Running New Mexico Podcast

This week I had the pleasure to talk with former Las Vegas Robertson Cardinal and Adams State Grizzly , Victoria Collins . She has been a qualifier to USATF Nationals and is a former DII cross country, 800, & 1500 national champion. We talk about joining track in middle school, starting cross country, and her early running. She talks about not understanding the tradition of Adams State before star...

This week I had the pleasure to talk with Nevada Wolfpack runner and Volcano Vista alum, Lauren Green . She sits in the top ten performers for Nevada in the 400 in both indoor and outdoor. She is a 2 time NM state champion in the 400 and is hoping for big things at the Mountain West Conference Championships this week. We talk about her start in running, what it was like competing for a same school...

This week I was able to speak to Jim Ciccarello, Girls Track and Field Coach at La Cueva High School. He has 53 years of experience with APS and coaching, starting out with age groupers with the Duke City Dashers and the Albuquerque Track Club. He is a member of the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame and has multiple coach of the year honors, but listening to him, it's not about that. It's about his l...

This week I had the pleasure to speak with Adam Kedge , the head cross country and boys track and field coach for the Albuquerque Academy Chargers. We talk getting shut down, keeping kids motivated, and what it will take to get back to full strength. Coach Kedge talks a little about his background and how that informed him on his coaching as well as learning from others, especially from his New Me...

In this week's episode I was able to talk with Kurt Coonrod, runner, ultra runner, and president of the Albuquerque Road Runners Club . We talk his running, how he got into the sport and into ultra and trail running. We also spend time talking about the changes that he has seen in trail running over the years. He talks about the Albuquerque Road Runners, his involvement through the years, and what...

This week I had the privilege to speak with Jackie Martinez, NMAA Assistant Director of Sports, overseeing Cross Country, Track and Swim. We had a great talk covering her own running at Pojoaque High School, UNM, and after. We also send a good deal of the conversation talking about the challenges the NMAA faced in trying to put together a season during a pandemic. She talks about trying to plan fo...

This week I had the pleasure to talk with the 5A Cross Country State Championship winning team on the the girls side, Rio Rancho . The girls, Tessa Holderman, Lorynn Trujillo, Violet Francisco, Marleigh Smith and Esther Cameron, as well as Coach Gonzales , talk about the year and how much they've bonded leading up to the state meet. You can hear how close they are in their conversations and what i...

This week I got to spend time with Ric Rojas , former Los Alamos Hilltopper and Harvard grad. Ric has been in the running world for a long time, setting New Mexico state track records, competing for Harvard, running professionally, and coaching. He covers all of this in detail, as he goes through his high school days to professional running. There is a lot about the history of running at the time,...

This week I had the pleasure to speak with Kathy and Rob Hipwood who have built a powerhouse of cross country and distance running in Los Alamos . Taking over in the mid 90s, they have accumulated 24 state titles, 17 runner up finishes, and 6 third place finishes. We talk about the program before they arrived, working as assistants, and some of their role models. They talk about their teams asking...

This week I had the pleasure to speak with New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame coach Dr. Ron Maestas. We talk about how he got into teaching and coaching, how cross country was not his first choice, and how much coach Dr. Joe Vigil helped shape his own coaching. Dr. Maestas took a few detours to get to New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, New Mexico, but he had an impact on the runners and the...

This week I spoke with Los Alamos National Lab scientist, Marquette grad, and trail runner extraordinaire. She is a 5 time Pike's Peak Marathon winner, 5 time La Luz champion, 2 time Leadville Marathon winner, 2004 USATF Women's Mountain Running champ, and a member of the 2004 Bronze winning US Mountain Running team. We talk about her journey from high school running to competing for Marquette. Sh...

This week I get to speak with Julian Florez , former Hobbs High School runner, Glendale Community College, Adams State , and UNM runner. This episode commemorates one year since the 2020 Marathon Olympic Trials, which Julian qualified and ran. We delve into that, the build up, and his routine.  We talk about running in high school, different colleges, and continuing running post collegiately. He g...

This week I had the pleasure to speak with Andrea McArdle . An Ohio native that has been in New Mexico for several years, Andrea has made the move from the track to trails and embraced New Mexican life. She is a member of the Duke's Track Club and Topo Athletics Elite team. We talk about her helping coach at Rio Rancho High School with Sal Gonzalez ( episode 24 ), and helping Jesse Armijo ( episod...

This week I spoke with the inspiration for the podcast, my dad, Michael Romero. Growing up, I watched my dad compete and push himself. He shared that with me, often with me only half listening, but the stories of the people he competed against and looked up to stuck with me. I always came back to these stories when listening to other running podcasters interview all of these amazing people, but fe...

This week I had the pleasure to speak with Jesse Armijo . I last had Jesse on talking about the origin of the Duke's Track Club . You can look back on that episode on iTunes or Spotify . We talk about his recent 100 mile race at the Coldwater Rumble, the training that went into and moving up from the marathon. He talks about getting the ultra bug and whether or not there will be more ultras in his...

This week I had the pleasure to speak to another runner who only spent a short time at UNM, but took something away from it. My guest is Hans Segerfeldt. He is a Swedish runner, who was able to run for the national team as a junior and senior. He also held the U15 world record in the 5k and 10k. To hear Hans tell it though, it was just something he did. His outlook on running and life is great. An...

This week I had the honor to speak with Clancy Devery. His short career at UNM led to some life long friends, including my dad. He is a runner I've known for my whole life and have heard so many stories about, so it was great to finally hear them from his mouth. He talks about his first race as a kid, getting into running in middle school, and eventually becoming the high school record holder in t...

This week I had the pleasure to speak with Dinée Dorame. She is a Navajo runner and podcaster based in Albuquerque, with her new podcast, Grounded Podcast releasing at the end of the month. I am so excited to share her story and greet another local podcaster sharing stories and offering a unique perspective. Dinée was chosen as one of the Tracksmith fellowship recipients and we talk about that pro...

This week I had the privilege to speak with Sara Del Campo De Gonzalez . She is a pediatrician, wife, mom, and runner. We had a great discussion about what it means to take time for yourself, making time for your kids, and guilt. We also talk about missed races and new goals. We spend some time talking about the Young Children's Health Center , where she works and the amazing balance of medical an...

This week I speak with Aja Marsh , momentum coach and runner. We talk about her running journey, which includes starting a still active running group in New York, being a RRCA running coach, moving across the country, doing the TransRockies Run, and qualifying for the Boston Marathon. She explains what a momentum coach is and how she works with people around financial wellness, goal setting, and c...

This week I had the pleasure to speak with Troy Allen. He's an Ohio transplant living his best life in New Mexico. Recently he got the unsupported Sandia Double Crossing in a time of 12:58:27. We talk about that and his journey into running. We also talk about running for 24 hours, small loop courses, and through hiking. He has a lot of energy and it was a blast talking to him. He talks about bonk...

This week I had the honor to speak with Likhaya Dayile of Bosque Running and Sports Systems running department. We talk about his journey into running, not feeling like he was a runner, and not letting moments become too big. Talking with Likhaya was fun and insightful. he never took for granted what he was able to do. He talked about chasing times, training with some of the best runners in the st...

This week I speak with Dr. Anthony Fleg from Running Medicine and NHI as well as Jordan Lesansee, former Albuquerque Academy standout, about motivation during this time and the importance of getting out. We discuss making time for yourself, and enjoying yourself in your runs. We touch on ways Running Medicine is trying to keep members connected, the importance of mindfulness, and running with mind...

This week I had the pleasure to speak with Magdalena Sandoval Donahue . She is a former Los Alamos Hilltopper and Oregon Duck. She excelled at all levels of running, from high school to professional, but as you'll learn, that is only a fraction of who she is and what she is about. Magdalena talks about her busy life, balancing everything, and of course running. She talks about her father's influen...

This week I had the pleasure to speak with Diane Datz owner of The Recovery Lab NM . As a physical therapist for the past 6 years, Diane has a great insight into injuries runners go through as well as specific things you can do to stay healthy heading into the colder months. She also offers several body weight exercises you can do at home while on lockdown, or if you just can't make it out to the...