Simmelkjaer: feel like in London you could get three seasons in
Rob Simmelkjaer: one race. I feel like that's the thing about London.
Becs: Totally.
Rob Simmelkjaer: You could get a beautiful spring day and a cold winter
Rob Simmelkjaer: day and a rainy day all in the same race.
Becs: I agree. I will actually say the same for Boston.
Becs: The year I ran Boston, which was 2019, I
Becs: woke up to-
Becs: ... I woke up to ... So yours is 2018, because
Becs: I remember waking up and seeing literally sideways rain out
Becs: the window and being like, " Oh, no, it's going to
Becs: be the same as it was last year, this is
Becs: awful." I left my aunt's house head- to- toe in
Becs: bin bags, covered, and I had my spare pair of
Becs: shoes and my spare pair of socks bundled up inside.
Becs: I was prepared for everything. By the time we
Becs: started that race, it had dried, the rain had stopped,
Becs: but it was still wet underfoot. By the time we
Becs: finished, I finished that race and then the continuation of
Becs: that day, Rob, it got to mid- sixties in Boston,
Becs: so it really was multi seasons in the day for
Becs: Boston too. So it can be just this wild experience
Becs: of waking up with dread and finishing with dehydration. Don't
Becs: do that though, everyone. But yeah, London's going to
Becs: be very interesting I think. Let's talk a little bit
Becs: about your running journey. So obviously having come from hockey
Becs: to Ironman to running marathons, just road running, is there
Becs: a part of you that after you complete the six
Becs: stars, whenever that happens, do you think you're going to
Becs: return to Ironman training or something else?
Austin: Something else seems like a loaded question there. Should
Austin: I be? No, yeah-
Becs: Yeah, I signed you up for The Great World Race.
Austin: Yeah. We actually have a handshake agreement, and you heard
Austin: it here first. What was it we made?
Becs: I don't remember.
Austin: I would do the Great World Race if you did
Austin: a triathlon, it was something ...
Becs: It was the other way round. I said if you do the Great
Becs: World Race, I will do a triathlon.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Really?
Austin: Yeah, something like that, like an Ironman.
Becs: I think I'm pretty safe.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I was going to say, after watching Becs do it, Austin,
Rob Simmelkjaer: is there a chance this could happen or maybe zero chance?
Austin: Yeah, she would say zero, I'd say about 5%.
Becs: I am so ...
Rob Simmelkjaer: In the famous words of, I believe it was Jim
Rob Simmelkjaer: Carrey in Dumb and Dumber, so you're saying there's a chance.
Austin: Yes.
Becs: Terrible, terrible.
Austin: So the six stars is obviously ... it became a
Austin: reality like 2023 and it looks like I'll be on
Austin: track to finish within possibly this year with Berlin in
Austin: the fall. Iron Man? Yeah, I would like to do
Austin: another one. I think there's a goal time that I
Austin: have that I was quite close on the last one.
Austin: And it was also before Tallulah. The training for
Austin: that is just so much time. The efforts, I'd be
Austin: very ... Becs is about to start training for her next
Austin: race. And she went from training just endurance. I was
Austin: actually her coach on some of those long runs to
Austin: slow her up actually for pace to just time on
Austin: feet to now touching back into speed. And I
Austin: think that's when, when you're training for a marathon and
Austin: you do have a goal time, you are doing speed
Austin: workouts. And they're tough workouts. It's putting you quite uncomfortable.
Austin: Where with an Ironman, I know a lot of athletes
Austin: do have crazy goal times, and some of the times
Austin: I can't even fathom how they are doing that for
Austin: nine hours or eight hours.
Becs: How long it would take me to swim it.
Austin: But it's really just, for how I take it
Austin: is, it's really just endurance, the time on feet, quote,
Austin: unquote, that Becs experienced for The Great World Race. And
Austin: yeah, I'm enjoying this process right now, training for a
Austin: marathon. I think it's a really good balance of having
Austin: time for our relationship, to be a parent, to do
Austin: other things outside of fitness. And Ironman is a
Austin: bit time- consuming. So yeah, right now I'm focused on
Austin: just getting these two done. I hit a goal ton
Austin: in the marathon, I'm happy with that. If I never
Austin: hit it again, I'm like, cool, that's what I set
Austin: out to do.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Sub three hours, which was ... What was the exact time?
Austin: 2: 57 and some change.
Rob Simmelkjaer: And that was where?
Austin: It was the New Jersey marathon.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Jersey City, okay, good one.
Austin: Not Jersey City, it was in Asbury Park.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Asbury Park, okay, cool.
Austin: So it was a small race. I worked with the pacing group. It
Austin: was just maybe 300 runners, maybe a little bit more,
Austin: but it wasn't a big race.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Amazing, amazing. Lots of space. Yeah, well, that can make it easier, space to
Rob Simmelkjaer: run. Absolutely.
Austin: Exactly. And that was a springtime race. So yeah, right
Austin: now just the goals are set on the two marathons.
Austin: I would love to get back into some ice
Austin: hockey at some point. Not necessarily playing, but coaching to
Austin: some level, quite difficult in New York, but that would
Austin: be something down the road. But right now it's just
Austin: trying to just enjoy each race. That's how I look
Austin: at it.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Well, I am of course the CEO of New York
Rob Simmelkjaer: Road Runners, and so I will always say, and
Rob Simmelkjaer: I'm also a native New Yorker, that the TCS New
Rob Simmelkjaer: York City Marathon is the greatest marathon in the world.
Austin: Absolutely.
Rob Simmelkjaer: That said, with respect to all of our colleagues at
Rob Simmelkjaer: the other majors, I generally believe, and I haven't run
Rob Simmelkjaer: it yet, but I've been there, I've experienced it, I've
Rob Simmelkjaer: talked to so many six star finishers, the one that
Rob Simmelkjaer: is closest to New York in terms of the experience,
Rob Simmelkjaer: the environment, the crowds, the energy, the feel, all
Rob Simmelkjaer: of the things that make New York special is definitely
Rob Simmelkjaer: London. I think London has that passion in the community
Rob Simmelkjaer: for the event, the crowds are massive. And then the
Rob Simmelkjaer: route and that incredible spectacular finish in the shadow of
Rob Simmelkjaer: Buckingham Palace, nobody else can offer that obviously. It's a
Rob Simmelkjaer: really special one. So I think you're going to
Rob Simmelkjaer: have a great time. What are you most looking forward
Rob Simmelkjaer: to in terms of going over there, being in London
Rob Simmelkjaer: and running that race, is it the race? Is it
Rob Simmelkjaer: just being over there? What are you most excited about?
Austin: Right now I think it's-
Rob Simmelkjaer: Seeing Becs in her native element?
Austin: No, I think having a good run, honestly, this is maybe a little
Austin: bit taboo to say, but the beer afterwards with the friends.
Becs: The hot beer.
Austin: Yeah, the lukewarm beer that London serves.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Not taboo at all by the way, the beer I had in Tokyo was epic.
Austin: Yeah, I mean, the funniest thing, the first marathon I
Austin: ever did was the Philly marathon, and my friends had
Austin: run it the year before, and they were like, there's
Austin: an out and back along Kelly Drive that turns around
Austin: in a little town called Manayunk, which is a
Austin: very post- college grad area to live. So there's a
Austin: lot of bars and it gets a bit rowdy there.
Austin: And I remember them saying that they had a beer,
Austin: they were giving out beer on the course at the
Austin: turnaround. And so the next year I was running it
Austin: with my twin sister. And I was like, " I'm going to have
Austin: a beer at the turnaround." And I remember passing
Austin: that booth and just the smell of beer at that
Austin: point I was just like, no way would I ever
Austin: think of that. It's not until you're done, that post
Austin: drink celebratory feeling hit. So yeah, I have some good
Austin: friends, Becs and I have some good friends in London. Two of them are
Austin: running. And we've got some plans afterwards. I don't know,
Austin: where are we going, Becs, there was some pub
Austin: or something that they-
Becs: I'm not putting that out there on this thing.
Austin: (inaudible)
Rob Simmelkjaer: Oh, there's lots of pubs. Saying you'll be in a pub
Rob Simmelkjaer: in London is like, there's no way.
Becs: We'll be south of the river.
Austin: It'll be like, the Blue Crow Door and you look it up
Austin: on Google Maps and there's 15.
Becs: The Red Lion, there's a hundred Red Lions.
Austin: Yeah, The Red Lion, there's just a hundred of them. You're like, "
Austin: Which owner?" But yeah, we'll see some friends after. One
Austin: of them, he actually just had a newborn that's
Austin: almost, not a newborn, she's almost a year old, so
Austin: we'll get to meet her. Yeah, so will be fun.
Becs: The dad's running.
Austin: Yeah, the dad's running. But yeah, to take it in,
Austin: I think New York is ... I've lived in New York
Austin: now for 12 years. And just each neighborhood you run
Austin: through, you almost run through different chapters of your life
Austin: if you've spent that much time here and experience it.
Austin: And I'm sure the same, I won't have the exact
Austin: same connections running through London, but I'm sure you
Austin: get that sense. If you're not from New York and
Austin: run New York marathon, you see the different neighborhoods and
Austin: can piece together what that is. So yeah, I'm excited
Austin: for London very much.
Becs: It is a good one for seeing different parts, same as
Becs: Boston. There's Boston central where you finish, London central where
Becs: you finish. But because they're point to point races, you
Becs: do get to see parts of London that maybe
Becs: as a first time tourist visitor, maybe even a second
Becs: time tourist visitor, you don't go to. Going down to
Becs: Greenwich is a trek. The park is beautiful, but not
Becs: everybody goes there on their first and maybe even second
Becs: trip to London. But starting there and then winding through
Becs: those really cute little villages into the city and then
Becs: back out to Canary Wharf, which is our extended financial
Becs: district in London, you get to see so much more
Becs: of this cool city. And the big mixture that I
Becs: love the most about the route in London is the
Becs: old and the new. So when you get to see
Becs: Canary Wharf, is so new compared to Blackfriars and the areas
Becs: that you run through on the last let's say five
Becs: miles of the race are so old and historic. You're running
Becs: alongside the Embankment with Big Ben and the Houses of
Becs: Parliament in front of you. As Rob said, finishing at
Becs: Buckingham Palace where the king will be waving you on.
Becs: It's such a magical place. I hope it's sunny
Becs: because the year I ran London, which was 2016, oh
Becs: my gosh, 2016, so long ago, and it was a spring
Becs: day and there was crocuses and little flowers all over the
Becs: park. And it was such a beautiful place to start
Becs: that being from the UK, I hope that you get
Becs: to see that.
Austin: Yeah, and you may have a different opinion on this, but
Austin: when we've spent our time in London, it's quite
Austin: a hard city to run in. Whereas New York, you've
Austin: got a lot of different running paths in Brooklyn, Manhattan,
Austin: you've got Central Park, you've got Prospect Park. There's so
Austin: many different routes you can take if you need to
Austin: go for a longer run. Where London is ... I've enjoyed
Austin: some of our runs, but it's always stop- start. Hyde
Austin: Park's not a huge park.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Not that big.
Austin: It's big but it's not that big.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Hyde Park is big, but it's not Central Park, you can't
Rob Simmelkjaer: run a six- mile loop in Hyde Park.
Austin: Exactly. Yeah.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Tokyo is worse. Tokyo, there's nowhere to run in Tokyo.
Rob Simmelkjaer: You can go run that loop around the palace.
Austin: But that's it. It was 5K.
Rob Simmelkjaer: That's a couple of miles, but otherwise you're just out
Rob Simmelkjaer: in the streets. People don't, I think they do, but
Rob Simmelkjaer: if you don't, if you're a New Yorker and if
Rob Simmelkjaer: you're listening to this podcast, you're probably part of the New
Rob Simmelkjaer: York runners community, how lucky we are in New
Rob Simmelkjaer: York City to have both Central Park and the routes
Rob Simmelkjaer: that we have along the waterfronts. I think next to
Rob Simmelkjaer: Boston or along with Boston, these are the great places
Rob Simmelkjaer: to run. Chicago too, along the lake front. We've got
Rob Simmelkjaer: great places to run in these big running cities in
Rob Simmelkjaer: the United States. And that just doesn't exist in a
Rob Simmelkjaer: lot of these other places.
Austin: Yeah, you could go from the tip of Manhattan up
Austin: to the George Washington Bridge uninterrupted on the path.
Austin: And that's, what, 16 miles?
Rob Simmelkjaer: It sounds about right. I don't know. Maybe 12.
Becs: 12.
Austin: 12. Okay. Yeah.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I was saying 11 or 12, yeah. But yeah, you can do
Rob Simmelkjaer: your whole long run just up and down the west
Rob Simmelkjaer: side, absolutely, and be on the water the entire time.
Austin: Yeah, if you want to cut in, you can cut into Central Park in a number
Austin: of different levels, you've got the bridge.
Becs: Yeah, we're spoiled.
Austin: We're very spoiled to be able to ... We looked at a
Austin: house that was a little bit further into Brooklyn.
Austin: And one of the things that I mentioned was just,
Austin: hey, this is now a three- mile just to get to ...
Becs: (inaudible) Park.
Austin: That's unheard of in New York because if you live
Austin: in Manhattan, I think the widest part of the city
Austin: is two and a half miles. So if you live
Austin: in the-
Rob Simmelkjaer: That's right, just under three miles that's right.
Austin: You are less than a mile and a half to
Austin: at least the east or the west side and then
Austin: you can start your run.
Rob Simmelkjaer: That's right.
Austin: When we travel to different cities, it's just like, oh,
Austin: okay, this is the only path I can run on.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah, it's a great, great running city.
Austin: So yeah, we're very spoiled. I'm excited to run through
Austin: London and just have the streets closed down and just
Austin: have a fun day.
Becs: Hear all those Londoners cheering you on.
Rob Simmelkjaer: That's right. And those lovely, lovely accents. Okay, Austin, so
Rob Simmelkjaer: let's get down to business here. So you're going to
Rob Simmelkjaer: get your fifth star in London. Berlin, you almost
Rob Simmelkjaer: ran once, decided not to do it, that's going to be-
Becs: We ended up going on a beach holiday instead. Let's be honest, Austin, I said
Becs: to you, you can run Berlin or we can go to the Cayman Islands for a really nice beach
Becs: weekend holiday. And he was like, "Oh, I'll take the Cayman Islands."
Rob Simmelkjaer: I can't exactly blame him on that choice, but okay,
Rob Simmelkjaer: either work really hard and run 26. 2 miles-
Austin: She called me out.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Or have a pina colada on the beach. It's a
Rob Simmelkjaer: very understandable choice that you made there, Austin. But now
Rob Simmelkjaer: with only this one star remaining, it's going to be
Rob Simmelkjaer: sitting there waiting for you. How would you like to
Rob Simmelkjaer: run the BMW Berlin Marathon this fall, would that be
Rob Simmelkjaer: something that would interest you?
Austin: I would love to.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Well, I think that we can make that happen for you, Austin. In fact,
Rob Simmelkjaer: we are going to make that happen for you. Assuming
Rob Simmelkjaer: you actually finish in London. We're going to ... If
Rob Simmelkjaer: you don't finish, then the deal's off. But we're going
Rob Simmelkjaer: to hand you a bib for the BMW Berlin Marathon
Rob Simmelkjaer: this fall, 2025, through our relationship with them through Abbott
Rob Simmelkjaer: World Marathon Majors. We're fortunate to have some. And we
Rob Simmelkjaer: are pleased to present you that opportunity to run. So
Rob Simmelkjaer: what do you think about that? No Cayman Islands this
Rob Simmelkjaer: year. What do you think?
Austin: No Cayman Islands this year. Sorry, Becs. One, greatly, greatly
Austin: appreciated. Thank you so much for making that happen
Austin: to you, Becs and the New York Road Runners team. Yeah, that
Austin: will round it out and finish things up on the
Austin: six stars. So a little speechless, thank you.
Becs: I promise you we will go to a European island after
Becs: for a vacation.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I think that will be deserved, I think that will be deserved.
Austin: Fair enough. I will be enjoying the summer training very much.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah, I've been there and done that, and it's
Rob Simmelkjaer: nice, the long days, so much opportunity to run. Yeah,
Rob Simmelkjaer: that should give you a little extra motivation as you
Rob Simmelkjaer: get ready for London and course your way through that
Rob Simmelkjaer: race knowing that that six star is there for you
Rob Simmelkjaer: if you want it this September. And we know you
Rob Simmelkjaer: do. So wish you all the best getting ready for
Rob Simmelkjaer: London and for your day there. And it's always great
Rob Simmelkjaer: to have you and get a little look inside the world of
Rob Simmelkjaer: Becs Gentry other than what she does on Peloton
Rob Simmelkjaer: and in our podcast, the man who is behind all that.
Austin: Rob, if you want me back for the third time, you and I can
Austin: just do one.
Becs: Edge me out. Edge me out.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I like that, we can just talk about Becs on a show,
Rob Simmelkjaer: I think that's a great idea.
Becs: Not allowed, not allowed, no, vetoed.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Austin, great to see you, good luck in London.
Austin: You as well.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Thank you. Teresita Gonzalez took up running in 2018
Rob Simmelkjaer: and soon after her brother Luis followed suit. Then after
Rob Simmelkjaer: many years sitting in the grandstands watching her two children
Rob Simmelkjaer: run the marathon, their mother decided to lace up herself,
Rob Simmelkjaer: completing her first New York City Marathon at the age
Rob Simmelkjaer: of 65. But it doesn't stop there, keep your
Rob Simmelkjaer: eyes out for this coming November 2nd, because in this
Rob Simmelkjaer: year's 2025 TCS New York City Marathon, the Gonzalez family will
Rob Simmelkjaer: be all in. Teresita, Luis, their mother and their youngest
Rob Simmelkjaer: sister will all be on the start line together. Teresita
Rob Simmelkjaer: and Luis are here with us today to talk about
Rob Simmelkjaer: running, family and their upcoming spring marathons. Take it away, Meb.
Meb: Thanks Rob. Teresita, looking at your race history, it
Meb: seems like you were the first in the family to start
Meb: running back in 2018, what got you started?
Teresita Gonzalez: Some health issues that arose in 2017, I decided to
Teresita Gonzalez: do a 5K. After liking my 5K, I decided to
Teresita Gonzalez: venture off onto the New York City Marathon website, and
Teresita Gonzalez: I saw that I could run the New York City Marathon
Teresita Gonzalez: in 2018. I discovered Team for Kids, and I ran
Teresita Gonzalez: my first New York City Marathon in 2018. We
Teresita Gonzalez: were fundraising for a wonderful cause.
Meb: Awesome, Teresita. And you have your brother, Luis. Was it
Meb: Teresita, Luis, who inspired you to start running or was
Meb: there another moment that pulled you in?
Luis Gonzalez: I grew up playing soccer, so I think she was
Luis Gonzalez: the catalyst behind the decision. We did try to do
Luis Gonzalez: a 9+ 1 one year, I think the year before
Luis Gonzalez: COVID. So I was in line to run the marathon that
Luis Gonzalez: following year. But then one night we stayed out
Luis Gonzalez: too late and I missed one of my races the
Luis Gonzalez: next morning. And so then I had to wait until
Luis Gonzalez: the year after and because I didn't have my 9+
Luis Gonzalez: 1, the only way I could sign up to run
Luis Gonzalez: the New York City Marathon was fundraising through Team for
Luis Gonzalez: Kids. So that's how it all came together.
Meb: So sports has been part of your family. I love
Meb: soccer as well. But your mother's story is incredible. She
Meb: went from watching you race to running a marathon at 65.
Meb: What was it like crossing that finish line with
Meb: your 65- year- old mother?
Luis Gonzalez: We grew up on the course, we grew up on
Luis Gonzalez: Fourth Avenue, so every year the marathon was always the first
Luis Gonzalez: Sunday in November, it was always around my birthday. So
Luis Gonzalez: it was always a good thing to go just run
Luis Gonzalez: up the street and see all the runners, get the
Luis Gonzalez: high five, just putting your hand out, just watching everybody
Luis Gonzalez: run. And in my head I'm always like, these people are
Luis Gonzalez: crazy, 26 miles, I would never do this. And
Luis Gonzalez: then you fast- forward 20 years later, there I am
Luis Gonzalez: lining up at the start line.
Meb: What's your perspective, Teresita, on your finish with your mother?
Teresita Gonzalez: It was emotional, I had a little bit more experience
Teresita Gonzalez: with my mom because I was helping her train. I
Teresita Gonzalez: decided to take back my running season that year to
Teresita Gonzalez: help her through the run, walking segments, help train her.
Teresita Gonzalez: That way she felt comfortable. And being able to see
Teresita Gonzalez: firsthand the emotional and physical wellbeing that it did
Teresita Gonzalez: to her was great. And then having our family along
Teresita Gonzalez: the course cheering us on, our nieces, our nephew, our
Teresita Gonzalez: cousins, the whole family out there was very exciting and
Teresita Gonzalez: was very heartwarming. And now I look forward to this
Teresita Gonzalez: November, sharing that experience now with my little sister.
Meb: This is incredible story. So this November, this coming year,
Meb: your whole family, Team Gonzalez, your mother, your younger sister,
Meb: and the two of you will be running NYC together.
Meb: What does that mean to you?
Teresita Gonzalez: For me, it's a full circle. Lots of things are
Teresita Gonzalez: happening this year for me personally. But being able to
Teresita Gonzalez: put my sister out there, have her train for a marathon,
Teresita Gonzalez: for her to get to know her body on another
Teresita Gonzalez: level, it's just good family moments for me and happiness
Teresita Gonzalez: all around.
Meb: Wonderful. What about you, Luis?
Luis Gonzalez: The same thing. Sometimes you take time for granted, you
Luis Gonzalez: take family for granted, you're always busy. New York
Luis Gonzalez: City's very fast- paced, you work, work, work, work, work.
Luis Gonzalez: And then you don't have time for anything else. Even
Luis Gonzalez: training for your own marathon, you're like, okay, where do
Luis Gonzalez: you fit in the time? Do you have to wake
Luis Gonzalez: up earlier? It's still 24 hours in a day, so you
Luis Gonzalez: got to make the time. So I think this is
Luis Gonzalez: good for the whole family to kind of ... it's a
Luis Gonzalez: good time to spend together. When we trained with my
Luis Gonzalez: mom, we would take her with all our friends, introduce
Luis Gonzalez: her to everybody and be like, " Hey Ma, you have
Luis Gonzalez: to say hi to these people, these are our friends.
Luis Gonzalez: These are the people that are helping you that
Luis Gonzalez: donated to your cause, you have to be polite." And
Luis Gonzalez: then for my sister, we're trying to help her break
Luis Gonzalez: out of her shell. And I feel like this will
Luis Gonzalez: be fun for her, for her to get this mental
Luis Gonzalez: aspect of her, build her resilience up, see what you're
Luis Gonzalez: capable of. There is a lot more to do out
Luis Gonzalez: there. And being able to, for us to travel 26.2
Luis Gonzalez: miles together, I think it'll be a great moment. And
Luis Gonzalez: the pictures that we have from last year are forever.
Meb: Absolutely. Family that runs together sticks together. And to see
Meb: you guys in a positive environment is amazing. So, Teresita, you
Meb: were one of the just six women accepted into NYRR's
Meb: first ever Game Changers cohort. Can you tell us what
Meb: that program is and what it means for you as
Meb: a coach?
Teresita Gonzalez: Game Changer is a program founded by Vanessa. She is
Teresita Gonzalez: on a mission to increase the number of women of
Teresita Gonzalez: color in the running industry. So for this cohort, she
Teresita Gonzalez: partnered up with New York Road Runners and Brooks. And
Teresita Gonzalez: this is a focus within the five boroughs. I was
Teresita Gonzalez: one of the six, about 50 women applied in New
Teresita Gonzalez: York City of color. And this is very special to
Teresita Gonzalez: me. Since 2019, I've been mentoring with Team for Kids,
Teresita Gonzalez: so I've had friends and family pitch the idea that
Teresita Gonzalez: maybe I should take up being a running coach.
Teresita Gonzalez: But I just didn't have the time for it back
Teresita Gonzalez: then. And now with this cohort, things aligned for me.
Teresita Gonzalez: And now I have the time to be able to
Teresita Gonzalez: dedicate myself to study, look up different ... just study and
Teresita Gonzalez: do lots of research on what it is to become
Teresita Gonzalez: a running coach. And I look forward to helping people
Teresita Gonzalez: step on the start line for their marathons.
Meb: Pretty incredible. You have case study with your family, do
Meb: a lot of research on, so keep it up. Luis, how is
Meb: your training going for the London Marathon?
Luis Gonzalez: I think it's been pretty good. I guess, this would
Luis Gonzalez: be my third spring marathon. It's always hard. And this
Luis Gonzalez: has been the coldest one I would say. I'm a
Luis Gonzalez: bigger fan of the cold, but sometimes the cold is
Luis Gonzalez: just ... with the wind and everything like that. When you're
Luis Gonzalez: trying to get the speed workouts and you got a
Luis Gonzalez: headwind instead of a tailwind, it's a little rough. But
Luis Gonzalez: it's always good, half the battle is just getting out
Luis Gonzalez: there and then the rest just comes.
Meb: The hardest part is lacing the shoes up and getting out
Meb: the door. Once you get out, you're going to get it done and you're going to
Meb: get even motivated and also inspire others who watch you
Meb: run. So good luck there. And then, Teresa, you are
Meb: taking the Boston marathon and London within weeks to earn
Meb: your six star medal. What's your game plan for recovery
Meb: between the two races?
Teresita Gonzalez: I'm coming back home that Monday night from Boston, so
Teresita Gonzalez: I'm just going to rest, hydrate and do lots of
Teresita Gonzalez: ice baths. That way I can have some fresh
Teresita Gonzalez: legs for the following Sunday.
Meb: From Monday to Sunday, right?
Teresita Gonzalez: From Monday to Sunday, yes.
Meb: Incredible. Well, I'm so delighted to interview you guys. And
Meb: thank you for all the hard work that you do for Team for Kids
Meb: and Team Gonzalez. 2025 is going to be special. So I
Meb: wish you guys all the best.
Teresita Gonzalez: Thank you so much, Meb.
Luis Gonzalez: Thank you.
Rob Simmelkjaer: All right, thank you, Meb. And thank you Teresita and Luis for joining us and for being members
Rob Simmelkjaer: of New York Road Runners and Team for Kids. Great
Rob Simmelkjaer: story. Now today's Meb Minute.
Meb: Traveling is important. You know me, I'm a visualization person,
Meb: I visualize my race, but I also visualize my packing
Meb: list. So when you are traveling for a race, make
Meb: sure you book your flights and hotels early. Arrive to
Meb: a destination early. Pack all the necessaries on carry- on.
Meb: I cannot emphasize on this one because I made one
Meb: big mistake. There's a law that says Murphy's Law, anything
Meb: that can go wrong, it will go wrong. And
Meb: on a direct flight from San Diego to New York,
Meb: I had my first daughter, and we are going to travel. How can
Meb: anything get lost on a direct flight? I did not
Meb: have my carry- on. I just packed everything check in.
Meb: And my luggage never made it. So be careful as
Meb: you plan your travels. Carry- on is the way to
Meb: go. Sometimes time zone, time zone accumulation or adaptation is
Meb: important. For me, I used to get up, when I
Meb: was in the West Coast, get up really early, 5
Meb: AM my time, which is 8 AM in Eastern Standard
Meb: Time. So you have to be really careful. And as
Meb: you travel, gets on that plane, before the plane, you
Meb: got a lot of things going on. But once you get on
Meb: the plane, you are out of control. Do what you can,
Meb: just now relax. As you travel, walk around. It's important
Meb: to move around in the plane. Sometimes you go where
Meb: the flight attendants sit, go there and stretch a little
Meb: bit. Tell them about yourself. You're getting ready for a
Meb: half marathon, getting ready for a marathon. The flight
Meb: attendant might be kind enough to give you water or
Meb: snacks and things like that. So my thing is think
Meb: ahead, travel well and run to win to the best
Meb: that you can on race day. And more importantly, have
Meb: fun once you get to the destination. Think about the
Meb: race, smell the air, feel the temperature, and soak in
Meb: all the atmosphere because you are celebrating one of the
Meb: great accomplishments you're going to achieve.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Well, that does it for a true marathon episode
Rob Simmelkjaer: of Set The Pace. We had to give you that
Rob Simmelkjaer: of course. Thanks to today's guests, Corey Wharton Malcolm, Austin
Rob Simmelkjaer: Curtis and Teresita and Luis Gonzalez. Great conversations with all
Rob Simmelkjaer: of you. Remember, if you like this episode, make sure
Rob Simmelkjaer: you subscribe, rate it or leave a comment or review
Rob Simmelkjaer: so other folks can find it as well. Enjoy the
Rob Simmelkjaer: miles everybody. We'll see you for our special 100th edition
Rob Simmelkjaer: of Set The Pace next week.