Roberta Groner is a 2:29 marathoner, full-time nurse, and mother of three teenage boys. And if that wasn't already enough to juggle, she recently became the road coach of my club team, Central Park Track Club.

Roberta is a fiery competitor who runs with heart and pure grit. The tougher the conditions, the better she performs. On 9/27 in the 2019 IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar, where real-feel temps were 105, she finished 6th overall, and was TOP American! Only 34 days later, Roberta came back and scorched a 2:30:12 in the 2019 TCS New York City Marathon, where she was 13th overall, and 4th American.

The big themes:

-Staying curious—pushing her limits to find the fastest version of herself

-Being fearless—taking risks, accepting the chance to rep the USA at World's in Doha despite knowing she would also be running NYC 34 days later

-Community—giving back, sharing her journey to inspire her boys & others

-Bringing awareness to autism and Soles4Souls

-Tapping into the big energy from her running community

-Paying it forward—coaching

-Imposter syndrome, her favorite races, milestone moments, and personal growth along the journey.

On her decision to race World's and NYC 34 days apart:

"Being invited to a World's team and putting on your country's colors, who gets to do that? I wanted my boys to see that anything is possible if you work hard, be consistent, and don't give up. Sometimes we have to make a decision on something and I chose it without questioning it. Being fearless and taking a risk and having an opportunity and doing it. Sometimes you just have to say yes, and look what happened."

Roberta Groner may have set out on her running journey to inspire her boys, but has accumulated an army of fans and is so easy to root for!

I hope you all enjoy this conversation as much as I 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 Roberta:

Instagram: @bad_boys104

Connect With Ron:

Personal Instagram: @ronrunsnyc

Podcast Instagram: @runchats_with_ronrunsnyc

Facebook: https://fb.me/runchats

Website: https://ronrunsnyc.com

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