Run The Race

We've co-anchored the main evening newscasts together for nearly two decades. My friend and Emmy-winning journalist Barbara Gauthier is this week's guest on the "Run The Race" podcast, opening up about her journey as a now breast cancer survivor. We also discuss the power of prayer and exercise and community, amidst having a stressful TV news job where we report on tragedies. (3:00) 1 in 8 women i...

I work with them on a daily basis, but it's different now. They are now marathon finishers! WTVM-ABC news producer Abbie Bullock and digital content producer Daniel Etherton - both Auburn University graduates who are from Alabama - ran their first marathons earlier this month in Hoover AL. I was glad I could be there to cheer them on. Bravo, friends! (3:20) In my 2nd podcast episode featuring co-w...

It's taken more than a decade for me to finish 26.2 mile races in 44 states so far. The latest trip took me out West to the Plains and Big Sky country. What's it like running 3 marathons in 3 days in 3 different states? I recap that triple fitness challenge, plus seeing sights like Mount Rushmore and the geographical "Center of the Nation." This latest episode of "Run the Race" takes you inside th...

She took on one of the toughest footraces in the world this summer and was the 10th woman to cross the finish line at the Badwater 135 in the very hot Death Valley. Along with being an ultrarunner - who's done 100 marathons and almost that many ultras - Vanessa Kline is also a race director, entrepreneur, and single mom. I've had the honor of being one of her pacers at a race, since she's been the...

Check out this powerful conversation about mental health and the church with a pastor who grew up in the Dominican Republic but has been serving churches in East Alabama for the last few years, helping now to lead a new 5K race that's focused on suicide prevention. (3:06) We start with how Seventh Day Adventist Pastor Omar Montilla was called by God into ministry starting with a dream at 8 years o...

On this 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks on America, we dive into the faith behind the suffering as we never forget...prayers for the loved ones of those lost + our first responders and military...and memories from two retired top Army leaders who deployed to war multiple times after 9/11. (5:25) You'll also hear a poem I wrote on 9/12/2001, as a TV news reporter putting emotions int...

Dedicating his life to service and community building, this week's podcast guest has spent close to 17 years working for nonprofits and 4 years in law enforcement in Columbus GA, including the day he was shot. We talk about that scary ordeal...what it means to live a life of service to others...the tremendous mission of the organization House of Heroes where he's executive director...and a fun ann...

As the college football season kicks off, Columbus GA native & sports broadcaster Bryce Koon steps off the field to join us on the "Run The Race" podcast to give his perspective on fitness, faith, family, and more! (2:22) Bryce's latest job is Director of Content for Georgia's new exclusive fan site "Glory Glory" in Athens...but he's been a play-by-play broadcaster, host, reporter, writer for...

Hoping to be a future Atlanta Braves outfielder, Kevin Kilpatrick Jr. is just a few steps away from it. The CF for the baseball organizations AA affiliate Columbus Clingstones is this week's guest on "Run The Race." And he runs...fast, to catch balls and around the bases! The Georgia native talks about being drafted...fitness training that helps him hit homers and steal bases...making God and pray...

It's episode 300 of the "Run The Race" podcast! We've had almost 7 years of conversations about fitness and faith. And we're trying something new, hopefully making it a regular monthly edition with WTVM-ABC coworkers. This one is a double feature with Sports Leader 9's Tony Reese and Drew Pavan being having fun and getting vulnerable with some deep issues. (00:25) We start with East Alabama native...

He's the new record holder for the solo Run Across Georgia for the 277 mile long event! My friend Ronald (Ronnie) Robinette ran from Tybee Island to Columbus GA on Memorial Day week. (2:22) We dive first into how/why he started running in his mid 30s, a little more than 3 years ago. It involves weight loss, a family thing, mostly treadmill miles for months, not even knowing how far a marathon was....

Do you sometimes (or a lot) go through life on an empty tank with not enough sleep, consistent anxiety or fatigue, digestive discomfort, clothes that don't fit? This week's "Run The Race" podcast guest is a women's health specialist aiming to help others thrive, regain energy and peace, lose stubborn weight, balance hormones, and more! (3:50) Amber Swift is the founder of Journey To Renewed Health...

What a story! At age 23, a fit Evan Hinson had a sudden cardiac arrest, and the odds were against him to survive. The newly married now-traveling nurse joins me on "Run The Race" to talk about the scary moments...prayers and resiliency...making his foundation more solid with God...becoming a nurse helping people in similar health emergencies...what his recovery and comeback looked like...resuming...

Hope you had a great Fourth of July! We're not flashing back 250 years, but two friends who host the "Sermons on the Side" podcast interviewed me in the summer of 2025. That conversation is this week's "Run the Race" episode - an opportunity to get to know your host better. (4:25) I talk about being authentic, how/why I got into TV news (reporting/anchoring almost 3 decades now), using that platfo...

As we get ready to celebrate America's 250th birthday, it's a great time for an in-depth chat with Keni Thomas, who is coming back home to Columbus GA and Fort Benning to be the headline performer on the 4th of July. He's a combat veteran and famous Ranger who fought in the Battle of Mogadishu that left 19 Americans dead, as recounted in the movie "Black Hawk Down." He details what it was like in...

With Father's Day weekend here, I'm talking on this special edition of "Run The Race" about fatherhood, fitness, and faith. Much of this solo episode of the podcast is a recap of my latest marathons (2 in 2 days) and my trip out West that included the first ever National Park. I ran 26.2 mile races earlier this month in Wyoming and Idaho on consecutive days as part of the "Bear Lake Trifecta." You...

Timothygabriel is a Christian hip hop music producer and recording artist that has organized a special event for the last 6 years in Columbus GA called Parking Lot Praise Music Festival that I'll be emcee for this month. We also talk in this episode about his up-and-down music and faith journey...changes over the decades in Christian music...what people can expect at that event on Saturday June 20...

Globally, 1 in 100 people are on the autism spectrum. In the US, it's 1 in 31 children or 1 in 45 adults (8.5 million in America with autism). This week's guests on "Run The Race" are parents who have faced it for nearly two decades, with their son Drew diagnosed at age 2. Now, they're helping to start a new program in Columbus GA through an established ministry. And they're very open in this conv...

She's one of the youngest people to hold a General Manager position in US Soccer history. Now, the Columbus United FC (Football Club) GM, in West Georgia, Eleni Hitchcock is promoting the game and her squad ahead of one of the biggest sporting events anywhere: The World Cup starting in the USA on June 11. We talk about the fitness needed for soccer/football, as she watches intense training. She al...

This week's "Run The Race" guest wears a lot of hats. Retired Army Sgt. Nico Jay Moyer is a Ranger veteran, ordained minister, ultramarathon runner who just completed his first 100 miler, certified professional coach, and now founder of a new coaching community called "The Arena." (2:03) We start with experiences and lessons from his 7 years in the elite 75th Ranger Regiment, including combat in A...

Having now run a marathon in 39 states, here's a recap of my latest one: Derby Festival race in Louisville KY, alongside cheering TV friends and others running across America. Thanks for listening to the "Run the Race" podcast. The course included the iconic Churchill Downs, a week before the recent dramatic Kentucky Derby race. I gives the ins and outs of the race, plus the ups and downs of...

The largest selling comedy-recording artist ever, Jeff Foxworthy, joins the "Run The Race" podcast, days before he performs in Columbus GA - to talk about clean comedy, Georgia roots, his faith walk and new/old parts of his standup routine.   (4:14) Foxworthy, who mostly lives in Atlanta, also has a farm in Pine Mountain where he loves to mow/plow. He talks about the pros of performing c...

He's back home in East Alabama and West Georgia now as the President and CEO of the YMCA of Metropolitan Columbus with 3 locations. And it's a good time to get in shape before summer! (2:22) Scott Balkcum talks about getting into shape in this Spring season, (8:16) how he got started in the "Y" business and life after sports like basketball (he got college scholarships), (13:28) also competition b...

The Boston Marathon is this Monday! 30,000 people will run it - most of them having to run a fast time or BQ to get there. Why is the race such a big deal? What's the history behind it? What are the options for getting into Boston? And who are some of the "celebrities" running it this time? We have some answers about the legendary sporting event. And you'll hear from 8 previous "Run The Race" podc...

Winning on and off the field, Head Baseball Coach Tim Fanning has led the Glenwood Gators in East Alabama to 11 State HS Championships in his 22 years at the helm. He's also been the Athletic Director more than 2 decades. We talk about his love for the game...playing college and pro baseball...using the sport as a vehicle to point people to Jesus...the foundations for his coaching...a different ki...