At age 13, Erin Genova's appendix burst, and she was hospitalized for a week. While she was there, she watched the Boston Marathon on TV and was so inspired she said, "I am going to run that one day!" That is where her amazing running journey began! Erin made good on that promise, running 3:42 in her 1st Boston in 2002, during her senior year of college at BU, on a sponsor's invitation bib from John Hancock.

We discuss:

-Post kids: her 8-year Boston streak (2005-2012) being broken from surgical complications on Violet's childbirth and the physical and mental trauma from an artery being nicked during her C-section and missing the race

-The Bombing: how she felt guilty for not being there and how she stopped running completely until 2016, when a work colleague convinced her to join him on lunch runs at their gym and on the Charles River

-Boston Marathon 2018: how she ran on the Charles River in the monsoon that day and came back inside to work and watched Des WIN, inspiring her to want to run Boston again

-The Come Back: running a 3:18 in Erie in 2018, BQing, and then plateauing at 3:14. Reaching out to Brendon O'Leary because she sees his athletes hitting big goals and hires Olympic Trials Marathoner Casey Kilareski of O'Leary Racing Team, who makes key tweaks to her training and runs PR's in 5K & 10K before everything shuts down for Covid

-Bec's Beasts: her stress level was very high with Covid, working from home, running outside with a mask, and not being able to race. She found an INSPIRING instructor, Becs Gentry, of Peloton and connected with a core group of athletes (Bec's Beasts) and super-positive community that kept her going and reinvigorated her running again

-Her comeback post-COVID: CIM Race Day. Diving deep into an AMAZING, breakthrough performance where she ran a 2:58—a 16-minute PR! Trusting in the belief of a friend and training partner, Tyler, to take the big swing and run with the sub-3 pace group. Having the support of Team ORT and their runners, who were there that weekend, and family from home

-Post CIM: Winning a 5K, continuing to get faster and stronger

-Community Service: How Erin is a Girl Scout troop leader for daughter and 16 girls

I'm so INSPIRED by Erin's 2:58—a 16-minute PR—at CIM and am stoked to follow what comes next! Erin is incredibly goal-driven, fiercely competitive and strong, and is setting a great example for her two children, Violet & Cooper, to follow (and they are 2 of her BIGGEST fans)!

I hope you all enjoy this convo as much as we did!

If you enjoy the episode, it would mean the world to me if you would rate the podcast or write a review and share feedback wherever you get your podcast groove on.

Connect With Erin:

Instagram: @eringenova

Connect With Ron:

Personal Instagram: @ronrunsnyc

Podcast Instagram: @runchats_with_ronrunsnyc

Facebook: https://fb.me/runchats

Website: https://ronrunsnyc.com

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Produced by: David Margittai | In Post Media

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© 2022 Ron Romano