WEBVTT - Marathon Mom Carey Socol’s 74 Marathons and Counting 0:00:00.540 --> 0:00:02.310 I was not like running with them in the stroller. 0:00:02.310 --> 0:00:04.680 It was really my break. It was really my time 0:00:04.680 --> 0:00:07.380 that I would negotiate to go for a run. It's 0:00:07.380 --> 0:00:10.710 how I've mothered. It's how I've done my job. It's 0:00:11.070 --> 0:00:15.420 how I've managed stress, anxiety. Anything is a run for me. 0:00:19.320 --> 0:00:22.980 Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of Set the 0:00:22.980 --> 0:00:26.190 Pace, the official podcast of New York Road Runners presented 0:00:26.190 --> 0:00:28.500 by Peloton. I'm your host and the CEO of New 0:00:28.500 --> 0:00:32.760 York Road Runners, Rob Simmelkjaer, and it's another episode another 0:00:32.760 --> 0:00:36.300 week without Becs. We're missing Becs. She is still over 0:00:36.659 --> 0:00:41.250 in Europe after a year filled with marathons for Becs, 0:00:41.250 --> 0:00:45.150 for her partner Austin. They're taking a few weeks off, 0:00:45.330 --> 0:00:47.640 so I hope she's having a great time over there. 0:00:47.970 --> 0:00:50.850 And Happy Mother's Day to Becs and to all the 0:00:50.850 --> 0:00:53.850 moms out there who are listening, all the moms in our 0:00:53.850 --> 0:00:56.970 New York Road Runners community. Hope you all have a 0:00:56.970 --> 0:01:00.990 great, great Mother's Day Weekend. You deserve it. And it's 0:01:00.990 --> 0:01:03.450 an off weekend for us here at New York Road 0:01:03.450 --> 0:01:06.300 Runners, of course, for the moms and also so that 0:01:06.300 --> 0:01:09.390 we can get ready for the RBC Brooklyn Half, which 0:01:09.390 --> 0:01:13.200 is coming right at us next week. This past weekend 0:01:13.200 --> 0:01:17.069 was our second annual Mindful 5K, a race that we 0:01:17.069 --> 0:01:21.060 created to kick off Mental Health Awareness Month. We had 0:01:21.060 --> 0:01:25.530 an absolutely gorgeous day at Flushing Meadows Park in Queens. 0:01:25.530 --> 0:01:28.620 Thousands of runners came out to celebrate the benefits of 0:01:28.620 --> 0:01:32.010 running for mental health. I was there and it was 0:01:32.010 --> 0:01:34.440 so beautiful. I actually had not planned on running the 0:01:34.440 --> 0:01:37.560 race. I came in my khaki shorts and like a 0:01:37.560 --> 0:01:40.470 golf shirt, but I was wearing my running shoes and 0:01:40.470 --> 0:01:42.810 I got there and it was just one of those 0:01:42.810 --> 0:01:44.699 mornings. You ever have a morning where you don't think 0:01:44.700 --> 0:01:47.460 you're going to run, but you step outside and the 0:01:47.460 --> 0:01:50.520 air is so perfect, you're like, " Oh no, I have to 0:01:50.520 --> 0:01:55.590 run." And it was absolutely spectacular. We really loved it. 0:01:56.100 --> 0:01:58.380 We not only had the race. We had a Zen 0:01:58.380 --> 0:02:02.250 zone before the race for some pre- race meditation. Our 0:02:02.250 --> 0:02:05.670 partners had an organization called NAMI were there as well, 0:02:06.060 --> 0:02:09.840 National Alliance for Mental Illness. They were there with information 0:02:09.840 --> 0:02:13.918 for people. It's just great to talk to runners about 0:02:14.310 --> 0:02:18.090 why they run. And so many people run because of 0:02:18.090 --> 0:02:21.000 the way it makes them feel. The answer I get 0:02:21.000 --> 0:02:23.639 most often when I ask someone why they run is 0:02:23.639 --> 0:02:26.609 that it's free therapy, right? That's how so many people 0:02:26.790 --> 0:02:28.680 see it. I know that's how I see it. And 0:02:29.430 --> 0:02:32.190 we love having this race to kick off Mental Health 0:02:32.430 --> 0:02:35.280 Awareness Month. And what I ask the runners at the 0:02:35.280 --> 0:02:37.800 starting line of that race, I'll ask all of you as 0:02:37.800 --> 0:02:40.889 well, which is, if running is a big part of 0:02:40.889 --> 0:02:44.730 your mental health, tell a friend. Tell someone you know 0:02:44.850 --> 0:02:48.300 who is stressed out or is dealing with whatever mental 0:02:48.300 --> 0:02:51.450 health challenges we all deal with day to day and 0:02:51.450 --> 0:02:54.270 tell them what running has done for you in helping 0:02:54.270 --> 0:02:57.090 clear your mind. Because when you do that, you're giving 0:02:57.090 --> 0:03:01.410 them a gift and you're helping them potentially discover running 0:03:01.440 --> 0:03:04.110 as something that can help them live a better life 0:03:04.110 --> 0:03:06.930 as well. So anyway, thanks to everybody who ran. It 0:03:06.930 --> 0:03:09.570 was a great day. Our winners on Saturday. On the 0:03:09.570 --> 0:03:13.470 men's side it was Jeremy Arthur of Dashing Whippets with 0:03:13.470 --> 0:03:17.880 a time of 15:44. The non- binary winner was Pierce 0:03:18.300 --> 0:03:21.720 Lydon with a time of 17: 57. And on the female 0:03:21.720 --> 0:03:25.889 side, Becca, it's either Ades or Ades with a time of 18: 0:03:25.919 --> 0:03:30.540 36. Congratulations to our winners. And it wasn't just adults 0:03:30.840 --> 0:03:34.410 running on Saturday. We had more than 450 of our 0:03:34.410 --> 0:03:37.710 stage one, two and three kids come out for a 0:03:37.710 --> 0:03:41.040 Rising New York Road Runners at the Mindful 5K on 0:03:41.040 --> 0:03:43.680 Saturday. We had a great turnout. The kids had a 0:03:43.680 --> 0:03:45.810 great day as well, and I spent a lot of 0:03:45.810 --> 0:03:49.680 time over there giving high- fives to the kids. Perhaps 0:03:49.680 --> 0:03:53.370 the highlight of the day for me actually was meeting 0:03:53.430 --> 0:03:57.360 two sets of kids, two schools actually who were there 0:03:57.720 --> 0:04:02.340 as part of our new middle school running initiatives. This is a 0:04:02.610 --> 0:04:06.180 program that you might remember we launched about a year 0:04:06.180 --> 0:04:08.730 ago. We announced it about a year ago. We've had 0:04:08.730 --> 0:04:12.540 a pilot program and now we're in our full first 0:04:12.540 --> 0:04:15.480 year with this middle school running program. And I met 0:04:15.480 --> 0:04:18.930 two coaches and their whole teams who were there because 0:04:18.930 --> 0:04:21.180 of this program. And I had a chance to talk 0:04:21.180 --> 0:04:23.250 to some of the kids about what it's meant for 0:04:23.250 --> 0:04:25.740 them to be in this program. They loved it. They 0:04:25.740 --> 0:04:29.070 talked about how running calms them down, how it gets 0:04:29.070 --> 0:04:31.890 their energy out, how it actually helps them in school 0:04:31.890 --> 0:04:35.190 as well. So it was kind of the perfect combination 0:04:35.190 --> 0:04:37.110 of what we do on the youth side at New 0:04:37.110 --> 0:04:41.070 York Road Runners and Mental Health Awareness Month. Really, really 0:04:41.070 --> 0:04:43.260 a great day out in Queens. So thanks to everybody 0:04:43.260 --> 0:04:46.110 who came out. Well, as I mentioned, it's Mother's Day 0:04:46.110 --> 0:04:49.020 Weekend coming up. So to honor all of our runners 0:04:49.020 --> 0:04:51.630 who are also mothers out there, we've got two special 0:04:51.630 --> 0:04:55.740 mom guests today. The first is my good friend Carey 0:04:55.740 --> 0:04:59.160 Socol, who just a few years ago completed her quest 0:04:59.460 --> 0:05:03.570 to run 50 marathons in 50 states before her 50th 0:05:03.570 --> 0:05:06.719 birthday, running a lot of them in support of Every 0:05:06.720 --> 0:05:12.420 Mother Counts. Running is Carey's way of processing life, work, 0:05:12.720 --> 0:05:16.950 love, parenting, and also grief as she had a tragic 0:05:16.950 --> 0:05:20.370 story that she'll talk about during the interview. She's still 0:05:20.370 --> 0:05:23.580 going. She's got her 75th marathon coming up later this 0:05:23.580 --> 0:05:26.370 month, and as Carey talks about, she may try to 0:05:26.370 --> 0:05:28.979 get to a hundred. So that's coming up in just 0:05:28.980 --> 0:05:31.770 a minute. And then Meb will be here with today's 0:05:31.770 --> 0:05:35.730 member moment featuring New York Road Runners member Dalma Garcia, 0:05:36.150 --> 0:05:39.029 a mother of two who is also the caretaker of her 0:05:39.029 --> 0:05:42.990 own mother who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Finally, in 0:05:42.990 --> 0:05:46.200 today's Meb Minute, Meb will give us his best advice on how 0:05:46.200 --> 0:05:49.440 to prepare for mixed terrain races, something that we're hearing 0:05:49.440 --> 0:05:52.830 more and more about as the ultra running boom continues 0:05:52.830 --> 0:05:57.390 to grow. And speaking of Meb, this week Meb celebrated his 0:05:57.540 --> 0:06:00.570 50th birthday. I had a chance to send him a 0:06:00.570 --> 0:06:03.360 note, wishing him an incredibly happy birthday. I saw him 0:06:03.360 --> 0:06:06.000 on Instagram with his family and looked like he had 0:06:06.000 --> 0:06:10.050 a great, great celebration. The big five- oh for Meb. Happy 0:06:10.050 --> 0:06:13.289 birthday Meb from all of us here at New York 0:06:13.290 --> 0:06:16.919 Road Runners and Set The Pace. Try the Peloton app 0:06:16.920 --> 0:06:19.950 for free and access classes for every type of runner. 0:06:20.190 --> 0:06:22.650 Whether you're training for your first race or you're a 0:06:22.650 --> 0:06:27.360 seasoned pro. From outdoor runs and intervals to strength yoga 0:06:27.360 --> 0:06:30.360 and stretching, you'll find a perfect fit for every part 0:06:30.360 --> 0:06:33.599 of your routine. Whether it's long run day or you 0:06:33.600 --> 0:06:36.570 just need a quick five- minute reset, the Peloton app 0:06:36.570 --> 0:06:38.789 meets you where you are and helps you become a 0:06:38.790 --> 0:06:43.170 stronger, faster runner because it's designed for someone like you. 0:06:43.650 --> 0:06:46.170 Try the app for free for 30 days and download 0:06:46.170 --> 0:06:48.990 it now from the App Store or Google Play. Terms 0:06:48.990 --> 0:06:53.039 apply. Peloton, the official digital fitness partner of New York 0:06:53.040 --> 0:06:58.380 Road Runners. Our guest today, Carey Socol has run 74 0:06:58.440 --> 0:07:02.279 marathons, 64 half- marathons, and she's been a member of 0:07:02.279 --> 0:07:05.910 New York Road Runners since 1999. But running wasn't always 0:07:05.910 --> 0:07:08.730 part of her life. She grew up swimming and playing 0:07:08.730 --> 0:07:12.660 water polo, living in South Florida and didn't discover running 0:07:12.660 --> 0:07:16.470 until graduate school at NYU where she began training with 0:07:16.740 --> 0:07:20.460 the Jeff Galloway run- walk method. Since her first New 0:07:20.460 --> 0:07:24.120 York City Marathon in 2000, she's completed marathons in all 0:07:24.150 --> 0:07:27.960 50 states and the District of Columbia, many in support 0:07:27.960 --> 0:07:31.560 of causes that she cares about, including maternal health. Along 0:07:31.590 --> 0:07:34.650 the way she's used her long runs to manage stress, 0:07:34.950 --> 0:07:38.670 parent her kids, and even compose college recommendation letters in 0:07:38.670 --> 0:07:42.180 her head as a college counselor. In today's Mother's Day 0:07:42.180 --> 0:07:46.290 special, she joins us to talk about running, loss, joy 0:07:46.290 --> 0:07:49.020 and how mothering shows up in more ways than one. 0:07:49.020 --> 0:07:53.520 Carey Socol, marathon machine, welcome to Set The Pace. It's 0:07:53.520 --> 0:07:54.450 nice to have you here. 0:07:54.600 --> 0:07:56.880 Thank you for having me, Rob. It's great to be here. 0:07:57.120 --> 0:08:00.600 Absolutely. And great to spend time with you. We first 0:08:00.600 --> 0:08:03.120 met in London where you had just run the London 0:08:03.120 --> 0:08:05.820 Marathon, and since then ... How many have you run since 0:08:05.820 --> 0:08:10.800 then? I met you at the London Marathon in 2023. How 0:08:10.800 --> 0:08:11.850 many have you run since then? 0:08:12.180 --> 0:08:14.820 Probably six maybe since then. 0:08:15.240 --> 0:08:19.710 Yeah, yeah, that's four more than me, so well done. Congratulations. 0:08:19.890 --> 0:08:22.650 And running marathons is kind of what you do. I 0:08:22.650 --> 0:08:27.390 mean, that's an incredible number, 74 and 64 half. So we'll 0:08:27.390 --> 0:08:30.570 get into your backstory in a second, but I think 0:08:30.570 --> 0:08:33.630 the first question I would wonder is how do people 0:08:33.630 --> 0:08:37.140 react when you tell them that you've run that many 0:08:37.140 --> 0:08:41.429 marathons, especially non- runners, what's the reaction you typically get 0:08:41.429 --> 0:08:42.150 when you tell people that? 0:08:42.870 --> 0:08:44.760 It's funny. I kind of have a game with it. 0:08:44.760 --> 0:08:46.710 Sometimes I try not to say anything and then I'll 0:08:46.710 --> 0:08:49.589 have one of my kids will say something for me 0:08:49.590 --> 0:08:51.510 or a friend will say something for me. I try 0:08:51.510 --> 0:08:54.870 to be quite humble about it, which I'll say all 0:08:54.870 --> 0:08:57.330 the time is I meet people who have done so many more, 0:08:57.330 --> 0:08:59.069 so I'm always like, " Yeah, I know it sounds like 0:08:59.070 --> 0:09:02.189 a lot, but people have done way more than me." But 0:09:02.190 --> 0:09:04.590 people do. They're like, " What?" They'll like, " Say that again. 0:09:04.740 --> 0:09:06.449 What number did you just say?" And I'll be like, " 0:09:06.960 --> 0:09:09.600 Yeah, 74 marathons." So it's fun. It's a fun little 0:09:09.600 --> 0:09:11.160 party trick. I definitely think it is. 0:09:11.610 --> 0:09:14.370 Yeah. As much as I love running and obviously love 0:09:14.370 --> 0:09:18.090 marathons, work in marathons, I never was able to hit 0:09:18.090 --> 0:09:20.850 that. It's almost like an escape velocity I feel like 0:09:20.850 --> 0:09:26.309 where you just start doing so many marathons that the 0:09:26.309 --> 0:09:29.640 thought of another one doesn't seem like that big of 0:09:29.640 --> 0:09:33.630 a barrier. To me even having run two since last 0:09:33.630 --> 0:09:36.270 September, as I think about, " Okay, should I run a 0:09:36.300 --> 0:09:39.600 fall marathon or not?" It feels like a big decision 0:09:39.600 --> 0:09:43.500 because there's so much training that that involves. So it's 0:09:43.500 --> 0:09:45.479 not about the day, it's about the weeks and the 0:09:45.480 --> 0:09:47.490 months leading up to that. But I guess if I'd 0:09:47.490 --> 0:09:50.490 run 74, I probably would see it as like, " Oh, 0:09:50.490 --> 0:09:53.189 it's just I'm always in marathon shape, so it's just 0:09:53.190 --> 0:09:55.920 another day to run a marathon." Is that kind of 0:09:56.190 --> 0:09:57.900 accurate in terms of the way it is for you? 0:09:58.170 --> 0:10:00.660 Totally. I'd rather run a marathon than a training run 0:10:00.660 --> 0:10:02.610 any day of the week. It's just more fun. There's 0:10:02.610 --> 0:10:05.309 more energy. There's water for you, all that stuff. I 0:10:05.309 --> 0:10:10.020 think it became so my routine, and so I'm not 0:10:10.020 --> 0:10:12.360 necessarily always ramping up or ramping down. I'm kind of 0:10:12.360 --> 0:10:14.610 always staying in a steady state, so I'm never having 0:10:14.610 --> 0:10:17.850 that fear of it. And I love it. Also, I 0:10:17.850 --> 0:10:19.980 think I've said this to you before, I'm not racing. 0:10:20.309 --> 0:10:22.650 I don't go in anymore, at least with this kind 0:10:22.650 --> 0:10:24.569 of, I've got to finish in a certain time, I'm 0:10:24.570 --> 0:10:27.720 going to really kill it on all of my training runs. 0:10:28.050 --> 0:10:30.360 I'm really just going to complete them. I still get 0:10:30.360 --> 0:10:32.880 that joy. I still feel that satisfaction. I still feel 0:10:32.880 --> 0:10:36.660 the pain, which is great. If it wasn't hard, it 0:10:36.660 --> 0:10:39.990 wouldn't be so rewarding. But no, I don't. I mean 0:10:40.050 --> 0:10:42.030 as I get older, it does become more of a, " 0:10:42.720 --> 0:10:44.520 Oh gosh, I better put in those training runs." I 0:10:44.520 --> 0:10:46.620 can't fake it. I definitely have to put it in 0:10:46.620 --> 0:10:48.090 and I'm like, " I have a marathon in a couple 0:10:48.090 --> 0:10:51.089 of weeks and I kind of didn't do my longest 0:10:51.090 --> 0:10:53.099 run this past weekend, so I'll have to do one 0:10:53.160 --> 0:10:55.770 this weekend before I go." But I still just enjoy 0:10:55.770 --> 0:10:58.110 it. I still do so much processing in my head. 0:10:58.110 --> 0:11:00.390 It's so much more than just the run for me. 0:11:00.450 --> 0:11:01.710 It's so many other things. 0:11:01.860 --> 0:11:06.120 Yeah, no, I think that makes sense. And taking that time pressure 0:11:06.120 --> 0:11:09.000 away I think is everything because if you're going for 0:11:09.030 --> 0:11:11.429 PRs, like the amount of work you have to put 0:11:11.429 --> 0:11:14.309 in, speed work and all that stuff, it makes it 0:11:14.309 --> 0:11:18.270 hard to just keep doing that over and over again. 0:11:18.270 --> 0:11:20.970 I mean unless you're a professional and that's what you 0:11:20.970 --> 0:11:23.460 do, there's only so much time we have. Carey, you 0:11:23.460 --> 0:11:26.640 grew up in South Florida. We talked about this. And so 0:11:26.820 --> 0:11:30.000 the first time you ever saw a marathon as a 0:11:30.000 --> 0:11:33.630 child of the '80s like me was with your dad back 0:11:33.630 --> 0:11:36.240 at something that used to have called the Orange Bowl 0:11:36.480 --> 0:11:40.890 Marathon. What was that experience like and what can you remember 0:11:40.890 --> 0:11:43.470 about the first time you saw a marathon? Did you 0:11:43.470 --> 0:11:45.059 know that you just had to do one the first 0:11:45.059 --> 0:11:45.179 time you saw it? 0:11:45.179 --> 0:11:48.150 What I remember, I remember seeing, so the Orange Bowl 0:11:48.150 --> 0:11:50.160 Marathon doesn't exist anymore. I think they had too many 0:11:50.160 --> 0:11:53.910 very hot marathons and it fell away. But there is 0:11:53.970 --> 0:11:56.309 the Miami Marathon now, which I have done. But I 0:11:56.309 --> 0:11:59.160 just remember, I must've been like 11 or 12. I'm sure my 0:11:59.160 --> 0:12:01.290 dad has no memory of it, but we went, we 0:12:01.290 --> 0:12:03.689 had a friend running it, and so I remember being 0:12:03.690 --> 0:12:05.550 out on the street and people were falling off. It 0:12:05.640 --> 0:12:08.520 must've been a very hot year. And I just remember 0:12:08.520 --> 0:12:11.730 him being so impressed with people doing it and taking 0:12:11.730 --> 0:12:16.140 it on. And I think, I'm a very proud daughter 0:12:16.140 --> 0:12:18.030 and I always wanted to make my dad proud. So it's just 0:12:18.179 --> 0:12:21.090 this thing that stuck in my head and would play 0:12:21.150 --> 0:12:24.390 around there for years. And it wasn't until my 20s, 0:12:24.390 --> 0:12:26.190 I moved to New York and I started to see 0:12:26.190 --> 0:12:28.920 it and I'm like, " Oh gosh," I just always had 0:12:28.920 --> 0:12:31.470 that memory of something that would impress my dad would 0:12:31.470 --> 0:12:33.720 be running a marathon. Now I didn't think I'd keep 0:12:33.720 --> 0:12:36.240 running them, but I definitely thought I would run a marathon 0:12:36.420 --> 0:12:39.059 and make him proud. And now he's begging me to 0:12:39.059 --> 0:12:43.230 stop. I mean your knees, your hips, everything. But I 0:12:43.230 --> 0:12:45.510 think I did make him proud, but now he wishes 0:12:45.510 --> 0:12:45.660 I would- 0:12:45.660 --> 0:12:47.550 Yeah, he was impressed the first couple of times. Now- 0:12:47.550 --> 0:12:47.550 Exactly- 0:12:47.550 --> 0:12:50.910 ... no longer as impressed. Makes sense. Sounds like a dad. 0:12:51.150 --> 0:12:51.360 Yeah. 0:12:51.870 --> 0:12:54.449 And you started out with the Galloway method, which we've 0:12:54.480 --> 0:12:58.500 talked about on the podcast before, a run- walk method. 0:12:58.500 --> 0:13:00.120 Why did that work for you? 0:13:00.929 --> 0:13:04.290 Well, I was wanting to run a marathon in 1999, 0:13:04.290 --> 0:13:06.480 and I started training kind of on my own. With 0:13:06.480 --> 0:13:09.179 Road Runners I think I did some classes, and it 0:13:09.179 --> 0:13:11.730 was hard. I mean it was very hard. The park runs 0:13:11.730 --> 0:13:13.530 and all the different things, and I was getting a 0:13:13.530 --> 0:13:16.290 little bit of injury. I had an IT thing happen, 0:13:16.800 --> 0:13:19.380 and so I couldn't do 1999, that was actually supposed 0:13:19.380 --> 0:13:21.809 to be Marine Corps, that was supposed to be DC. And 0:13:22.230 --> 0:13:23.940 I had a friend who was running with Galloway and 0:13:23.940 --> 0:13:25.260 she's like, " I think you'll like this. Why don't you 0:13:25.260 --> 0:13:28.860 try it?" And the Jeff Galloway, just the run- walk 0:13:28.860 --> 0:13:32.939 was such a way, it's such a mental fix. I 0:13:32.940 --> 0:13:34.349 mean, so you're like, " Oh, I can run for three 0:13:34.350 --> 0:13:36.780 minutes. I can run for four minutes and then I 0:13:36.780 --> 0:13:40.050 can walk." So just that mental ease, it kind of 0:13:40.050 --> 0:13:43.290 just making it in bite- size pieces really worked for 0:13:43.290 --> 0:13:45.809 my psychology. And I still do it. People are like, " Do you 0:13:45.809 --> 0:13:49.710 run a 5K or a 10K with that?" Not a 5K, but a 10K 0:13:49.710 --> 0:13:52.170 sometimes. I can do it. I can do a 10K without 0:13:52.170 --> 0:13:55.530 doing it. But I just like it. It just makes 0:13:55.530 --> 0:13:58.890 me happy. It calms my nerves and I'll do it 0:13:58.890 --> 0:14:01.020 in different ways now. So if I feel like I'm 0:14:01.020 --> 0:14:03.329 in really good shape, I do a longer run. If 0:14:03.330 --> 0:14:04.710 I feel like I just need to get out there 0:14:05.250 --> 0:14:07.679 and it's hard, then I'll just do a two- in- 0:14:07.679 --> 0:14:09.959 one and just get out there and keep running. And 0:14:09.960 --> 0:14:11.610 you guys say this and I've been saying this forever, 0:14:11.610 --> 0:14:13.559 that forward is a pace, and I believe that. I 0:14:13.559 --> 0:14:16.230 mean that's always been my motto, just keep moving forward. 0:14:16.559 --> 0:14:19.650 Now your first New York City Marathon was in the 0:14:19.650 --> 0:14:23.280 year 2000. And was that supposed to be kind of 0:14:23.490 --> 0:14:26.220 a bucket list, check that box one and done? Was 0:14:26.220 --> 0:14:28.800 that the one dad saw for the first time? 0:14:28.800 --> 0:14:32.280 Yes. Definitely dad was there, parents were there. I had gotten, I started a 0:14:32.340 --> 0:14:34.890 new job. That's actually when I became a college counselor 0:14:34.890 --> 0:14:37.890 at a very prestigious high school and I was working and 0:14:37.890 --> 0:14:40.050 I was overwhelmed and I tried to throw it all in, 0:14:40.260 --> 0:14:43.140 start a new job, run a marathon, just put it 0:14:43.140 --> 0:14:45.240 all in the mix. But yeah, that was my first 0:14:45.240 --> 0:14:49.290 one. And my memories are, it's 25 years. This year 0:14:49.290 --> 0:14:51.540 will be my 25th anniversary of a marathon. 0:14:51.540 --> 0:14:51.600 Wow. 0:14:51.600 --> 0:14:55.140 And it was super special. I mean, there's nothing like 0:14:55.140 --> 0:14:56.670 New York. I have a lot of others that I 0:14:56.670 --> 0:14:59.880 love, but New York is just that. There's nothing like 0:14:59.880 --> 0:15:02.880 it. And I keep going back. I have such FOMO. 0:15:02.880 --> 0:15:04.890 I can't be in the city if it's going on. I can't be 0:15:05.190 --> 0:15:06.750 in any city if I know there's a marathon going 0:15:06.750 --> 0:15:08.850 on. Then I have to run it. But I really, 0:15:08.850 --> 0:15:11.160 I'm either here running the marathon at this point, Rob, 0:15:11.160 --> 0:15:13.890 or I leave. I've done some marathons on the same 0:15:13.890 --> 0:15:15.750 weekend because I have to do a marathon that weekend. 0:15:15.750 --> 0:15:17.730 It's just too much FOMO for me. 0:15:17.730 --> 0:15:20.310 I've heard people say that, if they're not running it, they can't 0:15:20.310 --> 0:15:20.821 even be in town. 0:15:20.821 --> 0:15:21.241 You can't. 0:15:21.660 --> 0:15:25.200 You could go downtown. If you're down in The Village, 0:15:25.200 --> 0:15:28.320 you could probably not realize the marathon's going on. 0:15:28.740 --> 0:15:31.170 New York is like Boston. I could go and cheer 0:15:31.170 --> 0:15:33.210 for people. Like that, I wouldn't feel so much FOMO, 0:15:33.210 --> 0:15:34.141 but here I just can't, I can't do it. 0:15:34.141 --> 0:15:38.310 I get it. I totally get it. That's awesome. So what happened? 0:15:38.310 --> 0:15:40.830 So it was supposed to be one. I mean, listen, I've 0:15:40.830 --> 0:15:43.290 heard the story from a lot of different people, but 0:15:43.500 --> 0:15:46.380 when did you realize it wasn't going to be just 0:15:46.380 --> 0:15:48.180 one marathon? I'm sure you didn't realize at the time 0:15:48.180 --> 0:15:50.220 it was going to be 74, but when did you 0:15:50.220 --> 0:15:51.690 realize there had to be another marathon? 0:15:51.930 --> 0:15:55.410 So that was November of 2000, and I had started with 0:15:55.410 --> 0:15:57.690 Galloway and I made friends and I made this community 0:15:57.690 --> 0:16:00.240 and I realized we liked meeting on the weekends. It 0:16:00.240 --> 0:16:01.979 was a great way, I mean, I'm still, some of my 0:16:01.980 --> 0:16:05.040 closest friends are from this Galloway program from the early 0:16:05.040 --> 0:16:08.100 2000s. And so I had run and I wanted to 0:16:08.100 --> 0:16:10.560 keep up the training. I liked it. And so a 0:16:10.560 --> 0:16:13.860 girlfriend of mine said, " Let's go do Jersey." It's in 0:16:13.860 --> 0:16:16.050 May. It's six months later or it's April or something 0:16:16.050 --> 0:16:18.630 like that. And I was like, " Okay, let's do that." 0:16:18.630 --> 0:16:23.520 This was the Jersey Shore Marathon, which also no longer exists sadly. 0:16:23.850 --> 0:16:27.960 Right. And that remains to be my PR, which I'm 0:16:27.960 --> 0:16:30.420 again, I always qualify, I'm not fast, which I need 0:16:30.420 --> 0:16:32.310 to stop doing because I feel like I'm always putting 0:16:32.310 --> 0:16:34.740 it down. If people say, " Oh my God." And I 0:16:34.740 --> 0:16:38.310 always say, " But I'm so slow." And it frustrates me 0:16:38.310 --> 0:16:40.770 that I still qualify the fact that I've still done 0:16:40.770 --> 0:16:43.950 all these marathons. But that was my PR. 0:16:46.200 --> 0:16:47.369 What was your PR? I actually don't even know this. 0:16:47.580 --> 0:16:47.761 What was your time? 0:16:47.761 --> 0:16:47.762 It was 4:26. 0:16:47.762 --> 0:16:47.763 4:26. 0:16:47.763 --> 0:16:49.230 It's nothing impressive but ... 0:16:49.260 --> 0:16:51.181 Solid. It's a solid time. Absolutely. 0:16:51.181 --> 0:16:53.970 It's solid. And I did a bunch in that kind of range 0:16:53.970 --> 0:16:55.950 for a long time. And now I'm really happy to 0:16:55.950 --> 0:16:58.290 break five hours at this point and that makes me 0:16:58.290 --> 0:16:59.790 happy, but doesn't always happen. 0:17:00.180 --> 0:17:03.450 All right, so there you are. Two races in, two 0:17:03.450 --> 0:17:08.250 states in. That's a good start. Where did the idea 0:17:08.250 --> 0:17:12.540 of running a marathon in each and every state come 0:17:12.540 --> 0:17:14.280 into play? How did this happen? 0:17:14.850 --> 0:17:18.210 Well, it came about slowly. I did New York and 0:17:18.210 --> 0:17:20.010 then New Jersey, then New York again and New Jersey 0:17:20.280 --> 0:17:24.000 in two years. Just I was staying with my friends and running. And then I think 0:17:24.000 --> 0:17:25.980 someone said, " Let's go do ... We're doing New York next 0:17:25.980 --> 0:17:29.100 year. Let's do a training run in Rhode Island." So 0:17:29.100 --> 0:17:30.629 you get your long training run or you do a 0:17:30.630 --> 0:17:33.359 marathon, come back and do New York. I'm like, " Oh, okay." 0:17:33.420 --> 0:17:36.600 That was fun. And then I think the states kind 0:17:36.600 --> 0:17:38.909 of nearby. We went to ... Someone's, " Oh, let's go to 0:17:38.910 --> 0:17:41.850 Baltimore," or, " Let's go to Nashville." It became fun friend 0:17:41.850 --> 0:17:46.200 trips. I've traveled for the majority of my states with 0:17:46.200 --> 0:17:48.149 friends, with other running friends, and it just became a 0:17:48.150 --> 0:17:51.359 weekend away. Later on when I had kids, it became 0:17:51.359 --> 0:17:55.440 a real escape, which I was ... You know that break of parenting? 0:17:55.470 --> 0:17:57.929 And it kind of started to add up and then 0:17:57.930 --> 0:18:00.750 I'm like, when you're on these marathons or you're at 0:18:00.750 --> 0:18:03.270 these places, you see everyone coming back or running the 0:18:03.270 --> 0:18:05.669 50 states, you get that bug in your ear. That's 0:18:05.670 --> 0:18:08.730 such a cool way to see the country. And I've 0:18:08.730 --> 0:18:12.659 seen the country. And I really recommend it. It was 0:18:12.660 --> 0:18:15.389 such a great ... And it's a community. You see different 0:18:15.390 --> 0:18:18.660 people or the same people at different marathons and what are 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:21.449 you doing next? Where are you going? So I love 0:18:21.449 --> 0:18:25.260 that I've been to all 50 states and seen so much of the country. It's really fun. 0:18:25.380 --> 0:18:28.740 I love it. I mean, the idea of marathons as 0:18:28.740 --> 0:18:31.530 a form of tourism has taken off so much. I 0:18:31.530 --> 0:18:35.010 mean that's what's driving so much of the energy around 0:18:35.010 --> 0:18:39.240 the six star medal and people. The trip is half 0:18:39.240 --> 0:18:41.970 the fun, I mean, if not more. Going and running 0:18:41.970 --> 0:18:44.280 the Tokyo Marathon. For me, people ask me how I like 0:18:44.430 --> 0:18:46.619 the Tokyo Marathon. I like the race. It was a good 0:18:46.619 --> 0:18:49.560 time. I enjoyed running the race. But going to Japan, 0:18:50.220 --> 0:18:53.280 that's really what was most exciting about that. And so 0:18:53.670 --> 0:18:57.300 it's pretty cool to have experienced that. I know a lot of people who've done 0:18:57.300 --> 0:19:00.720 the halves in all states, but to do a marathon 0:19:00.720 --> 0:19:05.369 in all 50 states, that's a lot of running. It's impressive. 0:19:05.670 --> 0:19:08.369 Well, the Tokyo Marathon is a sore subject for me 'cause 0:19:08.700 --> 0:19:11.160 I keep trying to get in, my friend, but I 0:19:11.160 --> 0:19:13.710 am doing Sydney, so once that became another star, I'm like, " 0:19:13.710 --> 0:19:15.990 Well, I'll do Sydney before Tokyo." 0:19:16.020 --> 0:19:18.270 You're going to still be missing that six star. You 0:19:18.270 --> 0:19:20.310 will have six races, but the way that works, you 0:19:20.310 --> 0:19:22.410 won't get the medal yet. So we'll have to see 0:19:22.410 --> 0:19:24.060 if we can somehow get you into Tokyo. 0:19:24.630 --> 0:19:24.631 Please. I'm trying. I'm trying. 0:19:24.631 --> 0:19:33.090 Now you ran Boston, Carey, the year after the bombing? 0:19:33.090 --> 0:19:33.511 No, both years. So the year of the bombing- 0:19:33.511 --> 0:19:36.359 The year of the bombing and the year. Okay. So what was your experience there? 0:19:36.570 --> 0:19:38.879