Author of The Story of the Human Body (https://amzn.to/39q3bvi) and most recently Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding (https://amzn.to/2Pchhda), Dr Daniel Lieberman is a paleoanthropologist and Professor of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. He has studied the evolution of the human head, but his main focus is currently on the evolution of the human physical activity. He has lived with cultures, all over the globe, to explain the science of how and why we move today. Research specifically related to activities such as walking, running as well as changes to our body's environments can help prevent injuries and treat musculoskeletal diseases.  

Max has played basketball most of his life and has always been a good ball handler. At the same time, he is a strong miler, training with the Hartbeat Track Club (https://www.hartbeattc.org/). When you combine his two super powers, you have an opportunity for a unique World Record - Mile While Dribbling a Basketball – 4:30.38!! His brother noticed that the record was in reach and challenged him to make the record breaking attempt. With friends and family (https://bit.ly/3r7wXeo) pacing, recording, and timing him, Max broke Dylan Sorenson’s record by 3.35 seconds. Max’s running story is more about determination and overcoming adversity than it is about his word record.  Max talks to us about what inspires him to run, health challenges he has had to overcome, and motivates us to persevere in our own running.

John “The Penguin” Bingham has been called the Pied Piper of the second running boom.  His column, The Penguin Chronicles (https://bit.ly/3bJaWyh), resonated with and inspired an entire generation of runners. In the Chronicles, the Penguin never gets old and is always having a great time, embracing his “back of the pack” speed, with his goal of having fun and crossing the finish line. John has completed over 40 marathons and written several books, most notably The Courage To Start (https://amzn.to/3cumCnF)  and No Need for Speed (https://amzn.to/3bIkfyl). In this interview, John talks to us about how he transitioned from a sedentary life to one that was healthier and more active. By writing about his race experiences, with his own unique sense of humor, John has delivered a message of hope and inspiration to anyone that hopes to run, or has been running a lifetime.

Jonathan Shubert is an amateur cyclist, (and science teacher) that recently broke a 27-year-old record. Jonathan rode his bike, on the open road, for 100 miles in under 3 hours - 2 Hours, 57 minutes. An impressive feat, but when you consider that he also had a mechanical issue and the roads were open to traffic, it becomes an extraordinary achievement. He talks to us about becoming “slippery in the air”, and how a $500 suit that makes you more aerodynamic is more valuable than a $6,000 bike. Since the age of 6, Jonathan aspired to be the British 24 cycling Champion, from the inspiration of his grandfather, who was also a British cycling record holder. He has cycled around the globe, finding that cycling is the best way to see a country. The true inspiration from talking to Jonathan comes from his motivation to break the 3-hour -100 mile cycling record - like Roger Bannister's 4-minute mile, Jonathan wants to inspire people to do more than they believe that they can achieve.

Do you spend your time cooking spaghetti? What does a dog look like? How do you find peace with food and peace with your body? Nancy Clark answers these questions, along with several other nutrition questions we had for her. Nancy (https://nancyclarkrd.com) is a registered dietician (RD) and board certified specialist in sport dietetics (CSSD). In layman’s terms, she is a food coach and nutrition educator. Nancy has worked with the Boston Celtics, the Boston Red Sox and many elite and Olympic athletes from several sports. When it comes to sports nutrition, Nancy wrote the book, literally, she wrote The Sports Nutrition Guide Book (https://bit.ly/3kxAtgH), which is now in its 6th edition and has sold over 750,000 copies. Listen to our conversation with Nancy to learn the impact that nutrition plays in our performance.

Paula (https://bit.ly/2YU6yFf) has won the London Marathon and the New York City Marathon, each three times and the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, once, in 2002. She captured the Gold Medal in the 2005 Marathon World Championships in Helsinki. Paula held the title of the world’s fastest woman marathon runner for over 16 years, clocking 2:15:25, until 2019, when her record was broken by Bridgid Kosgei.

Inspired to run at a young age, by her father’s passion for sport. Paula gained a lot of running knowledge from her father, that she shares - such as how to run downhill to create a gap. She also shares some real wisdom, of marathon running – "respect the distance, but don’t be afraid of it".  Paula explains the value for all of us to have role models that help you break your own belief barriers.

As if that wasn’t enough, we talk about parenting. Paula becomes reflective when she shares with us that most people don’t realize how great their parents are, while they are growing up. We discuss the importance of learning to make decisions and living with those decisions.

The Penguin

Hal Higdon has written over 34 books, most notably Marathon the Ultimate Training Guide (https://amzn.to/3pCU1Si) and created several training programs, that can be found on his site – Run with Hal https://www.halhigdon.com/. Hal competed 8 times in the Olympic Trials, his best performance came in 1960, when he finished 5th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. He has run over 110 marathons, his best clocking his best performance in the 1964 Boston Marathon, where Hal placed 5th overall, after leading through the first 19 miles and crying at the finish line – tears of heartache and joy. Heartache from not winning and joy from setting his best time.  In 1975 Hal set a World Masters Championship M40 record of 9:18.6 in the steeplechase, which holds as the longest standing American Masters record. Hal has been running competitively for 75 years and shares with us what he has learned about training and nutrition.

When Cal Ripken set his unbelievable streak of 2,632 games played, he had the mindset of “No days off”.  Dane Rauschenberg had the same mindset in 2006, when he set out to run 52 different marathons on 52 weekends, throughout the year. He made the decision that there would be no make-up dates, no do-overs, but instead a full marathon every weekend. In the process, Dane raised over $43,000 for the L’Arche Organization (https://www.larcheusa.org/) and effectively ran negative splits throughout the year, by clocking his fastest races at the end of the year. As if that wasn’t enough, he did this while working full time and only missed four days of work during the year.  Dane talks to us about training, “you don’t need to win the workout, save it for race day”, and how to run a sub three-hour marathon. Also an author, Dane has written Run This Place: 52 Must Run Races in North America (https://amzn.to/2Y59PRK) a summation of the best 52 races, out of the 400 races that Dane has competed in.

This race smells like up dawg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6kXrSE8GoQ) What’s up dawg??  In the year of a pandemic, when live races were canceled, Keira D’Amato created her own race – The Updawg 10 Miler. With the help of Phil Stewart and the Credit Union Cherry Blossom, Keira put together a closed course 10 mile race, won the race, and set a new American 10 Mile record. F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, “there is no second act in American lives.” Keira proves Mr. Fitzgerald wrong, after taking a “long halftime show”, starting back into running for fun, and now the “Running Realtor” has a 10 Mile American Record and placed 15th in the Olympic Marathon Trials. Keira was a high school standout, an All-American in College, then after an injury, running “broke up with her”, this wicked smart lady has found a way to balance elite running, and a career in real estate, all while raising a family.