Running New Mexico Podcast

This week I talked to Adam Bitchell. Originally from Wales, he is the former UNM runner and 3 time All-American. He is also a provider at  Speegle Sport and Spine  where he specializes in assessing and correcting movement.   Adam talks about getting his start in soccer before transitioning to running. He also talked about running the U23 European Championships in 2011 and coming to run for UNM.  ...

This week I had the pleasure of speaking to one of the best coaches in the state, Coach David Nunez of Organ Mountain High School. Coach Nunez recently retired from coaching and teaching after 35 years of commitment. During our time we talked about his start in running and the amazing coaches he got to learn from and on to his own start to coaching. He told me what it means to be a coach and what...

Patterson Yazzie III , a remarkable 24-year-old Navajo runner, motivates others through his running, weightlifting, and storytelling. Initially, running helped him lose weight, but it ultimately played a vital role in saving his life. Patterson's diverse pursuits include podcasting, as well as being a devoted brother and uncle. His impressive running career encompasses a wide range of distances, f...

This week I had the pleasure to talk with  Jeff Cuno . He is a trail runner and founder of  Primal Genes Coaching . He was 3rd at this year's Mt Taylor 50k and has a couple of fastest known times to his name.   We talked about how he got into running a little later in life and just jumped into trail running. We also talk about the differences between trail running, ultra running, and road racing a...

This week I had the pleasure to talk with David Krummenacker. He graduated from Las Cruces High School, ran for Georgia Tech, and went on to have a great professional career. He was a two time NCAA Indoor 800 meter Champion, a three time US 800 Champion, and a World Indoor 800 Champion. He holds an 800m best of 1:43.92 and a 1500m best of 3:31.91.   We talk about how he got into running, via baske...

This week I had the pleasure to speak with Anicka Newell. She is a Highland High School graduate, with a state championship in the pole vault in 2009. She went on to have a great collegiate career at Texas State University winning two outdoor Sun Belt Conference pole vault championships. She has since competed professionally and has represented Canada in two Olympic games in 2016 and 2021. She is...

The podcast is coming back! I've got a few guests lined up and I'm talking others. It may not be weekly, but the goal is at least two a month. 

This week I had the pleasure to speak with Pablo Vigil . We talk about his humble beginnings in the Mora Valley of North New Mexico and how running helped propel him to greater things.  He went to school at Adams State in southern Colorado, which has a long history of New Mexican runners, which we touch on. He also talked about learning from the great Coach, Dr. Joe Vigil. Pablo talks about this t...

This week I had the pleasure to talk with Leah Purucker . She is a Trail runner and chef at Daily Grind . It was great to have her on and talk about how she got started in running at a young age, but never competed in running until later in life. She talks about learning about running and training for her first race, a marathon! We also talk about how she became a chef and some similarities in com...

This week I had the pleasure to talk with AJ Beach . He is a Sandia Prep and UNM graduate. He is an athlete performance therapist and has helped many people get through injuries and back to performing the way they are comfortable with. We talk about how he got into running and competing at the New Mexico State meet. He talked about some of the expectations and how that can be a burden when you are...

This week I had the pleasure to speak to Kelsey Long . She is a Navajo runner living on the Choctaw Reservation in Oklahoma. She recently completed the Boston Marathon for Rising Hearts . She is also part of the Renew Earth Running Run Team and helped create a Dirtbags Run , a  Dirtbag Runners Program, that consists of 21 BIPOC trail runners. Talking with Kelsey was so much fun. She has done quite...

This week I had the pleasure to speak with Timberlin "Timbo" Henderson . He is a Dine trail runner from Fruitland, New Mexico. He graduated from Piedra Vista in Farmington, NM before going on to Western Colorado. We talk about how he got started in running, doing youth races, and becoming more serious as he got older. He talked about some of the runners he looked up to growing up. He then talked a...

This week I had the pleasure to talk with Roman Gurule . He is a Pojoaque High School and New Mexico State University graduate. He is also the creator of NewMexico.run . It is a site focused on sharing the wonders of this state through a running lens. We talked about his early days of running in Pojoaque for coach Lockridge. He also talks about Ben Ray Lujan being one of his running mentors at the...

This week I had the pleasure to speak with Leah Futey. She is a multiple time state champion from Cleveland High School. She is also a future Syracuse Orange. Leah talks about getting into running, and how she would come to her brother's practices. She had a talent for it and started running through Cougar Track Club, a local club, from an early age. She also talks about having a difficult cross c...

This week I was able to talk with Kurt Thomas . He is a Hobbs High School graduate and the current Women's Track and Field Head Coach at UAB, University of Alabama at Birmingham . It was such a pleasure to talk to him and learn about his journey. He talks about running at Hobbs High School, under Coach Jackson, and then walking onto the UNM track team after graduation. Kurt talks about just walkin...

This week I had the pleasure to talk to Christina Aragon . She is a 9x All American for Stanford, 3rd in the 1500 at the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships. She went on to run in USA Championships and recently signed a pro contract with Bowerman Track Club .  Christina talks about her start with running and gymnastics. Then how she balanced the two in high school. She also talks about how her backgro...

This week I had the pleasure to speak with AJ Jones . They are a trail and ultra runner based in Albuquerque. They talk about their first 100 miler at the Oregon Cascades 100. We start with how AJ got into running in high school and took a long break before getting started again. They talk about some difficult life events that pushed them back into running. AJ talks about wanting to prove that the...

This week I had the pleasure to speak with Timothy Tays, also known as Timmy 2 Mile. He is the author of Wannabe Distance God: The Thirst, Angst, and Passion of Running in the Chase Pack. He graduated and ran for Eldorado High School and the University of Kansas. Timothy has a great story and details that story in his book. In it, he talks about trying to be the best he could be in order to fill a...

This week I had the pleasure to speak with Alicja Konieczek . She is a Polish runner based in Albuquerque and working with Jackrabbit Race Management . She is an Olympian, finishing 20th in her specialty, the 3000m Steeplechase, at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. She is also an On sponsored athlete. Alicja talks about getting started in running in Poland and that she hated it at first, but found some suc...

This week I had the pleasure to speak with Lindsey Herman again. Last we spoke, episode 89 , I got to know her and her story. If you haven't listened, you should. This time we focused on the last year and her amazing finish at Leadville. Lindsey talks about some of the races she did in the last year and how much fun she's been having. We also talked about being able to be a pacer and how that expe...

This week I had the pleasure to speak with Lan Yazzen . He is a recent finisher of the Ute 100. We talk about his start in running, beginning with growing up on the Navajo Nation and the traditions his mother taught him. We then talk about how he got back into running later in life. Lan talks about jumping up in distances and finding new ways to challenge himself. He also talks about training whil...

This week I had the pleasure to speak with Kevin Brennan. He is the creator of the High Desert Dirt Blog . He is also a father, a runner, and a CPA. Kevin is someone I've been wanting to talk to for a while. When I started this podcast and would do my research, his blog would constantly come up. He did much of the leg work work that I have relied on when researching many of the New Mexican Runners...

This week I had the pleasure to speak with Del Jenkins . He is the owner of Ardor Elite Training Academy and Assistant track coach at Hope Christian High School. He's been a part of Albuquerque's athletic community for a while, helping coach football and start the Cougar Track Club. I've known about Del for a while and the work he's done with runners and other athletes through his gym , but it was...

This week I had the pleasure to talk with Emily Clarke . She is a Manzano Graduate, DIII runner at Claremont Mudd Scripps , and transitioning to a DI runner at the University of Nevada Reno . We talked about getting into running, getting to experience her dad coaching her in middle school, and when running felt like it belonged to her. We also talk about her training over Covid and her decision to...

This week I had the pleasure to talk with Coach Bruce Gomez. He is the head cross country coach at Taos High School in Northern New Mexico. He's been at it for over 35 years and has coached some of the best runners in the state, with multiple state champions and championships. We talk about his own running, getting started as a kid and how it was just part of the culture for him. We talk about his...