Why We Marathon

Roxanne Baggot has a similar story to mine as she lost her mother to cancer. Roxanne also follows the Galloway Method of walking and running to complete marathons. In 2017, Roxanne had two cardiac arrests from third-degree heart block and was luckily brought back to life. Only 5% of people survive this condition. She was a bit weary of running again but decided to do so and focus on the 2019 Donna Marathon which fell on the ten-year anniversary of her own breast cancer diagnosis. Doctors gave Roxanne five years to live but she fought and prevailed to complete the 2019 Donna Marathon in Jacksonville, Florida. Roxanne details her brave story of battling cancer and how it motivated her to run multiple marathon races.

But Roxanne didn't stop there! She ran two more marathons at the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C. The race also has special meaning to Roxanne as her youngest son was severely wounded in Afghanistan along with fellow church members who lost 7 people in war. In addition, Roxanne's daughter is a Marine and she ran for both of her children and all of those serving our great nation. Thank you for your service and please visit my favorite organization, Team Rubicon, to help support our veterans.

Matt talks about running the New York City marathon as a guy who grew up in the city. It wasn't a matter of if he would run the New York City marathon but a matter of when. We also discuss what inspired him to run the Atlanta marathon. Matt also discusses his transition from running to Crossfit and additional training activities. He dives deep into how marathon running changed his mental approach to both fitness and life in general. 

Jonathan Flores is the host of the podcast Run with Purpose and Executive Director of Hangry, a registered 501(c)(3) charity that exists for two reasons. First, we build programs and events to help support those dealing with the issue of hunger. From hosting fundraising events to community meals, we want to be the hands and feet on the ground tackling the issue head-on. According to the USDA’s latest report on Food Insecurity (link) 35.2 million people live in food-insecure households in 2019. This is unacceptable and we can all do our part. We will partner with organizations on the ground already making a difference and come alongside them for a greater impact

This fits into our second purpose. We provide education and resources to the general public to make them aware of the issue of hunger right in your community. Hunger is not just an issue that the homeless deal with. Hunger is not an issue for those living in the inner-city. The reality for many families is that they do not have access to proper nutrition and for some, they are just one paycheck away from not being able to put food on the table. This is unacceptable and we need to do something about it. From sharing information on our website and social media accounts to providing ideas for things you can do daily to make an impact, we will equip you with the tools necessary to help fight the issue of hunger.

Jonathan is also trying to run a marathon in all 50 states and tracks his progress on his blog.

Paige Tatulli speaks about how her meeting with Gabriele “​Gabe” Grunewald as she sought treatment for her third battle with an incurable cancer inspired Paige to run the Philadelphia Marathon. She describes how she used to run under 3 miles and then decided it was time to take her  running to the next level.

Paige had an extremely creative idea to dedicate each song on her running playlist to a different person and solicited submissions ahead of race day. Throughout the race Paige was able to connect to her friends and family through music.

Gia Alvarez a fourteen-time marathoner started training other runners to prepare for marathons and realized that running is what she “wanted to do!” Running was no loner a past time; it organically became her lifetime career. Gia, like many other women struggled with fertility issues. She found that running marathons got her through major life changes and more importantly struggles. Running helped her through her fertility journey by reminding her not to doubt her strength. 

When you are in the middle of something incredibly hard, we often doubt our abilities. Running helped her believe that her body has the ability to do really difficult things like setting training goals and accomplishing them. 

Gia has run 14 marathons, countless 1⁄2 marathons (she lost countJ), 2x Boston Marathon qualifier (fastest time 3:32), 1:40 fastest 1⁄2 marathon and is currently training for a spring 1⁄2 marathon; and to run the New York City marathon in the fall of 2021.

Alvarez opened her first treadmill studio, Juma Fit in the fall of 2018 in Tenafly, New Jersey (Bergen County). Juma Fit is an interval based, group based treadmill workout/community space studio for walkers, joggers and runners. It is the only treadmill studio geared towards all different types of people and their different workout needs. Each person walks, jogs or runs on state-of-the-art Woodway treadmills. 

Gia is passionate about making Juma a studio that allows each person to be the best version of themselves, regardless of their fitness journey.

Episode 13 is now live featuring Kirsten Godleski's amazing story of running 58 marathons across all 50 states. She's run everything from the New York City Marathon to smaller races like the Lake Mead Marathon in Nevada. Kirsten details what it's like to run smaller races with under 100 people! Kirsten's passion for running has even taken her to a new job at a local running store!

Ray Zaragoza hails from San Gabriel, California and is 44 years old. Ray was a banker for about 10 years, got laid off due to the Covid-19 pandemic and decided to pursue his passion as a full time fitness coach. Ray has done 54 marathons including the Lake Tahoe Triple which comprises of 3 marathons over the course of a single weekend! Ray's running has brought him all over the world including the Area 51 race in Nevada, the famous UFO themed event.

In 1996 Tawni Gomes weighed 295 pounds and was working for a Fortune 500 company climbing the corporate ladder, working her way up to the top. But, she was severely depressed, on antidepressants, and wasn't working out. But, then she was inspired by the Oprah Show. One day she was watching it and they were launching Bob Greene's book, Make the Connection. (Bob Greene is Oprah's trainer). So she bought the book and a treadmill. She was living in a tiny apartment in San Francisco at the time and barely fit. But, she would come home from work and watch Oprah. And at first she would walk on the treadmill during the first commercial of the show and get tired and sit down. Then she'd walk the second commercial, and so on. After a while she could walk during the whole show! Then she started walking outside but got hit by a car. That was December of 1996, and she was in a wheelchair. Tawni spent the next six months in rehab and physical therapy. When she was able to walk again I set the goal of doing a 5K. Tawni signed up for one that was part of the San Francisco Marathon. It finished at Kezar Stadium, where the 49ers used to play. It was a powerful moment. Tawni didn't know how long a marathon was and actually thought she had done the marathon! That's how little she knew about running. So, then Tawni thought that if I did 3 miles with a little training, I should be able to do 26 miles! Too bad you can't walk a marathon, Tawni said to herself And right then, a lady passed by with a flier saying, "Learn how to walk or run a marathon. The flier was for Team in Training. So Tawni, signed up, and in December of 1997 she walked her first marathon in Honolulu! Since then, Tawni has run over 100 marathons!

Jack Fultz won the 1976 Boston Marathon, the hottest on record, with a time of 2:20:19. The temperature was over 100 degrees before the noon start time. The race is known as the "The Run for the Hoses" as spectators all across the Boston suburbs took out their garden hoses to spray down the runners. Jack speaks about his first marathon race in Washington D.C. and how he went from the Navy to become an elite marathon runner.

Fultz qualified for three consecutive United States Olympic Trials marathons in 1972, 1976, and 1980. Because President Jimmy Carter called for a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Games, Fultz did not run in the 1980 Olympic Trials. In 1996, Fultz was inducted into the Georgetown University Hall of Fame and on that occasion was invited to the White House to run with then-President Bill Clinton. Also in 1996, Fultz was inducted into the DC Road Runners Hall of Fame.

Jack now helps coach the Dana Farber Institute Boston Marathon team and fundraises for this amazing organization.

Cheri details how she recovered from a stroke at age 50 and started training for her first marathon after this scary life incident. She decided to start in her hometown of Fargo, North Dakota with a childhood friend. Since that first one, Cheri has run over 100 marathons all across the world. Cheri currently runs the Ventura County Jeff Galloway running group and resides in Camarillo, California.