WEBVTT - Running Slow AF with Martinus Evans 0:00:00.480 --> 0:00:03.090 In spite of all the troubles you might have been 0:00:03.090 --> 0:00:06.720 through, our goal is to finish anyway. I ran races 0:00:06.720 --> 0:00:08.910 where they ran out of water. I ran races where 0:00:08.910 --> 0:00:11.550 they ran out of medals and packed up and there 0:00:11.550 --> 0:00:13.980 was no finish line. And when it was all set and done, 0:00:14.280 --> 0:00:17.190 in spite of all those things, I finished anyway. I 0:00:17.190 --> 0:00:20.160 made it to the finish line. I had that goal, I set 0:00:20.160 --> 0:00:23.099 that goal and I overcame all those obstacles to get there. 0:00:27.030 --> 0:00:30.270 Hey everybody, and welcome to Set the Pace, the official 0:00:30.270 --> 0:00:34.589 podcast of New York Roadrunners, presented by Peloton. I'm your 0:00:34.590 --> 0:00:38.159 host, Rob Simmelkjaer, the CEO of New York Roadrunners, and we're 0:00:38.159 --> 0:00:42.450 back together this week. My co- host, Becs Gentry is 0:00:42.450 --> 0:00:44.070 on the pod. What's up, Becs? 0:00:44.100 --> 0:00:48.000 Hi, we missed you last week during your CEO- ing. 0:00:48.330 --> 0:00:52.710 I don't want to put that (inaudible) . That's now a thing 0:00:52.710 --> 0:00:53.580 is CEO- ing. 0:00:54.120 --> 0:00:57.450 Yeah, there are times, there are times when I have 0:00:57.450 --> 0:01:01.170 to go and actually be CEO and not podcast co- 0:01:01.170 --> 0:01:03.570 host. We were having an off- site with our management 0:01:03.570 --> 0:01:07.200 team last week, which was fantastic. But thank you for 0:01:07.200 --> 0:01:10.619 holding down the fort. And for such a great episode. 0:01:10.620 --> 0:01:13.005 If you haven't listened to it, go back and listen 0:01:13.005 --> 0:01:16.590 to last week's episode with Becs talking to Shaunta- Mae. 0:01:17.280 --> 0:01:20.250 It was awesome. She's such an inspirational story. 0:01:20.700 --> 0:01:23.760 She truly, truly is. I was blessed to spend that 0:01:23.760 --> 0:01:28.020 time with her, as with all of our incredible, incredible guests. 0:01:29.040 --> 0:01:30.510 How was your Memorial Day weekend? 0:01:30.840 --> 0:01:33.810 Oh, it was good, Becs. You know, I'm not running 0:01:33.810 --> 0:01:36.240 much right now, actually. It's interesting. I'm in a little 0:01:36.240 --> 0:01:40.110 bit of a running break. I get a couple miles 0:01:40.110 --> 0:01:40.951 here, a couple miles there. 0:01:40.951 --> 0:01:41.310 Nice. 0:01:41.310 --> 0:01:45.509 But coming into this summer, having run two marathons since 0:01:45.510 --> 0:01:48.150 last fall, I was like, " Let me get back into 0:01:48.150 --> 0:01:50.910 some things I missed." So, I played some tennis this 0:01:50.910 --> 0:01:54.780 weekend, which was great. Spent some time at the pool, a 0:01:54.780 --> 0:01:59.850 lot of kids stuff. My kids are coming over to 0:01:59.850 --> 0:02:03.059 hang out with their friends, go swimming. My daughter had 0:02:03.060 --> 0:02:06.090 a very impromptu little party with her friends on Sunday night. 0:02:06.840 --> 0:02:07.860 You're such a cool dad. 0:02:08.040 --> 0:02:11.549 Yeah, I'm like the guy with the fun house now, 0:02:11.610 --> 0:02:14.002 the pool. So, the kids are coming over and then (inaudible) - 0:02:14.002 --> 0:02:14.003 Can I come over? 0:02:14.003 --> 0:02:17.460 ... comes over. Yes, you can. Come on over. Let's 0:02:17.460 --> 0:02:21.270 get you guys up here. And so it's fun, but 0:02:21.270 --> 0:02:24.000 then sometimes it gets a little bit crazy with the 0:02:24.000 --> 0:02:26.340 teenager. So, I was up a little later than I 0:02:26.340 --> 0:02:29.550 planned Sunday night with five teenage girls running around my 0:02:29.550 --> 0:02:30.961 house, but it was a good weekend. 0:02:30.961 --> 0:02:34.740 Oh, that's how it should be though, right? Memorial Day weekend. 0:02:34.800 --> 0:02:37.050 That's what I want. I love having lots of people 0:02:37.050 --> 0:02:39.750 around, so it was a great weekend, absolutely. How about 0:02:39.750 --> 0:02:40.919 you? What do you guys got going on? 0:02:42.089 --> 0:02:45.030 It was very, very relaxed, actually. You know what? In 0:02:45.030 --> 0:02:49.200 true New York Roadrunner representation, I went and got some 0:02:49.200 --> 0:02:54.600 miles in Central Park yesterday with Tallulah and Austin. We 0:02:54.600 --> 0:02:57.330 did a little family run around the park, which was 0:02:57.330 --> 0:02:59.520 great. I have to give a big shout- out Austin for 0:02:59.520 --> 0:03:02.790 pushing her heavy, heavy stroller all the way up Harlem 0:03:02.790 --> 0:03:04.680 Hill. Yeah. 0:03:05.010 --> 0:03:07.919 Wow, a stroller up Harlem Hill is no joke. 0:03:08.280 --> 0:03:11.310 Not breaking a sweat. Well, no, he was absolutely dying. 0:03:11.520 --> 0:03:13.859 Oh, with a sweat. But he was crushing the pace. 0:03:14.850 --> 0:03:18.270 And other than that, we just, Tallulah had her first 0:03:19.560 --> 0:03:22.919 soft serve ice cream with sprinkles on, her first one ever. 0:03:22.919 --> 0:03:23.130 Oh, magic. 0:03:23.820 --> 0:03:26.940 Which was wild. Yeah, she was unfortunately a little unwell 0:03:26.940 --> 0:03:29.310 last night. So, I'm not sure whether that's going anything to 0:03:29.310 --> 0:03:30.570 do with the fact that we don't really give her 0:03:30.570 --> 0:03:33.780 sugar and then let her have that whole ice cream. 0:03:33.990 --> 0:03:38.850 Anyway, parenting SOS there. But otherwise it was relaxing. It 0:03:38.850 --> 0:03:40.920 was nice to see the sun came out, so it 0:03:40.920 --> 0:03:44.070 was always good. But yeah, I'm running. I'm running, but 0:03:44.070 --> 0:03:47.430 I'm not running as much as I probably should be 0:03:47.880 --> 0:03:50.040 with an upcoming marathon, but- 0:03:50.040 --> 0:03:52.980 It comes in waves. I think we all have to have our 0:03:52.980 --> 0:03:56.910 waves of intense running and then waves of pulling back 0:03:56.910 --> 0:04:00.120 a little, letting our body rest. I've come around to 0:04:01.080 --> 0:04:04.380 just letting my body and my mind tell me what 0:04:04.380 --> 0:04:06.990 it wants. And if it wants to run 10 miles 0:04:06.990 --> 0:04:08.730 in a week, then that's what I'm going to do. And 0:04:09.390 --> 0:04:11.700 when I'm ready to ramp up to more, then that's 0:04:11.700 --> 0:04:14.190 okay. I still keep it going, still get the joy 0:04:14.190 --> 0:04:16.800 of it when I do it. So, however you do 0:04:16.800 --> 0:04:19.020 it is a beautiful thing and fits into your life 0:04:19.020 --> 0:04:22.290 however it does. So, while we've got a great episode 0:04:22.290 --> 0:04:27.360 today, Becs, one of my absolute favorite people, Martinus Evans, 0:04:27.390 --> 0:04:30.930 the founder of the Slow AF Run Club. He's an 0:04:30.930 --> 0:04:34.470 author, an advocate, someone who's made the sport of running 0:04:34.470 --> 0:04:38.040 so much more inclusive, and he's one of the featured 0:04:38.040 --> 0:04:42.660 runners in our Final Finishers documentary. A new film produced by New 0:04:42.660 --> 0:04:46.950 York Roadrunners and Tribeca Productions, which is premiering at this year's 0:04:46.950 --> 0:04:49.950 Tribeca Festival on June 12th. Martinus is going to join 0:04:49.950 --> 0:04:52.589 us in a little bit, and it's so much fun 0:04:52.589 --> 0:04:55.890 talking to him about the origins of Slow AF, his 0:04:55.890 --> 0:04:59.490 own story, how he became a runner. So, that's coming 0:04:59.490 --> 0:05:01.710 up a little bit later on the podcast. It's a 0:05:01.710 --> 0:05:05.370 great conversation. But before we get there, Becs, some more 0:05:05.370 --> 0:05:08.640 exciting news from our new content studio, which is called 0:05:08.670 --> 0:05:12.060 East 89th St Productions. By the way, for those who 0:05:12.060 --> 0:05:15.990 don't know, that's a nod to the old headquarters of 0:05:15.990 --> 0:05:19.469 New York Roadrunners up on East 89th Street between Madison 0:05:19.470 --> 0:05:21.870 and Fifth Avenue where people used to go pick up 0:05:21.870 --> 0:05:24.240 their bibs back in the day for a long, long time. 0:05:24.690 --> 0:05:25.410 So cool. 0:05:26.430 --> 0:05:28.560 We're very excited about this, but we also have a 0:05:28.560 --> 0:05:33.029 new podcast out as part of that production studio, and 0:05:33.029 --> 0:05:36.630 it's our first ever audio documentary. So, it's not just 0:05:36.630 --> 0:05:38.820 the interviews and the conversation that you have here on 0:05:38.820 --> 0:05:42.720 Set the Pace, but it is really a great narrative 0:05:42.720 --> 0:05:49.409 storytelling documentary podcast. It's called 850 Million Reasons to Run, 0:05:50.130 --> 0:05:53.190 and it's a five- part series that follows New York 0:05:53.190 --> 0:05:57.659 Roadrunners member Peter Kirk, who went from a life- threatening 0:05:57.660 --> 0:06:01.440 diagnosis to the starting line of the TCS New York City Marathon 0:06:01.470 --> 0:06:06.210 all in under a year. And it's an incredibly powerful 0:06:06.210 --> 0:06:10.289 honest story. Becs, I listened to the first episode during 0:06:10.290 --> 0:06:13.620 one of my brief runs last weekend, and I loved 0:06:13.620 --> 0:06:16.170 it. And I'm dying to hear, because I don't know 0:06:16.650 --> 0:06:19.469 all of his story. I wasn't involved in the production of this 0:06:19.470 --> 0:06:22.350 podcast, so I'm just a listener and I can't wait for 0:06:22.350 --> 0:06:24.420 episode two to drop, which I think will have dropped 0:06:24.660 --> 0:06:26.760 by the time this episode right here does. 0:06:27.029 --> 0:06:31.380 Yeah, it's unreal. You all should be listening to it. 0:06:32.310 --> 0:06:35.550 Peter is an absolutely incredible human. If you don't know 0:06:35.550 --> 0:06:41.400 his story, he had acute leukemia, form of cancer. He 0:06:41.400 --> 0:06:48.060 is aiming to run 1, 000 half- marathons. Yeah, he 0:06:48.060 --> 0:06:58.529 basically runs two a week. And his story of success, 0:06:58.529 --> 0:07:03.990 his story of what is possible as a human and 0:07:05.100 --> 0:07:11.520 the goal to just succeed. But in the episode that 0:07:11.520 --> 0:07:15.210 has dropped already he talks about his cancer journey, his 0:07:16.350 --> 0:07:22.140 stem cell transplant. Success. It's a successful story, so I'm 0:07:22.140 --> 0:07:25.110 setting you up to not have too many tearjerkers. Though, 0:07:25.110 --> 0:07:27.120 if you are like me, you will shed a tear 0:07:27.120 --> 0:07:30.780 or two just for empathy, I think as well. It's 0:07:30.780 --> 0:07:34.890 beautiful and wonderfully produced, so congratulations to the East 89th 0:07:34.890 --> 0:07:36.180 Street production team. 0:07:36.510 --> 0:07:40.920 That's right, Matt Singer, Katherine Jones, our team doing a 0:07:40.920 --> 0:07:45.510 phenomenal job putting that together, so very exciting. And make 0:07:45.510 --> 0:07:48.450 sure you check out those episodes. A couple more should 0:07:48.450 --> 0:07:51.480 be out when you are listening to this version of 0:07:51.510 --> 0:07:55.500 Set the Pace. All right, last but not least, Becs, 0:07:55.500 --> 0:07:58.110 we will end today's show as we always do with 0:07:58.110 --> 0:08:02.130 some important tips from Meb Keflezighi. Today's Meb Minute is all about 0:08:02.130 --> 0:08:04.620 what you should be doing to prep for a fall 0:08:04.620 --> 0:08:08.130 marathon before you officially begin your training plan. A lot 0:08:08.130 --> 0:08:10.860 of people are in that mode now where they've got 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:14.190 a ticket booked, an entry into one of the fall 0:08:14.190 --> 0:08:17.220 marathons. Maybe it's not quite time to really get going 0:08:17.220 --> 0:08:20.220 into your training yet, so how do you prep to 0:08:20.220 --> 0:08:23.010 prep? How do you get ready for your training? Meb 0:08:23.010 --> 0:08:25.620 will take us through all that as well. 0:08:26.040 --> 0:08:28.920 Try the Peloton app for free and access classes for 0:08:28.920 --> 0:08:31.680 every type of runner. Whether you're training for your first 0:08:31.680 --> 0:08:35.100 race or you're a seasoned pro. From outdoor runs and 0:08:35.100 --> 0:08:39.240 intervals to strength, yoga and stretching, you'll find the perfect 0:08:39.240 --> 0:08:42.689 fit for every part of your routine. Whether it's a 0:08:42.690 --> 0:08:45.420 long run day or you just need a quick five- 0:08:45.420 --> 0:08:48.750 minute reset. The Peloton app meets you where you are 0:08:48.990 --> 0:08:52.890 and helps you become a stronger, faster runner. Because it's 0:08:52.890 --> 0:08:56.459 designed for someone like you. Try the app free for 0:08:56.460 --> 0:08:59.309 30 days and download it now from the app store 0:08:59.370 --> 0:09:04.320 or Google Play. Terms apply. Peloton, the official digital fitness 0:09:04.320 --> 0:09:06.089 partner for New York Roadrunners. 0:09:06.570 --> 0:09:10.500 This week we are joined by Martinus Evans, a marathoner, 0:09:10.500 --> 0:09:13.829 an author and a founder of the Slow AF Run 0:09:13.830 --> 0:09:17.400 Club. And a tireless advocate who challenges what we think 0:09:17.400 --> 0:09:20.490 a runner looks like and who gets to be one. 0:09:20.790 --> 0:09:23.580 Martinus has built a global community for runners of all 0:09:23.580 --> 0:09:26.640 body types and paces, and he's helping lead a much 0:09:26.640 --> 0:09:29.790 needed shift in how we talk about inclusion in the 0:09:29.790 --> 0:09:32.069 sport. And I've had a chance to get to know 0:09:32.070 --> 0:09:34.469 Martinus quite a bit over the last couple of years 0:09:34.470 --> 0:09:37.439 through his book, and it's great to see you, and 0:09:37.950 --> 0:09:39.270 welcome to Set the Pace, Martinus. 0:09:39.870 --> 0:09:42.300 Hey man, I'm glad to be here. Thank you for having me. 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:45.900 Absolutely. I've had a chance to get to know you. 0:09:45.900 --> 0:09:50.610 You've had this incredible run with your Slow AF, which 0:09:50.940 --> 0:09:55.650 stands for as Something Run Club, and your story is 0:09:55.650 --> 0:09:59.910 incredible. When I first met you, I think it was 0:10:00.120 --> 0:10:04.170 at one of your book signings. And you gave an 0:10:04.170 --> 0:10:09.059 incredible talk about your journey as a runner. Someone who, 0:10:09.270 --> 0:10:12.120 if someone walks up to you on the street, the 0:10:12.120 --> 0:10:14.969 first word that comes to mind may not be marathoner, 0:10:15.270 --> 0:10:18.780 but there you are. And can you talk about how 0:10:18.780 --> 0:10:23.040 this all happened for you? And it is documented in the film that 0:10:23.040 --> 0:10:26.100 we've got coming up, Final Finisher, which we're so excited about. 0:10:26.309 --> 0:10:28.469 You're a big part of that story. But talk about 0:10:28.470 --> 0:10:32.189 how this all came about for you as a big 0:10:32.190 --> 0:10:34.410 guy starting to run these long distances. 0:10:35.340 --> 0:10:38.700 Absolutely, Rob. Let me take you back in 2012, think about 0:10:38.700 --> 0:10:42.630 where were you at in 2012? For me, I was working 0:10:42.630 --> 0:10:45.150 commission sales job at Men's Warehouse. I was on my 0:10:45.150 --> 0:10:49.740 feet 10 to 12 hours a day. I was a commission suit 0:10:49.740 --> 0:10:53.700 salesman. I was on my feet pretty much a long 0:10:53.700 --> 0:10:57.449 period of time. One day I ended up hurting my hip. 0:10:57.870 --> 0:11:01.140 I went to go see a doctor and this kind of 0:11:01.290 --> 0:11:03.840 spiraled into the journey we know now, sat in this 0:11:03.840 --> 0:11:06.960 doctor's office and he was like, "I know why you're in 0:11:06.960 --> 0:11:09.750 pain, because you're fat and you need to lose weight." 0:11:10.230 --> 0:11:13.650 And I said a lot of colorful four letter words 0:11:15.840 --> 0:11:17.820 that's probably not permitted on this podcast. 0:11:17.820 --> 0:11:20.700 Did the doctor actually say fat? Did he actually fat, 0:11:21.179 --> 0:11:21.840 use the word fat? 0:11:21.840 --> 0:11:21.841 Yes. 0:11:21.841 --> 0:11:24.900 Yeah. That's interesting. Different, slightly different time, but hey. 0:11:25.290 --> 0:11:25.920 Yes. 0:11:26.458 --> 0:11:26.459 I guess he was being- 0:11:26.459 --> 0:11:26.490 2012, right? 0:11:27.750 --> 0:11:29.370 Yeah, not that long ago, but okay. 0:11:32.460 --> 0:11:35.010 But yeah, he called me fat. He told me I 0:11:35.010 --> 0:11:37.260 need to lose weight or die. He went on this 0:11:37.260 --> 0:11:39.990 whole thing of you need to start walking and lose 0:11:39.990 --> 0:11:43.860 weight and all this other stuff. And just being tired, 0:11:43.860 --> 0:11:47.730 frustrated, and A, just tired of people just counting me 0:11:47.730 --> 0:11:55.050 out. As a previous collegiate athlete, I have the determination, 0:11:55.050 --> 0:11:58.319 I have the mindset. So, I told that doctor, " I'm 0:11:58.320 --> 0:12:00.510 going to run a marathon. Forget all the things you're 0:12:00.510 --> 0:12:05.970 talking about. I'm going to go run a marathon." And he laughed at me. He didn't 0:12:05.970 --> 0:12:08.790 give me a hah, hah laugh or a giggle laugh. 0:12:08.790 --> 0:12:10.710 He didn't even give me a laugh like he's laughing with 0:12:10.710 --> 0:12:11.940 me, right? He's laughing at me. 0:12:13.830 --> 0:12:16.050 So, talk us through it. What happened? You went and 0:12:16.050 --> 0:12:19.229 got the running shoes, and then what? 0:12:20.520 --> 0:12:22.559 I went to go get the running shoes, Becs, and I 0:12:22.559 --> 0:12:25.500 was like, "I was going to run a marathon that day. I'm 0:12:25.500 --> 0:12:27.449 running a marathon today." 0:12:27.929 --> 0:12:28.380 Got fired up. 0:12:29.490 --> 0:12:31.470 There was a lot of things I didn't necessarily know 0:12:31.470 --> 0:12:34.199 about marathon running, but I was like, " I'm going to 0:12:34.200 --> 0:12:37.590 run one today." I remember telling my friends, "I'm going to go run 0:12:37.590 --> 0:12:39.420 a 5K marathon today." 0:12:39.420 --> 0:12:42.720 Google like, how long is a marathon? 0:12:45.780 --> 0:12:49.679 But I get the shoes and I go to the fitness 0:12:49.679 --> 0:12:52.500 center in my apartment complex, and there's three treadmills there, 0:12:52.500 --> 0:12:56.520 I remember this vividly. And two treadmills are already occupied 0:12:56.520 --> 0:13:01.890 by these two guys that I lovingly call them gazelles. 0:13:01.890 --> 0:13:03.809 Because they were tearing it up, they were tearing the 0:13:03.809 --> 0:13:08.040 treadmill. And I remember getting on the treadmill and sizing 0:13:08.040 --> 0:13:12.570 these guys up and one guy was going 10, another guy 0:13:12.570 --> 0:13:13.290 was going nine. 0:13:14.130 --> 0:13:14.131 Wow. 0:13:14.131 --> 0:13:18.420 And I thought to myself, " You know what, if these guys are 0:13:18.420 --> 0:13:25.260 going nine and 10, I can at least go seven." Say wrong. 0:13:26.760 --> 0:13:31.650 Yeah, seven's not slow, seven is moving, seven's moving for you. 0:13:32.100 --> 0:13:37.079 So, I put it on seven, the belt is speeding in between my 0:13:37.080 --> 0:13:41.910 legs and I said, " Here goes nothing." And I get 0:13:41.910 --> 0:13:44.400 on that treadmill belt and my life left before my 0:13:44.400 --> 0:13:52.650 eyes. All I remember, it was struggling and fighting for 0:13:52.650 --> 0:13:56.910 what I felt like an eternity until the world stopped 0:13:57.480 --> 0:13:58.620 and I was on the ground. 0:13:59.100 --> 0:13:59.219 Oh, no. 0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:01.470 I fell off the treadmill. 0:14:04.140 --> 0:14:04.710 Oh, no. 0:14:04.710 --> 0:14:04.800 Yes. 0:14:05.070 --> 0:14:05.100 Oh, no. 0:14:06.030 --> 0:14:09.540 The noise that I made falling off that treadmill was deafening. 0:14:11.130 --> 0:14:16.650 And as I'm trying to get up and make sure 0:14:16.830 --> 0:14:22.650 nobody sees me, and everybody saw me, everybody saw me. I 0:14:22.650 --> 0:14:24.840 try to get up, I grabbed my stuff. One of the 0:14:25.260 --> 0:14:27.660 gazelles looked at me and was like, " Are you okay?" And I was like, "Yeah, I just 0:14:28.350 --> 0:14:31.410 lost my balance." And I grabbed my phone and that 0:14:31.410 --> 0:14:34.890 little red light was flashing and it said 15 seconds. 0:14:36.390 --> 0:14:41.220 And I was like, " Oh, this is not a marathon." 0:14:42.630 --> 0:14:47.160 And I got up out of there. I remember walking out of the fitness 0:14:47.160 --> 0:14:51.240 center with tears in my eyes being like, " Maybe the 0:14:51.240 --> 0:14:58.560 doctor's right. Maybe I can't do this. Maybe I am 0:14:58.560 --> 0:15:05.100 done for thinking I can do this." And as I got home, I reached 0:15:05.100 --> 0:15:08.070 out to the doorknob and I have his tattoo on my right 0:15:08.070 --> 0:15:11.100 wrist and it says, " No struggle, no progress." It comes 0:15:11.100 --> 0:15:16.410 from the famous Frederick Douglass speech. And I got it 0:15:16.410 --> 0:15:19.109 a long time ago, and when I reached out to 0:15:19.110 --> 0:15:22.110 the doorknob to twist the doorknob open, I seen a 0:15:22.110 --> 0:15:25.229 tattoo and it said, " No struggle, no progress." And I 0:15:25.230 --> 0:15:30.780 thought to myself, " You know what? I got to go 0:15:30.780 --> 0:15:31.440 through the struggle." 0:15:31.440 --> 0:15:34.890 Yeah, yeah, you do. And hold onto it and hold onto that pain 0:15:34.890 --> 0:15:39.300 and that catalyst though, I mean, we all need a 0:15:39.300 --> 0:15:44.610 catalyst. Whatever is a current roadblock in life, there's always 0:15:44.610 --> 0:15:46.770 a catalyst, but it's whether you hold onto it or 0:15:46.770 --> 0:15:49.950 whether you just shove it aside and say, " All right, 0:15:49.950 --> 0:15:52.920 I'm going to let that defeat me." And you didn't, you 0:15:52.920 --> 0:15:55.380 didn't, you gave it a go. You had that 15 0:15:55.440 --> 0:16:02.370 seconds, it slammed you down, but you got back up, and that's it. 0:16:02.370 --> 0:16:05.609 That's the amazing, amazing side of it. Had you been 0:16:05.610 --> 0:16:06.810 on a treadmill before that? 0:16:07.530 --> 0:16:13.560 I have, but a very long time ago. Like I said, I was a collegiate athlete, 0:16:13.560 --> 0:16:18.540 I played college football. And that was probably about five 0:16:18.540 --> 0:16:25.140 years after that. I was still nimble for my size. 0:16:25.410 --> 0:16:27.660 I can tear it up on a flag football field. 0:16:28.620 --> 0:16:32.370 But was I really working out? Was I really exercising? Nah, I wasn't. 0:16:32.580 --> 0:16:32.790 No. Okay. 0:16:33.840 --> 0:16:39.330 Yeah, certain football positions, your number one skill is mass. 0:16:39.900 --> 0:16:43.260 Just the size and the mass that you can bring 0:16:43.260 --> 0:16:46.950 to hitting another person. That can be an advantage in 0:16:46.950 --> 0:16:50.520 football, but later in life can become a problem and 0:16:51.000 --> 0:16:55.680 present some health challenges. So, how Martinus, did you get 0:16:55.680 --> 0:17:00.420 from on the ground next to that treadmill to actually 0:17:00.540 --> 0:17:05.190 accomplishing your objective of 26.2 miles? How did that happen? 0:17:05.190 --> 0:17:06.750 What help did you have along the way? 0:17:09.390 --> 0:17:11.520 All the things I'm going to say, it's simple, but it's 0:17:11.520 --> 0:17:15.480 not easy to do. And what I mean by that, it 0:17:15.480 --> 0:17:20.730 really took a lot of micro steps along the way. Let's 0:17:20.730 --> 0:17:23.520 talk about the next day. I go back to the 0:17:23.550 --> 0:17:26.070 fitness center, I'm like, " This treadmill is not going to beat 0:17:26.070 --> 0:17:28.770 me." I run for 30 seconds straight, I'm like, " All right, 0:17:28.770 --> 0:17:31.680 that's good enough. I had to prove to myself that I can get on the 0:17:31.740 --> 0:17:35.189 treadmill and run." And then every day after that I 0:17:35.190 --> 0:17:37.230 would just go and just do a little bit more, 0:17:37.440 --> 0:17:40.859 like 45 seconds, try to run a minute. And then 0:17:41.280 --> 0:17:44.160 a friend told me about Couch to 5K, and I'm kind 0:17:44.160 --> 0:17:47.250 of obsessive, so I download four of them and I'm 0:17:47.609 --> 0:17:51.330 trying different voices and things that I saw and just went 0:17:51.330 --> 0:17:53.790 through the paces of Couch to 5K. And one of the 0:17:53.790 --> 0:17:59.280 things that I found out during there was that some 0:17:59.280 --> 0:18:03.629 of these Couch to 5K programs, 5K programs, wasn't necessarily meant for 0:18:03.630 --> 0:18:06.300 me, because I'll get to try to do it and 0:18:06.300 --> 0:18:09.510 then I couldn't finish the program. So, I'll try to 0:18:09.510 --> 0:18:14.250 modify it and I'll repeat the days and so on and so 0:18:14.250 --> 0:18:17.790 forth until I was able to be comfortable with that 0:18:17.790 --> 0:18:23.850 particular day. It took me about 10 to 12 weeks to be 0:18:23.850 --> 0:18:27.930 able to run my first 5K. I remember signing up for, it was 0:18:27.930 --> 0:18:33.090 a, I think it was a 5K for the September 11th 0:18:33.090 --> 0:18:37.800 firefighters, I think it was Steven Siller Foundation or something like that, 0:18:38.250 --> 0:18:43.980 Tunnel to Towers. So that was my first 5K. I ran that and 0:18:44.520 --> 0:18:48.449 from that day on I was hooked. And I was like, " 0:18:48.480 --> 0:18:51.570 Okay, if I can do this, I can train for 0:18:51.570 --> 0:18:56.460 10K." Trained for 10K, run a bunch of 10Ks and then train for a half- 0:18:56.460 --> 0:19:01.410 marathon. And then I'll say, " Okay, I trained for a half- marathon, 0:19:02.040 --> 0:19:04.560 it's time to sign up for the big dog." And signed 0:19:05.130 --> 0:19:10.290 up for a marathon and went out there and did 0:19:10.290 --> 0:19:10.680 my thing. 0:19:10.980 --> 0:19:11.820 And what year was that, Martinus? 0:19:13.770 --> 0:19:16.950 I ran Detroit Marathon. My first marathon was Detroit Marathon. 0:19:16.950 --> 0:19:18.480 It was October of 2013. 0:19:19.320 --> 0:19:22.619 All right. So, that was basically about a year after that 0:19:23.398 --> 0:19:24.960 disappointment, right? Ish? 0:19:24.960 --> 0:19:28.530 Yeah, roughly a year- ish, 18 months, somewhere around there. 0:19:28.650 --> 0:19:34.648 I met the doctor in June of 2012, and then 0:19:34.648 --> 0:19:37.770 I ran that marathon in August of 2013. Well, not 0:19:37.770 --> 0:19:39.300 August, October 2013. 0:19:40.230 --> 0:19:40.440 Amazing. 0:19:40.440 --> 0:19:45.960 Wow. Did you at any point on that, let's call 0:19:45.960 --> 0:19:50.820 it 14 months or whatever, no 15 months, semantics, any 0:19:50.820 --> 0:19:55.950 point think that running would become such a huge part 0:19:56.010 --> 0:19:58.830 of who you were and your identity in the future? 0:19:59.820 --> 0:20:00.510 Absolutely not. 0:20:01.109 --> 0:20:01.379 No? 0:20:01.590 --> 0:20:04.679 No. I did not think that running was going to 0:20:04.680 --> 0:20:13.080 be that thing that I would do 10, 11, 12 years from then, right? 0:20:13.080 --> 0:20:18.330 And I say that, because another thing that was also 0:20:18.450 --> 0:20:22.439 happening during that time of me running, I was writing a 0:20:22.440 --> 0:20:27.990 blog that got, it was fairly popular. And then I 0:20:27.990 --> 0:20:32.280 was also getting a master's degree, so I was getting a 0:20:32.369 --> 0:20:38.010 master's degree in health promotion public health. So, there was 0:20:38.010 --> 0:20:40.590 a lot of things going on and I thought to 0:20:40.590 --> 0:20:44.520 myself that this running thing would just be something that would keep 0:20:44.520 --> 0:20:46.800 me sane while going to grad school and thinking about 0:20:46.800 --> 0:20:51.690 getting my PhD. But it became a thing that, became that 0:20:51.900 --> 0:20:55.379 catalyst that pretty much flipped everything that I did in 0:20:55.379 --> 0:20:58.170 life. And what I mean by that is, for example, some 0:20:58.170 --> 0:21:00.959 of these people, people don't even know this, right? I 0:21:00.960 --> 0:21:05.910 have a bachelor's in exercise science, the master's in health 0:21:05.910 --> 0:21:09.420 promotion, public health, and then I have a second master's 0:21:09.570 --> 0:21:14.460 in digital marketing. But here's the thing, much of the 0:21:14.460 --> 0:21:19.260 directory when I was in grad school, I forget what 0:21:19.260 --> 0:21:21.510 I was even going to do, but it wasn't what I did. 0:21:21.600 --> 0:21:24.990 I remember talking to my advisor and being like, " Hey, 0:21:26.580 --> 0:21:30.780 there is this" ... There was this conference called Fit Blogging, 0:21:30.780 --> 0:21:35.250 and it was like all these fitness bloggers got together. And I 0:21:35.250 --> 0:21:38.429 remember telling my advisor, " Hey, I think I want my 0:21:38.430 --> 0:21:42.449 master thesis to be on weight loss bloggers and readers 0:21:42.450 --> 0:21:46.800 or weight loss bloggers of these fitness blogs. I want to 0:21:46.800 --> 0:21:50.639 see are they actually losing weight? Are people who are 0:21:50.640 --> 0:21:53.790 on weight loss journeys actually doing this thing?" And I 0:21:53.790 --> 0:21:57.390 remember my advisor being like, " That does not make sense. 0:21:59.160 --> 0:22:04.590 Nobody's doing their journeys or using their fitness journeys and 0:22:04.590 --> 0:22:07.770 things of that sort." I'm like, " No, there's a conference 0:22:07.980 --> 0:22:11.940 of people who does this." And when it was all said 0:22:12.240 --> 0:22:15.330 and done, I ended up writing my master thesis on 0:22:15.510 --> 0:22:18.420 weight loss bloggers and readers of weight loss bloggers. To really 0:22:18.420 --> 0:22:25.410 understand this parasocial relationship. Like, are people actually getting the 0:22:25.410 --> 0:22:30.240 thing that they want? Are people actually getting active? Are people actually moving 0:22:30.240 --> 0:22:34.350 their body from reading these other stories? And the answer ended 0:22:34.350 --> 0:22:38.280 up being yes, right? I can't remember the research and all 0:22:38.280 --> 0:22:44.070 the stuff, but my master thesis, a couple of those 0:22:44.280 --> 0:22:48.240 ended up becoming articles that was published in scientific journals. 0:22:49.080 --> 0:22:55.109 Amazing. It seems like these lines were all moving in 0:22:55.109 --> 0:22:58.200 the same direction in your life. Maybe you didn't know 0:22:58.740 --> 0:23:02.340 exactly where they were all pointing you towards. But you 0:23:02.340 --> 0:23:05.879 were moving in this direction to do what you're now 0:23:05.880 --> 0:23:10.590 doing with Slow AF Run Club. All right, so let's get 0:23:10.590 --> 0:23:13.889 from the finish line of that first marathon in Detroit 0:23:14.460 --> 0:23:18.000 to the start of Slow AF Run Club, and the 0:23:18.000 --> 0:23:22.950 story, Martinus, it's one of my favorite stories of what inspired 0:23:22.950 --> 0:23:25.830 you to start this club and to name it Slow AF. 0:23:27.090 --> 0:23:30.270 Okay, so let's talk about it. Slow AF Run Club 0:23:30.270 --> 0:23:35.820 and how this thing got started. I was running a 0:23:35.820 --> 0:23:38.880 particular race, a very large race. 0:23:38.970 --> 0:23:42.840 You could say it, you could say it, come on, we're honest here on 0:23:42.840 --> 0:23:43.109 Set the Pace. 0:23:43.110 --> 0:23:52.590