This week's episode is an interview with Amber Schulz! Amber grew up in Florida and got into running at a young age, where she was the 2021 4A Florida State Champion in XC and the runner up in 2022. Amber battled an eating disorder her junior year of HS, and after recovering she went on to run collegiately at the D1 level at High Point, then ended up transferring to Flagler, a D2 school back home in Florida. Throughout college, Amber experienced injuries, mental health struggles, and ultimately relapsed into her eating disorder, leading her to decide that collegiate running wasn't for her. She left college, moved back home, and now coaches youth running, runs for herself, and is working towards a degree in nutrition.

Amber candidly shares her ups and downs with running, mental health, and her relationship with food. We discuss:

• How what started as a goal to get healthier and run faster turned into an eating disorder
• Amber's experience working towards recovery and going on to have the best season of her career her senior year of HS
• The challenging transition from high school to collegiate running, and the mental health struggles that came with that environment
• Amber's difficult decision to transfer, then ultimately leave collegiate running, which had previously been a lifelong dream
• How she dealt with a relapse in her eating disorder and an identity crisis after moving back home
• How Amber ultimately found a new love for the sport through youth coaching, and what her relationship with running and food looks like now