The Extra Mile - The Official Charity Miles Podcast

On March 8th, I ran the Jerusalem Marathon. As you surely know, Israel is in the middle of a war that started on October 7th.  I, like everyone, have a mix of different feelings about this. But I didn't go to Jerusalem to make a statement about my own feelings. I went to listen and try and share what others in Israel are feeling right now. I think a marathon is a great way to experience the true e...

Maria Baltazzi is an Emmy Award winning television producer, traveler, marathon walker who raises money for cancer charities, author and longtime Charity Miler with over 8500 Charity Miles!   Maria recently wrote a book called "Take a Shot at Happiness" which invites and coaches us to explore happiness in our own lives. While Maria discovered that her own "happiness essentials" include faith, self...

In this episode, we're thrilled to walk with Susan Greeley , SVP and National Director of Wellness Services for Castle Connolly Private Health Partners, one of the newest partners in our Employee Empowerment Program.   Susan is also a registered dietician, cookbook author and the host of her own podcast, A SENSe of Wellness .  So we recorded this as a doubler that Susan will be releasing on her po...

Edith Wharton once said, "There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." Today's guest, Aaron Sherinian, is both—a candle igniting change and a mirror reflecting the light of others. Eleven years ago, Aaron was the Chief Communications and Marketing Officer for the United Nations Foundation, where, amongst many other things, he was instrumental in founding...

If you're not joining our live weekly walking meditations, then you're missing out! We do them on Zoom every week, alternating between Wednesdays and Fridays, at 1PM ET. Here's a recording of our latest walking meditation, led by Haley Fountain. Haley is an integrative nutrition coach, yoga teacher and meditation coach in Houston, Texas. To the point, she's fantastic. If you enjoy this walking med...

Today's interview is with Elisabet Lahti, Ph. D., an author, speaker, trainer and expert on the Finnish concept of Sisu. What is Sisu? Sisu is a Finnish word that most closely translates in English to "grit".  But if "grit" is the feeling we get when we grit our teeth, Elisabet notes, Sisu is in our guts.  It's in our bodies.  It's gentler.  And yet in its own way very powerful.   These nuances ar...

Come along for a special walk in Cambodia to experience how the World Food Program USA's school meals program is changing the lives of studens, their families and their communities. Every day, millions of children walk into school on an empty stomach which makes it impossible to learn, much less thrive. Today, 153 million people under the age of 18 are severely hungry – an alarming, devastating nu...

In this episode of The Extra Mile we speak with George Weiner, the Chief Whaler of Whole Whale, a social impact digital agency. George sheds light on how non-profits can harness the potential of artificial intelligence (A.I.) to drive positive change and amplify their impact. Topics Covered: Understanding A.I. : George breaks down the fundamentals of artificial intelligence, helping non-profits gr...

Marcey Rader is an accomplished author, consultant, coach, speaker, and an expert on digital wellness, tech-life balance, and health-powered productivity. She is also the founder of RaderCo, a company dedicated to helping executives and their teams banish burnout, cultivate sustainable habits, and enhance productivity through practical tools and accountability. In this interview, Marcey shares val...

In this episode, we speak with Casper Ter Kuile, an author, speaker, consultant and former fellow at the Harvard Divinity School who explores how we make meaning, deepen our relationships, and experience beauty. Casper is the author of  The Power of Ritual , and the co-founder of  The Nearness , Sacred Design Lab and the podcast  Harry Potter and the Sacred Text . In today's interview, we focus on...

Today we're joined by Larry McAlister, a three-time Head of Human Resources and a natural-born leader in the HR space.  Larry currently runs the Corporate Humanist Consultancy, where he advises on tech-based products-in-development and helping CHROs and growth-minded leaders build transformative talent strategies. Larry most recently served as VP of Global Talent at NetApp, and has been named in t...

Carol is internationally recognized for her work in social purpose and corporate social responsibility (CSR).  For more than 25 years, Cone has embraced a steadfast commitment to building lasting partnerships between companies, brands and social issues for deep business and societal impact.  In her work, she continually brings breakthrough and lasting big ideas to clients to build their business a...

Welcome to our first Walking Meditation of 2023, led by Cassandra Bianco. Merging modern neuroscience with ancient  Tibetan  techniques, Cassandra coaches her students on how to spend less time in the analytical mind, and instead invest more in the peaceful, natural state of wonder. Cassandra's meditation focus is within the fields of psychology, contemplative science and neuroscience and is roote...

Today we're sharing the story of two important members of our community, Anastasia and Oksana, the designers who make Charity Miles look so good. Anastasia and Oksana are from Ukraine. We started working with them shortly before Russia invaded their country. Today, they share with us what their lives have been like since then. Even after hearing it, I cannot imagine. If you listen, I appreciate yo...

Sue and Gretja Otten are a mother and daughter team who are thru hiking the Appalachian Trail to raise money for Parkinson's research in honor of their husband/father, Ron. I met up with them on October 2nd while they were in Pennsylvania, nearly halfway done with the trail. I apologize that it took me a while to release this. (I'm not an audio-engineer and had to figure some stuff out to get the...

Robin McGeough is a professional licensed Drug and Alcohol Counselor, the Director of Chemical Dependence Services at Aurora Charter Oak Hospital, and a recovering addict himself. Robin is also the founder of Run4Recovery , an endurance and community event designed to provide vital support to those recovering from alcohol and drug addictions in the San Gabriel Valley. Robin founded Run4Recovery af...

In 2014, Andrea  was in the prime of her life. She was 33, married and planning to start a family. She had a rewarding career. And she was having fun participating in triathlons and other endurance events, including a marathon and Half Ironman. Then she was diagnosed with ALS and soon walking with a cane. Only 20% of people with ALS live more than five years past their diagnosis. Yet, 8 years afte...

Katerina Biloruska is the Chairwoman of the Parimatch Foundation, the corporate foundation of Parimatch, an international sportsbetting company with deep roots-- and over 1,000 employees-- in Ukraine. In normal times, the Parimatch Foundation focuses on children's sports and education initiatives. But these are not normal times. As of the date of this release, we are over a month into Russia's inv...

Ryan Kaplan is the Director for the Jewish Community Center of Krakow's Ride for the Living, an annual cycling event from the gates of Auschwitz-Birkenau to JCC Krakow, giving participants the opportunity to immerse themselves in Krakow's Jewish past, present, and future. As many of you know, we've been working hard to evolve Charity Miles so that we can be more accessible to all the great chariti...

James and Krista White, father and daughter, are the co-authors of  Anti-Racist Leadership , a book about how and  why corporate leaders at all levels can create anti-racist systems, structure and, ultimately, culture in their companies. James comes to this as the former Chairman and CEO of Jamba Juice, and a board member for several companies, including The Honest Company. Krista is a writer and...

Jon Montoya isn't just walking around the world with Charity Miles... He's walking to all seven wonders of the world. 1. Chichén Itzá El Castillo, in Mexico 2. Machu Pichu, in Peru 3. Christ the Redeemer, in Brazil 4. The Colosseum, in Rome 5.  Petra, in Jordan 6.  The Taj Mahal, in India 7.  The Great Wall of China It's a 25,000 mile journey that he estimates will take him seven years to complete...

Dave Richman is an entrepreneur, author, public speaker, athlete, and philanthropist. As an author, Dave has written a few books. His first, " Winning In the Middle of the Pack " he shares insights learned on his own transformation journey.  Once a couch-potato (and smoker), David has since completed over 50 triathlons, including 15 Ironman-distance triathlons, and more than 50 ultra-marathons. In...

Grayson Murphy is the 2019 World Mountain Running Champion, 6th place finisher in the Olympic Trials for the Steeplechase, and a 5X collegiate All American.   She's also an environmentalist, mental health advocate and entrepreneur who makes journals for training and life. I met Grayson two years ago at a running trade show and she gave me one of her journals, which I used last year. So, I was very...

Erin Azar is a Tik Tok star with nearly 700,000 followers! But she is perhaps an unlikely social media celebrity.  She's not a fast runner.  She doesn't have perfect abs, a spotless kitchen or that one secret trick to whatever. She's a mom of 3 from rural Pennsylvania who started running a couple of years ago, after the birth of her third child.   Just a mile a day she thought, as she started docu...

You might remember Bill Bucklew from our 2018 interview when he walked across the United States for Parkinson's Disease, which Bill has. In today's interview, we join Bill on his latest journey, something he's calling The Long Walk for Parkinson's : 640 miles, over 17 days, 40 miles per day, from the northern tip of Scotland to London... where he'll then run the London Marathon. For this journey,...