Ali on the Run Show

It's almost time for the 45th running of the Chicago Marathon! The 2023 Bank of America Chicago Marathon will take place on Sunday, October 8, and this episode is packed with all the information you need before you head to the start line. (And yes, you really should plan to get there two hours early. We'll explain why!) The elite fields are stacked (Sisson! Hassan! Linden! Bates! Seidel! Scaroni!...

"That was my overwhelming emotion: embarrassment." Charlie Watson is a UK-based registered dietitian, marathoner, blogger , and mom. In this conversation, she talks about being diagnosed with MRKH (Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser Syndrome), a rare disorder that affects the female reproductive syndrome, and about how it affected her both as a teenager and, more recently, as an aspiring mom. She talk...

"I went in with zero expectations — let's see what happens! — and totally surprised myself." Lindsay Flanagan just represented Team USA at the World Athletics Championship marathon in Budapest. She finished ninth, was the top American of the day, and is feeling psyched about how it all played out. In this conversation, the Asics-sponsored athlete and two-time member of Team USA recaps her experien...

" It's gotta be a little bit more than running. " Courtney Wayment has been called one of the new "Steeple Queens" in the U.S. But is that a good thing? Does that add pressure? Expectation? Excitement? In this conversation, Courtney returns to the Ali on the Run Show to talk about making her second World Athletics Championships team in the 3000m steeplechase, and what it was like competing in Buda...

"I bought a new house. And I also got a couple of goats." It's marathon training season, baby! And today, we get to hear from training partners, teammates, and professional runners Emma Bates (making her seventh appearance on the Ali on the Run Show !) and Dominique Scott (returning for the third time!) as they gear up for their fall marathons. They talk about how they're feeling, what their runs...

"A bald head can mean so many different things." Lindsay Walter is a 52-time marathoner, 4-time 100-mile finisher, and many-time 50K runner. Most recently, the 32-year-old running coach and freelance writer completed Six Days in the Dome: a multi-day, run-as-much-as-you-can event on an indoor track. (She ran 324 miles in the six-day span!) In this conversation, Lindsay recaps the race, and talks a...

"Celebrate the little victories. Believe that every brick you put down is building a wall." Sometimes on the Run Your Way series, we hear from professional athletes who are going all-in on their running pursuits, smashing 100-mile weeks and competing at the highest level. Other times, the focus is on runners who are working full-time — even working multiple jobs — and managing additional responsib...

"Not all rectangles are squares. That's how I dissect who's self-conscious and not in the short-shorts vs. tights debates." Welcome back to "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know!" I've worked in the running industry in some capacity for roughly a decade now, and as much as I've immersed myself, there's still so much I don't know or understand. So if I, a relative industry insider, am still confused...

"We were like, what if Emily and Keira tied? What if they cross the line together and they tied? And we said, well what if we had a cage match? Like it was a tie, and then it came down to a cage match?" Their wives are the fastest distance runners in the country. Today, we turn the spotlight to the sidelines to hear from the husbands. Shane Quinn is married to American record holder in the maratho...

"I want to make sure I can be doing this for many years to come and not overdo it. So I'm trying to be smart. It's less fun being smart." First, she won the Western States Endurance Run 100-mile race, and set a course record in the process. And then, just three weeks later, Courtney Dauwalter ran, won, and set a course record at the Hardrock 100. In this conversation, Courtney returns to the Ali o...

"I went into it with no expectations and a lot of gratitude." Fresh off her seventh 100-miler finish — and second finish at the Hardrock 100 — Emily Halnon returns to the Ali on the Run Show for the sixth time . In this conversation, Emily talks about getting a call 19 hours before the race start saying she'd gotten off the waitlist. Should she want it, a bib for the esteemed 102.5-mile race in Co...

"It's just this gut feeling that we're not done, and I'm not done. But I'm also a realist." By popular demand, four years later : Laura Green and Julia Berteletti return to the Motherhood Mondays series on the Ali on the Run Show ! Like any group text, this episode takes the long, winding, scenic route. We talk parenting: Julia has a 4.5-year-old son, Max, and Laura has 4.5-year-old Jack and 2-yea...

"I am just so thrilled for what's to come. I don't know what that is. But I have faith that it's working out as it should." We're long overdue for a catch-up session with professional runner and Olympian Kate Grace! The last time Kate was on the Ali on the Run Show was two years ago , after she had just competed at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team Trials, where she had hoped to make her se...

"You can get humbled in this sport quickly. You're playing the long game the whole time. I've learned that I'm down with that. I'm into that. That part of it is what keeps me going. I thrive in the unknowns — getting out there and figuring it out." Erica Stanley-Dottin started running young, and was a sprinter in college. But turns out, her fastest days are now, as a 49-year-old full-time working...

"I feel really, really free." Kara's back! In the year since her last appearance on the Ali on the Run Show , Kara Goucher has become a New York Times best-selling author and co-host of the fan-favorite podcast, Nobody Asked Us with Des and Kara . This week, Kara heads to Eugene, OR, where she'll be on the NBC broadcast calling the men's and women's distance events at the USATF Outdoor National Ch...

"I spent my whole childhood obsessing over really wanting boobs. And now, at 38, these two things that I've had a pretty tumultuous relationship with... Once we finally learned to get along, we find ourselves back on shaky ground, and dare I say, breaking up for good?" It's been about a month since we last caught up . Now, I'm back, walking [messily] through my emotions as I get ready for my doubl...

"I thought I was leaving my grief behind. I truly thought I had finished grieving. When Rivs got sick, that narrative was cracked wide open. And I learned that you never finish grieving, and that's OK. Healing is a continuous journey, and the grief kind of comes along with us and becomes a part of us. And that's a beautiful thing." It's hard to find suitable words to do justice for Steph Catudal's...

"You really have to want it. It takes the discipline of the training, the discipline of honing in on your nutrition and hydration, and understanding what that means. And the day to day practice of really, really wanting to make this thing happen. It's all the little pieces that you have to tie together perfectly. And then you have to have a great day! Everything has to come together on the day. It...

"We knew the answer was yes. But it was so sudden. We didn't have those nine months to get prepared. It was instant." Aleia Hobbs is a three-time global medalist and an Olympic silver medalist, and she's the North American indoor record holder for the 60 meters. One year ago, Aleia earned another title: mom. In this conversation, the adidas-sponsored professional sprinter talks about the call that...

"I'm really confident in myself and I believe I can do it. But it's not gonna be easy. That's why I love this sport. I love racing." What a treat to get to catch up with fan-favorite Nikki Hiltz in the middle of their first-ever European racing circuit and ongoing hot streak. We talked the day before Nikki made their Diamond League debut at a meet in Oslo. (In case you missed it, Nikki finished fo...

" All of those, I ended the race smiling and happy and saying, 'I want to do that again.' For me, running is about that. " Mariana Fernández was born in Mexico and grew up in San Diego, where she dreamed of one day being onstage with her name in lights. Today, she's doing just that — in a slightly different way than she ever imagined. Mariana is a Peloton Tread, Yoga, and Meditation instructor who...

"The marathon is so humbling. Anything can happen, and it usually does — even for the best in the world." We're going back to Boston today, with returning Ali on the Run Show guest Mary Kate Shea . The fastest runners in the world call her "MK," and she's the director of professional athletes and technical support/events at the Boston Athletic Association. Every year, MK is responsible for bringin...

It's been a bit since we've really caught up. Here's what's been going on in my world lately. SPONSORS: Vacation Races :  Use code ONTHERUN200 for $200 off any Global Adventures trip, or code ONTHERUN15 for 15% off any half marathon or ultra marathon registration. goodr : Use code  ONTHERUN  for free shipping on your entire order Follow Ali: Instagram @aliontherun1 Join the Facebook group Twitter...

"If you really in your bones know you can meet some goal? Don't quit until you do it." Ashley Desanno grew up playing soccer, took a break from sports during college (partying > fitness), and then, with encouragement from her now-husband, decided to go for a run one day. One run turned into two, which turned into registering for her first race. Now, she's a 2:58 marathoner who is best known online...

"That's the only reason I still do this today, and I'm able to reach new heights in my performance — it's because of the people that I'm around." We heard from Emma Bates here on the Ali on the Run Show right after she ran that 2:22:10 personal best and finished fifth at this year's Boston Marathon. Now, just a few weeks later, she's back and she's live! This episode was recorded in front of a liv...