Finish Lines and Milestones

By SandyBoy ProductionsHealth & Fitness Fitness

Finish Lines and Milestones episodes

January 03, 2025 Episode 89: Let's Find Your Limits
Matt Ebersole is a staple in the Indianapolis running community and beyond. Thus why I introduce him as THE Matt Ebersole.
During this episode, sponsored by Athlete Bouquets, we talk about:
- How PBT (Personal Best Training) got the color of their singlets
- The fact that he’s from Northern Indiana (Fort Wayne) and wanted to play football but ended up running instead
- His first race, a local 15K on September 1, 1980
- When he was in cross country and the worst on the team
- How his career started with Finish Line in Atlanta
- Meeting Coach Roy Benson in Atlanta and how that changed the trajectory of his life
- Taking the leap and taking PBT full time
- His own PRs (all in the rain) and his high sweat rate
- Dropping out of a race - how he refers to it as a “disease”
- The team dynamic of PBT
- What he does when an athlete is heartbroken at the end of a race
- His thoughts on athletes chasing a Boston Marathon qualifying time
- Celebrating success and firing athletes
- Diversity in the sport of running and coaching Robert Jackson
- The elite athlete recruitment he does for Beyond Monumental (CNO Indianapolis Monumental Marathon)
- His interview with Olympic Champion, Cole Hocker, at the Monumental expo
- Becoming a grandpa for the first time!

This is a SandyBoy Productions podcast.
1 hr 47 min
December 27, 2024Episode 88: World Record for the Fastest Marathon While Carrying a Pizza 🍕
Mike Cole has been in the pizza business for 30+ years, so when he was going to go after a world record, running a sub-marathon with a 14" pizza made sense.
During this episode we talk about:
What a great day the 2024 Monumental Marathon was

Deciding to challenge himself at age 49 and run 12 marathons in 12 months

His Guinness Book of World Record for fastest marathon while holding a 14” pizza set this year at the Mill Race Marathon

How he’s been in the pizza business for over 30 years with Greek’s Pizza

The twelve marathons he ran in 2024
January - Sarasota, FL

February - St. Petersburg, FL

March - Chattanooga, TN

April - Carmel, IN

May - Cleveland, OH

June - Leadville, CO Marathon

July - San Francisco, CA

August - Leadville 100 Miler

September - Columbus, IN

October - Columbus, OH

November - Indianapolis, IN
December - Rocket City, AL

Running the Leadville 100 Miler while in the midst of doing his 12 marathons (YouTube Video)

How he got beat by a guy wearing jeans and cowboy boots during his first 5K road race

How the worst thing in his life gave him the best things in his life

The formation of Indiana Elite

His three boys - Logan, Skyler and Aiden

The fact that he can pick the sound of a cello out in a song

Setting up their life to be in Colorado in the summers and Florida in the winters

When he was hit by a car in his neighborhood while running

A horrible accident that killed his uncle when Mike was in high school that he attributes to making him a better runner

How his whole family is vegan and he’s “almost Vegan”

The fact that him and his wife, Julie, founded the Zionsville Half Marathon and how we both can’t believe there isn’t a Zionsville Running Club

Thank you to ⁠Fringe Heals⁠ for supporting this episode. Use code ALLY25 for 25% off your order through 12/31/24.

This is a ⁠SandyBoy Productions⁠ podcast.
1 hr 43 min
December 20, 2024Episode 87: Trapped Adrenaline
Amy Shinneman was born with Muscular Dystrophy but wasn't diagnosed until the age of 44. During this episode, we talk about:
How her and her husband, Jamie, did the 50th year at Berlin and NYC … maybe Marine Corps Marathon in 2025? Tokyo in 2027?

All about the Berlin Marathon and getting to Europe for the first time

Tackling the World Majors and how they’re thinking about it

Living undiagnosed with a rare form of Muscular Dystrophy for 44 years

What it was like becoming a mom with an (unknown) disability

How she finally got a diagnosis of Bethlem Myopathy and how life was different after

The MDA and the work she’s done with them

What it’s like being a mom with a disability

How her husband, Jamie, got into running because of their kids

Getting a duo bike from MDA and doing her first marathon with her husband pushing at the Chicago Marathon

How her son finished third in his age group at the New York City Marathon and received a Tiffany’s plate

Race experiences and what she keeps in the duo bike during a race

How one of her sons taught her to run on an underwater treadmill

Using stem cell therapy as a way to treat MD

The mental health side of having a disability

“Once you’ve met a person with a disability, you’ve met one person with a disability”

The fact that people judge her (and have screamed at her) for parking in an accessible parking spot

Thank you to Fringe Heals for supporting this episode. Use code ALLY25 for 25% off your order through 12/31/24.

This is a SandyBoy Productions podcast.
1 hr 38 min
December 13, 2024 Episode 86: Keep Moving Forward
Stephanie Woods is a walking (er, running) example of resilience. She's been through a lot in her life and just keeps moving forward. We met through her husband, Timmy Howard, who was episode 54 of this podcast (listen here).
During this episode, sponsored by Fringe Heals, we talk about:
- Her Tecumseh 50K win “I got up. I ran. I won.”
- How her and her husband, Timmy got married at Tecumseh
- That she went straight from a half marathon to an ultra marathon (50K)
- Normatec compression boots
- How she wasn’t in sports growing up but grew up playing the piano and flute
- How her late dog, Pongo, was the reason she got into running after college to help him lose weight
- Her educational background in music education and classroom education
- The DOGS!! Savo, Atalanta, Leander aka The Herd
- Meeting Timmy through the November Project and Steph’s side of his story
- What it’s like having your husband be a race photographer
- Her dad’s stomach cancer battle
- Getting hit by a car while running and waking up under a dump truck
- Timmy’s Ironman in Lake Placid and the Athletic documentary, Inches to Miles

Use code ALLY25 for 25% off at Fringeheals.com.
Also sponsored by Athlete Bouquets.

This is a SandyBoy Productions Podcast.
1 hr 26 min
December 06, 2024Episode 85: Running on Vibes ✌🏻
Gabby Behr is the President of the Carmel Runners Club (that I accidentally call the Carmel Running Club during this episode, please forgive me, CRC).
During this episode, sponsored by Athlete Bouquets, we talk about:
Going from her goal race in September to Rim to Rim in the Grand Canyon in November

Losing toenails (she was down to 6.5 at the time of our interview)

Her huge PR at Big Cottonwood in Utah - 3:16

Qualifying for Boston and missing 2025 because of the buffer

How she’s been running since she was a kid

Being a part of the Purdue Running Club

Why she joined the Carmel Runners Club after college as a way to make friends and she’s now the President of the club

Going from racing to pacing a sub two hour marathon within a year

How Gabby and I met when we both worked at Fleet Feet at the same time

Some of the travel races she’s done with the club to Wisconsin, Arkansas, Maine, Alaska…

The record player her grandma gifted her

How she’s going to be running as an elite for the Indy Mini next May

Running for *gasp* fun!

Her pre and during race routines and what fuel we both use

How she popped out the lenses of some Goodrs and had them made as her everyday glasses she wears at work

Medal Wall We Talked About
Pegboard for said medal wall ^^
Hooks for medals to hang on wall ^^

This is a SandyBoy Productions podcast.
1 hr 22 min
November 29, 2024Episode 84: Jailhouse Workouts and The Trail of Tears
Kallup McCoy went from doing Men's Health magazine workouts in jail to being featured in Men's Health magazine for his crazy story.
During this episode, sponsored by Athlete Bouquets, we talk about:
His magical, hard-fought marathon PR in Indy at the Monumental Marathon that took years and multiple attempts to achieve

A crazy race morning story that gives me anxiety just thinking about it

What it was like growing up Native American

How he was exposed to prescription narcotics at the age of 11

Losing his dad to illness and how Kallup using in his hospital room still wasn’t his rock bottom

How the life changing moment came when he was in jail

His relationships with his two sons

Where the name Kallup comes from

The fact that his addiction wasn’t entirely over after he got out of jail

Running a portion of The Trail of Tears the bike race he wanted to do wouldn’t allow him to enter as a convicted felon

Other ultramarathons Kallup has DNFd and completed

Starting his business as a running coach and starting a non-profit organization, RezHope

The God wink of God winks

His 2025 run across the United States slated to start in mid-March

How Kallup knows Kara and Adam Goucher

The Runner’s High documentary and how it all came together

Living near Asheville and the impact of the hurricane

Kallup's YouTube channel
1 hr 28 min
November 22, 2024Episode 83: Losing Her Sport and Herself
Whitney Miller and I met at a race expo and I've been wanting to get to know her better. So here we are!
During this episode, sponsored by Athlete Bouquets, we talk about:
How much I love her gray hair (she’s had it since she was 16)

Swimming from age 6 through college. What it was like being a collegiate swimmer.

Hating running during the time she was a swimmer

That she knew she wanted to be a teacher since she was 6 and how it was so devastating when teaching elementary didn't work for her

Finding health and life coaching and how it changed her life

How she started running after college because she didn’t know what else to do

Her first marathon in Napa Valley in 2013

A hip injury she dealt with on and off for 8 years

What her relationship with running is like now

Losing her dog suddenly 4 days before the first women’s running retreat she hosted

Her business, Transcend Training and Performance

Being inducted into the NCAA Hall of Fame for swimming and how she had to reframe her mindset to appreciate the honor

This is a SandyBoy Productions podcast.
1 hr 20 min
November 15, 2024Episode 82: You're Never Too Old
Nathan Partain started running marathons when he was 64 years old. 🤯 During this episode, sponsored by Athlete Bouquets, we talk about:
The crowds at the World Majors he’s run - New York City (‘24), Boston (‘22, ‘24) and London (‘23)

Running the 2024 New York City Marathon with Imerman Angels

How he started running marathons after he retired in 2020

Having to defer and drop out of races because of injury

How we met randomly on a golf course and I asked if I could interview him

Life before marathons - Texas > Chicago > Indy

His three kids and the fact that they all run too

His favorite part of the London Marathon and the first bridge of NYC

Nick Hauger, his running coach who runs for HOKA Northern Arizona Elite and why he got a coach

How he’s saving the Chicago Marathon for his last World Major Marathon

His race experiences at Houston, Mesa, and Woodlands

Why he now wears bright colored clothes when he races

The unexpected downside of having his name on his shirt in NYC

Other places in the world he’s gotten to run

Climbing Kilimanjaro with his daughter TWICE

The fact that he was a DJ at a nightclub in college

This is a SandyBoy Productions podcast.
1 hr 42 min
November 08, 2024Episode 81: Coming in Last and Then Coming in First
Jackie Dikos and I met when we had booths next to each other at a marathon expo earlier this year. I bought her book, Finish Line Fueling, and knew I wanted to hear her story.
During this episode, sponsored by Athlete Bouquets, we talk about:
The fact that she’s one of NINE kids and how that impacted how she played sports growing up (i.e. having to run to practice and run home)

Getting married at 21 right out of college

Her first Chicago Marathon at 22 in 2001

Working with Coach Matt Ebersole and making it to the Olympic Trials in the Marathon

How she fell in love with running on a different level after having her first son

Why she’s never run Flying Pig even though that’s where she’s from

Getting to the line of her first Olympic Trials and finishing in last place

Then how it felt to win the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon in 2010 to qualify for the Olympic Trials again

The different places her husband’s career took her and her family

Why she was drawn to the field of dietetics

Her foot injury before the Virginia Beach Marathon and having to walk off while she was in first place

The story behind Field Brewing and the inaugural Field Brewing 5K

This is a SandyBoy Productions podcast.
1 hr 27 min
November 01, 2024Episode 80: The Marine Corps Marathon (and Family) Club
Jordan Huffman and I met through our running coach, Rachel Sinders. Jordan just completed her 9th Marine Corps Marathon and still had the marathon hobble to prove it!

During this episode, sponsored by Athlete Bouquets, we talk about:
The 49th Marine Corps Marathon

How she ran 10 miles of the MCM and then snuck off the course to hide her first pregnancy

Her first Indianapolis Monumental and her first non-MCM marathon

Both of us contemplating running the 50th Marine Corps Marathon next year

How she found running to find connection while her husband was deployed overseas

What it’s like being a military spouse and how her husband has supported her goals from afar

How it's hard saying goodbye to running strollers

Her 76-year-old dad finishing the MCM skipping after taking a shot of Fireball

Running a virtual marathon before an 8:30am soccer game

How spectating and volunteering might actually be harder than running a marathon

Meeting through our running coach, Rachel Sinders, and why we love working with a running coach

Taylor Swift concert in Indy

What it’s like having a husband who works for a commercial airline
If you enjoy this episode, be sure to subscribe, share and review!
1 hr 13 min

About Finish Lines and Milestones

From the publisher's feed

Every runner has a story. Finish Lines and Milestones is a podcast that celebrates the everyday runner. If you run, you’re a runner. Join host, Ally Brettnacher, every week as she shares these runner…