Emily Abbate: The energy in here is hype.
Andy Downing: This is a full marathon distance. We have 24 teams.
Andy Downing: There's over 600 runners.
Lauren Hunnewell: This track is fast. It flies.
Ali Feller: Spent the whole time out there being like, " Professional runners
Ali Feller: choose to do this for a living? This is awful."
Rob: Hey everybody, and welcome to Set the Pace, the official
Rob: podcast of New York Road Runners presented by Peloton. It's
Rob: a special edition of Set the Pace. We're here in
Rob: Boston at the track at New Balance where an incredible
Rob: event's going on right now, an indoor marathon relay happening
Rob: at this track just outside of Boston. We've got teams
Rob: of kids and adults running one- mile legs to complete
Rob: a marathon together. And one of the teams that's running is a
Rob: team that is founded by my original partner on Set
Rob: the Pace, and of course, 2014 Boston Marathon Champion, New
Rob: York City Marathon champion, silver medalist in the Olympics, Meb Keflezighi, the OG co-
Rob: host of Set the Pace. What's up, Meb?
Meb Keflezighi: (inaudible) Rob. Good to be with you again.
Rob: It's great to have you. You've got a team of
Rob: youngsters out there competing in this event for the MEB Foundation.
Rob: Telling me how that's going. How are the kids doing
Rob: out there?
Meb Keflezighi: Good. Shout out to Chris Heisler, who lives in Boston,
Meb Keflezighi: decided, you know what? We brainstormed and said, " Let's pick 26
Meb Keflezighi: kids who can run 1 mile age to introduce them to the sport
Meb Keflezighi: that we love and be able to just work hard
Meb Keflezighi: and discipline." And I had a Zoom call with them,
Meb Keflezighi: introductory. But there are 26 kids who want to be able to
Meb Keflezighi: just represent the MEB Foundation, (inaudible) through health, education and
Meb Keflezighi: fitness. They've been doing a lot of testing. So this
Meb Keflezighi: is a good way to segue to just have the
Meb Keflezighi: good weekend.
Rob: It's great. And that's kind of what the MEB Foundation
Rob: is all about. It's about giving these kids an opportunity
Rob: to run. Tell folks who don't know what that foundation does.
Meb Keflezighi: So the MEB Foundation is giving back to young kids
Meb Keflezighi: through health, education, and fitness because I was not able to
Meb Keflezighi: offer shoes. I was introduced in poverty and be able
Meb Keflezighi: not to have the shoes that I wanted, but look what I have been
Meb Keflezighi: made. I don't expect them to be an Olympian, but
Meb Keflezighi: I expect them to be a good contributor to society,
Meb Keflezighi: better communicators. And for them is to be able to
Meb Keflezighi: work with small details, discipline, dedication, time management, to be
Meb Keflezighi: good students, and then eventually a positive contributor to society.
Rob: Awesome. Meb, I saw you yesterday at the Boston Marathon
Rob: Expo. You had just been on a panel and I
Rob: hadn't seen you yet, so I wanted to go say
Rob: hi, but there was a line about 20 deep of people wanting
Rob: to shake your hand or get an autograph. How is it
Rob: for you still? We're now 12 years removed from your
Rob: legendary win at the Boston Marathon, but how do you
Rob: feel when you come back to Boston?
Meb Keflezighi: Rob, I've been very blessed with my running to win the silver medal in '04, to win
Meb Keflezighi: the biggest marathon the war, New York City in '09. In
Meb Keflezighi: 2014, after the horrific moment of the bombing, I was
Meb Keflezighi: able to win for all of us with the victims
Meb Keflezighi: on my bib, (inaudible) . So people are still resignated to
Meb Keflezighi: that because I guess I kind of helped heal the
Meb Keflezighi: city a little bit, both part of enforcement and that
Meb Keflezighi: victory just means so much, not only to me, but for
Meb Keflezighi: the community of running.
Rob: Does it still feel like home to you in that way? I
Rob: mean, the reaction you get from folks is still so palatable.
Meb Keflezighi: It is because I love to do meet and greet
Meb Keflezighi: with people and they still want to tell me whether
Meb Keflezighi: they tell me before or not where they were that
Meb Keflezighi: day, whether they were at work or they were on a
Meb Keflezighi: flight or they were just screaming at work and saying, "
Meb Keflezighi: You got to watch this," and you have 10 people cheering
Meb Keflezighi: for you. So it never gets old and I still
Meb Keflezighi: get goosebumps on my arms.
Rob: All right. Meb's going to hang out and do some
Rob: interviews. We're going to interview a bunch of folks who
Rob: have just come off the track from all kinds of
Rob: walks of life, former pro athletes, people in the New
Rob: York Road Runners team and community as well. So Meb, stick
Rob: around. Let's talk some folks.
Meb Keflezighi: Sounds great. Thanks so much.
Rob: Maybelline New York is proud to return as the official
Rob: title partner of the Maybelline Women's Half Marathon on April
Rob: 26th in Central Park. In partnership with New York Roadrunners,
Rob: this sold out race brings together 5, 000 women for 13.
Rob: 1 miles of empowerment, strength, and community, and represents Maybelline's
Rob: continued commitment to supporting women and mental health through movement,
Rob: connection, and their global Brave Together Initiative, which provides long-
Rob: term support for those facing anxiety and depression. This year,
Rob: Maybelline is once again partnering with NAMI, the National Alliance
Rob: on Mental Illness to raise awareness and funds during this
Rob: powerful event. Don't forget, race day starts with Maybelline. Wear
Rob: your SuperStay matte ink at the start line, and then
Rob: celebrate at the Finishers Village with custom product engraving and
Rob: free products from Maybelline and Garnier. And here with us
Rob: from New Balance is Andy Downing. And Andy, it's great
Rob: to have you on the show. Where we are right
Rob: now is an amazing event that for the second straight
Rob: year you guys have put on at this track, Boston
Rob: Marathon Weekend, a New Balance marathon relay. You got a
Rob: bunch of teams running one- mile legs around this gorgeous
Rob: track you have here and it's a terrific event. So
Rob: first of all, congratulations. This is a great idea.
Andy Downing: No, first off, thanks for having me on. I mean,
Andy Downing: what a pleasure and what a weekend. I mean, maybe
Andy Downing: the best, maybe the second- best weekend of the year, New
Andy Downing: York, pretty good too. So yeah, I mean, we built
Andy Downing: this track in 2022, opened it up. We opened it
Andy Downing: up with a world record in the DMR. And since then,
Andy Downing: we've tried to set for five years, try to just
Andy Downing: host really, really premium events here at the track at
Andy Downing: New Balance.
Meb Keflezighi: So Matt, what do you think, Andy, is be able
Meb Keflezighi: to be here to see what's going on for the
Meb Keflezighi: people that are at home? What does this facility mean? So New Balance and the people
Meb Keflezighi: that are running?
Andy Downing: Yeah, for sure. So this is a full marathon distance.
Andy Downing: We have 24 teams. There's over 600 runners. We estimate
Andy Downing: about 1,500, 2000 spectators. It's completely free. Everything you see here
Andy Downing: is free.
Meb Keflezighi: That's awesome.
Andy Downing: Yeah. So you run 1 mile leg, so it's teams
Andy Downing: of 26 runners. They run one mile each. And we truly
Andy Downing: do believe in Run Your Way, which is our brand
Andy Downing: motto. So run, walk, crawl. No matter what, get into
Andy Downing: running. The positive effects of running are so clear. So
Andy Downing: we don't care. We just want to bring out as
Andy Downing: many people as we can to have an amazing time and have a
Andy Downing: great experience.
Meb Keflezighi: Talk about the experience, Run Your Way. How do you feel
Meb Keflezighi: like having Olympians, World Championship people, and then running first timers
Meb Keflezighi: here? The interaction, how do you think that is?
Andy Downing: I mean, to us, it's been, even before we had
Andy Downing: the slogan Run Your Way, running should be an inclusive
Andy Downing: sport. That's what's great about running. So we feel like
Andy Downing: this brings together 90 year olds who are walking. I
Andy Downing: mean, my daughter just ran. She's 14. She's in high
Andy Downing: school. So my wife just ran. She's 52. So all
Andy Downing: walks of life out here. The coolest thing is the
Andy Downing: smiles on people's face. You just scan the crowd. Everybody's
Andy Downing: having an amazing time. So it brings together all walks
Andy Downing: of life to have a great time.
Rob: So all day long, we're going to have people who
Rob: are running come and visit us here on Set the
Rob: Pace. So you're the first of probably 25 guests we're
Rob: going to have today. I don't even know how many,
Rob: but we're going to be cycling through folks from New
Rob: York Road Runners, other runners, run clubs, celebrities, all kinds
Rob: of folks who are out here running. And that's what's
Rob: great about an event like this is you can include
Rob: so many people. The commitment is not so great. Come
Rob: out, run a mile. Maybe they're running the marathon on
Rob: Monday. Maybe they're just hanging out here for the weekend
Rob: as a part of the event, but anyone can come
Rob: out and be a part of this.
Andy Downing: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, what we saw a couple of
Andy Downing: years ago was, which it's amazing, but there's so many
Andy Downing: shakeout runs in downtown Boston, and we have this special
Andy Downing: facility, the track at New Balance, and we wanted to have
Andy Downing: as many people as possibly be able to experience it,
Andy Downing: you know what I mean? On a high energy weekend
Andy Downing: and give them something really unique and different than just
Andy Downing: your average shakeout run. So that was the idea.
Rob: Now let's talk about this facility and what's happening here
Rob: the rest of the year. So it's gorgeous. This is
Rob: a true indoor track. You guys are hosting major events
Rob: here, national collegiate championships, high school championships. How did that
Rob: play into what you guys do at New Balance to
Rob: have a facility like this right across the street from
Rob: your headquarters here in Boston?
Andy Downing: Yeah. I mean, it's everything that we've ever been about,
Andy Downing: for 120 years we've been around and it's athlete first
Andy Downing: and it's all athletes to service all types of athletes.
Andy Downing: So we built this. This is 450,000 square feet, the
Andy Downing: whole facility, it's a multipurpose. So it has a fully
Andy Downing: retractable ... This track can go completely flat and a retractable
Andy Downing: turf can come across the entire thing. So you can
Andy Downing: play soccer. I don't know, maybe you're a soccer guy, can
Andy Downing: play lacrosse. It also has a full basketball court that
Andy Downing: can roll out. There's a 25, 000 square foot warmup facility,
Andy Downing: which is a rubberized track up on, and then obviously
Andy Downing: you can see up here, four major suites. So for
Andy Downing: the last five years, we've hosted the high school national
Andy Downing: championships, the NCA Championships, world records, national records, and about
Andy Downing: 80 other track meets throughout the season.
Rob: Well, it's incredible. Congratulations to you, to the whole team
Rob: at New Balance. We love that you guys have an
Rob: event like this over Boston Marathon weekend, because as much
Rob: as we love our friends at the Boston Marathon and
Rob: their partners, we like to be in our partner's house here
Rob: in Boston for Boston Marathon weekend. So it's great you
Rob: guys have this.
Andy Downing: Again, thank you for having me. I mean, what a pleasure to
Andy Downing: have Meb here. The MEB Foundation is crushing today, Meb. Why don't
Andy Downing: you tell us, tell us about the team that's running
Andy Downing: today for the MEB Foundation.
Meb Keflezighi: This is such a great facility. Last year we had
Meb Keflezighi: all the foundation runners that running the marathon running, but this year
Meb Keflezighi: we decided to go to have 26 local runners, high
Meb Keflezighi: school chosen by their teacher or by their PE coach
Meb Keflezighi: to have and then to be able to just have them. That's why the MEB
Meb Keflezighi: Foundation is youth program and to have them here represent
Meb Keflezighi: the MEB Foundation, I couldn't be any prouder.
Andy Downing: It's incredible.
Rob: All right. Andy Downing, the Senior Manager of Events and
Rob: Partnerships for New Balance. Thanks so much for joining us.
Andy Downing: Incredible. Thank you guys. Thanks for having me.
Rob: Yeah, appreciate it-
Meb Keflezighi: Thank you.
Rob: Thank you. And we are joined now by a woman who
Rob: does not need an introduction in this space, the one
Rob: and only Ali Feller from Ali on the Run. And Ali, you were like the
Rob: first person I saw when I got off the train, like
Rob: out of the Uber at my hotel to get here
Rob: to Boston. I look up and there's Ali Feller walking
Rob: into the Fairmont Hotel at Copley Square. And it was
Rob: so great to see that because I feel like you're
Rob: such a big part of this marathon, this Boston marathon.
Rob: Everyone is so happy to see you here in Boston,
Rob: to see you healthy. I know you weren't feeling well
Rob: last week, but you're feeling better now it looks like because
Rob: you went out there and you ran a mile?
Ali Feller: I ran a mile. I mean, I did something. Yeah, I made
Ali Feller: it through. I spent the whole time out there being like, "
Ali Feller: Professional runners choose to do this for a living. This
Ali Feller: is awful." Great vibes, but running, racing a mile on
Ali Feller: a track is so hard. Keeping count of the last ...
Ali Feller: Yeah, I survived it.
Rob: She did it.
Ali Feller: And of course now I'm like, it was so fun.
Ali Feller: But at the time I was like, " This sucks. This is awful. I'm dying."
Meb Keflezighi: It's a short pain, but it's exhilarating because a mile is
Meb Keflezighi: just something that everybody can relate and to start where
Meb Keflezighi: you are. But how have you ranked the energy here
Meb Keflezighi: at the New Balance, the track versus Boston versus New York?
Ali Feller: That's not fair.
Meb Keflezighi: It is fair because we have Ali on the show.
Ali Feller: Pick your favorite children and rank them.
Meb Keflezighi: Ooh. You got me there.
Ali Feller: I mean, this energy is amazing. Having everyone on the
Ali Feller: infield is so fun. Last year I was at this
Ali Feller: event as a spectator and I watched it and then
Ali Feller: this year agreed to join a team and I was
Ali Feller: honored to be on the (inaudible) team with Olympians
Ali Feller: and me. But I mean, this energy's great. Everyone's choosing
Ali Feller: to be here. Everyone's happy to be here. And I think
Ali Feller: that is something that you see in Boston, in New
Ali Feller: York at the track is that this is something everyone
Ali Feller: wants to do. I mean, I'm sure there are a few
Ali Feller: people that got tricked into running a marathon with a
Ali Feller: dare or a late night agreement, but for the most part,
Ali Feller: this is something we all want to do. And I
Ali Feller: think that's such a big difference between having to run
Ali Feller: the mile in gym class in fifth grade, whereas we're
Ali Feller: paying to be here and we love it. So the
Ali Feller: energy's very different in all of those places and very
Ali Feller: unique. People always want you to say New York or
Ali Feller: Boston. And I'm like, " I'm not doing it. "
Rob: You don't have to do it.
Ali Feller: I can't.
Rob: You don't have to choose. It's fine.
Ali Feller: They're each incredible and it's amazing how different they are
Ali Feller: too, that yes, they're both majors, they're both in the
Ali Feller: Northeast, but they're so different.
Meb Keflezighi: We're talking about energy. I love your energy.
Ali Feller: I love you-
Meb Keflezighi: ... You give back, so matter to the community, how has
Meb Keflezighi: that now? Perspective's always good to run something and then when
Meb Keflezighi: your injury come back and your sickness that you have,
Meb Keflezighi: we love you, but how does that now change your
Meb Keflezighi: life and perspective?
Ali Feller: Oh God, it's changed everything. I am genuinely excited every
Ali Feller: time I get to run. One of my biggest pet
Ali Feller: peeves is when people say they have to go for
Ali Feller: a run. I don't care if you're training for a
Ali Feller: marathon, you don't have to go for a run. You get
Ali Feller: to. And aren't we lucky to get to do that?
Ali Feller: And I think anyone, whether you've dealt with a sickness
Ali Feller: or an injury or a setback or whatever, we've all
Ali Feller: had things. No one's training ever goes perfectly. We've all
Ali Feller: had our things that take us away from the thing
Ali Feller: we love to do. And so I think it's so
Ali Feller: important to have that gratitude that like, yeah, a couple
Ali Feller: of years ago I ran a mile much faster than
Ali Feller: I did today and I don't care.
Rob: Why would you?
Ali Feller: I know that because I know, but I'm so happy to be here.
Rob: You're here running a mile and making so many people smile, including yourself.
Ali Feller: People were screaming the whole time. People are so nice
Ali Feller: and people were cheering for me the whole way around.
Ali Feller: And on lap one, it was fun. And on lap
Ali Feller: two, I was like, all right, this will be helpful.
Ali Feller: By lap three, I was like, " Don't look at me.
Ali Feller: Don't know my name." I was in the pain cave
Ali Feller: so early. I very much wanted to be anonymous in
Ali Feller: those last six laps.
Rob: I get it. I get it. It's hard for you or you, by
Rob: the way, to be anonymous in Boston on Marathon weekend.
Rob: No doubt about it.
Meb Keflezighi: It is, but you see the thrill, the smile in
Meb Keflezighi: people's, whether you're Olympian, world- class or high schoolers and
Meb Keflezighi: things like that. It's just delighted to be at the track
Meb Keflezighi: just to get the energy.
Ali Feller: Oh, it's the best. There's nothing like this.
Rob: Ali, what has the reaction been like from people to
Rob: you this weekend? I can only imagine you, for those
Rob: who don't know, Ali's on the cover of the Boston Marathon
Rob: kind of official program for this weekend. The story of
Rob: what you've been through the last couple of years, not
Rob: one but two battles with breast cancer. We are so
Rob: happy to have you here with us sitting here next
Rob: to us and a part of this weekend you'll be announcing
Rob: again at the finish line this weekend on Monday. What's
Rob: it been like just to feel the love from people
Rob: here in Boston?
Ali Feller: I think that if everyone in this world could feel
Ali Feller: a fraction of the love that I've gotten this weekend
Ali Feller: and over the past few years, we would have world
Ali Feller: peace. Everything would be ... We would solve everything because I've
Ali Feller: been so inundated with love. There is a part of
Ali Feller: me that is like, " Oh, everyone's going to get really
Ali Feller: sick of me really soon." I'm at my peak and
Ali Feller: everyone's nice and I'm on the cover of the program.
Ali Feller: Surely the other shoe's about to drop. And I do
Ali Feller: have that part of my brain that unfortunately thinks that
Ali Feller: way, but it's really overwhelming.
Rob: And how did it help you get through all of
Rob: this? Because I can only imagine how many points you
Rob: must have had over the last couple of years where
Rob: maybe you felt like giving up or just not fighting
Rob: anymore. To get that support, all those messages to tell
Rob: you to keep going. What has it meant to you?
Rob: How did it help you through this?
Ali Feller: I mean, it's everything. I have the most amazing support
Ali Feller: system. I have the best friends and family, and so
Ali Feller: I'm so lucky. But there are those days where you
Ali Feller: just want to withdraw and you don't want to talk
Ali Feller: to anyone. And yeah, there were some really dark days.
Ali Feller: And the running community, I left the running community for
Ali Feller: a bit, not by choice, but I couldn't go to
Ali Feller: races during chemo. I've had surgeries. I was removed from
Ali Feller: it for a bit, but running and the community never
Ali Feller: left me. And as soon as I was ready to
Ali Feller: come back, they were there in the most celebratory way.
Ali Feller: And it's just no one prepares you for what that
Ali Feller: feels like. It's overwhelming in the best way possible, but I
Ali Feller: hope I give that gratitude back. I hope people know
Ali Feller: how much it means to me.
Rob: You give it back. You really do.
Ali Feller: I hope so.
Rob: Everybody knows.
Ali Feller: Okay, great. Okay, thank God.
Rob: Absolutely. Thank you for spending a couple of minutes with us.
Ali Feller: Thank you guys so much.
Rob: We love you. Have a great weekend, have a great time on Monday and
Rob: we'll see you around soon.
Ali Feller: We'll see you in New York.
Rob: Ali Feller.
Ali Feller: Thank you guys.
Rob: Ali on the Run. Next up, we've got two very
Rob: fast guests, both of whom host a podcast for CITIUS
Rob: Magazine. Eric Jenkins, a retired pro distance runner, two time
Rob: NCAA champions at Oregon. He ran the 3, 000 and
Rob: the 5, 000, competed for Nike out there in Oregon.
Rob: Welcome to the show.
Eric Jenkins: Thank you.
Rob: And Aisha Praught- Leer, also with Cities Magazine, a two- time
Rob: Olympian for Jamaica in the steeplechase and the 1, 500 as
Rob: well. Welcome to the podcast.
Aisha Praught-Leer: Thanks for having us.
Rob: Yeah, thank you. So how was your mile out there? Did you
Rob: guys both run?
Aisha Praught-Leer: Oh, we ran. It burned. It doesn't feel the same
Aisha Praught-Leer: as it once did, but we had a blast.
Eric Jenkins: Yeah. It never gets easier. It's really fun. Such a
Eric Jenkins: fun event here today, but yeah, we put in the
Eric Jenkins: work, put in our miles and I think we're done
Eric Jenkins: for the day.
Meb Keflezighi: Eric, the biggest difference between running fast as a pro
Meb Keflezighi: versus running fast as a team-
Eric Jenkins: I mean, when you're running fast as a pro, there's
Eric Jenkins: a bit more at stake. When it's just you and your (inaudible)
Eric Jenkins: . When it's just you and your friends, it's a bit
Eric Jenkins: more fun. So it's kind of like a mental state kind
Eric Jenkins: of difference. Yeah.
Rob: Tell me about the podcast. For those who don't know
Rob: it, what do you guys talk about? Running, I know, but
Rob: what's the theme?
Aisha Praught-Leer: So our podcast is called Off the Rails. And we
Aisha Praught-Leer: do talk about running, but we also talk about pop
Aisha Praught-Leer: culture, current events. I will say there are times where
Aisha Praught-Leer: you won't want to play it at work or around
Aisha Praught-Leer: your young kids. It's off the rails. We sometimes get
Aisha Praught-Leer: out there on topics that people don't usually talk about
Aisha Praught-Leer: in the running space. So it's very fun. The episodes
Aisha Praught-Leer: drop Monday and they're about two hours long, so that's
Aisha Praught-Leer: for a specific audience, but we have a lot of fun.
Rob: I think running needs that kind of thing, to be
Rob: honest because we love talking about running, but you kind
Rob: of want to change it up once in a while.
Rob: Talk about what else is happening in life.
Eric Jenkins: Exactly. That's what we're trying to deliver.
Rob: That's very good. Tell me about your career. So are
Rob: you originally from Jamaica?
Aisha Praught-Leer: I'm a dual citizen, so my dad is Jamaican and
Aisha Praught-Leer: my mom's American. And I have 10 half siblings that
Aisha Praught-Leer: are all Jamaican, so big family, but I grew up
Aisha Praught-Leer: in Illinois.
Rob: And how did you come to dominate in the steeplechase,
Rob: the 1, 500? What was your path to all that?
Aisha Praught-Leer: Yeah, I kind of fell into the steeplechase in college.
Aisha Praught-Leer: We needed another steeple chaser because we had a senior
Aisha Praught-Leer: that was graduating and my college coach made everybody on
Aisha Praught-Leer: the team run over a hurdle and it was very
Aisha Praught-Leer: obvious some people were not meant to be steeplechasers and
Aisha Praught-Leer: I guess meant to be one. So it was very
Aisha Praught-Leer: fun to be a trailblazer for Jamaica in the event
Aisha Praught-Leer: and win the first global medals over 1, 500 in steeplechase.
Aisha Praught-Leer: So it was great to carry that torch.
Rob: And Eric, what about you and your collegiate career? What was the best
Rob: thing for you about competing at that level?
Eric Jenkins: Oh, man. I think one of the best things was
Eric Jenkins: just being with my teammates, being around people who had the
Eric Jenkins: same kind of like- minded goals as you do. I
Eric Jenkins: think that brings you to a new level, pushes you
Eric Jenkins: a bit more. Of course, you're competing at a really
Eric Jenkins: high level, but I look back at college and about
Eric Jenkins: my time at Oregon and just think about how much fun
Eric Jenkins: I had with my teammates.
Meb Keflezighi: Actually, I know running is ... Most people are participating here.
Meb Keflezighi: You participate as a pro. What is that thing that you changed
Meb Keflezighi: to corporate America? What is that thing that you miss about (inaudible) ?
Aisha Praught-Leer: Yes. I miss the time to train full- time. Oh
Aisha Praught-Leer: my goodness. All the people that have full- time jobs and
Aisha Praught-Leer: are working 40, 50, 60 hours a week and still find the
Aisha Praught-Leer: time to train and race at a high level. I
Aisha Praught-Leer: have so much respect now when you're sitting at a
Aisha Praught-Leer: desk all day. I don't know how people do it. I don't know how
Aisha Praught-Leer: they get out and train and do hard workouts because
Aisha Praught-Leer: it's so challenging when you're trying to be good at
Aisha Praught-Leer: more than one thing. So a lot of respect to
Aisha Praught-Leer: the people still out there grinding.
Rob: What do you guys do, Meb, to keep that competitive fire
Rob: going? And it's hard for a lot of people who compete at
Rob: the levels you did to find a way to keep
Rob: that edge. What do you guys do to kind of
Rob: keep that fire burning?
Eric Jenkins: I mean, I think it's tough to keep that same level of
Eric Jenkins: intensity from when you're a pro athlete, then you retire.
Eric Jenkins: But I think it's really just about finding ... It might
Eric Jenkins: not be running. It might be a whole different thing. Finding
Eric Jenkins: a new path and trying to figure out what keeps
Eric Jenkins: you motivated, whether it's running, whether it's something different, but
Eric Jenkins: just kind of figuring out your why. Yeah.
Aisha Praught-Leer: Yeah, same. I found a different thing to be competitive
Aisha Praught-Leer: in. I retired from running and I have a corporate
Aisha Praught-Leer: job in tech. I do something totally different and that's
Aisha Praught-Leer: where I now ... I used to be physically challenged. Now
Aisha Praught-Leer: I'm intellectually challenged on a daily basis and I find
Aisha Praught-Leer: that challenge fun.
Meb Keflezighi: And what lessons did the sport teach you that you are you
Meb Keflezighi: using in your corporate world?
Aisha Praught-Leer: Discipline. It's really, you can tell the difference between people
Aisha Praught-Leer: in the office that have been athletes and people that
Aisha Praught-Leer: haven't. If I'm having a bad day, it doesn't matter
Aisha Praught-Leer: how I feel. I still have to show up and
Aisha Praught-Leer: be my best. And that is such an edge that
Aisha Praught-Leer: running especially has given me.
Meb Keflezighi: How about you Eric?
Eric Jenkins: Well, I mean, running teaches you, instills so many positive
Eric Jenkins: life lessons in you. Showing up every single day, even
Eric Jenkins: when you don't want to. Thinking about long- term goals
Eric Jenkins: and every single day counts towards that goal. I think
Eric Jenkins: those are the life lessons that it teaches you the
Eric Jenkins: most and you can apply so many things from running
Eric Jenkins: to your day- to- day life.
Rob: Absolutely. Eric, Aisha, great to have you guys with us.
Rob: Congrats on your mile and good luck with the rest of
Rob: your podcast episode. We'll definitely check it out.
Eric Jenkins: Thank you very much.
Aisha Praught-Leer: Thank you. Thank you.
Eric Jenkins: Thank you, Meb.
Rob: Our next guest here at the track at New Balance
Rob: is another New Balance executive, the lead of our partnership
Rob: with New York Road Runners, Lauren Hunnewell. Great to have
Rob: you, Lauren.
Lauren Hunnewell: Thanks for having me, Rob, and thanks for being here at the track at New Balance.
Lauren Hunnewell: We're so excited to host you guys this weekend.
Rob: It's amazing. So you ran a leg for New York
Rob: Road Runner's team up there on the board. We're hanging
Rob: in there right now. How was your run out there?
Lauren Hunnewell: It was awesome. I mean, a mile, this truck is fast.
Lauren Hunnewell: It flies. I mean, getting on it, it does ... Its stories
Lauren Hunnewell: tell for itself, but it was so wonderful to be
Lauren Hunnewell: out there with so many people of the community, so many runners,
Lauren Hunnewell: team New York Road Runners, employees, associates, all of the runners
Lauren Hunnewell: from all the different teams. So we had a blast
Lauren Hunnewell: out there.
Meb Keflezighi: Lauren, you've done so many marathons. I know this is
Meb Keflezighi: very motivating. Motivates me to come back for running, but
Meb Keflezighi: what keeps you going to the starting line every time for you?
Lauren Hunnewell: I would say the people, the community. A marathon isn't just about the
Lauren Hunnewell: runners. It's about the volunteers. It's about the spectators. So
Lauren Hunnewell: it takes not just one person to show up, it
Lauren Hunnewell: takes a team. So I would say it's just wonderful
Lauren Hunnewell: to interact with so many different people on so many
Lauren Hunnewell: different levels and bring it to the finish line together.
Rob: You've run 40 marathons?
Lauren Hunnewell: I think 40 something plus. This year will be my 10th
Lauren Hunnewell: New York City Marathon. I am so excited.
Rob: It's incredible. I'm always amazed by people who have lost
Rob: track of how many marathons they've actually run. What keeps
Rob: you coming back to the starting line over and over again?
Lauren Hunnewell: I think it's honestly, it's the good vibes. It's like the people.
Lauren Hunnewell: It's like being able to meet new people and kind
Lauren Hunnewell: of carry on stories and just kind of be one
Lauren Hunnewell: with the community. I think every marathon is a story in
Lauren Hunnewell: itself, and I think there's just so many wonderful memories
Lauren Hunnewell: and accomplishments when you finish. It's like your own book
Lauren Hunnewell: at the end of each time.
Meb Keflezighi: The Boston Marathon is two days away. Why do you
Meb Keflezighi: think makes you come back and what's your favorite part
Meb Keflezighi: of the weekend?
Lauren Hunnewell: I would say, again, kind of going through, the Boston Marathon is so
Lauren Hunnewell: iconic in Boston and you see a lot of fast runners, but
Lauren Hunnewell: you see a lot of charity runners though as well.
Lauren Hunnewell: There's so many wonderful charities running this race, raising money
Lauren Hunnewell: for such a great cause. Meb, your charity as well.
Lauren Hunnewell: We love to see it. So just having everyone out
Lauren Hunnewell: there at the start together and finish on so many
Lauren Hunnewell: different levels and have the city. This is a holiday for
Lauren Hunnewell: us in Boston. All the schools have off. My kids
Lauren Hunnewell: are at home. They're excited. Running across the line throughout
Lauren Hunnewell: all the cities and having the kids cheer, the parents cheer.
Lauren Hunnewell: It's a full on Boston experience. So it's just wonderful to
Lauren Hunnewell: see the community wrapped up in this event.
Rob: One of the things I love about having a podcast
Rob: like this and having people like you on is I
Rob: see you fairly often. She is our main point of
Rob: contact at New Balance for a lot of things. So
Rob: I see you. But when I have someone like you
Rob: on the podcast, I get notes about you like this
Rob: and the notes tell me things I did not know
Rob: about you. And what I did not know about you is
Rob: that you run with shelter dogs every single week.
Lauren Hunnewell: Yeah, every single week.
Rob: Tell me about this.
Lauren Hunnewell: Yeah. Every Monday and Friday, we work from home. So
Lauren Hunnewell: instead of like commuting and taking that hour, I go
Lauren Hunnewell: to our local shelter and I run high energy shelter
Lauren Hunnewell: dogs. So I walk in, you never know who you're going
Lauren Hunnewell: to get. Some dogs you run for weeks, some dogs
Lauren Hunnewell: you run once, but like all the dogs are so
Lauren Hunnewell: amazing and so motivational. And I've never met a dog
Lauren Hunnewell: who hasn't loved to run. So it's really fun.
Rob: It's such a great idea when you think about it
Rob: because these dogs are, they're cooped up in these shelters.
Rob: They don't have a lot of room and you can
Rob: sometimes go and see how much pent- up energy they
Rob: have. So someone like you comes along and helps them
Rob: release some of that energy, which must really help them
Rob: get through their period in the shelter.
Lauren Hunnewell: Yeah. It's definitely accountability buddy. Rain or shine, they're there
Lauren Hunnewell: and I'm there for them. And it helps with my miles too.
Rob: 100%.
Lauren Hunnewell: Get those (inaudible) miles in.
Rob: I love it. I love it. Lauren Hunnewell, great to have you.
Lauren Hunnewell: Thank you guys.
Rob: Congratulations on this awesome event.
Lauren Hunnewell: Awesome. Thank you, Rob. Thank you, Meb.
Rob: Up next year at the track at New Balance is two-
Rob: time Olympian, Kim Conley joining us here. And Kim, it's
Rob: great to see you. The last time I saw you was
Rob: at the finish of the Brooklyn Half, the RBC Brooklyn
Rob: Half, where you had an incredible day, finished second there.
Rob: So how was your mile today in the relay?
Kim Conley: Yeah, it was fun. I absolutely love this event. It's just
Kim Conley: the atmosphere is electric, and so it's fun to come
Kim Conley: out here and just try to run fast.
Rob: How was your time? Did you have a time goal
Rob: and how did it go?
Kim Conley: So I turned 40 in March. I had a time
Kim Conley: goal of breaking 4. 40 at 40. I did not do it.
Kim Conley: I ran 4. 49, but I also have another goal
Kim Conley: going where I've been breaking 5 every year since 2003,
Kim Conley: so I notched it for this year.
Rob: That's pretty good to keep that streak going. Incredible.
Meb Keflezighi: That's impressive, Kim. You're still active. You still look healthy
Meb Keflezighi: and really fit. How does the post- running careers treat
Meb Keflezighi: you now? How is it different now?
Kim Conley: Yeah. I mean, I love running so much. I still
Kim Conley: love the way it makes me feel. I'm getting used
Kim Conley: to paces being a little bit slower than they were.
Kim Conley: And I found that I missed that sense of improvement
Kim Conley: that I got from running. So I actually started, I
Kim Conley: joined a beginner tennis group a year ago and I
Kim Conley: started playing tennis so that I can still enjoy running,
Kim Conley: the way it makes me feel, but then I have
Kim Conley: something else now that gives me that sense of like
Kim Conley: I'm getting better at something also.
Meb Keflezighi: You were very competitive at the Olympic level. How do
Meb Keflezighi: you see the women's running in the U. S. today?
Kim Conley: It's at a completely different level now. Yeah. I am grateful that
Kim Conley: I competed in the era that I competed in because
Kim Conley: I was able to make teams.
Meb Keflezighi: Me too.
Rob: Kim, you were just telling me that your next big
Rob: challenge that you're taking on is Hyrox when it comes
Rob: to New York. You're doing the mixed doubles. I'm actually
Rob: planning on doing Hyrox for the first time as well.
Rob: What attracted you to Hyrox?
Kim Conley: I'm terrified of Hyrox, to be honest, but ...
Rob: So am I, by the way, completely terrified. Is this going to be your first time?
Kim Conley: It's going to be my first time. Honestly, it was
Kim Conley: the Ali on the Run show. I got called out
Kim Conley: publicly. I need to try to do this. And then
Kim Conley: people on Instagram egged me on and I put out
Kim Conley: a poll and the votes went towards doing it, so
Kim Conley: I'm doing it.
Rob: Who's your partner?
Kim Conley: Connor Nichol. So I'm the women's LDR Chair for USATF He's
Kim Conley: the Men's LDR Chair and so we're doing it together.
Rob: I love it. I love it.
Meb Keflezighi: You are also a coach now that I hear. What
Meb Keflezighi: is the thing you tell someone to squeeze something out
Meb Keflezighi: of them to get the best out of them? What mentality do
Meb Keflezighi: you play?
Kim Conley: I really believe in being process- oriented. So it's kind
Kim Conley: of like wherever you're coming from, whether that's you're new
Kim Conley: to running or you're coming back from an injury, it's
Kim Conley: kind of like taking you where you are now or
Kim Conley: where you are at the beginning of a buildup and
Kim Conley: seeing what can we do next that makes you feel
Kim Conley: like you've successfully climbed that next rung on the ladder
Kim Conley: to get somewhere you want to go eventually.
Rob: Kim, I know you're planning on running the TCS New York
Rob: City Marathon this fall, but what's your Boston Marathon history?
Rob: I have no idea.
Kim Conley: I never did it as a professional runner. It's one
Kim Conley: of my regrets. But I did notch a BQ last
Kim Conley: year in Chicago, so I'm planning to run next year,
Kim Conley: 2027 Boston Marathon.
Rob: Oh, nice. That's awesome. Congrats on the BQ. And what are
Rob: you looking forward to for New York this year? You
Rob: got a goal in mind or just go out and have
Rob: a good time?
Kim Conley: Mostly to have a good time. The last time I
Kim Conley: did it was 10 years ago. That was my debut
Kim Conley: marathon in 2016. It was hard and humbling. What I really
Kim Conley: want out of this is to go soak in the
Kim Conley: atmosphere. So I'm planning to listen to some music and
Kim Conley: turn it off when I'm on First Avenue and get
Kim Conley: to hear the crowds and just really, really enjoy the
Kim Conley: entire experience.
Meb Keflezighi: What would be your message? Now you are, I'm 40
Meb Keflezighi: years old, (inaudible) the sport, Olympics. What would you say
Meb Keflezighi: to someone who's a 12- year- old girl? What would be your
Meb Keflezighi: message to her?
Kim Conley: Oh, wow. That you have a long career ahead of
Kim Conley: you. And then it's not good to try to rush
Kim Conley: to success. So just take it year by year, that
Kim Conley: really your foundation and what you're doing has to be
Kim Conley: rooted in love. Because if you love what you're doing,
Kim Conley: then you're going to be committed and disciplined. All that's
Kim Conley: going to be incidental because you're so happy to be
Kim Conley: doing what you're doing. So don't put pressure on yourself.
Kim Conley: Don't kind of force yourself to be disciplined. Just find
Kim Conley: the aspects of the sport that you love about it
Kim Conley: and lean into those.
Meb Keflezighi: Sounds great.
Rob: All right, Kim Conley. Congratulations on that 4. 49 mile.
Rob: That is really impressive. I'm impressed even if you want
Rob: it a little bit faster than that. Thanks for joining
Rob: us. Great to see you. Our next guest here at
Rob: the track at New Balance is Emily Abbate. She ran
Rob: with the Believe in the Run team just now. She's
Rob: the host of the podcast Hurdle. Emily, welcome to the show.
Emily Abbate: Thanks, Rob. Appreciate you.
Rob: How was your run out there?
Emily Abbate: Oh, man. I think we're all dealing with the track
Emily Abbate: hack, as they call it.
Rob: The track hack.
Emily Abbate: So if I have to excuse myself from coughing, no judgment. No judgment.
Rob: It's dry. It's fine. But this is a fast track. It's
Rob: fun to run on something like this.
Emily Abbate: It is a fast track. I felt completely different this year
Emily Abbate: than I did last year, but the vibes are just
Emily Abbate: as high and the energy in here is really great.
Meb Keflezighi: Emily, the track is fast, but your podcast Hurdle. What's
Meb Keflezighi: the biggest hurdle that you overcame as a runner?
Emily Abbate: Wow. I mean, getting into running at the start, challenging
Emily Abbate: for anyone. I never thought that I would be someone
Emily Abbate: who could qualify for the Boston Marathon. I've since run
Emily Abbate: Boston and I'm so grateful to be here this weekend
Emily Abbate: as a spectator. Again, that energy in Boston is outrageous.
Rob: For those who've never heard the podcast, what's it about?
Emily Abbate: Hurdle is a podcast where I talk to everyone from elite
Emily Abbate: athletes to industry experts and the wellness scope of things
Emily Abbate: about their highest, highs and toughest moments. So honored to
Emily Abbate: be a part of the iHeart Women's Sports Network and really
Emily Abbate: just humbled at the opportunity to talk to so many
Emily Abbate: people that I admire on a regular basis.
Meb Keflezighi: No, Hurdle's about getting the best out of yourself, you
Meb Keflezighi: might fall back, but energy is also important. How does
Meb Keflezighi: that relay energy here compared to the marathon?
Emily Abbate: The energy in here is hype. And as you know,
Emily Abbate: at the different points of the marathon, Wellesley, the tunnels,
Emily Abbate: you hear the crowds and everyone, whether you're here or
Emily Abbate: there on Marathon Monday, you have the opportunity to reap
Emily Abbate: the benefit of the crowds, reap the benefit of the
Emily Abbate: energy, and that's just so contagious.
Rob: So you ran on the Belief in the Run team.
Rob: How'd that all happen? How'd you get hooked up with them?
Emily Abbate: I felt like I got called up to the majors today.
Emily Abbate: I'm healing a part of my inner child who may
Emily Abbate: have gotten picked close to last in middle school. Last
Emily Abbate: year when we were at this relay, I expressed my
Emily Abbate: interest in being part of the group and I got
Emily Abbate: the call and I said, " Lucky me. "
Rob: That's pretty awesome.
Emily Abbate: Honored to be here with them today.
Meb Keflezighi: Community is important. What is the one thing that you wish
Meb Keflezighi: people knew about it?
Emily Abbate: Yeah. I mean, community is important regardless of where you
Emily Abbate: go, but here in the running community, whether we're talking about
Emily Abbate: Boston, whether we're talking about back where I come from
Emily Abbate: in New York City, I know that it is the
Emily Abbate: thing that can really help you elevate to the next
Emily Abbate: level. And I'm not just talking about performance. I'm talking
Emily Abbate: about the opportunity to believe in yourself, to go further,
Emily Abbate: to conquer your hurdles, and that's really where community comes
Emily Abbate: in the clutch.
Meb Keflezighi: Well, you're talking about belief. Who surprised you from the believe (inaudible)
Meb Keflezighi: today? Who surprised you the most?
Emily Abbate: Who surprised me? Oh, man. I mean, we're all having
Emily Abbate: this track hack right now. I saw the Megs as
Emily Abbate: we call them. The Megs really crushed it out there today.
Rob: I love it. Emily, thanks for coming in and joining us.
Rob: Good luck getting ready for New York.
Emily Abbate: Appreciate that.
Rob: You got a goal?
Emily Abbate: I mean, we'll find out. Time will tell.
Rob: I Like it. Very cool. Very smart. Emily Abbate.
Meb Keflezighi: Have fun.
Emily Abbate: Thanks, Rob. Thanks guys. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 11: Peloton's most advanced tread yet is here. The new Peloton cross-
Speaker 11: training series, Tread+, powered by Peloton IQ. Designed for runners
Speaker 11: who want top tier performance, it features premium hardware that
Speaker 11: makes every run and workout more efficient, effective, and motivating.
Speaker 11: And it accelerates your personal growth mile after mile. The
Speaker 11: rubberized slap belt cushions every single step and creates an
Speaker 11: energizing running space for each stride. And with strength workouts,
Speaker 11: you can stack right into your routine. You'll build lower
Speaker 11: body muscle to support stronger runs. With auto incline adjusting
Speaker 11: automatically to match instructor queues, your intensity stays exactly where
Speaker 11: it needs to be, so you can stay in the
Speaker 11: zone and focus on your workout. Experience our most advanced
Speaker 11: tread yet at onepeloton. com. Peloton, the official digital fitness
Speaker 11: partner of New York Road Runners.
Rob: Our next guest is Matt Prichard, who's a reporter for
Rob: a local NBC station here in Boston, covers politics, but
Rob: today he's out there tearing up this track at New
Rob: Balance. How was your run out there?
Matt Prichard: It was great. I mean, normally I do more distance
Matt Prichard: runs, so having to do sort of a sprint style
Matt Prichard: race is a little bit different, but thought I put up
Matt Prichard: a good time. Hopefully I helped my team out.
Rob: You ran Boston last year. Was that your first time
Rob: running it?
Matt Prichard: First time. Did it for charity for Boston Medical Center, $
Matt Prichard: 11,000 raised. So meaningful, and of course the race itself,
Matt Prichard: just the opportunity to do it, just incredible.
Rob: Yeah. Can you talk as someone who's involved here in the
Rob: Boston community, a reporter for a local station, talk about
Rob: what this race means to Boston. We know how much
Rob: the TCS New York City Marathon means to New York,
Rob: but in Boston, it's not just a race. It's not
Rob: just a day. It's a holiday.
Matt Prichard: It is. And it is a state holiday too. It's
Matt Prichard: Patriots Day. It's Marathon Monday. It's the Red Sox game
Matt Prichard: coming out into the streets to cheer on all the
Matt Prichard: runners going by. This is literally woven into the fabric
Matt Prichard: of Boston. People love the race here. They take the
Matt Prichard: day off to take part in it. And of course,
Matt Prichard: we all know we're marking 13 years since the Boston
Matt Prichard: Marathon bombing that took place. Boston Strong grew out of
Matt Prichard: that. This city sort of gained a whole new identity
Matt Prichard: in that moment. It was already a strong city to
Matt Prichard: begin with, strong personalities. It got even more so. So
Matt Prichard: when you talk about the Boston Marathon around here, if
Matt Prichard: you run it's iconic and everybody wants to do it.
Rob: No one will ever forget that terrible incident in 2013,
Rob: the days that followed that, the police action, the apprehension
Rob: of the perpetrators, it's just a period that no one
Rob: will ever forget. And when we come around to the
Rob: Boston Marathon every year, how does that still play a
Rob: role in making this an important event for Boston?
Matt Prichard: What's so interesting is we have one Boston day, which
Matt Prichard: happens a few days usually prior to the race, where
Matt Prichard: we see all of our city leaders, family members that
Matt Prichard: were impacted by it, the victim's family members, all coming
Matt Prichard: out on Boylston Street, walking by the memorial where all
Matt Prichard: this happens. So it's truly something that we mark every
Matt Prichard: single year, and then it's time to celebrate when Marathon
Matt Prichard: Monday comes around and everyone just gets gassed up for
Matt Prichard: the marathon itself.
Rob: What do you think is a story this year about
Rob: the marathon that you think people are getting rallied around?
Rob: Every year there are different interesting stories about people running about the
Rob: city. Maybe it's the weather some years. What do you
Rob: think is going to make this year's marathon special?
Matt Prichard: Yeah, it's a great question. I mean, I think every
Matt Prichard: year I'm stunned at how much money comes across that
Matt Prichard: finish line in charitable donations. I saw it happen last
Matt Prichard: year. I know a lot of minimums went up this
Matt Prichard: year, so I imagine the total will go up as well.
Rob: And it's really interesting, Matt, because I feel like that's
Rob: become such a focus of this event. Maybe it wasn't
Rob: in years past. The Boston Marathon had a history of
Rob: being for fast runners. You had to qualify to get
Rob: in, and most runners still do qualify. But I feel
Rob: like the focus and the emphasis on charity is getting
Rob: bigger and bigger every year.
Matt Prichard: It absolutely is. And a lot of people, I think,
Matt Prichard: like to say charitable runners, maybe they didn't quite earn
Matt Prichard: their way in because they didn't qualify with time. But
Matt Prichard: I'm just saying, raising thousands and thousands of dollars while
Matt Prichard: simultaneously training for a marathon, when many of these folks,
Matt Prichard: maybe this is their first time attempting to run a
Matt Prichard: marathon. They just wanted to raise for Boston Children's or
Matt Prichard: Boston Medical Center or whatever it might be. That is
Matt Prichard: a huge challenge. And if they can make it to
Matt Prichard: the starting line on Marathon Monday, they've earned it in
Matt Prichard: their own way. Of course, we all know if you
Matt Prichard: got there with time, you're freaking your own right and
Matt Prichard: we respect the heck out of it.
Rob: Yeah. Jack Fleming, the head of the Boston Marathon just
Rob: told us last night, they've already crossed over $ 50 million
Rob: raised for charity this year.
Matt Prichard: Wow. Yeah. I mean, it's just, like I said, every single year
Matt Prichard: it's amazing what people can accomplish and what this race
Matt Prichard: has become nationally, internationally. And yes, to the Boston community,
Matt Prichard: it matters. Every dollar really matters.
Rob: Well, I'm sure it was nice for you to get
Rob: a break from covering politics.
Matt Prichard: That's why I run. I just need to let it
Matt Prichard: all out on the track. Exactly-
Rob: ... From the political talks to come out and run. So
Rob: great to meet you. Thanks for joining us.
Matt Prichard: Good to meet you too. Thanks for having me.
Rob: Matt Prichard. Well, look who's here. It's Tyler Swartz, the
Rob: CEO and founder of the Endorphins Running Club, one of the
Rob: biggest run clubs in New York, really in the world.
Rob: How is it, Tyler? How you doing?
Tyler Swartz: I'm doing so great. How are you doing?
Rob: I'm doing great. I didn't just have to run a
Rob: mile around this track. I think you did.
Tyler Swartz: I didn't run. I'm saving my legs for (inaudible) -
Rob: ... For Monday.
Tyler Swartz: Monday. Let's go.
Rob: Your first ever Boston marathon.
Tyler Swartz: Correct.
Rob: Coming up on Monday. How are you feeling?
Tyler Swartz: I'm so freaking excited. I'm from Boston. I grew up
Tyler Swartz: in the suburbs of Massachusetts. I've gone to the Boston
Tyler Swartz: Marathon since as a little kid, as youngest, since the
Tyler Swartz: earliest days of my memory. I've watched it. I would
Tyler Swartz: go to the Red Sox game. It's always a day game.
Rob: Yep.
Tyler Swartz: And then it leaks out into the last couple miles
Tyler Swartz: and I would watch every single year. And then my
Tyler Swartz: senior year of high school, it was 2013 and the
Tyler Swartz: Boston bombings obviously happened, which is a tragic event and
Tyler Swartz: I got locked down and I said, " I'm going to
Tyler Swartz: run this race one day," and that catapulted my running journey.
Rob: That's incredible. It must be so huge for you to
Rob: have this moment. And before that moment, all that you've
Rob: done for the running community, all these runners you've created
Rob: and nurtured through your running club, what do you think
Rob: your emotions are going to be out there in Hopkinton
Rob: at the start of the Boston Marathon?
Tyler Swartz: I've been thinking about what that feeling could be like and
Tyler Swartz: I don't think I'll understand until I go through it.
Tyler Swartz: I'm emotional now sitting here talking to you. I'm emotional
Tyler Swartz: seeing everyone running. I'm emotional watching people do the 5K
Tyler Swartz: this morning. I'm getting emotional. I did kind of break
Tyler Swartz: down tearing up thinking this is something ... I had back
Tyler Swartz: surgery three years ago I was supposed to run. Two years
Tyler Swartz: ago, I had Lyme disease, couldn't run. The year before,
Tyler Swartz: two weeks before the Boston Marathon, I tore my Achilles
Tyler Swartz: and ruptured it, full surgery, couldn't run. And I still
Tyler Swartz: came and showed up and gave everything that I could and
Tyler Swartz: supported runners. Boston Marathon, as much as it is about
Tyler Swartz: the Miles, it's more about showing up when it's hard
Tyler Swartz: to. It's about that grit. This is a gritty race
Tyler Swartz: and I'm so excited.
Rob: I'm excited for you.
Tyler Swartz: I'm so pumped.
Rob: Make sure you follow this guy because this is going
Rob: to be a great story-
Tyler Swartz: ... 29, 995. I think I might be one of the
Tyler Swartz: last bibs. I'm so excited. If you see me and
Tyler Swartz: if you cheer for me, I will cheer back. I'm
Tyler Swartz: going to be taking it all in. It's going to
Tyler Swartz: be awesome.
Rob: I love it. You got a team that's out here
Rob: running this marathon relay.
Tyler Swartz: Correct.
Rob: Who's on the team? How'd you put it together?
Tyler Swartz: One thing that's really special about Endorphins, we're one of
Tyler Swartz: the largest running communities in the world. We have just
Tyler Swartz: about 100,000 members now, which is insane.
Rob: Amazing.
Tyler Swartz: If we roll back the tape to when we first
Tyler Swartz: did the podcast together, it's probably close to 25,000.
Rob: Yes. You're brand new.
Tyler Swartz: And we're still just getting started. We have something really
Tyler Swartz: cool. We have a global impact. So we have a group
Tyler Swartz: here in Boston that meets 150 times a year, but
Tyler Swartz: then we have groups everywhere across the country that meet.
Tyler Swartz: So we have 13 runners from Boston, and then we chose 13
Tyler Swartz: runners that represent the rest of our communities from across
Tyler Swartz: the country, and they flew in for this event.
Rob: Wow.
Tyler Swartz: Yeah. So we have 26 runners from all across the country.
Rob: That is fantastic. You guys have a relationship with New
Rob: Balance as well?
Tyler Swartz: Correct.
Rob: So that's a part of your being here too.
Tyler Swartz: New Balance has empowered so many relationships and friendships and
Tyler Swartz: fostered so many connections through our partnership. When we sat
Tyler Swartz: down in this very building or the building across the
Tyler Swartz: street and we talked about what the future of running
Tyler Swartz: and social running could look like, we didn't actually talk
Tyler Swartz: about moving your feet or miles. We talked about making
Tyler Swartz: friends through the sport and New Balance has empowered so
Tyler Swartz: many different friendships through our partnership and we're going to be doing it for
Tyler Swartz: many more years to come.
Rob: I look at you and people like you who made
Rob: this decision at some point to quit a corporate job,
Rob: which I know you did. You felt like you wanted to
Rob: do something in this running space. You created this incredible
Rob: community at Endorphins and now look at it. I mean,
Rob: when you look back at that decision you made, which
Rob: I'm sure a lot of people, maybe had some parents
Rob: or others who thought you were nuts, how has this
Rob: all happened for you?
Tyler Swartz: I like to say when you align your energy with
Tyler Swartz: your heart, you feel endorphins. And I was working a
Tyler Swartz: corporate job and I was putting all of my energy
Tyler Swartz: into it, but my heart wasn't in it. And the
Tyler Swartz: second that I aligned my energy with my heart, I
Tyler Swartz: felt like I found purpose in life. And they always
Tyler Swartz: tell you to do what you love. I'm living that out
Tyler Swartz: and it's the coolest thing. Every single day I wake
Tyler Swartz: up and I say, " I can't wait for what's going
Tyler Swartz: to come today." And I think I approach every relationship
Tyler Swartz: with that energy, every conversation with that energy. And I'm
Tyler Swartz: just so pumped. I'm pumped up.
Rob: I am so pumped for you. I cannot wait to
Rob: see you how it goes for you on Monday.
Tyler Swartz: Thank you.
Rob: Best of luck at the Boston Marathon.
Tyler Swartz: Thank you, bro. That's awesome.
Rob: Congratulations. Great to see you.
Tyler Swartz: Great to see you too.
Rob: Next up, a couple of my colleagues from New York
Rob: Road Runners to my right. You know this guy, Ted
Rob: Metellus. He's the chief event production officer and the race
Rob: director of the TCS New York City Marathon. And to my left,
Rob: Ben Delaney, our head of coaching. Gentlemen, you both just
Rob: ran legs out there for New York Road Runners. Ted,
Rob: I'll start with you. How was it?
Ted Metellus: It was a good time. It was a good time. You
Ted Metellus: know why it was a good time?
Rob: (inaudible) a good time.
Ted Metellus: It was both. It was fun time and good time.
Ted Metellus: Nice. Because you know why, Rob? It wasn't a fast time.
Rob: I love it. Ben, how about your leg? How was it?
Ben Delaney: It was amazing. We did this run last year. They
Ben Delaney: do a great job here at the track at New
Ben Delaney: Balance. The energy here is infectious. You give it everything
Ben Delaney: you've got. It's a mile. It's hard, but man, it's
Ben Delaney: so fun and it's so great to be here.
Rob: Yeah. I think what's so great about this, Ted, is
Rob: it just brings people together. It's so much fun to
Rob: be on a team. You don't always get to do
Rob: that in running. Have teammates be out there supporting each
Rob: other and just supporting everybody out there. It's an intimate
Rob: setting and it's just a big, fat, giant party.
Ted Metellus: Oh, 100%. And the New Balance team does a great job
Ted Metellus: here of integrating food, drinks, music, and entertainment across the
Ted Metellus: board. And obviously nonstop action. The leaderboard is still up
Ted Metellus: there. People are still cheering on their runners. So they're doing
Ted Metellus: an amazing event here.
Rob: Ben, let's talk about Monday, the Boston Marathon. We got
Rob: a lot of New York folks running. We've got members,
Rob: we've got staff members at New York Road Runners. Of
Rob: course, we've got Team for Kids runners running as well. Tell
Rob: me about some of the folks that you have been
Rob: interacting with and talking to as they get ready to
Rob: take on Boston.
Ben Delaney: I've got over 40 people in my tracker on Monday.
Ben Delaney: People doing Boston for the first time, doing Boston for
Ben Delaney: the second or third time, getting their sixth star. And
Ben Delaney: again, it's just the infectious (inaudible) of running, and what
Ben Delaney: we do is that they get to come out, they're
Ben Delaney: going to be there. And to know that we're going
Ben Delaney: to be there and we're cheering them on means everything
Ben Delaney: to them. And so, I mean, why would not want
Ben Delaney: to be BB there? I talked to a guy, he's
Ben Delaney: got three six star medals and he's going to get
Ben Delaney: his fourth in London next week. And I was like, "
Ben Delaney: Why do you keep coming back?" He's like, " Because I
Ben Delaney: get to do this. I'm able to do it." And
Ben Delaney: I'm like, " Oh, come on. How can we not get
Ben Delaney: excited about that?" And just be like, " I will see
Ben Delaney: you on Monday. I want to give you a high five,
Ben Delaney: get a picture." And to hear their stories, everything from, " I
Ben Delaney: do it for myself, I do it for my mom,
Ben Delaney: my dad, I do it for a charity." All of
Ben Delaney: our Team for Kids runners are raising money for our
Ben Delaney: youth and community events. It's really a special moment to
Ben Delaney: be there and to see their smile and let them have
Ben Delaney: their moment and hear their story.
Rob: Yeah. And Ted, you always do such a great job at
Rob: the finish line in Boston and the other majors. People
Rob: love seeing you at that finish line, especially New Yorkers.
Rob: What does it mean for you to be there supporting folks
Rob: from our community in New York when they cross finish
Rob: lines like the one in Boston?
Ted Metellus: Well, I mean, it's first and foremost, it's going to be 1, 700 runners getting their sixth
Ted Metellus: star in Boston, 1, 700. And many of them have ... Well,
Ted Metellus: all of them have run the TCS New York City Marathon.
Rob: That's right.
Ted Metellus: That's one, but many of them are part of our
Ted Metellus: New York Road Runners community. So when I have the
Ted Metellus: opportunity to run other races in other places, to see
Ted Metellus: people out there cheering me on and supporting me, seeing a
Ted Metellus: familiar face means so much. So we get to do
Ted Metellus: the same thing for them. Seeing them on the course,
Ted Metellus: welcome them at the finish line, being there to celebrate
Ted Metellus: that moment, whether it is a six star finisher for
Ted Metellus: the (inaudible) World Marathon majors or accomplishing the 100th and 30th
Ted Metellus: running of the Boston Marathon.
Rob: It's incredible. Ted, you just had a run of your
Rob: own in Berlin. You ran the half- marathon there not
Rob: long ago. How are those likes feeling out there today?
Ted Metellus: Well, you're talking about me running my 50th half- marathon, which
Ted Metellus: was like-
Rob: Pretty impressive.
Ted Metellus: Two and a half, three weeks ago versus me running
Ted Metellus: today's BA 5K this morning, which you ran as well.
Rob: Yes.
Ted Metellus: And so did you coach. So we're running on weaker legs
Ted Metellus: after running that, but it was awesome. Today's run was so
Ted Metellus: great, such great energy, connecting with partners, friends, and colleagues.
Ted Metellus: And again, tons of folks that are out there cheering us on.
Ted Metellus: So it is, as you said, we get to do
Ted Metellus: this. It's really beautiful to be able to say we
Ted Metellus: are a part of a community that is so infectious, but
Ted Metellus: so inspiring.
Rob: And Ben, you are training people all year long for
Rob: events like this with our group training program. We got
Rob: a lot of folks in that program or TFK out
Rob: here and you've run Boston yourself. Talk about the challenge
Rob: of the Boston Marathon. And a lot of folks I
Rob: know say it's either New York or Boston is the
Rob: hardest one to take on. Which do you think is harder?
Ben Delaney: Yeah, they're both equally challenging. Boston kind of baits you
Ben Delaney: early because you have that 10K start, which is a
Ben Delaney: rolling downhill and you're like, " I'm feeling good." You look
Ben Delaney: at your watch, you're like, " Hey, I'm under race pace.
Ben Delaney: I can go today." And then Wellesley College, the students
Ben Delaney: are out there, they're cheering you on and that's just
Ben Delaney: like an amazing energy push. And then later in that
Ben Delaney: race, kind of like at our race, we have some
Ben Delaney: challenges here in Boston that really will test you. But
Ben Delaney: if you can get yourself over Heartbreak in one piece,
Ben Delaney: unfortunately, I did not in 2024, but hey, that's running, man.
Ben Delaney: That's just how it is. It's my day. It wasn't my
Ben Delaney: day. But man, BU carries you through. You run by Fenway.
Ben Delaney: You go by the Boston Strong Bridge, right at Hereford,
Ben Delaney: left on Boylston. Outside of Inner Central Park, Outer Central
Ben Delaney: Park, coming to Central Park, it's some of the most
Ben Delaney: iconic moments in running, and there's nothing like it. And I
Ben Delaney: tell people, " No matter what your day is like, don't
Ben Delaney: let the moment slide by. Soak it in, look up,
Ben Delaney: take it all in. I don't care if it's a
Ben Delaney: good day or a bad day, you got to do
Ben Delaney: it and you got to a finish line." And if
Ben Delaney: you can do that, there's nothing like it.
Rob: That's their theme in Boston. Meet the moment. Meet the
Rob: moment. So we're going to see 30, 000 folks try to
Rob: meet the moment on Monday. It'd be a lot of
Rob: fun. Ben, Ted, great to have you guys. Thanks for
Rob: joining me. Next up is my boss, the chair of
Rob: the New York Road Runners Board of Directors, and someone
Rob: who knows a little bit about running on indoor tracks
Rob: at All American at Villanova, indoors as well as outdoors
Rob: and cross country. It's Nnenna Lynch. Nnenna, how are you?
Nnenna Lynch: I'm doing great, especially now that my mile is over.
Rob: Yes. You were out there crushing it for team NYRR.
Rob: How was it out there? How'd it feel?
Nnenna Lynch: It was actually quite a bit of fun. I haven't run
Nnenna Lynch: on an indoor track for, I want to say over 30
Nnenna Lynch: years. So I have to say I was a little bit nervous,
Nnenna Lynch: but no, it was a ton of fun.
Rob: Wow. That's amazing actually that you ... So basically not since college.
Nnenna Lynch: Yes, not since college.
Rob: That's incredible.
Nnenna Lynch: Yeah.
Rob: I had never done it before when I ran this
Rob: last year. And I have to say, there's something really
Rob: unique about it. I was talking about this before, which
Rob: feels longer to you. Running a mile outdoors, four laps,
Rob: or running indoors eight laps?
Nnenna Lynch: I have to say, I thought it was going to
Nnenna Lynch: feel really long today, but it felt really short. So I'm going to
Nnenna Lynch: go with indoor.
Rob: That's so interesting.
Nnenna Lynch: Something about, you clip off these 200 meters and it just keeps you
Nnenna Lynch: ticking off.
Rob: Yeah, they fly by. I think it's the energy that's
Rob: so special about this. You're not just out there running in
Rob: a quiet gym. The music, the energy, the spectators, you
Rob: don't get a chance to do that very often.
Nnenna Lynch: No, that's true. I mean, the energy here is really phenomenal.
Rob: So you're back in Boston. This is obviously one of
Rob: the great events on the running calendar every year. What does
Rob: it mean for you to come up here and just
Rob: be a part of the Boston Marathon?
Nnenna Lynch: Well, Boston is one of the majors and we have
Nnenna Lynch: a great relationship with the BAA and obviously New Balance,
Nnenna Lynch: one of our partners. So it's just great to see
Nnenna Lynch: the Boston Marathon, the team, and then New Balance in
Nnenna Lynch: action. I mean, they've done such a phenomenal job with
Nnenna Lynch: this event, activation with friends, family, because Boston tracks, what is it? 30,
Nnenna Lynch: 000 runners.
Rob: That's right.
Nnenna Lynch: But you have all their friends and family and teammates.
Nnenna Lynch: It's such a great idea to do an event like this.
Rob: People ask me when I tell them I'm coming to
Rob: Boston for the Boston Marathon, a lot of New Yorkers
Rob: ask me, why? Why are you going to Boston? That's
Rob: not your marathon. And I get the New York Boston
Rob: rivalry as much as anyone, but there is something special
Rob: about this event because it's got an intimacy to it.
Rob: Boston is a smaller town. Everybody's kind of concentrated in
Rob: the same area around the hotels and the convention center.
Rob: And you kind of see everybody. It feels like a homecoming.
Nnenna Lynch: No, it totally does. Yeah. I love the way that the
Nnenna Lynch: whole setup is, you get to bump into old friends and that
Nnenna Lynch: sort of thing. But you know what I love most
Nnenna Lynch: about it this year?
Rob: What's that?
Nnenna Lynch: That I'm not running.
Rob: I wasn't going to ask about that, but let's talk
Rob: about that. You took this race on last year.
Nnenna Lynch: Oh, man.
Rob: And we had just run Tokyo.
Nnenna Lynch: That's right.
Rob: And I remember when you told me you were running Boston
Rob: after running Tokyo, I was like, God bless you and
Rob: good luck. And I mean, we were just talking with Ben
Rob: Delaney and Ted about how hard the Boston Marathon is.
Nnenna Lynch: It was very hard. Yeah. No, I don't know what
Nnenna Lynch: I was thinking, honestly, but I was like, " Okay, well,
Nnenna Lynch: I'm going to do all that marathon training for Tokyo.
Nnenna Lynch: I might as well just tick off Boston."
Rob: Which makes sense. And you did and you got it
Rob: done. I know it was a little painful. Heartbreak Hill
Rob: broke your heart a little bit as it does. It's
Rob: got that name for a reason.
Nnenna Lynch: Yeah, no, it was not a little painful, Rob. It
Nnenna Lynch: was a lot painful. But you know what? I did
Nnenna Lynch: it. No, and it was a great experience because that's the
Nnenna Lynch: thing is in our business, there is nothing like doing
Nnenna Lynch: the event to really appreciate what it's all about. So
Nnenna Lynch: I'm glad I did it.
Rob: What do you think is next for you on the
Rob: running side of things? Any goals?
Nnenna Lynch: Oh my gosh, putting me on the spot. Come on, Rob. Actually, no, I
Nnenna Lynch: don't have any goals. I'm not signed ... You know what
Nnenna Lynch: I'll probably do? The MasterCard Mini.
Rob: Oh, nice.
Nnenna Lynch: I'd like to try and do that. Our oldest women's race in
Nnenna Lynch: the U.S. and probably in the world actually, started in 1972.
Rob: Yes.
Nnenna Lynch: Great 10K. I run five days a week, but what
Nnenna Lynch: I do, I would not consider training. So we'll see.
Rob: And we've got so many New Yorkers here running this
Rob: race. We've got New York Road Runners members. A bunch
Rob: of them were over at the Red Sox game. We
Rob: had a little member routing for folks this afternoon. We've
Rob: got all these Team for Kids runners here as well.
Rob: So it's special for us at Road Runners to see
Rob: all the New Yorkers who are up here. Pilgrims in
Rob: an unholy land, as I call New Yorkers in Boston.
Rob: But what is it like for you? What does it mean
Rob: to see all the Road Runners folks up here taking
Rob: on Boston?
Nnenna Lynch: Well, it's just a great ... We have an amazing running community in New
Nnenna Lynch: York. We know that is so rich, so vibrant, and
Nnenna Lynch: folks like to get out and do their things. So it's
Nnenna Lynch: fantastic. And the team, I have to say, does a
Nnenna Lynch: great job of really creating some special events. We have
Nnenna Lynch: our TFK brunch tomorrow for the runners. So it's really
Nnenna Lynch: phenomenal to see.
Rob: It's awesome. Great to have you here. Thanks for representing
Rob: NYR out there. You did a great job. Nnenna Lynch, our
Rob: board chair. Next up, we've got two Meaghans with us.
Rob: I've never interviewed two Meaghans at one time before. Meaghan
Rob: Murray from Believe in the Run and Meghann Featherstun, who's a
Rob: sports dietician and the founder of Featherstun Nutrition. Great to
Rob: have you guys out here.
Meaghan Murray: Thanks for having us.
Rob: How was the mile run? What was that like? You guys
Rob: are both very, very fast runners, both sub three PRs
Rob: in the marathon. So you're no joke. What was it like out
Rob: there trying to throw it down for a mile?
Meaghan Murray: Well, the funny thing about that is that I only
Meaghan Murray: have one speed. So whether I'm running the marathon or
Meaghan Murray: the mile, they're not that different. But no, this event
Meaghan Murray: is so fun. And we talked about it. The inaugural
Meaghan Murray: event last year was like the highlight of Boston Marathon
Meaghan Murray: weekend. And again, this year, it's just so much fun.
Meaghan Murray: The entire time you're doing laps, you're getting cheered for.
Meaghan Murray: So yeah, I mean, it's just the most fun.
Meghann Featherstun: And I grew up playing sports that required a ball.
Meghann Featherstun: I was never a runner. So that was the first
Meghann Featherstun: time I ever stepped foot on a track was here
Meghann Featherstun: last year.
Rob: Wow.
Meghann Featherstun: I never run just a mile. Much like the other
Meghann Featherstun: Meg, I don't really have many very fast paces, so it's
Meghann Featherstun: really fun to get out there.
Rob: How did you go from playing sports that involved a ball
Rob: to running a sub three marathon?
Meghann Featherstun: Once you get older, it's like, I need a challenge.
Meghann Featherstun: I need something to look forward to, something to challenge
Meghann Featherstun: in my body. And I was like, " I guess we run now."
Rob: And that's what you do. And you do it pretty well. Tell me about the Believe
Rob: in the Run team that you had out here.
Meaghan Murray: Yeah. So Believe in the Run is basically a media
Meaghan Murray: company. We love running shoes. We nerd out on them,
Meaghan Murray: write reviews about them. So we assembled an amazing team,
Meaghan Murray: a bunch of local runners from Baltimore, and then also
Meaghan Murray: just some of our friends in the industry. Yeah, so it was
Meaghan Murray: an epic crew. I think we're about to finish actually.
Meaghan Murray: Our last person's out right now.
Rob: I love it. I love it. Meghann Featherstun, you're a nutritionist.
Rob: Do you have some folks out there who you had helped
Rob: get ready for the Boston Marathon?
Meghann Featherstun: I have, and it was so exciting because I'm a
Meghann Featherstun: big fan of carb loading before you run a marathon. Improves
Meghann Featherstun: our performance like 4% for us peons. And I'm looking
Meghann Featherstun: around and the girl next to me has a thing
Meghann Featherstun: of graham crackers, the girl next to her is eating
Meghann Featherstun: a just plain old bagel and they are carb loading,
Meghann Featherstun: getting ready for Monday. It was wonderful to see.
Rob: I love it. They're following the advice.
Meghann Featherstun: Yep.
Rob: Is there anything special about the Boston Marathon that you train
Rob: people to be ready for from a nutrition point of view?
Meghann Featherstun: Yeah, there's two big things with nutrition for the Boston
Meghann Featherstun: Marathon. One is that it's a late start. So I
Meghann Featherstun: encourage people to eat twice beforehand so we're not starting
Meghann Featherstun: at lunchtime and our stomach is like, " It's lunchtime. I need fuel."
Rob: Yeah.
Meghann Featherstun: And then also strategically taking our nutrition on course so
Meghann Featherstun: that we're well fueled for the hills.
Rob: Yeah, it makes sense. That late start is something you
Rob: don't think about unless you run it. And you got people
Rob: starting at 11:00 noon.
Meghann Featherstun: Right. And our body's like, it's lunchtime and we're about to
Meghann Featherstun: go run a marathon.
Rob: 100%. I'm hungry just thinking about it.
Meghann Featherstun: Yeah.
Rob: And I'm not even running. It's crazy. Meaghan, but what
Rob: about you from all the shoes that you review, is
Rob: there a hot shoe that you feel, especially a New Balance
Rob: shoe maybe since we're in their house, that people are
Rob: running? What is it?
Meaghan Murray: This is the New Balance Elipse. The whole team got a
Meaghan Murray: pair. We all wore them for today's event and yeah,
Meaghan Murray: it looks good. It feels good.
Rob: We got to get a shot of the shoe. Do
Rob: we have the shoe in the shot? I want to
Rob: make sure people see this shoe. It's a great looking shoe.
Meaghan Murray: I think that's the thing is when they look good,
Meaghan Murray: they also feel good. So 10 out of 10.
Rob: So a lot of people taking that shoe out there
Rob: on Monday?
Meaghan Murray: So this is more of a daily trainer, less of a
Meaghan Murray: race day shoe.
Rob: What's the hottest New Balance racing shoe that people are
Rob: going to be running in on Monday?
Meaghan Murray: So the SC Elite V5.
Rob: Yes. I think I heard Emily Sisson say she was
Rob: running in that as well.
Meghann Featherstun: Oh, love that.
Rob: Or something like that.
Meaghan Murray: Yeah. It's one of my favorites. The newest iteration, got
Meaghan Murray: way lighter than the last one, so it's fast. It's
Meaghan Murray: snappy. It's great.
Rob: Meghann Featherstun, we talked about pre- race nutrition. What is
Rob: your favorite post- race meal?
Meghann Featherstun: Post- race meal, always with the Meg. And it's fries
Meghann Featherstun: and a burger. And I drink a bourbon or martini
Meghann Featherstun: and she always gets a martini.
Rob: I love it. I mean, if you're going to do
Rob: it, that's the time we do it.
Meghann Featherstun: We're doing it.
Rob: You earned it.
Meghann Featherstun: Right, exactly.
Rob: When you've done that.
Meghann Featherstun: Exactly.
Rob: We have a competition, a debate in our office about
Rob: best post- race meals. Burger and fries is always top
Rob: three. Pizza is always one. I oftentimes will go with
Rob: a big, I don't know, an omelet or something-
Meghann Featherstun: Something salty.
Rob: Salt is peak.
Meghann Featherstun: Yeah. Salty protein.
Rob: Yeah. So where are you guys going to be on Monday?
Meaghan Murray: Well, we're racing. We're both racing.
Rob: We'll be out there. And what are your goals? You guys have big
Rob: goals for the race?
Meghann Featherstun: Have the most fun possible.
Rob: Yes.
Meaghan Murray: And use the tailwind to our advantage.
Rob: And that's what they're talking about is a big tailwind.
Rob: What about you? PR in mind or just a good time?
Meaghan Murray: No PR. I want to run to the top of
Meaghan Murray: my fitness level, whatever that is on Monday.
Rob: I love it. I love it. I wish you guys luck
Rob: on Monday. Thanks for being with us. Hope you didn't
Rob: leave too much out there on the track today. I'm sure you didn't.
Meghann Featherstun: Thank you.
Rob: All right. Meghann and Meaghan, thanks for joining us. All right. That
Rob: does it for a super fun episode of Set the
Rob: Pace here from the track at New Balance in Boston
Rob: 2 days before the 130th running of the Boston Marathon. I
Rob: want to wish everybody out there who's running on Monday
Rob: all the best of luck. We're all rooting for you,
Rob: whether you're a New York Road Runners member, a Team for Kids
Rob: runner, whoever you are, have a great day. The weather
Rob: looks awesome. So hope you have a great, great race.
Rob: We'll see you all with our next episode. Enjoy the miles.
Rob: We'll see you next time.