Run Your Mouth

This week’s guest is Eric Avila, a member of Golden Coast Track Club who’s currently in Flagstaff for a training trip where he’s meeting up with some of the country’ best milers for workouts. Eric is a 3:36 1500m guy who recently has found some success in the 5k, running 13:18 in December at the Sound Running track meet. We talked about his shift in training, as well as his love for speed suits, his NAIA roots, and his pitch for the Taco Truck Mile in a great conversation recorded a few weeks ago. Eric will be running the 5,000 at the Citius Mag x Trials of Miles Texas Qualifier on February 27th – catch him on the free livestream in less than two weeks!

On coming from a NAIA collegiate background:

“That chip on my shoulder has always and will always be there. I’ve always kind of thought of myself as blue collar because of the hard path I took. When I got out of college, Bowerman, NOP, OTC, they were the new Oregon Ducks. You kinda have to to be able to believe on yourself on the line.”

On shifting his training toward the 5000:

“A lot of times, I have decent closing speed over the last 150 meters but I haven’t been strong enough to be there to utilize it. So with this more aerobic training, I’d love to take a real crack at the 5k, but I think it’ll help in a fast 15 as well.”

On racing distance races in a speed suit:

“I did it for one race, and I won. And afterwards I was like, well shoot. I have to wear this again. And the next season I did a long [East Coast] indoor trip for 3 weeks and I thought I’d packed my singlet, but I’d only packed my speed suit. So every race that season I raced in the speed suit and since then, I’m the speed suit guy.”

This week’s guest is Molly Seidel, flying high off her 1:09:20 half marathon personal best in Las Vegas last weekend and the announcement that she’s signed a new contract with PUMA. We talked about her first race in new shoes, the inside scoop on the professional contract process, and a surprisingly deep conversation on the challenges of sharing on social media. We also covered the “pants vs. tights” debate, the possibility of a “beer 10k,” and Molly puts her Instagram crush on blast in advance of Tokyo 2021.

On priorities when signing a contract:

“When I was going in, knowing that I was in a position of power, the only two things I knew I wanted were that I wanted to keep Boston as my home base and I wanted to keep Jon Green as my coach. Those were the only two things that were set in stone, and any company that didn’t allow me to do those things were an absolute ‘no.’ I think that knowing my values and knowing what’s important to me made the whole process so much easier.”

On Puma’s carbon shoes:

“Right now, shoes are such a big part of the game [….] that was a big thing for me in my signing decision. I want to make sure that I’m wearing the best thing possible when I step on the line in Sapporo this summer, and I needed to make sure that what I’m racing in is going to put me on the same level as the people around me in terms of shoes. And I’m fully confident in that.”

On having a complex identity as a public figure:

“The assumption that anybody has to be just one thing is just fundamentally flawed. You have to appreciate that people are complex and messy and change over time. Having a little bit more empathy and understanding for the people around you is the most important thing, both in real life and on social media.”

This week’s Run Your Mouth is a little different – To celebrate 3 years and 50 episodes, we have a special bonus “Inside the Podcast” edition. The “guest” is host David Melly, and frequent co-hosts Dana Giordano and Ben Bosworth interview David about the story behind the podcast, from its origins to its most controversial moments to its best and worst episodes.

David shares the inside scoop on his favorite guests, what it felt like to become a target of Internet harassment, and how he reacted when Meb Keflezighi crashed his birthday Zoom. Enjoy this episode with a lot of never-before-shared tidbits, or celebrate RYM’s third birthday with a journey through the back catalogue.

This week’s guest is pro triathlete and elite runner Morgan Pearson. Morgan is a graduate of the University of Colorado and one of the founding members of Tinman Elite who now has his sights set on representing the U.S. at the 2021 Olympics in the triathlon. We talked a bunch about the unique quirks of triathlon training, how it feels when he does come back to running and beat a bunch of pros, his hot takes on social media, and of course, the origin of the nickname “heartthrob.”

On training mostly solo:

“I kinda had this breakthrough after college when I was training more by myself… it wasn’t like I was a better runner or more fit, but I think I was doing the workouts more properly for me, but I also think there’s that mental aspect. Training by yourself – that’s hard. Doing an 18-mile long run by yourself… there’s no way around it. That’s hard. You’re going to be ready to race as a result.”

On balancing commitment with levity:

“I can be serious about training 5 hours a day, but I can also laugh at myself. I’m killing myself to do this, but it’s really not that important in the grand scheme of things. It’s great to be able to motivate and inspire people, but I don’t need to be so serious about the time. I can still have fun and laugh and poke fun at myself and poke fun at other people.”

On social media’s role in running:

“If it gets people into running or excited about the sport, that’s great, I’m all for it. But let’s not make the goal ‘have followers on social media.’ Let’s make the goal ‘break 4 in the mile,’ or ‘qualify for Olympic Trials,’ or whatever you’re trying to do. Let’s never forget the best parts of running.”

This week's guest is Heather MacLean of New Balance Boston. Heather is a Massachusetts native and graduate of UMass Amherst who's burst onto the scene in her first few years as a pro, running 4:05 in the 1500 and 2:00 in the 800 this year despite limited racing opportunities.

We talked about the importance of shaping your own narrative, what makes pro running in Boston special, and much more (Dunkin'! Tiktok! Relationship tips!) in a fun and wide-ranging episode. Heather has a fascinating and unique perspective and you're sure to enjoy this episode.

Happy New Year all and don't forget to follow, subscribe, and download wherever you get your podcasts!

This week's guest is another Marathon Project alum, Emma Bates! In another crossover episode with the Citius Mag podcast, we sat down (virtually) with Emma to talk about her race, the lessons she's learned in 2020, her goals for 2021, and a few more silly topics like her favorite album of the year and why she prefers tacos to burritos.

Emma is a 2:25 marathoner who runs for ASICS and the Idaho Distance Project. She's also an NCAA champ in the 10k and an accomplished runner on all surfaces, including cross-country and the roads. This episode was candid, funny, serious at times, and a lot of fun! I definitely think you'll enjoy it.

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Our second Marathon Project guest this week is Mick Iacofano, an Ohio native and graduate of the University of Kentucky who competes with the Idaho Distance Project out of Boise and this weekend made a big splash by finishing 7th at the Marathon Project in a four-minute personal best of 2:09:55.

Mick spoke candidly about his long and bumpy journey with the marathon, beginning with a frustrating end to his college career and full of significant setbacks despite his promise at longer distances. We also talked about the surprise of running an "accidental" sub-2:10 and how Mick managed to exceed even his own highest expectations.

Alongside co-hosts and Kentucky alumi Gabe Harm and Zack Beavin, we also covered beer miles, bartending, and making mistakes in college alongside all the standard Run Your Mouth content. This revealing and, frankly, inspirational episode is full of great moments and we hope you enjoy this before your holiday!

This week we have another great crossover episode with the Citius Mag podcast, and our guest is Martin Hehir of the Reebok Boston Track Club. Marty was a guest on the pod way back in 2018 and he returns after his big victory at this weekend’s Marathon Project, where he ran a new personal best of 2:08:59 to become the 7th-fastest American of all time.

We asked Marty about his race this weekend, his preparation coming off the Olympic marathon trials, and how he balances training with medical school and taking care of two young daughters. A lot of great insight into a really impressive guy!

This week’s guest is Danielle Shanahan of HOKA Northern Arizona Elite. Dani is a California native and graduate of Loyola Marymount University who joined NAZ Elite in 2018 and has a personal best of 15:26 in the 5000. Last weekend, she had a huge breakthrough race at the Sound Running Track Meet, setting a personal best of over a minute to run 31:22 in the 10,000 and get the Olympic Standard.

We talked about that wild race in depth in this episode, as well as what it felt like to join a big pro group coming out of a small college experience and how chasing her teammates got her to that next level. We also talked about the new season of The Mandalorian, our Christmas lists, and way more.

On her expectations going into last week’s race

“I knew it was there, and I had trained for it, and I did go into it feeling like I was in shape to run what I ran, but I knew I would have to have an A++ day to run the standard.”

On the bar being set high by her NAZ teammates:

“The bar is here, and it is very high. It was a big switch this fall; I was like ‘I know what I need to do. I need to start believing in myself that I belong here’ – not only on this team but as a competitor in the professional running world.”

On the best albums of 2020:

“I listened to Phoebe Bridgers’s Punisher on repeat when I was injured and sad during this summer… It’s just a mood. It’s a ‘gray and misty outside, and I just want to sit in my feels’ kind of album.”

Welcome to a new episode of Run Your Mouth! This week’s guest is Zack Beavin, a marathoner and blossoming ultra runner from Lexington, Kentucky who last weekend set the U.S. #4 all-time mark at 50 miles at the Tunnel Hill 50 miler in Illinois, running 5:03:06 to shatter the course record and run the fastest off-road 50 miler on North American soil.

Zack is an accomplished runner at all distances having run 2:18 in the marathon and competed at the 2020 Olympic Trials as well as running collegiately for the University of Kentucky. He came on the podcast with cohost and crew member Sam Day to talk about his race, how he found ultras, and more. He also happens to be my boyfriend, which made for some fun long-run talk a bit later on the episode when Sam put us on the couple hot seat.

You can read Zack’s full race recap here: https://www.reddit.com/r/running/comments/jux28c/tunnel_hill_50_miler_50306_1st_cr_1500_4th/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

Enjoy the episode!