NYC native Janie Deegan got sober in 2013 after years of battling drug and alcohol addiction that had led to her becoming homeless. In her early years of sobriety she turned to baking—something that had brought her joy as a child—as an act of self-care. Encouraged by friends, in 2015 she founded Janie’s Life-Changing Baked Goods, now in three Manhattan locations and best known for its mouth-watering Pie Crust Cookies. Janie ran her first race with New York Road Runners in 2016, and she’s gone on to run the TCS New York City Marathon three times with #4 coming up on November 3. Janie talks to Rob about cookies (spoiler alert: he’s a huge fan), her journey as a runner and entrepreneur, her belief in giving back to her community by providing second-chance employment, and more. Don’t miss this incredibly inspiring and uplifting episode.

PROGRAM NOTE: Due to a reporting error, the winning finish times for the 2024 New Balance Bronx 10M mentioned in the episode are incorrect. The correct winning times are:
Ryan Cutter - 0:48:57
Amelework Fikadu Bosho - 0:55:23
Jacob Caswell - 0:57:34

LINKS:
Janie’s Life-Changing Baked Goods

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