Kat Chong struggled with severe anxiety throughout her young adult life. She got to the point where she couldn't get to work for fear of what the day to day would look like. Her anxiety manifested both physically and mentally until she hit a breaking point. She finally decided to leave a bad relationship, and soon afterwards found running while on a family trip. She signed up for her first 5km and a few years later she was training for her first 50km. The solitude of the trails was the perfect place for someone who needed to stay away from the crowds of a road race. She's now training for her first 70Mile.
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The women of the trails share their stories about running, racing, and life. These badass ladies from around the globe get honest about everything from competing, motherhood, and trying to have it all. Get ready for training ideas, gear tips, and a healthy dose of inspiration.
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So many great tips in this episode!
Lauren Beihoffer, aka Lauren Runs Wild, is a biochemist turned running coach who is now specializing in helping women over 40 run their best. She's a certified nutritionist, metabolic specialist, certified coach, and a badass runner and mom herself. We dip into all her knowledge with some great tips for athletes of all ages.
We are back with Cory Jennermann, co-founder of RunGuides.com, and super skilled runner and pacer. Run Guides is the go-to website for finding the perfect race for you. We chat about his top tips for getting faster in the trails, how to easily cut off time in your next race, and how to pace like a pro. We get into all things pacing from dialing in road splits, to pacing friends in super long trail events, and when to throw oranges at them.
I first interviewed Lizzie in 2020 when we was diagnosed with rare heart condition called AVRC. It's genetic condition that effects the muscle in your heart and makes it turn into scar tissue the harder you work the muscle. In short, it means running can kill you. We chat again about how she's learned to live with it and how far she can push.
Reid Taylor is a Delta Firefighter who has now run 2 marathons wearing 45-pounds of his turnout gear. Reid has always been an athlete but endurance running was something entirley new to him. After his first marathon he began to get chest pains and training stopped abruptly. We chat about how he overcame a 90% blockage in his artery and eventually geared up to run the marathon a second time in March 2024.
April went from not being able to run 60 seconds to running the Chicago Marathon. When she was in the darkest place in her life she buckled down and got out the door. She didn’t know anything about running, she just wanted to have peace in her mind and to love life again, and she did! She is now 4 years in the game and loving what running has done for her and her life.