The Running for Real Podcast

Dr. Phil Maffetone is one of the best running experts in the industry for his work on the MAF method of training and his research on nutrition, particularly how to burn fat for fuel.

Today Phil and I started talking about nutrition, how he discovered that there was something fundamentally wrong with the food sold today, and how deceptive the food industry can be.

We discuss how the Government subsidizes junk food, leaving fruits and vegetables more expensive, which makes eating well on a budget impossible to accomplish.

The chronic diseases most people die of linked to being overfat, and the reasons why weighing yourself is NOT an accurate indicator of how well your body is doing. Not only are you starting your day depressed from the number you have seen, but you are essentially measuring water weight. Phil gives us a better solution, and ways to eat better for your long-term health as well as your running.

We discuss why runners might struggle to run fast speed workouts with a low carb diet initially (I definitely experienced this!), and the power of those slow twitch muscles to develop our aerobic system. Fueling them correctly will only help us feel better, and of course run faster.

In the second half of the interview, we discuss the MAF method of running "slow" for 3-6 months, and how you although it seems counterproductive, you will end up running easy at a pace you previously considered hard, by giving your body the time to adapt and learn to burn fat for fuel instead of working off carbs.

Finally, Phil discusses his latest research on the Boston marathon, and his vow to try to change the ruling on Boston being a record ineligible course, as his research proves it is by far the slowest...and actually, two other courses have a distinct advantage.

This episode is for you if you love to learn about the science behind what is going on in the running world. Phil is one of the names every runner needs to know, and this is why.

Phil Maffetone

Dr. Philip Maffetone has been a private practitioner, health and athlete coach and consultant, published independent researcher, respected pioneer in the field of complementary sports medicine, and internationally recognized educator and author in the fields of nutrition, biofeedback, exercise physiology, and athletic training over the course of his forty- year career. 

• Are we turning a corner with our health or are we getting worse?
• What overfat is and how it is affecting our running more than we realize
• How to lose that excess fat without going on a diet
• Why getting rid of refined carbohydrates through sugar and junk food will make you feel significantly better in your running
• The benefits of building your aerobic system for your health, not just your running
• What fatiguing early in the race shows about your system and what you need to do
• How you can run faster even if you are running slow every day

The big companies, the sugar industry, the junk food companies know what we think, they know what people think, so they are changing things. We have a whole new world of junk food called natural.

If you go into health food stores, you will see junk foods, and it is very well disguised, and if you are not careful, you will be sucked in by the packaging, by the names, the inferences.

90% of US adults are overfat, that is mind boggling…exercise isn't going to solve the problem. More people in the US are exercising than ever before, sugar being added to foods is the problem.

Junk food is not cheap, it just appears to be cheap because the price you pay for one meal or one dinner for the family. People who consume junk food get hungrier sooner, so they eat more calories. That's what junk food does, that is what sugar does.

Diets don't work long-term.

We need to take responsibility for our own health, and not rely on anybody.

What sugar does when we consume it; about 40% of that sugar gets converted to fat and gets stored. The more sugar we consume, the more we convert. When we consume that sugar, we take a lot of the fat that is stored on our arms and legs, and send it to the belly.

Sugar reduces our ability to burn fat.

It takes a while for exercise alone to have an effect on body fat, but with sugar, it really takes 2 meals of no sugar or low sugar to affect your metabolism measurably. Within the course of 2 weeks, I have seen people lose 2 inches on their waist.

It's now considered normal for runners to have frequent infections.

Submax performance is a very good way to measure max performance…and it is something you can do in the course or training without having to rest for it or recover after it.

Runners do more than run. They have a social life, a work life, a family life, and all these factors have a certain amount of stress, and that stress impacts our ability to progress.

The most common reason people don't progress is because of their diet, because of the sugar.

That's the benefit of the aerobic system, you can run faster at the same heart rate, and if you can run faster in training, you can run faster at the same race heart rate as well.

It's a scientific way to get more healthy and fit

Stress affects us regardless of where the stress is, whether it's the physical stress of bad shoes or the biochemical stress of eating junk food or the mental stress of having a bad day at the option, weather can be a stress too. Hazy hot and humid weather is a huge stress.

Under stress our resting, training, and racing heart rates are higher.

Last week's interview with Chad Moye

Big Fat Food Fraud Book

Endurance planet podcast with Tawnee Gibson

Athletes; Fit But Unhealthy

Definition of overfat

Article about excess body fat and being overfat

2 week test 

MAF test

MAF Heart Rate Formula

Boston marathon study about it being a slow course

Generation UCAN and BodyHealth sponsored this episode of Running for Real. Two products you can rely on.

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BodyHealth Perfect Amino helped my body recover MUCH faster after runs and workouts, I couldn't imagine my training life without them. You can get 10% off at BodyHealth.com using coupon code TINA10

We may love running now, but not every runner started off enjoying it. Chad Moye hated running for the first 40 years of his life, and as his addiction to drugs became worse and worse, the idea of running for pleasure seemed even less likely.

In between drug rehab programs, Chad would see runners in his "home" in Metropolitan park, and would laugh at the short shorts and neon clothes, having no idea that one day he would be one of them.

Only when the judges grew tired of his antics and sentenced him to prison time, that Chad realized this was his last chance.

The first time Chad ran, he couldn't even make a half mile, but he vowed he was going to make it all the way around the 800m track, and exercise began to change his path. Chad became determined to get fitter by the day, and focus on what he could do with his future.

Chad realized that it was not just about the motion of running itself, but everything that comes with it; “It's not just the act of running, it is everything that comes with it, the community, its the training, waking up and going to bed early, watching what you put in your body, looking at your nutrition, it is the lifestyle of being a runner, it is the blueprint of sobriety.”

And that is what today's episode is about; the journey of Chad Moye, and how running changed his life, and now he is using runners to help others change their lives too.

Chad Moye

A homeless, heroin addict, whose bad behavior finally landed him in prison, looking at a sentence of up to 20 years. Chad took the opportunity to turn his life around, and now he is helping others do the same.

• How easily a prescription for painkillers can turn into a serious drug habit (and yes, it can happen to all of us!)
• How Chad ended up homeless and living his life around his drug addiction
• The divine intervention that occurred and why he knew this was his last chance to change
• How exercise and running changed his life and set him free
• How it felt to cross the finish line of his first 5k
• How it felt to win a race in the park he had previously lived in when he was homeless

I didn’t understand how physically addicting they can be, mentally too. As time went on, when I would not have them or try to get off them, the withdrawal symptoms would be bad, really bad.

I didn't have something at the time to channel my addictive behaviors into something else and it just got worse and worse over the years.

I am here to break down the stigma of addicts, the stigma that comes along with addiction, the way other people view us. I know really good people who suffer from addiction.

It became a full time job. Every day of my life from waking up, I had to find my fix just to get through the day.

I found myself homeless and hopeless, and wondering where do I go from here?

They (runners) were out there doing what they loved, free, and here I was, captive of addiction and drugs.

I knew this was my last chance. I knew I had to do this right and change. I knew I had to break this addiction and being put away for a little time could be my chance.

(The first time he ran) the track we had was about 1/2 mile around, I couldn't even make it around one time, and I was running in crocs…it was painful, I was nauseous, but I knew I wanted to do it again.

Not to sound cliche, but I woke up one morning, I was about to go out to the rec yard, I was watching the sun come up and I had my headphones In listening to music and I said, this is it right here. I have no burden. I am in prison, but I am free, this is how I want to be, this is how I want to feel for the rest of my life.

I was so relieved to wake up and not have to worry about addiction, the full time job and burden of how am I not going to be sick today?

It was freedom at its best in every aspect. It was great to get out and run free.

Once I got to the finish line (of his first 5k), thats where it all happened, crossing that finish line for the first time, the people cheering, what time you ran was insignificant, it was about crossing that finish line and the effort you put in yourself.

I felt it, I went across, and I was like wow, I love that! That is a high that I like!

The finish line was right there in metropolitan park, the same park that I used to spend my homeless days in…I had to take a step back and look at it, realize how far I had come at that point.

Its not just the act of running, it is everything that comes with it, the community, its the training, waking up and going to bed early, watching what you put in your body, looking at your nutrition, it is the lifestyle of being a runner, it is the blueprint of sobriety.

Last week's interview with Christie Aschwanden

Interview with Dick Beardsley

Runwell

Gateway Rehab

Mike Martinez

Kim Pawelek Brantly

Thanks to VI for sponsoring this podcast, check out GetVi.com/Running4Real to enter to win a FREE VI

"At the end of the day, nothing beats running. There is nothing that a nice run can't make a little bit better"- Christie Aschwanden.

There is no doubt that todays guest is passionate about being a runner. Writing for some of the biggest publications in the US, she gets to dive deep into controversial topics that others are too afraid to cover.

We talk about gender issues, including the story of Caster Semenya, who has been targeted by IAAF for her testosterone levels. Christie will make you rethink the way you are looking at the gender issue in sport, and bring to light some important points that you may not have noticed before.

We go into the doping scandals, just how bad it is, and what we can do to prevent it as we know as soon as the test is created, the dopers are already one step ahead finding a way to cheat the system.

This is casting doubt on all records in recent years, including the famous women's marathon record by Paula Radcliffe, as there is no way to prove you are clean, we need to find another solution. Christie shares a story of a former teammate who was caught doping, and how sharing his story of how he was dirty, even while he still denied it, was one of the hardest things she had to do.

We talk about predatory coaches abusing high school athletes, and what to look out for if you suspect something might not be right.

And we talk about the relief and comfort running brings when you are struggling with problems or the loss of a loved one. Running helps us to deal with our problems, and Christie loves running more than most.

This episode is for you if you are interested in the discussion of topics that are controversial, but very real within our sport. if you are passionate about athletics, you will have heard of these issues, and in this episode, we dive deep into what exactly is happening.

Christie Aschwanden

Christie Aschwanden is the lead writer for science at FiveThirtyEight and a health columnist for The Washington Post. She’s also a frequent contributor to The New York Times, and a contributing editor for Runner’s World. Christie is not afraid to write (or talk) about the difficult topics, which has won her countless journalism awards.

• Why preparing and writing a big article is very similar to preparing for a race
• Caster Semenya and other athletes who are considered controversial due to high testosterone or other factors, how does gender play a part in running
• Doping in our sport and how the dopers are one step ahead of anti doping officials as they are better funded.
• How running helps us deal with problems, especially with the loss of a loved one
• Abuse from high school coaches to their athletes (and why its more common than we realize). What we can do to look out for this potentially happening with children you know.

My power pose is hula hooping. The photo is from a dinner party, but I also keep a hula hoop around as a good thing to do as a break from writing.

I could not be a writer without running. Its where I get my best ideas, its where I get my best leads.

It always feels so rewarding, you are creating something from nothing. Even journalism is a very nice creative process, you are taking pieces and creating something new that didn't exist before.

Someone like Caster (Semenya) who has female anatomy, is raised as a female, lived her entire life as a female, what we are really doing when we have women sport is breaking it down by gender, and gender is different to sex.

Gender is an identity, and it just seems fundamentally unfair to have someone who is born, raised, and had an identity her entire life as a certain gender, and to say no, thats not what you are, we are not going to allow you to compete with other people of that identity.

There are other traits we celebrate, and its really putting limits and breaks on what limits sports can be, saying that certain traits or certain aspects of athleticism are male and others are female. I don't think its an accident that these women who are being targeted are more masculine appearances.

As soon as you have a test, then the race is on for the dopers to get around it.

The solution to doping is to change the culture where it is just not acceptable to dope…for a very long time, we had this win at all costs mentality and when you have people (coaches and trainers) who are promoting this stuff, you can't have that.

You cannot prove you are clean, that is scientifically impossible.

That is one of the saddest things about doping to me, is that is cast out on every wonderful performance and that really takes something away.

At the end of the day, nothing beats running. There is nothing that a nice run can't make a little bit better.

I would go out and run as hard as I could, just breathe really hard. I wanted to feel the burn in my muscles as it was just a way of making this nebulous emotional pain, turning it into something that felt more tangible and expressing that.

Someone I had trusted had betrayed that trust, and I was still quite young, it pulled the rug from under me and made me question a lot of things.

• Last week's episode with Nancy Clark 
• Caster Semenya article
• Track and Field may scrap records article
• Runners World article about losing someone- The Painful Truth
• Alicia Shay Interview 
• Coaches who abuse interview
• Christie's article on her former teammate caught for doping

Finding the right weight for you and your body as a runner can be tough.

We live in a world where it feels like skinnier=faster, and it can be tempting to use diets and restrictions of foods to lose some of that weight that holds us back from running our best, but actually, in most cases we are doing more harm than good.

It was time to get real with this one. You will hear about my story of how I was undereating as a runner, and for that reason, my body wasn't functioning correctly, and it wasn't just the lack of periods that showed it.

You might recognize some of these other symptoms, and they may be an indicator that you too, are not fueling your body enough, even if you have a normal BMI and a reason why each of your symptoms show up.

This episode is all about learning to enjoy eating again, without letting it overtake your life. We need to get back to how we ate as children; eating when we are hungry, stopping when we are full, and never caring about what the number n the scale says.

It may seem too good to be true, but our bodies really do have all the answers here, and if you find you spend a lot of your day thinking about food, looking forward to your next meal, this is an episode you need to check out.

There are no good and bad foods, only balanced and unbalanced diets, and yes, balanced diets DO include what we may consider "bad foods".

If you care about running your best, if you think that your weight isn't right, and if you feel like you are unhappy with the way you look, this is a must listen.

Nancy Clark

A registered Dietitian who was one of the pioneers for sports nutrition in the running world. Her bestseller book, Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook has sold 600,000 copies all over the world.

• Why it is important to work with a Registered Dietitian over a nutritionist or certified nutritional advisor (before working with Nancy, I always thought it didn't really make a difference)
• How you might be ignoring symptoms that indicate underfueling, and instead putting them down to family genetics or personality.
• Do you love to watch the food channel? That might be a big indicator for you that something needs to change.
• An experiment you can try to see how you feel eating more food (without committing to anything).
• How to balance eating enough to fuel your body with trying to reach a racing weight where you can run fast.
• Why your body will find its natural weight if you are eating enough (and yes, your hunger will go down once you get there!).

There are so many people who miss out on this opportunity to learn not so much what they should be doing, cause they know what they should be doing, but why it is that they are not eating what they should eat. It is more looking at what is going on behind the scenes.

Dietitians are the best kept secret.

The goal is to help you find peace with food, and help you to be the best runner that you can be.

If you aren't eating enough, your body works hard to maintain heat in the core, but your hands and feet  are always cold, and you think, "oh I have raynauds disease", well, it is amazing the amount of people who do not have raynauds disease, they are just undereating and when they eat more, their hands and feet don't get cold anymore.

Food should be one of life's pleasures, but when it is obsessive, it is because there is this undercurrent of hunger hunger hunger, I want more fuel, that is really driving that love of eating.

People don't inherently have a sweet tooth, but when they get too hungry, the body wants quick energy, it wants sugar, it wants sweets.

My clients that undereat love the summer because finally it is their chance to be warm and they don't mind running in the heat.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. If you happen to be living in a larger body and you think that you don't look like a runner, look at your family and how do you look compared to the others...If you are leaner or far leaner and trying to get leaner yet, it might be that the costs of that is eating like a bird.

When people say, "I don't look like a runner", well, what does a dog look like? There are greyhounds, St Bernards, Chihuahua, Beagles, Labradors, English setters...they all come in different sizes and shapes. In the dog kingdom every dog is very proud of their genetics, and they would have no interest in looking like others...It is unfortunate that in the human kingdom, the runner kingdom, the person in the larger body would just love to be in the smaller body.

If you are from a solid background of husky people, you are never going to turn into a really petite person, without it having a high cost, and that cost is sanity and your health.

There is no truth to the lightest runner is the best runner. It is that the best runner is genetically gifted, well rested, well fueled, wisely trained. 

It is really important to let go and trust. Trust that your body is not going to suddenly get fat on you.

People that have a complicated relationship with food, they like to control it. They like to control their food, and their portions, and their appetite, and their exercise. They control everything very tightly. To let go, and follow the body cues, there is a lot of fear.

Eating should be a timeline, and you get a food bucket every four hours.

There are not good food and bad foods, there is a balanced diet and unbalanced diet...you don't have to have a perfect diet to have an excellent diet. I know plenty of people who have a perfect diet, but it is very unbalanced.

There is too much emphasis on everything being healthy, instead lets focus on being balanced.

• Last week's episode with Danny Dreyer
• Nancy's website
• Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook
• Nancy Clark's Food Guide for Marathoners
• Scan DPG (to find a RD near you)

Thanks to VI for sponsoring this podcast, check out GetVi.com/Running4Real to enter to win a FREE VI

Danny Dreyer has been working with runners on their running technique since the late 90s through ChiRunning. He has helped hundreds of thousands of runners to feel more relaxed and actually enjoy running (yes, it is possible) by bringing together tai chi and martial arts.

Danny has been working with runners since the time that teaching people how to run was completely unheard of, but he realized the importance of keeping posture straight and supported, and how we can actually do functional core work to support our body as it runs...rather than just sit ups and crunches!

Chi running teaches runners how to run with a forward lean, rather than just folding at the hips, and the impact it will have on your running will be huge.

Yes, it is possibly to run efficiently, relaxed, and comfortably, no matter what level, speed, size or ability you are, and Danny is here to teach us how.

This episode is for you if you feel like your running technique or your running form is not what it should be, if running just feels uncomfortable for you, and you are ready to make a change.

Danny Dreyer

Co-founder of Chi Running and Chi Walking, a revolutionary forms of moving that blend the subtle inner focuses of T'ai Chi with running and walking. His work is based on his study of T'ai Chi with Master Zhu Xilin and internationally renowned Master George Xu, and his 35 years of experience, running, racing ultra marathons and coaching people in “intelligent movement." He has taught thousands of people the ChiRunning and ChiWalking techniques with profound results.

• Why paying attention to and changing how you move, particularly through running, can eliminate injuries.
• One simple thing all the best runners in the world (especially the Kenyan runners) do to make themselves be able to run fast.
• If running doesn't feel good or comfortable, what you need to do to change this.
• The biggest difference between elite runners and recreational runners, and why not every elite is running to their potential as their form is bad too!
• Why body sense is the biggest skill anyone can learn, and how it will change your life forever.
• Why it is critical to know your race course long before the race to prepare your body for that moment.

There is really something between building a connection between these two well established sports (Tai Chi and Running).

Nobody had ever taught anyone how to run when I came out with this.

Running doesn't hurt your body, it's the way you run that hurts your body.

The more balanced you are as you land, the more smoothly you move across the earth and the less impact you create.

If your core is strong that alignment stays in tact the whole time you are moving through your support stance.

When you fall, the difference in workload to your legs is that when you can run in a controlled fall, all you have to do is exert the right amount of energy to pick up your feet. If you are vertical, you have to exert the energy to push your entire body forward. 

Once you learn to move your body in a way that doesn't feel uncomfortable, you can go out all day if you feel like it.

The elites that do the best are the ones who follow the rules, and it's not about power. It is about their ability to relax more.

• Last week's episode with Mark Cucuzzella and Josh Emdur 
• Chi Running website
• Chi Running workshops
• Chi Running School (Danny's recommendation if you don't live near workshops, one new thing per week)
• Chi Running Book
• Chi Marathon Book
• Chi Walking Book

Thanks to Generation UCAN for sponsoring this podcast, you can get 15% off your order by visiting this link and using code RUNNING4REAL.

As much as we try to navigate our way around Dr. Google and his suggestions for our troubles as runners, we all know deep in our hearts that the best way to deal with an injury or frustration is to go speak to a medical professional. 

But it can be hard to find someone you trust without spending thousands trying to find someone who won't just say, "stop running". That is why I brought Dr. Mark Cucuzzella and Dr. Josh Emdur on today as they are working on something radical that could change the way we as runners are treated for our running injuries. Steady MD is something that I believe a LOT of you will benefit greatly from.

Mark, Josh and I discuss running in its basic form, the peace it brings us, and why even if you have a very busy life, where it feels like you don't even have a minute to yourself, you need to find time to get yourself in a healthy place, or there is no way you can help those you love. If Dr Josh and Dr Mark can manage it, we all definitely can!

We discuss the problems in the health industry today, and the frustration as runners we feel when we can't even get our doctors to get back to us within 24 hours, let alone the immediate response we hope for...when we have a pain, but a big race is coming, we need help NOW.

We dive deep into the culture we live in, and what we can do if we are frustrated with the communities we live in. You have to be the role model and the one to begin that change towards health. Mark and Josh give great advice how.

Finally, we talk about female bodies, and what body fat a woman needs to be able to sustain a healthy pregnancy, and how we can overcome the mismatch with what our culture portrays as the perfect weight.

If we do not do something, the girls growing up in our world will believe that an unhealthily lean body type is what they have to strive towards, but it needs to be changed. 

This episode is for you if you are passionate about health and those you love being in a place where they can live a long and happy life. Or if you are frustrated with injuries and the medical system never really giving you any help or control over the situation. 

Dr. Mark Cucuzzella and Dr. Josh Emdur

Dr Mark Cucuzzella is one of the leaders of the health industry for his work in the state of West Virginia. Mark a family medicine physican with an extensive background in treating health diseases. Mark is the executive director of Two Rivers Treads Running Store, and race director for the Freedom Run.

Dr Josh Emdur is a family physician with extensive expertise in the non-surgical treatment of adult disorders, including the treatment of severe life-threatening illnesses. Josh is now the lead physician working for SteadyMD Running; an online platform to work one on one with a health professional who cares about you as a runner.

• Why waking up early to get your run in is like being a member of a secret club and the stillness is so good for us.
• Is trail or road running more likely to give you an injury? Should we all do trail running or just for runners doing trail races?
• Why SteadyMD is partnering runners from all over the world with a physician who actually understands runners and can help you with your running injury questions at any time you need.
• Fructose and the damage is is doing to our bodies, what we can do in our communities to reverse or limit the damage on our loved ones.
• Why it is so important to cook and eat dinner as a family...even if that means you eat later at night.
• Why women lose their menstrual cycles, and how to know if you need to do something about it.

It wasn't really until I became a parent where I found running and started running consistently.  -Josh

(Running) just creeps up on you. It took me a while before I started to identify myself as a runner, but once you really start having that consistency of training, you realize, the habit forming and addictive nature of running, its interesting how it just sneaks up on you.-Josh

In order to be in a healing profession, it's impossible to care for others if you aren't yourself in a good personal spot...If you are stressed, and you are not happy with your own life, it is really impossible to heal others.-Josh

Variety is the spice of life for everything. It is great to do different things, and prevent burnout.-Josh

We live in a new world of connectivity with the internet, there is no doubt healthcare is changing...the current model of healthcare doesn't really leverage technology to its potential. With SteadyMD, using technology and messaging and video conferencing, I am able to develop real personal relationships with my runners.-Josh

I don't think virtual medicine or online medicine is going to solve every single problem a patient comes in with, but probably 90% of things that happen in well people can be done online.-Mark

Most chronic disease management and preventing is understanding the patterns a person has, looking at their lab values, going through training and food diaries.-Mark

Just because you are a runner and you exercise frequently, it doesn't actually mean you are healthy.-Josh

its up to you, the world out there is designed to make us all really sick. There is a mcdonalds on every street corner, we take buses, the streets aren't safe to go run or ride your bike. That is what it is and that's not gonna go away. Mark

You start losing the weight, and your body is making energy.-Mark

Don't put pain in your body. -Mark

Health is normal human functioning, and a females health, the way we are designed or evolved is that we are designed so that if you are a female to get pregnant, sustain a childbirth, and feed the child, which takes a different level of body fat to Josh or I. We were designed to go out and hunt and kill things or keep bad things away from the cave or whatever habitative dangers are.

You need a critical percent body fat to maintain those normal functions, running fast is kind of a mismatch. To run at world class level, probably the highest end body fat of an olympian champion marathoner might come in at around 15-16%, and they are healthy to a degree. Unhealthy is when females start getting down to 10-12%. Mark

Once you stop menstruating, it really should raise some flags, and what are my goals. Sure, if you are trying to make the olympics, thats a sacrifice, but for most people, menstruation is a healthy, normal body function, and in order to get it back, you really have to invest in your recovery. -Josh

• Last week's episode with Rob Jones
• The Healthy Running Clinics (Mark's courses)
• HealthFitYou (will be the website once it launches)
• Steady MD Running
• Natural Running Center website 
• Washington Post Article on Stress Fractures in Collegiate Athletes
• Peak Performance by Steve Magness and  Brad Stulburg

When Rob Jones was honorably discharged from the military as a double amputee, retiring from his position as a marine sergeant, he had two choices for how he could continue his life; let it overtake him or take it as a challenge to make his quality of life even better than it was before.

I am sure you can guess which he chose.

Rob decided his goal was to be self sufficient and he wanted to make sure he lived his life the way he wanted to, in a way that made him proud.

Physical therapists were tough on him, making it more attainable to focus on his goals, and have no excuses, but as soon as he could row, Rob set his eyes on the paralympics, and once he was released, moved to Florida to train for five months.

Six months later, Rob had a bronze medal in the Paralympics, and realized just how much we can do if we set our minds to it.

Rob and his prosthetic legs are about to embark on his greatest challenge yet; 31 marathons in 31 cities all over the US, Canada, and in London, in 31 days. You can join Rob on his journey too, running with him in the cities, donating towards his goal of raising $1,000,000 for the Veterans Association, or just giving him words of encouragement.

Hear about Rob’s journey, the logistics of running with prosthetic legs, and what injuries he will have to watch out for.

20 veterans a day commit suicide, and Rob is trying to change that by raising money to help give all veterans the support he had to turn his life around.

This episode is for you if….you have a heart! This will inspire and challenge you in a way you may not have seen in a long time.

Rob Jones

A retired marine sergeant, double amputee Rob Jones is not just a bronze medalist in the paralympics, but he is now on his next challenge to run 31 marathons in 31 major cities in the US, Canada, and the UK, in 31 days.

• How Rob’s life has changed since loosing both his legs and transitioning back to life outside the military
• Why Rob choose rowing to find out what he was still capable of, and how he ended up with a bronze medal in the paralympics in rowing
• His next challenge to run 31 marathons in 31 cities in 31 days
• Why Rob chose $1,000,000 as his goal for fundraising, and what that money will be used to do.

Humans are infinitely adaptable. You see a dog thats missing a leg, and he pretty much doesn’t know. He just runs around on his three legs, he just doesn’t really register that he’s missing a leg. We are a little bit smarter, so we know how things are supposed to be, but I think what it boils down to is I woke up in the hospital and I was alive.

I just decided, my life goal hasn’t changed. I am still gonna try my best to have the best life I can possibly have, and in order to do that, I needed to heal, I need to learn how to use prosthesis and I needed to get strong again.

I set myself a really tough goal, and it was a way for me to figure out what I can do and how big of a challenge can I still take on. The fact that is was successful bolstered my confidence.

It was two years after losing both legs and I was like a skeleton, like a shell. Being able to not only recover from a devastating injury like that, but then relearn how to walk, and then take it another step further and learn how to row, and then row at a high level, and train twice a day like an elite athlete has to. I was proud of that.

I want to be an example of somebody that when a tragedy happens they don’t let it destroy them, instead they accept that challenge, that tragedy as a new challenge and they use that tragedy to make their lives even better than they expect and also improve the lives of others.

The way that I run, I have my prosthesis, I don’t have a knee so basically if you can imagine just your femur, and then there is a solid cylindrical pipe coming out of your femur, and that is attached to a C shape piece of carbon fiber, that is my running foot. It basically works like a spring, I load it up, and then it kind of bounces me forward.

That is what America is about to me all 300 million of us coming together and working on a problem ourselves, not relying on the government or somebody else to do it. We are taking the responsibility on ourselves.

• Last week’s episode with Bryon Powell and Meghan Hicks of iRunFar 
• Varidesk Standing Desk Pro Plus 36
• Varidesk Active Mat Groove (for plantar issues)
• Varichair Standing Desk Office Chair
• Rob Jones Journey website 
• Training using Maffetone Method
• Rest Day Brags on Twitter
• Rest Day Brags on Instagram
• Veterans Affairs website

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