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Audio: Thank you, New York. Today, we're reminded of the power
Audio: of community and the power of coming together. Athletes, on
Audio: your mark. The first woman to finish for the second
Audio: straight year here in the New York City Marathon is Miki Gorman,
Audio: a smiling Miki Gorman. And why not? 2: 29:30, the
Audio: time for Grete Waitz. Look at the emotion of Shalane Flanagan as she comes to
Audio: the line. Pointing to his chest, pointing to the USA he
Audio: so proudly wears across his chest. A great day for
Audio: Meb Keflezighi.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Hey everybody, and welcome to Set the Pace, the official
Rob Simmelkjaer: podcast of New York Road Runners, presented by Peloton. I'm
Rob Simmelkjaer: your host, Rob Simmelkjaer, the CEO of New York Road Runners.
Rob Simmelkjaer: And with me, as she is every week, Peloton instructor
Rob Simmelkjaer: extraordinaire, Becs Gentry. Hello, Becs, how are you today?
Becs Gentry: Good, thank you, just surviving this cold weather here in
Becs Gentry: New York City. But weirdly, people keep telling me to
Becs Gentry: start running. I am really enjoying running outside in this
Becs Gentry: cold. Now, I know what you're all thinking, " Just because
Becs Gentry: you went to Antarctica, shut up. Blah, blah, blah, blah,
Becs Gentry: blah." It's misleading because you think, " Oh, I'm just going
Becs Gentry: to get out there and have a little bit of
Becs Gentry: vitamin D on my face." And then you realize your face
Becs Gentry: is totally covered. So I'm actually forcing myself to run
Becs Gentry: inside a little bit more because I know me, I'll
Becs Gentry: end up getting sick. And I don't need to be
Becs Gentry: running outside, I'm not in a training block. So I'm
Becs Gentry: teaching myself that the gym is the better place for
Becs Gentry: me right now.
Rob Simmelkjaer: You know it's funny with running in the cold, and I experienced
Rob Simmelkjaer: all of this on Saturday at the Joe Kleinerman 10K that we
Rob Simmelkjaer: had in Central Park, you have this mental barrier to
Rob Simmelkjaer: the run, at least I do. Because you look out
Rob Simmelkjaer: there and you're like, " This is not a day I'm
Rob Simmelkjaer: supposed to be going outside." I woke up before dawn
Rob Simmelkjaer: on Saturday morning, snow was falling and it just was like, "
Rob Simmelkjaer: I'm going to run a race right now?" And I
Rob Simmelkjaer: drove down that morning actually from Connecticut and get to
Rob Simmelkjaer: the park, the sun starts to come up and all
Rob Simmelkjaer: the runners are there. By the way, we had a great
Rob Simmelkjaer: turnout on Saturday, just about 5, 000 runners came. And I
Rob Simmelkjaer: stood at the starting line and I spoke to the crowd and I said, "
Rob Simmelkjaer: You know what? It is an absolutely beautiful day to
Rob Simmelkjaer: run." Because the snow had stopped and, Becs, the park looked
Rob Simmelkjaer: like a postcard on Saturday morning.
Becs Gentry: I'm sure, yeah.
Rob Simmelkjaer: It was so beautiful. The snow kind of arranged itself perfectly
Rob Simmelkjaer: for us. It was on the grass and on the
Rob Simmelkjaer: trees, but the road was totally fine. So people had
Rob Simmelkjaer: great footing to run on and it was a gorgeous
Rob Simmelkjaer: day to run. And it took me a while to get
Rob Simmelkjaer: my head around running, but as you say, once I
Rob Simmelkjaer: got going, it just felt amazing. And I ended up
Rob Simmelkjaer: running the 10K and then a lot, lot more that
Rob Simmelkjaer: day because I am, and we'll talk about this in
Rob Simmelkjaer: a later episode, maybe training for something right now. But
Rob Simmelkjaer: it went great. I felt amazing. And sometimes when it's
Rob Simmelkjaer: cold like that, you just feel like you could run forever
Rob Simmelkjaer: and maybe that's what it was like for you in
Rob Simmelkjaer: Antarctica. I don't know. I certainly felt that way on Saturday. I felt
Rob Simmelkjaer: great after a long, long run.
Becs Gentry: Yeah, it's true, you just settle in. You settle in and
Becs Gentry: you get it done, as long as you don't get
Becs Gentry: too hot. I mean, I imagine to some of the
Becs Gentry: incredible athletes who raced the 10K on Saturday, we're going
Becs Gentry: to go through the winners very shortly, but then your
Becs Gentry: body's gotten to a heat level and a sweat level
Becs Gentry: that isn't necessarily conducive to continuing a steady- state run
Becs Gentry: in that weather. But yeah, if you keep it chill,
Becs Gentry: excuse the pun, you'll be good.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah, it's all about those layering decisions and you want to be
Rob Simmelkjaer: comfortable enough at the start that you're not just getting
Rob Simmelkjaer: frostbite. But as your body heats up, to have the
Rob Simmelkjaer: ability to take a bit off here, take a bit
Rob Simmelkjaer: off there, lower a zipper, open a vent, and give
Rob Simmelkjaer: yourself what you need to get through that run. And
Rob Simmelkjaer: I was, I was discarding things as I passed the
Rob Simmelkjaer: finish line because I kept running after the race and
Rob Simmelkjaer: I handed off a jacket and a hat and some
Rob Simmelkjaer: gloves and felt great as I kept going. So it
Rob Simmelkjaer: was awesome and it was a great day. Thanks to
Rob Simmelkjaer: everybody who came out for the Joe K 10K celebrating
Rob Simmelkjaer: Joe Kleinerman, a legend at New York Road Runners, a
Rob Simmelkjaer: man who volunteered 45 years of his life to this
Rob Simmelkjaer: organization and making running a better sport.
Becs Gentry: A legend.
Rob Simmelkjaer: An incredible individual and that we're thrilled to honor every
Rob Simmelkjaer: year. And the winners on Saturday, it was Brooke Starn
Rob Simmelkjaer: of Central Park Track Club Tracksmith with a winning time
Rob Simmelkjaer: of 35:56 in the brisk conditions. The non- binary winner
Rob Simmelkjaer: was Elijah Taylor, 35: 32. And for the men it
Rob Simmelkjaer: was Jaouad El Jazouli with a time of 30: 25 from
Rob Simmelkjaer: the Garden State Track Club. That is a blistering 10K.
Becs Gentry: He was running for his hot chocolate.
Rob Simmelkjaer: That's right, everybody was. We had bagels, we had all
Rob Simmelkjaer: the things you wanted at the end. So it was a
Rob Simmelkjaer: great, great day. Congratulations to everybody who came out on
Rob Simmelkjaer: a really, really beautiful morning on Saturday. And Becs, by
Rob Simmelkjaer: the way, we've got some exciting new stuff coming out
Rob Simmelkjaer: on Peloton right now with New York Road Runners.
Becs Gentry: We do.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Talk about that. I'll let you give that news-
Becs Gentry: We do.
Rob Simmelkjaer: ... because it's really cool- looking stuff.
Becs Gentry: Oh, it really is. So basically for all of our Peloton Tread and
Becs Gentry: Tread+ users looking to stay inside or just wanting to
Becs Gentry: check them out, we have released two new classes this
Becs Gentry: week that we filmed at last year's New Balance 5th
Becs Gentry: Avenue Mile. Okay? So you've got to head to the
Becs Gentry: scenic library and you can run the iconic race alongside myself
Becs Gentry: and some other very awesome New York Road Runners' Set
Becs Gentry: the Pace guests that we've had the pleasure of talking
Becs Gentry: to, and my fellow instructors, Mariana, Alex K, and Matt
Becs Gentry: Wilpers. I can't tell you the fun we had filming
Becs Gentry: that day. Did we all run the ... I definitely ran
Becs Gentry: the Mile. I think Matt Wilpers also did run the
Becs Gentry: Mile. So we actually ran it ourselves and then we
Becs Gentry: waited for everybody else to finish, all the various waves
Becs Gentry: because as you know, the New York Road Runners New Balance 5th
Becs Gentry: Avenue Mile has a lot of different waves and then
Becs Gentry: the kids do their waves. And then we went to
Becs Gentry: the course and we ran it bit by bit together.
Becs Gentry: And I'm not going to give it all away, but go check
Becs Gentry: it out. And then also, I believe there was a
Becs Gentry: Mariana special as well on there. So I'm really excited. Let
Becs Gentry: us know what you think of the classes and if
Becs Gentry: it inspires you to sign up for any races perhaps.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Absolutely. The 5th Avenue Mile is such an iconic stretch
Rob Simmelkjaer: of road. It's such an amazing experience to run down
Rob Simmelkjaer: 5th Avenue and it's just an amazing vibe. So I
Rob Simmelkjaer: think that's a really cool thing to have on the
Rob Simmelkjaer: treadmill for those who want to go experience that run
Rob Simmelkjaer: fast on that treadmill and tear down 5th Avenue. I
Rob Simmelkjaer: love that. So I'm looking forward to checking that out
Rob Simmelkjaer: and giving people a chance to experience that wherever they
Rob Simmelkjaer: are with all of these amazing Peloton instructors.
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Becs Gentry: and Tread+, you can challenge yourself anytime, anywhere. Whether you're
Becs Gentry: building strength or working on speed, Peloton has a class
Becs Gentry: for every goal from 5 to 120- minute workouts. With
Becs Gentry: muscle building classes and flexible training options, you'll have everything
Becs Gentry: you need to crush your next race and then recover
Becs Gentry: from it. All- Access Membership separate. Find your push, find
Becs Gentry: your power at onepeloton. com/ race- training. Peloton, the official
Becs Gentry: digital fitness partner for New York Road Runners.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Becs, we are going to your side of the pond today for our
Rob Simmelkjaer: special guest, a fellow member of yours of Team GB
Rob Simmelkjaer: joining us, Calli Hauger- Thackery. I'm sure this is someone
Rob Simmelkjaer: you know, Becs, from that British running community. Excited to
Rob Simmelkjaer: talk to her?
Becs Gentry: So excited to talk to Calli. She is such a beautiful light
Becs Gentry: in the women's running community. Calli has recently absolutely crushed
Becs Gentry: the 2024 California International Marathon record. She ran a 2:
Becs Gentry: 24. The previous was a 2: 26 and some change. So
Becs Gentry: unreal, but I think what's super special is the day
Becs Gentry: that her and her husband had an ... You got to
Becs Gentry: listen to find out a little bit more about that.
Becs Gentry: She's setting her sights on 2025 Boston Marathon. And I
Becs Gentry: think, Rob, I don't know about you, but the lineup
Becs Gentry: for the women's elite field at Boston, day by day
Becs Gentry: is becoming so very riveting.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah, it's going to be an amazing day in Boston.
Rob Simmelkjaer: It's also going to be an amazing day in New
Rob Simmelkjaer: York in March. And so when Calli joins us, we'll
Rob Simmelkjaer: have a little something to say about the United Airlines
Rob Simmelkjaer: NYC Half field as well. So teasing that in just a
Rob Simmelkjaer: moment. And speaking of moment, the Member Moment today, of
Rob Simmelkjaer: course, Meb Keflezighi will join us. And he's going to catch
Rob Simmelkjaer: up with New York Road Runners' member, Danielle Grimley, a first-
Rob Simmelkjaer: time marathoner who started the 24 TCS New York City Marathon
Rob Simmelkjaer: out in Staten Island on foot, as most runners did,
Rob Simmelkjaer: but finished the race in Central Park on crutches. But
Rob Simmelkjaer: she did finish.
Becs Gentry: She did.
Rob Simmelkjaer: And she did an amazing job and has an amazing story to
Rob Simmelkjaer: tell about getting there and ending up being a part
Rob Simmelkjaer: of that incredible final finisher celebration we have after dark
Rob Simmelkjaer: in Central Park. So Danielle is here to tell us
Rob Simmelkjaer: that story and how that moment changed her forever. So
Rob Simmelkjaer: I can't wait to hear Meb's conversation with Danielle Grimley
Rob Simmelkjaer: and her experience with the final finisher. And then Meb
Rob Simmelkjaer: will be back with some words of advice for all
Rob Simmelkjaer: you runners out there who are training for a spring
Rob Simmelkjaer: marathon during these cold, dark winter months. I'm going to
Rob Simmelkjaer: be tuning in to listen to that one myself. I
Rob Simmelkjaer: want to hear what Meb has to say because, let's
Rob Simmelkjaer: just say, I have never trained for a spring marathon
Rob Simmelkjaer: and I just want to hear what Meb has to
Rob Simmelkjaer: say about that. So we'll talk more about that later.
Becs Gentry: I want to hear what Rob's going to say about
Becs Gentry: that too.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Oh, the winter months. All I can say is make friends
Rob Simmelkjaer: with a treadmill, whether it's a Peloton Tread or whatever
Rob Simmelkjaer: you can get your hands on because the daylight hours
Rob Simmelkjaer: are just limited.
Becs Gentry: Oh, gosh.
Rob Simmelkjaer: And you got to do what you got to do.
Becs Gentry: You do.
Rob Simmelkjaer: It is what it is. Can't wait to hear what
Rob Simmelkjaer: Meb has to say about that.
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Becs Gentry: lot of lead scoring, and a lot of long days.
Becs Gentry: But with HubSpot, it's easier than ever for marketers to
Becs Gentry: boost leads and score customers fast, which means pretty soon,
Becs Gentry: your company will have a lot to celebrate. Visit hubspot. com/ marketers
Becs Gentry: to learn more.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Our guest today is an incredibly talented British runner who is
Rob Simmelkjaer: on the rise in the world of professional distance running.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Calli Hauger- Thackery is a Yorkshire, England native turned international
Rob Simmelkjaer: marathon star. She's been steadily making her mark on the
Rob Simmelkjaer: global running scene this past summer as a member of
Rob Simmelkjaer: Team GB at the Paris Olympics, and most recently, a
Rob Simmelkjaer: thrilling win at the California International Marathon. Calli's now preparing
Rob Simmelkjaer: to tackle one of the world's most prestigious races, the
Rob Simmelkjaer: 2025 Boston Marathon. And as part of her training, she's
Rob Simmelkjaer: going to be joining us in New York, we're happy
Rob Simmelkjaer: to announce, for the 2025 United Airlines NYC Half. Calli, it
Rob Simmelkjaer: is great to have you here on Set the Pace.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Welcome, and we're so thrilled to welcome you to New York.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Thank you so much. New York, I love it. I'm excited to
Calli Hauger-Thackery: be here, guys. It's just a great race. I'm lucky I've done it
Calli Hauger-Thackery: before so I kind of know what I'm getting myself
Calli Hauger-Thackery: in for this time.
Becs Gentry: Love it. Oh my gosh, Calli. Well, it's an honor to
Becs Gentry: meet you from the GB side of things. It's been
Becs Gentry: incredible to watch you flourish in your career because you
Becs Gentry: have really come into it with such a great attitude,
Becs Gentry: a really lovely personality. You're so friendly and bubbly. And
Becs Gentry: I think it's a change within the world of women's
Becs Gentry: sports to have that camaraderie and friendship amongst the females
Becs Gentry: on the start line. So thank you for doing that
Becs Gentry: for our sport. And massive congratulations on CIM. Wow.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Well, thank you for the compliment, first. That's a big
Calli Hauger-Thackery: compliment. Thank you. And secondly, CIM, super happy with it
Calli Hauger-Thackery: considering the training beforehand wasn't the best prep. I'm going
Calli Hauger-Thackery: through some sleep apnea things. As an athlete, that was
Calli Hauger-Thackery: pretty daunting, so just getting on top of that now.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: So yeah, several days before, I had no sleep trying
Calli Hauger-Thackery: to figure this stuff out. So to pull off a
Calli Hauger-Thackery: win, I was very thrilled with in the end. I
Calli Hauger-Thackery: mean, Jackie made it very hard for me. I remember
Calli Hauger-Thackery: looking back at one point being like, " Wow, I've got
Calli Hauger-Thackery: a race on my hands today." But it makes it
Calli Hauger-Thackery: fun and that's why I love racing. It's, you never
Calli Hauger-Thackery: know. I mean, she smashed it. She got a 3-
Calli Hauger-Thackery: minute PB, so she nearly got me at the final stages.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: And I just remember thinking, " I've got to turn the
Calli Hauger-Thackery: wheels now or else I'm not winning this race."
Becs Gentry: Absolutely.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: So no, it was a really cool, fun experience.
Becs Gentry: Yeah, and I mean, you didn't just win it. You're
Becs Gentry: being very humble here. You won it with a 2:
Becs Gentry: 24 and you broke the previous course record by 90
Becs Gentry: seconds or so, right? You are now the CIM record
Becs Gentry: holder. It's just so cool.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Thank you so much. It was my partner, Nick. He loves it. It's a big race
Calli Hauger-Thackery: for him and he was like, " Well, you can either watch
Calli Hauger-Thackery: me or you can race." And I was like, " Well,
Calli Hauger-Thackery: you know what? I might as well get involved myself." It was
Calli Hauger-Thackery: a really fun event.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Calli, I want to take you back to Paris where
Rob Simmelkjaer: Becs and I both were doing different things and I
Rob Simmelkjaer: know you were there representing Team GB in the marathon,
Rob Simmelkjaer: obviously a really difficult course. It was a challenging day
Rob Simmelkjaer: for you. You ended up not finishing the race. But
Rob Simmelkjaer: what did you take away from that experience that allowed
Rob Simmelkjaer: you such a short time later to have this record-
Rob Simmelkjaer: breaking performance in California?
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Yeah, that's the thing. It's obviously heartbreaking having to pull
Calli Hauger-Thackery: out of that race. The training honestly couldn't have been
Calli Hauger-Thackery: better leading up to it. So it was definitely one
Calli Hauger-Thackery: of the hardest decisions I had to make to pull
Calli Hauger-Thackery: out of that race. But ultimately I know it was the
Calli Hauger-Thackery: right decision because if I'd have gone a step further,
Calli Hauger-Thackery: I just know I wouldn't have had a season. I was not in a
Calli Hauger-Thackery: good way. And that's the thing with running and what we
Calli Hauger-Thackery: do, especially the marathon, you need to get everything right.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: So the sleep, the eating, nutrition, everything. And unfortunately, I
Calli Hauger-Thackery: found out some sad news with my mum with her
Calli Hauger-Thackery: cancer diagnosis just a few weeks before and it hit
Calli Hauger-Thackery: me harder than I thought it would. I was working
Calli Hauger-Thackery: with my team to try and get my head right,
Calli Hauger-Thackery: but with that, I did lose sleep, I lost my appetite,
Calli Hauger-Thackery: and unfortunately, I wasn't a hundred percent on race day
Calli Hauger-Thackery: and my body was fighting. So yeah, it was really
Calli Hauger-Thackery: tough, but ultimately when I dropped out, I was like, "
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Okay." It was the worst moment of my life, but at
Calli Hauger-Thackery: the same time, what an experience to actually be there and
Calli Hauger-Thackery: do the Olympics. And you know what? It made me
Calli Hauger-Thackery: so hungry now for future races and for the next
Calli Hauger-Thackery: four years, for LA. So I've learned a lot. Even
Calli Hauger-Thackery: though it was a really hard time, I've learned so
Calli Hauger-Thackery: much from that experience and I will take it with
Calli Hauger-Thackery: me and let it make me hungry for the next
Calli Hauger-Thackery: few years, for sure.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah, and you already have. I know your mum obviously
Rob Simmelkjaer: had that cancer diagnosis right before Paris. How is she
Rob Simmelkjaer: doing, Calli? What was it like for you? I can
Rob Simmelkjaer: only imagine how challenging it must've been to try to
Rob Simmelkjaer: compete after getting news like that, but would love to
Rob Simmelkjaer: know how she's doing and how the family's doing.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Yeah, thank you so much for asking. She's doing really
Calli Hauger-Thackery: good. I think chemo has come a long way. Her
Calli Hauger-Thackery: treatment has been a lot better. She had cancer seven
Calli Hauger-Thackery: years ago and this time has been a lot more positive.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: The treatment plan just makes more sense. And it's not
Calli Hauger-Thackery: easy, chemo knocks you down hard, but she's fighting. She's
Calli Hauger-Thackery: a fighter, so she'll get through it. And we can't
Calli Hauger-Thackery: wait to see that all-clear hopefully in the next few months and then
Calli Hauger-Thackery: we go from there. But no, she's doing great. She's really
Calli Hauger-Thackery: positive at the minute, so it's good to see.
Becs Gentry: Fantastic. Such a testament to our bodies, how when we
Becs Gentry: go through these massive training blocks and then it's our
Becs Gentry: body and our mind coming together telling us what's really
Becs Gentry: the most important. And I think that was probably your
Becs Gentry: body's way of saying, " Hey, you know what? It's okay
Becs Gentry: to not push through this and to keep that mental
Becs Gentry: strength there for your family." Because it's probably what you
Becs Gentry: all needed, was just to come together and for you
Becs Gentry: to not be exhausted for it. But having said that,
Becs Gentry: I mean just seven weeks later, there you were in
Becs Gentry: Berlin and absolutely tearing up that course.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Thank you.
Becs Gentry: I mean, well, your time there was a 2:21: 24. So what did
Becs Gentry: you do after, body- wise? I don't want to dwell
Becs Gentry: on your mom's diagnosis, but body- wise, share with our
Becs Gentry: listeners how you recovered from Paris in just seven weeks
Becs Gentry: to get that incredible time in Berlin.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: I think with me, that's how I deal with things. If
Calli Hauger-Thackery: I have a bad situation happen, the only way I know how
Calli Hauger-Thackery: to deal with it is just get back up and
Calli Hauger-Thackery: just keep trying and I just try to put everything
Calli Hauger-Thackery: behind me. We went back to the UK for a
Calli Hauger-Thackery: little bit and I just put my head down and,
Calli Hauger-Thackery: well, obviously took some time with family and things. And
Calli Hauger-Thackery: then I just really reset with family and honestly just
Calli Hauger-Thackery: did enough to tick over enough to get me through
Calli Hauger-Thackery: a good race because I knew I wanted to do
Calli Hauger-Thackery: one soon. The thing was I could have done Valencia
Calli Hauger-Thackery: and waited until December, but I was like, " Can I
Calli Hauger-Thackery: get through another training block this big?" Honestly, what I
Calli Hauger-Thackery: put in for Paris, the training I put in for
Calli Hauger-Thackery: that, I was like, "Do you know what? That's not going to go
Calli Hauger-Thackery: anywhere." It's like, " I don't want to waste that. I want
Calli Hauger-Thackery: to take advantage of the training I've done, I've put in, and
Calli Hauger-Thackery: just maintain this fitness somehow and just rip the band-
Calli Hauger-Thackery: aid off." And Berlin just seemed like the perfect race
Calli Hauger-Thackery: for that. I think a lot of people thought I
Calli Hauger-Thackery: was crazy for going in so soon, but for me,
Calli Hauger-Thackery: it was just like, I just wanted to somehow soften
Calli Hauger-Thackery: the blow from what happened in Paris. And I knew
Calli Hauger-Thackery: how fit I was, that was a thing, so that wasn't
Calli Hauger-Thackery: a question. It was more just I knew it was
Calli Hauger-Thackery: a mental thing and I just had to overcome that. So
Calli Hauger-Thackery: I did a lot of work with close ones, getting
Calli Hauger-Thackery: myself in a good spot, and before you know it, I was ready.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: I felt like I was ready enough to line up
Calli Hauger-Thackery: and still do have a good day. So yeah, it
Calli Hauger-Thackery: excites me because I know there's a lot more to
Calli Hauger-Thackery: come with things going on my side. It was still
Calli Hauger-Thackery: a very, very chaotic few weeks and definitely not good
Calli Hauger-Thackery: preparation either, but I'm just glad I was able to
Calli Hauger-Thackery: do myself proud, at least. I genuinely at the finish, I was
Calli Hauger-Thackery: like, "Do you know what? I'm proud of that performance today and it's not been
Calli Hauger-Thackery: easy." It was courageous getting on that line, but I
Calli Hauger-Thackery: did it. I PB'd and that's all I could ask for right
Calli Hauger-Thackery: now in that moment.
Rob Simmelkjaer: So Calli, we were chatting before the show. You and I
Rob Simmelkjaer: actually met briefly on the pro athletes bus on the
Rob Simmelkjaer: way to the starting line in Berlin. You were there because
Rob Simmelkjaer: you're a pro athlete. I was there because I was
Rob Simmelkjaer: a stowaway on the bus, had been let on by
Rob Simmelkjaer: some people who somehow seemed to think I should take
Rob Simmelkjaer: that bus to the start. And I set a PB
Rob Simmelkjaer: too. So I guess it rubbed off on me, all
Rob Simmelkjaer: the positive energy you guys had getting to that starting
Rob Simmelkjaer: line. But it was a great day in Berlin. And
Rob Simmelkjaer: what you say is interesting about just needing to get
Rob Simmelkjaer: right back to running. It makes a lot of sense
Rob Simmelkjaer: to me. From other sports, if you're a baseball player
Rob Simmelkjaer: or a tennis player and you have a bad match,
Rob Simmelkjaer: you want to play again the next day. You want
Rob Simmelkjaer: to get right back out there and just absolutely turn
Rob Simmelkjaer: the page. And that can be really hard to do,
Rob Simmelkjaer: obviously, when you run marathons for a living. You can't
Rob Simmelkjaer: play the very next day as you can in a
Rob Simmelkjaer: lot of sports. And so I can see the mentality
Rob Simmelkjaer: would make you want to get back out there quickly.
Rob Simmelkjaer: And a lot of amateur athletes, Calli, can also relate
Rob Simmelkjaer: to the fitness that you had from a previous race
Rob Simmelkjaer: and not having to let it all go and then start a
Rob Simmelkjaer: whole new training block, but being able to feed off
Rob Simmelkjaer: of a fitness that you developed from a previous race.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Exactly. Yeah, I know. It was one of those, it
Calli Hauger-Thackery: was like, " Do I wait or do I just do
Calli Hauger-Thackery: it now?" But I think the more I waited, the worse
Calli Hauger-Thackery: it was going to get mentally. So for me, I just
Calli Hauger-Thackery: had to do it. I know people deal with things
Calli Hauger-Thackery: differently, but that's just how I had to deal with
Calli Hauger-Thackery: it at the time. And yeah, I'm glad I did
Calli Hauger-Thackery: and I can move forward now. I hate that the
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Olympics, they put such a big thing on the Olympics
Calli Hauger-Thackery: and it's so much pressure. I've never felt pressure like
Calli Hauger-Thackery: it. But at least I've done that now and I can take that
Calli Hauger-Thackery: and be like, " I can be ready and deal with
Calli Hauger-Thackery: it in a way that's going to help me achieve
Calli Hauger-Thackery: on the day." And yeah, I don't know, it's tough.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: I know it's all pressurized, all of the world championships, all
Calli Hauger-Thackery: these world majors and stuff, but I think that was
Calli Hauger-Thackery: just a different kind of thing on the Olympics. They
Calli Hauger-Thackery: just put so much on that event. But like I
Calli Hauger-Thackery: said, I can definitely take learnings from this.
Becs Gentry: Great. Well, that's what we want to hear because your
Becs Gentry: lineup for 2025 is pretty spectacular already. So it's been
Becs Gentry: announced that you are toeing the line for Boston this
Becs Gentry: year, 2025, Boston, April coming up. You also announced that
Becs Gentry: you will be joining us in New York for a
Becs Gentry: very special race to us at New York Road Runners,
Becs Gentry: the United Airlines NYC Half. So what's going through your
Becs Gentry: head for those two races?
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Those ones, I'm really excited about them right now. It's definitely motivating
Calli Hauger-Thackery: me in the cold and the snow and all of
Calli Hauger-Thackery: this. Actually, no snow right now. It looks like it's
Calli Hauger-Thackery: about to snow, but it's really cold here. But no, I'm really
Calli Hauger-Thackery: excited about both New York half and Boston full. I think
Calli Hauger-Thackery: they'll prepare me well. New York's going to prepare me
Calli Hauger-Thackery: greatly for the Boston Marathon, I believe. I just think,
Calli Hauger-Thackery: yeah, both of them just excite me because it's a
Calli Hauger-Thackery: race for me. I love a race in terms of it's not super-
Calli Hauger-Thackery: fast, where you're just going all out to get this crazy,
Calli Hauger-Thackery: fast time. It's tactics and there's so much to it.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: And that's what I really love about New York and I
Calli Hauger-Thackery: think the same will go for Boston as well.
Becs Gentry: Absolutely. So the field for Boston, let's say, the field
Becs Gentry: is slowly coming through to the public here. And I
Becs Gentry: mean, day by day on Instagram, I've been glued to
Becs Gentry: it, seeing all of the names of the elite field,
Becs Gentry: all of the women you're going to be running alongside.
Becs Gentry: I want to know because I know what I'm like
Becs Gentry: when I toe the line with my inspirations, is there
Becs Gentry: anyone who you're really excited to be running with? I
Becs Gentry: mean in a competitive way or non- competitive way, is
Becs Gentry: there anyone who you're like, " Yay"?
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Oh, definitely. So for Boston, Hellen's doing it, right?
Becs Gentry: Yeah.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Is Hellen? Yeah, Hellen Obiri. I think if I'm near
Calli Hauger-Thackery: her, I'm doing okay. And Emma Bates, obviously on the
Calli Hauger-Thackery: American side, she is just so tough. I just think
Calli Hauger-Thackery: if I'm next to her, I'm doing fine, and then
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Sharon as well. I just think, wow, they are just
Calli Hauger-Thackery: incredible athletes and honestly if I can run alongside them
Calli Hauger-Thackery: for a long time, then I'm going to have a
Calli Hauger-Thackery: good day. So yeah, definitely. But honestly, so many girls
Calli Hauger-Thackery: on that start line, I'm like, " Wow, okay. I'm in
Calli Hauger-Thackery: some good company."
Becs Gentry: Yes, absolutely. I'm really excited to see that whole race
Becs Gentry: take its place. So what's your training schedule looking like
Becs Gentry: with a half and a full so close together?
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Yeah, funnily enough, I do a lot of high intensity
Calli Hauger-Thackery: stuff, so I don't do loads. I don't do high
Calli Hauger-Thackery: mileage per se. I think compared to a lot of
Calli Hauger-Thackery: marathon runners, I don't. I do more, honestly a lot
Calli Hauger-Thackery: of 10K, slash, half- marathon zone in my training. So
Calli Hauger-Thackery: when I do come to do the marathon, it feels
Calli Hauger-Thackery: really easy for a long time because I actually do
Calli Hauger-Thackery: way more half- marathon zone work and 10K zone work than
Calli Hauger-Thackery: I would marathon pace. I don't know how to run
Calli Hauger-Thackery: marathon pace in training. I just like the high intense stuff.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: And I like track running as well, so I'm actually going
Calli Hauger-Thackery: to dabble in some track stuff over the summer and
Calli Hauger-Thackery: things like that. I think it's all important, especially for
Calli Hauger-Thackery: me and the athlete I am. On my VO2 max and
Calli Hauger-Thackery: stuff, I do really well at even the 5K and
Calli Hauger-Thackery: the 10K. So I think the half- marathon will definitely get that
Calli Hauger-Thackery: fast twitch going a little bit more and then I'll
Calli Hauger-Thackery: be ready to, okay, come marathon date, I hope, for
Calli Hauger-Thackery: a long time that pace will feel really nice.
Rob Simmelkjaer: That makes sense. I know it is nice when you
Rob Simmelkjaer: feel like your marathon pace is very comfortable. And I guess the
Rob Simmelkjaer: question is, how long can you keep it up, right?
Rob Simmelkjaer: You're comfortable for a while and then of course the
Rob Simmelkjaer: race does start in the 20- something mile range. So
Rob Simmelkjaer: what's there? What's left to pick it up, I guess,
Rob Simmelkjaer: is always the question, Calli? You come from an athletic
Rob Simmelkjaer: background. Both your parents, athletes. Your father, Carl, professional long
Rob Simmelkjaer: distance runner. Your mom was a sprinter, so I guess
Rob Simmelkjaer: that's where some of that fast twitch comes from.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Yeah, I know. I'm very lucky with my genes, I
Calli Hauger-Thackery: won't lie. My mom was a sprinter and then my
Calli Hauger-Thackery: dad was more marathon focused and I'm in the middle.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: So when I know my dad was doing his best
Calli Hauger-Thackery: in the '90s, in 1993 when I was born, and there were people
Calli Hauger-Thackery: coming in wanting to interview him and there was this
Calli Hauger-Thackery: newspaper article and just read, " Baby, you were born to run," because
Calli Hauger-Thackery: of my genes. And it's ironic that I do run
Calli Hauger-Thackery: still, I might not have. I might not have chosen that route, but yeah,
Calli Hauger-Thackery: no, it's working out so far. I definitely think I'm
Calli Hauger-Thackery: more on my dad's side. I try and fake the
Calli Hauger-Thackery: fast twitch stuff. I try my best to keep that
Calli Hauger-Thackery: going and keep that alive, but I think the marathon
Calli Hauger-Thackery: was always going to be the one what chose me,
Calli Hauger-Thackery: I guess. I always say that I think the marathon definitely
Calli Hauger-Thackery: chose me, for sure.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I was going to ask you about that. When did
Rob Simmelkjaer: you know, Calli? When did you know marathon was your thing?
Calli Hauger-Thackery: On my debut. My debut, I did not know I
Calli Hauger-Thackery: was going to run 2: 22, I won't lie. I
Calli Hauger-Thackery: was thinking, on a good day, I probably will run 2:
Calli Hauger-Thackery: 24, 2:25. So when I saw 2: 22, I was like, " Oh, (
Calli Hauger-Thackery: beep), okay, I'm now a marathon runner and this is going to be my event moving
Calli Hauger-Thackery: forward. So goodbye to the 5K and we're going to
Calli Hauger-Thackery: go all in on the marathon." So yeah, no, it
Calli Hauger-Thackery: was funny. It's bittersweet because I do love the track
Calli Hauger-Thackery: stuff, but everyone around me has been like, "You're a marathon runner.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Your biomechanics, your family history, everything points to the marathon."
Calli Hauger-Thackery: And I just think I tried to not listen to
Calli Hauger-Thackery: it. I knew I always was going to do one,
Calli Hauger-Thackery: I knew it, I just didn't know it was going to
Calli Hauger-Thackery: be now. And funnily enough, I really do enjoy it.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: I'm talking about it in a negative way, but I do.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: I can't believe how much I enjoy the distance. It's
Calli Hauger-Thackery: just so different from the track. But like we were
Calli Hauger-Thackery: talking about earlier, the only thing what I don't love
Calli Hauger-Thackery: about the marathon is the fact that if one goes bad, you can't just go
Calli Hauger-Thackery: and do one like two weeks after. Whereas the 5K, if I had
Calli Hauger-Thackery: a bad race, it's like, " Oh, it's not the end
Calli Hauger-Thackery: of the world. I can go and jump in one
Calli Hauger-Thackery: next week or the week after and I still could actually
Calli Hauger-Thackery: turn it around." So it's just different.
Becs Gentry: Yeah, it really is. It really is so, so different, but I love
Becs Gentry: the excitement that you have for it and the passion.
Becs Gentry: And I think it's really inspiring to our younger athletes
Becs Gentry: out there to hear you say that you're not a
Becs Gentry: big fan of the high mileage. Because, I mean, Rob
Becs Gentry: and I speak to so many different athletes over different
Becs Gentry: distances, not just marathon runners of course, and we have
Becs Gentry: a lot of different opinions on here. And it's really,
Becs Gentry: really awesome to hear somebody with such incredible times say
Becs Gentry: that you don't bust your gut on running 100, 150 miles
Becs Gentry: per week to get those times. You really are focusing
Becs Gentry: on those fast twitch fibers, those short, sharp speed workouts
Becs Gentry: and enjoying it, like dabbling in the track workouts like
Becs Gentry: you said. And I think what we see are these
Becs Gentry: communities coming together, but they're still quite different when you
Becs Gentry: think about, let's say, let's call it New York, the
Becs Gentry: Armory, the indoor workout, the track workouts versus our outdoor.
Becs Gentry: So I love the way that you're combining it together
Becs Gentry: and you are proving that those 10K, half- marathon, those
Becs Gentry: tempo workouts are useful for both. And I think for,
Becs Gentry: again, the younger athletes and the older athletes to see, "
Becs Gentry: Okay, she can go and do these," like, " Hey, Rob,
Becs Gentry: shush," which you could do it-
Rob Simmelkjaer: No, I'm excited too, Becs, because I feel like Calli's giving me a justification to not run 75, 100 miles in a week.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I don't want to do that and I still want to be able to go
Rob Simmelkjaer: run a marathon from time to time. And so I
Rob Simmelkjaer: think it's a great approach if you can do it.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I also feel like for me, Calli, I don't know
Rob Simmelkjaer: about you, me as an amateur athlete, much, much older
Rob Simmelkjaer: than you, it just also I think keeps me more injury-
Rob Simmelkjaer: free, less likely to get hurt as I'm trying to
Rob Simmelkjaer: get ready for a race. Is that part of your
Rob Simmelkjaer: logic as well?
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Definitely, yeah. It's funny because if you looked at my
Calli Hauger-Thackery: marathon training before my debut, on paper, you will not
Calli Hauger-Thackery: say it's marathon training. It was very much like I
Calli Hauger-Thackery: say, I was doing more 5Ks, half- marathon. I did
Calli Hauger-Thackery: a few half- marathons within that, but it was very
Calli Hauger-Thackery: much a lot of fast twitch, high intensity stuff. And
Calli Hauger-Thackery: we were like, " Oh wow, your ceiling is very high."
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Everyone around me was like, " Yeah, your ceiling is very
Calli Hauger-Thackery: high because we've not even touched on marathon work yet."
Calli Hauger-Thackery: So obviously then afterwards, I did start doing more marathon-
Calli Hauger-Thackery: based sessions and tried to up my mileage a little
Calli Hauger-Thackery: bit, obviously within reason. But it's funny, because I still
Calli Hauger-Thackery: find that before my debut that just works for me,
Calli Hauger-Thackery: I just realize more and more. I try not to
Calli Hauger-Thackery: get caught up on mileage at all. And I love
Calli Hauger-Thackery: the versatility of all the events. I think it really
Calli Hauger-Thackery: does complement the 5K, the 10K. And funnily enough, people ask me, "
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Oh, how different is the training?" And I'm like, " It's
Calli Hauger-Thackery: really not a whole lot different, marathon training versus 5K
Calli Hauger-Thackery: training to me." Because like I say, I just didn't
Calli Hauger-Thackery: do this massive jump where, okay, I've gone from 70, 80 miles
Calli Hauger-Thackery: to then 120, because that wasn't the case. I just
Calli Hauger-Thackery: think because I got my VO2 max up really high
Calli Hauger-Thackery: from the work I did, like the 5K work, that
Calli Hauger-Thackery: translated into a really good, strong marathon for me.
Becs Gentry: Do you think that you maintain some of that speed
Becs Gentry: work with the memory of the 5K in order for
Becs Gentry: you to keep that door open to return to competing
Becs Gentry: in the 5K?
Calli Hauger-Thackery: I think a little bit, yeah. I think I'll always
Calli Hauger-Thackery: have a soft spot for the track until I can't do
Calli Hauger-Thackery: it anymore. I just think there's still a lot of
Calli Hauger-Thackery: untapped, unfinished business I still have to do. And it's more for me, honestly.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: I know what I can do in the 5K still.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: I think a lot of people, my sponsor probably, it's
Calli Hauger-Thackery: definitely me based on the marathon. But do you know what? They're great and Nike
Calli Hauger-Thackery: have even said, " Yeah." And so I still have bonuses within the
Calli Hauger-Thackery: 5K and the 10K. I'm like, " Well, okay." So I think this is the year. It's
Calli Hauger-Thackery: not an Olympic year. I think I'm going to go
Calli Hauger-Thackery: all in. After the Boston Marathon, I can then be like, "Okay, I've done my marathon for
Calli Hauger-Thackery: the year and then summertime I can do some track
Calli Hauger-Thackery: races and see where it takes me." I don't find
Calli Hauger-Thackery: any pressure with it all. I just find it fun.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: I just think, like I say, it just mixes it up a bit.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Because if I just fully go on the marathon all
Calli Hauger-Thackery: year, if I'm just fully thinking about marathons, it just
Calli Hauger-Thackery: kind of takes the fun away personally for me. I
Calli Hauger-Thackery: just like to mix it up. And then maybe I finish with a marathon
Calli Hauger-Thackery: in December, who knows, all being well, if my body
Calli Hauger-Thackery: allows me to do that. But yeah, why not mix
Calli Hauger-Thackery: it up a little bit and try and be competitive
Calli Hauger-Thackery: still on the track if I'm still able to? I've
Calli Hauger-Thackery: still never done a 10, 000- meter race. I've only done 10K
Calli Hauger-Thackery: on the road. I've never done a track 10,000 meters
Calli Hauger-Thackery: before, so I really want to do my debut this year.
Becs Gentry: Ooh, heard it here first, everyone.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I like it. Very cool. Calli, you're coached by your partner, your husband, Nick. I'm
Rob Simmelkjaer: always wondering how those relationships go.
Becs Gentry: Oh my gosh, we do.
Rob Simmelkjaer: It always amazes me when people are able to do that.
Becs Gentry: It would not work in my house.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I just want to know, how's that going because it
Rob Simmelkjaer: seems like it's going pretty well? So you're going to
Rob Simmelkjaer: stick with that arrangement for a while?
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Yeah, I can't imagine being coached by anyone else now.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: No, he's amazing. He's just got such a coach mind and
Calli Hauger-Thackery: we work collaboratively. He understands my needs and vice versa.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: He just sees me day in, day out, so he
Calli Hauger-Thackery: knows my energy. He can just look at me and
Calli Hauger-Thackery: know when I'm going to have a good day or a bad day
Calli Hauger-Thackery: just for my biomechanics each day and stuff. So he's
Calli Hauger-Thackery: very good at reading me and knowing when to pull
Calli Hauger-Thackery: me back and when to push me. Obviously I always want to push,
Calli Hauger-Thackery: push, push, but he's like, " There's a right time for
Calli Hauger-Thackery: that." And most of the time, he will allow me
Calli Hauger-Thackery: to push a bit, but sometimes it's like, " Okay, this
Calli Hauger-Thackery: workout isn't about that. We need to hit these times."
Calli Hauger-Thackery: No, he's brilliant. He really has got such a good
Calli Hauger-Thackery: coach head on him. And he also coaches many different
Calli Hauger-Thackery: athletes. I just trust him wholeheartedly. And I think if
Calli Hauger-Thackery: you have that trust in a coaching relationship, you're going
Calli Hauger-Thackery: to fly. And it makes it fun and it makes it exciting and
Calli Hauger-Thackery: yeah, we really work well together.
Becs Gentry: I love that. You and Nick, what do you guys
Becs Gentry: do, like what is a typical weekend in your house,
Becs Gentry: let's say, leading up to CIM because you were both training
Becs Gentry: for it? What does that look like for a couple
Becs Gentry: who are smashing these times?
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Yeah, it's funny because obviously he responds better off ... I
Calli Hauger-Thackery: just try and roll with him as much as I
Calli Hauger-Thackery: can. Obviously I cut my workout shorter. So I don't
Calli Hauger-Thackery: know. I feel like if I'm anywhere near him in
Calli Hauger-Thackery: training, then I'm doing okay. And I mean, look at the world record now.
Becs Gentry: Unreal.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: If I want to be running a world record one day or anywhere close, I need to
Calli Hauger-Thackery: be running what Nick's basically got to run himself, bless
Calli Hauger-Thackery: him. So yeah, no, we work really well together actually
Calli Hauger-Thackery: in our workouts. Obviously I will just do a little
Calli Hauger-Thackery: bit less than him in each rep. So we team
Calli Hauger-Thackery: up well together there. And then for CIM, it was
Calli Hauger-Thackery: just a crazy week. Honestly, it's gone over my head
Calli Hauger-Thackery: because I can't even tell you how crazy it was
Calli Hauger-Thackery: with the sleep apnea stuff going on. I just remember
Calli Hauger-Thackery: saying to Nick, I'm like, " I just need to get a full
Calli Hauger-Thackery: night's sleep. And if I can get a full night's
Calli Hauger-Thackery: sleep, then I can definitely win this race. But if
Calli Hauger-Thackery: not, it's going to be like Paris all over again.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: So I just need to." And luckily, leading up to CIM,
Calli Hauger-Thackery: when we got there at sea level, I was like, "
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Okay, I can do this. I finally got some good night's
Calli Hauger-Thackery: sleep." We were just training together each day and tapering together,
Calli Hauger-Thackery: which is really fun. And just being on the start
Calli Hauger-Thackery: line with him, it's such a unique experience. It's just
Calli Hauger-Thackery: amazing being able to line up with my coach- husband
Calli Hauger-Thackery: knowing that it was his main race for the year
Calli Hauger-Thackery: as well. It was just exciting.
Rob Simmelkjaer: All right, Calli, so looking ahead to your trip to New York
Rob Simmelkjaer: to join us here for the United Airlines NYC Half,
Rob Simmelkjaer: have you spent much time here in New York? What are
Rob Simmelkjaer: you most looking forward to doing here?
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Yeah, I've been a few times in New York. I
Calli Hauger-Thackery: do love it there. It's just such a cool place
Calli Hauger-Thackery: to be. And oh my gosh, what's not to love
Calli Hauger-Thackery: about Central Park and just that area in general? It's
Calli Hauger-Thackery: just so cool. Yeah, I don't know.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Is there a museum or a restaurant or maybe a
Rob Simmelkjaer: show you want to check out?
Calli Hauger-Thackery: I need to do all that. I need to do it. I feel like I go and see all
Calli Hauger-Thackery: the big city stuff and then I never actually take
Calli Hauger-Thackery: myself to a museum. I mean Sam looks after us
Calli Hauger-Thackery: very well, obviously. Last year, what did we do? We kind of
Calli Hauger-Thackery: laid low, didn't we, I feel like, but then I ended
Calli Hauger-Thackery: up getting really sick. It was one race. I've never had
Calli Hauger-Thackery: it before, but I got really, really sick to the point where
Calli Hauger-Thackery: I was blowing my nose honestly every minute the day
Calli Hauger-Thackery: before. So I'm like, " I just need to kick it."
Calli Hauger-Thackery: So I did all of the things you can think of like
Calli Hauger-Thackery: ginger shots, chicken noodle soup. I'm like, " Okay, I'm going
Calli Hauger-Thackery: to kick it, I'm going to kick it." And then
Calli Hauger-Thackery: actually, miraculously, I woke up the morning of the race and I
Calli Hauger-Thackery: felt great. I could breathe again. I'm like, " Okay, I've
Calli Hauger-Thackery: got away with this. Wow." So then I'm warming up. I'm thinking, "
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Okay, I think I can do this." But do you know
Calli Hauger-Thackery: what I did not think about was how the ginger
Calli Hauger-Thackery: shots and the chicken noodle soup would affect my stomach.
Becs Gentry: Oh, no. Oh, no.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: So during the race, honestly, all I was thinking about was like, "
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Just don't vomit, don't vomit." There's a helicopter above me,
Calli Hauger-Thackery: there's people, the cameras were everywhere. And I'm thinking, " Oh
Calli Hauger-Thackery: no, this is going to be where I lose all
Calli Hauger-Thackery: dignity. I'm just going to end up vomiting on camera." So
Calli Hauger-Thackery: as long as I don't have that experience again.
Becs Gentry: Oh, no.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Luckily I didn't vomit, but my stomach was not in a good
Calli Hauger-Thackery: way. I somehow got to the finish line and a semi-
Calli Hauger-Thackery: okay performance, but I just can't wait to get redemption from that
Calli Hauger-Thackery: and just hopefully not get sick-
Becs Gentry: I can absolutely imagine.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: ... and go and have a good experience and get some redemption in New York,
Calli Hauger-Thackery: for sure.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Sometimes winning is winning. Sometimes winning is finishing without vomiting, right? So there you go.
Becs Gentry: Oh my gosh. So regardless, this year's going to be probably a
Becs Gentry: little more fun. We'll have to talk to Sam and
Becs Gentry: see what's on to get you guys a true New
Becs Gentry: York fun experience as well.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Yeah, definitely.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I love it. Well, it's great having you on the
Rob Simmelkjaer: show. One thing I want to know, what's something about
Rob Simmelkjaer: you apart from running that when people come to watch
Rob Simmelkjaer: you in New York, you think they should know about
Rob Simmelkjaer: you as a person? Nothing about running, about Calli.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Oh, I'm going to ask Nick. I'm looking at Nick.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: I don't know. I don't know. I'm just a dork. I don't know,
Calli Hauger-Thackery: I'm happy- go- lucky, very. People know me as the happy- go-
Calli Hauger-Thackery: lucky one. I very much just love what I do genuinely and I hope people
Calli Hauger-Thackery: can see that authentically. I do absolutely love what I
Calli Hauger-Thackery: do. I feel very lucky and I always get on
Calli Hauger-Thackery: the start line and I just think, " I get to
Calli Hauger-Thackery: do this." I'm just grateful to be doing what I
Calli Hauger-Thackery: do. And I love it when people come up to
Calli Hauger-Thackery: me and say hello and things like that. I just
Calli Hauger-Thackery: love the running community. I think it's the best thing
Calli Hauger-Thackery: ever. I don't know. Funnily enough, I don't know about any random
Calli Hauger-Thackery: facts other than running, sorry.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Well, it is what you do. It is what you
Rob Simmelkjaer: do. You spend a lot of time doing it. But hey, a
Rob Simmelkjaer: takeaway for listeners, if you see Calli Hauger- Thackery out there in
Rob Simmelkjaer: New York, she wants you to come say hello. So
Rob Simmelkjaer: say hello. She loves the fans and loves to interact
Rob Simmelkjaer: with people. So that's a beautiful thing right there because
Rob Simmelkjaer: I tell you, our members, our fans, our running community
Rob Simmelkjaer: in New York, they get so excited-
Becs Gentry: They do.
Rob Simmelkjaer: ... when they're able to meet someone who is your
Rob Simmelkjaer: caliber of runner and actually have that person be excited
Rob Simmelkjaer: to meet them. So I think that's a takeaway for
Rob Simmelkjaer: everybody listening who's going to be in New York in March.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Nick's just whispered something as well. He said, " Say about
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Australia." So I haven't had the typical route. I lived
Calli Hauger-Thackery: in Australia for quite a few years and I was
Calli Hauger-Thackery: stuck there during COVID in the end. So I literally
Calli Hauger-Thackery: couldn't get away and I was doing farm work just to keep my
Calli Hauger-Thackery: visa and things like that. So I've been like a lumberjack in
Calli Hauger-Thackery: the open forest in Australia just to keep my visa
Calli Hauger-Thackery: and haven't had the normal trajectory a lot of professional
Calli Hauger-Thackery: athletes have had. I like to travel a lot and that gets
Calli Hauger-Thackery: me into situations sometimes, but it's fun and it makes life
Calli Hauger-Thackery: interesting. And I've seen a lot of the world, so
Calli Hauger-Thackery: I'm very lucky.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Okay, I like that. So you were actually a lumberjack, you
Rob Simmelkjaer: were cutting stuff down?
Calli Hauger-Thackery: I was literally chopping down trees to keep my visa
Calli Hauger-Thackery: in Australia, yeah, because you have to do three months
Calli Hauger-Thackery: of farm work to stay there. So I was like, "Wow, I've got to somehow get a farm
Calli Hauger-Thackery: work job." Me and my friend out there was like, "We need to cut
Calli Hauger-Thackery: down trees." And we were getting paid by the hectare.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: So I was chopping down trees, I'm like, " Come on,
Calli Hauger-Thackery: we've got this." Oh my God.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Did you get to know how to use a chainsaw, Calli, as
Rob Simmelkjaer: part of that or were you just using a plain old ax?
Calli Hauger-Thackery: I watched people, but no, I didn't ever use the
Calli Hauger-Thackery: chainsaw. It was just like the scissors, the big scissors.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah, wow.
Becs Gentry: Wow.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Shears.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Yeah, there you go.
Becs Gentry: That's amazing. There we go, that's endurance for you as well.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Right.
Becs Gentry: And that's definitely something I think that us Brits, we
Becs Gentry: really get. Rob, I don't know whether it's the same
Becs Gentry: in the US but for Brits, we get a three-
Becs Gentry: month working visa in Australia. So a lot of people
Becs Gentry: of Calli and I's, probably, age have done that. I
Becs Gentry: definitely. Calli, it was also a long time ago. I
Becs Gentry: was 18 when I did that, but I was string
Becs Gentry: bean picking, really wasn't cool. So I feel you.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Yeah, no. It's so worth it though to live in Australia
Calli Hauger-Thackery: for a little bit. It's such a different lifestyle over there,
Calli Hauger-Thackery: isn't it?
Becs Gentry: Exactly.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: You definitely feel like down under.
Becs Gentry: Yeah, upside down.
Rob Simmelkjaer: The benefits of being a member of the Commonwealth all
Rob Simmelkjaer: sounds lovely. You get to string bean pick or cut down
Rob Simmelkjaer: trees in Australia. We just have to go be tourists there
Rob Simmelkjaer: for Americans, but I love it. Calli, great, that's a
Rob Simmelkjaer: fun fact, very funny stuff. And best of luck to
Rob Simmelkjaer: you on the training, getting ready for New York and
Rob Simmelkjaer: then obviously for Boston. But we can't wait to see
Rob Simmelkjaer: you here at the starting line in Brooklyn in March.
Calli Hauger-Thackery: Thank you so much guys. I can't wait to be there.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Danielle Grimley, a 41- year- old from Colorado, redefined determination
Rob Simmelkjaer: at the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon. Diagnosed with Ehlers- Danlos
Rob Simmelkjaer: syndrome, which affects connective tissues around joints, Danielle faced an
Rob Simmelkjaer: unexpected injury mid- race that left her completing the final
Rob Simmelkjaer: nine miles on crutches. But thanks to her months of
Rob Simmelkjaer: training, her willpower, and the help of two New York
Rob Simmelkjaer: Road Runners volunteers, she crossed the finish line after more
Rob Simmelkjaer: than 10 hours on the course. Her story is a
Rob Simmelkjaer: testament to the power of community and underlines why New
Rob Simmelkjaer: York Road Runners is so committed to celebrating every last
Rob Simmelkjaer: finisher of the TCS New York City Marathon. Let's hear
Rob Simmelkjaer: more about Danielle's incredible journey as she joins Meb.
Meb Keflezighi: Thanks, Rob. Danielle, welcome to the Set the Pace podcast. How you
Meb Keflezighi: feeling today? And can you please take us back to
Meb Keflezighi: the moment you realized your hip injury derailed your race? What
Meb Keflezighi: went through your mind and how did you decide to continue?
Danielle Grimley: Awesome, thank you so much. It's great to be here.
Danielle Grimley: Well, this is my first marathon, so what an experience, right?
Danielle Grimley: So I trained for roughly a year. I had some
Danielle Grimley: health diagnosis in the beginning of 2024 that pushed me
Danielle Grimley: back about four months till I can get those figured
Danielle Grimley: out. But once I was cleared to go and start
Danielle Grimley: running, I was pretty excited. I'm a New York kid,
Danielle Grimley: I grew up on Long Island. I've cheered the marathon
Danielle Grimley: on for years, both in person and virtually. So it's
Danielle Grimley: been a dream of mine to participate. So going into
Danielle Grimley: the marathon, unbeknownst to me, I actually came in with the injury.
Danielle Grimley: So I started the race with the injury. I had
Danielle Grimley: a great shakeout run the day before. I was under
Danielle Grimley: the care of a physical therapist, all the things. So
Danielle Grimley: I did everything in my power to prevent an injury.
Danielle Grimley: But joining the race, I did have a hip stress
Danielle Grimley: fracture unfortunately. I had a pretty decent race in the
Danielle Grimley: beginning. I think when I started on the Verrazano, most
Danielle Grimley: people say, " You're going to be really excited and ready
Danielle Grimley: to go." I started on that bridge and I was
Danielle Grimley: like, "Oh, I don't love this." I knew things were a
Danielle Grimley: little off from the start of the race, but I
Danielle Grimley: kind of chalked that up to not every run is
Danielle Grimley: going to be a great run. On my long runs, I did
Danielle Grimley: great on some and others I struggled with and this
Danielle Grimley: was just the cards I was dealt. I was hoping
Danielle Grimley: that I would shake that off in the later portions of
Danielle Grimley: the race. So things were progressing pretty well for the
Danielle Grimley: first half. It wasn't until I got onto the Queensboro
Danielle Grimley: Bridge around mile 15 that I noticed my pace was
Danielle Grimley: really slower than I anticipated. I wasn't going for a
Danielle Grimley: pace goal, but it was pretty slow. And the dull
Danielle Grimley: ache that I had experienced earlier in the race turned into
Danielle Grimley: a little bit more of a sharper pain. And so
Danielle Grimley: from miles 15 to roughly somewhere between 16 and 17, I couldn't
Danielle Grimley: really put weight on it anymore. And I was on
Danielle Grimley: the 1st Avenue where the crowds are crazy and it's
Danielle Grimley: really exciting. I actually was holding onto a stanchion and
Danielle Grimley: someone got me into the med tent, very thankful for
Danielle Grimley: that. I can't remember the gentleman's name. He was wonderful.
Danielle Grimley: He was a volunteer in the med tent and checked
Danielle Grimley: me out. He said, " Look, you can't put weight on
Danielle Grimley: it. You're not going to be able to walk or
Danielle Grimley: run this. I don't think you're going to finish today."
Danielle Grimley: And oddly enough, my immediate reaction was just like, " No,
Danielle Grimley: we're finishing. Do you have crutches?" And he looked at
Danielle Grimley: me and he was like, " Yeah. Yeah, we can get you
Danielle Grimley: crutches." And gave me crutches and then I started the
Danielle Grimley: trek from there. It just wasn't even a decision, it
Danielle Grimley: just was like, " I have to keep going."
Meb Keflezighi: And that's marathons, you have to keep going. You mentioned
Meb Keflezighi: the incredible support you received from volunteers like Joshua Borzooyeh
Meb Keflezighi: and Thomas Kim. How did they encourage you, the impact,
Meb Keflezighi: the ability to finish the marathon on crutches?
Danielle Grimley: They were incredible. I mean, I think I had known
Danielle Grimley: about the final finishers program from listening to this podcast
Danielle Grimley: and seeing Kayleigh and some of the other final finishers
Danielle Grimley: in the past online. So I can't remember exactly what
Danielle Grimley: mile they joined me on, but they were with us
Danielle Grimley: for a couple of hours. They started and they were
Danielle Grimley: behind us, so my first initial thought was like, " I'm
Danielle Grimley: getting swept. They're pulling me off the course." And that
Danielle Grimley: was the furthest thing. They waited back patiently and were
Danielle Grimley: reading the situation to see what we needed. They were
Danielle Grimley: incredible. It went from, they were hanging behind us a
Danielle Grimley: little bit to make sure I was safe and that
Danielle Grimley: I had everything I needed. Or if I needed any
Danielle Grimley: med support, they would've called for me too. They were
Danielle Grimley: walking next to me and Josh was pacing me on
Danielle Grimley: an app and making sure, " Hey, you're going to finish,
Danielle Grimley: you're going to make it, you're going to make it."
Danielle Grimley: And even little things. I'd been on the course for
Danielle Grimley: over nine hours and really had only eaten gels and
Danielle Grimley: a couple of endurance chews. They found me pretzels and
Danielle Grimley: it was like, " Yeah." They just really were incredible and
Danielle Grimley: they were with me till the end, till the very
Danielle Grimley: end. And in fact, I haven't asked them this and
Danielle Grimley: we've kept in touch, but I wanted to be like, "
Danielle Grimley: Did your volunteer shift end and you just kind of
Danielle Grimley: ride this out with me?" Because they were with us
Danielle Grimley: for a really long time.
Meb Keflezighi: New York Road Runners bring the best volunteers. I always
Meb Keflezighi: tell people, Danielle, 90% is mental on race day and
Meb Keflezighi: you personified that. How did your training get you to
Meb Keflezighi: that finish line, be able to just get it, because I know,
Meb Keflezighi: I've been at the time in 2013 New York City
Meb Keflezighi: Marathon, my mind says go, but my body says no.
Meb Keflezighi: So what was the mental aspect that pushed you to
Meb Keflezighi: that finish line?
Danielle Grimley: I think with anything in marathon training, you're always going
Danielle Grimley: to be thrown curveballs, and I had been thrown a
Danielle Grimley: lot of curveballs on my runs, none quite like this.
Danielle Grimley: But I think it's just I wanted to finish so
Danielle Grimley: badly. And then the other piece too is I had
Danielle Grimley: a lot of support. I think it would've been really
Danielle Grimley: devastating to have an injury and not finish. Most races
Danielle Grimley: don't let you finish. There's a cutoff time, so you'd
Danielle Grimley: be injured and wouldn't have that opportunity. So knowing that
Danielle Grimley: there was still hope and that there is a final
Danielle Grimley: finishers program and that they're keeping that open until well
Danielle Grimley: into the dark, really motivated me to get through it.
Danielle Grimley: And anything I could do to keep my mind off
Danielle Grimley: of it towards this. Look, the last two miles were
Danielle Grimley: pretty rough, but there were so many wonderful people still out
Danielle Grimley: on the streets in the dark cheering me on. There
Danielle Grimley: were people on their stoops listening to music who would
Danielle Grimley: get up and start clapping, the NYPD. It was really
Danielle Grimley: incredible and motivating. So that helped from a mental perspective.
Meb Keflezighi: Pretty awesome, pretty incredible story. They say pain is temporary,
Meb Keflezighi: pride is forever. It definitely showed that resilience to get to that
Meb Keflezighi: finish line. So do you look ahead and see if
Meb Keflezighi: you can tackle another marathon? What lessons will you carry
Meb Keflezighi: forward from this extraordinary accomplishment and are you going to do a marathon?
Danielle Grimley: I think this experience has completely changed my life. And
Danielle Grimley: so because of this, I feel like I can really
Danielle Grimley: do anything. When I have a tough day at work
Danielle Grimley: or something, or I'm weightlifting and I'm like, " Okay, do
Danielle Grimley: one more rep." And you're like, "I don't want to." But you're like, "You did a marathon. You
Danielle Grimley: finished a marathon on crutches, you could do it. Come on."
Danielle Grimley: So it's really made me believe I can do anything.
Danielle Grimley: And while I wouldn't be doing the 2025 New York
Danielle Grimley: City Marathon, I do have hopes to do it in
Danielle Grimley: the future. My family's going to kill me, but I
Danielle Grimley: really would love to do New York again and get
Danielle Grimley: the full experience of running it, even though the experience
Danielle Grimley: that I had was incredible, but it would be really
Danielle Grimley: fun to run it in its entirety, for sure. So
Danielle Grimley: that is a goal.
Meb Keflezighi: The marathon is all about resilience and perseverance and get
Meb Keflezighi: to the finish line, whether we are in the front of
Meb Keflezighi: the pack, the middle of the pack, or the back of
Meb Keflezighi: the pack. As you were the second finisher and your
Meb Keflezighi: story was told at the New York Times, what would
Meb Keflezighi: you like to tell the people about your story?
Danielle Grimley: Oh my gosh. I'm really overwhelmed with gratitude and the
Danielle Grimley: positive outreach that I've had. That was beyond anything I
Danielle Grimley: could have imagined. Even when I crossed the finish line,
Danielle Grimley: I was blown away by the crowds that stayed out.
Danielle Grimley: And what I would share is when you're injured and
Danielle Grimley: you've been out on the course for over 10 hours,
Danielle Grimley: you don't feel like an athlete. I didn't feel really
Danielle Grimley: like an athlete ever in my training. It's just something that
Danielle Grimley: I really wanted to do. But you cross that finish
Danielle Grimley: line and that crowd is giving you all that love
Danielle Grimley: and support, and they are genuinely stoked, they made me
Danielle Grimley: feel like an athlete probably at one of the lowest
Danielle Grimley: times. And so the outreach even afterwards has been incredible.
Danielle Grimley: So I'm just very thankful and I'm very thankful to Josh
Danielle Grimley: and Tom, the volunteers. I feel forever connected to them
Danielle Grimley: because we shared this experience together.
Meb Keflezighi: Well, we look forward to having you hopefully run the TCS
Meb Keflezighi: New York City Marathon and for a positive experience, but New York does
Meb Keflezighi: show the support wherever you are to get to that finish line. So Danielle,
Meb Keflezighi: thanks for being on the podcast with us and look
Meb Keflezighi: forward to seeing your next marathon.
Danielle Grimley: Thanks for having me.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Wow. Danielle, thank you so much for joining us, an
Rob Simmelkjaer: unbelievable and inspiring story. And thank you so much for
Rob Simmelkjaer: being a member of New York Road Runners. Now it's
Rob Simmelkjaer: on to the final part of our show, today's Meb Minutes.
Meb Keflezighi: Cool downs. Training for a spring half- marathon or marathon
Meb Keflezighi: presents extra challenges with the bulk of your training taking
Meb Keflezighi: place in the winter month, which is why a proper
Meb Keflezighi: cool down is even more important. After braving the cold,
Meb Keflezighi: take the time to gradually slow your pace and walk
Meb Keflezighi: for a few minutes to avoid muscle tightness. Stretching, especially
Meb Keflezighi: in the calves, hamstring, and quads, helps prevent stiffness from
Meb Keflezighi: the cold weather. Your muscles are more prone to tightness
Meb Keflezighi: in the winter, so warming down properly ensures you to
Meb Keflezighi: stay injury- free and ready for your next run, even
Meb Keflezighi: when the temperature drops. This is what you need to
Meb Keflezighi: think about, pre- hab instead of rehab because you have
Meb Keflezighi: to think ahead of the stretches that are necessary to
Meb Keflezighi: keep your body moving.
Rob Simmelkjaer: All right, folks, that does it for another episode of
Rob Simmelkjaer: Set the Pace. We want to thank our guests today, Calli Hauger-
Rob Simmelkjaer: Thackery and Danielle Grimley. If you liked this episode, please
Rob Simmelkjaer: make sure you subscribe, rate it, leave a comment wherever
Rob Simmelkjaer: you listen so others can find us as well. Stay
Rob Simmelkjaer: warm out there. Enjoy the miles. We'll see you next week.