Chill Track Friday

In this two-part episode we interview Stuart Calderwood about track racing and coaching runners. Stuart has been a coach for over forty years. During his 11 years as a head cross-country coach in California, his Laguna Beach High School boys’ team won the 1989 State Championship and his Orange Coast College men’s team won the 1988 South Conference championship. In 2003 Stuart won the age 45-49 bronze medal at the World Masters Championship marathon. In 2009 he set the American age 50-54 track records at 25K and 30K. He is a 2:28:05 marathoner and a 1:10:07 half-marathoner.

PART I: Stuart is a true connoisseur of track and field and his knowledge and enthusiasm for the sport is inspiring. Part I of this double-episode is a delightful conversation with Stuart about track and field today and the direction in which the sport may head. Stuart has an encyclopedic knowledge of the history of the discipline and a computer-like ability to remember race results, both those of professional runners, and those of the hundreds of athletes with whom he works today. Whether or not you are schooled in track racing, Stuart's appreciation for the technique and principles involved in every race distance, combined with his outside-the-box way of thinking, allows him to articulate the subtle nuances of racing to runners at every level. This episode is for everyone.

Laura Rodriguez runs with a strength and a determination that is unstoppable, fiercely passionate, and incredibly inspiring. Laura is motivated by a love of the sport, yet this is just the beginning. Laura has a huge heart and she bravely allows it to lead the way in her training and her racing. Listen as she describes transforming from a smoker to a sub-elite marathoner. This is a marvelous and entertaining account of setting big goals and believing in yourself.

In this two-part episode we interview Gordon Bakoulis. Gordon is an athletic force who has dominated the running world since she began racing competitively in the 1980s. To this day she races with purpose, fierce talent, and a pure love of the sport. This is an inspiring story of accountability, nurturing a talent, and courage to gracefully follow the road that it paves. From a 3:40:03 first-time marathoner to a five-time Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier, Gordon offers us an intimate and beautifully told narrative of her compelling journey - in running and in life.

In this second segment of our interview, Gordon Bakoulis articulates how she applies everything she learned as a champion road racer to now coaching other athletes. Gordon discusses what it’s like to mature in a field for which she retains the same amount of passion, dedication and talent. Though not aiming for the Olympic Trials, Gordon continues to dominate; she maintains age-graded times and age-graded percentiles that surpass the current Open champions. This is a thoughtful and humorous reflection on the continuity of a lifelong love of athletics, the pursuit of excellence, and the importance of balancing goals.

In this two-part episode we interview Gordon Bakoulis. Gordon is an athletic force who has dominated the running world since she began racing competitively in the 1980s. To this day she races with purpose, fierce talent, and a pure love of the sport. This is an inspiring story of accountability, nurturing a talent, and courage to gracefully follow the road that it paves. From a 3:40:03 first-time marathoner to a five-time Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier, Gordon offers us an intimate and beautifully told narrative of her compelling journey - in running and in life.

PART I: Gordon Bakoulis shares about her early childhood and how a winter of running around the neighborhood with a friend uncovered a talent and a passion for running. Gordon continues, sharing how she found ways to nurture her talent and how she stepped into the competitive running landscape.

Somewhere in the mind of any athlete is the question, “did I just run my fastest race? Is this the top of the mountain for me?” Progress is not linear, nor is it guaranteed at the moment we want it, yet we are told to be steadfast, that consistency and patience will reap rewards we never thought possible. Though we hear this repeatedly, it is challenging to truly trust that we will not be the exception and that this promise will, in fact hold true for us, too. Rosemary’s story exemplifies the power of applying consistency and patience to a running practice over the long-term.

A tibial stress fracture diagnoses at the outset of marathon training didn’t stop Ali from running a 3:15 at the Berlin Marathon, 2018. Listen as Ali explains his training cycle, from how he translated a marathon training plan into a marathon cross-training plan, to devising a race strategy that would fully honor his journey. This is an incredible story of persistence, patience, creativity, and determination in the face of an injury setback. 

Jim knew something needed to change when he stood on the sidelines, a sedentary 41-year old, watching his 70-year old father run past him in the Vienna Marathon in 2009. Inspired by his father’s post-retirement lifestyle changes, Jim and his brother, Tom vowed right then and there to run a marathon with their father within a year. Listen as Jim describes his journey from Northampton, England to New York City at the age of 22 with nothing but a suitcase and a calling. Mentor, motivator, coach at heart, Jim spends his life helping at risk populations in New York while simultaneously and subtly inspiring his friends to share in the joys and health benefits found in the transformative power of running.

How do you train for a race that you’ve set your sights on, quite possibly for years and which is notoriously challenging due to its elevation variations? In this episode, Ann Restak discusses her training cycle for the 2018 Boston Marathon, offering tips and suggestions. Nothing, however, could have prepared her, or any runner, for the weather conditions in Boston on April 16, 2018. Listen as our co-host, Ann describes what it was like to race in historically cold, wet and windy weather, while setting a marathon personal best finish time at the 122nd running of the Boston Marathon.

In Part II of this two-part episode, Roberto Mandje discusses the circumstances surrounding his decision to retire from professional running and the joys born from this decision. This segment contains countless training tips for athletes of all levels.

In Part I of this two-part episode, Roberto Mandje describes his journey from 4:58 miler in the 8th grade to representing Equatorial Guinea in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. This is a thoughtful reflection on lessons learned during more than a decade of professional running.