Nell Rojas has been the top American at the last two Boston marathoners and is set to line up there again in 3 weeks. Her path to the front of elite marathoning has not been a direct one, however, and we talk about that winding path in this conversation.

In particular, her journey includes becoming a coach for the every-day athlete well before she was chasing podiums at Boston and NYC.

In this conversation, we talk about her background but then dive into her coaching philosophy, including what it takes to perform well in the marathon and especially Boston. Listen all the way to the end because her thoughts on mental prep for Boston are absolute gold!

Warning: This episode contains discussion of disordered eating and emotional and sexual abuse.

In this episode, I interview Kara Goucher on her just-released book The Longest Race. In the book, she shares details about her running journey and time with the Nike Oregon Project that she has never shared. You must listen and read to learn more. Listen and then go buy the book if you haven't already. It's a powerful, emotional, and inspirational read.

To redeem the offer from this episode's sponsor go to betterhelp.com/runningrogue for 10% off your first month of online therapy.

With this episode, we are back to a Q&A episode with Nicole Winter (@nicolemruns), answering questions about marathon training as she preps for a marathon later this spring.

Some of the questions we cover from her followers:

In this episode, I interview fellow running podcaster Tina Muir to talk about RED-S or Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport. RED-S which is a diagnosis for those experiencing symptoms of under-fueling for performance, often caused inadvertently.

Resources from the episode:

• YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/@tinamuir.
• RED-S Recovery resources: https://recovery.mykajabi.com/.
• Article on Tina's personal journey: https://www.self.com/story/letter-to-runners-with-amenorrhea-tina-muir.
• More resources from Tina: https://runningforreal.com/.

If I have said it once, I will say it 1,000 times and then 1,000 more. You HAVE to slow down on easy day in order to be your fastest self. Period. Full stop. With this one, I give you the definitive episode on "why" it matters. Listen. Understand. Internalize and embrace it. Then, share it with all of your friends so they get faster too!

There is nothing more that I want for you than for you to reach your greatest potential in this sport. Full stop. That's why I do this. Thus, in this episode, I give you 8 things to STOP doing in order to reach your fullest potential. Which of these speak to you?!?

Also for the new video series on RED-S, go here: https://www.youtube.com/@TinaMuir/playlists

To redeem the offer from this episode's sponsor go to betterhelp.com/runningrogue for 10% off your first month of online therapy.

One of the main reasons I do this podcast is to help educate you on training fundamentals so that you can build your mastery of the sport. Part of that is developing your running intution to make the right decisions in training as you go. It can be hard, however, because there are certain elements of run training that just aren't intuitive. That means you have to train your intuition just like it is a muscle.

In this episode, I talk about just that across 6 categories of the sport - pacing, speed workouts, recovery, overall program structure, injury management, and racing. I give you tactical advice to improve your intuition within each category so that you can make better training decisions in your own journey. Remember though... there are no bad decision as long as you learn from each of yours.

To redeem the offer from this episode go to takecareof.com/runningrogue and use code rogue50 for 50% off on your first order.

I am both excited and very proud as a brother and coach to welcome my sister - Lori Smiley - to the show. She started as a 5 hour marathoner and is now a proud owner of a Boston qualifier from Houston in January. In this episode, she gives us 10 keys to her success in getting this goal, 5 physical and 5 mental. Her journey was far from linear with many ups and downs along the way. Regardless of your goal, there is something for you in this episode.

In addition, to redeem the Athletic Greens offer from this episode: athleticgreens.com/runningrogue

In this episode, I connect with listener Brooke Lubojasky to talk about her big goal of breaking 3 hours in the marathon. She ran her first marathon in over 5 hours but has progressed to a Boston Qualifier since then. Now, she sets her sights on something even bigger. We cover her reasons why, we talk about the mental challenges, and we detail the training adaptations needed to get there. I don't care what your goal is or what "degree of fast" you are, there is something in this episode for everyone!

To redeem the offers from this episode's sponsors:

- For Care/Of: takecareof.com/runningrogue (Use code rogue50 for 50% off on your first order)

- For Better Help: betterhelp.com/runningrogue (10% off your first month)

Prompted by a listener email (thanks Kerianne!), I open up a little more about my running journey from 2022. I chose to do so through the lense of some of the insecurities that I have faced and still face as a runner because I believe we all face them in one form or another. In this episode, I talk about the insecurities of injury, uncertainty, ability, and identity. I tell you about what it looks like for me to face each of those insecurities with examples from 2022 and tell you how I choose to work through them. My hope is that you can all relate and feel less alone in your journey by listening to more details about mine.

In addition, to redeem the offers from this episode:

- For Athletic Greens: athleticgreens.com/runningrogue

- For Care/Of: takecareof.com/runningrogue (Use code rogue50 for 50% off on your first order)