Juan Uro: Many people are putting a lot of emphasis on whether they
Juan Uro: can achieve something or not. But I would say that
Juan Uro: the pursuit of excellence or the pursuit of something extraordinary
Juan Uro: sometimes can be much more rewarding than the achievement of
Juan Uro: something extraordinary.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Hey everybody and welcome to another episode of Set the
Rob Simmelkjaer: Pace, the official podcast of New York Road Runners presented
Rob Simmelkjaer: by Peloton. I'm your host, Rob Simmelkjaer, the CEO of
Rob Simmelkjaer: New York Road Runners, my friend and partner, Becs Gentry.
Rob Simmelkjaer: She's on her way back from a trip to Los
Rob Simmelkjaer: Angeles so we'll be missing her today, but looking forward
Rob Simmelkjaer: to a reunion with Becs and me on the show
Rob Simmelkjaer: next week. In the meantime, what a weekend we had
Rob Simmelkjaer: last weekend at New York Road Runners, the largest ever
Rob Simmelkjaer: MasterCard New York Mini 10K in Central Park with 9, 973
Rob Simmelkjaer: women athletes finishing that race on a muggy but runnable
Rob Simmelkjaer: day in Central Park. It was such a special day,
Rob Simmelkjaer: man, we just love that race at New York Road
Rob Simmelkjaer: Runners. There's nothing like seeing 10,000 women streaming down Central
Rob Simmelkjaer: Park West into the park and finishing that race. I
Rob Simmelkjaer: know for all of them, all of you out there
Rob Simmelkjaer: who run that race, I hear it year in and
Rob Simmelkjaer: year out, it is one of the most special running
Rob Simmelkjaer: experiences that you have. And so, so happy that it
Rob Simmelkjaer: was such a great day for all of our great
Rob Simmelkjaer: women out there running the MasterCard New York Mini 10K.
Rob Simmelkjaer: The winner, Hellen Obiri, the 2023 United Airlines NYC Half and TCS
Rob Simmelkjaer: New York City Marathon champ, she captured the open division
Rob Simmelkjaer: title with a blazing time of 30 minutes and 44
Rob Simmelkjaer: seconds. The runner- up may have been just as big
Rob Simmelkjaer: a story, Weini Kelati ran a new American event record at
Rob Simmelkjaer: 30 minutes and 49 seconds. She was right there with
Rob Simmelkjaer: Hellen Obiri all the way until about the last say
Rob Simmelkjaer: quarter mile. She really gave Hellen a run for her
Rob Simmelkjaer: money. Susannah Scaroni won a record- breaking six MasterCard New
Rob Simmelkjaer: York Mini 10K title in the Wheelchair Division with a
Rob Simmelkjaer: new event record. And it was the largest girls run
Rob Simmelkjaer: in history, that's right, the biggest attendance we've ever had
Rob Simmelkjaer: for the mini kids run, more than 508 to eight to 18- year- old
Rob Simmelkjaer: girls took to the streets to run on Saturday. It
Rob Simmelkjaer: was well, it was a really, really special day. All
Rob Simmelkjaer: right, coming up on this week's episode, it's Father's Day
Rob Simmelkjaer: week and boy, there's no holiday I love more than
Rob Simmelkjaer: Father's Day. I always say fatherhood it's the toughest but
Rob Simmelkjaer: best job I've ever had so Happy Father's Day to
Rob Simmelkjaer: all of the fellow dads out there listening. Really appreciate
Rob Simmelkjaer: you and hopefully all the people in your life give
Rob Simmelkjaer: you a special, special day this coming weekend. We've got
Rob Simmelkjaer: a very special Father's Day conversation with one of our
Rob Simmelkjaer: New York Road Runners board members, Juan Uro, who like
Rob Simmelkjaer: Becs recently completed seven marathons on seven continents in seven
Rob Simmelkjaer: days. Juan and I will talk about some of the
Rob Simmelkjaer: meaning behind his running those marathons and countless other marathons
Rob Simmelkjaer: over the course of his life. All so much of
Rob Simmelkjaer: it really done in honor of the son that he
Rob Simmelkjaer: lost, Bautista. We'll talk about that and fatherhood and everything
Rob Simmelkjaer: that Juan has learned from a life of running and
Rob Simmelkjaer: his incredible accomplishment in the World Marathon Challenge. And then,
Rob Simmelkjaer: later on in the show we'll have New York Road
Rob Simmelkjaer: Runners member and non- binary champion Galo Vasquez, and then
Rob Simmelkjaer: coming up with this weekend's Flushing Meadows Kids run at
Rob Simmelkjaer: the Citizens Queens 10K, that's all coming up on Saturday.
Rob Simmelkjaer: We've got a special Med Minute with HSS, that's the
Rob Simmelkjaer: hospital for special surgery and we're going to feature a
Rob Simmelkjaer: sports physical therapist for young athletes, Yukiko Matsuzaki will join us as well.
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Rob Simmelkjaer: Today on Set the Pace. I'm joined by my friend
Rob Simmelkjaer: and one of our New York Road Runners board members,
Rob Simmelkjaer: Juan Uro. Juan is a partner at EY- Parthenon advising
Rob Simmelkjaer: global CFOs and CEOs on strategy and finance, but he's
Rob Simmelkjaer: also a passionate marathoner, so passionate that earlier this year
Rob Simmelkjaer: he channeled a little Becs Gentry magic by completing the
Rob Simmelkjaer: World Marathon Challenge running yes, seven marathons on seven continents
Rob Simmelkjaer: in seven days. Juan races in memory of his late
Rob Simmelkjaer: son Bautista and he now shares finish line moments with
Rob Simmelkjaer: his wife, Mariela and daughter Isabella and we're so glad
Rob Simmelkjaer: to have Juan here on the show. Juan, welcome to
Rob Simmelkjaer: set the pace and congratulations on being yet another person
Rob Simmelkjaer: to complete this unbelievable challenge of seven marathons on seven
Rob Simmelkjaer: continents in seven days.
Juan Uro: Thank you Rob, so great to be with you today. And you think there were only one
Juan Uro: crazy person with Becs, but there's many of us I guess, or at least a handful.
Rob Simmelkjaer: There's enough to keep a couple of these races going
Rob Simmelkjaer: every year. I was fortunate enough to follow along with
Rob Simmelkjaer: your races. We had a little chat, some board members,
Rob Simmelkjaer: some former Road Runners executives there cheering you on. And
Rob Simmelkjaer: I guess I just have to ask first and foremost,
Rob Simmelkjaer: what drove you to do that? I always have to
Rob Simmelkjaer: ask the question of what drives someone to sign up
Rob Simmelkjaer: for a challenge like that?
Juan Uro: Interesting. I think there wasn't necessarily one trigger event but
Juan Uro: a multiplicity of factors. I will start with, Rob probably
Juan Uro: you don't know but you have a big part and NYRR
Juan Uro: have a big part because the first time I found
Juan Uro: out about this seven marathons in seven continents in seven
Juan Uro: days was in the New York Marathon Expo in 2023. And
Juan Uro: literally in my role in the board I always pay
Juan Uro: special attention for partners and activation and how good people
Juan Uro: are having experiences in the Expo so I literally visit
Juan Uro: all the stands. And I saw this booth about this
Juan Uro: challenge and it's always free T- shirts are a good thing
Juan Uro: so they gave me the T- shirt, they got my
Juan Uro: email address and I left the Expo thinking, " Okay, you
Juan Uro: never know. That's a crazy idea, I couldn't do it."
Juan Uro: I put that idea to sleep, I wore the T-
Juan Uro: shirt a couple of times. But then in April of
Juan Uro: '24 I was going to run the Boston Marathon and
Juan Uro: my company had an off- site in London the week
Juan Uro: after, full week. So, in talking with my wife, it
Juan Uro: was her birthday, we said, " Hey, why don't we go
Juan Uro: to London for the weekend? By the way, we can
Juan Uro: celebrate your birthday and by the way, there is this
Juan Uro: small race called the London Marathon. If you're okay, I'm
Juan Uro: going to try to run it." So, I asked NYRR to see
Juan Uro: if there was a possibility and I ended up getting
Juan Uro: into the London Marathon. So, without really thinking too much,
Juan Uro: it became two marathons in one week. And then, I
Juan Uro: came back to that seven and said, " Hey, this was
Juan Uro: difficult but not impossible so who knows? Two marathons in
Juan Uro: one week is very different than seven marathons." But I
Juan Uro: started to take it a little bit more seriously. And along
Juan Uro: the summer of 2024, yeah, 2024, I decide to really
Juan Uro: learn more about what it will take to do the race. So,
Juan Uro: a couple of people who have done it before, they
Juan Uro: gave me a couple of hints. So, I was supposed
Juan Uro: to try at least a week of multiple runs of 15 to
Juan Uro: 20 miles. Guess what? The second day that I tried
Juan Uro: that first day 20 miles, second day I was in
Juan Uro: Central Park and I ran into this guy that was running
Juan Uro: seven marathons in seven days for climate advocacy. I have
Juan Uro: run in Central Park for 20 years I never saw
Juan Uro: a guy trying seven marathons in seven days so it
Juan Uro: was like, " There's too much serendipity here, there's too many
Juan Uro: connecting aspects." So, I ended up catching up with the
Juan Uro: fellow, asked him a little bit of a couple of tips how he prepared,
Juan Uro: and then when I shared a little bit of my
Juan Uro: running resume, which is not impressive but at least there's
Juan Uro: a lot of miles certainly, he said, " You are ready."
Juan Uro: So, I committed to do it. I was supposed to
Juan Uro: run the race that actually Becs ran because there's two
Juan Uro: different organizations that do that but because of-
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah, back in November.
Juan Uro: Yeah, exactly November. But because of work I couldn't really
Juan Uro: get off and take a week off in November to do
Juan Uro: that. So, the other company that organized it was sold
Juan Uro: out in 2025 so I was going to do it in 2026. So again, put a
Juan Uro: little bit the commitment to rest because who knows it
Juan Uro: will be 12 months from the time being, I ended
Juan Uro: up running New York and the Philly Marathon. And after
Juan Uro: I ran Philly was like tough year, put a lot
Juan Uro: of miles to prepare for this and there's still 12
Juan Uro: months to do it. So, we ended up going to
Juan Uro: Argentina where I was born for Thanksgiving break. And after I
Juan Uro: landed into Argentina I got a note saying, " Hey, one
Juan Uro: of the runners got hurt. There's an opening in five
Juan Uro: weeks, will you think about it?"
Rob Simmelkjaer: Wow.
Juan Uro: And I said to my wife, " It cannot get better than
Juan Uro: that." It's like after 12 hours moving from cold weather
Juan Uro: to hot weather, that's the whole experience so I committed to
Juan Uro: do it. So again, it was a little bit of
Juan Uro: a process of signal, so to speak, between the Expo,
Juan Uro: the fact that again, Boston and London became a little
Juan Uro: bit of a fortress, running into a person in Central
Juan Uro: Park and gave me a little bit of the confidence,
Juan Uro: and then again this trip to Argentina and it was
Juan Uro: exactly the perfect day to get a note like that. So, it
Juan Uro: doesn't speak necessarily of the underlying factors but it was
Juan Uro: not a dream come true that I wake up one
Juan Uro: day, it was a little bit of a series of, as I said,
Juan Uro: signals that moved me into that.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah, signal followed by the fateful email that had you
Rob Simmelkjaer: up and ready to do it in five weeks, which
Rob Simmelkjaer: is impressive. So, before we get into those seven races,
Rob Simmelkjaer: I want to take a step way back, Juan like
Rob Simmelkjaer: a flashback at a movie to the origins of your
Rob Simmelkjaer: running and how it all really started for you. Your
Rob Simmelkjaer: bio on the World Marathon Challenge webpage talks about the
Rob Simmelkjaer: fact that you began running a little later in life.
Rob Simmelkjaer: What was it that really got you running in the
Rob Simmelkjaer: first place?
Juan Uro: Yeah, I think I should edit that because probably what
Juan Uro: I would consider these days as more cold running I
Juan Uro: took it very late in life. But it started back
Juan Uro: in high school year and it was not really running
Juan Uro: it was a little bit of jogging, but I think in my
Juan Uro: senior year in high school I had a pretty severe
Juan Uro: foot sprain and I needed to use a cast for
Juan Uro: a couple of months. And look, I played different sports
Juan Uro: as a kid, only recreational but nothing competitive but I
Juan Uro: wasn't good at any of those.
Rob Simmelkjaer: You're from Argentina so soccer must've been in the mix somewhere.
Juan Uro: Yeah, soccer is a must but definitely I was pretty bad. But I was
Juan Uro: very consistent in being bad at tennis, at basketball, at
Juan Uro: rugby so I tried everything and confirmed that I was bad at
Juan Uro: everything. But anyway, after that injury I probably gained like
Juan Uro: 15 or 20 pounds and you are in your late teenager years. So,
Juan Uro: running became, I think I remember it was three loops
Juan Uro: into a square of half a mile, so a mile and a half and
Juan Uro: I was doing it two or three times per week
Juan Uro: and just to be in shape or to look better,
Juan Uro: honestly. It was a simple physical health aspect in my
Juan Uro: early 20s and as I said, only two or three
Juan Uro: times per week, but it was still running. Then with
Juan Uro: my wife, we got married, emigrated to New York in the early
Juan Uro: 2000s and I heard about this small race called the
Juan Uro: New Year Marathon. So, at that point it was like, "
Juan Uro: Hey, we may be in New York only for two
Juan Uro: or three years, what an interesting challenge." A, to do
Juan Uro: a marathon, never in my life I did more than
Juan Uro: maybe 10K at that point. And if you are going
Juan Uro: to do a marathon, do the marathon, the New Year one. So, it became a little
Juan Uro: bit of less about physical looks or physical wellbeing but
Juan Uro: more a little bit of goal setting for yourself a
Juan Uro: challenge, an opportunity of something that maybe I was going
Juan Uro: to do only once in my lifetime. So, I did a
Juan Uro: little bit of the preparation. Looking back to the plan
Juan Uro: that I did, it was completely unprepared, maybe 16 or 17
Juan Uro: miles was my longest run, 30 miles in total. If
Juan Uro: at some point you go to the archives and you
Juan Uro: see some of the photos in the village in 2004
Juan Uro: I was frozen, I didn't know about wearing layers. My
Juan Uro: running shoes were all tennis shoes, I couldn't afford, honestly,
Juan Uro: we were students and living on very basic means. But
Juan Uro: I did it. And I had an amazing time, not
Juan Uro: in terms of clock time but in terms of fulfilling
Juan Uro: a personal goal. And as you know once you run
Juan Uro: a marathon some people are very happy, some people say, "
Juan Uro: I could have done a little bit better," so tried
Juan Uro: the lottery many times. I think after three times of
Juan Uro: declining there was a little bit of the policy of getting there in four
Juan Uro: years so in 2008 I did the marathon again. But
Juan Uro: that second phase overall, Rob it was casual 30 miles
Juan Uro: per week and as I said more as a way
Juan Uro: to relieve stress from work and as a way to have work-
Juan Uro: life balance and good sense of accomplishing something. So, a
Juan Uro: little bit more of a mind and a spiritual wellbeing.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah. And your time in New York one ended up
Rob Simmelkjaer: not just being a short time, you stayed in New
Rob Simmelkjaer: York quite a while and obviously you ended up in
Rob Simmelkjaer: a third phase of running, which is the one I
Rob Simmelkjaer: think in which we currently find you as a really
Rob Simmelkjaer: serious runner. And I know part of that relates to some
Rob Simmelkjaer: tragic things that happened in your life with your son
Rob Simmelkjaer: Bautista and losing him.
Juan Uro: Yeah, so you are spot on. I think the third maybe
Juan Uro: I'm still in that phase of running was we were
Juan Uro: blessed with a son Bautista, we call him Bauti in 2004.
Juan Uro: And that's also the reason why I was only running 20, 30
Juan Uro: miles, you have a kid, you have work responsibilities but
Juan Uro: it was still part of my life. But in 2010,
Juan Uro: Bauti passed away when he was six years old. And he was our
Juan Uro: only child, he was the focus of our entire lives
Juan Uro: so it was truly, truly devastating for both my wife
Juan Uro: and for me. We each cope in a different way,
Juan Uro: we all grieve in a different way, but for me
Juan Uro: it was honestly very difficult to get off bed and
Juan Uro: keep living. So, in running I found almost an excuse,
Juan Uro: a reason at least almost every morning to get off
Juan Uro: bed and move forward. I heard once life is a little
Juan Uro: bit of like riding a bicycle, to stay on balance
Juan Uro: you just need to move forward. And even in the
Juan Uro: darkest days honestly Rob, lacing my shoes, getting outside even
Juan Uro: for a couple of miles was helping me find the
Juan Uro: motivation to stay alive. So, from that moment on became
Juan Uro: a little bit of a habit, a spiritual habit of
Juan Uro: making me continue living and trying to pursue a good life, a
Juan Uro: worthy life. I always go back to this point of
Juan Uro: connecting with Bauti through my running but I always go back
Juan Uro: when I'm in tough situations of saying, " I need to
Juan Uro: live a life that is worth his memory and his
Juan Uro: honor." And I think part of running has been of
Juan Uro: that, of finding a healthy life, physical balance but also
Juan Uro: mental balance. And a couple of folks were able to
Juan Uro: gave me a spot in the 2010 New Year Marathon,
Juan Uro: our common friend, Mary Wittenberg was very gracious of not
Juan Uro: knowing me understanding the story and she gave me a
Juan Uro: spot. And that's the first run that I did with
Juan Uro: his name and his image on his face, not seeking
Juan Uro: anything, purely feeling like he was going to be along
Juan Uro: with me on that run. And the amount of cheering
Juan Uro: that it was along the way of, "Go Bauti," made me
Juan Uro: realize this is much more than just having him in
Juan Uro: my chest for my own benefit like listening, and many
Juan Uro: people will never hear his story but even seeing his
Juan Uro: face and naming his name. The majority of the parents
Juan Uro: they have very proud moments throughout every day or every
Juan Uro: week, and to me that continues to be one of
Juan Uro: my proud moments of people cheering him and finding that
Juan Uro: connection. So, that first race was very special. I think
Juan Uro: I truly burst in tears when I crossed that finish
Juan Uro: line versus in 2004 it was just a marathon and this was a signal for life. And
Juan Uro: from that moment on almost every marathon I run with
Juan Uro: the same shirt. Of course it's getting pretty washed out
Juan Uro: already so I think we need to find a new
Juan Uro: one. But it became a signal and a way to
Juan Uro: connect with him through those moments.
Rob Simmelkjaer: It must be incredible for you to hear that, to
Rob Simmelkjaer: experience that while you're running a marathon. I have never
Rob Simmelkjaer: lived through what you and your wife have lived through,
Rob Simmelkjaer: I can only imagine what that's like. But to hear
Rob Simmelkjaer: those cheers for him, it must make you feel for
Rob Simmelkjaer: a moment that he's there, that he is alive, that
Rob Simmelkjaer: he's with you. And you talked about having him with
Rob Simmelkjaer: you in this World Marathon Challenge as well and the
Rob Simmelkjaer: challenge that you took, you spoke about feeling like he
Rob Simmelkjaer: was there running those races with you.
Juan Uro: Yeah, I'll tell you, I know when I'm in pain
Juan Uro: in a marathon, I feel it's nothing compared to the
Juan Uro: pain that he endured during the last moment in his
Juan Uro: life. It's pretty sad to say it but breaks me
Juan Uro: a little bit of again, honoring him. He went through
Juan Uro: a lot and it may sound dark but I don't
Juan Uro: mind going through the same and feeling that connection. When
Juan Uro: I have no more energy in a marathon, here comes Go Bauti at
Juan Uro: the right time and it's almost like maybe his way
Juan Uro: of giving me energy. I'll tell you that I have
Juan Uro: two low points in the seven marathons in the seven continents
Juan Uro: and you will find how strange life is but the
Juan Uro: first one was in Dubai. And in many cases when
Juan Uro: I'm a little bit lost, I play a little bit
Juan Uro: of an exercise of asking him for some advice. And
Juan Uro: I pick the first word that I see in my
Juan Uro: eyes and I pick the first letter to see if
Juan Uro: he's going to send me a message. And then I
Juan Uro: pick the second word and I try to find almost like
Juan Uro: a sentence or at least a couple of words by
Juan Uro: forming the first letter. Usually nothing is set, it's random
Juan Uro: letter so to speak. But here was in the middle of
Juan Uro: Dubai and the five letters was G- O- D- A-
Juan Uro: D, go Dad. So, what's part of me I'm saying
Juan Uro: it cannot be as random as that, it's a little
Juan Uro: bit of his way to stay spiritually with me. So
Juan Uro: again, maybe it's serendipity and lucky, but I like to
Juan Uro: think and I have no problem of thinking that there may be
Juan Uro: other ways that he's still with me giving me energy
Juan Uro: and force.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah, no, I like to think that too. I think
Rob Simmelkjaer: so. When I first heard that you were doing this
Rob Simmelkjaer: World Marathon Challenge for some reason I wasn't that surprised
Rob Simmelkjaer: because I know how you run. I mean, you definitely
Rob Simmelkjaer: our number one on the New York Road Runners board
Rob Simmelkjaer: I think in terms of weekly mileage. I see you
Rob Simmelkjaer: in the park, I see your marathon finishes. I think
Rob Simmelkjaer: since I've been here, I think you've done minimum two,
Rob Simmelkjaer: maybe three marathons a year. You've had these short turnaround
Rob Simmelkjaer: marathons like the Boston to London turn or you just
Rob Simmelkjaer: mentioned New York to Philadelphia, so it was clearly in
Rob Simmelkjaer: your legs the mileage that you needed. So, talk about
Rob Simmelkjaer: showing up for the first one that was Antarctica I assume, right, the
Rob Simmelkjaer: similar challenge to what Becs did?
Juan Uro: Yep.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Showing up at that first one, how did you feel?
Rob Simmelkjaer: Did you feel that you had it in you confident
Rob Simmelkjaer: given the short notice of five weeks that you had
Rob Simmelkjaer: and would love to hear you kind of take us
Rob Simmelkjaer: through the journey over those seven days?
Juan Uro: Yeah, I felt a little bit unprepared but I don't
Juan Uro: think necessarily it's a fair comment. In fact, even when
Juan Uro: I got the five- week notice, if I would have had five-
Juan Uro: month notice, my preparation would have been exactly the same
Juan Uro: because I literally ran that year up to again, Thanksgiving
Juan Uro: and I was going to, I promised my wife, " We
Juan Uro: arrive to Argentina, we will eat a lot of steaks,
Juan Uro: we'll have a lot of ice cream and a couple
Juan Uro: of good wines." And here we arrive and nothing was
Juan Uro: fulfilled because I ended up being pretty healthy. But I
Juan Uro: knew I was prepared enough. But the week before I
Juan Uro: had two doubts. First is what time I could really
Juan Uro: make. Lately I have been, I don't know, three hours
Juan Uro: and 30- minute marathon and I thought I was going
Juan Uro: to be at best for 30 in each. And the second one
Juan Uro: while I put 130 miles in two or three weeks and basically
Juan Uro: the totality of seven marathons is 180 miles or whatever
Juan Uro: the math is, call it 180, let's give or take.
Juan Uro: I still was into the unknown so I didn't know
Juan Uro: what to expect from that point of view and whether
Juan Uro: the body will be resilient enough for the last few
Juan Uro: marathons. So, I literally tried to approach it off from
Juan Uro: conservative to more risk- taker. And Antarctica being the first
Juan Uro: one I said, " Whatever time, it doesn't matter, just go
Juan Uro: and have fun." And in fact, it was 10 loops
Juan Uro: of 2. 6 kilometers and I broke it into three
Juan Uro: loops. And the last one was the victory lap, so
Juan Uro: to speak. So, the first third was okay, the second
Juan Uro: one it was enjoying the sightseeing and the third one,
Juan Uro: I was literally thinking, " This is most likely the last
Juan Uro: time that I will ever be in this continent so
Juan Uro: just enjoy it." And from that point of view, I
Juan Uro: ended up four hour and 15 or 16, slow but
Juan Uro: I didn't care, literally I had an amazing time. Again,
Juan Uro: not from a clock perspective, what a rewarding experience. So
Juan Uro: many people may be dreaming of at some point going
Juan Uro: to Antarctica, a few may have the opportunity and even fewer
Juan Uro: may actually realize that chance, and for me to run even a marathon,
Juan Uro: which I love, what an amazing moment. So, it was
Juan Uro: okay from a time perspective, the time of my life
Juan Uro: from being there and from that moment it started to
Juan Uro: move into a little bit better times up to the point
Juan Uro: in Dubai. So, that's a little bit of the preparation
Juan Uro: and call it the first Antarctica time.
Rob Simmelkjaer: So, take me through the end, take me through, and
Rob Simmelkjaer: to me the travel is always the thing that I
Rob Simmelkjaer: just can't fathom how people are able to do this
Rob Simmelkjaer: to run these marathons, take these flights, get back, recover
Rob Simmelkjaer: from them, do it again. I just don't know how
Rob Simmelkjaer: the body can withstand that combination of things. Which was
Rob Simmelkjaer: the hardest one for you, Dubai, was that your low point?
Juan Uro: That was the first low point because Dubai was marathon
Juan Uro: number four and literally from Antarctica we went to Cape
Juan Uro: Town, that was marathon number two, but nobody was able
Juan Uro: to sleep almost in that flight. So, most people ended up
Juan Uro: with two marathons in call it 36 hours with no sleep in between.
Juan Uro: But then we went to Australia, we slept a lot
Juan Uro: and then back to Middle East and Dubai and people slept a
Juan Uro: lot. But I was placing myself pretty nice until I
Juan Uro: did a mistake in the course, get pretty upset with
Juan Uro: myself, came back, lost a little bit with the group
Juan Uro: that I was running. And then, I felt a little
Juan Uro: bit depleted, not physically but I was not eating well
Juan Uro: between the marathons. So, the body really realized at that
Juan Uro: point that I wasn't having fuel enough. And even mentally
Juan Uro: it was like, " Holy cow, I have done already three
Juan Uro: marathons, but I'm just half of the full journey." So,
Juan Uro: if I feel tired, I just literally only have done
Juan Uro: half of what I'm supposed to do. So, I think between
Juan Uro: that mental aspect, the lack of food, it wasn't lack
Juan Uro: of sleep on that one, it brought me down in
Juan Uro: the last couple of loops. I ended up being four
Juan Uro: hours or four hours and one minute, so it wasn't-
Rob Simmelkjaer: 4:02, 4:02 pretty good. Yeah.
Juan Uro: Yeah, but I was pacing at 3: 50, but the real toughest
Juan Uro: time was marathon six in Brazil, we were at 90
Juan Uro: or 95 degrees, it was four loops. And the third
Juan Uro: loop, I was feeling pretty good until I didn't have
Juan Uro: it anymore, I was overheated. I literally called my wife,
Juan Uro: it was five o'clock Brazil time, seven o'clock I think
Juan Uro: New York or something or the other way around. I
Juan Uro: called her pretty early and I said, " I'm done." And
Juan Uro: she was like, "What do you mean you are done? You are going to finish this thing." She's an amazing in
Juan Uro: terms of giving me corrections and support when I need
Juan Uro: it. And I was like, " Yeah, no, I'm going to walk
Juan Uro: at least," but it was the first time that I
Juan Uro: couldn't really even jog like I was toasted. And one
Juan Uro: of the doctors, we have two doctors through the journey,
Juan Uro: and for some reason they ended up connecting with me and
Juan Uro: a couple of other folks that we run together so they
Juan Uro: were always doing at least one loop with us. So,
Juan Uro: one of these doctors from Boston, he saw me in
Juan Uro: one of the mid- points and he said, " Let's do
Juan Uro: it, let's go." He carried me a little bit in
Juan Uro: the last loop but as I said, I was totally,
Juan Uro: totally exhausted, depleted, emotionally, physically, I couldn't have any more
Juan Uro: of energy to do that one.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah, it seems like that South American one can be
Rob Simmelkjaer: tough for a lot of people. You were in Brazil,
Rob Simmelkjaer: Becs did hers in Columbia also on a very hot
Rob Simmelkjaer: day. And we all know heat is difficult to deal
Rob Simmelkjaer: with when you're running marathons at all, when you're running
Rob Simmelkjaer: your sixth marathon in six days, I just cannot even
Rob Simmelkjaer: fathom. But you bounced back nicely for the final leg
Rob Simmelkjaer: in the United States. Was that Miami?
Juan Uro: That was Miami, yeah.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah.
Juan Uro: We started at-
Rob Simmelkjaer: 4:14, pretty good.
Juan Uro: One o'clock in the morning or something like that it
Juan Uro: was supposed to be six o'clock or seven in the morning.
Juan Uro: That's the thing is we ended up being so ahead
Juan Uro: of schedule that I think the person that was the
Juan Uro: fastest, Tomomi, a Japanese runner, I think she crushed the
Juan Uro: world record if I'm not mistaken of from the first
Juan Uro: marathon to the last one, she ended up in five
Juan Uro: days and 19 hours. So, for me being one hour
Juan Uro: slower, I did five days and 20 hours, but literally
Juan Uro: we save one full day. And I could tell you
Juan Uro: I could have had a couple of nice dinners and sleep
Juan Uro: a couple more hours in those. But yeah, we started
Juan Uro: midnight or something like that and by four or five
Juan Uro: o'clock in the morning I finished, called my wife and said, "
Juan Uro: I just booked a flight, I should be there in
Juan Uro: five hours." There was a little bit of a reunion and a little
Juan Uro: bit of celebration and I had an amazing time with
Juan Uro: many runners. But after 10 days, I was missing the
Juan Uro: family so much that jumped on the first flight back
Juan Uro: to New York and I was midday back in the city.
Rob Simmelkjaer: So, what have you learned from doing this? What did
Rob Simmelkjaer: you learn as a runner, Juan in terms of you
Rob Simmelkjaer: as a runner and what you can do and what
Rob Simmelkjaer: you want to accomplish in your running life? And then
Rob Simmelkjaer: more importantly, what have you learned as a human from
Rob Simmelkjaer: taking this on?
Juan Uro: Yeah, I'll start with the human one and at work,
Juan Uro: many people that work with me, I always said nothing is
Juan Uro: impossible. And I know it sounds like a little bit
Juan Uro: of a cliche but the reality is there's very little
Juan Uro: things that are truly, truly impossible. I think encountering a
Juan Uro: challenge like this the first thing will be, " Yeah, it's
Juan Uro: impossible." And as I said, when I saw it in
Juan Uro: the Expo it was like, " Ah, interesting idea, I don't think
Juan Uro: I can do it." But then, it may be lingering
Juan Uro: in your mind and then you start thinking about it
Juan Uro: and become a little bit less impossible and eventually a
Juan Uro: little bit less impossible. So, point being, if you put
Juan Uro: your heart, if you put your mind, if you put your
Juan Uro: dedication, it's unbelievable how much you can accomplish professionally or personally,
Juan Uro: whether it's in a sport, in endurance or whether it's in
Juan Uro: any capacity that you want to do. And the second thing I
Juan Uro: would say even from that learning is even if you
Juan Uro: don't accomplish it, I think you come up as a
Juan Uro: better person or at least with personal growth. And that's
Juan Uro: the whole point of any of these attempts like many
Juan Uro: people are putting a lot of emphasis on where they
Juan Uro: can achieve something or not, but I would say that
Juan Uro: the pursuit of excellence or the pursuit of something extraordinary
Juan Uro: sometimes can be much more rewarding than the achievement of
Juan Uro: something extraordinary. So, that to me is the lesson almost
Juan Uro: at the personal level. In terms of running, I don't know, I don't
Juan Uro: have goals on running. For example, I don't count the
Juan Uro: number of marathons that I have done incredibly enough, literally I
Juan Uro: don't know how many I have.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I was going to ask you because it's got to
Rob Simmelkjaer: be up there. I mean, I was wondering if you
Rob Simmelkjaer: had that count, but you don't even know.
Juan Uro: No, I always say I answer in Spanish and I say
Juan Uro: cincuenta and cincuenta means 50 but also means sin cuenta,
Juan Uro: without counting. So, it's kind of a funny way to
Juan Uro: answer that. I know it's more than 50, I know it's
Juan Uro: less than 100. At some point probably I will be
Juan Uro: doing the clinical analysis to see if I ever dare
Juan Uro: to do 100, but it's not part of necessarily a challenge
Juan Uro: that I need to set for myself. But as I
Juan Uro: said, look, I think the thing that I have learned
Juan Uro: is no matter the weather, no matter the conditions, when
Juan Uro: you put the mind into it and when you put
Juan Uro: the heart into it, literally I was finishing marathons and I was like
Juan Uro: I couldn't move. I looked like the Mummy, like I
Juan Uro: was walking so funny.
Rob Simmelkjaer: (inaudible) Yeah.
Juan Uro: Yeah, exactly, exactly. And then, you jump on the plane
Juan Uro: and you have the compression socks and you may start
Juan Uro: feeling a little bit better. And then, you arrive to
Juan Uro: immigrations and you can walk a little bit better and
Juan Uro: then you get to the starting line and you start
Juan Uro: running. And it's incredible how 16 hours before you said,
Juan Uro: my body cannot take it anymore but again, the spirit.
Juan Uro: So, going back to dark times in a race or
Juan Uro: in a marathon, you may be suffering but you can
Juan Uro: still do it so that's the learning.
Rob Simmelkjaer: It's Father's Day week and it's so great to say
Rob Simmelkjaer: that you're a father again, you have a daughter, Isabella.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Talk about your role as a father now, the role
Rob Simmelkjaer: that running plays even with your family. I don't know
Rob Simmelkjaer: how big your wife, your daughter, and I know you've
Rob Simmelkjaer: run maybe some 5Ks together, what does it mean to
Rob Simmelkjaer: you just to have that opportunity to A, run with
Rob Simmelkjaer: her, but also set the example that you set for
Rob Simmelkjaer: her in running these races?
Juan Uro: Yeah, I think she's proud, I haven't done this to
Juan Uro: make her proud per se. Running is in a way
Juan Uro: selfish to me and I go back to if I
Juan Uro: dedicated this to my son. But interesting, I think it
Juan Uro: was a few years ago that she came to me
Juan Uro: and literally asked me the question, " Why do you always run
Juan Uro: with Bauti's picture, why you are not having my picture?"
Juan Uro: And it was an interesting question, literally should I have
Juan Uro: a little bit of her picture? And I said, " Well,
Juan Uro: because I can run with you and I wish we would
Juan Uro: have a chance to run." And I think that get
Juan Uro: her to at least do one race. So, we ended
Juan Uro: up doing the Dash to the Finish two or three
Juan Uro: years ago and then she enjoyed. And again, she may
Juan Uro: feel excluded of the marathons in a way. I think
Juan Uro: we bond together on many sports, she plays tennis and I
Juan Uro: love going to watch almost all her matches and we
Juan Uro: play together and we bond on other activities. But at
Juan Uro: least she's still part of that running so she does
Juan Uro: a couple of those races. But also I think she
Juan Uro: understood how special was that time for me with my
Juan Uro: son, so to speak, because even when she's not sharing
Juan Uro: time with her brother, she knows about her brother. And
Juan Uro: by the way, she lives an amazing honorable life because
Juan Uro: I think my wife and I probably without necessarily putting
Juan Uro: pressure, she understood that she needs to live a life
Juan Uro: worth living, so to speak. So again, it's special when
Juan Uro: we do it once or twice a year, but she
Juan Uro: also is respectful of my time with her brother, so
Juan Uro: to speak.
Rob Simmelkjaer: That's a pretty amazing Father's Day story, no question about
Rob Simmelkjaer: it. And fatherhood can take a lot of different forms,
Rob Simmelkjaer: everybody's got a different journey as a father. Yours has
Rob Simmelkjaer: been one that's been difficult at times for sure, but
Rob Simmelkjaer: really fulfilling as well and running has been a big
Rob Simmelkjaer: part of it. Well, I have to ask you the
Rob Simmelkjaer: board member question at the end of course, Juan, you're
Rob Simmelkjaer: one of our board members, you devote a lot of
Rob Simmelkjaer: your hours, resources, time, commitment to our organization helping us
Rob Simmelkjaer: be the best that we can be. Why do you
Rob Simmelkjaer: do it? What makes you want to give back to
Rob Simmelkjaer: the organization? And your running journey, what do you think
Rob Simmelkjaer: our members and others out there can learn about the
Rob Simmelkjaer: role that Road Runners can play in their running journey?
Juan Uro: Yeah, look, I think if I will have the chance to
Juan Uro: serve in any organization in the entire world and I
Juan Uro: need to choose one, this is the organization. So, in
Juan Uro: a way lucky me that I was able to play
Juan Uro: that role. Number one, 10 years ago I became an
Juan Uro: American but 25 years ago became a New Yorker so
Juan Uro: it's my city. I have lived here most of my
Juan Uro: life and I love the city and any opportunity to give
Juan Uro: back to the city is incredible. Number two, running Half
Juan Uro: saved my life along the journey, it make me from
Juan Uro: the early days as I said, just to look better
Juan Uro: as a teenager to the days of finding a challenge
Juan Uro: to the days of just staying alive. And I think
Juan Uro: that that's for many people that maybe listen to the
Juan Uro: podcast or people that run our events, some they do
Juan Uro: it for physical wellness, some for mental wellness, some for
Juan Uro: spiritual. And the role that we have in making those
Juan Uro: communities accessible, our open runs, what we do for kids,
Juan Uro: it's almost an obligation to pay back to the next
Juan Uro: generation what some of us were lucky enough to live.
Juan Uro: So, that's the reason why I do it and I appreciate
Juan Uro: the opportunity of being invited by George many years ago
Juan Uro: into the board and try to make a difference every
Juan Uro: day or every week in giving back to the community
Juan Uro: in sport that has made me a better person.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Juan, thank you for a great conversation, a meaningful conversation.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I really appreciate your sharing it with me, with our
Rob Simmelkjaer: listeners and everybody out there. Congratulations to you for everything
Rob Simmelkjaer: you've done and Happy Father's Day.
Juan Uro: Happy Father's Day to you as well, Rob and thanks
Juan Uro: for inviting me.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Today as part of our Pride Month celebrations, we're talking
Rob Simmelkjaer: with a truly inspiring runner. Galo Vasquez is a SUNY
Rob Simmelkjaer: New Paltz alum who has dominated New York Road Runners non-
Rob Simmelkjaer: binary division. Just this year, Galo won the non- binary
Rob Simmelkjaer: title at both the United Airlines NYC Half and the
Rob Simmelkjaer: RBC Brooklyn Half and they hold the school record for
Rob Simmelkjaer: the 8K at New Paltz. Galo trains with the Westchester
Rob Simmelkjaer: Track Club and also coaches so they bring a wealth
Rob Simmelkjaer: of experience to the sports.
Meb Keflezighi: Thanks, Rob. Galo, welcome to the Set the Pace podcast.
Meb Keflezighi: How's it going today?
Galo Vasquez: Hey, it's going pretty well.
Meb Keflezighi: What a year you had. You were the top non- binary finisher
Meb Keflezighi: at the 2025 United Airlines NYC Half and then broke
Meb Keflezighi: the tape at the 2025 RBC Brooklyn Half. What do those back- to-
Meb Keflezighi: back victories means to you personally?
Galo Vasquez: I got to summarize it, I just enjoy doing it. I
Galo Vasquez: just really love going out there and stringing together those
Galo Vasquez: 13 miles. And when I come away with a victory it's
Galo Vasquez: always like a bonus, but I just love getting out
Galo Vasquez: there, I love racing. So, having just the opportunity is
Galo Vasquez: really just to show up and give it my best, it
Galo Vasquez: really means everything to me. And then, the win is
Galo Vasquez: nice, a little extra, and I get to fortunately have
Galo Vasquez: a pretty stable job up here so I get to
Galo Vasquez: do some donations and stuff to different LGBTQ organizations and
Galo Vasquez: just humanitarian age for so many things that are going on
Galo Vasquez: with that little extra bonus that I get from the victories.
Meb Keflezighi: Great. We'll go into that a little bit more deeper, but
Meb Keflezighi: how do you prepare for each race for the NYC
Meb Keflezighi: Half and Brooklyn?
Galo Vasquez: How do I prepare? Let's see. So, for a while
Galo Vasquez: all through during college and stuff, I was doing a
Galo Vasquez: lot of mileage. But in recent years, in the past
Galo Vasquez: two to three years, I've been doing some pretty steady 30-
Galo Vasquez: mile weeks and just letting my body really how I
Galo Vasquez: feel take charge of my training. So, when I was
Galo Vasquez: maybe four years ago I was doing 80, 90 miles, but
Galo Vasquez: now I'm just doing two workouts a week, always doing
Galo Vasquez: strides almost every day, a lot of some calisthenics but
Galo Vasquez: nothing out there. Most of my runs are, or at
Galo Vasquez: least my workouts, are repeats of two minutes or something
Galo Vasquez: and sometimes some four- mile tempos, maybe some two- mile
Galo Vasquez: tempo repeats, yeah, and then just getting good rest
Meb Keflezighi: From competing from 8K to the Half Marathon US SUNY
Meb Keflezighi: New Paltz profile notes that you had the school record for the 8K, 25:
Meb Keflezighi: 03. How was the college experience running cross country and track
Meb Keflezighi: and field influencing training for the competitive as a road
Meb Keflezighi: racer now up to 13. 1 miles?
Galo Vasquez: Yeah, I mean, I think I learned a lot about
Galo Vasquez: racing and about patience because when you're in the collegiate
Galo Vasquez: level, I had so many people around me, it was
Galo Vasquez: very, very competitive and you're always kind of keeping track
Galo Vasquez: of who's where and what teams are coming up. But
Galo Vasquez: honestly, in a way running outside the college it's a
Galo Vasquez: little less intense in terms of being aware of who's
Galo Vasquez: there and who's not and all that stuff. So, you get to
Galo Vasquez: kind of focus a little bit more on yourself. So,
Galo Vasquez: I think I got used to that level of intensity
Galo Vasquez: early on and then it became I think a lot
Galo Vasquez: easier to say, " Okay, I'm going to show up to
Galo Vasquez: the race." There might be a lot more people at
Galo Vasquez: these big road races, you have thousands and thousands of
Galo Vasquez: people, but the race itself felt a little more relaxed like, "
Galo Vasquez: All right, I'm going to go out here, I'm going to hit my pace. I'm not
Galo Vasquez: really looking to, I don't know where I'm going to
Galo Vasquez: end up scoring or whatever, but I'm just going to do
Galo Vasquez: my best." So, it definitely prepared me and then now it
Galo Vasquez: feels a lot easier.
Meb Keflezighi: No, it's all about being balanced but as a full-
Meb Keflezighi: time employee and trying to get some mileage, I know
Meb Keflezighi: you say you're not running as many miles but how do you balance
Meb Keflezighi: work and trying to have your own peak performance and
Meb Keflezighi: winning those big races?
Galo Vasquez: Yeah, I would say work and my training really ... Work,
Galo Vasquez: my training and volunteering really frame everything I do so
Galo Vasquez: when I'm scheduling stuff, that's really what I'm thinking about.
Galo Vasquez: But I try to work here at the school, at
Galo Vasquez: the high school I work at I've had an assistant coaching
Galo Vasquez: job, and so I'll end up running with the kids after school
Galo Vasquez: sometimes or they'll see me right outside after the bell
Galo Vasquez: rings on the grass I'm doing a workout. So, I just
Galo Vasquez: try to make things mesh with each other as much
Galo Vasquez: as possible, integrate them together so that I make time
Galo Vasquez: for myself so I can get all my things done.
Galo Vasquez: Yeah, that's it, just make things integrate together. Everybody kind
Galo Vasquez: of knows what I'm up to around here, they know
Galo Vasquez: that I'm dedicated to what I do and that I take
Galo Vasquez: time out of my day after school to get it done. And
Galo Vasquez: I see people in the community, everyone's super supportive so
Galo Vasquez: it makes staying on the path pretty easy.
Meb Keflezighi: No, I know you alluded to as volunteering or as
Meb Keflezighi: a visible non- binary athlete and a coach, how do you think your
Meb Keflezighi: success and visibility helps the LGBTQ+ and other underrepresented runners?
Galo Vasquez: I would say it's a tough time for a lot
Galo Vasquez: of groups of people right now to feel comfortable, to
Galo Vasquez: feel brave, to feel like they can pursue the things
Galo Vasquez: they want to do in life and not be kind
Galo Vasquez: of overwhelmed by the barriers that come. So, I think
Galo Vasquez: it's really awesome to have these big races that do
Galo Vasquez: put some spotlights on the LGBT community that have non-
Galo Vasquez: binary categories 'cause it reminds people that beyond maybe one
Galo Vasquez: piece of your identity, you are a whole person. You
Galo Vasquez: have all these things to, you could be an educator,
Galo Vasquez: you could be a runner, you could be activist, you
Galo Vasquez: could be, I don't know, a small business owner. So, to learn about
Galo Vasquez: these people and people's stories, I think it really makes
Galo Vasquez: people feel like, " Oh, I can balance these things and
Galo Vasquez: I don't have to just be this one thing," so
Galo Vasquez: it's awesome, I think it really helps that.
Meb Keflezighi: Well, we're grateful for the New Yorker runs for giving
Meb Keflezighi: us a platform to shine our talent, but do you
Meb Keflezighi: engage in any advocacy or mentorship outside of the competition?
Galo Vasquez: Yeah, I'm a part of the Transcenders, which is a
Galo Vasquez: trans and non- binary running team that organizes up here.
Galo Vasquez: Let's see, I guess we're, it was like Ulster County
Galo Vasquez: area but we have a lot of members from a
Galo Vasquez: lot of different places. And now it's kind of hopefully
Galo Vasquez: becoming a tradition. We're having this track meet I think
Galo Vasquez: it's August and it happens up here, last year it
Galo Vasquez: happened in Dutchess County in Poughkeepsie. So, it was great
Galo Vasquez: to get people together who are people in LGBT community who
Galo Vasquez: just want to compete and want to feel comfortable, want
Galo Vasquez: to feel safe and want to come out here and
Galo Vasquez: get to know each other, but all for the love
Galo Vasquez: of competing and moving around and just having a joyful
Galo Vasquez: atmosphere. So, doing stuff like that is really important. And
Galo Vasquez: then, like I said before just when I run, it's
Galo Vasquez: a place for my physical freedom but I'm thinking about
Galo Vasquez: everything that's going on in the world. So, while I'm thinking
Galo Vasquez: about my races, my pace and stuff, I'm also thinking
Galo Vasquez: about my family, my friends and what's going on in the
Galo Vasquez: world where I can donate some money that I have
Galo Vasquez: living around, especially with the wars are going on, the
Galo Vasquez: blockade in Gaza, things like that, people are in a
Galo Vasquez: lot of need. So, that's kind of how I organize.
Galo Vasquez: I have some groups here too in Hudson Valley that
Galo Vasquez: I work with together. A lot of educational stuff, putting
Galo Vasquez: on just information to bring people to a center so that
Galo Vasquez: we can all get on the same page and work together.
Meb Keflezighi: Well, Galo, you're doing an amazing work leading the pace
Meb Keflezighi: and then also doing some advocacy work and then they
Meb Keflezighi: are very admired what you are doing and breaking barriers.
Meb Keflezighi: So, keep up the great work, we're grateful for you
Meb Keflezighi: to be here and be able to just be advocacy
Meb Keflezighi: for this less fortunate one so keep up the great work.
Galo Vasquez: Well, thank you so much for the opportunity to have
Galo Vasquez: a chat.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Thank you, Galo, for joining us and for being a
Rob Simmelkjaer: member of New York Road Runners. New York Road Runners
Rob Simmelkjaer: is a nonprofit organization with a vision to build healthier
Rob Simmelkjaer: lives and stronger communities through the transformative power of running.
Rob Simmelkjaer: The support of members and donors like you helps us
Rob Simmelkjaer: achieve our mission to transform the health and wellbeing of
Rob Simmelkjaer: our communities through inclusive and accessible running experiences empowering all
Rob Simmelkjaer: to achieve their potential. Learn more and contribute at nyrr. org/
Rob Simmelkjaer: donate. Yukiko Matsuzaki is a board- certified clinical specialist at
Rob Simmelkjaer: Hospital for Special Surgery. She treats children and adolescents with
Rob Simmelkjaer: a range of orthopedic and sports- related injuries, both surgical
Rob Simmelkjaer: and non- surgical. Yukiko works closely with physicians and performance
Rob Simmelkjaer: specialists to help young athletes recover safely and return to
Rob Simmelkjaer: sport with a lower risk of future injury. She's published
Rob Simmelkjaer: a handful of research papers on topics of youth runner
Rob Simmelkjaer: biomechanics, knee surgeries and pediatric sports medicine.
Meb Keflezighi: Thanks Rob. Yukiko, welcome to the Set the Pace podcast,
Meb Keflezighi: how's it going today?
Yukiko Matsuzaki: Good, good. Thanks for having me, Meb. It's so exciting to be here.
Meb Keflezighi: Delighted to have you. You specialize in treating pediatric adolescent
Meb Keflezighi: athletes, what are some of the most common running related
Meb Keflezighi: injuries you see at that age group?
Yukiko Matsuzaki: Yeah, sure. So, basically what makes this pediatric and adolescent
Yukiko Matsuzaki: athletes unique compared to the adults is that their bodies
Yukiko Matsuzaki: are constantly changing, meaning their bones, their muscles, their nervous
Yukiko Matsuzaki: system, their hormone levels, their bone density, they're all changing
Yukiko Matsuzaki: until they become an adult. Now, all kids go through
Yukiko Matsuzaki: periods of steady state growth and really fast rates of
Yukiko Matsuzaki: growth, which we call growth spurts, and this is really
Yukiko Matsuzaki: the time where a lot of kids are most vulnerable
Yukiko Matsuzaki: to injury. And the bones are getting longer but the
Yukiko Matsuzaki: tendons and the muscles which attach to the bones don't
Yukiko Matsuzaki: stretch out naturally. So, now we have a taller kid
Yukiko Matsuzaki: with tight muscles like hamstrings and calf muscles, and just
Yukiko Matsuzaki: because you're taller doesn't mean you're naturally stronger. So, now
Yukiko Matsuzaki: we have a tall kid with tight muscles and relatively
Yukiko Matsuzaki: weaker muscles. Sometimes these tight muscles can cause what we
Yukiko Matsuzaki: call growing pains, these can be what we call Osgood-
Yukiko Matsuzaki: Schlatter disease or Sever's disease, they're at the knee or
Yukiko Matsuzaki: the heel. They're called disease but not really a disease.
Yukiko Matsuzaki: And there's also some similar kind of injuries at the
Yukiko Matsuzaki: pelvis and hips that don't have very special names. And
Yukiko Matsuzaki: then, other times it's a combination of tight muscles and
Yukiko Matsuzaki: weak muscles that can result in things like front of
Yukiko Matsuzaki: the knee pain. And then, finally in kids, the bones
Yukiko Matsuzaki: are naturally softer than they are in adults, which is
Yukiko Matsuzaki: why we see more bone- related injuries, things like stress
Yukiko Matsuzaki: fractures and avulsion fractures in this population. The avulsion fractures
Yukiko Matsuzaki: at the pelvis and the hips is kind of commonly
Yukiko Matsuzaki: seen in the sprinters, not so much in the long-
Yukiko Matsuzaki: distance runners. I hope I answered that question.
Meb Keflezighi: Oh, you did, you did great. And how does working
Meb Keflezighi: with a 14- year- old cross- country runner differ from
Meb Keflezighi: treating an adult marathoner? I know you already answered it,
Meb Keflezighi: but what should parents and coaches be aware? Because I
Meb Keflezighi: have a 15- year- old daughter and she plays contact
Meb Keflezighi: soccer and she still has the growth bone injury, not
Meb Keflezighi: injury but when it impacts she feels like in pain
Meb Keflezighi: or feel like, if it's an adult it would've been
Meb Keflezighi: a disaster, but because it's still growing, how do you see
Meb Keflezighi: that development or science be able to just be okay
Meb Keflezighi: with the kids? If it was an adult, it would've been
Meb Keflezighi: probably a fracture.
Yukiko Matsuzaki: Yeah, so this is great. So, I'll talk about the
Yukiko Matsuzaki: runner specifically but it doesn't always have to just apply
Yukiko Matsuzaki: to runners. It can apply to any young athletes that play
Yukiko Matsuzaki: soccer or basketball. Basically, the bone like I said, is
Yukiko Matsuzaki: the most vulnerable in growing kids. So, cross- country runners
Yukiko Matsuzaki: and even soccer players who run a lot are more
Yukiko Matsuzaki: likely to suffer bone stress injuries. So, we have to
Yukiko Matsuzaki: be mindful about the overall training load, which in runners
Yukiko Matsuzaki: that would be mileage, in soccer players, it could be
Yukiko Matsuzaki: like minutes. And when we talk about overall training load,
Yukiko Matsuzaki: we want to look at the week of how much
Yukiko Matsuzaki: they're playing in a week or running in a week. So,
Yukiko Matsuzaki: these things are very easily trackable with an Apple Watch
Yukiko Matsuzaki: or a Garmin watch, Strava, there's also the coaches are
Yukiko Matsuzaki: keeping track or they should keep track of how much
Yukiko Matsuzaki: soccer players are playing in minutes. And while we all
Yukiko Matsuzaki: think like weight- bearing exercises are things that are like
Yukiko Matsuzaki: running or standing up exercises are good for bone health,
Yukiko Matsuzaki: excessive amounts are not actually great, can lead to injuries.
Yukiko Matsuzaki: So, super important to look at the overall training program
Yukiko Matsuzaki: and make sure that we have number one, rest and
Yukiko Matsuzaki: recovery, right? As a pro runner yourself I'm sure you
Yukiko Matsuzaki: had rest and recovery days. You probably had cross- training
Yukiko Matsuzaki: days where you didn't do that sport. If you're a
Yukiko Matsuzaki: soccer player, you may do something else. If you're a
Yukiko Matsuzaki: runner, maybe you go cycling or you do swimming. It's
Yukiko Matsuzaki: still training your body just in different ways. Strength and
Yukiko Matsuzaki: conditioning is something that a lot of young athletes are
Yukiko Matsuzaki: missing. And then finally, sleep. How many hours of sleep
Yukiko Matsuzaki: you get a night is super important in young athletes'
Yukiko Matsuzaki: growing bodies similar to the rest and recovery. Sleep is
Yukiko Matsuzaki: not like a passive state of rest, it's very active
Yukiko Matsuzaki: in their bodies or getting rest, but things are being
Yukiko Matsuzaki: repaired and restored. And then finally, nutrition is super important.
Yukiko Matsuzaki: Again, whatever sport you play, we don't want a deficit
Yukiko Matsuzaki: too much of the sport with too little nutrition that
Yukiko Matsuzaki: it's going to lead to a deficit and something that
Yukiko Matsuzaki: can lead to injuries. And then finally, when the kid
Yukiko Matsuzaki: is going through an active period of growth, like the
Yukiko Matsuzaki: parents are buying new shoes every few months, new pants,
Yukiko Matsuzaki: they're getting taller every single night, this is when we
Yukiko Matsuzaki: need to modify their training program. So, less is more
Yukiko Matsuzaki: during this time. So, less running or less soccer, less
Yukiko Matsuzaki: basketball, whatever it is. But substitute like one or two
Yukiko Matsuzaki: days a week of that training with conditioning exercises, mobility
Yukiko Matsuzaki: exercises, foam rolling, stretching, whatever it is, cross- training, that
Yukiko Matsuzaki: can really lead to decreasing the risk of injury and
Yukiko Matsuzaki: also probably improved performance.
Meb Keflezighi: You're absolutely right. I know moderation in everything and our
Meb Keflezighi: overall, whether it's mileage or minutes is so crucial. Sometimes
Meb Keflezighi: but the kids the love is running or the love
Meb Keflezighi: is soccer, I think the coaches have to step up
Meb Keflezighi: to say, " Hey, you need to do cross- training or you need to
Meb Keflezighi: rest," but sometimes difficult to do. But you are currently
Meb Keflezighi: leading a research, adults and runners, can you share what
Meb Keflezighi: you are exploring in the search and why it matters
Meb Keflezighi: for young athlete's long- term health?
Yukiko Matsuzaki: Sure. Yes. So. In this study I looked at healthy
Yukiko Matsuzaki: uninjured runners and I just took a look at how they
Yukiko Matsuzaki: run. And what we found was that their running form
Yukiko Matsuzaki: were kind of consistent with weak hip or core muscles.
Yukiko Matsuzaki: They all had overstriding striking posture and a lot of the kids had
Yukiko Matsuzaki: pronated ankles or like an inward collapse or the ankle
Yukiko Matsuzaki: and the foot. Now, these things are associated with injuries
Yukiko Matsuzaki: in adult runners. Since in this study we did not
Yukiko Matsuzaki: compare the group to injured athletes, I can't say that
Yukiko Matsuzaki: a certain running form is related to an injury in
Yukiko Matsuzaki: this adolescent running group. So, that would be really the
Yukiko Matsuzaki: next step. So, the main finding with that was that the
Yukiko Matsuzaki: healthy youth runners ran differently compared to what we know
Yukiko Matsuzaki: is what healthy adult runners run. So, what we don't
Yukiko Matsuzaki: want to do as healthcare providers or someone who's doing
Yukiko Matsuzaki: a running analysis is to use some of these norms
Yukiko Matsuzaki: and numbers from what we found in the adult running
Yukiko Matsuzaki: literature, and I'll kind of simply apply them to the
Yukiko Matsuzaki: youth runners. I don't think that really would work really
Yukiko Matsuzaki: well and there's so many different pieces of the puzzles
Yukiko Matsuzaki: to kind of put together to make a youth athlete
Yukiko Matsuzaki: healthy. So, just looking at numbers can be really tricky.
Yukiko Matsuzaki: So, that's the bottom line.
Meb Keflezighi: Most importantly make them have fun so they can develop
Meb Keflezighi: to be an adult and engage so they don't lose
Meb Keflezighi: their passion.
Yukiko Matsuzaki: Yep.
Meb Keflezighi: And then, for young runners training for their first big
Meb Keflezighi: race, what are some of the warning signs that we may see doing too much or too soon?
Yukiko Matsuzaki: So, too much too soon frequently happens during preseason or
Yukiko Matsuzaki: right after the preseason begins. Let's take cross- country as
Yukiko Matsuzaki: an example so that's a fall sport. So, sometime around mid-
Yukiko Matsuzaki: August, preseason begins. All the students are coming back from
Yukiko Matsuzaki: the summer, sometimes they've gone to summer camp and done
Yukiko Matsuzaki: completely different sports. Maybe they've been working all summer, maybe
Yukiko Matsuzaki: they've just kind of been lazy and hanging out over
Yukiko Matsuzaki: the summer. A lot of them are not in shape
Yukiko Matsuzaki: even for preseason. Now, preseason is pretty tough, it's meant
Yukiko Matsuzaki: to be pretty tough. The coaches want to get these
Yukiko Matsuzaki: athletes in shape so that they have a good season.
Yukiko Matsuzaki: So, I think it's really important that these athletes are
Yukiko Matsuzaki: ready for preseason. So, you almost have to have a
Yukiko Matsuzaki: baseline, right? You've got good sleep, you have baseline mileage
Yukiko Matsuzaki: for runners or fitness for soccer players, whatever, and you're
Yukiko Matsuzaki: just in shape. Your strength is good, you've worked out
Yukiko Matsuzaki: all summer. I think having a consistent schedule like you
Yukiko Matsuzaki: worked out throughout let's say June or July, you went
Yukiko Matsuzaki: to the gym and then you're ready for the preseason
Yukiko Matsuzaki: so that you don't crash during that course. And then,
Yukiko Matsuzaki: some of the main symptoms and the signs and symptoms
Yukiko Matsuzaki: of overtraining would be like fatigue. You're tired all the
Yukiko Matsuzaki: time regardless of the number of hours you're sleeping, you're
Yukiko Matsuzaki: tired during the day at school. We also see kids
Yukiko Matsuzaki: who keep getting injured or they're just not performing really
Yukiko Matsuzaki: well despite the amount of practice. So, those are big
Yukiko Matsuzaki: red flags of overtraining. So, like I said before, sometimes
Yukiko Matsuzaki: less is more so less running, less sports, but more
Yukiko Matsuzaki: time spent on rest and recovery, cross- training, conditioning, making
Yukiko Matsuzaki: your body ready for the sport I think is really key.
Meb Keflezighi: It is important even as an elite athlete when you
Meb Keflezighi: bring into preseason you like you hate it because, well,
Meb Keflezighi: you took some time off, the muscles are sore, you
Meb Keflezighi: feel a little bit lethargic, but let the fitness come
Meb Keflezighi: to you instead of rushing into it.
Yukiko Matsuzaki: Yes.
Meb Keflezighi: So, your points on very well taken. What are some
Meb Keflezighi: of the changes you wish more youth running program would
Meb Keflezighi: make to better support the injury prevention and long- term success?
Yukiko Matsuzaki: Yes. So, I think one thing that youth athletes need
Yukiko Matsuzaki: to incorporate is strength and conditioning. And we're talking about
Yukiko Matsuzaki: basic stuff like one- legged balance. Can you balance on
Yukiko Matsuzaki: one leg with your eyes open for 30 seconds, right?
Yukiko Matsuzaki: Can you do a nice squat, two- legged squat, nothing
Yukiko Matsuzaki: fancy, no loaded, no squat rack, crazy stuff. Can you
Yukiko Matsuzaki: do single- leg exercises, right? Remember, running is a single-
Yukiko Matsuzaki: legged workout. If you cannot balance and stabilize your body
Yukiko Matsuzaki: over one leg, you're not going to be a good
Yukiko Matsuzaki: runner. And obviously this does not go for just youth runners
Yukiko Matsuzaki: and will go for any runner. But I think sometimes
Yukiko Matsuzaki: we all focus on the sport too much and we're
Yukiko Matsuzaki: missing out on the basic foundation, core strength, balance, mobility,
Yukiko Matsuzaki: how your joints move, your ankles, your knees, your hips
Yukiko Matsuzaki: and then strength, so stability. Like I said, they all
Yukiko Matsuzaki: kind of fit together to provide a nice stable running
Yukiko Matsuzaki: form. And I think that's really what makes a difference,
Yukiko Matsuzaki: not just muscling through these races. I think the simple
Yukiko Matsuzaki: things really make the biggest change or the difference in
Yukiko Matsuzaki: your performance and how you feel.
Meb Keflezighi: Yukiko, these are amazing knowledge that you shared with us, especially
Meb Keflezighi: with kids. They're fun contents to have, on a pillow or single-
Meb Keflezighi: leg squat or one eye closed trying to reach for
Meb Keflezighi: the ground and then back up, it's phenomenal. And I
Meb Keflezighi: talk about that in Meb For Mortals is the strengthening. Sometimes we
Meb Keflezighi: all want to do efficient running, but we forget about
Meb Keflezighi: the small increment that helps you be a well- balanced athlete
Meb Keflezighi: to help you carry on single- leg from 5K to the 10K to the half-
Meb Keflezighi: marathon, full marathon. So, great job and showing this research
Meb Keflezighi: and able to share with us. So, it means a
Meb Keflezighi: lot and keep up the great work and thank you for being
Meb Keflezighi: with us.
Yukiko Matsuzaki: Thank you, Meb.
Rob Simmelkjaer: That does it for our Father's Day edition of Set
Rob Simmelkjaer: the Pace. We want to thank our guests today, Juan
Rob Simmelkjaer: Uro, New York Road Runners member, Galo Vasquez and HSS's
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yukiko Matsuzaki. If you liked the episode, please make sure
Rob Simmelkjaer: you subscribe, leave us a rating, five stars of course.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Send us a comment wherever you listen, this will help
Rob Simmelkjaer: us and help others find the show too. Happy Father's
Rob Simmelkjaer: Day everybody, we'll see you next week.