Ali on the Run Show

"It's OK to struggle, but it's not OK to give up." —Gabe Grunewald Gabriele "Gabe" Grunewald was a professional middle-distance runner from Minneapolis, MN. She was first diagnosed with Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma when she was in college and undoubtedly in the best shape of her life. Instead of finishing her college running career on a high note — or, better yet, a podium — Gabe was faced with a diff...

"I am not interested in hurting today. I am not interested in suffering. I am not interested in working that hard. I just wanted to run and smile and see friends and wave to people. As soon as it started feeling hard, I said I needed to slow down. and I have no shame in that. We enjoyed the run, and that was all I wanted." Welcome to Ask Ali! These episodes come to the podcast once a month, someti...

"You know in your head who you are. You just have to be brave enough to listen." When Julia Brownell was little, she had a dream and a plan: to be a writer. She played sports, she loved to run, and she loved writing scripts and stories in her free time. And turns out, dreams come true. Today, Julia is a 3:16 marathoner, a mom of two, and a writer, producer, and playwright in Hollywood. She has bee...

"You just have to survive." Welcome to the return of the Motherhood Mondays series! Once a month, I'll be joined by a fellow mom — including professional runners, everyday runners, experts, and more — to speak candidly about motherhood and all that it entails. Today, I'm joined by Veronica Graziano, a 2:41 marathoner (she ran the Olympic Marathon Trials in 2020, and recapped that experience here a...

"There was a lot of anticipation for this race, and I hope it lived up to everyone's standards!" Josette Norris is on a hot streak on the track! The On-sponsored Jersey girl (who now lives in Boulder, CO) just won the 5000m race at On Track Fest (and ran a personal best of 14:43), and won the 1500m race at Penn Relays the weekend prior. In this conversation, Josette talks about what life is like a...

"I don't regret anything. I did my best, all the way until the end. I did what I could on the day." You heard the live show with Shalane Flanagan . You got the full race recap with Keira D'Amato. Now, I'm wrapping up all things Eugene Marathon 2023 by answering listener questions about my training, my race experience, and what's next. SPONSOR: Tracksmith : New customers, use code  ALINEW  for $15...

"It took a lot of work, realizing that the running community is made up of so many different people, so many different paces, so many different body types. And just accepting that — accepting that you don't have to run a certain pace or look a certain way to be considered a runner... I finally accepted that truth . " Molly Hernandez grew up in Texas with big dreams of being a Disney Channel star....

"I am so accustomed to thinking about what could go wrong, and how do I prepare for that? Which I don't think is bad… But very rarely do I let myself be open to the possibility of something great or something magical, or a perfect day. And I tried — start to finish. I kept that in my mind: Be open to the possibility of a perfect day." Last weekend, I ran the Eugene Marathon. It was my seventh mara...

"I would describe this past year as 'drinking from a fire hose.'" It was the day before the Eugene Marathon, and the goal was to get everyone in the audience feeling less "baaaaah!" and more "aaaaaah." Enter: Olympic silver medalist, 2017 New York City Marathon champion, assistant coach for the Bowerman Track Club and University of Oregon cross country team, and best-selling cookbook author Shalan...

"We learned from other mentors. We both believe wholeheartedly that it's a responsibility to then mentor other people and be transparent." Fact: Only 1% of creative agencies are owned by women. Photographer Aisha McAdams ( @ai.shoots ) and graphic designer Katherine Burgess ( @katherine_kart ) are here to up that number. They are the founders of Rhoam Creative Studio , a creative design and produc...

"It felt like, I'm figuring out what these things look like for me. Not, what's everyone doing or what should I be doing or what's expected of me?" There's nowhere I'd rather be on the third Monday in April than at the Boston Marathon finish line! This year, I was honored to be asked back to perform a variety of roles in Boston. I was one of the start and finish line announcers at the B.A.A. 5K an...

"Do the damn thing." Emma Bates! All eyes were on professional runner Emma Bates throughout Monday's Boston Marathon. In a shock to some, Emma found herself leading the race for many of the middle miles, including up the infamous Newton hills. But Emma? And her coach, Joe Bosshard? Not shocked. Emma ended up finishing fifth, as the top American woman, and with a personal best time of 2:22:10. In t...

Let the Boston Marathon recaps begin! First up: We went live! I hosted a live show at the Boston Marathon Expo on Friday, April 14, in front of a massive, awesome, standing-ovation-ready crowd. The topic: marathons and motherhood. The guests: three women who know it well. Welcome returning favorites — all three of whom went on to race Boston three days later — Sara Hall, Sara Vaughn, and Aliphine...

"I feel like a train, or a minivan — I can go anywhere, I can go forever! I can't go as fast as I used to, but I can do it !" Alexi Pappas kicked off 2023 by running — on a whim — a 100K trail race. Last month, she ran the L.A. Marathon with Diplo. Now, she's getting ready to run the Boston Marathon as a guide to Lisa Thompson, the visually impaired runner Alexi ran with in Boston last year. (Lisa...

"This is not an easy question for many reasons!" 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 about things like shoe contracts, drug testing, waterfall starts on the tra...

"You go out there, and you have to trust that you're going to do what you've trained to do. Your body is ready to race. But if your mind isn't? It does not matter." Chloe Abbott is an On Running-sponsored professional runner who specializes in the 400m and trains with renowned coach Bobby Kersee and the Formula Kersee team in L.A. (which includes Sydney McLaughlin, Athing Mu, and Jenna Prandini)....

"None of my friends explained this to me!" Becs Gentry is a 2:32 marathoner , a Peloton tread and strength instructor, and, as of October 22, 2022, a mom! Becs returns to the Ali on the Run Show today to talk about her road to motherhood. She talks about getting pregnant after experiencing a miscarriage (she was pregnant during last year's live show — but no one knew yet!), and about what running...

"So much power had been taken away from me. My safety, everything, and all the medical stuff. It was so empowering to see what my body could do after all that, through all that. And I really think everyone can hear that and say, 'I can do it' too.' If I can do it? I know anybody else can. You can do so much more than you think you're able to do and have the power to do. You just have to listen to...

"It never really crossed my mind to feel limited. It never really crossed my mind to be like, 'What can't I do now?' I always focused on, 'What can I do under different circumstances?' It never crossed my mind to focus on couldn't ." If the name Michele Blackburn sounds familiar, that may be because you've heard it mentioned here on the Ali on the Run Show before — just about one year ago, in fact...

"The time on the clock doesn't matter. That doesn't mean I don't care. It just means it doesn't define me." Welcome to the second Ask Ali episode of 2023! These episodes come your way once a month, sometimes with a guest host, sometimes responding to listener voicemails, and sometimes just flying solo. Today, the Ali on the Run Show voicemail Q&A makes its grand return! Thanks to everyone who call...

"Right on Hereford, left on Boylston. It is the place to be. It's special every time." We are just 24 days away from the 127th running of the world's oldest marathon. This year's Boston Marathon takes place, as always, on the third Monday of April — this year, that's April 17. In this mega-episode, I (along with a team of experts and insiders) am attempting to answer all of your questions about al...

" It comes to a point where you are so tired and you're just constantly irritable. And I was not prepared for that! " The last time professional distance runner Erika Kemp was on the Ali on the Run Show , the six-time collegiate All-American and multiple-time USATF national champion was on a racing hot streak, earning multiple regional and national titles and earning wins from the 5K up to the 20K...

"From this day forward, I will say that I'm a runner." In 2004, I was a freshman at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT. That's when I met Scott Wormser. We bonded immediately over our shared loves for musicals, New York City, and chocolate lava cakes. We did fun things together, like hosting the annual Mr. Quinnipiac competition, helping plan the senior week festivities for our graduating class,...

"There are definitely stars who make $500,000, a million dollars a year. If someone is breaking world records, they are getting paid ." It's a series! Welcome 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 insid...

"What is my why? It's just to give myself a shot. I've run six marathons. I feel like one of them went really well. And I felt the urge to try something fun and give myself a challenge and see what I'm capable of." Hello from the halfway point in my Eugene Marathon training! I'm seven weeks into my training with seven weeks to go until I line up for my seventh marathon. A few weeks ago, my coach a...