Martinus Evans: In spite of all the troubles you might have been
Martinus Evans: through, our goal is to finish anyway. I ran races
Martinus Evans: where they ran out of water. I ran races where
Martinus Evans: they ran out of medals and packed up and there
Martinus Evans: was no finish line. And when it was all set and done,
Martinus Evans: in spite of all those things, I finished anyway. I
Martinus Evans: made it to the finish line. I had that goal, I set
Martinus Evans: that goal and I overcame all those obstacles to get there.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Hey everybody, and welcome to Set the Pace, the official
Rob Simmelkjaer: podcast of New York Roadrunners, presented by Peloton. I'm your
Rob Simmelkjaer: host, Rob Simmelkjaer, the CEO of New York Roadrunners, and we're
Rob Simmelkjaer: back together this week. My co- host, Becs Gentry is
Rob Simmelkjaer: on the pod. What's up, Becs?
Becs Gentry: Hi, we missed you last week during your CEO- ing.
Becs Gentry: I don't want to put that (inaudible) . That's now a thing
Becs Gentry: is CEO- ing.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah, there are times, there are times when I have
Rob Simmelkjaer: to go and actually be CEO and not podcast co-
Rob Simmelkjaer: host. We were having an off- site with our management
Rob Simmelkjaer: team last week, which was fantastic. But thank you for
Rob Simmelkjaer: holding down the fort. And for such a great episode.
Rob Simmelkjaer: If you haven't listened to it, go back and listen
Rob Simmelkjaer: to last week's episode with Becs talking to Shaunta- Mae.
Rob Simmelkjaer: It was awesome. She's such an inspirational story.
Becs Gentry: She truly, truly is. I was blessed to spend that
Becs Gentry: time with her, as with all of our incredible, incredible guests.
Becs Gentry: How was your Memorial Day weekend?
Rob Simmelkjaer: Oh, it was good, Becs. You know, I'm not running
Rob Simmelkjaer: much right now, actually. It's interesting. I'm in a little
Rob Simmelkjaer: bit of a running break. I get a couple miles
Rob Simmelkjaer: here, a couple miles there.
Becs Gentry: Nice.
Rob Simmelkjaer: But coming into this summer, having run two marathons since
Rob Simmelkjaer: last fall, I was like, " Let me get back into
Rob Simmelkjaer: some things I missed." So, I played some tennis this
Rob Simmelkjaer: weekend, which was great. Spent some time at the pool, a
Rob Simmelkjaer: lot of kids stuff. My kids are coming over to
Rob Simmelkjaer: hang out with their friends, go swimming. My daughter had
Rob Simmelkjaer: a very impromptu little party with her friends on Sunday night.
Becs Gentry: You're such a cool dad.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah, I'm like the guy with the fun house now,
Rob Simmelkjaer: the pool. So, the kids are coming over and then (inaudible) -
Becs Gentry: Can I come over?
Rob Simmelkjaer: ... comes over. Yes, you can. Come on over. Let's
Rob Simmelkjaer: get you guys up here. And so it's fun, but
Rob Simmelkjaer: then sometimes it gets a little bit crazy with the
Rob Simmelkjaer: teenager. So, I was up a little later than I
Rob Simmelkjaer: planned Sunday night with five teenage girls running around my
Rob Simmelkjaer: house, but it was a good weekend.
Becs Gentry: Oh, that's how it should be though, right? Memorial Day weekend.
Rob Simmelkjaer: That's what I want. I love having lots of people
Rob Simmelkjaer: around, so it was a great weekend, absolutely. How about
Rob Simmelkjaer: you? What do you guys got going on?
Becs Gentry: It was very, very relaxed, actually. You know what? In
Becs Gentry: true New York Roadrunner representation, I went and got some
Becs Gentry: miles in Central Park yesterday with Tallulah and Austin. We
Becs Gentry: did a little family run around the park, which was
Becs Gentry: great. I have to give a big shout- out Austin for
Becs Gentry: pushing her heavy, heavy stroller all the way up Harlem
Becs Gentry: Hill. Yeah.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Wow, a stroller up Harlem Hill is no joke.
Becs Gentry: Not breaking a sweat. Well, no, he was absolutely dying.
Becs Gentry: Oh, with a sweat. But he was crushing the pace.
Becs Gentry: And other than that, we just, Tallulah had her first
Becs Gentry: soft serve ice cream with sprinkles on, her first one ever.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Oh, magic.
Becs Gentry: Which was wild. Yeah, she was unfortunately a little unwell
Becs Gentry: last night. So, I'm not sure whether that's going anything to
Becs Gentry: do with the fact that we don't really give her
Becs Gentry: sugar and then let her have that whole ice cream.
Becs Gentry: Anyway, parenting SOS there. But otherwise it was relaxing. It
Becs Gentry: was nice to see the sun came out, so it
Becs Gentry: was always good. But yeah, I'm running. I'm running, but
Becs Gentry: I'm not running as much as I probably should be
Becs Gentry: with an upcoming marathon, but-
Rob Simmelkjaer: It comes in waves. I think we all have to have our
Rob Simmelkjaer: waves of intense running and then waves of pulling back
Rob Simmelkjaer: a little, letting our body rest. I've come around to
Rob Simmelkjaer: just letting my body and my mind tell me what
Rob Simmelkjaer: it wants. And if it wants to run 10 miles
Rob Simmelkjaer: in a week, then that's what I'm going to do. And
Rob Simmelkjaer: when I'm ready to ramp up to more, then that's
Rob Simmelkjaer: okay. I still keep it going, still get the joy
Rob Simmelkjaer: of it when I do it. So, however you do
Rob Simmelkjaer: it is a beautiful thing and fits into your life
Rob Simmelkjaer: however it does. So, while we've got a great episode
Rob Simmelkjaer: today, Becs, one of my absolute favorite people, Martinus Evans,
Rob Simmelkjaer: the founder of the Slow AF Run Club. He's an
Rob Simmelkjaer: author, an advocate, someone who's made the sport of running
Rob Simmelkjaer: so much more inclusive, and he's one of the featured
Rob Simmelkjaer: runners in our Final Finishers documentary. A new film produced by New
Rob Simmelkjaer: York Roadrunners and Tribeca Productions, which is premiering at this year's
Rob Simmelkjaer: Tribeca Festival on June 12th. Martinus is going to join
Rob Simmelkjaer: us in a little bit, and it's so much fun
Rob Simmelkjaer: talking to him about the origins of Slow AF, his
Rob Simmelkjaer: own story, how he became a runner. So, that's coming
Rob Simmelkjaer: up a little bit later on the podcast. It's a
Rob Simmelkjaer: great conversation. But before we get there, Becs, some more
Rob Simmelkjaer: exciting news from our new content studio, which is called
Rob Simmelkjaer: East 89th St Productions. By the way, for those who
Rob Simmelkjaer: don't know, that's a nod to the old headquarters of
Rob Simmelkjaer: New York Roadrunners up on East 89th Street between Madison
Rob Simmelkjaer: and Fifth Avenue where people used to go pick up
Rob Simmelkjaer: their bibs back in the day for a long, long time.
Becs Gentry: So cool.
Rob Simmelkjaer: We're very excited about this, but we also have a
Rob Simmelkjaer: new podcast out as part of that production studio, and
Rob Simmelkjaer: it's our first ever audio documentary. So, it's not just
Rob Simmelkjaer: the interviews and the conversation that you have here on
Rob Simmelkjaer: Set the Pace, but it is really a great narrative
Rob Simmelkjaer: storytelling documentary podcast. It's called 850 Million Reasons to Run,
Rob Simmelkjaer: and it's a five- part series that follows New York
Rob Simmelkjaer: Roadrunners member Peter Kirk, who went from a life- threatening
Rob Simmelkjaer: diagnosis to the starting line of the TCS New York City Marathon
Rob Simmelkjaer: all in under a year. And it's an incredibly powerful
Rob Simmelkjaer: honest story. Becs, I listened to the first episode during
Rob Simmelkjaer: one of my brief runs last weekend, and I loved
Rob Simmelkjaer: it. And I'm dying to hear, because I don't know
Rob Simmelkjaer: all of his story. I wasn't involved in the production of this
Rob Simmelkjaer: podcast, so I'm just a listener and I can't wait for
Rob Simmelkjaer: episode two to drop, which I think will have dropped
Rob Simmelkjaer: by the time this episode right here does.
Becs Gentry: Yeah, it's unreal. You all should be listening to it.
Becs Gentry: Peter is an absolutely incredible human. If you don't know
Becs Gentry: his story, he had acute leukemia, form of cancer. He
Becs Gentry: is aiming to run 1, 000 half- marathons. Yeah, he
Becs Gentry: basically runs two a week. And his story of success,
Becs Gentry: his story of what is possible as a human and
Becs Gentry: the goal to just succeed. But in the episode that
Becs Gentry: has dropped already he talks about his cancer journey, his
Becs Gentry: stem cell transplant. Success. It's a successful story, so I'm
Becs Gentry: setting you up to not have too many tearjerkers. Though,
Becs Gentry: if you are like me, you will shed a tear
Becs Gentry: or two just for empathy, I think as well. It's
Becs Gentry: beautiful and wonderfully produced, so congratulations to the East 89th
Becs Gentry: Street production team.
Rob Simmelkjaer: That's right, Matt Singer, Katherine Jones, our team doing a
Rob Simmelkjaer: phenomenal job putting that together, so very exciting. And make
Rob Simmelkjaer: sure you check out those episodes. A couple more should
Rob Simmelkjaer: be out when you are listening to this version of
Rob Simmelkjaer: Set the Pace. All right, last but not least, Becs,
Rob Simmelkjaer: we will end today's show as we always do with
Rob Simmelkjaer: some important tips from Meb Keflezighi. Today's Meb Minute is all about
Rob Simmelkjaer: what you should be doing to prep for a fall
Rob Simmelkjaer: marathon before you officially begin your training plan. A lot
Rob Simmelkjaer: of people are in that mode now where they've got
Rob Simmelkjaer: a ticket booked, an entry into one of the fall
Rob Simmelkjaer: marathons. Maybe it's not quite time to really get going
Rob Simmelkjaer: into your training yet, so how do you prep to
Rob Simmelkjaer: prep? How do you get ready for your training? Meb
Rob Simmelkjaer: will take us through all that as well.
Becs Gentry: Try the Peloton app for free and access classes for
Becs Gentry: every type of runner. Whether you're training for your first
Becs Gentry: race or you're a seasoned pro. From outdoor runs and
Becs Gentry: intervals to strength, yoga and stretching, you'll find the perfect
Becs Gentry: fit for every part of your routine. Whether it's a
Becs Gentry: long run day or you just need a quick five-
Becs Gentry: minute reset. The Peloton app meets you where you are
Becs Gentry: and helps you become a stronger, faster runner. Because it's
Becs Gentry: designed for someone like you. Try the app free for
Becs Gentry: 30 days and download it now from the app store
Becs Gentry: or Google Play. Terms apply. Peloton, the official digital fitness
Becs Gentry: partner for New York Roadrunners.
Rob Simmelkjaer: This week we are joined by Martinus Evans, a marathoner,
Rob Simmelkjaer: an author and a founder of the Slow AF Run
Rob Simmelkjaer: Club. And a tireless advocate who challenges what we think
Rob Simmelkjaer: a runner looks like and who gets to be one.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Martinus has built a global community for runners of all
Rob Simmelkjaer: body types and paces, and he's helping lead a much
Rob Simmelkjaer: needed shift in how we talk about inclusion in the
Rob Simmelkjaer: sport. And I've had a chance to get to know
Rob Simmelkjaer: Martinus quite a bit over the last couple of years
Rob Simmelkjaer: through his book, and it's great to see you, and
Rob Simmelkjaer: welcome to Set the Pace, Martinus.
Martinus Evans: Hey man, I'm glad to be here. Thank you for having me.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Absolutely. I've had a chance to get to know you.
Rob Simmelkjaer: You've had this incredible run with your Slow AF, which
Rob Simmelkjaer: stands for as Something Run Club, and your story is
Rob Simmelkjaer: incredible. When I first met you, I think it was
Rob Simmelkjaer: at one of your book signings. And you gave an
Rob Simmelkjaer: incredible talk about your journey as a runner. Someone who,
Rob Simmelkjaer: if someone walks up to you on the street, the
Rob Simmelkjaer: first word that comes to mind may not be marathoner,
Rob Simmelkjaer: but there you are. And can you talk about how
Rob Simmelkjaer: this all happened for you? And it is documented in the film that
Rob Simmelkjaer: we've got coming up, Final Finisher, which we're so excited about.
Rob Simmelkjaer: You're a big part of that story. But talk about
Rob Simmelkjaer: how this all came about for you as a big
Rob Simmelkjaer: guy starting to run these long distances.
Martinus Evans: Absolutely, Rob. Let me take you back in 2012, think about
Martinus Evans: where were you at in 2012? For me, I was working
Martinus Evans: commission sales job at Men's Warehouse. I was on my
Martinus Evans: feet 10 to 12 hours a day. I was a commission suit
Martinus Evans: salesman. I was on my feet pretty much a long
Martinus Evans: period of time. One day I ended up hurting my hip.
Martinus Evans: I went to go see a doctor and this kind of
Martinus Evans: spiraled into the journey we know now, sat in this
Martinus Evans: doctor's office and he was like, "I know why you're in
Martinus Evans: pain, because you're fat and you need to lose weight."
Martinus Evans: And I said a lot of colorful four letter words
Martinus Evans: that's probably not permitted on this podcast.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Did the doctor actually say fat? Did he actually fat,
Rob Simmelkjaer: use the word fat?
Martinus Evans: Yes.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah. That's interesting. Different, slightly different time, but hey.
Martinus Evans: Yes.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I guess he was being-
Martinus Evans: 2012, right?
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah, not that long ago, but okay.
Martinus Evans: But yeah, he called me fat. He told me I
Martinus Evans: need to lose weight or die. He went on this
Martinus Evans: whole thing of you need to start walking and lose
Martinus Evans: weight and all this other stuff. And just being tired,
Martinus Evans: frustrated, and A, just tired of people just counting me
Martinus Evans: out. As a previous collegiate athlete, I have the determination,
Martinus Evans: I have the mindset. So, I told that doctor, " I'm
Martinus Evans: going to run a marathon. Forget all the things you're
Martinus Evans: talking about. I'm going to go run a marathon." And he laughed at me. He didn't
Martinus Evans: give me a hah, hah laugh or a giggle laugh.
Martinus Evans: He didn't even give me a laugh like he's laughing with
Martinus Evans: me, right? He's laughing at me.
Becs Gentry: So, talk us through it. What happened? You went and
Becs Gentry: got the running shoes, and then what?
Martinus Evans: I went to go get the running shoes, Becs, and I
Martinus Evans: was like, "I was going to run a marathon that day. I'm
Martinus Evans: running a marathon today."
Becs Gentry: Got fired up.
Martinus Evans: There was a lot of things I didn't necessarily know
Martinus Evans: about marathon running, but I was like, " I'm going to
Martinus Evans: run one today." I remember telling my friends, "I'm going to go run
Martinus Evans: a 5K marathon today."
Becs Gentry: Google like, how long is a marathon?
Martinus Evans: But I get the shoes and I go to the fitness
Martinus Evans: center in my apartment complex, and there's three treadmills there,
Martinus Evans: I remember this vividly. And two treadmills are already occupied
Martinus Evans: by these two guys that I lovingly call them gazelles.
Martinus Evans: Because they were tearing it up, they were tearing the
Martinus Evans: treadmill. And I remember getting on the treadmill and sizing
Martinus Evans: these guys up and one guy was going 10, another guy
Martinus Evans: was going nine.
Becs Gentry: Wow.
Martinus Evans: And I thought to myself, " You know what, if these guys are
Martinus Evans: going nine and 10, I can at least go seven." Say wrong.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah, seven's not slow, seven is moving, seven's moving for you.
Martinus Evans: So, I put it on seven, the belt is speeding in between my
Martinus Evans: legs and I said, " Here goes nothing." And I get
Martinus Evans: on that treadmill belt and my life left before my
Martinus Evans: eyes. All I remember, it was struggling and fighting for
Martinus Evans: what I felt like an eternity until the world stopped
Martinus Evans: and I was on the ground.
Becs Gentry: Oh, no.
Martinus Evans: I fell off the treadmill.
Becs Gentry: Oh, no.
Martinus Evans: Yes.
Becs Gentry: Oh, no.
Martinus Evans: The noise that I made falling off that treadmill was deafening.
Martinus Evans: And as I'm trying to get up and make sure
Martinus Evans: nobody sees me, and everybody saw me, everybody saw me. I
Martinus Evans: try to get up, I grabbed my stuff. One of the
Martinus Evans: gazelles looked at me and was like, " Are you okay?" And I was like, "Yeah, I just
Martinus Evans: lost my balance." And I grabbed my phone and that
Martinus Evans: little red light was flashing and it said 15 seconds.
Martinus Evans: And I was like, " Oh, this is not a marathon."
Martinus Evans: And I got up out of there. I remember walking out of the fitness
Martinus Evans: center with tears in my eyes being like, " Maybe the
Martinus Evans: doctor's right. Maybe I can't do this. Maybe I am
Martinus Evans: done for thinking I can do this." And as I got home, I reached
Martinus Evans: out to the doorknob and I have his tattoo on my right
Martinus Evans: wrist and it says, " No struggle, no progress." It comes
Martinus Evans: from the famous Frederick Douglass speech. And I got it
Martinus Evans: a long time ago, and when I reached out to
Martinus Evans: the doorknob to twist the doorknob open, I seen a
Martinus Evans: tattoo and it said, " No struggle, no progress." And I
Martinus Evans: thought to myself, " You know what? I got to go
Martinus Evans: through the struggle."
Becs Gentry: Yeah, yeah, you do. And hold onto it and hold onto that pain
Becs Gentry: and that catalyst though, I mean, we all need a
Becs Gentry: catalyst. Whatever is a current roadblock in life, there's always
Becs Gentry: a catalyst, but it's whether you hold onto it or
Becs Gentry: whether you just shove it aside and say, " All right,
Becs Gentry: I'm going to let that defeat me." And you didn't, you
Becs Gentry: didn't, you gave it a go. You had that 15
Becs Gentry: seconds, it slammed you down, but you got back up, and that's it.
Becs Gentry: That's the amazing, amazing side of it. Had you been
Becs Gentry: on a treadmill before that?
Martinus Evans: I have, but a very long time ago. Like I said, I was a collegiate athlete,
Martinus Evans: I played college football. And that was probably about five
Martinus Evans: years after that. I was still nimble for my size.
Martinus Evans: I can tear it up on a flag football field.
Martinus Evans: But was I really working out? Was I really exercising? Nah, I wasn't.
Becs Gentry: No. Okay.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah, certain football positions, your number one skill is mass.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Just the size and the mass that you can bring
Rob Simmelkjaer: to hitting another person. That can be an advantage in
Rob Simmelkjaer: football, but later in life can become a problem and
Rob Simmelkjaer: present some health challenges. So, how Martinus, did you get
Rob Simmelkjaer: from on the ground next to that treadmill to actually
Rob Simmelkjaer: accomplishing your objective of 26.2 miles? How did that happen?
Rob Simmelkjaer: What help did you have along the way?
Martinus Evans: All the things I'm going to say, it's simple, but it's
Martinus Evans: not easy to do. And what I mean by that, it
Martinus Evans: really took a lot of micro steps along the way. Let's
Martinus Evans: talk about the next day. I go back to the
Martinus Evans: fitness center, I'm like, " This treadmill is not going to beat
Martinus Evans: me." I run for 30 seconds straight, I'm like, " All right,
Martinus Evans: that's good enough. I had to prove to myself that I can get on the
Martinus Evans: treadmill and run." And then every day after that I
Martinus Evans: would just go and just do a little bit more,
Martinus Evans: like 45 seconds, try to run a minute. And then
Martinus Evans: a friend told me about Couch to 5K, and I'm kind
Martinus Evans: of obsessive, so I download four of them and I'm
Martinus Evans: trying different voices and things that I saw and just went
Martinus Evans: through the paces of Couch to 5K. And one of the
Martinus Evans: things that I found out during there was that some
Martinus Evans: of these Couch to 5K programs, 5K programs, wasn't necessarily meant for
Martinus Evans: me, because I'll get to try to do it and
Martinus Evans: then I couldn't finish the program. So, I'll try to
Martinus Evans: modify it and I'll repeat the days and so on and so
Martinus Evans: forth until I was able to be comfortable with that
Martinus Evans: particular day. It took me about 10 to 12 weeks to be
Martinus Evans: able to run my first 5K. I remember signing up for, it was
Martinus Evans: a, I think it was a 5K for the September 11th
Martinus Evans: firefighters, I think it was Steven Siller Foundation or something like that,
Martinus Evans: Tunnel to Towers. So that was my first 5K. I ran that and
Martinus Evans: from that day on I was hooked. And I was like, "
Martinus Evans: Okay, if I can do this, I can train for
Martinus Evans: 10K." Trained for 10K, run a bunch of 10Ks and then train for a half-
Martinus Evans: marathon. And then I'll say, " Okay, I trained for a half- marathon,
Martinus Evans: it's time to sign up for the big dog." And signed
Martinus Evans: up for a marathon and went out there and did
Martinus Evans: my thing.
Rob Simmelkjaer: And what year was that, Martinus?
Martinus Evans: I ran Detroit Marathon. My first marathon was Detroit Marathon.
Martinus Evans: It was October of 2013.
Rob Simmelkjaer: All right. So, that was basically about a year after that
Rob Simmelkjaer: disappointment, right? Ish?
Martinus Evans: Yeah, roughly a year- ish, 18 months, somewhere around there.
Martinus Evans: I met the doctor in June of 2012, and then
Martinus Evans: I ran that marathon in August of 2013. Well, not
Martinus Evans: August, October 2013.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Amazing.
Becs Gentry: Wow. Did you at any point on that, let's call
Becs Gentry: it 14 months or whatever, no 15 months, semantics, any
Becs Gentry: point think that running would become such a huge part
Becs Gentry: of who you were and your identity in the future?
Martinus Evans: Absolutely not.
Becs Gentry: No?
Martinus Evans: No. I did not think that running was going to
Martinus Evans: be that thing that I would do 10, 11, 12 years from then, right?
Martinus Evans: And I say that, because another thing that was also
Martinus Evans: happening during that time of me running, I was writing a
Martinus Evans: blog that got, it was fairly popular. And then I
Martinus Evans: was also getting a master's degree, so I was getting a
Martinus Evans: master's degree in health promotion public health. So, there was
Martinus Evans: a lot of things going on and I thought to
Martinus Evans: myself that this running thing would just be something that would keep
Martinus Evans: me sane while going to grad school and thinking about
Martinus Evans: getting my PhD. But it became a thing that, became that
Martinus Evans: catalyst that pretty much flipped everything that I did in
Martinus Evans: life. And what I mean by that is, for example, some
Martinus Evans: of these people, people don't even know this, right? I
Martinus Evans: have a bachelor's in exercise science, the master's in health
Martinus Evans: promotion, public health, and then I have a second master's
Martinus Evans: in digital marketing. But here's the thing, much of the
Martinus Evans: directory when I was in grad school, I forget what
Martinus Evans: I was even going to do, but it wasn't what I did.
Martinus Evans: I remember talking to my advisor and being like, " Hey,
Martinus Evans: there is this" ... There was this conference called Fit Blogging,
Martinus Evans: and it was like all these fitness bloggers got together. And I
Martinus Evans: remember telling my advisor, " Hey, I think I want my
Martinus Evans: master thesis to be on weight loss bloggers and readers
Martinus Evans: or weight loss bloggers of these fitness blogs. I want to
Martinus Evans: see are they actually losing weight? Are people who are
Martinus Evans: on weight loss journeys actually doing this thing?" And I
Martinus Evans: remember my advisor being like, " That does not make sense.
Martinus Evans: Nobody's doing their journeys or using their fitness journeys and
Martinus Evans: things of that sort." I'm like, " No, there's a conference
Martinus Evans: of people who does this." And when it was all said
Martinus Evans: and done, I ended up writing my master thesis on
Martinus Evans: weight loss bloggers and readers of weight loss bloggers. To really
Martinus Evans: understand this parasocial relationship. Like, are people actually getting the
Martinus Evans: thing that they want? Are people actually getting active? Are people actually moving
Martinus Evans: their body from reading these other stories? And the answer ended
Martinus Evans: up being yes, right? I can't remember the research and all
Martinus Evans: the stuff, but my master thesis, a couple of those
Martinus Evans: ended up becoming articles that was published in scientific journals.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Amazing. It seems like these lines were all moving in
Rob Simmelkjaer: the same direction in your life. Maybe you didn't know
Rob Simmelkjaer: exactly where they were all pointing you towards. But you
Rob Simmelkjaer: were moving in this direction to do what you're now
Rob Simmelkjaer: doing with Slow AF Run Club. All right, so let's get
Rob Simmelkjaer: from the finish line of that first marathon in Detroit
Rob Simmelkjaer: to the start of Slow AF Run Club, and the
Rob Simmelkjaer: story, Martinus, it's one of my favorite stories of what inspired
Rob Simmelkjaer: you to start this club and to name it Slow AF.
Martinus Evans: Okay, so let's talk about it. Slow AF Run Club
Martinus Evans: and how this thing got started. I was running a
Martinus Evans: particular race, a very large race.
Rob Simmelkjaer: You could say it, you could say it, come on, we're honest here on
Rob Simmelkjaer: Set the Pace.
Martinus Evans: I was running New York City Marathon, so I was running New York City Marathon. First time being, actually it
Martinus Evans: was the first time me being in New York. And running the
Martinus Evans: marathon and I get to the Queensboro Bridge, and I
Martinus Evans: remember this bridge, because it's quiet, there's no spectators. All
Martinus Evans: you hear is lost souls and moaning being like, " Ah,
Martinus Evans: this bridge F this bridge. Why?" I remember getting off
Martinus Evans: the bridge making that, I think it's a left turn and then there's a right turn and then you're
Martinus Evans: on First Ave. And I remember being like, "I just got off this
Martinus Evans: bridge and now I'm still on an incline. What is this?" And I
Martinus Evans: was on the left barricade and I remember this guy
Martinus Evans: pointing at me and I'm like, " Okay, you about to
Martinus Evans: give me a fist pump, a banana, a beer, something?"
Martinus Evans: I go to him, I run towards him and he's like, "
Martinus Evans: Hey buddy, you're slow, you Slow AF know," those words.
Martinus Evans: And I was like, " What?" And I remember him being like, "
Martinus Evans: Go home, it's not even, you're not going to win. Just go
Martinus Evans: home." We had some few church words, some colorful words
Martinus Evans: that I won't say on this podcast, but I remember
Martinus Evans: being like, " Why am I even wasting my breath on
Martinus Evans: somebody who's on the sideline and I'm actually doing the
Martinus Evans: thing?" After I finished this race, finish New York City,
Martinus Evans: get my medal, I think to myself, " I'm going to create
Martinus Evans: a community called the Slow AF Run Club." And it
Martinus Evans: is A, like a big middle finger to him. But also knowing that during
Martinus Evans: that time I've ran a few races, I know there
Martinus Evans: was other people who are in the back of the pack. Starting to become good friends
Martinus Evans: with some of those people in Facebook groups and things
Martinus Evans: of that sort. And I was like, "You know what? I'm going to create something that us
Martinus Evans: slow runners to get together and just be together and
Martinus Evans: run races." That was really the ultimate goal was like,
Martinus Evans: get ... I started this thing with 50 people. Get 50 of my
Martinus Evans: closest running buddies that I've met online or Instagram or
Martinus Evans: in a Facebook group and say, " Hey, let's get together and
Martinus Evans: let's plan out races together so we no longer have
Martinus Evans: to run alone. I don't want to see you at
Martinus Evans: a race and be like, 'Oh, I didn't know you
Martinus Evans: was here.' Let's just plan them out. What races are
Martinus Evans: you running? Let's plan together, let's share hotels, and so
Martinus Evans: on and so forth." And that was right before the
Martinus Evans: pandemic. And then something happened, the pandemic happened, so all
Martinus Evans: our races got canceled. Races was dropping like flies during that
Martinus Evans: time. And these 40 or 50 people that we had in there
Martinus Evans: was sad. Even myself went, " We can't run these races,
Martinus Evans: where are we going to go?" And I remember reaching out
Martinus Evans: to a buddy who's a race director, shout out to
Martinus Evans: JT. And I was like, " Hey, I think I want
Martinus Evans: to put on this race. Can you help me find
Martinus Evans: a medal, the strip gird things of that sort?" He put me in contact
Martinus Evans: with a medal distributor and we created a medal. And
Martinus Evans: my first, I put on a virtual race and it was
Martinus Evans: called the Slow AF Social Distancing Shuffle. I put on
Martinus Evans: this race and I remember with the race medals I
Martinus Evans: had to buy a minimal of 100 medals. I'm thinking to
Martinus Evans: myself like, " Oh my God, I spent so much money
Martinus Evans: who are going to buy these medals?" And I put it out there
Martinus Evans: in the interwebs and 10, 000 people signed up for this virtual race.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I'm sorry, what Martinus? Ten what?
Martinus Evans: 10,000 people signed up for this virtual race?
Becs Gentry: Yes, thank you. Yes.
Martinus Evans: Yes.
Becs Gentry: It's a lot more medals that you needed to buy
Becs Gentry: though, I'm sorry about that part.
Martinus Evans: You think.
Becs Gentry: Wait, so how much is a virtual medal?
Martinus Evans: So yeah, I then had to go back to the
Martinus Evans: manufacturer and get more medals and things that 10, 000
Martinus Evans: people signed up for that, and literally overnight we went from a
Martinus Evans: community of 50 people to 10, 000 people who were just
Martinus Evans: sticking around and be like, " Hey, when's the next one? I
Martinus Evans: wanted a little medal, you got more things, your turtle
Martinus Evans: mascot is amazing." And we'll just put on more virtual
Martinus Evans: races. And then became just putting on virtual races to
Martinus Evans: people actually coming in and asking for helping support like, "
Martinus Evans: Hey, what running shoes are you running in? Do you
Martinus Evans: run for speed or distance first? I'm hungry while I'm
Martinus Evans: running. Do I supposed to eat?" I think one of
Martinus Evans: the biggest questions was, " Do you eat while you run?
Martinus Evans: How do you eat and run? I don't never see
Martinus Evans: the professional athletes eat and run. Is that a thing?"
Martinus Evans: I would literally be in the community answering all these
Martinus Evans: questions, answering all these questions, " No, I would say run
Martinus Evans: for distance first, then speed. You should eat these things,
Martinus Evans: you should do all these things." And from there it
Martinus Evans: kind of went from that to like, " All right, let's
Martinus Evans: build out an app for this thing." And then from
Martinus Evans: the app it became, all right, I'm answering these questions
Martinus Evans: and most of these questions are the same question, so
Martinus Evans: let's write a book.
Rob Simmelkjaer: And you did write a book. And that book has
Rob Simmelkjaer: been, from what I can tell, a big success, because
Rob Simmelkjaer: every time you show up at the run center or
Rob Simmelkjaer: the expo with that book, people are lined up to
Rob Simmelkjaer: get signed copies of it. And talk about the impact
Rob Simmelkjaer: that book has had, Martinus. Have you seen this movement
Rob Simmelkjaer: that you started to get people like you who are
Rob Simmelkjaer: atypical runners, big bodies, whatever's bringing them to running? Have
Rob Simmelkjaer: you seen a change in this movement you started of
Rob Simmelkjaer: Slow AF Run Club?
Martinus Evans: Rob. Yes. First things first. At the point of this
Martinus Evans: recording right now where this thing is being recorded, that
Martinus Evans: book has sold 35, 000 copies.
Becs Gentry: Oh, my gosh.
Rob Simmelkjaer: It's amazing.
Martinus Evans: Let that sink in.
Becs Gentry: Congratulations.
Martinus Evans: 35, 000 copies. So yes, I think that, not even
Martinus Evans: think, I know that this book is definitely starting a
Martinus Evans: movement for people who do not see who they are
Martinus Evans: in the running industry, do not read about themselves in
Martinus Evans: the running industry or even just feel left out. I
Martinus Evans: think about myself when I started running back in 2012.
Martinus Evans: There was not a book out there written by somebody
Martinus Evans: like me. Most running books are written by elite athletes
Martinus Evans: or coaches of elite athletes showing their method on how
Martinus Evans: to get these elite athletes moving, right? When I started-
Becs Gentry: Not for the everyday person.
Martinus Evans: Not for the everyday person.
Becs Gentry: No.
Martinus Evans: When I started Couch to 5K, as I stated earlier, there were some days
Martinus Evans: where I needed to repeat. I could not just run through
Martinus Evans: Couch to 5K throughout from day one to day whatever. I
Martinus Evans: had to repeat days. So, there was a lot of
Martinus Evans: things that I learned along the way that I wish I
Martinus Evans: just had somebody to tell me. And now that this
Martinus Evans: book is out I'm fulfilling that mission. And you can
Martinus Evans: definitely see it when people are out in the streets
Martinus Evans: or I'm at a race expo or on Facebook or
Martinus Evans: on Instagram, or even on a racecourse where people are like, "
Martinus Evans: Hey, that book has inspired me." " Hey, you have provided
Martinus Evans: information that nobody has said before." " Hey, thank you, because
Martinus Evans: you are literally saying the things that I'm too afraid
Martinus Evans: to say out loud." And that was my goal, and
Martinus Evans: I definitely succeeded with that.
Becs Gentry: You did, astronomically, unreal. The name Slow AF is synonymous with
Becs Gentry: acceptance, with welcoming and with success. Honestly, it's just, I
Becs Gentry: think of all of the All- Runners and whenever I've met
Becs Gentry: runners who rep Slow AF, they are so proud to
Becs Gentry: talk about their successes from the, and I'm sure you've
Becs Gentry: had millions of people telling you through all the various
Becs Gentry: forms of communication we have these days, " I'm not a
Becs Gentry: runner, I don't know where to start help, what do
Becs Gentry: I do? I want to be able to move like
Becs Gentry: you, how do I start?" And so, obviously, it's in
Becs Gentry: your book, but how do you inspire people who were
Becs Gentry: perhaps in a similar situation to where you were at
Becs Gentry: leaving that doctor's office and just being like, " No, no,
Becs Gentry: you're not going to be right. I'm going to be
Becs Gentry: right and my right's going to be awesome, and it's going to be for me."
Martinus Evans: Becs, one of the things that I do that I think I'm pretty great at is providing psychological safety. I think where people who are
Martinus Evans: in the back of the pack, I think about people
Martinus Evans: who are plus size, the world has beat upon us.
Martinus Evans: The world is not necessarily a nice place for a
Martinus Evans: plus size person. The world is not necessarily a nice place for a slow
Martinus Evans: runner. And I think that for me it's providing that psychological
Martinus Evans: safety to say, " You belong here. I know you've been through
Martinus Evans: some stuff, but when you with us when you with
Martinus Evans: me that stuff is not tolerated. And we're going to
Martinus Evans: celebrate the things that people have told you not to
Martinus Evans: celebrate. Those are the things that we're going to go hard on
Martinus Evans: celebrating. Because those are the micro steps and the micro
Martinus Evans: habits and the micro successes that's going to keep you
Martinus Evans: in the running industry." And that's more or less how
Martinus Evans: I see myself. Is this liaison for the running industry,
Martinus Evans: because as the years goes on, you want more people inside of
Martinus Evans: the industry and I think I can do that by
Martinus Evans: A, providing that psychological safety where most people won't.
Becs Gentry: Yeah, agreed.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Martinus, I can't, and Becs, I can't think of anyone who has
Rob Simmelkjaer: had a bigger impact on the running industry than you
Rob Simmelkjaer: have, Martinus, in a lot of ways since I've been around
Rob Simmelkjaer: here in this space and paying attention to it. Because
Rob Simmelkjaer: I mean, this is so much of what we talk
Rob Simmelkjaer: about at New York Roadrunners and when we talk about
Rob Simmelkjaer: things like Final Finishers, which we're going to talk about
Rob Simmelkjaer: in a second, keeping our finish line open until the
Rob Simmelkjaer: wee hours. I mean, it's for these people, it's for
Rob Simmelkjaer: you, for your club members, for the people just like
Rob Simmelkjaer: you so that they can see a place for themselves.
Rob Simmelkjaer: You can't see a place for yourself if you can't
Rob Simmelkjaer: get to the finish line before it's closed. And don't
Rob Simmelkjaer: get a medal for all the effort that you put
Rob Simmelkjaer: in. And so, that's so much of what animates all
Rob Simmelkjaer: of this for us. How many members do you have
Rob Simmelkjaer: now in Slow AF?
Martinus Evans: Close to 40,000 people. We got about, I would actually say more, because
Martinus Evans: we have about 40, 000 people inside the app and then there's another
Martinus Evans: 20,000 in a Facebook app, I mean, Facebook group, and there's also
Martinus Evans: some unofficial Slow AF Run Clubs out there that has
Martinus Evans: a few hundred thousand members in there. So, Slow AF
Martinus Evans: Run Club is growing legs and just, it's one of
Martinus Evans: those things that for me it's like, " All right, it's
Martinus Evans: now, it was my baby and now it's one of
Martinus Evans: the things that giving out to the world." But I
Martinus Evans: would say official members, we've got about 40, 000 people.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah, it's unbelievable.
Becs Gentry: But you're right, people need to see representation, and this is
Becs Gentry: not a new thing, this is not a new thing
Becs Gentry: in any realm of life. But for the running community,
Becs Gentry: because closing courses, not giving people medals, that is a
Becs Gentry: dire representation of what running is about. And the medal
Becs Gentry: is not just a medal for the day as well.
Becs Gentry: And I think it's for you running that first marathon
Becs Gentry: from June 2012 to October 2013, that medal was for
Becs Gentry: that whole time. It wasn't just for that day when
Becs Gentry: you finish that marathon. And to take that away from
Becs Gentry: people just because of time and number is vicious in
Becs Gentry: my personal opinion. And it's not, seeing that your group
Becs Gentry: is growing so much and you are just welcoming so many
Becs Gentry: more people into this running world, that fills my heart,
Becs Gentry: makes me emotional, because for somebody in the position I'm
Becs Gentry: in, I get to coach people of all levels. And
Becs Gentry: that is one of the greatest pleasures I get in
Becs Gentry: life, outside of being a parent. It's to see the
Becs Gentry: people starting their journey. And I know you feel this
Becs Gentry: in your heart because you've gone through it of the
Becs Gentry: pride that they are able to do this for themselves.
Becs Gentry: And so, to those growing 40,000 plus members, flood in,
Becs Gentry: get that turtle, get that turtle logo everywhere, please.
Martinus Evans: It's just one of those things that I'm very proud
Martinus Evans: of, right, to say that it's something about that journey
Martinus Evans: of you meet someone and they are so not confident
Martinus Evans: in themselves, like they're unconfident, they don't don't know if they can be
Martinus Evans: a runner, they're like, " I don't know," so on and so
Martinus Evans: forth. And just providing that little inkling of fire and
Martinus Evans: I see it almost as fire building. You got this little ember
Martinus Evans: and you're trying to foster this ember and provide it
Martinus Evans: the adequate fuel and air and next thing it become this
Martinus Evans: raging fireball. And I think that's how I see running and that's
Martinus Evans: how I see these people who come into the Slow AF
Martinus Evans: Run Club or our new runners who are just looking
Martinus Evans: for something to hold onto.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Absolutely. All right, we're going to talk about Final Finishers a little bit. Martinus
Rob Simmelkjaer: is one of the runners who is featured in our
Rob Simmelkjaer: first ever documentary at New York Road Runners through our
Rob Simmelkjaer: new production arm East 89th St Productions. It's called Final
Rob Simmelkjaer: Finishers. It will premiere in June on June 12th at
Rob Simmelkjaer: the Tribeca Film Festival. We're so excited about that. And Martinus,
Rob Simmelkjaer: your story is so fantastic in this film. You go
Rob Simmelkjaer: through the story you've just told us, but really the
Rob Simmelkjaer: film is about that party at the finish line of
Rob Simmelkjaer: the TCS New York City Marathon and the way that
Rob Simmelkjaer: we celebrate those people coming in in 9, 10, 11 hours. Can
Rob Simmelkjaer: you talk about being a part of this film and
Rob Simmelkjaer: what that Final Finishers party and what it all means
Rob Simmelkjaer: to you and to the other members of your club?
Martinus Evans: Absolutely. I think being a part of the film is A, one thing,
Martinus Evans: a step in a direction to just get more people
Martinus Evans: excited about running. To get more people excited about participating
Martinus Evans: in marathoning. I think that's the first thing, especially when
Martinus Evans: you look at other documentaries, from other running documentaries, I
Martinus Evans: think this will definitely help out with that. I think
Martinus Evans: for me, being a part of it really helps with
Martinus Evans: A, helps validate my story, my journey, the things that
Martinus Evans: I've been doing these past 10, 11 years to show, okay,
Martinus Evans: it is validated, right? But I also think it validates everybody
Martinus Evans: else's story who sits in the back and who are
Martinus Evans: silent. To be able to be part of a New York
Martinus Evans: City Marathon and sit there and be in the back and party along
Martinus Evans: all the streets. And then you think to yourself like, " Okay,
Martinus Evans: maybe I'm going to get to the finish line and nobody's there." And
Martinus Evans: it's like, " No, there's a party here. We're calling your
Martinus Evans: name, we're giving you high- fives. There's a celebration tunnel."
Martinus Evans: And it's one of those things of being out there
Martinus Evans: for 10, 11, even 12 hours and you almost feel like, " I have
Martinus Evans: nothing left to give." And then you make that turn
Martinus Evans: around that corner and everybody's there and it's like, " This
Martinus Evans: is what it was all meant for." Because you think
Martinus Evans: about all of the times that your mind has told you
Martinus Evans: to quit. I think for me, I think about that
Martinus Evans: time where that person told me to go home. All these
Martinus Evans: times where like there's doubt and you're fighting that doubt
Martinus Evans: and you get to the finish line and people are
Martinus Evans: celebrating, that is what it's all about.
Becs Gentry: Really and truly is. That celebration, that love, that wow.
Becs Gentry: I cannot wait to see this whole documentary. Why, obviously,
Becs Gentry: it's the inspiration. But how on a daily basis do
Becs Gentry: you feel that you show up, and deal with sounds
Becs Gentry: like a negative word, but you know what I'm saying?
Becs Gentry: How do you shoulder this responsibility of being such a
Becs Gentry: voice of inclusion and inspiration for runners out there?
Martinus Evans: I would say that A, it's a great feeling, but B,
Martinus Evans: for me, it's also bigger than running. I've been fortunate
Martinus Evans: enough to make a career as a professional speaker and
Martinus Evans: motivational speaker to go out in various locales like corporations,
Martinus Evans: various conferences, to also be able to share my story
Martinus Evans: and give that story of overcoming odds, and doing hard
Martinus Evans: things and believing yourself, right? That message like, yes, we're
Martinus Evans: talking about running, but that message is so generalized that
Martinus Evans: it tackles everybody. And I think that for me running is
Martinus Evans: that conduit, but my message is helping people finish anyway.
Martinus Evans: And in spite of all the troubles you might have
Martinus Evans: been through, in spite of all the things you may have
Martinus Evans: been through, our goal is to finish anyway. For me,
Martinus Evans: Rob talked about it, I've ran races where they ran
Martinus Evans: out of water, I ran races where they ran out on the
Martinus Evans: medals and packed up and there was no finish line.
Martinus Evans: And when it was all said and done, in spite of all
Martinus Evans: those things, I finished anyway. I made it to the finish line,
Martinus Evans: I had that goal, I set that goal and I
Martinus Evans: overcame all those obstacles to get there. For me it's
Martinus Evans: about helping people understand that they can finish any way
Martinus Evans: in all aspects of life. Yes, it can be running,
Martinus Evans: but yes, it can be at your office, it can
Martinus Evans: be at work, it can be at home. We all
Martinus Evans: have obstacles that are standing our way, and we're just
Martinus Evans: all trying to finish anyway.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I love it. I love it. It's a metaphor for
Rob Simmelkjaer: life as Roadrunners, as running so often is. All right, so
Rob Simmelkjaer: the last great challenge you've taken on in life, Martinus
Rob Simmelkjaer: is to me the ultimate challenge, having done it myself,
Rob Simmelkjaer: which is fatherhood. And you are now knee- deep in
Rob Simmelkjaer: that journey as a father to your six- month- old
Rob Simmelkjaer: Max. Talk about that, what that has been like, and
Rob Simmelkjaer: how has what you've learned through running and through everything
Rob Simmelkjaer: you've achieved and the challenges you've overcome, how has that
Rob Simmelkjaer: played into your so far brief, but getting into a
Rob Simmelkjaer: journey as a father?
Martinus Evans: Rob, I used to tell people, " Running a marathon was
Martinus Evans: the hardest thing I ever did in my life." And then I
Martinus Evans: ran eight of them, and it was going to be
Martinus Evans: nine of them this year. And I used to say
Martinus Evans: that until I became a father. Being a father is the hardest thing
Martinus Evans: that I ever had to do in my life. But
Martinus Evans: those principles, those first principles when it comes to running
Martinus Evans: is still there when it comes to fatherhood, staying curious,
Martinus Evans: staying patient, knowing that there's going to be small wins
Martinus Evans: along the way, but there's still going to be a
Martinus Evans: lot of bumps and obstacles along the way. And our
Martinus Evans: goal is to get this baby boy to the finish line.
Martinus Evans: So yes, those are how running and fatherhood helps me.
Martinus Evans: But I think the other thing is just being able to
Martinus Evans: see this little guy learn new things among the world
Martinus Evans: every day. Today he just rolled over for the first
Martinus Evans: time and I was like, " This is crazy, right?" Seeing
Martinus Evans: him struggle and seeing him moan and groan and the next
Martinus Evans: thing you know he flipped over and it's like, "You did it, you did it, you did it."
Martinus Evans: It's almost like coaching, right? It's almost like coaching this
Martinus Evans: little AF Run Club member. " You can do it, you can run that mile.
Martinus Evans: I got faith in you." And just being able to
Martinus Evans: see those micro moments every day. Because he's learning, he's
Martinus Evans: growing, he's experiencing the world every day. And for me it just shows like A,
Martinus Evans: how precious life is, but B, how all the things
Martinus Evans: I've learned throughout running can be translated to other parts
Martinus Evans: of life.
Becs Gentry: Yeah, it's so true. And it can be more of a testament to we're meant
Becs Gentry: to do everything at our own speed. When you have
Becs Gentry: a kid you see that, because there are books upon
Becs Gentry: books about, " Your child should be hitting this milestone at
Becs Gentry: this point." And as a parent you're reading them and
Becs Gentry: you're freaking out if they're not. And then you speak
Becs Gentry: to, in my personal opinion, someone of an older generation who
Becs Gentry: just goes, " Put the phone down, put the book down."
Becs Gentry: Your child is fine and they are going to progress
Becs Gentry: and develop at their own speed. And those people in my
Becs Gentry: world are probably the same as, you should know that,
Becs Gentry: everybody moves at their own speed. And you're like, " Oh
Becs Gentry: my gosh, oh my gosh. Yes, running is just so
Becs Gentry: applicable to everything in life." Even a teeny tiny baby
Becs Gentry: rolling over is like, " Dude did that at his own
Becs Gentry: pace." Oh, it's so beautiful. Congratulations to you both on
Becs Gentry: Max, and being a parent in this world is nuts.
Becs Gentry: Yeah, I'll say is good luck on your next train
Becs Gentry: cycle, because it's going to look really different. Those stroller
Becs Gentry: miles, man, you'll be signing up for high rocks before you know it, you'll be like, "
Becs Gentry: I can push these sleds anywhere."
Martinus Evans: I'm training for New York City this year and I was thinking to myself like, " Oh my god, June is
Martinus Evans: coming up fast." And it's like, " Oh, these miles is
Martinus Evans: going to be stroller miles." And I'm like, " I don't
Martinus Evans: know how I'm going to get this done, but we're
Martinus Evans: going to figure it out."
Becs Gentry: You will. You'll figure it out. It'll be, nothing will
Becs Gentry: match. Seeing his cute little face wherever you see him
Becs Gentry: on race day, nothing will match that as well. Even
Becs Gentry: if you are in the depths of agony, it'll all be worth it.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Martinus, can't wait to see you at the finish line of the
Rob Simmelkjaer: marathon this year with your baby boy. Hopefully they're waiting
Rob Simmelkjaer: for you. Can't wait to see you at the premiere
Rob Simmelkjaer: of Final Finishes as well in June. It's been amazing
Rob Simmelkjaer: talking to you, one of my favorite stories in the
Rob Simmelkjaer: sport of running what you've done with Slow AF Run
Rob Simmelkjaer: Club. So, thanks for hanging out with me and Becs for
Rob Simmelkjaer: a little while today and we will see you very
Rob Simmelkjaer: soon, Martinus Evans.
Martinus Evans: Alrighty.
Rob Simmelkjaer: New York Roadrunners is a non- profit organization with a
Rob Simmelkjaer: vision to build healthier lives and stronger communities through the
Rob Simmelkjaer: transformative power of running. The support of members and donors
Rob Simmelkjaer: like you helps us achieve our mission to transform the
Rob Simmelkjaer: health and well- being of our communities through inclusive and
Rob Simmelkjaer: accessible running experiences, empowering all to achieve their potential. Learn
Rob Simmelkjaer: more and contribute at nyrr. org/ donate. And now it's
Rob Simmelkjaer: time for today's Med Minutes.
Meb Keflezighi: Pre- training base. Building a strong base with consistent training
Meb Keflezighi: or running before starting a structure training is very important.
Meb Keflezighi: Follow a graduate training plans 16 to 20 weeks to increase endurance
Meb Keflezighi: safely. Focus on nutrition, hydration, and recovery to support peak
Meb Keflezighi: performance. Invest in a proper running shoes and gear to
Meb Keflezighi: prevent injuries and enhance comfort. There's always a reset button.
Meb Keflezighi: It depends when you're getting ready for your next race
Meb Keflezighi: when to start off. For me personally, when I finish
Meb Keflezighi: one marathon, I'm not going to start from scratch. You
Meb Keflezighi: already were fit, but you need to be able to
Meb Keflezighi: recover and map out when the next race is going
Meb Keflezighi: to be and then start building up a base before and then
Meb Keflezighi: to progression run, and then eventually to race pace and
Meb Keflezighi: before you start doing intervals. So, it is important to
Meb Keflezighi: lay out the plan, personally I like to work from
Meb Keflezighi: that deadline and work backward, instead of saying, " Hey, what
Meb Keflezighi: is this week and next week?" Don't do that yourself.
Meb Keflezighi: Sign up for a race, bring the fitness back where
Meb Keflezighi: you were. If you start from scratch, like I said
Meb Keflezighi: earlier, you need maybe 16 to 20 weeks, but if you have
Meb Keflezighi: just finished a marathon, recover and start building up a
Meb Keflezighi: base, bring this fitness back to where you were. And
Meb Keflezighi: don't rush it, because if you were in a phenomenal
Meb Keflezighi: shape or you finished a marathon, you just need to
Meb Keflezighi: retrieve those fitness, so don't put too much pressure over
Meb Keflezighi: on yourself. So, have fun and go out for a run and bring that
Meb Keflezighi: fitness back to what it should be and you're going to do great.
Rob Simmelkjaer: And that does it for another episode of Set the
Rob Simmelkjaer: Pace. I want to thank today's amazing guest, Martinus Evans. If you like
Rob Simmelkjaer: this episode, please go ahead, subscribe, rate, or leave a
Rob Simmelkjaer: comment for the show on whatever platform you're listening on.
Rob Simmelkjaer: This not only helps us, but it helps others find
Rob Simmelkjaer: the show as well. Enjoy the miles, everybody. We'll see
Rob Simmelkjaer: you next week.