Transformations Through Running

I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit and played various team sports as a kid but was never all that good at any of them. I really enjoyed getting outside and running though so I stuck with cross country and track throughout high school. I loved competing, the feeling of pushing myself to get stronger and faster, plus the team camaraderie was unlike any other sport I had played.

I took a corporate job after graduating college which led me out west to Arizona. Moving out west reinvigorated my passion for running and being outside. I took up trail running, rock climbing, backpacking - pretty much anything to keep me outdoors whenever I wasn’t in the office. 

Eventually my company went up for sale and I found myself with a great severance package. I took the opportunity to do something I had always dreamed of and headed to South America on a solo adventure. While I was there I climbed 13 high peaks in the Andes and trekked through some of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. 

After my trip, I didn’t feel an urgency to go running back to corporate America. Shocker. I had qualified for the Boston Marathon and decided to focus on that while contemplating what I wanted to do next. While training, some buddies of mine convinced me to sign up for a Spartan race. I had the time of my life.

I felt like a kid again, rolling through the mud, swinging across monkey bars, and barreling down steep hills through the Sonoran desert. I crossed the finish line, walked over to registration, and signed myself up to race the short course the next day. I placed top 10 overall, I couldn’t believe it! I was hooked.

Over the past year I’ve focused on developing myself to become a top contender in the world of obstacle course racing (OCR) and have put my corporate career on hold in the meantime. I absolutely love this sport that I’ve stumbled upon and how it pushes me to become an incredibly well-rounded athlete. OCR has really taken off in the past couple years and continues to draw some of the most talented and hard working athletes across the world. In order to keep up I have to constantly push myself to get stronger, faster, and more resilient. 

After placing first in the all-age division at the Spartan World Championship in 2018, I decided to begin racing in the elite category. Since racing as an elite, I’ve made the podium 4 times including my first overall win recently at the SoCal Spartan Sprint in Lebec.

I placed in the top 10 at the final US National Series race this year in Utah and at the North American Championship in West Virginia. I had a devastating DNF at Worlds in Tahoe due to hypothermia, but have my heart set on a top 10 finish at the 2020 World Championship.  

I moved to California just a few months ago (currently in Redondo Beach) and was lucky enough to stumble upon SBRC. This incredible group has welcomed me with open arms and it’s been so great having a community to train with.

Brian Cerier lives in Torrance with his wife, Kelly, and dog, Zoey. Originally from the suburbs of Chicago, Brian made the move across the country after graduating from college and started working as a systems engineer in the Aerospace industry.

Since moving out to the South Bay he started working in security engineering and will soon be starting a new position at a tech startup in El Segundo.

Brian decided to start running when the best man in his wedding challenged their close group of friends to beat his marathon time. The bet was that if any of them could beat his marathon time he would have to run another marathon. Brian is a very competitive person and decided to take him up on his challenge. At the time, Brian had only run one organized event in his life, a 5k back in 2015.

He really didn't like to run, and would look for anything other than running to stay in shape. His competitiveness took over and he began training for the 2018 LA Marathon and also joined the South Bay Runners Club during the process.

He kept his training a secret from his best man until the Friday before the marathon. From that point on Brian was bit by the running bug and has been running ever since with the South Bay Runners Club.

Brian’s biggest achievement is the success he had at the LA Marathon 2018 and being able to challenge his best friends’ time. His ultimate running goal is to qualify for Boston, but in the short term he is trying to chip away at his PR and break the 3:10:00 barrier at Mountains2Beach in 2020.

What Brian loves most about the running community is the support. The fact that people are willing to help you achieve a goal that has no effect on them, but because they want to help you succeed is truly amazing.

Melissa became a runner 11 years ago, after a trip to Disneyland and being inspired by seeing all the runners celebrating their finish of the Disneyland Half Marathon at the parks. She signed up for a Disneyland 5k in 2009, and then followed up with her first half Marathon in 2010.

Since her first 5k, she has completed several Marathons, and has dove into the world of triathlon. She enjoys running and triathlon because she likes to challenge herself and see what mentally and physically she can overcome.

She uses running and activity as a way to decompress after work and help clear her mind. In her opinion, there is nothing better than a sunset run after a long day at work.

In this episode Dorothy Keith talks about the challenges after losing a best friend. Not just a best friend though, a running partner, someone to help offer accountability, motivation; someone to laugh with and spend time together with.

Dorothy lost all motivation to run after the sudden passing of her friend over the holiday season. But she built herself back up and found new motivation to run, not just with but for her friend as she raised money to a kids art fund that her best friend would have loved.

She also talks about how nutrition played a vital role in excelling as a runner; how after she started to pay attention to what she was putting in her body, she could heal quicker, recover faster, improve on her running times and feel energized throughout the day!

The reason we started Transformations Through Running is because we wanted to contribute to a community. We found the South Bay Runners Club online and we followed along, listened to stories, watched posts and quickly decided this was a great community to be a part of. 

Considering how we could contribute, after hosting Nationally Syndicated Exploring Mind and Body for 9 years and putting together over 500 shows (close to 400 interviews) I thought, I'd love to share stories from this group, and give them a platform to celebrate their accomplishments.

Not only that but, I thought these stories are so inspiring that anyone could benefit from them. So I'm hoping even thought this podcast hosts runners, that anyone looking for some inspiration or motivation could benefit from it. 

I can't believe season 1 is already over and that we put together 10 episodes already. It seemed like just yesterday we were planning to do the show and hadn't even started it. Just like Exploring Mind and Body, I can't believe we're 9 years in.

I hope, we can continue to find guests to interview, share inspiration and that we can group our community of listeners to put shows together week after week to make this something people will come to enjoy and love just as we've build Exploring Mind and Body over the years. 

If you are interested in being a guest on the show, simply shoot me a message and I'd be happy to connect. And if you know anyone else that might be a good fit for an interview please let me know!

I started running my sophomore year in high school for Carson back in 1990. That was cuz I was to small to play basketball dnd football. So I joined the cross country team. After the season was over. I told my coach I was going to try out for baseball.

So no track for me. He told me no that he sees something in me and that I needed to run track. So needless to say I ended up running track and I loved it. So I ended up running cross country and track all 3 years in high school.

My highlight in high school was qualifying for the state meet my senior year in the 800m run. After high school I went on to run for El Camino college for 1 and half years. Then I stop to work full time as a longshoremen. I found myself working double shifts to save money to buy a house. So I had no time to run, my choice of course. I was 25 years old.

When I bought my house in Carson, CA. I got married at age 31 and had my first son at age 32. Two years later I had another son. Being married with kids my running career was over. In October 2015 I was separated and going through a divorce. In January 2016 I decided to pick up running again. It really helped me mentally with all the stress of a divorce.

I running with South Bay Runners Club in January 2017. Since then I've met so many awesome people in the club. While training with them. My running career has taken with flying colors and I'm close to running the times I ran in high school. A lot of my running success has come from training under Cheyne Inman.

He's given me the confidence and encouragement to run more miles. Than I could only dream of. His coaching produced a personal record at Mountains 2 Beach marathon with a time of 2:38:57. Which was fast enough for 2nd place overall finish.

My first run was at the end of Jan 2015 when my wife convinced me to run a half marathon. I ran just about 30 miles in Feb and ran my first half in May 2015. That was it for my running for 2015. Mid 2016 I joined SBRC and really started my running career.

Now, to the "why I started running". In short - I was sexually abused when I was younger and since a young age I turned to drugs, alcohol, smoking, etc. Life sucked! I got married and had kids, which in my mind should fix my problems, but it did not! In 2015-2016, I started working on getting better and needed a healthy activity.

When I met SBRC, I knew this is it! I knew that I wanted to become a runner. Running and SBRC changed my life! I'm a better person, husband, dad, and I love living! It took lots of hard work to get to this point and I tried many times but no successes! I am proud to say that I am now sober for 9 months! I wouldn't be able to do this without my Wife, family, Coach Mark, and SBRC.

I live in Redondo Beach. My wife and I have been married for 8 years, we have two little boys, and we're expecting another child in Jan. I am 30 years old. I was born in Miami, moved and lived in Israel from the age of 6-18, and came to the South Bay when I was 18. I work for a company called Swagbucks, where people can earn free gift cards for shopping online, watching videos, taking surveys, and Discover deals. I love hanging out with friends and family. I like bowling and most sports.

What’s the running accomplishment of which you are proudest?

I ran a 4:52 mile in 2017, and 2:59:18 marathon.

What are your current running goals?

Run a 4:30 mile for my one year of sobriety in December. Run a 2:50 marathon and run Boston in 2021. Dream goal - 4:30 mile and 2:30 marathon in my lifetime.

Favorite running quotes?

"Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever" and "when it hurts the most, press the hardest"

Jaime Ruiz, 39, is from South Gate, CA and works in El Segundo, CA as a Project Accountant for a major oil refinery, which is funny because he is an environmentalist who uses his bicycle and public transportation to commute to work daily, including windy, rainy days. After work,

Jaime runs along the coast to complete his marathon training before heading home, where he lives with his mom, brother and three dogs.

Since 2008, Jaime has been running the LA Marathon. He first started training by running with his dogs along the LA river, but now runs year-round with the Southbay Running Club, LA Running Club or LA Road Runners. His current goal is to run the marathon in under four hours,

but running has never come easy. For example, in 2015 he did not finish the LA marathon because he collapsed around mile 19 due to running in the heat.

But that was nothing compared to running his first marathon where again, around mile 19 he realized how horrible he felt and vowed to never run another marathon again. However, a year later he regretted not participating in the 2009 LA marathon and signed up for the 2010 LA marathon. He has continued that 10-year running streak and is currently training for the 2020 race.

Currently, Jaime has ran 17 marathons, which included completing the Beach Cities challenge twice and running two Abbott World Marathon Majors in New York and Chicago. He achieved a sub-four hour marathon PR in 2015 at the OC marathon with a 3:57 finishing time. In a much

shorter race this year, he ran a 7-minute mile at the Manhattan Beach Mile race. He has also won the Best Costume award twice at the Jet-to-Jetty 10K.

Pamela Wrona is an online and in-home tutor specializing in college prep (SAT/ACT) and high school math. She was born in Pennsylvania, spent her childhood in Maine, and has lived in the South Bay since graduating from college. She shares a home with her partner, David; their four rescue pups Sheba, Mia, Cookie, and Stormy; and a cockatiel, Cosmo.

Originally a speedwalker, Pamela began her long-distance running journey in 2012 at the age of 51, when she signed up for a half-marathon to raise money for the ASPCA. She completed that race doing a walk/run combo, then went on to train for her first marathon, the 2014 Los Angeles Marathon. Since that time, she’s completed a total of 10 marathons, 21 half-marathons, a 24-hour race, and a number of shorter-distance races.

Pamela finds the benefits of running to be far-reaching: “Running is active meditation for me and has enriched my life in so many ways! Through training and its challenges, I’ve improved my patience and perseverance, learned how to handle adversity and negative self-talk, and overall have a greater sense of well-being.”

I live in Torrance with my wife Molly and two children, Miles and Hattie. My wife and I have been married for 12 years. Although we settled down after the children were born, we spent a good part of the previous 8 years moving all over the country.

Neither of us are native Californians, but are glad that our children are. Both of our children have development delays, and this has affected our hearts and lives immensely. My son, 7, was determined to be on the Autism spectrum when he was in Kindergarten, and since the diagnosis and treatment, we have seen a brand new kid emerge.

As my wife likes to say, he does everything big, be it playing, feeling, or relaxing! My daughter is 5 and her diagnosis is a little more complex, but she is our little miracle. We are blessed with the Launch school in Torrance, which provides services to special needs children prior to Kindergarten. She is a firecracker!

I am a year away from completing my Masters of Science in Leadership and Management (MSLM) through a partnership with the University of La Verne and my employer. I have begun research on EdD. programs, and may pursue my doctorate after I finish my MSLM. Other than that, I like to sing along to the radio, eat vanilla GU on long runs, and I wish corduroy pants would just come back in style!

When and why did you start running?

Perhaps that sense of adventure, of moving around a lot, has manifested itself in my love of running, which came to me later in life, in my, GASP, late 20’s/early 30’s. In 2012, I joined the LA Road Runners for the first time, and it has been a regular part of my life ever since. I even ran with a Mark-coached team one year! (Go Super 5).

What’s the running accomplishment of which you are proudest?

The Dallas Running Club Half Marathon, 2009. Life happens, right? We had a month of personal setbacks, loss of family members, and a pet that unexpectedly got sick. I had not trained for almost a month, but decided to do the race anyway. I PR’d that race, and have not gotten close to that time since.

What are your current running goals?

My current plan is to continue to log miles this summer, and start training for the LA Marathon in the fall with LARR. I am hoping to have a different role this fall with the team, fingers crossed! I am also planning to reach 1,000 total miles this year.

Favorite running quote? “Do marathon runners know they don’t have to?”

Favorite race distance?

Half Marathon. Between, work, school, and family, it is not always easy to prioritize running. The half marathon is the perfect distance. It requires training, but less time than a marathon. I love marathons, and look forward to when I can more actively dedicate time to training for them.

Favorite running experience?

Right after we moved back to CA in 2011, a friend asked me to join him for a 5K at a water park in Irvine. Part of the race requires you to wade through chest deep water for 100 yards in a pool. I cannot remember the name of the race. Anyway, I leave the race, and on the way home, I call my wife.

She had a busy day, and we were not sure if we would see each other until later in the afternoon. I talked about said 5K for about 10 minutes before my wife, waiting for a pause, let me know she was pregnant with our first-born! Now I always ask her about her day first! Moreover, that finisher medal sits proudly and prominently on the hanger!

Favorite post-race indulgence? Cupcakes. Sprinkles Cupcakes. Black and White.

Favorite thing about SBRC?

One of my favorite things about SBRC is seeing a post on Facebook from a new member who says, I can only run (insert time of day here), I am more a casual runner, I only run a (insert great mile time here), is there a place for me? The overwhelming response is always, Yes! Just show up, you will find your people, we will help you! Amazing! My wife is a not a runner, and proudly keeps a 0.0 mile sticker on her desk. So, I embrace that we all approach this slightly differe