Today on podcast the we are trying a new format that I am really excited about - a 360 degree review of an athlete's improvement. First we speak with Diane Neubauer, and then her coach James McKirdy, about her remarkable improvement over the last three years.

Diane is a fantastic runner, incredibly hard worker, military wife, and mother of two.

She ran her first marathon in 2013, finishing in 3:50. Three years later, she ran a 3:36 in Boston. Four years after that, with a 3:07 marathon PR and her sights set on breaking 3:00, she started working with coach James McKirdy. She had been self-coached to that point, and nobody would argue that she had seen some amazing progress.

In fact, with a 3:50 debut seven years prior, many people would probably think that she had squeezed out all of her potential - that squeaking under 3:00 might be the best she could hope for. Maybe some would think even that was a little greedy. How often do we hear that we should “chip away at it” rather than take a big swing?

But instead of focusing on the end goal, they focused on the process. They focused on development. Day by day, week by week.

A year later, at the McKirdy Micro Michigan marathon, Diane won in a time of 2:45:42. We went back to work. Same methodology. Trust the process, let the fitness develop. She ran a 1:15 half marathon in Phoenix Mesa and finished the season with a 2:44 in Boston.

It's clear there's even more improvement ahead for Diane. Learn how this has all come about and what the plans are for the future in this new format.

You can follow Diane at www.instagram.com/diane_neubauer_.

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