Ali on the Run Show

"As runners, we all deserve to be at the start line — and at the finish line, winning races." Last month, Weini Kelati broke the American record in the half marathon, running 1:06:25 in Houston in her debut at the distance. Just a few days later, she ran — and won — the USATF cross-country championships. Weini's plan was never to be a record-breaking runner, though. Growing up in Eritrea, Weini wa...

"I wouldn't say I'm a favorite in a lot of peoples' eyes. But it's the Trials. We're here to select a team. So I'm going to go for it and see what happens." Happy Olympic Trials Week! This Saturday, the fastest distance runners in the U.S. will line up in Orlando, FL, racing for their chance to represent Team USA in the marathon at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Among those runners will be Fiona O'...

"Put yourself in a position to get a yes, otherwise it's automatically a no." Need a little pep talk? A little boost? A gentle nudge, or some tough love? I've got all that and more today, with a roundup of the best advice listeners of the Ali on the Run Show have ever received. Plus, a short story about a time very recently when I took my own advice and "sent the email" — and it didn't work out th...

"You take what you have and make the most of it." Gabi Rooker was an anti-running competitive gymnast growing up. After college, she began working full-time as an internal medicine physician's assistant. Now, she's headed to the U.S. Olympic Team Trials Marathon as the eighth-fastest woman in the field. In this conversation, Gabi talks about her unconventional road to becoming a 2:24 marathoner. G...

Chris Chavez has made a living out of being track and field's biggest fan and hype person . And when he's not obsessively covering the sport for Citius Mag , Chris is pursuing his own running goals. For the past several years, it's been no secret that Chris wanted to run a sub-3:00 marathon. This past weekend, that dream came true at the Houston Marathon, where Chris crossed the finish line in 2 h...

"This is the race they're going to tell their grandkids about — that they took part in the race to pick the marathon team for the Olympics." We are just three weeks away from the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Marathon! On Saturday, February 3, the fastest distance runners in the country will line up in Orlando in pursuit of their Olympic dreams. To qualify for the Trials, women had to run a sub-2:...

"I am not wired to do something halfway or to do something for fun. I don't know what that means. Fun for me is going as hard as possible." After nearly two highly-decorated decades of racing the 1500m and the mile, Jenny Simpson is upping the ante and the mileage. In just a few weeks, Jenny will make her marathon debut at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials Marathon in Orlando, FL. In this conversation,...

"I survived!" It's a tradition! Here on the Ali on the Run Show , we kick off every year with the annual State of the Show episode — a look at the past, present, and future of the podcast. In 2023, the Ali on the Run Show surpassed 21 million downloads, and released 87 episodes with 75 different guests (34 first-timers, and 40 returning and recurring guests). So, what did we learn from 2023, and w...

"If you have that heart of a lion, you will get back there. You just have to have patience." It was a big year for Kara Goucher! Her book, The Longest Race , debuted and became a New York Times best-seller. She and Des Linden launched their podcast, Nobody Asked Us with Des and Kara . She called dozens of exciting races as a distance analyst for NBC's track and field and marathon broadcasts. She c...

"I felt like I was constantly treading water and barely staying afloat. It felt like I was stuck, as everything else just raged on. Time doesn't stop and the world doesn't stop. Everything doesn't stop just because you're having a hard time. There were days where I'd be at the grocery store, standing in line, and I wanted to scream, 'Don't you all know that I have cancer? Don't you know this is th...

"It's not easy to talk about the disappointments. It's not easy to talk about the times that you fall short. Nobody wants to brag about those. It's been hard. There were lots of tears shed in private. And just really accepting the fact that I wanted something so badly, and it didn't happen." Emilee Risteen has raced six marathons in the past 12 months, each in pursuit of one very specific goal. Fo...

"Community is everything. People are everything. I want to stay surrounded by people that I love and that love me. I'm going to mess up in life. I'm not always going to get it right. But that's what matters: showing up and being there and being together." Ask Ali returns! It's been a minute since we've done a classic Q&A-style episode. In this one: holiday traditions, what's next on the run, and s...

"Whenever we do something that we really invest in and that's hard — and that we're not sure we can do — it's a reminder of the 'we can do hard things' aspect. And I'll always get to say that I did this." Emily Oster is an economist, a professor at Brown University, and a best-selling author of books including Expecting Better ,  Cribsheet , and  The Family Firm . And she just made her marathon de...

"For the first time in my entire life, I was in awe of myself. I was in awe of what I'd accomplished. The marathon was a love letter to myself. For the first time, seeing myself the way other people see me. For the first time, truly recognizing my courage and my power." The first time Tunde Oyeneyin was on the Ali on the Run Show , she insisted she wasn't a runner . Now, three years and many miles...

"I am so grateful for the professional experiences that I've had, and so grateful for the incredible men in my life. But I feel like I've been the supporting character in my own life. I'm always 'Mark Zuckerberg's Sister' or 'Brent's Wife' or 'So-and-So's Mom.' Every achievement — even though I'm proud of it — is qualified by someone else. The moment I got to break the tape at the half marathon wa...

"I am not going up on that stage crying, but I don't want to dismiss this moment! I want to take this all in and I want to feel this. It was an incredibly powerful thing." It was a New York City Marathon to remember. I had the privilege of getting to be a part of the international, ESPN, and ABC7 broadcasts on race day. I hosted a live show with Ellie Kemper . I ran the Dash to the Finish Line 5K....

"So many people asked me if I was going to keep running. And it's like, to me it's just a ridiculous question. You have a kid, what, you have to give up your whole career? I just needed a little bit of time!" She's back! After giving birth to her first child, a son, Ivan, in March, Elle Purrier St. Pierre made her return to racing in September at the Fifth Avenue Mile. In this conversation, she ta...

You know her (from The Office and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt ). You love her (because she's funny and genuine). She's a marathoner . Ellie Kemper returns to the Ali on the Run Show — LIVE! We had the most fun recording this episode in front of a 600-person audience at Lavan in New York City. From marathon memories and running reflections to bathroom stories and spelling bee traumas, this one covere...

"I'm already dreaming about the next one." Sara Vaughn had a good, great, wonderful day at the 2023 Chicago Marathon. She ran a 2:23:24 — that's a three-minute personal best, and it landed her a 10th-place finish in the women's field. In this conversation, Sara breaks down everything from before, during, and after the race. SPONSORS: UCAN:  Click here  to get a FREE UCAN energy bar sample pack (yo...

"At a marathon finish line — especially this marathon finish line — you see the best of humanity." Every year on the first Sunday of November, more than 50,000 runners, 10,000 volunteers, and two million spectators will descend on the five boroughs for one reason: the TCS New York City Marathon. This episode is your unofficial guide to the iconic 26.2-mile race. Two and a half jam-packed hours of...

"I love the chaos. That's where I find the calm." After a year and a half filled with injuries, setbacks, and struggles, Olympic bronze medalist Molly Seidel made her grand return to the marathon — and crushed it. Molly ran the Chicago Marathon in a personal best time of 2:23:07, finishing eighth overall and as the second American woman of the day. In this episode, she talks about the comeback, ab...

" Pressure comes when things are going well. " The American Record Holder and the Irishman return! Today on the Ali on the Run Show , Emily Sisson and Shane Quinn are here to talk about their respective experiences at the 2023 Chicago Marathon, where Emily ran a 2:22:09, finished seventh, and was the top American woman of the day — and Shane ate omelettes. While this didn't end up being the race E...

"This is just fun to me. We put so much pressure on the outcome of these races. We want to prove ourselves, prove we can run a certain time, and I understand all those feelings. But I just think if you truly love running and love to train, the goal race is a celebration of that." Everyone's favorite graham cracker-loving sports dietitian returns to the Ali on the Run Show today — this time, as a 2...

" So much can happen in those last few miles. " It was a good day in Chicago for Des Linden: Not only did she run 2:27:35 to break the American Masters Marathon Record (previously held by Deena Kastor) by 12 seconds, she also had her puppy, Rivers, there for all the action. In this conversation — Des's 10th appearance on the Ali on the Run Show ! — the 2018 Boston Marathon champion and two-time Ol...

"This weekend brought me back to life in a way that I didn't even realize I needed so badly." By some kind of miracle, I made it to the 2023 Chicago Marathon ! Not to run it, though: I was in town (for the first time!) as one of the finish line announcers on race day. The whole weekend was a dream, from the first post-surgery run to the Abbott Chicago 5K (I ran it!) to the friendships and emotiona...