More Than Miles

Dr. Kate Interviews Dr. Kacy about her race at the 2022 California International Marathon, which, spoiler alert, did not go as she had hoped. This conversation is all about the mental recovery process, from crossing the finish line in disappointment to moving forward in training and racing. Kacy tells her story through her eyes and heart, describing just whay that result was such a hard pill to swallow.

Kate and Kacy discuss the unneccesary pressure we put on ourselves to perform, and explore why it impacts a runner's ability to get through tough moments on the run. They trade marathon experiences, and it is a good reminder that the marathon distance has to be respected.

Conversations like these make us feel less alone in our experiences, which is why this is a must-listen for anyone working toward a big goal!

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In Episode #45 of the More Than Miles Podcast, physical therapists Dr. Kate Mihevc Edwards and Dr. Kacy Seynders interview professional runner and Atlanta Track Club (ATC) athlete Allie Wilson. Allie ran three competitive seasons a year in college (indoor and outdoor track and cross country) and now races at the 800m distance internationally. She talks in the interview about the factors that she loves about running but also is very candid about the challenges that she faces in her own training as well as disappointments from performances in which she did not hit the times or place that she wanted. Allie talks about her maturation as a runner through her collegiate career and into her beginnings as a professional runner when moving to Atlanta.

During the interview, Allie explores the keys she has found in her own training that she feels have contributed to her success including her consistency in training efforts, trusting in her coaches’ training plans, and prioritizing sleep and nutrition among other factors. She also talks about her appreciation in having found such a unique and overwhelmingly positive running culture and a supportive team to train within the Atlanta Track Club. She also discusses her experience as a professional runner and her gratitude for having the ability to run and train as her main “day” job without the stress of working a job outside of running. She talks about a typical “day in the life” of a professional runner including often getting in multiple workouts per day, prioritizing active recovery practices such as using ice or compression boots, massage, and making sure to optimize nutrition and sleep.

The interview also includes moments and stories that exemplify Allie’s humility and grace and make her very relatable for the human experiences that she shares with recreational runners. Dr. Kacy and Kate talk about Allie’s strengths as a teammate to other athletes in the ATC crew and her position as a leader amongst the team. Finally, Allie, shares a story about a pivotal 800m race this year in which she fell at the finish line and the social media hype that this clip inspired. She also dispels myths about what actually happened during that race…so, check out the full podcast episode to hear her side of this story and more!

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In Episode #44 of the More Than Miles Podcast, physical therapists Dr. Kate Mihevc Edwards and Dr. Kacy Seynders interview physical therapist, author, and running researcher Dr. Jay Dicharry. Jay is a running aficionado, having performed gait evaluations on thousands of runners in his biomechanics research lab, worked with many runners to rehab injuries as a physical therapist, and spent countless hours training for triathlon races. During the interview, they talk about reframing the identity of endurance athletes (i.e., you don’t have to run a marathon to think of yourself as a “runner”), the importance of strength training for endurance athletes, running footwear choices, and tips on training and improving runners’ form.

Jay explains three key factors that he prioritizes when working with running athletes including developing adequate rotational strength at the feet, hips, and trunk; improving postural endurance, and accommodating for individual differences in structure and alignment. He goes on to explain how he developed a training tool to improve foot control in runners (i.e., the Mobo board) and some of the patterns of muscle weakness and poor dynamic control that he often sees and works to correct in runners. They also talk about Jay’s books “Anatomy for Runners” and “Running Rewired” that Jay has written for running athletes that seek to explain some of his philosophy on optimizing runners’ strength and form to enhance performance and reduce injury risk. If you are eager to learn more about the nuances of foot control, training tips, and fun commentary on running culture we highly recommend giving this episode a listen!

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In Episode #43 of the podcast, Dr. Kate and Dr. Kacy talk all about low back pain in runners. They talk about some common experiences that runners or athletes may have of precursors to injury or adaptations to body areas that are painful. They also discuss how sometimes issues that may seem like they are coming from the hip or leg can really be issues that start in the back! They talk about common symptoms that are clues to low back pain or low back “dysfunction,” such as numbness or tingling in the legs or arms, always feeling “tight,” or even just having a nagging discomfort or stiffness. Kate and Kacy have so much experience treating runners that they can often key in on potential treatments that could be beneficial and pick up a lot of information from watching a runner’s form and body mechanics while running. Kacy even talks about trying to do a “gait analysis” on her own running form and some factors that she has worked on to improve her own running. Kate and Kacy then talk about the variety of potential contributors to persisting low back pain and some treatment options for improving low back pain.

This episode has so much great information about identifying potential causes of low back pain and how to address these different causes of low back pain. It is definitely worth a listen!

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In Episode #42 of the podcast, Dr. Kate and Dr. Kacy talk about their newly launched company: Fast Bananas! Fast Bananas is a company with a mission to change running culture! Dr. Kate and Dr. Kacy talk about how Fast Bananas addresses runners’ health in a whole new way. Fast Bananas is the exciting culmination of Dr. Kate’s years of experience treating runners, researching running science, and talking to the best coaches and experts on runners’ health. It is bananas to think that your health as a runner is just represented by physical factors. There is so much more to health than physical factors. Emotional, mental, and spiritual factors play a big role as well and that is why Fast Bananas is so special.

Fast Bananas offers 2 Resources for Runners’ health. The first resource is an online resource center and subscription service with instructional videos from the best of the best experts including videos from three strength coaches, two sports psychologists and a mindset coach, two nutritionists, many physical therapists, running coaches, yoga coaches…and many more! The second resource is a “Runner’s Toolkit” which has fun and useful items to help with improving runner’s holistic health including a lacrosse ball, coloring book, journal, candle to relax, and a fun trucker’s hat!

Fast Bananas has so much to offer, including many many banana jokes! So stop monkeying around and give this episode a listen!

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In Episode #41 of the More Than Miles Podcast, physical therapists Dr. Kate Mihevc Edwards and Dr. Kacy Seynders interview accomplished distance runner, mom, and former Guinness world record holder, Liz Northern. Liz’s running accolades include placing 5th at the world 50K championship in 2019, being the USATF 50K national champion in 2019 and100k national champion in 2021 and most recently placing 16th at the IAU world 100k championships held on August 27th, 2022 in Berlin, Germany! She even held the Guinness world record for running a 10k while pushing a double stroller!

In the interview, Liz discusses her entry into running after suffering a severe knee injury as a 16-year-old while performing a jump in a dance routine (Liz danced competitively up until this injury and was involved in ballet, tap, and jazz dance). She continued to run in college, walking on at NCAA Division III, Trinity University, where she excelled in both track and cross country. After college, Liz continued to put in the running miles, many of these while pushing her children in her running stroller, and gradually increased her racing distances along the way. She started racing competitively again and continued to stay competitive, this time excelling at the marathon distance and even raced in the 2016 and 2020 olympic marathon trials. Since then she has upped her distance to 50k and 100k races, where she has represented the U.S. team on the national stage.

Liz talks candidly in the interview about some of the challenges she has faced such as getting back into running as a new mom and racing these longer distances. She discusses some of her tips and tricks to reintegrate running into her life as a new mom including creating a competitive running group, The Forth Worth Distance Project, and the structure and support that created for her. Ultimately, Liz has an amazing ability to stay lighthearted in her approach to life and running all while participating in regular 4am long runs while still prioritizing family in her afternoon and evening routine. We know you will love listening to Liz tell her running story and stay tuned for the wisdom she sprinkles throughout this interview on how to keep training fun and realistic while prioritizing family and the joy that she has had integrating these two passions of hers!

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In Episode #40 of the More Than Miles Podcast, physical therapists Dr. Kate Mihevc Edwards and Dr. Kacy Seynders interview strength coach, gym owner, and athlete, Erin Carson. Erin grew up as a competitive youth basketball player in Canada, ultimately went on to play for the Canadian National team, and also coached basketball. During her athletic career (and prior to making the national team), she was told that she would need to get stronger in order to remain competitive and this motivated her to start strength training on her own. After attending the University of Colorado in Boulder, and settling in to living in Boulder, Erin become involved in the endurance athlete community as a gym owner and strength coach and now specializes in strength training for endurance athletes.

During the podcast interview, Erin talks about some of the important nuances that she uses when programming strength training into a distance runner or endurance athlete’s schedule. She also talks about the importance of changing strength training parameters based on the athlete’s competition and training schedule, overall recovery, and even mood! Erin explains some of her decision making when creating individualized training plans for athletes and some of her favorite strength exercises for endurance athletes. She also talks about the influences that led her to want to become a strength and conditioning coach and her passion for this line of work. She discusses her philosophy of strength training in prioritizing four key pillars of health, science, movement, and strength. Erin also talks about her gym Rally Sport in Boulder, CO and some of the elite endurance athletes that she has trained including Kara and Adam Goucher. If you are an endurance athlete and interested in how to maximize the benefits from strength training, this is an episode you won’t want to miss!

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In Episode #39 of the More Than Miles Podcast, physical therapists Dr. Kate Mihevc Edwards and Dr. Kacy Seynders interview accomplished master’s athlete Kirk Larson, who has been running for 47 years. Kirk’s accolades include having been a member of of 21 national championship teams with master’s 60+ and 70+ Atlanta track club teams, he has medaled at every distance from 1 mile to 15k at the USATF national championships, and nearly every year his “age-graded” times have improved They discuss Kirk’s introduction to running in graduate school, his love of how running makes him feel, and his competitive successes as a master’s athlete. They also discuss some of his training and recovery habits and especially those that he feels have kept him healthy and running for such a long (and successful!) career. Kirk describes how he schedules his training including speed work, hills workouts, and long runs over a 5 day per week schedule. He also emphasizes the importance that he has placed on stretching, physical therapy, and other recovery tactics such as massage. They also talk about the idea of, “age grading,” that allows an individual to predict what times may be expected at different ages, which can be incredibly motivating for athletes as they watch their race times (necessarily!) get slower as they age. Kirk’s passion for the sport of running and his engagement in the running community are truly inspiring. You will not want to miss this conversation with Kirk Larson!

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In Episode #38 of the More Than Miles Podcast, physical therapists Dr. Kate Mihevc Edwards and Dr. Kacy Seynders interview athlete and sleep researcher, Dr. Amy Bender, and talk all about how sleep quantity and quality can influence performance. Dr. Bender discusses some of the myths and facts surrounding what constitutes good sleep for recovery and why we should care as endurance athletes! She also discusses how to optimize sleep during periods of life in which we may not be able to control our sleep as much, such as when negotiating the time of being a new parent. Dr. Bender talks about the accuracy (or not!) of certain wearable technology such as the Oura ring or Whoop band and how to best use these devices to track sleep. She also talks about some of her research in a controlled sleep lab and some of the exciting innovations that her team is working on! If you have ever wondered about what role sleep plays in your recovery and success as an endurance athlete, we know you will love this episode!

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In episode #37 of the podcast, Dr. Kate and Dr. Kacy discuss running safety, social media use among runners and the use of fitness tracking platforms such as Strava. They begin with an objective but sobering look at some statistics regarding harassment among female runners. They also talk about ways to improve safety and reduce risk of adverse events when running. Unfortunately, some of the harassment experienced by high profile female runners has involved the use of social media sites and so Dr. Kate and Dr. Kacy talk about how runners might use social media to promote positive outcomes and decrease potential harassment. They also discuss some potential downsides to the fitness tracking platform Strava such as becoming overly competitive with online runners or feeling more peer pressure to look a certain way or train or race a certain way due to comparison with elite runners (who have a huge advantage over those of us who run recreationally, because let’s face it...running is their JOB!). We hope you will give this episode a listen and spread the word among your running community to improve safety while running!

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