RunChats with @RonRunsNYC

Gamble + Grit + Sparkle = 2:36:43 OTQ! These are the founding principles of every race plan for Kim Horner , and she channeled them all brilliantly at Grandma's to make a 7-year dream come true! As early as 5K into the race, Kim was struggling with the pace/effort and let her Mill City Running teammate, Doron Clark , know that there could be some dark moments ahead and this was going to be a test...

"If you bet on yourself, it's contagious, and others will bet on you and wanna bet on themselves. Whether it's running, family, work, or a different hobby it's contagious positivity." - Gabi Rooker Close your eyes and think back in time to remember your first two marathons. Most of us were out there to challenge ourselves and prove we could finish... Gabi Rooker ran 2:54:57 in her debut at Grandma...

"I love my crew, I love this community, and I've never been more satisfied crossing a finish line than I was holding my daughter on Saturday night at Placer High. Love you all. God is good!" - Adam Kimble Adam is a high-energy, super positive professional ultrarunner, motivational speaker, and running coach, who is so easy to root for. His joy for running is infectious, whether on the course at We...

"Breaking 3:00 wasn't just about one race. It was about the nine years of marathoning and overcoming injury, the thirteen years without running and racing, and the hope tucked away in 1999 when I was just a girl who thought 'someday.'" - Hidi Gaff When Hidi hit the 26-mile mark at Grandma's , she saw the clock and had 1:26 left to break sub-3! This mom of six had to dig deep, channel every ounce o...

Dakota Lindwurm played hockey every free moment she had as a kid and dreamed of becoming a professional goalie. When her mom worried she was getting a little too obsessed, she told her she needed to add another sport for balance. Lucky for us, Dakotah chose running because she brings huge passion & joy to our sport. Dakotah managed to rock the Macarena at mile 24 of Grandma's Marathon 2022 whi...

"It was the best experience of my running career. Running a 2:45 marathon over four hilly loops of Central Park and winning the More Marathon for Masters women. Every woman out there was cheering for me, inspired by me—and not because I was some hotshot runner—but because I was a mom from Arizona. That changed how I looked at running. What I do can matter in the life of other people. My purpose be...

"In 2021, I had a really hard year of life and racing. Nothing seemed to go right, and I was desperate for answers. I feel like I trusted God, took a leap of faith and it's paid off big time." - Rory Linkletter After strengthening his faith, following his heart, and betting on himself, it paid huge dividends for Rory Linkletter in 2022. Rory set the Canadian half-marathon record at Houston in Janu...

Roberta Groner is a 2:29 marathoner, full-time nurse, and mother of three teenage boys. And if that wasn't already enough to juggle, she recently became the road coach of my club team, Central Park Track Club . Roberta is a fiery competitor who runs with heart and pure grit. The tougher the conditions, the better she performs. On 9/27 in the 2019 IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar, where real...

Maggie Rettelle has been on a quest to run a sub-3 marathon. Having qualified for IronMan Kona twice and run a 3:30 marathon off the bike, Maggie believed she had the strength and grit to get it done. Race experiences and her fire to achieve it shaped her to dive deeper into nutrition, fueling, sleep, mantras, and her mental game. As athletes, we all hope for a perfect training cycle. We root for...

In February of 2021, Heather Pech tore a portion of her plantar fascia and it took until September 2021 before she could run again. It was a physically and emotionally exhausting journey. It was 1.5 years since her last race and 3 years since she toed the line at Boston. "I started to run 3 or 4 weeks before and just had so much gratitude. Pure, unalloyed delight that I could run. I wanted to Fore...

The crazier and more difficult the challenge, the more it stokes Thia Angelo's competitive fire! During the quarantine, she ran 104 miles in 25 hours in the Backyard Ultra. In April 2020, she won the Broken Ladder Challenge—an event where you start running a mile a day and keep going up in mileage until everyone taps out. Thia started day one with her virtual Boston , running a 3:15 at 4:30am befo...

After gorging himself at a dinner eight years ago with his wife, Jeremy Bush didn't like how it made him feel and knew something had to change. He downloaded a Couch to 5K program and couldn't believe that running for only 30 seconds could feel so hard. He stayed with it and eventually worked his way up to 10 minutes of running. Jeremy watched Meb's historic win at Boston in 2014 and said, "I'm go...

At the tender age of 23, Annie Hughes burst onto the Ultrarunning scene like a supernova! She won the brutal and storied Leadville 100 and Moab 240 and was ranked 3rd Ultrarunner of the Year by UltraRunning Magazine . Annie resides in Leadville, CO, and became the race's youngest winner—made sweeter still by running in front of her friends, family, and local community. Annie feels blessed that Hok...

Meet Sam Roecker , nurse and sub-2:30 marathoner! Sam will be toeing the line at the 126th Boston Marathon in Moxie scrubs to support the mental health and well-being of healthcare workers. Sam will try to break the Guinness Book of Records marathon time of 3:08 while running in nursing scrubs to raise awareness and funds for the American Nurses Association for their well-being initiative. When Sa...

Jana Fridrichová —the Mountain Running Mama—has been on FIRE of late, winning and setting course records at the Martin's Mill Covered Bridge 5 Miler & Buck Ridge Burn Trail 1/2 Marathon on the same weekend! Jana also recently completed her milestone 50th Ultra at the Terrapin Mountain 50K, with 7K of climbing, where she also placed 1st with a time of 4:55! After divorcing, Jana made the brave...

It was an absolute honor and a blast to host this convo with world-class entertainer, mentalist/mind reader, and Emmy winner, Oz Pearlman . When Oz isn't blowing the minds of audiences around the world, he is an avid marathon and ultra-marathon runner, having completed such grueling races as the Badwater 135 Miler, Hawaii Ironman World Championships, Western States 100, and Spartathlon. Oz ra...

Sarah Cummings' running has been on fire of late, so much so that she was named the #5 2021 UltraRunner of the Year by UltraRunning Magazine after her stellar season. Her signature moment came at the JFK 50 Mile against a stacked field where she scorched a 6:18 to win, running the 3rd fastest time in the race's storied history! Sweet revenge for the year prior in her 50M debut at JFK, where she an...

Yulady Saluti is one of the strongest people you will ever meet. Over a 10-year period, she endured 27 abdominal surgeries for colorectal pain, trying to correctly diagnose the source. She suffered severe pain, infections, adhesions, constipation, and the inability to have regular bowel movements, finally resolved by clearing a large intestinal blockage of scar tissue on the 27th procedure. She co...

Megan Flynn is resilience redefined, overcoming SIX stress fractures in her high school and college running years and one post-collegiately before a monster breakthrough at CIM, where she scorched a 2:46 marathon! That many injuries could've broken the will of even the most hardcore runner, but only served to strengthen Megan's resolve and send her on a quest to learn more about anatomy and nutrit...

This episode image of Stefanie Flippin effortlessly flying through the air truly epitomizes Hoka's slogan, 'Time To Fly'! Stefanie Flippin is a dynamo with a huge heart, and channels it to power through long days as a foot and ankle surgeon, pro-athlete for Hoka, running coach with Lift Run Perform , and someone deeply invested in her community. She developed her love for trails and the mountains...

At age 13, Erin Genova's appendix burst, and she was hospitalized for a week. While she was there, she watched the Boston Marathon on TV and was so inspired she said, "I am going to run that one day!" That is where her amazing running journey began! Erin made good on that promise, running 3:42 in her 1st Boston in 2002, during her senior year of college at BU, on a sponsor's invitation bib from Jo...

Brendon O'Leary epitomizes Boston strong and proved it in the 2012 Boston Marathon , where temps hit 89 degrees and there was carnage on the course. In a race of attrition, he was shocked to pass Geofffey Mutai, the 2011 winner—who ran 2:03:02, on the side of the road and kept his focus on getting in enough fluids and showed us all how to stay in the fight, running 2:34, placing 41st overall &...

Kim Conley has had a storied career as a professional runner, proudly repping the USA eight times, including at the 2012 Olympic Games in London & 2016 in Rio! Kim has won two national titles—10,000m & 1/2 marathon—and earned the bronze medal at the 2019 Pan-American Games in the 5000m. Kim holds PR's of 15:05 (5K), 31:35 (10K), & 69:44 (1/2M)—all pre-carbon shoes! After a 10-year spon...

I am stoked to share this convo with local NYC running rockstar and co-founder of the Lost Boys Track Club Tim Rossi . It's been fun watching Tim's progression, as he continues to rip faster and faster times (2:31 Marathon & 1:11 1/2M PRs) and keeps honing his craft. We dove deep on the NYC running scene, Lost Boys vibe and culture, and the power of community. We discuss: -Team sports & co...

What an amazing, inspiring journey Mary Denholm has been on! From aiming for a BQ in her 2nd marathon and nailing a 3:03 in 2016, to running a 2:42 at CIM in 2019, punching her ticket to run the Trials in Atlanta. Mary's time seeded her 189th for ATL, where she rocked a personal-record time of 2 hours, 41 minutes, 8 seconds on a demanding course in swirling winds, finishing 51st! That outstanding...