RunnersConnect Run to the Top Podcast

What happens between Jan.1st and Feb. 1st? Why do the best intentions fail to become effective habits? Performance psychologist, Dr. Michelle Cleere, is here today to discuss new year’s resolutions - How to Make Them, How to Keep them, How to Be Realistic and Still Reach High

2019 has almost ended and 2020 is all but upon us. This is a great time to appreciate the gift of fitness that has made such a difference in the lives of most of us listening to this podcast. Let’s take a moment to say “thank you” for fitness, especially running, and review the year behind us while also looking ahead with hope and some goals, too. On today’s episode we will be sharing 2019 success...

The holidays can bring joy and happiness, but depression, anger, and isolation can intensify at this time of year, as well. Beth Shaw helps open the door for people to acknowledge major trauma and find help to live with it. If you, or someone you know, suffers more at this time of year, Beth can help. Her recent book, Healing Trauma With Yoga , is perfectly timed for a segment of our year when lon...

Felix Grewe and Mike Diehl have put together a book that includes many ways to build a circuit training plan and adapt it as your training changes or you become more fit. Fit Strong Lean: Build Your Best Circuit Training Plan includes helpful photos and a variety of exercises for those of us who want to do our circuits at home or in front of a mirror at the gym, but not with a paid trainer.  This...

Recovering from Injuries: Body, Mind, and Spirit Are you currently injured? If not, lucky you! Injuries affect every athlete, from the elite Olympian to the weekend racer. When it happens, it can feel like the most devastating event possible. While some athletes are destroyed by the experience, others emerge from their recovery better, stronger, and more confident than ever. How? Rebound , a new b...

Strength Training From Body Weight Exercises to Major Lifting with Endurance Specialist Doctor Alex Harrison If you are only running every day, you may be hindering your training. Cross training is extremely important to be at your best and today’s guest will speak to us about how to use cross training, specifically strength training, for ultimate results in your annual running plan. From body wei...

When done properly, periodization allows for creating calculated major goals, and measured improvement in short, mid, and long-term objectives. Today Dr. James Hoffmann will break down some of the details of an integrated, annual training plan that can help you peak when you need to by coordinating the three big parts: body, mind, and spirit; that unique individual who comprises YOU!

How much credit do you give to your feet for making you a better runner?  If you are like most of us, those feet get put into shoes and then you just hope they’ll do their job.  It’s time to rethink the strategic value of those two extremities that connect you to the ground and push you forward with every single step. Our guest today is Jay Dicharry and Jay is one of the foremost authorities on ru...

Stephanie Bruce is one of the most popular American distance runners competing on the circuit. She has used her platform to build up women, inspire others and uplift U.S. distance running as a whole. And it doesn’t hurt that she’s having one of the best years of her professional career. 

Spooky zombies and running the Lost Coast It’s almost Halloween and that means… Zombies… And what do you do when you come across a horde of zombies? Run! Ultra runner and author Camille Picott has written another suspense filled novel about long distance, endurance running and the dangers that lurk in the apocalyptic, new world of blood-thirsty zombies and renegade survivors. Her newest book featu...

Go, Gwen, Go: A Family’s Journey to Olympic Gold Gwen Jorgensen won gold in the 2016 Rio Olympics, along with many other wins, and she is currently training hard for another medal in the 2020 Olympics, this time in the Marathon. We all know, it takes a village to raise an Olympian and today we talk with two of Gwen’s family members, Nancy and Elizabeth Jorgensen. They authored Go, Gwen, Go , a boo...

From almost 500 pounds and a total couch potato to a living example of how extreme health improvements are possible, Marcus Cook talks to us about his own journey of weight loss and athletic discovery and how he was supported by so many along the way.  In New York, Sunday, November 3, 2019, carrying a large placard of “Fat Marcus”, “Fit Marcus” will run 26.2 miles in the biggest marathon in the wo...

Michelle Barton, Ultra Runner and Co-Host of the Training For Ultra and Trail Runner Nation podcasts, joins us this week to talk about her experience and accomplishments with Ultra Trail Running. Michelle has run some incredible races including Badwater 135, from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney; the Javelina Jundred, a 100 mile self proclaimed desert trail run costume party; and  Caballo Blanco joinin...

What makes The Chicago Marathon a special member of the World Marathon Series, and what makes the city that hosts it so special itself? In 2019 the Chicago Marathon will be held on Sunday, October 13 and in this episode, we are privileged to have Carey Pinkowski, Executive Director of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon talking to us direct from Chicago.  Carey shares some of the “inside stuff” t...

What is it about runners and data? Do we love data because it’s simply the most tangible evidence of our abilities? Is it just another way to extend our run experience by reliving a race or training run? Or is it something more, something that can actually change us into even better runners for the rest of our lives? Today, on Run to the Top Podcast we will speak with Magnus Jonsson, co-founder of...

The San Francisco Marathon is one of those bucket list races for most road runners. Running across the iconic Golden Gate Bridge is such a unique and wonderful experience. Circumnavigating the beautiful City by the Bay with Fisherman’s Wharf, Golden Gate Park, cable cars, and surrounded by ocean is truly magical. For some folks, including Michael Wardian, 26.2 miles is just a warm-up. In July 2019...

Dean Karnazes is considered a living legend to many of us runners. TIME magazine named him one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People in the World.” and Men’s Fitness hailed him as one of the fittest men on the planet.  In this episode, Dean shares some of his favorite stories from this book, his favorite and toughest runs, and his general passion for all things running. An acclaimed endurance at...

Jeff Gaudette Talks About Another Type of Running Business Last week we had guests Misa Dugally, Jeff Stokes, and Katie Ownbey talk about starting their running business, STRIDE which is a franchise type of business, geared to runners. Our focus during the talk was to introduce you, as running lovers, to some of the business options out there that cater to runners if you are considering this line...

How many of us love running so much that we would LOVE to quit our day jobs and start running for work and play? It’s not simple and certainly not easy, but many people, including our own Jeff Gaudette at Runners Connect, take their passion and build it into a viable business.  Today we have three great people joining us who will share their thoughts and experiences on the running business they ha...

Yes You Can! Leveraging his college experience organizing and leading expedition trips that helped people discover, and push past, what they thought were their limits, Dr. Michele Ufer has written a bestselling book on mental toughness training for runners. He is an internationally sought-after expert in sports and management psychology and a successful ultrarunner. As speaker, coach, and mental t...

It’s probably safe to say that most Americans have never driven across the United States. And even fewer have run across the country. So how is it that a 71 year-old Swedish man has run his way coast-to-coast across America, not once, but a staggering 7 times? And maybe more importantly, WHY? In this episode, we meet Bjorn Suneson, the man who has done just that. I think we can all agree that runn...

We’ve spent the last couple weeks learning more about the benefits of Generation UCAN and this week we have one more voice to champion the SuperStarch ® that has fueled countless elite runners, recreational runners, and those of us in between . Greg McMillan and McMillan Running are names that are highly respected and have been part of the running world for many years. Greg truly believes SuperSta...

A recent article in Seasons Magazine featured the incredible story of UCAN, a SuperStarch ® for athletes that started from a life threatening illness that threatened a baby’s survival. Follow this story from its inception as a life-saving nutrient to its evolution as a power drink that Meb Keflezighi, Dathan Rytzenheim, and many top athletes rely on. We are now in part 2 of this amazing story that...

t’s not often in sport that there is something that can fundamentally, and legally, improve training and performance. It’s even rarer that a product that was born out of a unique solution to a serious health issue can have wide-reaching applications, too. Today we speak with Shoba Murali, one of the developers of Generation UCAN (also known as Super Starch) Wendy Feldman, the mother of a child bor...

Summer’s here and the time is right for racing in the streets.  Looking for some fun races for the end of summer or early fall?  Today’s guest is Mitchell Garner, President of Road Runners Club of America and he has some favorites he will share with us. With varying distances, locations, and difficulties, Mitchell has run and raced a lot of territory and visited a lot of events around the country....