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Justin Britt: The  hardest  thing  for  me  trying  to  get  through  my 

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Justin Britt: mental  struggles  was  finding  community.  I  didn't  start  running  to 

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Justin Britt: find  community,  but  what  I  found  is  the  running  community 

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Justin Britt: is  just  massive.  If  you're  struggling,  go  for  a  run 

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Justin Britt: and  sign  up  for  a 5K.

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Rob Simmelkjaer: Hey,  everybody,  and  welcome  to  Set  the  Pace,  the  official 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: podcast  of  New  York  Road  Runners  presented  by  Peloton.  I'm 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: your  host,  Rob  Simmelkjaer,  the  CEO  of  New  York  Road 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: Runners,  and  with  me,  my cohost,  Peloton  instructor,  Becs  Gentry.  Becs 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: coming  off  of  a  great  stint  in  the  broadcast  booth 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: for  United  Airlines  NYC  Half.  And  it  was  a  great  broadcast, Becs.

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Becs Gentry: Thank  you.

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Rob Simmelkjaer: It  was  a  great,  great  day  for  30, 229  runners.

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Becs Gentry: Wow,  official  number  there.  Ring  that  bell.  That  is  huge. 

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Becs Gentry: Oh  my  goodness.  It  was  a  beautiful  day.  So  much 

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Becs Gentry: to  talk  about.  We  were  reeling  in  the  broadcast  booth. 

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Becs Gentry: There  was  just  so  many  different  vibes  going  on  through 

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Becs Gentry: all  four  of  the  professional  races  and  then  into  the 

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Becs Gentry: everyday  runners.  It  was  beautiful.  It  was  one  of  those 

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Becs Gentry: true  runners  races.  Seeing  Agnes  Ngetich,  who  everybody  was  like, "

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Becs Gentry: Oh, is she going to  come  and  dominate  at  this  race?  She's  feeling  really 

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Becs Gentry: good.  She  started  so  strong."  And  then  seeing  or  hearing 

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Becs Gentry: Carrie  the  Olympian  and  so  much  experience  of  running  herself, 

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Becs Gentry: but  also  watching  through  commentating  of  how  people  are  performing. 

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Becs Gentry: She's  like, " She's  cold.  She's  cold.  She's  not  used  to 

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Becs Gentry: this.  She's  cold."
 And  the  powerhouse  or  the  caged  animal, 

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Becs Gentry: as  Carrie  described  her,  or  Hellen  Obiri's  coach  actually  described 

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Becs Gentry: her  as  this  energy  that  I'm  sure  Hellen  just  felt 

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Becs Gentry: in  that  moment,  Agnes  just  dropped  maybe  a  couple  of 

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Becs Gentry: seconds  off  the  pace  and  Hellen  went  for  it. And  I 

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Becs Gentry: think  something  similar  happened  in  the  men's  race.  For  both 

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Becs Gentry: wheelchair  races,  there  was  quite  a  distinctive  lead  for  the 

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Becs Gentry: winners  there,  but  it  was  still  so  magnificent.  And  each 

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Becs Gentry: of  those  runners  came  over  the  finish  line,  taking  their 

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Becs Gentry: claim  on  the  race  this  year  with  the  biggest  smiles 

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Becs Gentry: on  their  faces.  It  really  felt  like  it  meant  so 

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Becs Gentry: much  to  each of them in  a  very  different  way.  And  we  got 

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Becs Gentry: event  record,  which  is  huge.

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Rob Simmelkjaer: Yes,  it  was  absolutely  huge.  The  event  record  in  this 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: event,  because  the  course  has  changed  a  lot,  gets  set 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: more  often  than  one  might  think,  but  Hellen  Obiri-

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Becs Gentry: Yeah,  should  we  clarify  that?  Because  I  think  that  was 

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Becs Gentry: a  big  question  that  we  actually  had.  And  I've  been 

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Becs Gentry: asked  such  a  few  times  what it means.

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Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah,  event  record  covers  all  the  courses.

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Becs Gentry: Exactly,  not  a  course  record.

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Rob Simmelkjaer: So, it's not a  course  record,  it's  an  event  record.  So,  all  the 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: different  times  this  race  has  been  run,  Hellen  Obiri  now 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: holds  the  event  record  with  a  time  of  106: 33, 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: so  that  counts  for  all  of  the  history  of  this 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: event.  Obviously,  the  course  changes  year  to  year.  This  year 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: we  had...  Second  year  we  had  it  over  the  Brooklyn 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: Bridge,  a  little  less  elevation,  but  nonetheless,  it's  a  record 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: setting  performance  for  Hellen  Obiri, who,  let's  face  it,  is  now 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: truly  the  queen  of  New  York  City  distance  running.

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Becs Gentry: The  queen.  (inaudible) .

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Rob Simmelkjaer: She just  has  a  vibe  here.  She  comes  here.  She  has 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: the  confidence.  She  really  handles  a  variety  of  conditions  so  well.

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Becs Gentry: She does.

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Rob Simmelkjaer: She  has  run  races  and  won  in  cold  conditions,  in 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: warm  conditions,  in  variable  conditions.  She  just  has  a  way 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: of  adjusting  to  whatever  the  weather  is.  And  it  was 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: cold.  For  the  pro  runners,  they  never  got  above  40 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: degrees  in  their  run.  They  were  running in the  30s.  She  handled 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: it  well.  And  you're  right,  whether  it  was  Agnes,  whether 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: it  was  Sharon  Lokedi,  who  when  she  got  to  the 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: finish  line  on  Sunday,  I  was  there  to  greet  her 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: and  she  was  cold.  Even  at the  13.1  mile  mark,  they 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: were  cold,  so  that  definitely  was  a  factor  for  some 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: of  them.  But  tremendous  day  for  Hellen.  Five  American  women, 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: by  the  way,  finishing  in  the  top  10  on  Sunday, 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: so  a  great  day.

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Becs Gentry: All  kind  of  together  too,  which  was  really  lovely  to 

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Becs Gentry: see  from  Emily  Sisson  coming  in  sixth,  and  then  we 

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Becs Gentry: had  sixth,  seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth. It was really cool.

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Rob Simmelkjaer: Yes. It was  awesome  to  see.  So, a  good  day  for  them  as 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: well.  And  just  a  great  day  on  the  women's  side. 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: On  the  men's  side,  it  was  exciting  to  see  a 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: new  face  who  really  none  of  us  really  knew.  Our 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: professional  team  knows,  Sam  Grotewold  and  Dorian  know  the  pro 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: runners,  but  for  someone  like  me  who  kind  of  dips 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: in  and  out  of  following,  to  see  Adrian  Wildschutt,  I 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: think  I'm  pronouncing  it  right-

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Becs Gentry: (inaudible) .

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Rob Simmelkjaer: ...  from  South  Africa,  come  across  in  59:30,  the  first 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: ever  South  African  champion  of  this  event.  And it was  just  fun 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: to  see  a  new  face  do  well.  And  he  was 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: so  excited  and  felt  really  good  about  his  finish  in 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: what  must  have been, Becs, a very  exciting  men's  race  to  broadcast  because  there 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: were  so  many  of  them  together  for  so  long.

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Becs Gentry: The  pack  was  gigantic.  They  stayed  together  so  long.  Patrick 

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Becs Gentry: Kiprop  led  the  way  for  the  vast  majority  of  the 

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Becs Gentry: race.  And  it  was  very,  very...  It  almost  felt  planned 

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Becs Gentry: when  Adrian  just  took  off  because  yes,  okay,  we  had 

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Becs Gentry: Peter  Lynch,  Irish  guy  who  we  were  joking  like...  Of 

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Becs Gentry: course  he  took  the  lead  for  a  little  while,  we're  like, "

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Becs Gentry: He's  used  to  the  cold.  Come  on,  no  matter  where 

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Becs Gentry: he  trains,  he's  Irish  in  his  blood.  He  knows  the 

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Becs Gentry: cold  weather  well."  And  then  he  kind  of  stepped  back 

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Becs Gentry: and  then  Patrick  Dever,  Patrick  Kiprop  together  at  the  front. 

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Becs Gentry: And  yeah,  there  was  a  lot  of  changing  of  the 

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Becs Gentry: guards,  coming  and  going,  but  nobody  took  a  big  dive 

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Becs Gentry: forward.  We  had  Zouhair Talbi,  he  also  took  the  chance  to 

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Becs Gentry: step  forward,  but  it  really  wasn't  until  just  over  the 

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Becs Gentry: 10  mile  marker  that  Adrian  changed  gear.
 He  fully  changed 

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Becs Gentry: gear,  and  he  said  that  was  his  plan.  He  stuck 

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Becs Gentry: with  his  coach's  plan,  was  to  run  10  miles  strong 

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Becs Gentry: and  then  start  really  racing  at  10  miles.  And  he 

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Becs Gentry: said  he  felt  good.  And  he's  been  training  in  South 

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Becs Gentry: Africa  recently,  so  he's  just  coming  off  of  summer,  which 

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Becs Gentry: a  lot  of  the  professional  athletes  have  actually  gone,  even 

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Becs Gentry: if  they  are  based  in  the  likes  of  Flagstaff,  Boulder, 

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Becs Gentry: et  cetera,  and in  the  US  to  train,  they  may  have 

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Becs Gentry: gone  home  after  the  end  of  the  fall  season  here, 

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Becs Gentry: as  we  call  it,  to  warmer  climates,  to  be  with 

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Becs Gentry: family,  to  spend  time  in  different  training  environments  like  Iten. 

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Becs Gentry: And  coming  off  South  African  winter,  Adrian  was  saying  it 

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Becs Gentry: was  warm.  He's  used  to  training  in  80,  90  degrees... 

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Becs Gentry: Celsius?  Fahrenheit,  Fahrenheit.
 And  to  come  here,  as  you  say, 

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Becs Gentry: you're  racing  in the  30s,  but  I  said  on  the  broadcast, 

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Becs Gentry: one  minute  he  had  this  gigantic  hat  on  that  was 

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Becs Gentry: almost  covering  his  eyes  and  it  looked  so  warm  and 

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Becs Gentry: wonderful,  and  then  all  of  a  sudden  it  came  off 

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Becs Gentry: and  I  said  to  Carrie  and  Ryan, " Oh,  the  hat's 

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Becs Gentry: off.  He  means  business  now."  And  then  within,  he  was 

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Becs Gentry: gone.  He  was  off  on  his  way.  So,  I  do 

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Becs Gentry: think  a  lot  of  these  races  were  very  well  executed 

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Becs Gentry: from  a  coaching  and  a  runner  perspective  over  the  weekend, 

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Becs Gentry: and  proof's  in  the  pudding  in  those  times.  He  was 

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Becs Gentry: incredibly  close  to  the  event  record  for  the  men's  side  too.

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Rob Simmelkjaer: Super  impressive.  Congratulations  to  him.  In  the  wheelchair  races,  it 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: was  your  country  woman,  Eden  Rainbow  Cooper,  winning  the  women's 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: wheelchair  race in  a  time  of 54: 27  from  the  UK.

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Becs Gentry: Fantastic.

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Rob Simmelkjaer: And  another  really  positive  story  on  the  men's  side,  Daniel 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: Romanchuk,  coming  back  from  the  injury  he  suffered  in  the 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: crash  that  he  was  involved  in in  the  Sydney  Marathon,  comes 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: back  and  wins  his  third  United  Airlines  NYC  Half  title 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: as  well.

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Becs Gentry: So  good  to  see.

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Rob Simmelkjaer: Was  great  to  see  that  win  as  well.  You  could 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: tell  it  meant  a  lot  to  him.

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Becs Gentry: It  really  did.  And  it  was  such  an  unfortunate  incident 

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Becs Gentry: at  Sydney  when  a  spectator  just  came  onto  the  course 

145
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Becs Gentry: and  it  tipped  Daniel  over  and  he  took  an  injury 

146
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Becs Gentry: to  his,  I  believe,  shoulder  and  collarbone  area  quite  badly. 

147
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Becs Gentry: So,  he  spent  the  last  six  months  or  so  recovering, 

148
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Becs Gentry: rebuilding.  He  also has  just  come  from  Florida,  so  he  was 

149
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Becs Gentry: also  in the warmth  and  training  on  the  roads  down  there  in 

150
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Becs Gentry: Florida  before  this  race.  So,  it  was  so  great  to 

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Becs Gentry: see  him.  He  also  mentioned  his...  I  think  it  was 

152
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Becs Gentry: his  sister  and  brother- in- law  also  ran  the  race 

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Becs Gentry: today,  so  really,  truly  a  family  affair  of  celebration  for the 

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Becs Gentry: Romanchuk  crew  this  weekend.

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Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah,  it  was  really  great  to  see. On the  other  side,  the 

156
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Rob Simmelkjaer: nonprofessional  side,  we  had  our  fourth  Commissioner's  Cup.  This,  of 

157
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Rob Simmelkjaer: course, is  a  competition  among  the  various  agencies  of  the  City 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: of  New  York,  all  the  folks  that  we  work  with 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: year  in  and  year  out  to  help  put  on  this 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: race  and  the  marathon  and  many  others.  And  the  NYPD, 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: the  police  continued  their  dominance  in  the  Commissioner's  Cup.

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Becs Gentry: They've  won so many of them.

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Rob Simmelkjaer: Yep.  They  won  their  fourth  straight,  defeating  the  six  other 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: agencies,  including  the  Mayor's  Office,  so  congrats  again  to  the 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: NYPD  on  retaining  that  Commissioner's  Cup.  These  other  agencies  are 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: going  to  have  to  start  recruiting  for  speed  because-

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Becs Gentry: They  are.

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Rob Simmelkjaer: ...  yeah,  the  NYPD,  they  are  on  it.  They  are 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: really  a  great  group  of athletes.

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Becs Gentry: They  truly... There was a lot of  MYPD  runners  coming  over  that  line  early  on, 

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Becs Gentry: I  will  say.  And  I  know  they  get  the  VIP 

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Becs Gentry: start  as  well,  so  they  do  start  earlier,  but  still, 

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Becs Gentry: there's  nothing  to  take  away  from  the  time  and  the 

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Becs Gentry: effort  and  the  energy  that  they  put  in  to  run 

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Becs Gentry: those  fast  splits  on  Sunday,  so  congratulations  to  them.

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Rob Simmelkjaer: Absolutely.

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Becs Gentry: And  then  the  kids  race.  We  had  the  beautiful  Brittany 

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Becs Gentry: Bell  covering  that  on  the  broadcast  team  with  over  1500 

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Becs Gentry: little...  Well,  not  so little.  It's  two  through...

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Rob Simmelkjaer: Two to  18,  yes.

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Becs Gentry: 18,  yeah.

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Rob Simmelkjaer: So,  we got  a  nice  broad  spectrum  of  youth.  The  older 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: kids  from  12 to 18,  they  run  a  mile-

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Becs Gentry: A full mile,  yeah.

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Rob Simmelkjaer: ...  out  and  back  on  7th  Avenue  right  in  the 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: middle  of  Times  Square.  And  then  the  little  ones  run, 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: could  be  as  little  as  like  a  50- yard  dash, 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: but  it's  adorable.  It's  a  great  event.  And  it's  just 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: tremendous  to  shut  down  Times  Square  for  both  the  adult 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: runners  coming  through,  the  kids  doing  their  thing. And then  that  moment 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: where  you've  got  the  leaders  and  the  adults in  the  first 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: wave  running  right  alongside  the  kids  in  Times  Square,  one 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: of  the  things  that  really  makes  this  event  special.  So, 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: congratulations  to  all  finishers,  adults  and  childs.  It  was  a 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: great,  great  day  at  the  United  Airlines  NYC  Half.  Well, 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: Becs,  as  we  just  mentioned,  five  American  women  finished in  the 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: top  10  on  Sunday,  including  today's  guest,  10th  place  finisher, 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: Emily  Venters.
 But  Emily  had  another  role  on  race  day 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: as  well.  She  was  coaching  former  NFL  player  Justin  Britt 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: through  this  very  same  race.  That's  right.  They  became  a 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: coach  student  pair  a  little  while  ago.  In  just  a 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: minute,  we're  going  to  talk  with  both  of  them  about 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: their  partnership,  how  it  came  about,  and  what  happens  when 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: a  football  player  learns  endurance  running  from  a  professional  distance  runner.

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Becs Gentry: Peloton  is  taking  running  and  race  tech  to  the  next 

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Becs Gentry: level  with  the  new  Peloton  cross  training  series,  Tread+,  powered 

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Becs Gentry: by  Peloton  IQ.  Built  for  runners  who  want  top  tier 

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Becs Gentry: performance,  the  Tread+  helps  you  train  smarter  and  get  race 

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Becs Gentry: ready  with  precision.  Peloton  IQ  offers  personalized  insights  that  evolve 

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Becs Gentry: as  you  progress,  so  you  can  fine- tune  your  pacing 

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Becs Gentry: and  peak  at  the  right  moment.  And  with  strength  workouts, 

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Becs Gentry: designed  to  build  the  muscle  you  need  to  support  every 

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Becs Gentry: mile,  your  training  goes  beyond  the  run.  Plus,  pace  target 

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Becs Gentry: classes  designed  to  build  consistency,  boost  speed,  and  improve  your 

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Becs Gentry: splits.  Every  single  run  supports  your  full  training  cycle,  from 

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Becs Gentry: recovery  miles  to  challenging  race  pace  intervals.  Experience  our  most 

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Becs Gentry: advanced  tread  yet  at  onepeloton. com.  Peloton,  the  official  digital 

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Becs Gentry: fitness  partner  of  New  York  Road  Runners.

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Rob Simmelkjaer: Former  NFL  center  Justin  Britt  spent  most  of  his  career 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: with  the  Seattle  Seahawks  where  he  started  on  the  offensive 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: line.  These  days,  his  competition  looks  a  little  bit  different. 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: This  past  weekend,  Justin  ran  the  United  Airlines  NYC  Half 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: in  131:11. And he  was  coached  by  a  professional  distance  runner,  Emily 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: Venters,  who  finished  the  race  herself  in 109: 46,  placing  10th 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: in  the  women's  field.  This  is  an  unusual  partnership,  a 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: former  NFL  player  learning  endurance  running  from  a  younger  professional 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: athlete  who  is  very  much  in  her  prime.  For  Justin, 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: running  became  an  antidote  after  football.  For  Emily,  the  relationship 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: with  running  is  more  complicated  because  it's  not  just  something 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: she  loves,  it's  also  how  she  makes  her  living.  Today, 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: we're  talking  with  both  of  them  about  that  dynamic  and 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: what  running  can  mean  at  very  different  stages  of  an 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: athlete's  life.  Justin  and  Emily,  congratulations  to  both  of  you 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: for  outstanding  efforts  on  Sunday.

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Justin Britt: I  appreciate  it.  Thank  you.

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Emily Venters: Thank you.

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Becs Gentry: You  were  both  amazing  to  watch.  It  was  so  exciting. 

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Becs Gentry: The  whole  race  was  an  incredibly  exciting  race  from  the 

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Becs Gentry: sidelines  from  where  Rob  and  I  were  sitting.  And  I can't 

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Becs Gentry: wait  to  dive  into  how  it  was  for  both  of 

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Becs Gentry: you  as  runners  on  the  day  and  experiencing  the  magnetic 

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Becs Gentry: vibe  that  is  road  racing  in  New  York  City  with 

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Becs Gentry: New  York  Road  Runners.  So,  let's  jump  in.  Emily,  I 

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Becs Gentry: want  to  know  about  your  incredible  finish;  109,  top  10. 

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Becs Gentry: You  are  so  incredibly  well- versed  in  this  sport.  What 

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Becs Gentry: did  it  feel  like  for  you  on  that  morning,  lining 

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Becs Gentry: up  on  the  start  line  in  Brooklyn  with  your  training 

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Becs Gentry: behind  you  and  that  day  ahead?

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Emily Venters: I  was  just  super  excited.  Like  I  said,  I  really 

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Emily Venters: enjoy  racing  in  New  York.  NYRR  always  puts  on  amazing 

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Emily Venters: events  for  us  and  hosts  us  so  well,  and  so 

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Emily Venters: I  feel  like  every  time  I  come...  Or  I  haven't 

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Emily Venters: come  that  many  times  yet.  I'm  still  young  in  my 

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Emily Venters: career,  but  when  I've  come,  it's  always  fun  and  I 

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Emily Venters: feel  excited.  And  I  had  never  been  in  a  race 

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Emily Venters: here  where  we  started  in  Brooklyn,  so  it's  always  been 

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Emily Venters: started  in  New  York  City.  And  yeah,  it  was  just 

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Emily Venters: awesome.  The  sun  was  starting  to  rise  as  we  were 

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Emily Venters: on  the  start  line,  and  kind  of  I  just  felt 

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Emily Venters: like  no  fear  and  no  anxiety  going  into  it.  And 

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Emily Venters: I  was...  I  just  knew  it  was  going  to  be a 

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Emily Venters: good  day  because  I  felt  so  calm  within  myself  and 

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Emily Venters: just  excited  to  see  what  I  was  going  to  do 

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Emily Venters: on  the  day.

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Rob Simmelkjaer: Emily,  did  you  have  a  goal  coming  in?  You've  had 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: good  finishes  in  New  York  before.  You  finished  second  in 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: the  Abbott  Dash  to  the  Finish  a  couple  years  ago. 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: What  were  your  goals  walking  to  the  starting  line  on  Sunday?

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Emily Venters: Like  I  said,  I  didn't  really  have  a  specific  goal 

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Emily Venters: in  mind.  I  just  wanted  to  run  within  myself  and 

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Emily Venters: I  wanted  to  run  feeling  strong  the  whole  way.  I 

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Emily Venters: didn't  want  to  go  out  too  fast  and  I  wanted 

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Emily Venters: to,  like  I  said,  stay  within  myself  and  just  kind 

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Emily Venters: of  slowly  chase  people  and  feel  good  and  finish  feeling 

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Emily Venters: strong,  and  I  did  that.  And  I  said,  I  think 

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Emily Venters: that's  probably  the  best  race  I've  had  in  over  a 

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Emily Venters: year.  Just  the  way  that  I  felt  finishing,  it  was 

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Emily Venters: a  feeling  of  like  I  could  have  kept  going  if 

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Emily Venters: I  wanted  to.

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Rob Simmelkjaer: That's great.

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Emily Venters: And I think that that's exciting for me.

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Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah,  that's  really  great.  Now,  Justin,  you  and  I  first 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: met,  I  was  saying  before  the  podcast  started,  in  Chicago 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: in  the  pre- start  tent  where  you  were  running  the 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: Chicago  Marathon,  and  you  had  a  good  day  there.  Came 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: to  New  York.  I  believe  this  was  your  first  time 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: running  the  United  Airlines  NYC  Half,  is  that  right?

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Justin Britt: Correct,  correct.

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Rob Simmelkjaer: All  right.  So,  help  us  understand  how  a  former  NFL 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: lineman...  You  weren't  like  a  wide  receiver  or  a  defensive 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: back  where  running  a  lot  is  part  of  the  job. 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: You  were  an  offensive  lineman  where  you  basically  are  moving 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: in  like  a  10  yard  area  most  of  the  time 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: and  your  job  is  basically  just  to  hit  guys,  right, 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: hit  guys,  push  guys  around,  just  basically  be  like  a 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: brick  wall.  How  does  that  transition  work  from  that  to 

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Rob Simmelkjaer: running  long  distance  races?

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Justin Britt: Well,  half  my  job,  I  was  moving  backwards  also.  It 

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Justin Britt: took  me...  My  brain  was  like, " Wait,  we  got  to 

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Justin Britt: go  forward."  No,  but  I  would  always  say, " Look,  if 

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Justin Britt: I'm  running  40  yards,  then  that's a  really  good  football  play, 

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Justin Britt: so  why  are  we  doing  a  hundred  yard  sprints,  guys?" 

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Justin Britt: But  I  never  saw  myself  entering  this  world  of  running. 

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Justin Britt: I  think  whenever  I  went  on  my  first  run,  it 

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Justin Britt: was  just  kind  of  to  challenge  myself  and  to  experience 

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Justin Britt: something  different  because  at  that  time  I  was  so  into 

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Justin Britt: cycling  on  my  Peloton  that  I  was  like, " I  need 

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Justin Britt: something  new,  something  that's  going  to  help  me  keep  growing 

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Justin Britt: mentally,"  because  I  was  kind  of  trying  to  come  past 

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Justin Britt: this  mental  health  struggle  that  kind  of  led  me  to 

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Justin Britt: retire  from  the  NFL.  And  running  just  continues  to  check 

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Justin Britt: the  box  for  me.
 And  I'm  taking  this  week  off, 

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Justin Britt: and  I  know  I'm  going  to  have  to  keep  myself 

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Justin Britt: busy  because  if  I  sit  at  home  and  don't  get 

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Justin Britt: my  run  in,  it's  just  going  to  sit  in  my 

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Justin Britt: head  and  it's  going  to  drive  me  crazy,  but  I 

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Justin Britt: know  I  need  to  let  the  body  rest,  Emily,  Coach 

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Justin Britt: Venters.  But  it's  been  a  blessing.  It's  been  amazing.  I 

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Justin Britt: say  that  standing  in  the  corral  of  the  races  is 

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Justin Britt: as  close  mentally  as  I  can  get  to  standing  in 

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Justin Britt: the  tunnel  of  a  football  game.  And  so  I  told 

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Justin Britt: the  road  runners  after  the  race,  I  said, " Standing  in 

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Justin Britt: this  corral  gave  me  a  bigger  energetic  boost  than  standing 

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Justin Britt: in  the  tunnel at MetLife."

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Becs Gentry: Wow.  That  is  huge,  and also  really  amazing  to  hear,  having... 

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Becs Gentry: You  had  a  wonderful  career  on  the  field,  and  now 

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Becs Gentry: having  this  personal  elevation  of  you  continuing  in  sport  is 

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Becs Gentry: really,  really  cool  to  see.  And  I'm  sure  a  lot 

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Becs Gentry: of  that  is  coming  from  incredible  coaching  too.  I  know 

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Becs Gentry: it  takes  a  great  coach  to  bring  out  a  really 

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Becs Gentry: good  sports  person  as  well.  So,  let's  talk  about  your 

332
00:18:31,410 --> 00:18:35,100
Becs Gentry: training  for  it,  Justin.  You  just  finished  in  131: 11. 

333
00:18:36,390 --> 00:18:37,889
Becs Gentry: Thank  you  for  the  drop- in  of  Peloton  on  your 

334
00:18:37,890 --> 00:18:40,020
Becs Gentry: bike,  but  I  am  also now  really  happy  that  you're  a 

335
00:18:40,020 --> 00:18:45,480
Becs Gentry: Peloton...  Hello,  baby.  And now  you're  a  Peloton  Tread  runner  as 

336
00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:48,270
Becs Gentry: well.  We've  had  one  or  two  interactions,  and  I'm  honored 

337
00:18:48,270 --> 00:18:50,940
Becs Gentry: that  you've  taken  a  few  of  my  classes.  But  what 

338
00:18:50,940 --> 00:18:54,270
Becs Gentry: was  it  like  being  in  New  York?  You  ran  with 

339
00:18:54,270 --> 00:18:58,770
Becs Gentry: a  pretty  big  New  York  running  legend,  Rob  Dalto,  here. 

340
00:18:59,910 --> 00:19:03,450
Becs Gentry: As  the  two  of  you  traversed  your  way  from  Brooklyn 

341
00:19:03,510 --> 00:19:07,139
Becs Gentry: to  Manhattan,  what  was  the  journey  like  for  you?

342
00:19:08,010 --> 00:19:13,230
Justin Britt: Well, getting to spend  the  morning  with  Rob  was  pretty  special.  And  you 

343
00:19:13,230 --> 00:19:15,840
Justin Britt: see  his  Instagram  and  all  his  interviews  and you're  like, " Wow, 

344
00:19:16,470 --> 00:19:20,250
Justin Britt: he's  such  a  good  person and  his  energy's  what  you  want." 

345
00:19:20,730 --> 00:19:24,389
Justin Britt: And  so  he  was  clearly  the  celebrity  of  the  race 

346
00:19:24,390 --> 00:19:27,449
Justin Britt: between  us  two.  And  any  corner  we  turned,  I  would 

347
00:19:27,450 --> 00:19:29,910
Justin Britt: just  say  in  my  head, " My  name's  Rob."  And  so there you're like, "

348
00:19:30,630 --> 00:19:34,980
Justin Britt: Let's  go,  Rob."  I  was  Rob  that  day.  So,  it 

349
00:19:34,980 --> 00:19:38,850
Justin Britt: was  cool  getting  to  know  him,  but  we  have  our 

350
00:19:38,850 --> 00:19:43,109
Justin Britt: connection  through  WOLACO,  the  running  tights,  so  I've  known  him 

351
00:19:43,109 --> 00:19:45,840
Justin Britt: for  a  while.  And  actually  the  first  time  I  met 

352
00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:49,200
Justin Britt: Rob,  it  was  like  mile  22  in  Chicago.  I'm  over 

353
00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:52,139
Justin Britt: there  dying,  trying  not  to  cramp,  and  here  comes  Rob 

354
00:19:52,140 --> 00:19:56,820
Justin Britt: with  his  fiance.
 He's  like, " Hey,  Justin." And I'm like, "What are you doing?"  And I was  like, " What 

355
00:19:56,820 --> 00:19:58,649
Justin Britt: pace  am  I at?"  And  he  tells  me  right  on  the 

356
00:19:58,650 --> 00:20:02,189
Justin Britt: dot.  And I was  like, " Okay,  I  got  this."  So,  he's  just 

357
00:20:03,150 --> 00:20:05,429
Justin Britt: the  type  of  person...  I  never  had  to  grab  a 

358
00:20:05,430 --> 00:20:10,950
Justin Britt: water  on  Sunday.  He  would  speed  up,  grab  two  and 

359
00:20:10,950 --> 00:20:15,060
Justin Britt: bring  him  to  me.  I  was  like, " The  best  pacer  forever."

360
00:20:15,330 --> 00:20:15,840
Becs Gentry: He  got  them  all  for  you?  That's just the kind of guy he is.

361
00:20:16,770 --> 00:20:18,990
Justin Britt: Like  Emily  was  saying  though,  she  had  no  fear  in 

362
00:20:18,990 --> 00:20:25,648
Justin Britt: the  corral.  I  showed  up  highly  confident,  and it's like I knew it was going to be  a  beautiful  day.

363
00:20:26,369 --> 00:20:30,869
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah.  That's  awesome.  Emily,  how  did  this  coaching  relationship  between 

364
00:20:30,869 --> 00:20:32,699
Rob Simmelkjaer: you  and  Justin  first  start?

365
00:20:32,850 --> 00:20:38,490
Emily Venters: So,  we  were at  a  race,  Bloomsday  in  Washington,  Spokane.  And 

366
00:20:38,580 --> 00:20:42,480
Emily Venters: my  agent,  Josh  Cox,  is  also  his  agent  now.  And 

367
00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:45,060
Emily Venters: so  Josh  had  texted  me  like, " Hey,  look  out  for 

368
00:20:45,060 --> 00:20:48,600
Emily Venters: this  big  tall  dude,  all tatted  up.  We  work  with  him."

369
00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:51,180
Rob Simmelkjaer: He's  not  hard  to  spot.  Not  hard  to  spot  in 

370
00:20:51,180 --> 00:20:55,020
Rob Simmelkjaer: the  corrals  of  a  long  distance  race.  Wearing  his  Seahawks 

371
00:20:55,020 --> 00:20:55,981
Rob Simmelkjaer: jersey  most  of  the  time  too, so pretty easy to spot.

372
00:20:55,981 --> 00:21:03,629
Emily Venters: Yeah, pretty conspicuous. Yeah. And I was like, " Okay,  I'll  try  and  look  out  for  him." And  I 

373
00:21:03,630 --> 00:21:06,450
Emily Venters: ended  up  seeing  him  at  the  dinner  the  night  before 

374
00:21:06,450 --> 00:21:10,320
Emily Venters: the  race  and  we  chatted.  A  bunch  of  my  teammates 

375
00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:13,139
Emily Venters: were  there  too,  and  we  kind  of  just  hit  it 

376
00:21:13,140 --> 00:21:14,970
Emily Venters: off.  And  then  he  told  me  that  he  lived  in 

377
00:21:14,970 --> 00:21:18,090
Emily Venters: Kansas  and  I  was  like, " Wait,  that's  crazy.  I'm  from 

378
00:21:18,090 --> 00:21:22,379
Emily Venters: Kansas.  My  family  still  lives  there."  And  you  don't  expect 

379
00:21:22,380 --> 00:21:24,629
Emily Venters: many  people  to  say  that  they're  from  Kansas,  so  that 

380
00:21:24,630 --> 00:21:27,060
Emily Venters: was  an  instant  connection  for  me  too.  And  he  said 

381
00:21:27,060 --> 00:21:30,359
Emily Venters: he  didn't  have  a  coach, and I  was  like, " What?  Let  me 

382
00:21:30,359 --> 00:21:32,459
Emily Venters: coach  you.  I  coach  people  and  that'd  be  awesome."  I 

383
00:21:32,460 --> 00:21:35,879
Emily Venters: love  bringing  on  or  starting  to  coach  people  who  I 

384
00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:38,070
Emily Venters: can  tell  have  a  really  big  passion  for  it.  And 

385
00:21:38,070 --> 00:21:40,889
Emily Venters: I'm  like, " It's  awesome  that  you  have  that  background  already 

386
00:21:40,890 --> 00:21:44,310
Emily Venters: in  this  sport  you  know...  or  in a  different  sport,  but 

387
00:21:44,310 --> 00:21:47,490
Emily Venters: also  have  that  competitive  drive  and  know  how  to  work 

388
00:21:47,490 --> 00:21:50,220
Emily Venters: hard,  and  just  let  me  teach  you  kind  of  how 

389
00:21:50,340 --> 00:21:54,720
Emily Venters: to  train."  Because  I  don't  think  he  really  understood  training.


390
00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:57,000
Emily Venters: And  I'm  still  trying  to  teach  him  a  little  bit, 

391
00:21:58,920 --> 00:22:01,680
Emily Venters: but  I  think  that's  fun  for  me  to  watch  him 

392
00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:06,540
Emily Venters: grow  and  continue  to  learn  running  and  the  training  behind 

393
00:22:06,540 --> 00:22:09,510
Emily Venters: it  and  why  we  do  things.  And  his  progress  has 

394
00:22:09,510 --> 00:22:14,100
Emily Venters: just  been  amazing.  In  the  last  year,  it's  crazy.  I 

395
00:22:14,100 --> 00:22:18,389
Emily Venters: don't  think  he  could  have  run  131  or  sub- 131 

396
00:22:18,750 --> 00:22:21,810
Emily Venters: or,  yeah,  sub- 130  like  he  did  in  Houston  six, 

397
00:22:21,810 --> 00:22:24,780
Emily Venters: seven  months  ago  even.  So,  he  just  continues  to  make 

398
00:22:24,780 --> 00:22:27,570
Emily Venters: progress  and  it's  really  awesome  to  watch.

399
00:22:27,690 --> 00:22:30,359
Becs Gentry: That's  so  cool.  Okay,  can  we  dive  into  that  just 

400
00:22:30,359 --> 00:22:35,040
Becs Gentry: a  little  bit?  Because,  A,  to  humor  me,  I  still 

401
00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:40,890
Becs Gentry: after  nearly  nine  years  compare  NFL  to  rugby  in  England. 

402
00:22:41,070 --> 00:22:45,810
Becs Gentry: So,  to  me, I'm like  you  are  center  prop  sort  of  vibe 

403
00:22:46,290 --> 00:22:51,810
Becs Gentry: in  rugby.  And  as  you  were  saying,  the  change  from 

404
00:22:51,810 --> 00:22:57,869
Becs Gentry: running  40  yards  to  a  marathon  is  absolutely  huge.  So, 

405
00:22:58,109 --> 00:23:03,480
Becs Gentry: talk  us  through,  Justin,  you  first,  why?  Why  for  you 

406
00:23:03,510 --> 00:23:06,450
Becs Gentry: did  you  think, " I'm  going  to  take  this  on,"  as 

407
00:23:06,450 --> 00:23:09,570
Becs Gentry: this...  not  just  a  one- time  thing?  You  have  done 

408
00:23:09,570 --> 00:23:14,129
Becs Gentry: multiple  races.  And  then  for  Emily,  how  did  you  put 

409
00:23:14,130 --> 00:23:18,780
Becs Gentry: it  to,  let's  say  paper,  the  training  for  somebody  who 

410
00:23:18,780 --> 00:23:21,780
Becs Gentry: has  spent  so  many  years  training  in  one  way  for 

411
00:23:21,780 --> 00:23:26,280
Becs Gentry: one  sport,  to  flip  it  and  run  a  really  long 

412
00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:30,510
Becs Gentry: way,  potentially  a  lot  faster?  I  know  you're  probably  accelerating 

413
00:23:30,510 --> 00:23:35,010
Becs Gentry: really  quickly  on  the  field,  Justin,  but  sustained  energy  is 

414
00:23:35,010 --> 00:23:37,800
Becs Gentry: so  different.  So,  let's  just  talk  about  that.

415
00:23:38,070 --> 00:23:40,590
Justin Britt: I  think  for  me,  I  went  out  for  my  first 

416
00:23:40,590 --> 00:23:43,290
Justin Britt: run  and  the  football  in  me was  like, " Go  for  it, 

417
00:23:43,290 --> 00:23:45,629
Justin Britt: go,  go,  go,"  and  so  I  couldn't  even  complete  a 

418
00:23:45,630 --> 00:23:48,450
Justin Britt: mile,  I  ran  out  and  I  had  to  walk  home. 

419
00:23:48,510 --> 00:23:52,139
Justin Britt: And  so  that  kind  of  infuriated  me,  and  it  challenged 

420
00:23:52,140 --> 00:23:54,030
Justin Britt: me  internally,  and  I  was  like, " I'm  going  to  make 

421
00:23:54,030 --> 00:23:56,580
Justin Britt: this  easy."  And  what  I  meant  by  that  was  just 

422
00:23:56,580 --> 00:23:59,580
Justin Britt: making  that  first  mile  easy.  And  then  whenever  I  did 

423
00:23:59,580 --> 00:24:01,919
Justin Britt: that  and  I  was  running  a  mile  every  day, and then  I 

424
00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:06,180
Justin Britt: was  like, " Okay,  let's  add  another.  Let's  add  another."  And 

425
00:24:06,180 --> 00:24:10,020
Justin Britt: then  my  mistake  was  I  signed  up  for a  5K  and 

426
00:24:10,020 --> 00:24:14,220
Justin Britt: I  had  the  most  fun  ever.  And  so  I  went 

427
00:24:14,220 --> 00:24:16,080
Justin Britt: home  from  that  and  I  was  like, " What  race  can 

428
00:24:16,080 --> 00:24:18,119
Justin Britt: I  do  next?"  And  at  the  time  I  was  living 

429
00:24:18,119 --> 00:24:23,550
Justin Britt: in  Houston,  and I was like, "I'm going to  sign  up  for  the  half  marathon  in 

430
00:24:23,550 --> 00:24:27,930
Justin Britt: January."
 And  that  kind  of  became  the  goal,  but  I 

431
00:24:27,930 --> 00:24:30,629
Justin Britt: think  it  was  like  summertime,  so  we  had  a  long 

432
00:24:30,630 --> 00:24:33,600
Justin Britt: stretch  to  just  run  a  bunch  of  5Ks.  And  before 

433
00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:36,629
Justin Britt: I  met  Emily,  my  training  was  just  go  out  and 

434
00:24:36,630 --> 00:24:38,580
Justin Britt: we're  going  to  run  a  5K and  our  body  will  tell 

435
00:24:38,580 --> 00:24:41,580
Justin Britt: us  what  speed  we're  going  to  go.  And  that  was 

436
00:24:41,580 --> 00:24:46,649
Justin Britt: just  kind  of  the  amateur  in  me,  but  why  do 

437
00:24:46,650 --> 00:24:52,290
Justin Britt: I  do  it?  I  think  I  genuinely  have  the  most 

438
00:24:52,290 --> 00:24:56,520
Justin Britt: fun  just  out  there  running  with  the  other  crowd  of 

439
00:24:56,520 --> 00:25:01,470
Justin Britt: people.  And  it's  like  in  football,  you  show  up  on 

440
00:25:01,470 --> 00:25:05,159
Justin Britt: game  day  and  everyone's  mentally  locked  in.  You're  like, " I 

441
00:25:05,160 --> 00:25:07,409
Justin Britt: know  they  did  the  work."
 And  so  you  step  in 

442
00:25:07,410 --> 00:25:10,170
Justin Britt: the  corral,  you're  surrounded  by  a  lot  of  people  who 

443
00:25:10,380 --> 00:25:12,480
Justin Britt: now  are  trying  to  run  a  sub- 90  with  me 

444
00:25:13,050 --> 00:25:15,090
Justin Britt: and  it's  like  they're  locked  in,  you  know  they  put 

445
00:25:15,090 --> 00:25:18,540
Justin Britt: in  the  work,  they've  done  the  speed  work,  and  they 

446
00:25:18,540 --> 00:25:20,970
Justin Britt: avoided  the  big  injuries  and  we're  here  together  to  have 

447
00:25:20,970 --> 00:25:23,609
Justin Britt: a  really  good  day,  and  you  just  feel  the  energy 

448
00:25:23,609 --> 00:25:29,340
Justin Britt: and  it's  just  real  contagious.  And  it's  hard  to  explain 

449
00:25:29,850 --> 00:25:32,910
Justin Britt: what  it's  like  crossing  the  finish  line  in  Central  Park 

450
00:25:33,390 --> 00:25:36,869
Justin Britt: at  the  United  NYC  Half  after  you  just  ran  through 

451
00:25:36,869 --> 00:25:38,190
Justin Britt: the  streets.  You  know  what  I  mean?

452
00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:39,030
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah.

453
00:25:39,090 --> 00:25:42,660
Justin Britt: It's  hard  to  put  it  into  words,  but  you  can 

454
00:25:42,660 --> 00:25:46,800
Justin Britt: feel  the  emotion.  And  so  it's  like  that's  what  I 

455
00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:49,500
Justin Britt: feel  like  I'm  addicted  to. And  I'm  only  going  to  get 

456
00:25:49,500 --> 00:25:51,810
Justin Britt: older,  and  I  started  late,  so  I'm  like, " Let's  see 

457
00:25:51,810 --> 00:25:53,909
Justin Britt: how  far  we  can  take  it  before  we  need  to 

458
00:25:53,910 --> 00:25:56,100
Justin Britt: slow  down."  So,  that's  where  I'm  at.

459
00:25:57,300 --> 00:25:57,301
Emily Venters: Wonderful.

460
00:25:57,301 --> 00:26:02,639
Rob Simmelkjaer: It's great.  It's  so  great.  Emily,  I  don't  recall  speaking  before 

461
00:26:02,640 --> 00:26:07,920
Rob Simmelkjaer: to  an  active  professional  runner  who's  also  actively  coaching  other 

462
00:26:07,920 --> 00:26:11,639
Rob Simmelkjaer: people.  Maybe  it's  more  common  than  I  know,  but  I 

463
00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:15,420
Rob Simmelkjaer: think  it's  fantastic.  And  I'm  just  wondering,  what  do  you 

464
00:26:15,420 --> 00:26:18,000
Rob Simmelkjaer: find  that  you  get  out  of  it?  You're  obviously  really 

465
00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:21,240
Rob Simmelkjaer: focused  on  your  own  running,  you're  competing,  this  is  what 

466
00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:24,869
Rob Simmelkjaer: you  do  for  a  living.  What  do  you  gain  from 

467
00:26:24,869 --> 00:26:27,270
Rob Simmelkjaer: coaching  other  people  while  you're  in  the  midst  of  your 

468
00:26:27,270 --> 00:26:28,410
Rob Simmelkjaer: own  professional  running  career?

469
00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:33,150
Emily Venters: Well,  running  is  a  very  selfish  job,  and  I  tell 

470
00:26:33,150 --> 00:26:37,710
Emily Venters: that  to  everybody.  My  job  is...  Yeah,  it's  all  about 

471
00:26:37,710 --> 00:26:40,109
Emily Venters: me  and  the  focus  is  on  me.  And  so  when 

472
00:26:40,109 --> 00:26:42,690
Emily Venters: I  have  started  to  coach  other  people  now,  I  have 

473
00:26:42,690 --> 00:26:47,129
Emily Venters: probably  15  people  that  I  coach,  it  feels  rewarding  to 

474
00:26:47,130 --> 00:26:49,530
Emily Venters: be  able  to  give  back  to  running  in  a  way 

475
00:26:49,530 --> 00:26:52,140
Emily Venters: and  share  my  knowledge  with  other  people  who  are  just 

476
00:26:52,140 --> 00:26:56,310
Emily Venters: so  passionate  about  it  as  well.  And  lining  up  on 

477
00:26:56,310 --> 00:26:59,160
Emily Venters: the  start  line  with  Justin  there  too,  knowing  that  I've 

478
00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:01,050
Emily Venters: coached  him,  he's  going  through  the  same  thing  that  I'm 

479
00:27:01,050 --> 00:27:05,369
Emily Venters: about  to  go  through.  And  it's  cool.  And  watching  other 

480
00:27:05,369 --> 00:27:10,050
Emily Venters: people's  success  and  them  start  to  flourish  and  develop.  And 

481
00:27:10,650 --> 00:27:14,340
Emily Venters: like  I  said,  Justin  has  shown  so  much  progress in  the 

482
00:27:14,340 --> 00:27:17,429
Emily Venters: past  year.  And  for  me,  it's  just  really  cool  to 

483
00:27:17,430 --> 00:27:21,000
Emily Venters: see  that  and  see  his  passion  for  it.  And  he 

484
00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:23,939
Emily Venters: is  so  driven.
 I  think  he  might  be  more  obsessed 

485
00:27:23,940 --> 00:27:27,840
Emily Venters: with  running  than  me.  He  just  wants  to  do  race 

486
00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:30,840
Emily Venters: after  race  after  race,  and  that's  so  awesome.  And  to 

487
00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:33,480
Emily Venters: coach  those  people  who  are  just  so  into  it  is 

488
00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:36,030
Emily Venters: so  fun  for  me,  and  it  helps  me  find  a 

489
00:27:36,090 --> 00:27:39,180
Emily Venters: greater  love  for  this  sport  as  well.  So,  it's  just... 

490
00:27:39,330 --> 00:27:42,419
Emily Venters: Yeah,  it's  a  circle  and  it  helps  me  and  it 

491
00:27:42,420 --> 00:27:47,129
Emily Venters: helps  them,  so  it's  great.  And the  running  community  is  something 

492
00:27:47,130 --> 00:27:49,260
Emily Venters: that  I  just  love  about  running  as  well.  I  think 

493
00:27:49,260 --> 00:27:53,850
Emily Venters: everybody  that  I've  met  over  my  12 or  so  years  has 

494
00:27:54,119 --> 00:27:56,459
Emily Venters: made  a  huge  impact  on  my  life,  and  they're  the 

495
00:27:56,460 --> 00:27:57,960
Emily Venters: best  people  I've  ever  met  as  well.

496
00:27:59,100 --> 00:27:59,790
Becs Gentry: That's  awesome.

497
00:27:59,790 --> 00:28:00,270
Rob Simmelkjaer: That's  great.

498
00:28:01,260 --> 00:28:04,290
Becs Gentry: Without  talking  about  your  other  clients,  maintaining  their  privacy,  is 

499
00:28:04,290 --> 00:28:07,590
Becs Gentry: Justin  your  most  unusual  client  coming from-

500
00:28:07,590 --> 00:28:08,130
Emily Venters: For  sure.

501
00:28:10,410 --> 00:28:13,260
Becs Gentry: What  was  your  first  vibe  when  you  were  like, " Okay, 

502
00:28:13,260 --> 00:28:15,660
Becs Gentry: dude,  we  got  to  chill  on  doing  the  5Ks  every 

503
00:28:15,660 --> 00:28:21,210
Becs Gentry: weekend  at  whatever  pace  you  fancy."?  How  did  you  talk 

504
00:28:21,210 --> 00:28:27,090
Becs Gentry: him  into  more  of  a  structured  running...  traditional  running  program?

505
00:28:28,859 --> 00:28:31,890
Emily Venters: Just  based  off  of  the  conversation  we  had,  I  could 

506
00:28:31,890 --> 00:28:34,740
Emily Venters: tell  he  didn't  know  how  to  train  really,  but that  he 

507
00:28:34,740 --> 00:28:35,550
Emily Venters: was  so  into  it-

508
00:28:35,550 --> 00:28:35,850
Becs Gentry: Train  running.

509
00:28:35,850 --> 00:28:39,840
Emily Venters: Yeah.  Yeah,  but  he  was  so  into  it.  And  I 

510
00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:42,450
Emily Venters: was  like, " I  got to.  This is  a  fun  challenge  for  me 

511
00:28:42,450 --> 00:28:44,940
Emily Venters: too.  I  want  to  see  how  fast  I  can  get 

512
00:28:44,940 --> 00:28:47,820
Emily Venters: him  to  go,"  because  I  know  that  he  will  love 

513
00:28:47,820 --> 00:28:50,820
Emily Venters: that  too.  But  I'm  like, " We're  going  to  be  going 

514
00:28:50,820 --> 00:28:55,920
Emily Venters: to  see how fast we can  get  in.  We're  not  done."  So,  yeah,  I 

515
00:28:55,920 --> 00:28:58,440
Emily Venters: take  it  on as  a  challenge  as  well.  It's  like  how 

516
00:28:58,440 --> 00:29:01,200
Emily Venters: he  does  is  I  want  him  to  do  just  as 

517
00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:02,280
Emily Venters: well  as  he  wants  to  do.

518
00:29:04,290 --> 00:29:04,800
Becs Gentry: Of  course.

519
00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:05,610
Emily Venters: It's  cool.

520
00:29:06,330 --> 00:29:08,430
Rob Simmelkjaer: So,  Justin,  how  fast  do  you  think  you  can  go? 

521
00:29:08,430 --> 00:29:09,990
Rob Simmelkjaer: Now  that  you've  been  working  with  Emily  for  a  little 

522
00:29:09,990 --> 00:29:12,840
Rob Simmelkjaer: while,  do  you  think  you  have  a  sense  of  your 

523
00:29:13,380 --> 00:29:16,860
Rob Simmelkjaer: kind  of  ceiling  yet  or  you  still  got  a  lot 

524
00:29:16,860 --> 00:29:17,670
Rob Simmelkjaer: of  upside,  do  you  think?

525
00:29:18,870 --> 00:29:22,830
Justin Britt: Yeah,  no,  I  think  we're  still  tapping  into  the  speed 

526
00:29:22,830 --> 00:29:28,290
Justin Britt: run.  I  think  we're  just  entering  that.  We  showed  up 

527
00:29:28,290 --> 00:29:31,770
Justin Britt: the  Bloomsday,  and  we're  sitting  there  eating  dinner,  and  she 

528
00:29:31,770 --> 00:29:34,350
Justin Britt: was  asking  me  about  my  running  journey,  and she was like, " How  many 

529
00:29:34,350 --> 00:29:36,150
Justin Britt: miles  are  you  putting  in a  week?"  I  was  like, " About 

530
00:29:36,180 --> 00:29:39,240
Justin Britt: 30."  She's  like, " That's  not  enough."  And  I  was  like, "

531
00:29:39,420 --> 00:29:42,270
Justin Britt: That's  the  first  time  anyone  ever  told  me  that."  But 

532
00:29:42,300 --> 00:29:45,300
Justin Britt: now  right  at  this  minute,  I'm  like, " I  understand  it." 

533
00:29:45,810 --> 00:29:48,480
Justin Britt: And  it's  like  leading  up  to  the  New  York  Half, 

534
00:29:49,050 --> 00:29:53,580
Justin Britt: the  United  NYC  Half,  we  were  putting  in  50  miles 

535
00:29:53,580 --> 00:29:57,990
Justin Britt: a  week  and  it  felt  strong  and it  felt  good.  And 

536
00:29:57,990 --> 00:30:02,310
Justin Britt: so  I  think  I  want I want  to  go  to  my  next 

537
00:30:02,310 --> 00:30:07,740
Justin Britt: race  and  beat  my  Chicago  time.  I'd  love  to  run 

538
00:30:07,740 --> 00:30:10,890
Justin Britt: Chicago  again  and  go  down  there  and  chase  three.  I 

539
00:30:10,890 --> 00:30:15,240
Justin Britt: think  there's  plenty  of  time  to  grow  to  that, and  that 

540
00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:22,560
Justin Britt: seems  like  a  fun  challenge.  I've  ran  basically  two  hour 

541
00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:24,930
Justin Britt: and  a  half  half- marathons  back  to  back,  so  my 

542
00:30:24,930 --> 00:30:29,580
Justin Britt: confidence  is  pretty  high  right  now.  And  I  think  there's 

543
00:30:29,580 --> 00:30:30,840
Justin Britt: a  lot  more  that  I  can  do.

544
00:30:32,220 --> 00:30:36,990
Becs Gentry: Absolutely.  We  think  that  too.  What are  your  favorite  kind  of 

545
00:30:36,990 --> 00:30:39,030
Becs Gentry: workouts  to  do?

546
00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:40,380
Justin Britt: The  easy  runs.

547
00:30:43,020 --> 00:30:45,030
Becs Gentry: Really? Wow. I was really  thinking  you  were  going  to  say  the  speed  workout, 

548
00:30:45,390 --> 00:30:45,871
Becs Gentry: going  back  to  that hardcore-

549
00:30:45,871 --> 00:30:45,872
Justin Britt: I love... Go ahead, Rob.

550
00:30:45,872 --> 00:30:53,040
Rob Simmelkjaer: Did you  see  Emily's  reaction,  by  the  way?  Emily's  like, " Yeah, yeah. 

551
00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:58,200
Rob Simmelkjaer: Of course it's the easy  runs."  I  think  Emily  wants  to  push  your  speed 

552
00:30:58,200 --> 00:30:59,790
Rob Simmelkjaer: a  little  more.  Emily,  is  that  right?

553
00:31:00,210 --> 00:31:04,080
Emily Venters: Yeah.  I'm  like, " Dude,  the  workouts  are  key.  We  can't 

554
00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:07,020
Emily Venters: skip  the  workouts.  I  know  that  they're  not  fun  always, 

555
00:31:07,020 --> 00:31:08,250
Emily Venters: but  that's  how  we  get  better."

556
00:31:08,250 --> 00:31:10,920
Justin Britt: It's  weird.  Something always pops up.

557
00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:11,490
Emily Venters: (inaudible)  threshold, the more  you  run  up...

558
00:31:14,010 --> 00:31:16,980
Becs Gentry: You  find  something  to  get  you out  of  doing  the  speed  workout?

559
00:31:17,550 --> 00:31:22,320
Justin Britt: No.  It's  just  how  it  works.  Sometimes  though,  I  do 

560
00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:26,190
Justin Britt: have  to  be  like, " Emily,  I'm  34.  I'll  do  half 

561
00:31:26,190 --> 00:31:26,340
Justin Britt: of  this."

562
00:31:26,370 --> 00:31:26,551
Emily Venters: No  excuses.

563
00:31:26,551 --> 00:31:27,241
Becs Gentry: No.

564
00:31:27,719 --> 00:31:29,280
Emily Venters: No  excuses.  That  is  young.

565
00:31:29,490 --> 00:31:29,580
Becs Gentry: No.

566
00:31:29,580 --> 00:31:30,480
Emily Venters: That  is  so  young.

567
00:31:31,410 --> 00:31:34,110
Justin Britt: But no, in  all  honesty,  there's  not  a  run  that  I-

568
00:31:34,110 --> 00:31:34,650
Emily Venters: It'll  be  worth  it  when  you run the sub-three.

569
00:31:35,820 --> 00:31:38,190
Justin Britt: Yeah.  Well,  it  was  worth  it  whenever  we  went  down 

570
00:31:38,190 --> 00:31:41,010
Justin Britt: to  Houston  and  I  got  done  running  a  sub- 90, 

571
00:31:41,010 --> 00:31:45,150
Justin Britt: and  I  was  like, " I  could  easily  run  five  more 

572
00:31:45,150 --> 00:31:50,820
Justin Britt: miles."  And  so  it  pays  off.  And  the  hard  thing 

573
00:31:50,940 --> 00:31:56,640
Justin Britt: about  training  for  a  January,  for  a  February,  March  race 

574
00:31:56,640 --> 00:31:58,530
Justin Britt: is  you've  got  to  train  through  the  winters  in  the 

575
00:31:58,530 --> 00:32:02,370
Justin Britt: Midwest,  so  trying  to  balance  that.  Sometimes  the  speed  days 

576
00:32:02,370 --> 00:32:04,440
Justin Britt: fall  on  the  ice  day  and  you  just  kind  of 

577
00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:06,840
Justin Britt: have  to  work  with  your  coach  a  little  bit,  but 

578
00:32:07,140 --> 00:32:12,180
Justin Britt: she's  done  a  fantastic  job.  And  it's  been  good.  There 

579
00:32:12,180 --> 00:32:14,760
Justin Britt: hasn't  been  a  run  that  I've  hated.  Some  of  the 

580
00:32:14,760 --> 00:32:17,940
Justin Britt: runs  seem  daunting,  but  then  you  get  at  it  and 

581
00:32:17,940 --> 00:32:19,890
Justin Britt: you  get  in  the  flow  of  it,  and  by  the 

582
00:32:19,890 --> 00:32:21,450
Justin Britt: end  of  it,  you're  like, " I'm  glad  I  did  that."

583
00:32:22,410 --> 00:32:25,140
Becs Gentry: You  have  a  giant  machine  right  behind  you  that  I'm 

584
00:32:25,140 --> 00:32:28,320
Becs Gentry: pretty  sure  Emily  could  pop  the  speed  workouts  on  to 

585
00:32:28,530 --> 00:32:31,680
Becs Gentry: that  to  avoid  you  going  ice  skating  outside.

586
00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:34,470
Justin Britt: It  gets  used.

587
00:32:35,160 --> 00:32:37,980
Rob Simmelkjaer: That's  a  treadmill  for  those  listening,  yes,  a  pretty  good 

588
00:32:37,980 --> 00:32:39,811
Rob Simmelkjaer: size  treadmill  right  behind  Justin  as  we  speak on video.

589
00:32:39,811 --> 00:32:41,130
Becs Gentry: A Peloton  treadmill. Thank you, Rob.

590
00:32:41,130 --> 00:32:44,520
Rob Simmelkjaer: Thank  you.  I  couldn't  tell.  Thank  you  very  much.  Perfect. 

591
00:32:45,990 --> 00:32:49,380
Rob Simmelkjaer: Justin,  you  said...  When  we  first  started  talking  about  your 

592
00:32:50,820 --> 00:32:52,800
Rob Simmelkjaer: love  of  running  and  how  you  got  into  this,  you 

593
00:32:52,800 --> 00:32:57,720
Rob Simmelkjaer: talked  a  lot  about  the  mental  health  challenge  post- football. 

594
00:32:58,410 --> 00:33:02,550
Rob Simmelkjaer: And  we  know  how  common  it  is  for  professional  athletes 

595
00:33:02,910 --> 00:33:06,960
Rob Simmelkjaer: to  have  that  struggle  after  they've  finished  competing  in  their 

596
00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:09,900
Rob Simmelkjaer: sport.  We  also  know  for  those  of  us  who  follow 

597
00:33:09,900 --> 00:33:13,770
Rob Simmelkjaer: football  that  there  are  some  specific  challenges  a  lot  of 

598
00:33:13,770 --> 00:33:18,270
Rob Simmelkjaer: the  time  for  former  NFL  players,  especially  folks  who  play 

599
00:33:18,510 --> 00:33:22,800
Rob Simmelkjaer: positions  like  the  ones  that  you  play,  offensive  line,  centers. 

600
00:33:23,340 --> 00:33:26,310
Rob Simmelkjaer: There's  a  prevalence  of  CTE  for  a  lot  of  those 

601
00:33:26,310 --> 00:33:29,070
Rob Simmelkjaer: runners,  a  lot  of  those  athletes,  I  should  say.  Can 

602
00:33:29,070 --> 00:33:32,880
Rob Simmelkjaer: you  talk  about  on  the  mental  side  how  you  feel 

603
00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:37,110
Rob Simmelkjaer: running  has  really  helped  you  post  football?  And  do  you 

604
00:33:37,110 --> 00:33:39,720
Rob Simmelkjaer: have  a  message  to  other...  there's  so  many  guys  every 

605
00:33:39,720 --> 00:33:41,670
Rob Simmelkjaer: year  who  are  coming  out  of  the  NFL  and  trying 

606
00:33:41,670 --> 00:33:44,160
Rob Simmelkjaer: to  figure  out  what to do  next,  in  terms  of  what  running 

607
00:33:44,160 --> 00:33:46,709
Rob Simmelkjaer: could  potentially  do  to  some  of  those  athletes  who  are 

608
00:33:46,710 --> 00:33:48,180
Rob Simmelkjaer: trying  to  make  that  transition?

609
00:33:48,570 --> 00:33:53,520
Justin Britt: Sure,  sure.  For  me,  whenever  I  stepped  away,  it  was 

610
00:33:54,210 --> 00:33:58,620
Justin Britt: suddenly  after  week  one,  something  felt  off.  I  didn't  feel 

611
00:33:58,620 --> 00:34:03,810
Justin Britt: right.  Things  just  kind  of  spiraled  real  quickly.  And  stepping 

612
00:34:03,810 --> 00:34:07,140
Justin Britt: away,  trying  to  find  what  was  the  issue  and  solve 

613
00:34:07,140 --> 00:34:12,300
Justin Britt: myself  through  therapy,  ultimately  it  led  to  me  making  the 

614
00:34:12,330 --> 00:34:15,900
Justin Britt: decision  to  step  away,  kind  of  remove  myself  to  better 

615
00:34:15,900 --> 00:34:23,790
Justin Britt: myself  or  save  myself.  But  when  I  did  that,  I 

616
00:34:23,790 --> 00:34:28,170
Justin Britt: have  a  wife,  I  have  four  kids,  but  it's  like 

617
00:34:28,320 --> 00:34:32,489
Justin Britt: things  got  so  quiet  because,  for  me,  I  wake  up 

618
00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:35,520
Justin Britt: whenever  I  was  playing  at 5:00 or 6: 00  AM  and  I'm  one 

619
00:34:35,520 --> 00:34:37,530
Justin Britt: of  the  first  ones  in  the  building,  one  of  the 

620
00:34:37,530 --> 00:34:40,590
Justin Britt: last  ones  to  leave.  And  so  you're  just  around  hundreds 

621
00:34:40,590 --> 00:34:46,380
Justin Britt: of  people  all  day  that  become  family,  brothers,  and  then 

622
00:34:46,380 --> 00:34:50,940
Justin Britt: the  second  that's  not  your  profession,  you  don't  see  them. 

623
00:34:51,570 --> 00:34:54,420
Justin Britt: And  you  know  they're  busy,  so  you  stop  talking  so 

624
00:34:54,420 --> 00:34:57,779
Justin Britt: much  because  you  would  talk  in- person,  not  through  text 

625
00:34:57,780 --> 00:35:02,790
Justin Britt: and  all  that.
You know what I  mean?  So,  the  hardest  thing  for  me 

626
00:35:03,090 --> 00:35:07,890
Justin Britt: trying  to  get  through  my  mental  struggles  was  finding  community 

627
00:35:08,430 --> 00:35:15,030
Justin Britt: and  brotherhood  and  the  relationships  outside  of  the  house.  And 

628
00:35:15,030 --> 00:35:17,340
Justin Britt: so  whenever  I  got  myself  to  start  going  to  a 

629
00:35:17,340 --> 00:35:21,120
Justin Britt: public  gym,  I  actually  ran  into  a  former  NFL  player 

630
00:35:21,120 --> 00:35:24,150
Justin Britt: in  Houston,  and  we  became  friends  and  then  I  made 

631
00:35:24,150 --> 00:35:26,250
Justin Britt: a  couple  other  friends.  And  so  I  was  excited  to go to 

632
00:35:26,340 --> 00:35:29,130
Justin Britt: the  gym.  Spent  way  too  much  time  there  on  a 

633
00:35:29,130 --> 00:35:32,430
Justin Britt: daily,  but  I  was  excited  to  go  there.  And  so 

634
00:35:33,840 --> 00:35:37,800
Justin Britt: I  didn't  start  running  to  find  community,  but  what  I 

635
00:35:37,800 --> 00:35:43,950
Justin Britt: found  is  the  running  community  is  just  massive.  And  I 

636
00:35:43,950 --> 00:35:48,930
Justin Britt: went and  met  up  with  Rob  Dalto  after  the  race  and 

637
00:35:49,020 --> 00:35:51,450
Justin Britt: I  got  to  meet  some  of  his  friends.  And  they 

638
00:35:51,450 --> 00:35:55,469
Justin Britt: weren't...  It  wasn't  awkward.  We  all  just  ran  the  United 

639
00:35:55,469 --> 00:35:57,660
Justin Britt: NYC  Half  and  we  were  just  like, " What's  your  time? 

640
00:35:57,660 --> 00:36:01,350
Justin Britt: Wow,  that's  awesome.  Congratulations."  And  it's  just  like, " Sit  down. 

641
00:36:01,350 --> 00:36:04,049
Justin Britt: Let's  get  to  know  each  other."
 And  so  that's  just 

642
00:36:04,770 --> 00:36:10,200
Justin Britt: what  I've  seen  in  the  running  community  throughout.  In  Kansas 

643
00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:14,670
Justin Britt: City,  no  matter  where  I  go,  Seattle,  it's  just  always 

644
00:36:14,670 --> 00:36:19,290
Justin Britt: been  that  way.  So,  for  those  who  are  stepping  away 

645
00:36:19,290 --> 00:36:24,090
Justin Britt: from  any  career  path,  and  if  you've  been  there  long 

646
00:36:24,090 --> 00:36:26,640
Justin Britt: enough,  it  becomes  your  identity  and  then  you  don't  have 

647
00:36:26,640 --> 00:36:30,570
Justin Britt: it,  then you're  kind  of  stuck  in  the  mud,  and  you're  like, "

648
00:36:30,570 --> 00:36:33,239
Justin Britt: What  do  I  do  next?"  And  if  you  don't  find 

649
00:36:33,239 --> 00:36:35,910
Justin Britt: an  outlet  or  something  to  do,  then  I  think  that's 

650
00:36:35,910 --> 00:36:41,400
Justin Britt: whenever  people  start  to  really  spiral.  So,  for  the  athletes 

651
00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:44,489
Justin Britt: who  might  see  this  or  throw  it  out  there  in 

652
00:36:44,489 --> 00:36:48,060
Justin Britt: the  air,  if  you're  struggling,  go  for  a  run  and 

653
00:36:48,060 --> 00:36:52,919
Justin Britt: sign  up  for a  5K,  and  you'll  see  that  you'll  have 

654
00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:56,009
Justin Britt: a  lot  of  fun,  and  you'll  just  see  the  amount 

655
00:36:56,010 --> 00:36:56,670
Justin Britt: of  people  that could be there for you.

656
00:36:59,430 --> 00:37:03,509
Becs Gentry: Yeah,  beautifully  said.  That's  one  of  the  biggest  strengths  I 

657
00:37:03,510 --> 00:37:07,649
Becs Gentry: think  of  the  running  community,  in  the  kindest  way,  it 

658
00:37:07,650 --> 00:37:14,280
Becs Gentry: strips  all  other  accolades  from  people  and  you  are  whoever 

659
00:37:14,280 --> 00:37:16,650
Becs Gentry: you  are  that  day  as  you  are  running.  There  is 

660
00:37:16,650 --> 00:37:21,989
Becs Gentry: no  presumption,  assumption  about  a  person. And  it  is  one  of 

661
00:37:21,989 --> 00:37:28,290
Becs Gentry: the  most  uniting,  positively  uniting  sports  I  think  I've  ever 

662
00:37:28,290 --> 00:37:31,799
Becs Gentry: had  the  pleasure  of  being  involved  in  because  you  can 

663
00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:34,890
Becs Gentry: show  up,  you  can  be  on  having  your  worst  day 

664
00:37:34,890 --> 00:37:37,620
Becs Gentry: ever  or  you  could  be  the  CEO  of  one  of 

665
00:37:37,620 --> 00:37:40,200
Becs Gentry: the  biggest  companies  in  the  world,  you  show  up  to 

666
00:37:40,200 --> 00:37:44,280
Becs Gentry: run,  you're  a  runner,  doesn't  matter.  It  doesn't  matter  at 

667
00:37:44,280 --> 00:37:48,420
Becs Gentry: all,  and  it  just  brings  so  much  joy  to  people. 

668
00:37:48,450 --> 00:37:52,620
Becs Gentry: So,  it's  really  wonderful  to  hear  you  talk  in  such 

669
00:37:52,620 --> 00:37:57,120
Becs Gentry: a  warming  light  about  this  sport  and  the  people  involved 

670
00:37:57,120 --> 00:37:59,489
Becs Gentry: in  it  because  you  have  come  from  such  a  different 

671
00:37:59,489 --> 00:38:01,920
Becs Gentry: career.
 We've  had  Tiki  Barber  on  the  show,  and  he 

672
00:38:01,920 --> 00:38:06,180
Becs Gentry: also  has  fallen  madly  in  love  with  running,  and  has 

673
00:38:06,180 --> 00:38:10,200
Becs Gentry: brought  him  an  insane  amount  of  joy  since  his  football 

674
00:38:10,200 --> 00:38:15,090
Becs Gentry: career  ended.  And  I  think  you've  obviously  got  a  professional 

675
00:38:15,090 --> 00:38:17,580
Becs Gentry: runner  right  by  your  side  and  your  coach,  Emily  here. 

676
00:38:18,600 --> 00:38:22,890
Becs Gentry: What,  Emily,  do  you  tell  Justin  when  it  comes  to 

677
00:38:23,700 --> 00:38:30,330
Becs Gentry: paving  these  horrible  workouts  for  him  to  do  for  these 

678
00:38:30,330 --> 00:38:35,880
Becs Gentry: upcoming  races?  How  do  you  coach  him  through  these,  like, "

679
00:38:35,910 --> 00:38:39,000
Becs Gentry: Okay,  this  might  be  a  harder  workout  or  a  harder 

680
00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:43,230
Becs Gentry: day  per  se."?  What's  your  mental  approach  to  running  for  him?

681
00:38:43,230 --> 00:38:47,790
Emily Venters: I  think  if I can  teach  him  and  he  starts  to  understand 

682
00:38:47,790 --> 00:38:52,440
Emily Venters: why  we're  doing  the  workouts,  he'll  have  a  greater  appreciation 

683
00:38:52,440 --> 00:38:54,960
Emily Venters: for  them,  and  then  he'll  want  to  do  them  more. 

684
00:38:55,140 --> 00:38:57,330
Emily Venters: So,  I  actually...  I've  been  thinking  about  that  of  like, "

685
00:38:57,330 --> 00:39:00,810
Emily Venters: Maybe  I  should  end  the  notes  explain  more  of  the 

686
00:39:00,810 --> 00:39:03,870
Emily Venters: reasoning  behind  why  we  do  this  workout."  Because  for  me, 

687
00:39:03,870 --> 00:39:06,989
Emily Venters: when  I  started  to  learn  about  training  and  really  learn 

688
00:39:06,989 --> 00:39:09,120
Emily Venters: about  it  in  college,  that  helped  me  a  lot  was 

689
00:39:09,120 --> 00:39:12,060
Emily Venters: when  my  coach  started  to  actually  explain  why  we  were 

690
00:39:12,060 --> 00:39:14,790
Emily Venters: doing  this  workout.  What  was  the  benefit  of  it?  And 

691
00:39:14,790 --> 00:39:17,580
Emily Venters: so  I  think  if  I  can  start  kind  of  telling 

692
00:39:17,580 --> 00:39:20,520
Emily Venters: him  week  by  week  what  the  purpose  of  it  is, 

693
00:39:20,700 --> 00:39:23,550
Emily Venters: he'll  see  that  and  then  he'll  be  like, " Okay,  I'll 

694
00:39:23,550 --> 00:39:25,919
Emily Venters: do  that  because  it's  going  to  help  me  here  or 

695
00:39:25,920 --> 00:39:30,120
Emily Venters: with  this  part  of  the  race."
 And  so  I  enjoy 

696
00:39:30,120 --> 00:39:34,140
Emily Venters: that  aspect  of  coaching  because,  yeah,  it's  something  that  he 

697
00:39:34,140 --> 00:39:36,270
Emily Venters: doesn't  know  and  something  that  I  can  share  with  him 

698
00:39:36,780 --> 00:39:40,200
Emily Venters: and that  will  help  his  running.  But  also  I'm  like, " You 

699
00:39:40,200 --> 00:39:42,000
Emily Venters: got  to  do  these  because  it  will  help  the  race." 

700
00:39:43,320 --> 00:39:45,270
Emily Venters: If  you  want  to  run  sub- three,  it'll  be  worth 

701
00:39:45,270 --> 00:39:48,780
Emily Venters: it.  Trust  me,  I  do  hard  workouts  and  running  isn't 

702
00:39:48,780 --> 00:39:51,450
Emily Venters: easy.  It  is  a  sport  that  is  hard.  And  if 

703
00:39:51,450 --> 00:39:55,350
Emily Venters: you  want  to  be  good  at  it  is  painful,  unfortunately 

704
00:39:55,350 --> 00:39:59,580
Emily Venters: at  times,  but  it's  always  worth  it.  And  the  runner's 

705
00:39:59,580 --> 00:40:02,160
Emily Venters: high  that  you  get  after  any  workout  or  race  is 

706
00:40:02,250 --> 00:40:04,920
Emily Venters: unlike  any  other  sport,  I  think, and  I  think  he  can 

707
00:40:04,920 --> 00:40:07,560
Emily Venters: agree  with  that  as  well.  But  at  the  same  time, 

708
00:40:07,560 --> 00:40:10,710
Emily Venters: I  also  just  tell  him  that  consistency  over  time  is 

709
00:40:10,980 --> 00:40:14,160
Emily Venters: the  key  to  success and  just  staying  healthy  and  staying  with 

710
00:40:14,160 --> 00:40:17,400
Emily Venters: it.  And  he  is  super  consistent.  Even  when  he  has 

711
00:40:17,400 --> 00:40:20,940
Emily Venters: a  small  injury  come  up,  he's  on  top  of  it, 

712
00:40:20,940 --> 00:40:23,250
Emily Venters: trying  to  heal  it  as  quickly  as  possible  to  get 

713
00:40:23,250 --> 00:40:26,430
Emily Venters: back.  And  it's  great  to  have  someone  like  that  to 

714
00:40:26,430 --> 00:40:26,880
Emily Venters: work  with.

715
00:40:26,880 --> 00:40:28,770
Becs Gentry: And  I  was  going  to  say,  I  saw  that  the 

716
00:40:28,770 --> 00:40:30,660
Becs Gentry: week  leading  up  or  maybe  was  it  two  weeks  leading 

717
00:40:30,660 --> 00:40:34,650
Becs Gentry: up  to  the  race,  you,  Justin,  had  something,  some  sort 

718
00:40:34,650 --> 00:40:37,589
Becs Gentry: of  mild  injury,  and  you  put  it  on  social,  but 

719
00:40:37,590 --> 00:40:39,930
Becs Gentry: you  were  like, " It's  not  going  to  get  in  the 

720
00:40:39,930 --> 00:40:42,480
Becs Gentry: way.  We're  going  to  do  everything  we  can  to  show 

721
00:40:42,480 --> 00:40:44,130
Becs Gentry: up  as  strong  as  we  can."  And  you  kind  of 

722
00:40:44,130 --> 00:40:47,790
Becs Gentry: showed  the  leg  up  sort  of  situation,  and  then  a 

723
00:40:47,790 --> 00:40:51,359
Becs Gentry: nice  easy  run  the  next  day.  And  I  think...  Do 

724
00:40:51,360 --> 00:40:54,930
Becs Gentry: you  ever  think  about  the  different  people  now  that  you're 

725
00:40:54,930 --> 00:40:59,219
Becs Gentry: inspiring  as  a  runner,  as  a  celebrity  runner,  as  opposed 

726
00:40:59,219 --> 00:41:01,469
Becs Gentry: to  a  celebrity  football  player  in  those  moments?

727
00:41:02,100 --> 00:41:11,218
Justin Britt: Yeah.  Well, my fans on  social  media  aspired  but  never  see  themselves  being 

728
00:41:11,219 --> 00:41:15,089
Justin Britt: an  NFL  player,  but  it's  a  lot  easier  to  see 

729
00:41:15,090 --> 00:41:22,830
Justin Britt: yourself  getting  out  there  and  running.  So,  I  was  kind 

730
00:41:22,830 --> 00:41:26,460
Justin Britt: of  bored  and  was  recording  my  workouts,  and  then  when 

731
00:41:26,460 --> 00:41:28,020
Justin Britt: I  got  into  running,  I  was  like, " Well,  we're  out 

732
00:41:28,020 --> 00:41:30,779
Justin Britt: here.  We  might  as  well  record  it,  and  make  some 

733
00:41:30,780 --> 00:41:35,549
Justin Britt: content  because  we're  having  fun."  And  then  it  started  to 

734
00:41:35,550 --> 00:41:39,210
Justin Britt: build  a  community.  And  Run  the  Race  became  a  thing 

735
00:41:40,200 --> 00:41:44,070
Justin Britt: and  yada,  yada,  yada,  but  now  it's  like  people  will 

736
00:41:44,070 --> 00:41:46,620
Justin Britt: send  me  their  runs  and  they're  like, " I  just  did 

737
00:41:46,620 --> 00:41:49,770
Justin Britt: this.  I  just  PR'd  in  distance.  I  just  did  this 

738
00:41:51,120 --> 00:41:53,340
Justin Britt: because  of  you  and  you  inspired  me.  You  make  it 

739
00:41:53,340 --> 00:41:56,100
Justin Britt: look  so  fun,  this  and  that."  And  they're  like, " I 

740
00:41:56,100 --> 00:41:59,009
Justin Britt: can't  wait  to  see  you  in  the  corral."  And  I 

741
00:41:59,010 --> 00:42:02,850
Justin Britt: try  to  respond  to  most  of  them  because  if  I 

742
00:42:02,850 --> 00:42:04,920
Justin Britt: do  see them  in  the  corral,  then  we're  all...  like  you 

743
00:42:04,920 --> 00:42:08,069
Justin Britt: said,  we're  all  runners,  and  we're  all  there  for  one 

744
00:42:08,070 --> 00:42:12,690
Justin Britt: common  goal  and  that's  the  finish.
 And  so  I've  learned 

745
00:42:12,989 --> 00:42:18,330
Justin Britt: that  running  is  kind  of  selfish,  but  it's  like  the 

746
00:42:18,360 --> 00:42:22,290
Justin Britt: community  allows  you  to  get  your  selflessness  out  and  help 

747
00:42:22,290 --> 00:42:27,120
Justin Britt: others  and  just  be  there.  And  so  it's  been  inspiring, 

748
00:42:27,120 --> 00:42:28,830
Justin Britt: and  I  feel  like  I'm  able  to  reach  a  whole 

749
00:42:28,830 --> 00:42:33,120
Justin Britt: different  dynamic  or  demographic,  I  should  say,  than  maybe  Emily, 

750
00:42:33,989 --> 00:42:38,100
Justin Britt: just  because  of  my  kind  of  background  to  get  to 

751
00:42:38,100 --> 00:42:44,070
Justin Britt: this  point.  And  so  it's  like  Kipchoge  said, " Get  the 

752
00:42:44,070 --> 00:42:47,340
Justin Britt: world  running,"  so  I'm  just  trying  to  do  my  part 

753
00:42:47,610 --> 00:42:48,660
Justin Britt: and  play  my  role.

754
00:42:49,770 --> 00:42:52,140
Rob Simmelkjaer: It's  great.  It's  great.  All  right,  Emily,  let's  talk  about 

755
00:42:52,200 --> 00:42:54,390
Rob Simmelkjaer: where  you  are  in  your  career  a  little  bit.  You 

756
00:42:54,390 --> 00:42:58,410
Rob Simmelkjaer: are  a  five- time  NCAA  All- American,  you  are  a  Pac-

757
00:42:58,410 --> 00:43:03,090
Rob Simmelkjaer: 12  champion,  ran  at  Utah.  And  I'm  looking  at  your 

758
00:43:03,090 --> 00:43:07,560
Rob Simmelkjaer: running  resume  and  you  have  been  successful  at  a  lot 

759
00:43:07,560 --> 00:43:12,780
Rob Simmelkjaer: of  different  distances,  5, 000  meters,  10,000  meters,  cross  country  at 6,

760
00:43:12,810 --> 00:43:15,900
Rob Simmelkjaer: 000  and  all  over  the  place,  all  the  way  up 

761
00:43:15,900 --> 00:43:19,620
Rob Simmelkjaer: to  the  half- marathon  distance.  Where  do  you  think  your 

762
00:43:19,620 --> 00:43:21,870
Rob Simmelkjaer: sweet  spot  is  right  now,  Emily,  in  terms  of  a 

763
00:43:21,870 --> 00:43:25,710
Rob Simmelkjaer: distance  and  what  are  you  aspiring  to?  You're  still  quite 

764
00:43:25,710 --> 00:43:28,170
Rob Simmelkjaer: young,  you  got  a  lot  of  runway  ahead  of  you 

765
00:43:28,170 --> 00:43:30,180
Rob Simmelkjaer: as  a  runner.  Where  do  you  want  to  see  yourself 

766
00:43:30,180 --> 00:43:30,870
Rob Simmelkjaer: in  five  years?

767
00:43:32,489 --> 00:43:35,010
Emily Venters: Well,  I  hope  in  five  years  that,  yeah,  I'm  still 

768
00:43:35,010 --> 00:43:37,710
Emily Venters: running and  I  hope  that  I'm  in  kind  of  the  peak 

769
00:43:37,710 --> 00:43:40,620
Emily Venters: of  my  marathon  career  at  that  point,  actually.  I  think 

770
00:43:40,620 --> 00:43:43,860
Emily Venters: I've  been  struggling  in  the  past  year,  even  right  now 

771
00:43:43,860 --> 00:43:46,050
Emily Venters: still,  to  figure  out  where  my  sweet  spot  is.  I 

772
00:43:46,050 --> 00:43:49,830
Emily Venters: feel  like  I'm  at  the  hard  age  where  I  still 

773
00:43:50,400 --> 00:43:53,460
Emily Venters: want  to  cling  to  the  shorter  distances  because  I  love 

774
00:43:53,460 --> 00:43:55,170
Emily Venters: them  and  they're  really  fun  for  me  and  I  feel 

775
00:43:55,170 --> 00:43:57,000
Emily Venters: like  I'm  not  done  with  them,  but  at  the  same 

776
00:43:57,000 --> 00:43:59,339
Emily Venters: time,  I  know  within  me  that  I  am  a  true 

777
00:43:59,340 --> 00:44:02,580
Emily Venters: long  distance  road  runner  and  that  is  my  strength,  but 

778
00:44:02,640 --> 00:44:05,640
Emily Venters: maybe  not  right  now.  I'm  still  trying  to  build  the 

779
00:44:05,640 --> 00:44:09,540
Emily Venters: foundation  for  it.
 And  so  I've  talked  with  my  coach 

780
00:44:09,570 --> 00:44:13,469
Emily Venters: and  just  other  people  around  me  and  just  that, " Let's 

781
00:44:13,469 --> 00:44:16,890
Emily Venters: focus  this  year  on  really  just  building  the  foundation  for 

782
00:44:16,890 --> 00:44:20,370
Emily Venters: the  years  to  come,  and  don't  stress  about  the  times 

783
00:44:20,370 --> 00:44:24,030
Emily Venters: right  now.  Just  let's  have  good  races,  consistent  races,  and 

784
00:44:24,030 --> 00:44:28,980
Emily Venters: put  in  more  miles  and  longer  workouts  just  to  have 

785
00:44:28,980 --> 00:44:33,060
Emily Venters: that  really  solid  foundation  under  me  so  that  the  next 

786
00:44:34,080 --> 00:44:37,230
Emily Venters: two,  three,  four  years  after  can  set  me  up  for 

787
00:44:37,230 --> 00:44:41,610
Emily Venters: more  success  in  those  longer  distances."  I  obviously  tried  the 

788
00:44:41,610 --> 00:44:45,239
Emily Venters: marathon  this  past  fall  in  Chicago  and  it  did  not 

789
00:44:45,300 --> 00:44:48,900
Emily Venters: go  well.  That  was  also  due  to  some  fueling  problems 

790
00:44:48,900 --> 00:44:51,660
Emily Venters: that  I  have  now  worked  through.
 I  was a  little  bit 

791
00:44:51,660 --> 00:44:55,080
Emily Venters: naive,  I  think,  going  into that and  that  it  was  just  going 

792
00:44:55,080 --> 00:44:56,969
Emily Venters: to  be...  I  was  going  to  do  great  at  it 

793
00:44:57,120 --> 00:45:00,450
Emily Venters: right  away.  And  I  think  so  much  more  goes  into 

794
00:45:00,480 --> 00:45:03,450
Emily Venters: it  than  I  realized,  and  it's  kind  of  just  changed 

795
00:45:03,450 --> 00:45:06,090
Emily Venters: my  mindset  of  like  I  can't  be  naive.  I'm  like, "

796
00:45:06,090 --> 00:45:08,790
Emily Venters: Let's  really  be  strategic  here."  If  I  want  to  be 

797
00:45:08,790 --> 00:45:10,860
Emily Venters: successful  at  this,  it's  going  to  be  in  a  couple of 

798
00:45:10,860 --> 00:45:13,800
Emily Venters: years,  I  think,  is  when  I'll  be  getting  closer  to 

799
00:45:13,920 --> 00:45:17,640
Emily Venters: my  peak  at  that.  And  so,  yeah,  just  continuing  to 

800
00:45:17,640 --> 00:45:22,110
Emily Venters: build  and  train  as  a  half- marathon  runner  right  now, 

801
00:45:22,680 --> 00:45:25,529
Emily Venters: run  some  5Ks  here  and  there  and  some  10Ks.  And 

802
00:45:27,030 --> 00:45:29,430
Emily Venters: I  am  going  to  probably  do  a  marathon  again  this 

803
00:45:29,430 --> 00:45:31,500
Emily Venters: summer.  I'm  not  going  to  say  which  one  right  now, 

804
00:45:32,460 --> 00:45:34,830
Emily Venters: but  I  have  a  chip  on  my  shoulder  for  it. 

805
00:45:34,830 --> 00:45:38,040
Emily Venters: And  I'm  excited  for  what  I  truly  believe  that  I 

806
00:45:38,040 --> 00:45:40,920
Emily Venters: can  do  at  that  distance.  It's  just  a  matter  of 

807
00:45:40,920 --> 00:45:46,650
Emily Venters: time.  So,  yeah,  that's  where  my  trajectory  is  going, I think.  I do still feel 

808
00:45:46,650 --> 00:45:47,190
Emily Venters: really  young in the sport.

809
00:45:47,910 --> 00:45:51,000
Rob Simmelkjaer: You  are.  You're  super  young,  26  years  old,  I  believe. 

810
00:45:51,900 --> 00:45:56,400
Rob Simmelkjaer: And Becs, you and I have  had  these  conversations  with  other  runners  who  that  pull 

811
00:45:56,460 --> 00:46:00,210
Rob Simmelkjaer: and  that  draw  toward  the  marathon  is  hard  to  resist. 

812
00:46:00,719 --> 00:46:03,930
Rob Simmelkjaer: They  are  the  biggest  events  in  terms  of  how  many 

813
00:46:03,930 --> 00:46:07,049
Rob Simmelkjaer: people  are  there,  the  eyeballs  that  are  on  them,  the 

814
00:46:07,050 --> 00:46:11,880
Rob Simmelkjaer: sponsorships,  and  all  the  things  from  both  the  commercial  side, 

815
00:46:11,880 --> 00:46:14,460
Rob Simmelkjaer: as  well  as  just  the  excitement  of  being  a  part 

816
00:46:14,460 --> 00:46:16,770
Rob Simmelkjaer: of  these  big  races.  And  so  it  seems  like  so 

817
00:46:16,770 --> 00:46:21,510
Rob Simmelkjaer: many  people  in  Emily's  shoes  who  are  outstanding  5,000, 10, 000 

818
00:46:21,510 --> 00:46:24,239
Rob Simmelkjaer: meter  runners,  when  they  get  into  their  late  20s,  the 

819
00:46:24,239 --> 00:46:27,060
Rob Simmelkjaer: draw  is  there, and it  just  starts  pulling  them  that  way.  And 

820
00:46:27,060 --> 00:46:29,670
Rob Simmelkjaer: some  of  them  don't  necessarily  want  to  go  right  out 

821
00:46:29,670 --> 00:46:30,000
Rob Simmelkjaer: of  the  gate.

822
00:46:30,000 --> 00:46:30,330
Emily Venters: Yeah,  it's  true.

823
00:46:32,340 --> 00:46:33,780
Becs Gentry: Yeah,  it's  really  interesting.

824
00:46:34,680 --> 00:46:37,530
Emily Venters: And  I  find  that  the  road  races  are  fun  because 

825
00:46:37,530 --> 00:46:39,510
Emily Venters: there  are  so  many  people  and  it  is  just  so 

826
00:46:39,510 --> 00:46:43,529
Emily Venters: exciting  and  so  electric,  lining  up  with  30,000  people.  You 

827
00:46:43,530 --> 00:46:45,390
Emily Venters: don't  get  to  do  that  in  a  track  race.  And 

828
00:46:45,390 --> 00:46:48,180
Emily Venters: then  the  amount  of  people  on  the  streets,  especially  in 

829
00:46:48,270 --> 00:46:51,390
Emily Venters: cities  like  New  York,  it's  just  so  cool.  I  love 

830
00:46:51,390 --> 00:46:54,390
Emily Venters: that.  And  I  love  thinking  about  when  I'm  hurting  in 

831
00:46:54,390 --> 00:46:56,790
Emily Venters: a  race,  there's  so  many  other  people  behind  me  that 

832
00:46:56,790 --> 00:46:58,799
Emily Venters: are  going  through  this  too,  and  we're  all  doing  it 

833
00:46:58,800 --> 00:47:02,010
Emily Venters: together,  like  real  runners.  Yeah,  it's  really  special.

834
00:47:03,870 --> 00:47:05,489
Becs Gentry: Yeah.  Your  people  you're coaching.

835
00:47:06,719 --> 00:47:07,290
Emily Venters: Yeah.

836
00:47:07,290 --> 00:47:10,500
Becs Gentry: Emily,  has there been  a  standout  race  for  you  so  far  in 

837
00:47:10,500 --> 00:47:13,529
Becs Gentry: your  career,  either  a  positive  or  a  negative,  that  has 

838
00:47:13,530 --> 00:47:17,219
Becs Gentry: kind  of  helped  you  shift  your  mentality  in  running?

839
00:47:19,050 --> 00:47:21,630
Emily Venters: I'd  say there've  been  a  handful  of  them,  yeah.  A  couple 

840
00:47:21,780 --> 00:47:25,980
Emily Venters: in  college  as  well,  and  then  I  would  say  probably 

841
00:47:25,980 --> 00:47:30,690
Emily Venters: Houston  half  last  year,  it  was  my  first  half,  kind 

842
00:47:30,690 --> 00:47:33,569
Emily Venters: of  just  opened  my  eyes  to  that  I  could  be 

843
00:47:33,570 --> 00:47:36,420
Emily Venters: a  really  good  long  distance  road  runner.  I  fell  at 

844
00:47:36,420 --> 00:47:40,020
Emily Venters: that  race  at  the  start,  and  I  contemplated  not  even 

845
00:47:40,260 --> 00:47:43,290
Emily Venters: getting  up  and  going  because  I  was  like, " What  the 

846
00:47:43,290 --> 00:47:47,580
Emily Venters: heck?"  I  got  knocked  down  super  hard.  Like, " What  am 

847
00:47:47,580 --> 00:47:50,670
Emily Venters: I  doing?"  Everybody  was  gone.  I  couldn't  see  anybody  in the 

848
00:47:50,700 --> 00:47:54,510
Emily Venters: distance,  and then  I  got  up  and I was  like, " No,  just fucking  go, 

849
00:47:54,510 --> 00:47:59,190
Emily Venters: Emily,  go  and  chase  them."  And  I  just  didn't  look 

850
00:47:59,190 --> 00:48:01,680
Emily Venters: back  after  that.  And  I  finished  and  I  was  like, "

851
00:48:01,710 --> 00:48:03,480
Emily Venters: Oh  my  gosh,  I  love  the  half.  I  got  to 

852
00:48:03,480 --> 00:48:06,029
Emily Venters: do  it  again."  And  that's  kind  of  where  I  got 

853
00:48:07,170 --> 00:48:10,290
Emily Venters: the  itch  to  keep  doing  road  races  and  pursuing  that.


854
00:48:11,820 --> 00:48:14,400
Emily Venters: And  I  haven't  had  a  perfect  career  so  far  at 

855
00:48:14,400 --> 00:48:17,520
Emily Venters: all,  but  I  think  that's  also  just  running  in  general. 

856
00:48:17,520 --> 00:48:19,469
Emily Venters: It's  very,  very  up  and  down,  and  you  have  to 

857
00:48:19,469 --> 00:48:22,200
Emily Venters: stick  with  it  through  the  downs  to  have  those  highs. 

858
00:48:22,650 --> 00:48:28,020
Emily Venters: And,  yeah,  I  know  that  for  myself,  it  has  not 

859
00:48:28,020 --> 00:48:30,210
Emily Venters: been  perfect  at  all,  but  I  think  that  that's  what 

860
00:48:30,330 --> 00:48:33,420
Emily Venters: also  makes  it  special.  And  just  trying  to  focus  on 

861
00:48:33,420 --> 00:48:35,370
Emily Venters: loving  the  process  as  you  go  as  well.  And  if 

862
00:48:35,370 --> 00:48:37,620
Emily Venters: you  love  the  training  and  you  love  the  people  that 

863
00:48:37,620 --> 00:48:40,620
Emily Venters: you're  around,  it's  going  to  be  worth  it  always.

864
00:48:41,010 --> 00:48:44,790
Becs Gentry: Yeah.  I'm  curious,  Emily,  to  ask  you  if  you  see 

865
00:48:44,790 --> 00:48:47,010
Becs Gentry: at  20... You're  26,  did  you  say?

866
00:48:47,010 --> 00:48:47,460
Emily Venters: Mm- hmm.

867
00:48:48,150 --> 00:48:51,600
Becs Gentry: So,  you're  talking  about  your  peak  in  the  future,  and 

868
00:48:51,600 --> 00:48:57,750
Becs Gentry: for  the  vast  majority  of  female  runners,  we  peak  into 

869
00:48:57,750 --> 00:49:01,800
Becs Gentry: our  30s,  for  sure.  I  hadn't  even  started  running  at 

870
00:49:01,800 --> 00:49:07,020
Becs Gentry: 26,  like  semi- professionally.  So,  for  me,  I'm  with you,  my 

871
00:49:07,020 --> 00:49:12,750
Becs Gentry: peak  was  definitely...  Still  going  in  it,  but,  no,  jokes. 

872
00:49:13,560 --> 00:49:16,680
Becs Gentry: But  when  you  look  at  Justin  of  he  had  this 

873
00:49:16,680 --> 00:49:22,230
Becs Gentry: huge  peak  in  football.  And  at  34,  Justin,  right?

874
00:49:22,230 --> 00:49:22,290
Justin Britt: Yeah.

875
00:49:22,560 --> 00:49:28,050
Becs Gentry: He's  now  entering  into  a  really  fantastic  age  and  peak 

876
00:49:28,050 --> 00:49:30,870
Becs Gentry: for  his  career.  How  does  that  make  you  feel  as 

877
00:49:30,870 --> 00:49:34,650
Becs Gentry: you're  coaching  somebody  and  watching  this,  the  duality  of  one 

878
00:49:34,650 --> 00:49:37,950
Becs Gentry: peak  done  and  then  another  one  coming  up  ahead?  How 

879
00:49:37,950 --> 00:49:38,400
Becs Gentry: does  that  make  you  feel?

880
00:49:38,969 --> 00:49:42,029
Emily Venters: Oh,  I  think  he's  got  so  much  potential  still.  That's the 

881
00:49:42,030 --> 00:49:45,060
Emily Venters: exciting  thing  about  starting  into  a  new  sport  and  also 

882
00:49:45,060 --> 00:49:47,820
Emily Venters: running  just  at  a  later  age  is  that  you  haven't 

883
00:49:47,820 --> 00:49:51,090
Emily Venters: pounded  your  body  in  the  same  way  as  running.  Obviously 

884
00:49:51,090 --> 00:49:53,910
Emily Venters: he's  pounded  it  in  different  ways  and  he's  hurt  himself 

885
00:49:53,910 --> 00:49:57,629
Emily Venters: a  lot,  but  in  a  new  way,  I  think  it's 

886
00:49:57,630 --> 00:49:59,820
Emily Venters: just  cool  because  in  those  first  few  years  that  you 

887
00:49:59,820 --> 00:50:04,020
Emily Venters: start,  you  see  so  much  progress.  And  then  as  you've 

888
00:50:04,230 --> 00:50:06,210
Emily Venters: been  doing  it  for  longer  and  longer,  the  progress  is 

889
00:50:06,540 --> 00:50:11,400
Emily Venters: slower  and  minimal,  but,  yeah,  I  think  for  the  next 

890
00:50:11,400 --> 00:50:13,710
Emily Venters: couple  years,  he's  going  to  continue  to  see  a  lot 

891
00:50:13,710 --> 00:50:17,850
Emily Venters: more  progress.
 And  he's  already  getting  close  to  being  able 

892
00:50:17,850 --> 00:50:21,000
Emily Venters: to  run  probably  sub- three  in  the  marathon,  and  that's 

893
00:50:21,000 --> 00:50:23,850
Emily Venters: just  crazy  to  me.  You  go  from  being in  an  NFL 

894
00:50:23,850 --> 00:50:26,340
Emily Venters: center  to  now  almost  running  sub- three  hours  in  the 

895
00:50:26,340 --> 00:50:30,270
Emily Venters: marathon.  And  sub- three  is  obviously  a  big  milestone  that 

896
00:50:30,270 --> 00:50:34,500
Emily Venters: a  lot  of  people  know  in  a  marathon,  and  that's 

897
00:50:34,500 --> 00:50:36,900
Emily Venters: my  goal  for  him  is  I  cannot  wait  for  him 

898
00:50:36,900 --> 00:50:39,120
Emily Venters: to  go  sub- three.  And  I  know  that's  coming  for 

899
00:50:39,120 --> 00:50:41,910
Emily Venters: him,  and  I  think  after  that,  it'll  be  even  faster 

900
00:50:41,910 --> 00:50:44,730
Emily Venters: and  faster.  And,  yeah,  I  don't  know  what  his  limit 

901
00:50:44,730 --> 00:50:47,190
Emily Venters: is,  and  it's  cool  to  see  that.

902
00:50:47,580 --> 00:50:51,390
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah,  that's  really  cool.  Okay,  so  Justin,  I  want  you 

903
00:50:51,390 --> 00:50:55,830
Rob Simmelkjaer: to  picture  the  moment,  envision  the  moment  when  you  cross 

904
00:50:55,830 --> 00:50:59,580
Rob Simmelkjaer: a  finish  line,  maybe  it's  Chicago,  maybe  it's  another  race 

905
00:50:59,580 --> 00:51:03,480
Rob Simmelkjaer: down  the  road  like  New  York,  and  you  see  that 

906
00:51:03,480 --> 00:51:08,640
Rob Simmelkjaer: time,  sub- three.  What  would  that  mean  to  you  versus 

907
00:51:08,640 --> 00:51:12,030
Rob Simmelkjaer: some  of  the  other  things  you've  accomplished  in  your  athletic 

908
00:51:12,030 --> 00:51:15,390
Rob Simmelkjaer: career,  playing  in  the  Super  Bowl  with  the  Seahawks  or 

909
00:51:15,630 --> 00:51:18,989
Rob Simmelkjaer: being  drafted  or  kind  of  some  of  those  moments?  How 

910
00:51:18,989 --> 00:51:21,840
Rob Simmelkjaer: would  you  rank  a  moment  like  that  in  terms  of 

911
00:51:21,840 --> 00:51:23,460
Rob Simmelkjaer: what  you've  achieved  as  an  athlete?

912
00:51:25,770 --> 00:51:28,140
Justin Britt: Well,  all  that  stuff  is  kind  of  already  in  the 

913
00:51:28,140 --> 00:51:34,170
Justin Britt: past.  It's  like  I  expected  to  get  drafted,  I  expected 

914
00:51:34,710 --> 00:51:39,029
Justin Britt: to  play  football  as  a  career.  That's  kind  of  what 

915
00:51:39,030 --> 00:51:42,660
Justin Britt: I  grew  up  wanting  to  do,  kind  of  like  how 

916
00:51:42,660 --> 00:51:46,739
Justin Britt: Emily  grew  up  wanting  to  become  a  professional  runner.  And 

917
00:51:47,070 --> 00:51:49,739
Justin Britt: what  I  didn't  ever  think  I  would  do  is  what 

918
00:51:49,739 --> 00:51:54,540
Justin Britt: I'm  doing.  So,  I  was  overwhelmed  with  emotions  in  New 

919
00:51:54,540 --> 00:51:58,560
Justin Britt: York  Sunday.  It  was  just...  In  my  video  that  I 

920
00:51:58,560 --> 00:52:01,410
Justin Britt: posted,  I'm  just  kind  of  like  (inaudible)   as  soon 

921
00:52:01,410 --> 00:52:04,319
Justin Britt: as  I  cross,  because  it's  like  I  was  overwhelmed  with 

922
00:52:04,320 --> 00:52:09,359
Justin Britt: gratitude.  Because  you  think  about  all  the  early  mornings,  and 

923
00:52:09,360 --> 00:52:12,450
Justin Britt: trying  to  get  your  run  in in  between  school  drop  offs 

924
00:52:12,450 --> 00:52:15,719
Justin Britt: and  the  whole  day,  and  you're  also  trying  to  go 

925
00:52:15,719 --> 00:52:18,960
Justin Britt: to  the  gym,  thank  the  Lord  that  I'm  a  retired 

926
00:52:18,960 --> 00:52:21,060
Justin Britt: person and  I  have  all  this  time  in  the  day  to 

927
00:52:21,060 --> 00:52:23,219
Justin Britt: do  it.
 I  don't  know  how  people  do  it  and 

928
00:52:23,219 --> 00:52:26,219
Justin Britt: have  a  job,  so  I  commend  them.  But  you  just 

929
00:52:26,219 --> 00:52:31,710
Justin Britt: think  about  I  ran  almost  2, 000  miles  last  year. 

930
00:52:32,100 --> 00:52:36,450
Justin Britt: That's  crazy  to  me.  And  it  took  every  one  of 

931
00:52:36,450 --> 00:52:39,330
Justin Britt: those  miles  for  me  to  run a  sub- 90  in  Houston. 

932
00:52:39,690 --> 00:52:43,260
Justin Britt: And  then  to  come  up  to  New  York  and  chase 

933
00:52:43,260 --> 00:52:49,560
Justin Britt: that  same  time,  it's  just  a  huge  pat  on  your 

934
00:52:49,560 --> 00:52:53,580
Justin Britt: back.  You're  like, " Good  job,  me."  And  then  you  think 

935
00:52:53,580 --> 00:52:57,840
Justin Britt: about  the  actual  ups  and  downs  in  a  race,  like 

936
00:52:57,840 --> 00:53:04,110
Justin Britt: whether  it's  a  hill  mentally  or  physically.
 There  was  maybe 

937
00:53:04,110 --> 00:53:08,219
Justin Britt: a  part  on  FDR  where  I  wanted  to  be  like, "

938
00:53:08,219 --> 00:53:12,029
Justin Britt: Rob,  let's  just  enjoy  the  second  half.  Let's  just  stop. 

939
00:53:12,870 --> 00:53:15,839
Justin Britt: I'm  not  feeling  great  right  now,"  but  then  you  made 

940
00:53:15,840 --> 00:53:18,359
Justin Britt: that  left  turn,  you  hear  the  band  start  playing,  and 

941
00:53:18,360 --> 00:53:21,120
Justin Britt: then  you  see  Times  Square in  the  distance,  and  then  you're 

942
00:53:21,120 --> 00:53:24,029
Justin Britt: hearing  the  buzz  of  the  crowd,  and  you're  like, " No, 

943
00:53:24,420 --> 00:53:31,290
Justin Britt: this  is  why  I'm  here."  I  came  here,  for  me, 

944
00:53:32,010 --> 00:53:36,180
Justin Britt: to  heal.  For  me,  I  feel  like  each  race  kind 

945
00:53:36,180 --> 00:53:39,719
Justin Britt: of  does  something  to  me,  like  puts  a  piece  of 

946
00:53:39,719 --> 00:53:44,520
Justin Britt: the  puzzle  back  together.  And  if  I  do  cross  the 

947
00:53:44,520 --> 00:53:47,250
Justin Britt: line  and  see  a  sub- three,  I'll  for  sure  cry. 

948
00:53:47,670 --> 00:53:51,150
Justin Britt: I  know  I  will  because  I'll  be...  Either  I'll  be 

949
00:53:51,180 --> 00:53:53,790
Justin Britt: real  happy  or  I'll  be  like, " Awesome,  I  don't  want 

950
00:53:53,790 --> 00:53:57,660
Justin Britt: to  do  that  again."  So,  we'll  find  out-

951
00:53:58,000 --> 00:53:58,002
Becs Gentry: (inaudible) .

952
00:53:58,002 --> 00:54:02,040
Justin Britt: ...  but  I'm  hungry  for  it,  and  it's an  awesome  goal 

953
00:54:02,040 --> 00:54:06,270
Justin Britt: to  chase.  And  why  would  I  want  to  chase  a  3:

954
00:54:06,270 --> 00:54:10,410
Justin Britt: 15?  That'll  be  fun  to  get  on  the  way  to 

955
00:54:10,410 --> 00:54:16,050
Justin Britt: chasing  a  three.  Like  I  said,  let's  see  how  far 

956
00:54:16,050 --> 00:54:20,070
Justin Britt: we  can  take  it  because,  God  willing,  I'll  be  able 

957
00:54:20,070 --> 00:54:24,330
Justin Britt: to  do  this  until  I  die,  but  I  know at  70 

958
00:54:24,330 --> 00:54:26,130
Justin Britt: I  won't  be  able  to  run  as  fast  as  I 

959
00:54:26,130 --> 00:54:30,660
Justin Britt: am  now.  So,  right  now I'm  just  setting  the  standard  for 

960
00:54:30,660 --> 00:54:34,080
Justin Britt: myself, and  it  always  kind  of  resets,  and  I  want  that 

961
00:54:34,080 --> 00:54:35,910
Justin Britt: reset  to  be  faster,  so...

962
00:54:36,090 --> 00:54:39,780
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah,  yeah.  Well,  this  has  been  a  great  conversation.  I 

963
00:54:39,780 --> 00:54:43,650
Rob Simmelkjaer: love  this  partnership  between  the  two  of  you.  I'm  going 

964
00:54:43,650 --> 00:54:47,520
Rob Simmelkjaer: to  keep  following  both  of  you.  Justin,  see  how  close 

965
00:54:47,520 --> 00:54:50,100
Rob Simmelkjaer: you  can  get  to  your  three  hours.  Emily,  wishing  you 

966
00:54:50,100 --> 00:54:53,340
Rob Simmelkjaer: all  the  best  as  you  continue  to  grow  as  a 

967
00:54:53,340 --> 00:54:57,630
Rob Simmelkjaer: road  runner  and  move  up  in  those  distances  because  I 

968
00:54:57,630 --> 00:54:59,759
Rob Simmelkjaer: have  a  really  good  feeling  we're  going  to  be  seeing 

969
00:54:59,760 --> 00:55:03,420
Rob Simmelkjaer: a  lot  of  you  in  top  10  finishing  positions  at 

970
00:55:03,420 --> 00:55:06,660
Rob Simmelkjaer: some  big,  big  races  down  the  road,  especially  just  because 

971
00:55:06,660 --> 00:55:09,899
Rob Simmelkjaer: of  the  mentality  that  I  hear  you  have  about  not 

972
00:55:09,900 --> 00:55:12,900
Rob Simmelkjaer: being  all  about  you,  but  giving  back  and  the  fuel 

973
00:55:12,930 --> 00:55:15,510
Rob Simmelkjaer: that  that  adds  for  you.  So,  best  of  luck  to 

974
00:55:15,510 --> 00:55:17,161
Rob Simmelkjaer: both  of  you.  Thank  you  for  joining  us.

975
00:55:17,161 --> 00:55:17,370
Becs Gentry: Thank you, guys.

976
00:55:17,370 --> 00:55:19,920
Rob Simmelkjaer: And  congrats  to  both  of  you  on  awesome,  awesome  days 

977
00:55:20,280 --> 00:55:22,529
Rob Simmelkjaer: in  the  United  Airlines  NYC  Half  on  Sunday.

978
00:55:23,730 --> 00:55:26,819
Emily Venters: Thank  you.  Hopefully  both  of  us  will  be  at  New 

979
00:55:26,820 --> 00:55:31,080
Emily Venters: York  Marathon  someday  in  a  couple  years  and,  yeah,  that'll 

980
00:55:31,080 --> 00:55:31,560
Emily Venters: be  fun.

981
00:55:31,770 --> 00:55:32,460
Rob Simmelkjaer: I  like  it.

982
00:55:32,460 --> 00:55:32,520
Becs Gentry: We can't wait.

983
00:55:33,120 --> 00:55:37,800
Rob Simmelkjaer: Let's  make  it  happen.  Manifest,  baby.  Let's  manifest  that.  New 

984
00:55:37,800 --> 00:55:41,130
Rob Simmelkjaer: York  Road  Runners  is  a  nonprofit  organization  with  a  vision 

985
00:55:41,130 --> 00:55:44,969
Rob Simmelkjaer: to  build  healthier  lives  and  stronger  communities  through  the  transformative 

986
00:55:44,969 --> 00:55:48,419
Rob Simmelkjaer: power  of  running.  The  support  of  members  and  donors  like 

987
00:55:48,450 --> 00:55:51,750
Rob Simmelkjaer: you  helps  us  achieve  our  mission  to  transform  the  health 

988
00:55:51,750 --> 00:55:55,560
Rob Simmelkjaer: and  wellbeing  of  our  communities  through  inclusive  and  accessible  running 

989
00:55:55,560 --> 00:56:00,000
Rob Simmelkjaer: experiences,  empowering  all  to  achieve  their  potential.  Learn  more  and 

990
00:56:00,000 --> 00:56:04,950
Rob Simmelkjaer: contribute  at  nyrr. org/ donate.
 All  right,  that  does  it 

991
00:56:04,950 --> 00:56:06,840
Rob Simmelkjaer: for  another  episode  of  Set  the  Pace.  We  want  to 

992
00:56:06,840 --> 00:56:10,259
Rob Simmelkjaer: thank  our  guests  today,  Justin  Britt  and  Emily  Venters.  And 

993
00:56:10,530 --> 00:56:12,900
Rob Simmelkjaer: by  the  way,  during  that  conversation  with  Justin  and  Emily, 

994
00:56:12,900 --> 00:56:15,569
Rob Simmelkjaer: we  talked  a  lot  about  Rob  Dalto,  our  friend,  one 

995
00:56:15,570 --> 00:56:18,180
Rob Simmelkjaer: of  the  co- founders  of  the  Bronx  Burners  Run  Club. 

996
00:56:18,810 --> 00:56:22,560
Rob Simmelkjaer: Rob  had  a  heart  procedure  done  today,  the  day  that 

997
00:56:22,560 --> 00:56:27,420
Rob Simmelkjaer: we  are  hosting  this  podcast,  Tuesday,  the  17th.  He's  been 

998
00:56:27,420 --> 00:56:31,200
Rob Simmelkjaer: very  open  about  his  heart  condition  and  the  obstacle  it's 

999
00:56:31,200 --> 00:56:33,540
Rob Simmelkjaer: created  for  him  as  a  runner  and  just  as  a 

1000
00:56:33,540 --> 00:56:35,790
Rob Simmelkjaer: person  in  life,  so  we  just  want  to  wish  Rob 

1001
00:56:35,790 --> 00:56:39,690
Rob Simmelkjaer: all  the  very  best  on  his  procedure,  on  his  recovery. 

1002
00:56:39,690 --> 00:56:42,330
Rob Simmelkjaer: And  we  hope,  Rob,  to  see  you  back  out  there 

1003
00:56:42,330 --> 00:56:45,090
Rob Simmelkjaer: in  a  raise  competing  very,  very  soon  because  you  mean 

1004
00:56:45,090 --> 00:56:47,850
Rob Simmelkjaer: so  much  to  so  many  people in  the  New  York  running  community.

1005
00:56:47,850 --> 00:56:47,969
Becs Gentry: You  do.

1006
00:56:47,969 --> 00:56:48,630
Rob Simmelkjaer: So,  all  the  best  to  Rob.

1007
00:56:49,000 --> 00:56:50,610
Becs Gentry: (inaudible) .  Yeah.  Recover  well,  Rob.

1008
00:56:50,820 --> 00:56:53,580
Rob Simmelkjaer: Absolutely.  If  you  liked  this  episode  today,  make  sure  you 

1009
00:56:53,580 --> 00:56:56,070
Rob Simmelkjaer: leave  us  a  rating,  a  comment,  so  we  can  hear 

1010
00:56:56,070 --> 00:56:58,650
Rob Simmelkjaer: from  you.  This  helps  other  people  find  the  show  as 

1011
00:56:58,650 --> 00:57:01,094
Rob Simmelkjaer: well.  Thanks  for  listening.  We'll  see  you  next  week.  Enjoy 

1012
00:57:01,094 --> 00:57:01,650
Rob Simmelkjaer: the  miles.