On this coaching episode, we share some common and subtle mistakes to avoid while training for and racing the Boston Marathon (or any marathon, frankly). Listen to optimize your training and ensure a successful race experience. For those who will be in Boston over marathon weekend, please join us on Sunday, April 14th for our shakeout run at 9 and our B.A.A. sponsored panel, which we are honored to co-host with Cherie Turner, at the Expo at 2. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook @runfartherandfaster. Looking for coaching or a coaching call to fine tune your training? Email us at julieand ..read more

Last fall, Daytona State cross country runner and mom, Shannon Jones, earned her third All-American title…at age 37! In this episode, Shannon details her untraditional journey from couch to college athlete, including how becoming a mom transformed her from a sedentary smoker to the most decorated cross country runner in Daytona State history. Shannon bravely shared why she quit athletics after high school and how she crawled her way back to running nearly two decades later, resulting in countless medals and a college degree. Shannon’s story is a powerful reminder that the path to success is fu ..read more

THANK YOU THANK YOU for listening and propelling us to 200 episodes! After sharing what we've learned from podcasting for the last five years, Julie provides an exciting update. We then introduced our amazing guest, Katie Hawkes, who serves as the Boston Athletic Association's Director of Brand & Experiential Marketing. Katie joined the BAA in 2018 and shares a hilarious story about Des's win that year. Katie also shares the many fun changes that will take place at the Boston Marathon this year, including a new Fan Fest, post-race party, and Expo format. Speaking of which, for those who wi ..read more

We are so thrilled to introduce Alexandra (Ali) Niles, a masters runner who will be toeing the line in the Professional Women's Field at the 2024 Boston Marathon. Ali, a former competitive college gymnast who is now a gymnastics coach, started running in her 20's after college. Ali quickly fell in love with running and hired coach Tom Fleming, a legendary runner who won the 1973 and 1975 NYC Marathon and placed second in the 1973 and 1974 Boston Marathon. Tom helped Ali break three hours and set a goal to qualify for the Olympic Marathon Trials. Sadly, in 2017, Tom died of a heart attack ..read more

We so enjoyed talking with Lauren Proshan, the Chief of Race Operations and Production ("CROP") for the Boston Athletic Association, on all things Boston Marathon, including logistics, the expo, and a few exciting changes to race weekend. Lauren has served as the Director of Operations at the Boston Athletic Association since October 2018. She is literally the "Oz" behind the curtain on race day to ensure that the Boston Marathon runs smoothly. In addition to sharing many of the details behind the scenes at the Boston Marathon, Lauren, also a seasoned runner, shares her tips for a successful r ..read more

Gina Rouse, a 44 year-old mom of three in Knoxville, just ran her lifetime marathon PR at CIM 2023 in a time of 2:37:10! Gina's next race will be the 2024 Boston Marathon--her fifth--where she will be running once again in the professional field. Gina started running in middle school and became a Tennessee state high school champ. She then ran for the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga where she became a Southern Conference runner of the year. Gina's path was not without struggle. She overcame an eating disorder and multiple injuries on her path to greatness. After a ten-year hiatus after col ..read more

After some Olympic Marathon Trials recapping, we welcomed sports psychologist, Dr. Shira A. Oretzky, Ph.D., CMPC. Dr. Oretzky has dedicated her career to helping elite athletes develop a high-performance mindset and well-being strategies to reach their full potential. She is the co-founder of MindEdge Sport and Performance Consulting, where she specializes in working with collegiate, Olympic, and professional athletes. Dr. Oretzky currently serves as a sport psychology consultant to the University of San Diego’s (USD) Athletic Department and other collegiate and professional athletic teams thr ..read more

For many runners, becoming a masters runner provides a new opportunity to qualify and run Boston. Even though so many runners become faster as a master, there are some specific tweaks runners can do as a masters runners (or runner of any age) to maximize training and minimize chances of injury. We discuss how to make tweaks now in training, recovery, and mental performance to optimize training and race performance. Could you do us a favor? We would love another review on Apple Podcasts (or whatever platform you use to listen). Reviews help us grow! THANK YOU! We have a sponsor for this episode ..read more

Liz Camy ran her first marathon in 2007 in 4:08, and she hated it. Fast forward to 2024, she is now a 2:42 marathoner and, at age 40, will be running the 2024 Boston Marathon in the Professional Women's Field. In this episode, Liz shares her 25-year running journey--from high school and collegiate runner to masters runner-- including how she has been able to continue improving her times while balancing family and career (she is a military spouse, mom of two, and a full-time assistant principal with a doctoral degree in organizational leadership). Liz, who is coached by Esther Atkins of McKirdy ..read more

After discussing a few early season important training tips to prepare for the Boston Marathon, we welcomed strength training coach, Lauren Bearnarth, owner of Sunny & Lauren's (www.sunnyandlaurens.com), who has been working with runners of all levels over the last decade with great success. If you've caught any of Julie's ACL recovery reels over the past year, then you've seen Lauren's work in action. In this episode, Lauren shares how runners can set up a simple and effective strength training program, which we share below. We also discuss some resources to work with a strength training ..read more