Ali on the Run Show

" I learned to get paid to do what I loved and enjoyed doing." —Keri Blunt Keri Blunt is the VP of Everything at Goodr , the sunglasses company that has taken over the running world. But Keri's goal wasn't always (or ever) to work in the running industry. Her original plan — after graduating high school valedictorian at 16 years old — was to become a doctor. She went to college, where she double m...

" I finally thought, 'Why not me? Why not give it a shot?'" —Ellen Latham Ellen Latham is the creator and co-founder of Orangetheory Fitness . Orangetheory is the fastest-growing fitness franchise in the world: It's currently in 18 countries, it brought in more than $700 million in sales last year, and Ellen and her team recently celebrated the opening of the brand's 1000th studio. Of course, the...

"You only have a fallback plan if you plan to fall back." —Jeni Novak When I was 12 years old, my cool older cousin was dating  the coolest girl I'd ever met. She wore high heels, she was a dancer, and she would always do my hair and makeup when I saw her. That girl — woman — is Jeni Novak. We called her "Little Jen," because she was teeny tiny, but today, Little Jen has gotten up to some  big thi...

" I haven't always failed gracefully, but I've always come back." —Laura Anderson Laura Anderson is a full-time working mom and McKirdy Trained running coach based in Rochester, NY. Laura had her daughter, Hannah, a little over a year ago, and in May she ran — and  won —  her first big postpartum race. On this episode, Laura reflects on her 2018 Buffalo Marathon win (she finished in 2:57, which wa...

" I'm still not sure which was crazier: me finishing second, or the response to me finishing second." — Sarah Sellers After the 2018 Boston Marathon, everyone wanted to meet second place finisher Sarah Sellers. She joined the Ali on the Run Show just two days after her triumphant finish in Boston — and that episode went on to become the most-downloaded episode of the show  ever . Today, Sarah is s...

" It's hard. I go and put the work in and see a glimmer of hope and then get my butt handed to me a week later. It's difficult. But I know what I want to do and what I believe I'm capable of doing, and I know I just need to continue to work." —Gwen Jorgensen When Gwen Jorgensen was on the Ali on the Run Show earlier this year , she had recently moved to Portland, OR, and had just announced her nex...

"Running is important, but it's not everything ." —Janae Baron When Janae Baron was on the Ali on the Run Show last December, she was 37 weeks pregnant, so needless to say, she's seen some big changes now that she has an eight-month-old daughter, Skye, added to her six-member family! On this episode, Janae talks about how that transition has gone, and what the biggest challenges and surprises have...

"Expectations obviously are higher now. But I put them on myself." —Allie Kieffer When Allie Kieffer was on Episode 46 of the Ali on the Run Show last November, she was fresh off a fifth-place finish at the 2017 TCS New York City Marathon. Her 2:29 finish was triumphant: She was this unknown, unsponsored runner from Buffalo, NY, who happened to be the first American woman to finish behind winner S...

"I felt relieved. I knew mentally and physically, I was not ready to be on that starting line." —Michele Gonzalez The last time Michele Gonzalez (AKA "NYC Running Mama") was on the show, she was gearing up to run the 2017 Boston Marathon. During that episode , Michele and I joked about someday being pregnant at the same time — and now here we are, both expecting babies this fall! Michele is a full...

"I don't think I'll ever retire. If something motivates me, I want to go for it." —Kara Goucher Kara Goucher is back on the  Ali on the Run Show , talking about her new book,  Strong , how keeping a confidence journal changed her life, and where her running career is at right now. She also talks about the current state of women's running, and reflects on how choosing to have a child at the height...

" I now live in a barn with an elderly schnauzer, surrounded by goats." —Emily Halnon Emily Halnon was the very first guest on the Ali on the Run Show, and now she's back to kick off What's New With You Week. Emily is an ultra runner who lives in Eugene, OR, by way of Washington, DC, and Vermont. When we last talked on the show, Emily was dating a man with a cute dog and training for 100-mile race...

" It's never too late to do what you wanted to do growing up. But it's not going to come easy, and no one's going to hand it to you." —Katie Burke Katie Burke is the Chief People Officer at HubSpot, a marketing software company in Boston that employs more than 2,300 people worldwide. Of those 2,300, Katie was the company's first female to land a spot in the c-suite. (Today, 45 percent of the compa...

" I had no idea there was a camera on me. But yes, I have seen all the memes." — Ryan Linden If Ryan Linden's last name sounds familiar, that's because yes, he is married to 2018 Boston Marathon champion Desiree Linden. Ryan was the undeniably proud face the cameras kept cutting to as Des neared the historic Boston finish line, and on this episode, he breaks down every detail from that life-changi...

" You have to be OK with hearing no, but also not letting that be the last thing that you hear.'" — Tim Murphy Tim and Jessica Murphy are the husband-and-wife team behind BibRave — the Yelp for running races. They're the ultimate industry insiders, and on this episode, they share their journey to becoming entrepreneurs (before going all-in on BibRave, Jessica worked at LinkedIn, Nike, and Runner's...

" I said, 'No way am I running Western States! That's 100 miles!'" — Rob Krar, Western States Endurance Run winner 2014 Rob Krar is one of the kings of ultra running. He was a middle-distance runner through college, but then threw his running shoes in the trash, insisting he was done with running forever. Famous last words: Though Rob did take a break from running (during which time he worked grue...

"I was so petrified of failure for so long that I never ventured outside of things I knew I was good at." —Amelia Boone Amelia Boone is a badass. By day, she's a lawyer at Apple, and by very early morning, she's a four-time world champion obstacle racer and self-proclaimed "budding ultra runner." Amelia lives in San Jose, CA, and is a glutton for punishment — hence her race distance of choice bein...

" I've been doing this for three years now and I'm still not used to it. I still get nervous. I worry, am I saying the right thing? Do they like me? Am I funny enough?" —Kayla Itsines With nearly 10 million followers on Instagram, and 22 million on Facebook, Kayla Itsines is arguably the world's most famous fitness personality and trainer right now. She's the co-creator of the Bikini Body Guides (...

"You can make a career shift at any time. Because why not pursue something that you think would make you happy?" —Wesley Little Wesley Little is a licensed professional counselor specializing in couples therapy, and she's here to answer all of my — and your — burning questions. On this episode, Wesley talks about her indirect route to becoming a therapist (including a detour through law school), a...

"In order to find out what you can do, you have to show up. Give yourself a chance and see what happens." —Desiree Linden When I launched the  Ali on the Run Show  in February 2017, I knew right away I wanted to eventually host live events. I love sharing conversations  on this show  every week, but human, in-real-life connection is so powerful. I wanted to have those conversations with a live aud...

On this bonus episode, Brian Cristiano, founder and CEO of BOLD Worldwide (and my husband!), tests out a new round of Sprint to the Finish questions.  Click here to listen to Brian on Episode 75 of the Ali on the Run Show .

"I can't be that guy that's lying to myself. I said I was going to go do something, now I have to go do it." —Brian Cristiano Brian Cristiano is the founder and CEO of BOLD Worldwide, a media marketing company in New York City. Last year, Brian shared with the world his goal to build BOLD to a $100 million agency, and he's been working nonstop to make it happen. Brian may be super successful now —...

"Yeah, there are times that I have no idea what I'm doing. But that's part of the fun of it." —Sarah Fitzpatrick Clancy Sarah Clancy is the founder and creator of Sarah Marie Design Studio . The runner-specific apparel and accessories company was born two years ago, and almost instantly gained a devoted following including the likes of Kara Goucher, Molly Huddle, and Andrea Barber. Sarah is a work...

"If you want to give yourself a fair shot, you have to be willing to take a leap and take a risk." —Erin Strout Erin Strout was at the Boston Marathon finish line when Meb Keflezighi won the race in 2014. She was there when Shalane Flanagan won the New York City Marathon in 2017, and she was one of the first people to chat with Desiree Linden after her historic 2018 Boston Marathon victory. As a f...

"This notion of balance is this unrealistic thing we're all striving toward. If you allow yourself to know that and believe that, it takes some of the pressure off." —Liz Plosser When you picture an editor in chief of a major women's magazine, your mind probably goes right to Miranda Priestly of The Devil Wears Prada fame. Now picture the opposite — someone brilliant, kind, caring, and passionate...

Lots of people say I'm just like my mom. Others swear I'm a clone of my dad. On this episode, you'll get to decide! I am thrilled to welcome Lori and David Feller — my parents! — to the Ali on the Run Show . On this episode, we chat about how they met and fell in love (and their stories don't exactly match up, so I'm siding with my mom on this one), how they survived long-distance dating in colleg...