Ali on the Run Show

"D espite my insistence that 'I can do this,' and, 'I'm fine,' and, 'I've got this,' I don't got this without my people." I'm fresh off my second round of chemotherapy, and am back on the couch recording with friends. This time for chemo, I was joined by my dear friend  Conor Nickel , and this is our recap from the day at the infusion center, and the few days we had together. We answered tons of l...

"In life and in marathons, whoever can overcome those challenges the best — it's not about not having challenges, because you are going to have them — it's about responding to them, being resilient, learning from them, inspiring other people, and sharing that with others." Jordan Hasay competed at her first Olympic Trials when she was in high school. After graduating, she attended the University o...

"None of this would have been possible if I didn't take that chance on myself." Caroline Moss has a dream: to run the 2026 TCS New York City Marathon. As a New Yorker, it's her favorite day of the year. The catch: Caroline has never been a runner — until now. In this new series, we're following author, creator, theater producer (check out  Dilaria , open now!), Saved by the Bell super-fan, and pro...

"It was dark, and I remember looking over the ledge thinking, 'What's down there?' I probably don't want to know…" Deirdre Keane has never encountered an adventure she didn't want to pursue. The pediatric ICU nurse turned McKinsey consultant is always on the run, whether it's at a world marathon major or it's completing — and winning ! — the World Marathon Challenge, running seven marathons in sev...

"In my mind, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." It's been a whirlwind week. THANK YOU for all of the love, support, and kindness after last week's "we're due for a catch-up" episode . It's been an overwhelming time for me — but what about for my support squad? I get so many questions from people asking how best to show up for someone going through a hard time, and my team and I have learned a l...

"I'm laser focused. This is serious." She's the 2018 Boston Marathon champion. She's the co-host of Nobody Asked Us with Des and Kara . She's one of the most admired, most accomplished, and most respected distance runners of our time, and now, Des is taking it to the trails. After running her final professional marathon in Boston in April, Des's next big adventure will be pacing friend Joe McConau...

"This sucks, and it's going to be hard, and this is very real. But that doesn't mean we're going to stop having fun along the way. So let's have fun when it feels right." We're due for a catch-up. SPONSOR:   UCAN:  Click here to get a FREE UCAN sample pack (you'll just pay the cost of shipping), and use code ALI for 20% off your entire UCAN order. Follow: Instagram @aliontherun1 Join the Facebook...

"They just want a chance to compete." Yesterday, after much anticipation and speculation, USA Track & Field announced the changes to the qualifying times for the 2028 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. So, what's it going to take to OTQ leading up to LA 2028, and to get to run at the Trials? For women, the qualifying mark stays the same: 2:37:00. On the men's side, things are getting faster: Men will n...

"You just need to chill a little bit!" Phily Bowden has a  massive following. Whether it's on YouTube , TikTok , or Instagram , there are hundreds of thousands of people watching — and applauding — Phily's every training run, start line, and finish line. The 2:25 UK-based marathoner runs professionally for On, and as she always says, she loves the grind. In this conversation, Phily talks about her...

"There's this sense of all these people, they came out to watch you do this weird, crazy thing. And you're running toward the thing you've been working toward for many months, and all of these people are behind you, and people beside you trying to do the same thing. It's very special." First, Emily Oster started running. Then she started running fast . Then she ran a marathon : the California Inte...

" For two years, I have been sad. Not all the time. But it got pretty bad and pretty dark and pretty scary for a long time. And over these past few weeks, I've seen the light. And I feel like I get to be the light. And it's been really fun to genuinely be enjoying my life." If you follow me on Instagram (I'm @aliontherun1 ), I'm sure you're sick of my 40th birthday posts. But I had so much fun tha...

"It's just this phase of life I'm in right now where I just can't get enough of going out and having fun. Within reason. In sweatpants." I had the absolute privilege of getting to attend the London Marathon with New Balance (a sponsor of the race). I attended a New Balance Women's Summit, hosted a panel the night before the race, and spent a ton of time exploring as much of London as I could. On r...

"We don't do things the easy way." Ten years ago, Darcy Budworth was feeling burned out on running and racing in New York City. The interior designer felt a pull toward something beyond the classic weekend morning road races in Central Park. Enter  Take the Bridge : an unsanctioned urban race through city streets and over bridges, navigating traffic, pedestrians, and bike messengers, all at night,...

"All those moments led to this. All the hard work really, truly pays off." In 2022, Sharon Lokedi made her marathon debut at the TCS New York City Marathon. It went pretty well for a first-timer: She won. Since then, Sharon has raced often and well, usually finding herself on a podium just behind frequent competitor and friend Hellen Obiri. Sharon finished second to Hellen in Boston last year, and...

"I've tried to take on that mindset for the last few years at these races, of, 'How do I show up as authentically as possible, as the Ali I know I am and want to be, while having fun, while being professional… What does that look like?' And I feel like I kind of nailed it this time around." There's nowhere I'd rather be on the third Monday in April than at the Boston Marathon finish line! This yea...

"How can I not have success when I have this many people coming and supporting me?" On the Friday before the Boston Marathon, I hosted a panel at the race expo featuring three of Shokz-sponsored athletes: Hellen Obiri, Conner Mantz , and Dakotah Popehn . Hellen entered the race at the two-time defending champion, and she went on to finish second in 2:17:41, a significant personal best in a fast, g...

"You ran with some kahunas!" Every year, I host a panel at the Boston Marathon Expo featuring some of the top American women in the professional field. This year, that meant getting to chat with Jess McClain and Emma Bates on the Friday before the 2025 Boston Marathon. Jess went on to become the top American woman in Boston, finishing seventh overall in 2:22:43 (a more than three-second personal b...

"I'm a Boston girlie through and through." Welcome to The Track at New Balance during Boston Marathon weekend! This was a 725-person party featuring New Balance Boston athlete and Olympian Heather MacLean , and it was one for the books. Heather had us all laughing with stories about shopping carts, witch family members, tinned fish Tok, and so much more. Thank you to everyone who joined us — here'...

"She said, 'This is how it was supposed to be. This is how it was supposed to feel.' And at that moment, I realized the magnitude of what we gave to each other." Rerun alert! In honor of the 129th Boston Marathon in just a few days, we're throwing it back to 2022, when fan favorite and beloved Peloton instructor  Jess Sims surprised the world by showing up at the start (and finish!) line of the Bo...

"There's a stigma about retiring from pro running, that it's this huge thing and it's so hard. And there are parts of it that are challenging. But I'm seriously so great. I'm loving life." Aisha Praught Leer is no stranger to the  Ali on the Run Show . She returns today for her fifth appearance — but it's her first in this new phase of life. Last year, Aisha officially retired from professional ru...

"If we get to the end of my life, and I look back and say the regrets that I have, I know one of them would be, 'You never ran the New York City Marathon.' Not a marathon. I don't want to run a marathon. I want to run the New York City Marathon." Caroline Moss has a dream: to run the New York City Marathon. As a New Yorker, it's her favorite day of the year. The catch: Caroline isn't a runner. Yet...

"I want to go out there and just absolutely smash it out of the park." Next week, the pros and everyday runners alike will descend on Boston, MA, to run the 129th Boston Marathon . For most of these runners, getting to run Boston is a longtime goal or dream. One they worked hard at for years. And that's true even for professional runner Gabi Rooker . In this conversation, the former gymnast turned...

"I set this goal. I made a promise to myself that I wanted this, so I'm going to do it. And no, that's not always fun. Maybe that means a late treadmill run or whatever it may be. But those little wins against your brain — and the battle to not do something — help you on race day. Because when it gets hard, you've already practiced doing it when you don't want to, or when it hurts, or when the con...

"It's gonna be epic!" We are less than three weeks away from the 129th 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 21. In this mega-episode, I (along with a team of experts and insiders) am attempting to answer all of your questions about all things Boston. Katie Hawkes and Lauren Proshan from th...

"I am nowhere near close to being an expert, and that's part of why I wanted this job — a challenge." Imagine you're a real-life woman in STEM. Someone who loves numbers, data, hypotheses, constants, and thoroughly researched experiments with scientifically-backed outcomes. Imagine you're also an athlete. A triathlete, specifically. So, what's the dream job? Triathlete in STEM Jinger Gottschall fo...