"It was the best experience of my running career. Running a 2:45 marathon over four hilly loops of Central Park and winning the More Marathon for Masters women. Every woman out there was cheering for me, inspired by me—and not because I was some hotshot runner—but because I was a mom from Arizona. That changed how I looked at running. What I do can matter in the life of other people. My purpose became to inspire other people in any way that I possibly could." -Susan Loken

Susan Loken began her remarkable running journey at age 35, after the birth of her 1st son, realizing she needed some "me" time and wanted to get active. Susan built up from her first 5K to completing her first marathon in 4:01 in San Francisco at age 36. Remarkably, just four short years later, Susan qualified for her first of THREE Olympic Trials marathons (2004/2008/2012) at age 40! Susan is also a 4X USA Masters Marathon Champion and has one of the most accomplished running resumes of anyone you'll ever meet!

I really enjoyed diving deep with Susan to find out how a kid who came in last in her swim meets and was always the last kid picked to be on a sports team could progress to this amazing level!

We discuss: her mom giving her the gift of self-belief; no excuses; finding her tribe in the running community & tapping into that power; Coach Brett Schumacher taking her under his wing; finding her purpose; where the fire comes from; her darkest hole; mantras; Run Now, Wine Later; community & giving back.

Susan is a Rabbit sponsored athlete who cares deeply for the running community and giving back through coaching Girls on the Run and Healthy Kids Running. I'm so excited to follow her next chapter as she shifts her focus to trail/ultra running!

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 Susan:

Instagram: @susan_loken

Connect With Ron:

Personal Instagram: @ronrunsnyc

Podcast Instagram: @runchats_with_ronrunsnyc

Facebook: https://fb.me/runchats

Website: https://ronrunsnyc.com

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Produced by: David Margittai | In Post Media

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Social: @_margittai

© 2022 Ron Romano